Google has announced machine images, a new type of Compute Engine resource that contains all the information people need to create, backup or restore a virtual machine, reducing the amount of time people spend managing their Cloud environment.

Custom images capture the contents of a single disk, for example, a boot disk, which can be used to create new instances that are preconfigured with the apps that you need.

Machine images are a more comprehensive resource that can contain multiple disks, as well as all of the information required to capture and create a new instance.

According to Google, it will reduce the time network admins and data scientists spend managing their cloud environments by eliminating extra steps and streamlining operations.

"In addition to storing complete instance properties and data, machine images use the same differential disk backup technology that powers incremental snapshots, giving you fast, reliable and cost-effective instance backups," explained Ari Liberman, Product Manager, Google Compute Engine.

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"The new machine images make it easy to create new instances at the heart of your scalability, backup and disaster recovery strategy," he added in a statement. (IANS)