Create a VM instance with multiple network interfaces
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GSP211
Overview
Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) networks allow you to maintain isolated environments within a larger cloud structure, giving you granular control over data protection, network access, and application security.
In this lab you create several VPC networks and VM instances, then test connectivity across networks. Specifically, you create two custom mode networks (managementnet and privatenet) with firewall rules and VM instances as shown in this network diagram:
The mynetwork network with its firewall rules and two VM instances (mynet-vm-1 and mynet-vm-2) have already been created for you for this lab.
Objectives
In this lab, you will learn how to perform the following tasks:
Create custom mode VPC networks with firewall rules
Create VM instances using Compute Engine
Explore the connectivity for VM instances across VPC networks
Create a VM instance with multiple network interfaces
Setup and requirements
Before you click the Start Lab button
Read these instructions. Labs are timed and you cannot pause them. The timer, which starts when you click Start Lab, shows how long Google Cloud resources are made available to you.
This hands-on lab lets you do the lab activities in a real cloud environment, not in a simulation or demo environment. It does so by giving you new, temporary credentials you use to sign in and access Google Cloud for the duration of the lab.
To complete this lab, you need:
Access to a standard internet browser (Chrome browser recommended).
Note: Use an Incognito (recommended) or private browser window to run this lab. This prevents conflicts between your personal account and the student account, which may cause extra charges incurred to your personal account.
Time to complete the lab—remember, once you start, you cannot pause a lab.
Note: Use only the student account for this lab. If you use a different Google Cloud account, you may incur charges to that account.
How to start your lab and sign in to the Google Cloud console
Click the Start Lab button. If you need to pay for the lab, a dialog opens for you to select your payment method.
On the left is the Lab Details pane with the following:
The Open Google Cloud console button
Time remaining
The temporary credentials that you must use for this lab
Other information, if needed, to step through this lab
Click Open Google Cloud console (or right-click and select Open Link in Incognito Window if you are running the Chrome browser).
The lab spins up resources, and then opens another tab that shows the Sign in page.
Tip: Arrange the tabs in separate windows, side-by-side.
Note: If you see the Choose an account dialog, click Use Another Account.
If necessary, copy the Username below and paste it into the Sign in dialog.
{{{user_0.username | "Username"}}}
You can also find the Username in the Lab Details pane.
Click Next.
Copy the Password below and paste it into the Welcome dialog.
{{{user_0.password | "Password"}}}
You can also find the Password in the Lab Details pane.
Click Next.
Important: You must use the credentials the lab provides you. Do not use your Google Cloud account credentials.
Note: Using your own Google Cloud account for this lab may incur extra charges.
Click through the subsequent pages:
Accept the terms and conditions.
Do not add recovery options or two-factor authentication (because this is a temporary account).
Do not sign up for free trials.
After a few moments, the Google Cloud console opens in this tab.
Note: To access Google Cloud products and services, click the Navigation menu or type the service or product name in the Search field.
Activate Cloud Shell
Cloud Shell is a virtual machine that is loaded with development tools. It offers a persistent 5GB home directory and runs on the Google Cloud. Cloud Shell provides command-line access to your Google Cloud resources.
Click Activate Cloud Shell at the top of the Google Cloud console.
Click through the following windows:
Continue through the Cloud Shell information window.
Authorize Cloud Shell to use your credentials to make Google Cloud API calls.
When you are connected, you are already authenticated, and the project is set to your Project_ID, . The output contains a line that declares the Project_ID for this session:
Your Cloud Platform project in this session is set to {{{project_0.project_id | "PROJECT_ID"}}}
gcloud is the command-line tool for Google Cloud. It comes pre-installed on Cloud Shell and supports tab-completion.
(Optional) You can list the active account name with this command:
gcloud auth list
Click Authorize.
