Google Cloud Account Purchase: High Network Latency? Teach you a trick to reduce instance ping value and packet loss rate!
In the domestic developer circle, Google Cloud (Google Cloud Platform, referred to as GCP) has always been a love and hate existence.
Those who love it are addicted to its powerful global optical fiber backbone network, black technology infrastructure at the same level as Google search, and perfect support for cutting-edge technology; those who hate it often have only four words:
Network too card
.
You may also have experienced this desperate moment: excitedly opened an instance (virtual machine) with extremely high physical configuration and sufficient bandwidth on GCP. As a result, the Ping value was measured locally, starting at 200ms and even soaring to more than 300ms. What’s even more fatal is
Packet loss rate
, always jump 10%, 20%, remote connection (SSH) type a keyboard like a slide show, business run is slow like an old cow pulling a cart.
At this time, many people will blindly upgrade the CPU and memory of the instance, or toss complex system kernel acceleration algorithms (such as BBR). However, the operation was as fierce as a tiger, and the delay was still blocked.
In fact, the root cause of Google Cloud's high network latency and serious packet loss is often not in your system configuration, but in its
Network service levels (Network Service tiers) and routing detours
Up. In today's article, we will use vernacular and hard-core technology to disassemble and teach you the most critical "one trick"--
Switch from the standard network (Standard Tier) to the advanced network (Premium Tier) and match the precise host selection
, completely depress the Ping value and packet loss rate of Google cloud instances.
1. Core cause: why is your Google cloud instance network so slow?
Before we can prescribe, we need to understand the cause of the disease. Why is the same network, someone's Google Cloud is as fast as lightning, but yours is as slow as a snail? This has to start with Google Cloud's unique "dual-track" network.
Google Cloud provides a concept that other major cloud vendors (e. g., AWS, Microsoft Azure) rarely mention:
Network Service Levels (Network Service Tiers)
. It divides the network into two files:
Standard tier (Standard tier): commonly known as "cheap routing". After your data leaves Google's data center, it will be immediately thrown into the public Internet (that is, the common public network route of major operators). This means that your data packets have to squeeze into ordinary lanes with the garbage traffic of the whole network, pass through countless third-party routers, and go around to reach your local area.
Advanced level (Premium Tier): commonly known as "luxury private network". After your data leaves the instance, it will immediately enter the global private fiber backbone network that Google has invested heavily in building. This network is not open to the outside world and there is no messy public network traffic. Data packets will soar all the way through Google's private high-speed public network until the nearest network access point (POP point) to your local area
Open the Google network and enter your local operator.
The most fatal mistake: Many novices use the default settings directly (or check the standard network by default in some specific regions/accounts) to save money or trouble when creating GCP instances. It's like buying a Ferrari (a high-performance example) and forcing it on a congested, traffic-light-filled country dirt road (a standard network). Can this network delay and packet loss rate not be high?
2. The core trick: how to switch the network to the advanced level (Premium Tier)?
Now that we have found the cause, the solution is clear: we need to upgrade the network of instances from "standard" to "advanced". Although this will bring a little increase in network costs, but compared to the business stuck, experience very poor hidden losses, this investment is absolutely value for money.
Let's go directly to the operation steps below (in the way that Aliyun or Tengxun cloud old users can easily understand, hand in hand to take you to change).
Step 1: Check and adjust the default network level of the project
You can modify the rules directly at the project level so that every machine you create later will default to "luxury lanes".
Open the Google Cloud Console, find and click VPC Network (VPC network) and Network Service Tiers in the left navigation bar.
On this page, you will see the default settings for the current project. If Standard is currently displayed, please click "Optimize/change default level" above to switch it to Premium.
Step 2: Dynamically modify the external IP address type of the existing instance
If you have already created an instance and are not willing to delete it, it doesn't matter. Google Cloud supports dynamic network switching of static IP.
In the console, go to "VPC Network" and "External IP Address" (External IP addresses).
Find the external IP bound to your instance with extremely high latency.
View its Network tier column. If Standard, click Modify on the right to adjust it to Premium.
Note: During the handover process, your external IP address may change due to routing re-addressing, and the remote connection may be interrupted for a short time, which is normal.
3. Advanced Assistance: It is not enough to change the network alone. You have to choose the right "Feng Shui Treasure"
Some friends may feedback: "I am already a Premium network, why is the Ping value still above 150ms?"
This involves another hard core knowledge point:
Physical Distance and International Exit Routing
. Advanced networks are strong, but they cannot violate the laws of physics (the speed of light propagates through an optical fiber with a delay of about 1ms/200km). If your server is in Europe (such as Frankfurt) or the US East (such as South Carolina)
No matter how advanced the network is and where the physical distance is, the Ping value will never come down.
For domestic users, in order to obtain the ultimate low latency (Ping value within 100ms, even 30ms-50ms),
Constituencies are crucial
.
According to the latest network measurement data in 2026, Google Cloud's performance in several Asia Pacific regions (Region) that are the most friendly to China is as follows:
Google Cloud Region Code
Geographical location
Average Ping Value (Domestic Coastal)
Packet loss rate (under Premium network)
Suitable for business scenarios
asia-east1
Changhua County, Taiwan
30ms - 60ms
Approaching 0%
Game background, real-time communication, high-frequency speed website
asia-east2
Hong Kong
40ms - 70ms
Approaching 0%
Enterprise core foreign trade business, API interface, small program background
asia-northeast1
Tokyo, Japan
60ms - 90ms
Less than 0.5%
China-Japan Cross-border E-commerce, Asia-Pacific General Service
asia-northeast3
Seoul, South Korea
70ms - 100ms
Less than 0.5%
Excellent experience visiting the northern provinces
Pit Avoidance Warning: Try to avoid choosing asia-southeast1 (Singapore). Although Singapore does not look far geographically, the past network routes in China are very exotic. They often detour to the United States or Japan before turning back to Singapore (commonly known as detour routes). Unless your business target users are in Southeast Asia, the delay of domestic local visits to Singapore tends to soar to more than 200ms, and the packet loss rate is extremely unstable.
