Setting up Cloud Extensions

You can set up Migrate for Compute Engine Cloud Extensions (CEs) from vSphere vCenter or the Migrate for Compute Engine Manager.

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

  • Between an on-premises data center and Google Cloud.
  • Between AWS and Google Cloud.
  • Between Azure and Google Cloud.

For more information, see the Cloud Extensions concept page.

Before you begin

  • Be sure your persistent disk quota is high enough to support the Cloud Extensions you'll be adding. Those requirements are described in Cloud Extensions Overview. Adding Cloud Extensions will fail if your persistent disk (SSD PD) quotas are discovered to be too low. If adding Cloud Extensions fails, look for log entries filtered by label:monitored_resource:Velostrata_Manager and log level ERROR.

Adding a Cloud Extension from vSphere vCenter

  1. In the vSphere vCenter, right-click Datacenter and select Migrate for Google Compute Engine Operations > Add Cloud Extension. The Networks screen appears. The Networks Screen, showing networking configuration options for your cloud extension

    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. 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 Workloads.
    7. 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.
    8. Click Next to proceed to the Cloud Extension screen.
  2. On the Cloud Extension screen:

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

Adding a Cloud Extension from Migrate for Compute Engine Manager

If you want Cloud Extensions you're adding to support migrations from vSphere, be sure to deploy the Migrate for Compute Engine Backend and register the Migrate for Compute Engine vCenter plugin on vSphere. If these components are not set up, the Cloud Extensions you add will support migrating from cloud-based sources (such as Amazon EC2 and Azure) only.

To create your Google Cloud Cloud Extension:

  1. Log in to the Migrate for Compute Engine Manager.
  2. Click the Target Cloud button. If you are prompted to sign in, use apiuser and the password you created when setting up Migrate for Compute Engine Manager.
  3. Click the Create button. The Create New Cloud Extension window appears.
  4. Enter the following parameters:

    Parameter Description Auto-populated
    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 Nodes Network Tags Tags to activate firewall rules for these VMs. For example, fw-velostrata. No
    Default Network Tags for Workloads 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
    Networking options:
    Use HTTP Proxy Optional, used only if an HTTP proxy is required to access Google Cloud Observability Monitoring and logs. You can also use the HTTP proxy to access the Google Cloud Storage object store (see below). 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 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 Google Cloud 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
    Cloud Extension Name Name for Cloud Extension. No
    Service Account for Edge Nodes The Google Cloud service account running the Cloud Extension's edge nodes. Defaults to velos-gcp-ce-sa. Yes
    Cloud Extension Size Small (for up to 20 VMs migrated in parallel) or Large (for up to 50 VMs migrated in parallel). Yes
    Datacenter If your Migrate for Compute Engine Manager is registered with a VMware vSphere environment, select the Datacenter that will host the Cloud Extension. No
  6. Complete the Zones screen:

    Parameter Description Auto-populated
    Node A Zone Google Cloud zone to deploy Cloud Extension Node A. For high availability and redundancy, select different Availability Zones for Nodes A and B. Yes
    Node B Zone Yes
    Node A Subnet Select subnets based on your Availability Zone. Yes
    Node B Subnet Yes
    Default Workload Subnet The workload subnet used for launching migrated VMs. Yes
  7. (Optional) Complete the Labels section. Any object created by the Cloud Extension receives these labels, making it easier to monitor the instance.

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