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Accelerate data science with new Dataproc multi-tenant clusters

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With the rapid growth of AI/ML, data science teams need a better notebook experience to meet the growing demand for and importance of their work to drive innovation. Additionally, scaling data science workloads also creates new challenges for infrastructure management. Allocating compute resources per user provides strong isolation (the technical separation of workloads, processes, and data from one another), but may cause inefficiencies due to siloed resources. Shared compute resources offer more opportunities for efficiencies, but with a sacrifice in isolation. The benefit of one comes at the expense of the other. There has to be a better way… We are announcing a new Dataproc capability: multi-tenant clusters. This new feature provides a Dataproc cluster deployment model suitable for many data scientists running their notebook workloads at the same time. The shared cluster model allows infrastructure administrators to improve compute resource efficiency and cost optimization without compromising granular, per-user authorization to data resources, such as Google Cloud Storage (GCS) buckets. This isn't just about optimizing infrastructure; it's about accelerating the entire cycle of innovation that your business depends on. When your data science platform operates with less friction, your teams can move directly from hypothesis to insight to production faster. This allows your organization to answer critical business questions faster, iterate on machine learning models more frequently, and ultimately, deliver data-powered features and improved experiences to your customers ahead of the competition. It helps evolve your data platform from a necessary cost center into a strategic engine for growth. aside_block <ListValue: [StructValue([('title', '$300 in free credit to try Google Cloud data analytics'), ('body', <wagtail.rich_text.RichText object at 0x3dfceca8c700>), ('btn_text', ''), ('href', ''), ('image', None)])]> How it works This new feature builds upon Dataproc's previously established service account multi-tenancy. For clusters in this configuration, only a restricted set of users declared by the administrator may submit their workloads. Administrators also declare a mapping of users to service accounts. When a user runs a workload, all access to Google Cloud resources is authenticated only as their specific mapped service account. Administrators control authorization in Identity Access Management (IAM), such as granting one service account access to a set of Cloud Storage buckets and another service account access to a different set of buckets. As part of this launch, we've made several key usability improvements to service account multi-tenancy. Previously, the mapping of users to service accounts was established at cluster creation time and unmodifiable. We now support changing the mapping on a running cluster, so that administrators can adapt more quickly to changing organizational requirements. We've also added the ability to externalize the mapping to a YAML file for easier management of a large user base. Jupyter notebooks establish connections to the cluster via the Jupyter Kernel Gateway. The gateway launches each user's Jupyter kernels, distributed across the cluster's worker nodes. Administrators can horizontally scale the worker nodes to meet end user demands either by manually adjusting the number of worker nodes or by using an autoscaling policy. Notebook users can choose Vertex AI Workbench for a fully managed Google Cloud experience or bring their own third-party JupyterLab deployment. In either model, the BigQuery JupyterLab Extension integrates with Dataproc cluster resources. Vertex AI Workbench instances can deploy the extension automatically, or users can install it manually in their third-party JupyterLab deployments. Under the hood Dataproc multi-tenant clusters are automatically configured with additional hardening to isolate independent user workloads: All containers launched by YARN run as a dedicated operating system user that matches the authenticated Google Cloud user. Each OS user also has a dedicated Kerberos principal for authentication to Hadoop-based Remote Procedure Call (RPC) services, such as YARN. Each OS user is restricted to accessing only the Google Cloud credentials of their mapped service account. The cluster’s compute service account credentials are inaccessible to end user notebook workloads. Administrators use IAM policies to define least-privilege access authorization for each mapped service account. How to use it Step 1: Create a service account multi-tenancy mappingPrepare a YAML file containing your user service account mapping, and store it in a Cloud Storage bucket. For example: code_block <ListValue: [StructValue([('code', 'user_service_account_mapping:rn bob@my-company.com: service-account-for-bob@iam.gserviceaccount.comrn alice@my-company.com: service-account-for-alice@iam.gserviceaccount.com'), ('language', ''), ('caption', <wagtail.rich_text.RichText object at 0x3dfceca8c1f0>)])]> Step 2: Create a Dataproc multi-tenant clusterCreate a new multi-tenant Dataproc cluster using the user mapping file and the new JUPYTER_KERNEL_GATEWAY optional component. code_block <ListValue: [StructValue([('code', 'gcloud dataproc clusters create my-cluster \rn --identity-config-file=gs://bucket/path/to/identity-config-file \rn --service-account=cluster-service-account@iam.gserviceaccount.com \rn --region=region \rn --optional-components=JUPYTER_KERNEL_GATEWAY \rn other args ...'), ('language', ''), ('caption', <wagtail.rich_text.RichText object at 0x3dfceca8c940>)])]> If you need to change the user service account mapping later, you can do so by updating the cluster: code_block <ListValue: [StructValue([('code', 'gcloud dataproc clusters update my-cluster \rn --identity-config-file=gs://bucket/path/to/identity-config-file \rn --region=region'), ('language', ''), ('caption', <wagtail.rich_text.RichText object at 0x3dfceca8c820>)])]> Step 3: Create a Vertex AI Workbench instance with Dataproc kernels enabledFor users of VertexAI Workbench, create an instance with Dataproc kernels enabled. This automatically installs the BigQuery JupyterLab extension. Step 4: Install the BigQuery JupyterLab extension in third-party deploymentsFor users of third-party JupyterLab deployments, such as running on a local laptop, install the BigQuery JupyterLab extension manually. Step 5: Launch kernels in the Dataproc clusterOpen the JupyterLab application either from a Vertex AI Workbench instance or on your local machine. The JupyterLab Launcher page opens in your browser. It shows the Dataproc Cluster Notebooks sections if you have access to Dataproc clusters with the Jupyter Optional component or Jupyter Kernel Gateway component. To change the region and project: Select Settings > Cloud Dataproc Settings. On the Setup Config tab, under Project Info, change the Project ID and Region, and then click Save. Restart JupyterLab to make the changes take effect. Select the kernel spec corresponding to your multi-tenant cluster. Once the kernel spec is selected, the kernel is launched and it takes about 30-50 seconds for the kernel to go from Initializing to Idle state. Once the kernel is in Idle state, it is ready for execution. Get started with multi-tenant clusters Stop choosing between security and efficiency. With Dataproc's new multi-tenant clusters, you can empower your data science teams with a fast, collaborative environment while maintaining centralized control and optimizing costs. This new capability is more than just an infrastructure update; it's a way to accelerate your innovation lifecycle. This feature is now available in public preview. Get started today by exploring the technical documentation and creating your first multi-tenant cluster. Your feedback is crucial as we continue to evolve the platform, so please share your thoughts with us at dataproc-feedback@google.com.

