Cloud Interconnect for dedicated connections in GCP - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Sometimes your business needs a fast and private connection between your own data center and Google Cloud. Cloud Interconnect for dedicated connections lets you create a direct link that is more reliable and secure than the internet.

When you want to connect your office network directly to Google Cloud without using the public internet.

When you need a stable and fast connection for transferring large amounts of data to your cloud servers.

When your applications require low delay and high security between your data center and cloud resources.

When you want to avoid internet traffic costs by using a private connection.

When you need to connect multiple cloud regions with your own network securely.

Config File - interconnect-config.yaml

interconnect-config.yaml

apiVersion: compute.cnrm.cloud.google.com/v1beta1
kind: ComputeInterconnect
metadata:
  name: example-dedicated-interconnect
spec:
  location: "equinix-ashburn"
  linkType: DEDICATED
  requestedLinkCount: 1
  adminEnabled: true
  description: "Dedicated Interconnect connection to Ashburn"
  mtu: 1500
  customerName: "example-customer"
  interconnectType: DEDICATED
  nocContactEmail: "[e-mail]"
  partnerMetadata:
    partnerName: "equinix"
    partnerInterconnectName: "example-partner-interconnect"

This YAML file defines a dedicated Cloud Interconnect connection in Google Cloud.

• location: The physical location of the interconnect, here Equinix Ashburn.
• linkType: Set to DEDICATED for a direct physical connection.
• requestedLinkCount: Number of physical links requested.
• adminEnabled: Enables the interconnect.
• mtu: Maximum transmission unit size for packets.
• customerName: Your company name for identification.
• nocContactEmail: Email for network operations contact.
• partnerMetadata: Information about the partner providing the connection.

Commands

This command creates a dedicated Cloud Interconnect connection in the Ashburn location with one physical link. It sets your company name and contact email for network operations and enables the interconnect.

Terminal

gcloud compute interconnects create example-dedicated-interconnect --description="Dedicated Interconnect connection to Ashburn" --location=equinix-ashburn --link-type=DEDICATED --requested-link-count=1 --customer-name=example-customer --noc-contact-email=[e-mail] --mtu=1500 --admin-enabled

Expected Output

Created [https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/my-project/global/interconnects/example-dedicated-interconnect].

→

--location - Specifies the physical location of the interconnect.

→

--link-type - Defines the type of connection, here DEDICATED for direct physical link.

→

--requested-link-count - Number of physical links requested for redundancy or bandwidth.

This command shows details about the dedicated interconnect you created, including status and configuration.

Terminal

gcloud compute interconnects describe example-dedicated-interconnect

Expected Output

name: example-dedicated-interconnect

location: equinix-ashburn

linkType: DEDICATED

requestedLinkCount: 1

adminEnabled: true

mtu: 1500

customerName: example-customer

nocContactEmail: [e-mail]

state: ACTIVE

This command lists all your Cloud Interconnect connections so you can check their status and details.

Terminal

gcloud compute interconnects list

Expected Output

NAME                          LOCATION          LINK_TYPE  STATE   REQUESTED_LINK_COUNT

example-dedicated-interconnect equinix-ashburn   DEDICATED ACTIVE  1

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: Dedicated Cloud Interconnect creates a private, fast, and reliable link between your data center and Google Cloud.

Common Mistakes

Using the wrong location name for the interconnect.

The interconnect will fail to create because the location must match a supported physical site.

Check the list of supported locations with 'gcloud compute interconnects locations list' and use an exact match.

Not specifying the requested link count or setting it to zero.

The interconnect requires at least one physical link to function.

Always set --requested-link-count to 1 or more depending on your bandwidth needs.

Forgetting to enable the interconnect after creation.

If adminEnabled is false, the interconnect will not be active and traffic won't flow.

Use --admin-enabled flag or update the interconnect to enable it.

Summary

Use 'gcloud compute interconnects create' to set up a dedicated physical connection to Google Cloud.

Verify the connection status with 'gcloud compute interconnects describe' and 'gcloud compute interconnects list'.

Ensure you use correct location and link count values to avoid creation errors.