Quick Connect to Google Cloud Platform (Port, Service Token, Cloud Router, Metal VLAN)

Quick Connect to Google allows you to create connections in a single portal, without needing to log in to the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to create a Google pairing key. Use Quick Connect to establish connections from Fabric ports, Fabric Cloud Routers, Metal VLANs, or using service tokens.

Note: For instructions on connecting from a Network Edge virtual device, see Connect to Google Cloud Platform (Network Edge Device).

Prerequisites

Before creating a connection to Google Cloud Platform from a Fabric port, a Fabric Cloud Router, a Metal VLAN or using an A-side service token, you must have:

  • An Equinix Fabric account, with the following IAM roles assigned: Fabric Connections Manager.

  • A Fabric port(s), an A-side service token, a Metal VLAN, or a Fabric Cloud Router instance. For details, see Fabric Port Requirements.

  • A valid Google account to access Google connections.

  • A dedicated router in the Google Cloud Account to create a connection, with the ASN number set as 16550.

  • An enabled compute API in an existing project.

  • 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 quota will result in failed connection provisioning.

Create a Connection Using Quick Connect and Sign in with Google

To create a connection to Google Cloud Platform using Quick Connect and Sign in with Google:

  1. Log in to Equinix Fabric.

  2. From the Connections menu, select Create Connection.

  3. In the A Service Provider card, click Connect to a Service Provider.

  4. Locate the Google Cloud Platform card and click Quick Connect.

  5. Click Sign in to Google to create pairing keys, review the prerequisites, then click Sign In.

  6. Select a connection type:

    • Redundant - Create a redundant pair of connections.

    • Primary - Create a single, primary connection.

    • Secondary - Create a single, secondary connection.

  7. From the Google Cloud Destination drop-down list, select the metro you want to connect to.

    Tip: If you want to terminate your primary and secondary connections in different locations, deselect the Use the same destination for both Connections option and select the metro for each connection individually.

  8. Select your GCP project, choose a VPC network and select a region.

  9. In the VLAN A section:

    • Cloud Router – Choose from the cloud routers available in the selected project, network, and region.

    • VLAN Attachment – Enter a name for the primary VLAN attachment.

    • Description – Enter an optional description.

    • Maximum Transmission Unit – Select packet frame size.

  10. In the VLAN B section:

    • Cloud Router – Choose the same cloud router you selected in the VLAN A section.

    • VLAN Attachment – Enter a name for the secondary VLAN attachment.

    • Description – Enter an optional description.

    • Maximum Transmission Unit – Select packet frame size.

  11. Click Next.

    Note: VLAN attachments created via Quick Connect are pre-activated.

  12. Configure your connections depending on the origin asset type:

    1. From the Origin Asset Type drop-down list, select Port.

    2. In the Primary Connection section:

      • Click + Select Primary Port, then select your primary connection port and click Select Port.

        Note: Only primary ports are available for selection.

      • Enter the primary connection name.
      • Select a bandwidth.
      • Enter a VLAN ID (applicable to Dot1q ports) or a Customer VLAN Tag (C-tag) and a Service VLAN Tag (S-tag) (applicable to Qinq ports).

    3. In the Secondary Connection section:

      • Click + Select Secondary Port, then select your secondary connection port and click Select Port.

        Note: Only secondary ports are available for selection.

      • Enter the secondary connection name.
      • Select a bandwidth.
      • Enter a VLAN ID (applicable to Dot1q ports) or a Customer VLAN Tag (C-tag) and a Service VLAN Tag (S-tag) (applicable to Qinq ports).

    4. Click Next.

    1. From the Origin Asset Type drop-down list, select Cloud Router.

    2. Click + Select Cloud Router, select a cloud router instance, then click Select Cloud Router.

    3. In the Primary Connection section:

      • Enter the primary connection name.

      • Select a bandwidth.

        Note: The bandwidth value you select will also apply to the secondary connection.

    4. In the Secondary Connection section, enter your secondary connection name.

    5. Click Next.

    1. From the Origin Asset Type drop-down list, select Service Token.

    2. In the Primary Connection section:

      • Click + Enter Primary Service Token, provide the service token, then click Enter Service Token.

      • Enter the primary connection name.

      • Select a bandwidth.

    3. In the Secondary Connection section:

      • Click + Enter Secondary Service Token, provide the service token, then click Enter Service Token.
      • Enter the secondary connection name.
      • Select a bandwidth.

    4. Click Next.

    Important: In case of Fabric connections originating from a Metal VLAN, the charges for the Fabric connection are added to your Equinix Metal invoice.

    1. From the Origin Asset Type drop-down list, select Metal VLAN.

    2. Select the project that your connections will be assigned to. For more information, see Identity and Access Management - Projects.

    3. In the Primary Connection section:

      • Click + Select Primary VLAN, then select your primary Metal VLAN and click Select VLAN.

        Note:
        • Only VLANs located in the same metro as the previously selected destination metro are available for selection.
        • The list contains VLANs associated with organizations and projects that you have been granted access to.

        Tip: You can filter the list by organizations and projects.

      • Enter the primary connection name.

      • Select a bandwidth.

        Note: The bandwidth value you select will also apply to the secondary connection.