Output:
ACTIVE: *
ACCOUNT: {{{user_0.username | "ACCOUNT"}}}
To set the active account, run:
$ gcloud config set account `ACCOUNT`
(Optional) You can list the project ID with this command:
gcloud config list project
Output:
[core]
project = {{{project_0.project_id | "PROJECT_ID"}}}
Note: For full documentation of gcloud, in Google Cloud, refer to the gcloud CLI overview guide.
Task 1. Create custom mode VPC networks with firewall rules
Create two custom networks managementnet and privatenet, along with firewall rules to allow SSH, ICMP, and RDP ingress traffic.
Create the managementnet network
Create the managementnet network using the Cloud console.
In the Cloud console, navigate to Navigation menu () > VPC network > VPC networks.
Notice the default and mynetwork networks with their subnets.
Each Google Cloud project starts with the default network. In addition, the mynetwork network has been premade as part of your network diagram.
Click Create VPC Network.
Set the Name to managementnet.
For Subnet creation mode, click Custom.
Set the following values, leave all other values at their defaults:
Property
Value (type value or select option as specified)
Name
managementsubnet-1
Region
IPv4 range
10.130.0.0/20
Click Done.
Click EQUIVALENT COMMAND LINE.
These commands illustrate that networks and subnets can be created using the Cloud Shell command line. You will create the privatenet network using these commands with similar parameters.
Click Close.
Click Create.
Test Completed Task
Click Check my progress to verify your performed task. If you have successfully created a managementnet network, you will see an assessment score.
Create the managementnet network
Create the privatenet network
Create the privatenet network using the Cloud Shell command line.
Run the following command to create the privatenet network:
Click Check my progress to verify your performed task. If you have successfully created a privatenet network, you will see an assessment score.
Create the privatenet network
Run the following command to list the available VPC networks:
gcloud compute networks list
The output should look like this:
NAME: default
SUBNET_MODE: AUTO
BGP_ROUTING_MODE: REGIONAL
IPV4_RANGE:
GATEWAY_IPV4:
NAME: managementnet
SUBNET_MODE: CUSTOM
BGP_ROUTING_MODE: REGIONAL
IPV4_RANGE:
GATEWAY_IPV4:
...
Note: default and mynetwork are auto mode networks, whereas, managementnet and privatenet are custom mode networks. Auto mode networks create subnets in each region automatically, while custom mode networks start with no subnets, giving you full control over subnet creation
Run the following command to list the available VPC subnets (sorted by VPC network):
gcloud compute networks subnets list --sort-by=NETWORK
The output should look like this:
NAME: default
REGION: {{{project_0.default_region | Region_1}}}
NETWORK: default
RANGE: 10.128.0.0/20
STACK_TYPE: IPV4_ONLY
IPV6_ACCESS_TYPE:
INTERNAL_IPV6_PREFIX:
EXTERNAL_IPV6_PREFIX:
...
Note: As expected, the default and mynetwork networks have subnets in each region (zones/regions may changes as per lab's requirements) as they are auto mode networks. The managementnet and privatenet networks only have the subnets that you created as they are custom mode networks .
In the Cloud console, navigate to Navigation menu > VPC network > VPC networks.
You see that the same networks and subnets are listed in the Cloud console.
Create the firewall rules for managementnet
Create firewall rules to allow SSH, ICMP, and RDP ingress traffic to VM instances on the managementnet network.
In the Cloud console, navigate to Navigation menu () > VPC network > Firewall.
Click + Create Firewall Rule.
Set the following values, leave all other values at their defaults:
Property
Value (type value or select option as specified)
Name
managementnet-allow-icmp-ssh-rdp
Network
managementnet
Targets
All instances in the network
Source filter
IPv4 Ranges
Source IPv4 ranges
0.0.0.0/0
Protocols and ports
Specified protocols and ports, and then check tcp, type: 22, 3389; and check Other protocols, type: icmp.
Note: Make sure to include the /0 in the Source IPv4 ranges to specify all networks.
Click EQUIVALENT COMMAND LINE.
