Google Cloud introduces Blockchain Node Engine for Web3 development
Google Cloud recently announced the private preview of Blockchain Node Engine, a managed node hosting option for Web3 development. Ethereum will be the first blockchain to be supported.
Designed to help Web3 developers build and deploy on blockchain-based platforms, the new managed service monitors nodes and restarts them during power outages. Amit Zavery, GM/VP engineering at Google, and James Tromans, director of Cloud Web3 at Google, explain:
While self-managed nodes are often difficult to deploy and require constant management, Blockchain Node Engine is a fully managed node hosting service that can minimize the need for node operations. Web3 companies that need dedicated nodes can relay transactions, deploy smart contracts, and read or write blockchain data with the reliability, performance, and security they expect from Google Cloud computing and network infrastructure.
According to the cloud provider, the main benefits for Web3 organizations will be streamlined delivery, managed operations and secure development, including placing nodes behind a Virtual Private Cloud firewall and integration with Cloud Armor as a protection against DDoS attacks. Zavery and Tromans add:
Today, manually deploying a node is a time-consuming process that involves provisioning a data instance, installing an Ethereum client (eg geth), and waiting for the node to sync with the network. Syncing a full node from the first block (ie genesis) can take several days. Google Cloud’s Blockchain Node Engine can make this process faster and easier by allowing developers to deploy a new node with a single operation.
The preview of the node hosting service on Google Cloud sparked popular debates about Twitter and Reddit, with some users excited about the new option and others interrogative if cloud providers will keep their promise of decentralization. User Lazy_physicist highlights how the announcement can help spread nodes among different vendors:
You know how people say that a concerning amount of Ethereum nodes are running in AWS? Now you can do the same in Google Cloud. Basically, Google has just streamlined the delivery of a node that you can run a validator on. Definitely a centralizing force, but usually more options are better.
Earlier this year, Google announced the Digital Assets Team to support customers building, trading and distributing on blockchain-based platforms. Solana and Dapper Labs are among the Web3 companies already running on Google Cloud.
Google Cloud is not the only provider working on managed blockchain options: AWS offers Amazon Managed Blockchain, a service for joining public networks or managing private networks using Hyperledger Fabric or Ethereum. Microsoft has recently retired Azure Blockchain Service and Azure Blockchain Workbench. User Aus IV comments:
If you’re running an application that needs scaling and reliability, you’re much better off with an RPC gateway than a managed node. If you’re trying to support your network by running a node, managed services is definitely not the way to do it. The network has a problem with the percentage of nodes running in a small handful of service providers.
A form is available to join the private preview of the Blockchain Node Engine.