4. The ultimate self-inspection process: how to make sure you successfully "landed" on the highway?
After the operation of the above, how do we know whether the network quality has improved? Don't just look at the web page to open fast or not, we use the data to speak.
1. Utilization
MTR
Command for traceroute (the most hard-core verification method)
On your local computer (Mac/Linux
mtr
, Windows download
WinMTR
Software) to route your Google cloud public network IP.
If you go through the standard network (Standard): you will find that there are more than 20 hops in the routing table. data packets are crowded in the backbone networks of domestic operators (such as AS4134 and AS4837). when you go abroad, you are still going around in various strange third-party international wholesale networks. every time you pass through a node, the Ping value and packet loss rate jump up.
If you go to the advanced network (Premium): you will be surprised to find that the data packet will enter directly with google.com or 1e100.net immediately or in the 2nd-3rd hop after leaving the operator's exit in your local city (such as Shanghai or Guangzhou).
The suffix of the IP node. This means that as soon as it goes abroad, it goes directly to Google's dedicated "high-speed light rail" and runs to the end without any interference from miscellaneous nodes.
2. Comparison of Ping value and packet loss rate before and after data
In order to give you confidence, we can look at the comparison of typical data boards before and after the switch:
Plaintext
[Before switching-Standard network + constituency error (e. g. US)]]
PING 35.xxx.xxx.xxx (35.xxx.xxx.xxx): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 35.xxx.xxx.xxx: icmp_seq=0 ttl=41 time=245.3 ms
64 bytes from 35.xxx.xxx.xxx: icmp_seq=1 ttl=41 time=312.1 ms
Request timeout for icmp_seq 2 <--💥packet loss
64 bytes from 35.xxx.xxx.xxx: icmp_seq=3 ttl=41 time=289.4 ms
--- 35.xxx.xxx.xxx ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 3 packets received, 25.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 245.3/282.2/312.1/27.8 ms
----------------------------------------------------------------
[After switching-Premium network + correct constituency (such as Taiwan/Hong Kong)]]
PING 34.xxx.xxx.xxx (34.xxx.xxx.xxx): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 34.xxx.xxx.xxx: icmp_seq=0 ttl=53 time=42.1 ms
64 bytes from 34.xxx.xxx.xxx: icmp_seq=1 ttl=53 time=41.8 ms
64 bytes from 34.xxx.xxx.xxx: icmp_seq=2 ttl=53 time=42.3 ms
64 bytes from 34.xxx.xxx.xxx: icmp_seq=3 ttl=53 time=41.9 ms
--- 34.xx
x.xxx.xxx ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 41.8/42.0/42.3/0.2 ms
From 280ms + with 25% packet loss, it plummeted directly to 42ms silky without packet loss. This is the qualitative leap that this move brings.
5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Pit Avoidance Guide
When tossing Google Cloud Network, you may also encounter the following extension problems, which we will make clear at one time.
Q1: Will the Premium network make me receive bankruptcy bills?
Answer:
No, it won’t. Premium networks are a little more expensive than Standard networks (usually a few cents per GB, depending on your geography and outbound traffic). If you are a normal operation of business enterprises, or individuals run a small blog, small interface, the total difference between the two may be a meal a month. However, if your website is a "big traffic user" (for example, it is used to download large files, distribute video slices, or be robbed by crazy chains), you should be careful, because the accumulated traffic fee will be more painful.
Q2: Why did you change your Premium and choose Hong Kong, or do you occasionally shake in some periods?
Answer:
It must be admitted that no matter how good the cloud computing vendors are, their traffic will eventually be connected to the three major domestic basic operators (Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile). From 8: 00 to 11: 00 every night
Network Late Peak
During this period, the international export gateway of domestic operators often has phased congestion (referred to as the "big network explosion"). At this time, even Google's advanced network may be affected at the moment of entering the country.
The ultimate solution: if your business has reached an extremely demanding level of real-time requirements (such as financial high-frequency trading), on the foundation of the Premium network, you may also need to cooperate with the GA (global acceleration) of major domestic manufacturers (such as ariyun and tengxunyun) or purchase Anycast EIP, and use their proprietary domestic cross-border dedicated lines to do double insurance.
Q3: Is it necessary to turn on the built-in BBR acceleration of the system?
Answer:
Very necessary.
The trick we teach today (switching to Premium) is to change a dirt path from a "physical road" to a highway. The BBR(Bottleneck Bandwidth and RTT) congestion control algorithm that opens the Linux kernel is to upgrade the transmission system of the "data transport vehicle" in your hand to make it run smarter on the highway.
The relationship between the two is complementary: driving an upgraded car (BBR) on the highway (Premium), your Google Cloud instance network
Performance can really play to the limit of 100 percent.
Conclusion
There is a universal truth in the world of cloud computing:
If the underlying architecture is wrong, it will be futile to optimize the application layer.
The core strength of Google Cloud lies in its global, costly private fiber-optic backbone. If you use Google Cloud, but throw its instances in the quagmire of the "standard network" and squeeze the head of public network traffic, it is tantamount to buying a bag and returning a pearl.
Take two minutes and follow the steps in this article to check your network service level and put the hidden
Standard
Change to
Premium
, coupled with a geographically reasonable constituency. Believe me, when you knock down in the terminal again
ping
The moment you return to the car, looking at the flowing low-latency data, you will come back to praise this article.