These commands illustrate that firewall rules can also be created using the Cloud Shell command line. You will create the privatenet's firewall rules using these commands with similar parameters.
Click Close.
Click Create.
Test Completed Task
Click Check my progress to verify your performed task. If you have successfully created firewall rules for managementnet network, you will see an assessment score.
Create the firewall rules for managementnet
Create the firewall rules for privatenet
Create the firewall rules for privatenet network using the Cloud Shell command line.
In Cloud Shell, run the following command to create the privatenet-allow-icmp-ssh-rdp firewall rule:
Click Check my progress to verify your performed task. If you have successfully created firewall rules for privatenet network, you will see an assessment score.
Create the firewall rules for privatenet
Run the following command to list all the firewall rules (sorted by VPC network):
gcloud compute firewall-rules list --sort-by=NETWORK
The firewall rules for mynetwork network have been created for you. You can define multiple protocols and ports in one firewall rule (privatenet and managementnet), or spread them across multiple rules (default and mynetwork).
In the Cloud console, navigate to Navigation menu > VPC network > Firewall.
You see that the same firewall rules are listed in the Cloud console.
Task 2. Create VM instances
Create two VM instances:
managementnet-vm-1 in managementsubnet-1
privatenet-vm-1 in privatesubnet-1
Create the managementnet-vm-1 instance
Create the managementnet-vm-1 instance using the Cloud console.
In the Cloud console, navigate to Navigation menu > Compute Engine > VM instances.
The mynet-vm-2 and mynet-vm-1 has been created for you, as part of your network diagram.
Click Create Instance.
In the Machine configuration:
Set the following values, leave all other values at their defaults:
Property
Value (type value or select option as specified)
Name
managementnet-vm-1
Region
Zone
Series
E2
Machine Type
e2-micro
Click Networking.
For Network interfaces, click the dropdown to edit.
Set the following values, leave all other values at their defaults:
Property
Value (type value or select option as specified)
Network
managementnet
Subnetwork
managementsubnet-1
Click Done.
Click EQUIVALENT CODE.
This illustrate that VM instances can also be created using the Cloud Shell command line. You will create the privatenet-vm-1 instance using these commands with similar parameters.
Click Create.
Test Completed Task
Click Check my progress to verify your performed task. If you have successfully created VM instance in managementnet network, you will see an assessment score.
Create the managementnet-vm-1 instance
Create the privatenet-vm-1 instance
Create the privatenet-vm-1 instance using the Cloud Shell command line.
In Cloud Shell, run the following command to create the privatenet-vm-1 instance:
Click Check my progress to verify your performed task. If you have successfully created VM instance in privatenet network, you will see an assessment score.
Create the privatenet-vm-1 instance
Run the following command to list all the VM instances (sorted by zone):
In the Cloud console, navigate to Navigation menu () > Compute Engine > VM instances.
You see that the VM instances are listed in the Cloud console.
Click on Column display options, then select Network. Click Ok.
There are three instances in and one instance in . However, these instances are spread across three VPC networks (managementnet, mynetwork and privatenet), with no instance in the same zone and network as another. In the next section, you explore the effect this has on internal connectivity.
Task 3. Explore the connectivity between VM instances
Explore the connectivity between the VM instances. Specifically, determine the effect of having VM instances in the same zone versus having instances in the same VPC network.
Ping the external IP addresses
Ping the external IP addresses of the VM instances to determine if you can reach the instances from the public internet.
In the Cloud console, navigate to Navigation menu > Compute Engine > VM instances.
Note the external IP addresses for mynet-vm-2, managementnet-vm-1, and privatenet-vm-1.
For mynet-vm-1, click SSH to launch a terminal and connect.
To test connectivity to mynet-vm-2's external IP, run the following command, replacing mynet-vm-2's external IP:
ping -c 3 'Enter mynet-vm-2 external IP here'
This should work!
To test connectivity to managementnet-vm-1's external IP, run the following command, replacing managementnet-vm-1's external IP:
ping -c 3 'Enter managementnet-vm-1 external IP here'
This should work!
