Test connections

Before you can use your Dedicated Interconnect connections, Google must verify that your connections to Google's edge network are working. To do this, Google sends you an IP address configuration that you must apply to your on-premises router.

This configuration differs depending on whether you order one circuit (one 10-Gbps circuit or one 100-Gbps circuit) or more than one circuit (multiple 10-Gbps circuits or multiple 100-Gbps circuits).

The following sections describe two different testing procedures. The first is for a single-circuit connection and the second is for a multi-circuit connection.

For definitions of terms used on this page, see Cloud Interconnect key terms.

To help you solve common issues that you might encounter when using Dedicated Interconnect, see Troubleshooting.

Test a single-circuit connection (one 10-Gbps or 100-Gbps circuit)

  1. Google polls its edge device every 24 hours, checking for light on the port to your on-premises router. Receiving light indicates that your connection has been installed. After detecting this light, Google sends you an email containing an IP address that Google uses to ping your on-premises router to test the circuit.
  2. Configure the interface of your on-premises router with the correct link-local IP address and configure LACP on that interface. Even though there is only one circuit in your Dedicated Interconnect connection, you must still use LACP.

    The following example shows an IP address configuration similar to the one that Google sends you for the test. Replace these values with the values that Google sends you for your network.

    Google's link-local IP address Your router's link-local IP address Subnet size
    169.254.0.1 169.254.0.2 /30
  3. Apply the test IP address that Google sends you to the interface of your on-premises router that connects to Google. For testing, you must configure this interface in access mode with no VLAN tagging. For a sample configuration, see Configure on-premises routers for testing.

  4. Google tests your connection by pinging the link-local IP address with LACP enabled. Google tests once, 30 minutes after detecting light, and then every 24 hours thereafter.

    • After a successful test, Google sends you an email notifying you that your connection is ready to use.
    • If a test fails, Google automatically retests the connection once a day for a week.

To fix issues, see the guidance for single-link bundles in the Troubleshooting guide.

Test a multi-circuit connection (multiple 10-Gbps or 100-Gbps circuits)

When you order a Dedicated Interconnect connection that has multiple circuits, Google performs two separate ping tests. The first tests each individual circuit without LACP, and the second tests the final bundled connection with LACP enabled.

Ping test 1

  1. Google polls its edge device every 24 hours, checking for light on the port to your on-premises router. Receiving light indicates that your connections have been installed. After detecting this light, Google sends you an email with instructions for the first test.
  2. For the first test, configure the interfaces of your on-premises router with the public IP addresses from the email. Do not enable LACP at this time.

    The following example shows an IP address configuration similar to the one that Google sends you for the test, assuming that you have ordered two circuits. Replace these values with the values that Google sends you for your network.

    Google's demarcation name Google's IP address Your router's IP address Subnet size
    Google demarc 1 192.0.2.1 192.0.2.2 /30
    Google demarc 2 198.51.100.1 198.51.100.2 /30
  3. Apply the test IP addresses that Google sends you to the appropriate interfaces of your on-premises router that connects to Google. For testing, you must configure these interfaces in access mode with no VLAN tagging.

  4. Google tests your connection by pinging the IP addresses with LACP disabled. Google tests once, 30 minutes after detecting light, and then every 24 hours thereafter.

    • If the test succeeds, move on to the section for Ping test 2.
    • If a test fails, Google automatically retests the connection once a day for a week.

Ping test 2

  1. After a successful test using public IP addresses, Google sends you a link-local IP address to use for a second ping test.
  2. On your on-premises router, configure all the circuits into a bundle with LACP enabled and configure the IP address on the bundled interface.

    The following example shows an IP address configuration similar to the one that Google sends you for the test. Replace these values with the values that Google sends you for your network.

    Google's link-local IP address Your router's link-local IP address Subnet size
    169.254.0.1 169.254.0.2 /30
  3. Apply the test IP address that Google sends you to the bundled interface of your on-premises router that connects to Google. For testing, you must configure this interface in access mode with no VLAN tagging. For a sample configuration, see Configure on-premises routers for testing.

  4. Google tests each connection once every 24 hours. After a successful test, Google notifies you that your connection is ready to use.

To fix issues, see the guidance for multiple-link bundles in the Troubleshooting guide.

Use your Dedicated Interconnect connection

After all tests have passed, your Dedicated Interconnect connection is ready to use, and Google starts billing for it. To view the status of your connection, see View connection details.

At this stage, remove the test IP addresses from the interface or interfaces on your on-premises router. To reconfigure your router for production, see Configure on-premises routers for production.

Your connection can now carry traffic, but it isn't associated with any Google Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) networks.