Before you order Google Distributed Cloud connected hardware, you must meet
the Distributed Cloud connected installation requirements described
on this page.

## Plan the hardware configuration

Before you can order hardware, your network administrator must work with Google
to plan the hardware configuration for the Distributed Cloud
connected installation.

Based on your business requirements, your network administrator must determine
and provide the following information:

- Number of units (racks or servers) of each form factor
- Number and types of machines in each rack, if applicable
- Power supply requirements

You must select and order all of the Distributed Cloud
connected hardware for each Distributed Cloud
connected zone at the same time. You cannot add or remove machine blocks
or expansion racks to or from a zone after they have been deployed.

Distributed Cloud connected ships in one of the following variants:

|   | GDC connected rack (base or expansion) | GDC connected server (medium) | GDC connected server (large) |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Configuration** | Three to twelve nodes with local SSD storage, two ToR switches, aggregator switch (base rack only) | One or three standalone servers with local SSD storage | One or three standalone servers with local SSD storage |
| **Purpose** | Ideal for large-scale network-intensive computing | Ideal for medium-scale general-purpose computing | Ideal for large-scale general-purpose computing |
| **Estimated cost** | [Pricing](https://docs.cloud.google.com/distributed-cloud/connected/pricing) | [Pricing](https://docs.cloud.google.com/distributed-cloud/connected/pricing) | [Pricing](https://docs.cloud.google.com/distributed-cloud/connected/pricing) |
| **CPU** | 3 to 12 x 128 vCPUs (384 to 1546 vCPUs total) | 1 or 3 x 32 vCPUs (32 or 96 vCPUs total) | 1 or 3 x 64 vCPUs (32 or 192 vCPUs total) |
| **GPU** | Not supported | 1 or 3 x NVIDIA L4 GPU (optional) | 1 or 3 x NVIDIA L4 GPU (optional) |
| **RAM** | 3 to 12 x 512 GB (1536 GB to 6144 GB total) | 1 or 3 x 64 GB (64 GB or 192 GB total) | 1 or 3 x 128 GB (128 GB or 384 GB total) |
| **Storage** | 3 to 12 x 3.2 TB SSD (9.6 TB to 38.4 TB total) | 1 or 3 x 1.6 TB SSD (1.6 TB or 4.8 TB total) | 1 or 3 x 3.2 TB SSD (3.2 TB or 9.6 TB total) |
| **Power** | AC only | AC only | AC only |

### Configure a Distributed Cloud connected rack deployment

A Distributed Cloud connected rack deployment consists of a pair of base
racks, which form the core of the deployment, and up to three optional expansion racks, for
a total of five racks per Distributed Cloud connected zone. For each cluster,
you can only assign nodes from that cluster's zone. You cannot assign nodes from multiple zones
to the same cluster.

A Distributed Cloud connected rack has four slots available for
user workloads, each holding a three-machine block, allowing for a maximum
capacity of twelve machines. For a rack to be operational, it must contain at
least one block composed of compute machines. Additionally, distinct from these
four user-configurable slots, a fifth slot is reserved for Google's use.
You cannot add or remove machine blocks or individual machines after a
Distributed Cloud connected rack has been deployed on your premises.

As of this release of Distributed Cloud connected, the only machine
type available is the network-optimized compute machine.

### Configure a Distributed Cloud connected server deployment

By default, you can only order Distributed Cloud connected servers
in a three-machine configuration. If your business requirements call for single-machine
deployments of Distributed Cloud connected servers, contact your
Google field sales representative for more information.

