Cloud Functions generations (1st vs 2nd) in GCP - Hands-On Comparison

Understanding Cloud Functions Generations (1st vs 2nd)

📖 Scenario: You are working as a cloud engineer for a small company that wants to automate simple tasks using Google Cloud Functions. Your manager asked you to create two versions of a Cloud Function: one using the 1st generation and another using the 2nd generation. This will help the team understand the differences and benefits of each generation.

🎯 Goal: Create two Cloud Function deployment configurations: one for a 1st generation Cloud Function and one for a 2nd generation Cloud Function. You will define the basic setup for each, including runtime, trigger, and region, to see how the configurations differ.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a 1st generation Cloud Function configuration with Node.js 16 runtime

Create a 2nd generation Cloud Function configuration with Node.js 16 runtime

Use HTTP trigger for both functions

Set the region to us-central1 for both functions

Specify the service account for the 2nd generation function

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Cloud Functions are used to run small pieces of code in response to events without managing servers. Knowing the differences between 1st and 2nd generation helps choose the right setup for your needs.

💼 Career

Cloud engineers and developers often configure and deploy Cloud Functions. Understanding generation differences is key to optimizing performance, security, and cost.

1

Create 1st Generation Cloud Function Configuration

Create a dictionary called cloud_function_1st_gen with these exact keys and values: 'name' set to 'my-function-1st-gen', 'runtime' set to 'nodejs16', 'trigger' set to 'http', and 'region' set to 'us-central1'.

GCP

# Your code here

Need a hint?

Remember to create a dictionary with the exact keys and values as specified.

2

Add Service Account Configuration for 2nd Generation

Create a dictionary called cloud_function_2nd_gen with the same keys and values as cloud_function_1st_gen but add a new key 'service_account' with the value '[e-mail]'.

GCP

cloud_function_1st_gen = {
    'name': 'my-function-1st-gen',
    'runtime': 'nodejs16',
    'trigger': 'http',
    'region': 'us-central1'
}
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Copy the 1st generation dictionary and add the service account key with the exact value.

3

Add Generation Type to Both Configurations

Add a new key 'generation' with value '1st' to cloud_function_1st_gen and '2nd' to cloud_function_2nd_gen.

GCP

cloud_function_1st_gen = {
    'name': 'my-function-1st-gen',
    'runtime': 'nodejs16',
    'trigger': 'http',
    'region': 'us-central1'
}

cloud_function_2nd_gen = {
    'name': 'my-function-2nd-gen',
    'runtime': 'nodejs16',
    'trigger': 'http',
    'region': 'us-central1',
    'service_account': '[e-mail]'
}
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Add the generation key with the exact string values to each dictionary.

4

Complete Configuration with Memory and Timeout for 2nd Generation

Add two new keys to cloud_function_2nd_gen: 'memory' set to '512MB' and 'timeout' set to '60s'.

GCP

cloud_function_1st_gen = {
    'name': 'my-function-1st-gen',
    'runtime': 'nodejs16',
    'trigger': 'http',
    'region': 'us-central1',
    'generation': '1st'
}

cloud_function_2nd_gen = {
    'name': 'my-function-2nd-gen',
    'runtime': 'nodejs16',
    'trigger': 'http',
    'region': 'us-central1',
    'service_account': '[e-mail]',
    'generation': '2nd'
}
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Add memory and timeout keys with the exact values to the 2nd generation dictionary.