Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Who is Eligible for GCP?

All active faculty and staff at Mines with are eligible to utilize GCP resources for academic, research, and administrative purposes. Access to GCP requires a faculty sponsor and Mines Worktag. Supply your worktag & budget information to IT and IT will facilitate the Purchase Order request with Procurement.

Features & Benefits

GCP provides powerful, scalable, and cost-effective resources:

  • Anytime, Anywhere Access: Securely access your data and applications from any location.

  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Utilize cloud-based, on-demand, and scalable computer networking, compute power, and storage services.

  • Scalable Storage: Storage that effortlessly scales to fit the needs of massive research datasets or dynamic project requirements.

  • Cost-Efficiency: Employ a pay-per-use pricing model, meaning you only pay for the specific resources and services you actively use. Spot pricing can further reduce your costs!

Getting Started & Additional Resources

To ensure a smooth start with your project:

  1. Contact the Help Desk: You can initiate a GCP project by submitting a ticket.

  2. GCP Documentation: Review Google’s Products & Services

  3. Schedule an Appointment: Reach out to the Research Computing team with your questions or schedule a consultation for live support.

FAQ

What is a “Mines managed” GCP project account?

The Mines Research Computing team has set up a GCP project for use by Mines members. It uses your institutional login (e.g., username@mines.edu) and follows university policies for security, compliance, and billing. In contrast, a personal GCP account is tied to an individual’s personal Google identity and billing information.

Why should I use a managed GCP project instead of my own personal account?

Using a Mines managed GCP project account ensures your projects, data, and resources are protected under the university’s approved security and compliance frameworks. It also gives you access to institutional billing, support, and collaboration tools that personal accounts cannot provide.

The billing portal offers comprehensive billing management, budget safety controls and enhanced usage reporting in a user-friendly experience.

How does a Mines managed project help with security and compliance?

Managed GCP projects are preconfigured with university-approved security controls — including access policies, network restrictions, and audit logging.

Who pays for GCP usage?

Invoices will be received by Mines IT, who will then facilitate payment via MAPS — this means:

  • No personal credit card or One Card is required.
  • Research groups can associate costs with specific grants or internal worktags.
  • Budget alerts and cost reports can be configured per project. The university can also distribute Google Research Credits or internal subsidies directly to managed projects.
I am a student, can I set up a GCP project?

No. To use a GCP project, a student must coordinate with a faculty or staff member. Any faculty or staff member can request a Mines managed GCP project and grant a student access to the project.

I have the Editor role on my GCP project, but I can’t modify organization policies. Can I be given admin privileges so I can make these changes?

Organization policies are managed at the organization level, not the project level. While your Editor role gives you full control over resources within your project—such as creating and deleting VMs, storage buckets, or databases—organization policies apply across all projects in the GCP environment.

These policies are in place to maintain security, compliance, and cost controls for all users. Only central cloud administrators have the ability to modify them. Examples of organization-level settings include restrictions on service accounts, external sharing, API usage, and allowed domains.

If you need a specific feature that appears to be blocked by an organization policy, please contact the Research Computing team with details about:

  • The exact policy or service you need to change, and
  • The reason for the request (e.g., migration, specific research requirement).

The team can then review your request and either grant an approved exception or suggest an alternative approach that complies with organizational standards.