Create an instance for Ops Agent monitoring and logging

The Ops Agent collects telemetry data for instances that you can then use for troubleshooting and performance tuning.

Before you begin

  • If you haven't already, then set up authentication. Authentication is the process by which your identity is verified for access to Google Cloud services and APIs. To run code or samples from a local development environment, you can authenticate to Compute Engine by selecting one of the following options:

    Select the tab for how you plan to use the samples on this page:

    Console

    When you use the Google Cloud console to access Google Cloud services and APIs, you don't need to set up authentication.

    gcloud

    1. After installing the Google Cloud CLI, initialize it by running the following command: 

      gcloudinit

      If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.

    2. Set a default region and zone.

    REST

    To use the REST API samples on this page in a local development environment, you use the credentials you provide to the gcloud CLI.

      After installing the Google Cloud CLI, initialize it by running the following command: 

      gcloudinit

      If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.

    For more information, see Authenticate for using REST in the Google Cloud authentication documentation.

Required roles

To get the permissions that you need to create an instance for Ops Agent monitoring and logging, ask your administrator to grant you the following IAM roles on the project:

For more information about granting roles, see Manage access to projects, folders, and organizations.

You might also be able to get the required permissions through custom roles or other predefined roles.

Create an instance for the Ops Agent monitoring and logging

You can create an instance that's configured for Ops Agent monitoring and logging only by using the Google Cloud console. This section briefly describes how to install the Ops Agent while creating an instance. For more information, also see Install Ops Agent during instance creation.

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Create an instance page.

    Go to Create an instance

    If prompted, select your project and click Continue.

    The Create an instance page appears and displays the Machine configuration pane.

  2. In the navigation pane, click Observability. The Observability pane appears.

  3. In the Ops Agent section, select the Install the Ops Agent for Monitoring and Logging checkbox.

    Selecting this checkbox enables VM Manager in limited capability mode and it creates an OS policy assignment for installing Ops Agent on the instance.

  4. Optional: Specify other configuration options. For more information, see Configuration options during instance creation.

  5. To create and start the instance, click Create.

Install the Ops Agent on existing instances

You can use the Google Cloud console, the gcloud CLI, or an automation tool to install Ops Agent on a fleet of instances or on individual instances. For detailed instructions, see Install the Ops Agent.

What's next