Overview of on-premises to GCP migration

This overview outlines the general steps required for migrating VMs from vSphere to Google Cloud using Google Cloud Migrate for Compute Engine (formerly Velostrata).

GCP prerequisites

Before beginning a migration to Google Cloud, Identity and Access Management permissions need to be created.

Set up a VPN

Plan for a secure connection between your on-premises datacenter and Google Cloud. Cloud VPN and Cloud Interconnect are both options you can use to build a secure connection.

Configure Firewall Rules on Google Cloud

Create firewall rules on both Google Cloud and your on-premises, AWS, or Azure environments.

Set up the Migrate for Compute Engine Manager

The Migrate for Compute Engine Manager on Google Cloud provides a web UI and controls migration operations from Google Cloud. Configure the Migrate for Compute Engine Manager on Google Cloud to continue.

Configure vSphere and set up the Migrate for Compute Engine Backend

To set up vSphere and Migrate for Compute Engine, you must do the following:

  • Create a role
  • Configure the Migrate for Compute Engine On-Premises Backend virtual appliance for vSphere

These instructions are on the Deploying the Migrate for Compute Engine Backend page.

Create Cloud Extensions

After configuring the Manager and Backend, create Cloud Extensions for your migration.

Prepare your Linux VMs

If you are migrating Linux VMs, install the Migrate for Compute Engine package to reconfigure them for Google Cloud.

Migrate a single VM

You are now ready to Run a VM in the Cloud from the vSphere console.

Migrate a wave of VMs

Migrate for Compute Engine organizes groups of VMs into Waves. After understanding the dependencies of your applications, create runbooks that contain groups of VMs and begin your migration!