Connect to Google Cloud Platform

The Equinix Fabric portal provides a semi-automated provisioning experience for Partner Interconnect that is API integrated for 100% self-service and faster provisioning.

Prerequisites

• An Equinix Customer Portal (ECP) account.

• An Equinix Fabric account.

• A Fabric port(s). For details, see Fabric Port Requirements

• A Google Cloud account.

• Sufficient Google VLAN attachment quotas available.

  Tip: Log in to your Google Cloud Console and make sure you have sufficient VLAN attachment quota available to accommodate new connections. Request additional quota if necessary. Insufficient VLAN attachment quote will result in failed connection provisioning.

The connection process involves creating a Pairing Key in the Google Cloud Portal, copying the Pairing Key (or two keys for redundant connections), using the Pairing Key when creating a connection to the Equinix Fabric Portal, and finally, verifying and configuring your connection to the desired Google VPC in the Google Cloud Portal.

Create Pairing Keys in the Google Cloud Portal

Tip: Equinix recommends that you create two Pairing Keys for redundant connections. A customer receives an SLA for Partner Interconnect if they have a minimum of two VLAN attachments (Virtual Connections on Fabric). Google offers both a 99.9% and a 99.99% SLA for Partner Interconnect. The SLA that a customer receives is based on the number of VLAN attachments (Virtual Connections) that are configured. For more details, see Partner Interconnect overview.

1. In the Google Cloud Platform, go to Networking product catalog and select Network Connectivity.

   

2. Select Interconnect, then click CREATE VLAN ATTACHMENTS.

   

3. Select Partner Interconnect connection, then click Continue.

4. Because Equinix will be the service provider, click I ALREADY HAVE A SERVICE PROVIDER.

   

5. Select a redundancy option.

   Note: To ensure high availability, we recommend you create a redundant pair of VLAN attachments.
   
   

   Tip: When you create a single VLAN attachment in Google Cloud Console, you cannot explicitly choose the Edge Availability Domain that the VLAN attachment will be assigned to. To make sure you have the correct pairing key available that matches your Fabric port priority, create a pair of VLAN attachments, use the one that corresponds to your port, then delete the unused VLAN attachment.

6. Select a VPC network, a region.

7. In the VLAN (A/B) section:

   • Select a cloud router instance.

     Tip: Click CREATE NEW ROUTER to create a new cloud router instance.

   • Enter a VLAN attachment name.

   • Provide description.

   • Select Maximum transmission unit (MTU).
8. Click CREATE.

Copy the Pairing Key that is generated to the clipboard, then click OK.

Note: You don't need to pre-activate the VLAN attachments.

The status from the service provider is displayed.

Create Connection in the Equinix Fabric Portal

1. Log in to Equinix Fabric.

2. From the Connections menu, select Create Connection.

3. Select the Google Cloud Platform card.

4. Under the Service Profile that corresponds to the Pairing Key zone (Zone 1 or Zone 2) to which you want to provision a connection, click Create Connection.

5. Review the high-level process for connecting to Google Cloud via Partner Interconnect, then click Create a Connection to Google Cloud Partner Interconnect Zone 1.

   

6. Choose an origin port and Google Cloud Interconnect destination metro, then click Next.

7. Enter Connection Name and VLAN ID, then paste in the Google Pairing Key from your clipboard.

   Note: You must use the Pairing Key that corresponds to the selected zone, which is identified by /1 or /2 at the end of the Pairing Key value.

   

8. Select a Connection Speed, then click Next.

9. Preview the Connection Summary, Pricing Overview, and Notifications sections, then click Submit your Order.

10. For redundant connections, repeat steps 2 - 9 to create the second connection.

Tip: You can use Fabric's API to automate or integrate this procedure. For more information, see Equinix Fabric API - Connect to Google Cloud Partner Interconnect.

Verify the Connection in the Google Cloud Portal

Once the provisioning job has been completed in the Equinix Fabric Portal, you can verify that your connection was created in the Google Cloud Portal.

1. In the Interconnect section of the Google Cloud Portal, click Refresh at the top of your browser page. The Status displays Activation needed.

2. Click Activate, then click Accept. The Status updates to BGP configuration needed.

3. Click Configure BGP.

4. In the Peer ASN field, enter the ASN number for your on-premise router. Click Save and continue.

5. Review the Configuring on-premises routers page to complete any steps needed to connect your router to your Google Cloud environment via Google Cloud Interconnect.

For more information on creating connections for Google Cloud Interconnect, see the Google Cloud Interconnect documentation.