Hi guys!
To better understand how steemd works, I have set up a proof of concept witness using the Compute Engine in Google Cloud.
Here is my setup for now:
- Machine type: custom (2 vCPUs, 18 GB memory)
- CPU platform: Intel Ivy Bridge
- Zone: us-central1-f
I didn't setup a seed node yet, as I hear is not really required.
The setup itself went very smoothly thanks to 
https://steemit.com/witness/@jerrybanfield/get-a-steem-witness-seed-online-today-with-these-ubuntu-linux-commands
I have had only one issue, having set the initial memory to 16GB, I discovered it was not enough.
Thankfully, on the compute engine console this could be remedied with a simple edit of the VM and increasing the value to the custom 18GB value.
Please throw in some votes https://steemit.com/~witnesses, just search for 
I don't expect to get very far with the current setup. If this proves lucrative I will engage in setting up a more suitable machine.
Cheers,
Bambache