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Connecting workload VMs to Google Cloud NetApp Volumes
Google Cloud NetApp Volumes speeds up the deployment of
cloud-based applications through rapid provisioning of shared file services and
storage management features. Connecting NetApp Volumes to
VMware Engine lets you mount NetApp Volumes volumes
from within the guest OS of your workload virtual machines (VMs).
Here are some common use cases for using NetApp Volumes with
VMware Engine:
Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)
Creating VM home directories
Setting up file services
Shared file storage for applications and databases
Additionally, VMs in Compute Engine and Google Cloud VMware Engine can both mount
the same volumes. Here's a diagram that shows Google Cloud NetApp Volumes being
used with VMware Engine and Compute Engine:
Before you begin
The steps in this document assume that you have done the following:
Created a Storage Pool with the chosen location,
service level, capacity, data encryption, and AD policy.
Created a Volume in a pre-existing storage pool with the
selected parameters (like allocated capacity and protocol type) in a given
region. You can use NFSv3, NFSv4, or SMB volumes for the connection
described in this document.
When creating a peering connection between VMware Engine and
NetApp Volumes, you need some details about the VPC network
used by NetApp Volumes. To get these details, do the following:
In the Google Cloud console, go to the VPC Network peerings page.
Click Select a project and then select the organization, folder, or project that
contains the peering connection.
Select the peering connection created in NetApp Volumes for
your project.
The connection is named sn-netapp-prod.
You might see multiple peering connections with the same name if you
have more than one peered VPC network. The person who set up the
VPC Network Peering connections can help you determine which connection
to use for VMware Engine.
Copy the Peered VPC network and Peered project ID fields, which
begin with netapp and end with -tp, respectively.
Create a peering connection
If your VMware Engine project and private clouds were created after
Nov 12, 2023, do the following. For more information on how to create VPC
peerings for such environments, see Peer a VPC network.
In the Google Cloud console, go to the VPC Network peerings page.
Click Select a project and then select the organization, folder, or project where
you want to create the peering connection.
Click Create.
In the Name field, provide a name for your networking peering. For
example, peering-2-netapp-volumes.
In the VMware Engine network section, keep the default "In current
project" selected. Specify the VMware Engine network you want to
peer, for example ven1.
For Peering, select Google Cloud NetApp Volumes.
In the Service tenant project ID field, enter the peered project ID of
the Google Cloud project containing your volume.
In the Service tenant VPC name field, enter the name of the peered VPC
network your volume is in.
In the Route exchange section, keep the default settings.
Click Create.
Mount a volume
Once the peering status is listed as Active, you can mount your NetApp Volumes
volume.
Perform the mounting process from within the guest OS of your VMware VM.
To mount an NFS volume, do the following:
In the Google Cloud console, go to NetApp Volumes >
Volumes.
Click Select a project and then select the organization, folder, or project that
contains the volume.
Click the NFS volume for which you want to mount NFS exports.
Go to the right, click Moremore_vert, and then click
Mount Instructions.
Follow the instructions in the Mount Instructions for NFS window that
appears. The mounting instructions might be slightly different depending on
which NFS protocol you have configured for the volume.
To mount an SMB volume, do the following:
In the Google Cloud console, go to NetApp Volumes >
Volumes.
