Create a stretched private cloud by using VMware Engine

This quickstart explains how to set up Google Cloud VMware Engine and create a stretched private cloud.

Before you begin

To perform the steps in this quickstart, you need access to Google Cloud VMware Engine, available VMware Engine node quota, and an appropriate IAM role.

Prepare the following requirements before you proceed:

  1. Request API access and node quota.

  2. Verify that you're familiar with the address ranges you want to use for VMware management appliances and the HCX deployment network. For details, see Networking requirements.

  3. Have the VMware Engine Service Admin IAM role.

Lastly, the steps in this document assume that you first do the following:

The vSphere or vSAN subnet address space must not overlap with any network that will communicate with the private cloud, such as on-premises networks and Google Cloud Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) networks. For more information about vSphere or vSAN subnets, see VLANs and subnets on VMware Engine.

Create a stretched private cloud

  1. Access the Google Cloud console.
  2. From the main navigation, click Private clouds.
  3. Click Create.
  4. Click Stretched private cloud.
  5. Enter your primary hosting location and select your secondary zone.
  6. Select the node type for your primary cluster.
  7. Select the number of nodes per zone for the stretched private cloud. Create your stretched private cloud with a minimum of 3 nodes per zone.
  8. Optional: Click the Customize Cores toggle if you want to reduce the number of available cores for each node in the management cluster. For details, see Custom core counts.
  9. Enter a CIDR range for the VMware management network. Make sure that the CIDR range doesn't overlap with any of your on-premises or cloud subnets.
  10. Select Create new network to create a new VMware Engine network or select from an existing network, if applicable.
  11. Click Create to begin creating the private cloud.

As VMware Engine creates your new stretched private cloud, it deploys a number of VMware components and divides the provided IP address range into subnets. Stretched private cloud creation can take 30 minutes to 2 hours. After the provisioning is complete, you receive an email.

Connect to your private cloud

To connect to your standard or stretched private cloud vCenter server, establish a secure connection from your network to the private cloud. You can use any of the following options to create a secure connection:

What's next