Create a VM using a RHEL BYOS image

Linux

You can create a virtual machine (VM) instance on Compute Engine by usingimages from yourRed Hat Cloud Access subscription.

With this option, you pay Red Hat for license subscriptions and pay Google Cloudonly for infrastructure costs you incur. When you use OS images from your Red HatCloud Access subscription on Google Cloud, you must request supportdirectly from Red Hat. To request support, log into your Red Hat Customer Portaland open a support ticket.

When you create a VM that uses a RHEL OS image,you can access the Red Hat Knowledgebase by using a single-sign-on (SSO) optionavailable through the Google Cloud console.

Before you begin

Required roles

To get the permissions that you need to create VMs, ask your administrator to grant you theCompute Instance Admin (v1) (roles/compute.instanceAdmin.v1) IAM role on the project. For more information about granting roles, seeManage access to projects, folders, and organizations.

This predefined role contains the permissions required to create VMs. To see the exact permissions that are required, expand theRequired permissions section:

Required permissions

The following permissions are required to create VMs:

  • compute.instances.create on the project
  • To use a custom image to create the VM: compute.images.useReadOnly on the image
  • To use a snapshot to create the VM: compute.snapshots.useReadOnly on the snapshot
  • To use an instance template to create the VM: compute.instanceTemplates.useReadOnly on the instance template
  • To specify a subnet for your VM: compute.subnetworks.use on the project or on the chosen subnet
  • To specify a static IP address for the VM: compute.addresses.use on the project
  • To assign an external IP address to the VM when using a VPC network: compute.subnetworks.useExternalIp on the project or on the chosen subnet
  • To assign alegacy network to the VM: compute.networks.use on the project
  • To assign an external IP address to the VM when using a legacy network: compute.networks.useExternalIp on the project
  • To set VM instance metadata for the VM: compute.instances.setMetadata on the project
  • To set tags for the VM: compute.instances.setTags on the VM
  • To set labels for the VM: compute.instances.setLabels on the VM
  • To set a service account for the VM to use: compute.instances.setServiceAccount on the VM
  • To create a new disk for the VM: compute.disks.create on the project
  • To attach an existing disk in read-only or read-write mode: compute.disks.use on the disk
  • To attach an existing disk in read-only mode: compute.disks.useReadOnly on the disk

You might also be able to get these permissions withcustom roles or otherpredefined roles.

Create a VM with a RHEL BYOS image

In summary, to use Red Hat Cloud Access subscription on Google Cloud, you needto complete the following steps:

  1. Give Google Cloud access to the images in your Red HatCloud Access subscription.
  2. Use Google Cloud console or Google Cloud CLI to create the VM.

Give your Google Group access to your RHEL subscription

To provide your Google Group with access to RHEL BYOS images, complete thefollowing steps:

  1. Select an existing or create aGoogle Group.
  2. Add all users and service accounts that you want to use these BYOS images,to the Google Group. SeeAdd people to your group.
  3. Log into theRed Hat Customer Portal and complete the following steps:
    1. On the navigation menu, selectCloud Access.
    2. ClickEnable a new provider.
    3. In theSelect a Red Hat Certified Cloud and Service Provider menu,selectGoogle Compute Engine.
    4. Enter yourGoogle Compute Engine ID. This is theemail address for the Google Group that you created in step one.
    5. Select the products that you want to enable.
    6. ClickEnable.

It might take 3-4 hours for your Google Cloud account to belinked to the Red Hat Customer Portal.

Understanding RHEL BYOS projects

rhel-byos-cloud is a public Google Cloud project that contains a list of allavailable RHEL BYOS images. You can reference this project to find the correctimage name or family that you will then use to create your own VM instance inyour project. The images are managed by Google Cloud, but they canonly be used if you have properly enabled your RHEL BYOS subscription.

Create the VM

After you give your Google Group access to your RHEL subscription, yourRHEL BYOS images are available in the public Google Cloudrhel-byos-cloud projecton Compute Engine, but you will create your own VM in your own project.

Console

The Google Cloud console simplifies this process by automatically presenting theavailable RHEL BYOS images from therhel-byos-cloud project.

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

    Go to Create an instance

  2. Specify aName for your VM. For more information, seeResource naming convention.

  3. Optional: Change theZone for this VM. If you selectAny,Google automatically chooses a zone for you based on machine typeand availability.

  4. Select aMachine configuration for your VM.

  5. In theBoot disk section, clickChange.

  6. In thePublic images tab, complete the following steps:

    1. In theOperating system drop-down, select one of the following:
      • Red Hat Enterprise Linux
      • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP
    2. In theVersion Type drop-down, select the image thatyou want to use.
    3. In theLicense type section, selectBring your own subscription or license (BYOS/BYOL).
    4. Specify boot disk type.
    5. Specify boot disk size.
    6. Optional: For advanced configuration options, clickShow advanced configuration.
    7. To confirm your boot disk options, clickSelect.

  7. Make additional VM customizations, as needed.

  8. To create and start the VM, clickCreate.

gcloud

Creating a VM with the Google Cloud CLI is a two-step process to make sureyou use the correct image from therhel-byos-cloud project.

  1. To find the RHEL BYOS image you want to use. Run the following command to list the available images in therhel-byos-cloud project:

    gcloud compute images list \ --project=rhel-byos-cloud \ --filter="name ~ rhel-byos"

    From the command output, note thename of the image you want to use. For example, the name might berhel-9-byos orrhel-9-2-sap-byos.

  2. Create the VM with a BYOS image in your own project by referencing the image you found in the previous step by running thegcloud compute instances create commandwith yourPROJECT_ID andIMAGE_NAME.

     gcloud compute instances createVM_NAME \ --project=PROJECT_ID \ --image=IMAGE_NAME

    Replace the following:

    • VM_NAME:name of thenew VM
    • PROJECT_ID: your project ID where you want to create the VM
    • IMAGE_NAME: the specific image name thatyou want to use

What's next

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Last updated 2025-12-15 UTC.