Cloud VPN for hybrid connectivity in GCP - Step-by-Step Execution

Process Flow - Cloud VPN for hybrid connectivity

Start: On-premises Network

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Create VPN Gateway on GCP

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Create VPN Gateway on On-premises

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Establish VPN Tunnel

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Encrypt Traffic

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Send Data Securely

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Receive Data

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End: Hybrid Connectivity Established

This flow shows how a secure VPN tunnel is created between on-premises and GCP networks to enable hybrid connectivity.

Execution Sample

GCP

gcloud compute vpn-gateways create my-gcp-vpn --network my-vpc --region us-central1

gcloud compute vpn-tunnels create my-vpn-tunnel \
  --peer-address ON_PREM_PUBLIC_IP \
  --ike-version 2 \
  --shared-secret "mysecret" \
  --vpn-gateway my-gcp-vpn \
  --region us-central1

This code creates a VPN gateway and a VPN tunnel on GCP to connect to an on-premises VPN gateway.

Process Table

Step	Action	Input/Config	Result	Notes
1	Create VPN Gateway on GCP	Name: my-gcp-vpn, Network: my-vpc, Region: us-central1	VPN Gateway 'my-gcp-vpn' created	Gateway ready to accept tunnels
2	Create VPN Tunnel	Peer IP: ON_PREM_PUBLIC_IP, IKE version: 2, Shared Secret: 'mysecret', Gateway: my-gcp-vpn	VPN Tunnel 'my-vpn-tunnel' created	Tunnel ready to establish connection
3	On-premises VPN Gateway Setup	Configured with GCP VPN Gateway IP and shared secret	Tunnel established	Secure encrypted tunnel active
4	Traffic Encryption	Data packets from on-premises	Encrypted packets sent through tunnel	Data secured in transit
5	Data Transmission	Encrypted packets received by GCP VPN Gateway	Packets decrypted and forwarded to VPC	Hybrid connectivity active
6	Exit	N/A	Hybrid connectivity established	VPN tunnel active and data flows securely

💡 VPN tunnel established and hybrid connectivity is active, enabling secure communication between on-premises and GCP.

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 2	After Step 3	After Step 4	After Step 5	Final
VPN Gateway Status	Not created	Created	Created	Created	Created	Created	Active
VPN Tunnel Status	Not created	Not created	Created	Established	Established	Established	Active
Traffic Encryption	None	None	None	None	Encrypting	Encrypted	Encrypted
Data Flow	None	None	None	None	Sending encrypted data	Receiving decrypted data	Secure flow

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why do we need to create VPN gateways on both GCP and on-premises?

VPN gateways on both sides create endpoints for the VPN tunnel. Without both, the tunnel cannot be established (see execution_table steps 1 and 3).

What ensures the data is secure when sent over the internet?

The VPN tunnel encrypts data packets before sending (execution_table step 4), so data is protected during transit.

What happens if the shared secret does not match on both sides?

The tunnel will fail to establish because both sides must use the same shared secret for authentication (refer to step 3).

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, at which step is the VPN tunnel created on GCP?

A Step 1

B Step 2

C Step 3

D Step 4

💡 Hint

Check the 'Action' column for 'Create VPN Tunnel' in the execution_table.

According to the variable tracker, when does traffic encryption start?

A After Step 4

B After Step 3

C After Step 2

D After Step 5

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Traffic Encryption' row in variable_tracker to see when it changes from 'None' to 'Encrypting'.

If the shared secret is incorrect, which step in the execution_table would fail?

A Step 1

B Step 2

C Step 3

D Step 5

💡 Hint

Refer to step 3 where the tunnel is established and shared secret is verified.

Concept Snapshot

Cloud VPN connects on-premises and GCP networks securely.
Create VPN gateways on both sides.
Set up VPN tunnel with shared secret and IKE version.
Tunnel encrypts data for secure transmission.
Hybrid connectivity enables private communication over the internet.

Full Transcript

Cloud VPN for hybrid connectivity involves creating VPN gateways on both Google Cloud and on-premises networks. Then, a VPN tunnel is established between these gateways using a shared secret and IKE version 2. This tunnel encrypts data traffic, ensuring secure communication over the public internet. Once the tunnel is active, data flows securely between the two networks, enabling hybrid cloud scenarios.