While VPN is considered the fastest way to connect to Google Cloud, Cloud Interconnect is the fastest connection to Google Cloud.
Like VPN, Cloud Interconnect enables communication based on internal IP addresses between workloads that are on-premises (or in another cloud) and created via a VPC. The difference between VPN and Interconnect is that Interconnect uses a dedicated physical connection and offers higher throughput. At the same time, VPN traverses the public network and offers from 1.5 to 3 Gbps per tunnel.
There are two types of Cloud Interconnect:
- Dedicated Interconnect: This is a direct physical connection between your data center and Google Cloud network in a common colocation facility. The following capacities are supported: 1x 10 Gbps up to 8x 10 Gbps, 1x 100 Gbps up to 2x 100 Gbps. Exchanging routes between two sites requires a BGP session to be set up.
Note
Check the following link to find a list of Google’s collocation facilities where your network can meet Google’s edge point of presence: https://cloud.google.com/network-connectivity/docs/interconnect/concepts/choosing-colocation-facilities.
- Partner Interconnect: This is a direct physical connection between your data center and an authorized service provider’s facility. It is then a partner’s responsibility to establish connectivity to Google Cloud. The available capacity per link is smaller compared to Dedicated Interconnect; it starts from 50 Mbps up to 10 Gbps per connection. Partner Interconnect is used when Google’s colocation facility is too far from a data center, or your workload’s bandwidth needs are below 10 Gbps. Also, connecting to a partner’s facility is preferred if you want to use a single physical connection to reach multiple cloud providers.
With Partner Interconnect, you can either use a Layer 2 connection, where you are responsible for establishing the BGP session between a Cloud Router and your router on-premises, or a Layer 3 connection, where your service provider establishes a BGP session between a router in the service provider network and your Cloud Router:
Figure 9.19 – Two types of connection – Dedicated and Partner Interconnect
Note
Check the following link to find a list of supported service providers that offer Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity to Google Cloud: https://cloud.google.com/network-connectivity/docs/interconnect/concepts/service-providers.