GCP Global Infrastructure

Google Cloud Platform operates one of the most advanced and extensive cloud infrastructures in the world. It is built on the same global network that powers Google Search, YouTube, and Gmail — a network that carries approximately 40% of the world's internet traffic daily. Understanding how GCP organises this infrastructure — into regions, zones, and its private global network — is essential for designing resilient, performant, and compliant solutions.

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The Google Network

At the foundation of GCP's infrastructure is Google's private global network. This network consists of thousands of miles of fibre-optic cable — including subsea cables that span oceans. When data travels between GCP regions, it stays on Google's private backbone and does not traverse the public internet.

Key benefits of Google's network:

• Lower latency — traffic between regions travels over optimised private routes
• Higher security — data never touches the public internet
• Greater reliability — redundant paths ensure connectivity even if individual cables fail
• Consistent performance — no dependency on third-party ISPs between regions

Google operates over 180 points of presence (PoPs) globally, which are used for caching content (Cloud CDN) and providing network edge services.

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