Connecting to Google Cloud Services

Megaport supports these private and public options to access Google Cloud offerings.

• Partner Interconnect – to access the private address space (RFC 1918) to access a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
• Direct Peering – for public access

Partner Interconnect

Megaport makes it easy to provision fast, secure, and private connections between a customer’s data center and Google Cloud Platform. As part of the Google Cloud Interconnect (GCI) Partner program, Megaport provides users with dedicated access to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and enables customers to create private connections between their remote network environments and their Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) deployments.

The benefits of creating GCI Partner Connections with Megaport include:

• Enhanced security and higher network performance
• Connectivity reach beyond Google’s existing network locations
• Scalable connectivity for those who do not require the full bandwidth of Google’s Dedicated Interconnect
• Savings on egress traffic costs from the customer’s VPC network to their on-premises network
• API integration between Megaport and Google Cloud which simplifies the provisioning of connections for a fast and seamless experience

When connecting to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) through Partner Interconnect with Megaport, the Virtual Cross Connect (VXC) forms the Layer 2 component of the connection and Layer 3 BGP is established directly between the customer and GCP. Through Partner Interconnect, a customer can access VMs (Virtual Machines) built within a VPC.

Creating a VXC to the Google Cloud Platform

  Watch a 13-minute video overview of connecting to the Google Cloud.

Before you begin, make sure you’ve performed these tasks:

• Created a Partner Interconnect attachment in Google Cloud Console or gcloud CLI.
• Copied the pairing key that is provided as part of the attachment creation.

To deploy a VXC to Google Cloud Platform

1. Log in to your Google Cloud Console and create a pairing key.

2. From the main menu in the console, select Hybrid Connectivity > Interconnect.
   

3. Click Get Started.

4. Select Partner Interconnect and click Continue.
   

5. Click I already have a service provider.
   

6. Configure your attachment.
   
   Provide the following details:

   • Redundancy – Review the options for redundancy and select. You can create redundant Attachments or single Attachment.

   • Network – Select VPC network you want your VPC to connect.

   • Region – Select region where your attachment will connect.

   • Cloud Router – A Cloud Router to associate with this attachment. You can only choose a Cloud Router in the VPC network and region that you selected with an ASN of 16550. If you don’t have an existing Cloud Router, create one with an ASN of 16550. For redundancy, each VLAN attachment must be associated with a unique Cloud Router. Google automatically adds an interface and a BGP peer on the Cloud Router.

   • VLAN attachment name – Lowercase letters only.

   • Description – An optional field.

   • Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) – To use the 1500-byte MTU, the VPC network using the attachment must have an MTU set to 1500. In addition, the on-premises VMs and routers must have an MTU set to 1500. If your network has the default MTU of 1460, leave the field at 1440.

7. Click Create.
   A pairing key appears.

8. Copy the pairing key and click OK.
   

9. In the Megaport Portal, create a VXC to your Google peering location: click +Connection on the Port for your VXC.
   This example has Google GCI Partner as the selected Port.
   

10. Click the Cloud tile.
    

11. Select Google as the provider.
    

12. Copy and paste the pairing key from the Google Cloud console into the field in the right-hand panel.
    The relevant Google targets appear based on the region of your GCI Partner connection.

13. Select your chosen target location for your first connection and click Next.

14. Specify the connection details:

    • Connection Name – The name of your VXC to be shown in the Megaport Portal.

    • Service Level Reference (optional) – Specify a unique identifying number for the VXC to be used for billing purposes, such as a cost center number or a unique customer ID. The service level reference number appears for each service under the Product section of the invoice. You can also edit this field for an existing service.

    • Rate Limit – The speed of your connection in Mbps. Enter the same rate you selected for your Google port speed.

    • VXC State – Select Enabled or Shut Down to define the initial state of the connection. For more information, see Shutting Down a VXC for Failover Testing.

      Note

      If you select Shut Down, traffic will not flow through this service and it will behave as if it was down on the Megaport network. Billing for this service will remain active and you will still be charged for this connection.