[[["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."],[],[],null,["# Connecting workload VMs to Google Cloud NetApp Volumes\n======================================================\n\n[Google Cloud NetApp Volumes](/architecture/partners/netapp-cloud-volumes) speeds up the deployment of\ncloud-based applications through rapid provisioning of shared file services and\nstorage management features. Connecting NetApp Volumes to\nVMware Engine lets you mount NetApp Volumes volumes\nfrom within the guest OS of your workload virtual machines (VMs).\n\nHere are some common use cases for using NetApp Volumes with\nVMware Engine:\n\n- Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)\n- Creating VM home directories\n- Setting up file services\n- Shared file storage for applications and databases\n\nAdditionally, VMs in Compute Engine and Google Cloud VMware Engine can both mount\nthe same volumes. Here's a diagram that shows Google Cloud NetApp Volumes being\nused with VMware Engine and Compute Engine:\n\nBefore you begin\n----------------\n\nThe steps in this document assume that you have done the following:\n\n- [Created a Storage Pool](/netapp/volumes/docs/configure-and-use/storage-pools/create-storage-pool) with the chosen location, service level, capacity, data encryption, and AD policy.\n- [Created a Volume](/netapp/volumes/docs/configure-and-use/volumes/create-volume) in a pre-existing storage pool with the selected parameters (like allocated capacity and protocol type) in a given region. You can use NFSv3, NFSv4, or SMB volumes for the connection described in this document.\n- [Created a private cloud](/vmware-engine/docs/private-clouds/howto-create-private-cloud) in the same region as your volume.\n\nGet VPC network details\n-----------------------\n\nWhen creating a peering connection between VMware Engine and\nNetApp Volumes, you need some details about the VPC network\nused by NetApp Volumes. To get these details, do the following:\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **VPC Network peerings** page.\n\n [Go to VPC Network peerings](https://console.cloud.google.com/vmwareengine/network-peerings)\n2. Click **Select a project** and then select the organization, folder, or project that\n contains the peering connection.\n\n3. Select the peering connection created in NetApp Volumes for\n your project.\n The connection is named `sn-netapp-prod`.\n\n You might see multiple peering connections with the same name if you\n have more than one peered VPC network. The person who set up the\n VPC Network Peering connections can help you determine which connection\n to use for VMware Engine.\n4. Copy the **Peered VPC network** and **Peered project ID** fields, which\n begin with *netapp* and end with *-tp*, respectively.\n\nCreate a peering connection\n---------------------------\n\nIf your VMware Engine project and private clouds were created after\nNov 12, 2023, do the following. For more information on how to create VPC\npeerings for such environments, see [Peer a VPC network](/vmware-engine/docs/networking/peer-vpc-network).\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **VPC Network peerings** page.\n\n [Go to VPC Network peerings](https://console.cloud.google.com/vmwareengine/network-peerings)\n2. Click **Select a project** and then select the organization, folder, or project where\n you want to create the peering connection.\n\n3. Click **Create**.\n\n4. In the **Name** field, provide a name for your networking peering. For\n example, `peering-2-netapp-volumes`.\n\n5. In the **VMware Engine network** section, keep the default **\"In current\n project\"** selected. Specify the VMware Engine network you want to\n peer, for example `ven1`.\n\n6. For **Peering** , select **Google Cloud NetApp Volumes**.\n\n7. In the **Service tenant project ID** field, enter the *peered project ID* of\n the Google Cloud project containing your volume.\n\n8. In the **Service tenant VPC name** field, enter the name of the *peered VPC\n network* your volume is in.\n\n9. In the **Route exchange** section, keep the default settings.\n\n10. Click **Create**.\n\nMount a volume\n--------------\n\nOnce the peering status is listed as *Active*, you can mount your NetApp Volumes\nvolume.\nPerform the mounting process from within the guest OS of your VMware VM.\n\nTo mount an NFS volume, do the following:\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to **NetApp Volumes \\\u003e\n Volumes**.\n\n [Go to the Volumes page](https://console.cloud.google.com/netapp/cloud-volumes/volumes)\n2. Click **Select a project** and then select the organization, folder, or project that\n contains the volume.\n\n3. Click the NFS volume for which you want to mount NFS exports.\n\n4. Go to the right, click **More**\n *more_vert* , and then click\n **Mount Instructions**.\n\n5. Follow the instructions in the **Mount Instructions for NFS** window that\n appears. The mounting instructions might be slightly different depending on\n which NFS protocol you have configured for the volume.\n\nTo mount an SMB volume, do the following:\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to **NetApp Volumes \\\u003e\n Volumes**.\n\n [Go to the Volumes page](https://console.cloud.google.com/netapp/cloud-volumes/volumes)\n2. Click **Select a project** and then select the organization, folder, or project that\n contains the volume.\n\n3. Click the SMB volume for which you want to map an SMB share.\n\n4. Go to the right, click **More**\n *more_vert* , and then click\n **Mount Instructions**.\n\n5. Follow the instructions in the **Mount Instructions for SMB** window that\n appears.\n\nAfter you mount your volume, you can manage the volume using the standard\ninterfaces described by [Edit a volume](/netapp/volumes/docs/configure-and-use/volumes/edit-volume)."]]