To test connectivity to privatenet-vm-1's external IP, run the following command, replacing privatenet-vm-1's external IP:
ping -c 3 'Enter privatenet-vm-1 external IP here'
This should work!
Note: You are able to ping the external IP address of all VM instances, even though they are either in a different zone or VPC network. This confirms public access to those instances is only controlled by the ICMP firewall rules that you established earlier.
Ping the internal IP addresses
Ping the internal IP addresses of the VM instances to determine if you can reach the instances from within a VPC network.
In the Cloud console, navigate to Navigation menu > Compute Engine > VM instances.
Note the internal IP addresses for mynet-vm-2, managementnet-vm-1, and privatenet-vm-1.
Return to the SSH terminal for mynet-vm-1.
To test connectivity to mynet-vm-2's internal IP, run the following command, replacing mynet-vm-2's internal IP:
ping -c 3 'Enter mynet-vm-2 internal IP here'
Note: You are able to ping the internal IP address of mynet-vm-2 because it is on the same VPC network as the source of the ping (mynet-vm-1), even though both VM instances are in separate zones, regions and continents!
To test connectivity to managementnet-vm-1's internal IP, run the following command, replacing managementnet-vm-1's internal IP:
ping -c 3 'Enter managementnet-vm-1 internal IP here'
Note: This should not work as indicated by a 100% packet loss!
To test connectivity to privatenet-vm-1's internal IP, run the following command, replacing privatenet-vm-1's internal IP:
ping -c 3 'Enter privatenet-vm-1 internal IP here'
Note: This should not work either as indicated by a 100% packet loss! You are unable to ping the internal IP address of managementnet-vm-1 and privatenet-vm-1 because they are in separate VPC networks from the source of the ping (mynet-vm-1), even though they are all in the same region .
VPC networks are by default isolated private networking domains. However, no internal IP address communication is allowed between networks, unless you set up mechanisms such as VPC peering or VPN.
Note: For the below task consider region_1 = and region_2 = `
Task 4. Create a VM instance with multiple network interfaces
Every instance in a VPC network has a default network interface. You can create additional network interfaces attached to your VMs. Multiple network interfaces enable you to create configurations in which an instance connects directly to several VPC networks (up to 8 interfaces, depending on the instance's type).
Create the VM instance with multiple network interfaces
Create the vm-appliance instance with network interfaces in privatesubnet-1, managementsubnet-1 and mynetwork. The CIDR ranges of these subnets do not overlap, which is a requirement for creating a VM with multiple network interface controllers (NICs).
In the Cloud console, navigate to Navigation menu > Compute Engine > VM instances.
Click Create Instance.
In the Machine configuration:
Set the following values, leave all other values at their defaults:
For Network interfaces, click the dropdown to edit.
Set the following values, leave all other values at their defaults:
Property
Value (type value or select option as specified)
Network
privatenet
Subnetwork
privatesubnet-1
Click Done.
Click Add a network interface.
Set the following values, leave all other values at their defaults:
Property
Value (type value or select option as specified)
Network
managementnet
Subnetwork
managementsubnet-1
Click Done.
Click Add a network interface.
Set the following values, leave all other values at their defaults:
Property
Value (type value or select option as specified)
Network
mynetwork
Subnetwork
mynetwork
Click Done.
Click Create.
Test Completed Task
Click Check my progress to verify your performed task. If you have successfully created VM instance with multiple network interfaces, you will see an assessment score.
Create a VM instance with multiple network interfaces
Explore the network interface details
Explore the network interface details of vm-appliance within the Cloud console and within the VM's terminal.
In the Cloud console, navigate to Navigation menu () > Compute Engine > VM instances.
Click nic0 within the Internal IP address of vm-appliance to open the Network interface details page.
Verify that nic0 is attached to privatesubnet-1, is assigned an internal IP address within that subnet (172.16.0.0/24), and has applicable firewall rules.