    4. In the Secondary Connection section:

      • Click + Select Secondary VLAN, then select your secondary Metal VLAN and click Select VLAN.

        Note: Only VLANs located in the same metro as the previously selected AWS destination metro are available for selection.

      • Enter the secondary connection name.

    5. Click Next.

  13. Provide the email addresses of the recipients to be notified about the connection's status.

  14. Enter or add purchase order number.

    1. Click Select Purchase Order Number.

    2. Click Select an Existing Purchase Order.

    3. Select purchase order number you want to apply to your order, then click Done.

  15. Provide customer reference identifier, that will help you identify this order on your invoice.

  16. Review the connection details and click Create Connection.

    Tip: Click Show Order Summary to see order details and connection pricing information.

Create a Connection Using Quick Connect and Pairing Keys

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.

To create Pairing Keys:

  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 and 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 a description.

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

    9. 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 a Connection in the Equinix Fabric Portal

To create a connection to Google Cloud Platform using Quick Connect and Pairing Keys:

  1. Log in to Equinix Fabric.

  2. From the Connections menu, select Create Connection.

  3. In the A Service Provider card, click Connect to a Service Provider.

  4. Locate the Google Cloud Platform card and click Quick Connect.

  5. Select a connection type:

    • Redundant - Create a redundant pair of connections.

    • Primary - Create a single, primary connection.

    • Secondary - Create a single, secondary connection.

  6. Enter your Google Cloud Pairing Keys.

  7. From the Google Cloud Destination drop-down list, select the metro you want to connect to, then click Next.

    Tip: If you want to terminate your primary and secondary connections in different locations, deselect the Use the same destination for both Connections option and select the metro for each connection individually.

  8. Configure your connections depending on the origin asset type:

    1. From the Origin Asset Type drop-down list, select Port.

    2. In the Primary Connection section:

      • Click + Select Primary Port, then select your primary connection port and click Select Port.

        Note: Only primary ports are available for selection.

      • Enter the primary connection name.
      • Select a bandwidth.
      • Enter a VLAN ID (applicable to Dot1q ports) or a Customer VLAN Tag (C-tag) and a Service VLAN Tag (S-tag) (applicable to Qinq ports).

    3. In the Secondary Connection section:

      • Click + Select Secondary Port, then select your secondary connection port and click Select Port.

        Note: Only secondary ports are available for selection.

      • Enter the secondary connection name.
      • Select a bandwidth.
      • Enter a VLAN ID (applicable to Dot1q ports) or a Customer VLAN Tag (C-tag) and a Service VLAN Tag (S-tag) (applicable to Qinq ports).

    4. Click Next.

    1. From the Origin Asset Type drop-down list, select Cloud Router.

    2. Click + Select Cloud Router, select a cloud router instance, then click Select Cloud Router.

    3. In the Primary Connection section:

      • Enter the primary connection name.

      • Select a bandwidth.

        Note: The bandwidth value you select will also apply to the secondary connection.

    4. In the Secondary Connection section, enter your secondary connection name.

    5. Click Next.

    1. From the Origin Asset Type drop-down list, select Service Token.

    2. In the Primary Connection section:

      • Click + Enter Primary Service Token, provide the service token, then click Enter Service Token.

      • Enter the primary connection name.

      • Select a bandwidth.

    3. In the Secondary Connection section:

      • Click + Enter Secondary Service Token, provide the service token, then click Enter Service Token.
      • Enter the secondary connection name.
      • Select a bandwidth.

    4. Click Next.

    Important: In case of Fabric connections originating from a Metal VLAN, the charges for the Fabric connection are added to your Equinix Metal invoice.

    1. From the Origin Asset Type drop-down list, select Metal VLAN.

    2. Select the project that your connections will be assigned to. For more information, see Identity and Access Management - Projects.

    3. In the Primary Connection section:

      • Click + Select Primary VLAN, then select your primary Metal VLAN and click Select VLAN.

        Note:
        • Only VLANs located in the same metro as the previously selected destination metro are available for selection.
        • The list contains VLANs associated with organizations and projects that you have been granted access to.

        Tip: You can filter the list by organizations and projects.

      • Enter the primary connection name.

      • Select a bandwidth.

        Note: The bandwidth value you select will also apply to the secondary connection.

    4. In the Secondary Connection section:

      • Click + Select Secondary VLAN, then select your secondary Metal VLAN and click Select VLAN.

        Note: Only VLANs located in the same metro as the previously selected AWS destination metro are available for selection.

      • Enter the secondary connection name.

    5. Click Next.

  9. Provide the email addresses of the recipients to be notified about the connection's status.

  10. Enter or add purchase order number.

    1. Click Select Purchase Order Number.

    2. Click Select an Existing Purchase Order.

    3. Select purchase order number you want to apply to your order, then click Done.

  11. Enter customer reference identifier, that will help you identify this order on your invoice.

  12. Review connection details and click Create Connection.

    Tip: Click Show Order Summary to see order details and connection pricing information.

Connect to Google Cloud Platform Using API

You can use Fabric's API to automate this procedure and integrate it with your internal systems. For details, see Connect to Google Cloud Partner Interconnect.