davila7--claude-code-templates/cli-tool/components/skills/development/google-cloud-networking-observability/references/mcp-usage.md

MCP Server Usage Reference

This document describes the Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers used for GCP networking observability.

BigQuery MCP

BigQuery is supported by a remote MCP server that provides tools for automated data management and analysis.

Key Tools

• list_dataset_ids: List BigQuery dataset IDs in a project.
• list_table_ids: List table IDs in a BigQuery dataset.
• get_table_info: Get schema and metadata for a specific table.
• execute_sql_readonly: Run SELECT queries to analyze logs (such as, VPC Flow, Firewall) stored in BigQuery. This is the preferred tool for high-volume aggregations and trend analysis.

Usage Pattern

1. Use list_dataset_ids to find the logging dataset (for example, _AllLogs).
2. Use list_table_ids to find the relevant log table.
3. Use get_table_info to verify field names (for example, jsonPayload versus json_payload).
4. Use execute_sql_readonly for the final analysis.

Cloud Logging MCP

The Cloud Logging MCP server provides access to log entries across various Google Cloud resources.

Key Tools

• list_log_entries: Search and retrieve log entries using advanced filters.
• list_log_names: Discover available logs in a project.

Usage Pattern

• Use for quick, real-time identification of recent events or exploratory analysis where BigQuery datasets are not linked.
• Use specific filters for resource.type and logName to narrow down results.

NetworkManagement MCP

The Network Management MCP server allows for reachability analysis and path diagnostics.

Key Tools

• create_connectivity_test: Start a simulated packet path analysis between two endpoints.
• get_connectivity_test: Poll for the results of a running test.
• delete_connectivity_test: Cleanup the test resource after analysis is complete.

Usage Pattern

• Use when static path analysis is needed to identify firewall or routing blocks.
• CRITICAL: Always delete the test resource after retrieving the result.

Cloud Monitoring MCP

The GcpMon MCP server provides access to Cloud Monitoring metrics and time-series data.

Key Tools

• list_metric_descriptors: Discover available metrics using filters.
• list_timeseries: Retrieve aggregated data points for performance analysis (such as RTT or throughput).

Usage Pattern

• Use for analyzing performance trends, packet loss, and latency.
• Prefer ALIGN_MEAN or ALIGN_PERCENTILE_50 for distribution metrics like RTT to simplify parsing.