    • Preferred A-End VLAN – The VLAN for this connection that you will receive through the Port.
      This must be a unique VLAN ID on this Port and can range from 2 to 4093. If you specify a VLAN ID that is already in use, the system displays the next available VLAN number. The VLAN ID must be unique to proceed with the order. If you don’t specify a value, Megaport will assign one.

      Alternatively, you can click Untag. This selection removes the VLAN tagging for this connection but also means that only one VXC can be deployed on this Port.

    • Minimum Term – Select No Minimum Term, 12 Months, 24 Months, or 36 Months. Longer terms result in a lower monthly rate. 12 Months is selected by default.
      Take note of the information on the screen to avoid early termination fees (ETF). See VXC Pricing and Contract Terms and VXC, Megaport Internet, and IX Billing for more information.

      Note

      Partner-managed accounts can apply a Partner Deal to a service. For more information, see Associating a Deal With a Service.

15. Add the VXC to your cart and configure further VXCs or proceed through the checkout process.

16. To deploy a second connection (recommended), repeat these steps and select “Add a redundant VLAN to an existing VLAN” in step 6. Adding a second connection ensures that you receive redundancy and an SLA from Google.

Once you have completed and deployed the VXC, go back to your attachment in the Google Cloud Console and accept the attachment. You will be provided your private IP address from Google to configure your BGP.

This completes your Layer 2 VXC deployment.

Note

The Google ASN will always be 16550.

For additional details, see the Google documentation on Google Partner Interconnects.

Direct Peering

Direct Peering allows Google Cloud Platform (GCP) customers to connect to Google through carrier-grade connections that can reduce latency and increase availability versus best-effort internet connections.

Direct Peering with Google is achieved by exchanging BGP routes between Google and the customer network. Once Direct Peering is in place, customers can reach all of Google’s services including the full suite of GCP products.

Features and benefits:

• Reduced latency, increase availability
• Reduce data egress cost
• Secure connectivity
• Access to all Google Cloud services and Google apps for business across one connection

When connecting to GCP Direct Peering with Megaport, the Virtual Cross Connect (VXC) forms a Layer 2 VXC between the customer’s Port and Mega-IX or AMS-IX.

Direct Peering Requirements:

• Publicly routable ASN
• Publicly routable address space (at least one /24 of IPv4 and/or one /48 of IPv6 space)

Note

Not all customers meet Google’s Direct Peering requirements. Customers are not required to have 24/7 NOC, but must meet remaining requirements outlined by Google.

Megaport - Google IX Peering Locations:

• MegaIX: Ashburn, Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Singapore, Sofia, Sydney
• AMS-IX: Chicago, New York, Bay Area

See PeeringDB for additional details.

To deploy a Google Direct peering VXC connection

1. Create a VXC in the Megaport Portal to a MegaIX or AMS-IX Peering location.

2. Click +Connection for the Port you want to attach your VXC.
   

3. Select the Internet Exchange tile.
   

4. Select the MegaIX location where a peer will be set up with Google and click Next.
   

5. Provide the details for your VXC:

   • Connection Name – The name of your VXC to be shown in the Megaport Portal.

   • Service Level Reference (optional) – Specify a unique identifying number to be used for billing purposes, such as a cost center number or a unique customer ID. The service level reference number appears for each service under the Product section of the invoice. You can also edit this field for an existing service.

   • Rate Limit – The speed of your connection in Mbps. Accepted values are in 1 Mbps increments up to the Port rate size.
     

6. Click Next.

7. Provide the connection details for the service:

   • Preferred VLAN – The VLAN for this connection that you will receive via the Port. This must be a unique VLAN ID on this Port and can range from 2 to 4093. Alternatively, you can click Untag. This selection removes the VLAN tagging for this connection but also means that only one VXC can be deployed on this Port.
   • ASN – You must own a registered Publicly routable ASN.
   • MAC Address – The MAC address of your device used to peer.
   • Graph Visibility – Select Public or Private visibility. If Public is selected, the usage graph will be visible on the MegaIX. If Private is selected, the usage graph will not be visible.
     
   • Click Next and add the VXC and proceed through the checkout process.

To complete the Google Direct Peering process, you need to register with Google.

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Last update: 2024-04-15