Setting up Cloud Extensions

Velostrata Cloud Extensions (CEs) can be set up from vSphere vCenter Web Client or the Velostrata Manager.

What is a Cloud Extension (CE)?

A Cloud Extension is a conduit for VM storage between two hosting environments, such as:

  • Between an on-premises data center and GCP
  • Between AWS and GCP.

For more information, see the Cloud Extensions concept page.

Adding a Cloud Extension from vSphere vCenter Web Client

  1. In the vSphere vCenter Web Client, right-click Datacenter and select Velostrata Operations > Add Cloud Extension. The Cloud Access Credentials screen appears. The Cloud Credentials page, showing options to select or create a new credential

  2. On the Cloud Access Credentials screen, choose credentials as follows:

    • Choose Select from existing credentials and select one of the saved credentials, or

    • Select Create a new credential, enter the Credential Name, and click Choose File. Select the Google Cloud credentials JSON file, and then click OK.

  3. Click Next to proceed to the Networks screen.

  4. On the Networks screen:

    1. Select the Project to deploy the CE.
    2. Select your preferred Region and VPC network.
    3. Enter the Edge Network Tags in a comma-separated list.
    4. Enter the Default Network Tags for Workloads in a comma-separated list. These are the default network tags assigned to workloads. See Understanding network tags for more information.
    5. Select the Default Destination Project for Workloads. Setting this is optional. You can use it if you would like to track billing or set up custom network rules for this workload.
    6. Select the Default Service Account for Velostrata Worker used by the instance created when running a Detach operation.
    7. Select the Default Service Account for Workloads.
    8. To use an HTTP(s) Proxy, select Use HTTP Proxy and enter the FQDN or IP address, the Port, and select whether to use the proxy for object store access. For more information, see Setting up the HTTP(s) Proxy.
    9. Click Next to proceed to the Cloud Extension screen.

  5. On the Cloud Extension screen:

    1. Enter the Cloud Extension Name
    2. Select the Service Account for Cloud Extension. This service account must have the Storage Object Admin role.
    3. Select the required Cloud Extension Size (either Large or Small).
    4. Click Next to proceed to the Zones screen.

  6. On the Zones screen,

    1. Select the Availability Zone and Edge Subnet for Edge Nodes A and B of the Cloud Extension.
    2. Select the Default Workload Subnet. This subnet is the default used for running VMs in the Cloud.
    3. Click Next to proceed to the Custom Labels screen.

  7. If you plan to use custom tags to denote workloads or functionality, specify them on the Custom Labels screen:

    1. Enter a Key and Value
    2. Click Add.
    3. Repeat for as many tags as required.
    4. Click Next to proceed to the Summary screen.

  8. Review the summary and click Finish.

For AWS migrations: Adding a Cloud Extension from Velostrata Manager

Follow these steps to create your GCP Cloud Extension:

  1. Log in to the Velostrata Manager.
  2. Click the Target Cloud button. If you are prompted for login credentials, use apiuser and the password you created when setting up Velostrata Manager.
  3. Click the Create button. The Create New Cloud Extension window appears.

  4. Enter the following parameters:

    Parameter Description Auto-populated
    GCP Credentials The credentials that you created from within GCP.

    Those credentials use the Velostrata Management Service Account (velos-gcp-mgmt-sa)

    		Yes
    Project The project where the Cloud Extension are deployed and VMs are migrated. Yes
    Region The region where the Cloud Extension is deployed and VMs are migrated. Yes
    VPC The VPC used for migrations Yes
    Edge Network Tags Tags to activate firewall rules for these VMs. For example, fw-velostrata. No
    Default Network Tags Any firewall or port rules for a particular workload being migrated. For example, fw-workload. No
    Default Destination Project for Workloads The destination project (often created in the host project) where migrated VMs are created. Yes
    Default Service Account for Workloads The service account attached to migrated workloads. Setting this is optional. You can use it if you would like to track billing or set up custom network rules for this workload. Yes
    Default Service Account for Velostrata Worker The service account used by the Velostrata worker instance created when running a Detach operation. Yes
    Networking options:
    Use HTTP Proxy Optional, used only if an HTTP proxy is needed to access the Velostrata Telemetry and Log Reporting. You can also use the HTTP proxy to access APIs for Google Cloud Storage operations. No
    FQDN or IP The FQDN or IP address of the HTTP proxy. Required if the HTTP proxy is enabled. No
    Port The port of the HTTP proxy. Required if the HTTP proxy is enabled. No
    Access object store via proxy Check if applicable. If set, this configures migrated data to be sent over the proxy. Otherwise only control plane data is sent through the proxy.

    Note: this requires substantial bandwidth to be passed through the proxy, which may have performance impacts. It is not recommended.

    		No

    If you are using the default network tags structure described in Setting up GCP networks, specify the following defaults:

    • Edge Nodes Network Tags : fw-velostrata
    • Default Network Tags for Workloads: fw-workload

  5. Complete the Cloud Extension screen:

    Parameter Description Auto-populated Drop Down
    Cloud Extension Name Name for Cloud Extension. No
    Service Account for Cloud Extension The GCP service account running the Cloud Extension: default velos-gcp-worker-sa Yes
    Cloud Extension Size Small (for fewer than 50 VMs migrated in parallel) or Large (for more than 50 VMs migrated in parallel). Yes

  6. Complete the Zones screen:

    Parameter Description Auto-populated Drop Down
    Node A Availability Zone Select two Availability Zones for high availability and redundancy. You can deploy both to the same AZ if desired. Yes
    Node B Availability Zone Yes
    Node A Subnet Select subnets based on your Availability Zone. Yes
    Node B Subnet Yes
    Default Workload Subnet This is the workload subnet used for launching migrated VMs. Yes

  7. (Optional) Complete the Labels screen. Any object created by the Cloud Extension receives these labels, making it easier to review networking logs.

  8. Click OK to create the Cloud Extension. Your Cloud Extension is now created.