Google Cloud Interconnect

Google Cloud Interconnect Video

You can transfer data reliably between your Equinix on-premises network and the Google Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) network by using Google Cloud Interconnect, which includes these features:

  • Low latency, high availability connections between both networks

  • Internal IP address communication to ensure that internal IP addresses are directly accessible from both networks

Google Cloud Interconnect offers the following choices to extend your on-premises network:

  • Dedicated Interconnect – Provides a direct physical connection between your on-premises network and Google's network. Available from Equinix as a cross connect that can be ordered from the Equinix Customer Portal (ECP).

  • Partner Interconnect – Provides connectivity between your on-premises and VPC networks through a supported service provider, available as a Virtual Connection from the Equinix Fabric portal.

To decide which offering suits your needs, see the Cloud Interconnect section in Choosing a Network Connectivity product.

Create a Virtual Connection for Partner Interconnect on the Fabric Portal

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

  • A Google Cloud Portal account

  • An Equinix Customer Portal (ECP) account

  • An Equinix Fabric account

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. From the Google Cloud Platform, go to Hybrid Connectivity and select Interconnect.
  2. Select Partner Interconnect, then click Continue.
  3. Because Equinix will be the service provider, click I already have a service provider.
  4. Select a redundancy option.

  5. Select a VPC network, a region, and a cloud router, or create one. Enter a VLAN attachment name and click Create.

    6. 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. Sign 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 Steps: Create a Connection to Google Cloud via Partner Interconnect.

  6. Select the Google Cloud Platform card, then from your zone, click Create Connection.
  7. Choose an origin port and Google Cloud Interconnect destination metro, then click Next.

  8. Enter your preferred 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.

  9. Select a Connection Speed, then click Next.

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

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.