All the news from Apple’s iPhone 17 keynote

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Apple is ready to announce the iPhone 17 line, and this promises to be a bigger launch than most. We’re expecting a major redesign to the cameras and looking forward to an entirely new addition to the lineup: the extra-thin iPhone 17 Air. Alongside the new iPhones, Apple is likely to update its Apple Watch […]

Inside the Man vs. Machine Hackathon

At a weekend hackathon in San Francisco, more than 100 coders gathered to test whether they could beat AI—and win a $12,500 cash prize.

Announcing partner-built AI security innovations on Google Cloud

Securing AI systems is a fundamental requirement for business continuity and customer trust, and Google Cloud is at the forefront of driving secure AI innovations and working with partners to meet the evolving needs of customers.  Our secure-by-design cloud platform and built-in security solutions are continuously updated with the latest defenses, helping security-conscious organizations confidently build and deploy AI workloads. We are also collaborating with our partners to give our customers choice and flexibility to secure their AI workloads, encompassing models, data, apps, and agents. Many of our partners are using Google Cloud's AI to build new defenses and automate security operations, transforming the security landscape. That’s hardly surprising, given that agentic AI is poised to create a nearly $1 trillion global market, according to a new study by the Boston Consulting Group for Google Cloud. Today, we’re excited to announce new security solutions from our partners, also available in the Google Cloud Marketplace. Apiiro has introduced its AutoFix AI Agent to streamline developer workflows. It integrates with Gemini Code Assist to automatically generate remediated code based on an organization's software development lifecycle context. Broadcom has integrated Gemini across its Symantec Security products for threat detection, incident summarization, prediction, natural language query and policy summarization. Exabeam has provided unified visibility into both human and agent activity by applying behavioral analytics to data from Google Agentspace and Model Armor. Security teams can use it to gain a comprehensive understanding of how AI agents are operating and quickly identify any anomalous behavior that could signal a threat.   Fortinet has enhanced application security with FortiWeb, which can protect applications from intentional attacks while also incorporating Data Loss Prevention to safeguard personally identifiable information used in AI applications. Fortinet has also unveiled how its product ecosystem can help secure AI workloads on Google Cloud.  F5 has worked to address critical areas of API security for generative AI applications and large language models, including prompt injection and API sprawl, with its Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP). Menlo Security has offered gen AI analysis enabled by Gemini with its HEAT Shield AI. This technology expands protection against social engineering and brand impersonation attacks that target users in the browser.  Netskope has introduced DLP On Demand, designed to expand data-loss prevention directly to AI-enabled applications. Integrated into Google Cloud’s Vertex AI and Gemini ecosystem, DLP On Demand offers sensitive data protection, can prevent data leakage, and can enable customers to safely adopt AI without compromising their security or compliance posture. Palo Alto Networks has designed Prisma AIRS to protect AI and agentic workloads on Google Cloud, including Vertex AI and Agentspace. With Cloud WAN, Prisma Access can provide high-bandwidth and performant connectivity to AI and other cloud-based applications.  Ping Identity is releasing Gemini-based models on the Vertex platform to build identity-focused agents and applications that use Google's powerful generative AI services. These models support reasoning as well as embedding models in RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) applications that assist administrators and users with contextually-relevant answers to their prompts. Transmit Security has used Google Cloud’s AI in Mosaic platform to deliver identity and fraud prevention for the era of consumer AI agents. It can help enterprises improve the human–agent relationship across the full identity lifecycle, from login to high-risk account activity.  Wiz has added support for Gemini Code Assist, tackling the critical gap between AI-enabled development workflows and real-time security intelligence. In addition, to make it easier to discover and deploy agentic tools, we’ve added the new Agent Tools category in the Google Cloud Marketplace.  Collaborating across cybersecurity, including security operations, application and agent security, identity and data protection, our partners are extending the reach of AI-driven defense. They’re actively developing and integrating solutions that use our AI-native tools and platforms, and enabling end-to-end security throughout the entire AI lifecycle, from model to agent development. Together, we invite you to explore these innovations further and join us in shaping a more secure, AI-driven future. You can learn more about our security partner ecosystem here.

Tesla says its new Megablock can cut costs for renewable energy storage.

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At an event in Las Vegas yesterday, Tesla revealed a new utility-scale battery configuration that it claims can significantly lower construction costs for utilities, along with faster installation. Its new “Megablock” is pre-engineered; more assembly done in a factory allows for 23 percent faster installation, according to Tesla. That’s supposed to translate to up to […]