Click nic0 and select nic1.
Verify that nic1 is attached to managementsubnet-1, is assigned an internal IP address within that subnet (10.130.0.0/20), and has applicable firewall rules.
Click nic1 and select nic2.
Verify that nic2 is attached to mynetwork, is assigned an internal IP address within that subnet (10.128.0.0/20), and has applicable firewall rules.
Note:
Each network interface has its own internal IP address so that the VM instance can communicate with those networks.
In the Cloud console, navigate to Navigation menu > Compute Engine > VM instances.
For vm-appliance, click SSH to launch a terminal and connect.
Run the following, to list the network interfaces within the VM instance:
Demonstrate that the vm-appliance instance is connected to privatesubnet-1, managementsubnet-1 and mynetwork by pinging VM instances on those subnets.
In the Cloud console, navigate to Navigation menu > Compute Engine > VM instances.
Note the internal IP addresses for privatenet-vm-1, managementnet-vm-1, mynet-vm-1, and mynet-vm-2.
Return to the SSH terminal for vm-appliance.
To test connectivity to privatenet-vm-1's internal IP, run the following command, replacing privatenet-vm-1's internal IP:
ping -c 3 'Enter privatenet-vm-1's internal IP here'
This works!
Repeat the same test by running the following:
ping -c 3 privatenet-vm-1
Note: You are able to ping privatenet-vm-1 by its name because VPC networks have an internal DNS service that allows you to address instances by their DNS names rather than their internal IP addresses. When an internal DNS query is made with the instance hostname, it resolves to the primary interface (nic0) of the instance. Therefore, this only works for privatenet-vm-1 in this case.
To test connectivity to managementnet-vm-1's internal IP, run the following command, replacing managementnet-vm-1's internal IP:
ping -c 3 'Enter managementnet-vm-1's internal IP here'
This works!
To test connectivity to mynet-vm-1's internal IP, run the following command, replacing mynet-vm-1's internal IP:
ping -c 3 'Enter mynet-vm-1's internal IP here'
This works!
To test connectivity to mynet-vm-2's internal IP, run the following command, replacing mynet-vm-2's internal IP:
ping -c 3 'Enter mynet-vm-2's internal IP here'
Note: This does not work! In a multiple interface instance, every interface gets a route for the subnet that it is in. In addition, the instance gets a single default route that is associated with the primary interface eth0. Unless manually configured otherwise, any traffic leaving an instance for any destination other than a directly connected subnet will leave the instance via the default route on eth0.
To list the routes for vm-appliance instance, run the following command:
ip route
The output should look like this:
default via 172.16.0.1 dev eth0
10.128.0.0/20 via 10.128.0.1 dev eth2
10.128.0.1 dev eth2 scope link
10.130.0.0/20 via 10.130.0.1 dev eth1
10.130.0.1 dev eth1 scope link
172.16.0.0/24 via 172.16.0.1 dev eth0
172.16.0.1 dev eth0 scope link
Note: The primary interface eth0 gets the default route (default via 172.16.0.1 dev eth0), and all three interfaces eth0, eth1 and eth2 get routes for their respective subnets. Since, the subnet of mynet-vm-2 (10.132.0.0/20) is not included in this routing table, the ping to that instance leaves vm-appliance on eth0 (which is on a different VPC network). You could change this behavior by configuring policy routing as documented in the Configuring policy routing section of the Google Cloud Guide.
Congratulations!
In this lab you created a VM instance with three network interfaces and verified internal connectivity for VM instances that are on the subnets that are attached to the multiple interface VM.
You also explored the default network along with its subnets, routes, and firewall rules. You then created tested connectivity for a new auto mode VPC network.
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Manual last updated December 12, 2024
Lab last tested October 22, 2024
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Use private browsing to run the lab
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prevents any conflicts between your personal account and the Student
account, which may cause extra charges incurred to your personal account.
In this lab, you create several VPC networks and VM instances, then test connectivity across networks.