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This page explains the networking requirements for an initial installation of
Google Distributed Cloud.
In your initial installation of Google Distributed Cloud, you create these virtual
machines (VMs):
One VM for an admin workstation
Four VMs for an admin cluster
Three VMs for a user cluster
In your vSphere environment, you must have a network that can support the creation of those eight VMs. Your network must also be able to support a vCenter Server and must be able to support the load balancer mode that you choose for your configuration.
Your network needs to support outbound traffic to the internet so that your
admin workstation and your cluster nodes can fetch Google Distributed Cloud
components and call certain Google services.
If you want external clients to call services in your Google Distributed Cloud
clusters, your network must support inbound traffic from the internet.
The following diagram shows one possible network topology:
Network topology (click to enlarge)
The preceding diagram has the following features:
The admin workstation is on a private network.
vCenter Server is on a public network.
The cluster nodes are on a private network.
The F5 BIG-IP load balancer is on three private networks.
The F5 BIG-IP load balancer is configured with Virtual IPs (VIPs) that
have private addresses. External clients must use public IP addresses
configured in the network address translation (NAT) device. The NAT device
uses static NAT to convert the public addresses to the internal VIPs
configured on the load balancer.
Network Time Protocol
All the VMs that are part of your Google Distributed Cloud infrastructure must
use the same
Network Time Protocol (NTP)
server.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-29 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eInitial Google Distributed Cloud installations require creating eight virtual machines (VMs): one for the admin workstation, four for the admin cluster, and three for the user cluster.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe network must support the eight VMs, a vCenter Server, and the chosen load balancer mode, as well as outbound internet traffic for fetching components and using certain services.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eInbound internet traffic support is required for external clients to access services within the Google Distributed Cloud clusters.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eA possible network topology includes the admin workstation and cluster nodes on private networks, vCenter Server on a public network, and an F5 BIG-IP load balancer across three private networks.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAll VMs within the Google Distributed Cloud infrastructure must utilize the same Network Time Protocol (NTP) server.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# vSphere network\n\nThis page explains the networking requirements for an initial installation of\nGoogle Distributed Cloud.\n\nIn your initial installation of Google Distributed Cloud, you create these virtual\nmachines (VMs):\n\n- One VM for an admin workstation\n- Four VMs for an admin cluster\n- Three VMs for a user cluster\n\nIn your vSphere environment, you must have a network that can support the creation of those eight VMs. Your network must also be able to support a vCenter Server and must be able to support the load balancer mode that you choose for your configuration.\n\nYour network needs to support outbound traffic to the internet so that your\nadmin workstation and your cluster nodes can fetch Google Distributed Cloud\ncomponents and call certain Google services.\n\nIf you want external clients to call services in your Google Distributed Cloud\nclusters, your network must support inbound traffic from the internet.\n\nThe following diagram shows one possible network topology:\n[](/static/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.7/images/vsphere-network.svg) Network topology (click to enlarge)\n\nThe preceding diagram has the following features:\n\n- The admin workstation is on a private network.\n- vCenter Server is on a public network.\n- The cluster nodes are on a private network.\n- The F5 BIG-IP load balancer is on three private networks.\n- The F5 BIG-IP load balancer is configured with Virtual IPs (VIPs) that have private addresses. External clients must use public IP addresses configured in the network address translation (NAT) device. The NAT device uses static NAT to convert the public addresses to the internal VIPs configured on the load balancer.\n\nNetwork Time Protocol\n---------------------\n\nAll the VMs that are part of your Google Distributed Cloud infrastructure must\nuse the same\n[Network Time Protocol (NTP)](http://www.ntp.org/ntpfaq/NTP-s-def.htm)\nserver."]]