## Choose the procurement model

You can order the Distributed Cloud connected server hardware in one of the following ways,
based on your business requirements:

- **Google-sourced hardware.** You can order the Distributed Cloud connected hardware directly
  from Google. This ownership model is available for server and rack hardware and is available in all
  countries where Distributed Cloud connected is sold. In this scenario:

  - You lease the Distributed Cloud connected hardware from Google.
  - Google sources, owns, maintains, repairs, and decommissions the Distributed Cloud connected hardware.
  - Google deploys, maintains, and troubleshoots the Distributed Cloud connected software.
  - When your contract concludes, Google collects the Distributed Cloud hardware and destroys all data stored on it.
- **Customer-sourced hardware.** You can order Distributed Cloud connected hardware from a Google-certified
  Systems Integrator (SI) after consulting with Google on a deployment configuration that fits your business requirements.
  This ownership model is only available for Distributed Cloud connected server hardware and might not be available
  in every country in which Distributed Cloud connected is available. In this scenario:

  - You own the Distributed Cloud connected hardware and are responsible for meeting the tax and regulatory requirements of the locality in which you want to deploy it.
  - The SI works with you and Google to deploy, repair, and decommission the hardware.
  - Google works with you directly to deploy, maintain, and troubleshoot the Distributed Cloud connected software.
  - When your contract concludes, the SI wipes all Google software and your data from the Distributed Cloud connected hardware. You are then free to reuse or dispose of the hardware.
  - For more information on sourcing your own hardware, including availability in your country, contact your Google field sales representative.

## Purchase Premium Support

Distributed Cloud connected requires
[Premium Support](https://docs.cloud.google.com/support/docs/premium).
If you're not currently a Premium Support customer, you must purchase
Premium Support to use Distributed Cloud connected.

## Provide Google Cloud information

When you order the hardware, you must provide the following
information to Google, if applicable:

- Your Google Cloud organization ID
- Whether you want Google to provision your Distributed Cloud connected machines as part of an existing Google Cloud project or if you want a new Google Cloud project
- The ID of the target Google Cloud project (if you're provisioning as part of an existing Google Cloud project)
- The desired number of Distributed Cloud connected zones

## Delivery path and installation site

To verify that your delivery path and installation site can accommodate the
Distributed Cloud rack hardware, Google or a Google-certified SI
might ask you for photographs and drawings that accurately depict both, or they
might perform a pre-delivery survey of your site.

The delivery path must be free from obstructions and have a grade below 3%.
If the installation site is not on the same floor as your loading dock or
building entrance, then you must provide access to an elevator.

All doorways, hallways, and elevators must support the gross weight and
dimensions of the crated Distributed Cloud rack hardware.

You must provide Google service technicians access throughout the delivery path
up to and including the installation site.

If your installation site is not a typical data center, you must provide
dimensional drawings of the installation site before you order hardware to
ensure that the rack can be safely installed and powered up.

Distributed Cloud servers are standard rack-mount form factor
and do not require special delivery provisions.

## Space needed

The Distributed Cloud connected rack hardware comes in a crate with
the following dimensions.

| Dimension | Value (imperial) | Value (metric) |
|---|---|---|
| **Height** | 87 inches | 221 cm |
| **Depth** | 60 inches | 152 cm |
| **Width** | 40 inches | 102 cm |

The Distributed Cloud connected rack hardware has the following
dimensions.

| Dimension | Value (imperial) | Value (metric) |
|---|---|---|
| **Height** | 80 inches | 203 cm |
| **Depth** | 48 inches | 122 cm |
| **Width** | 24 inches | 61 cm |

If your local jurisdiction or facility requires that you brace the
Distributed Cloud rack, you might need special seismic
bracing hardware. The Distributed Cloud rack
ships anchored to its crate with brackets that you can re-use to attach the
rack to your floor. However, these brackets might not meet your local bracing
requirements.

The Distributed Cloud connected server hardware has the
following dimensions per machine:

| Dimension | Value (imperial) | Value (metric) |
|---|---|---|
| **Height** | 1.7 inches | 4.3 cm |
| **Depth** | 19 inches | 48 cm |
| **Width** | 19 inches | 48 cm |

## Weight

The gross weight of the Distributed Cloud connected rack is as
follows.

| Rack fill | Gross weight |
|---|---|
| **Typical** | 900 lbs (408 kg) |
| **Maximum** | 1300 lbs (590 kg) |

The delivery path, including any elevators, and the installation site must
safely support this weight while in full compliance with local building codes.

The weight of each Distributed Cloud connected server machine
is 20 lbs (9 kg).

## Power supply

The Distributed Cloud connected hardware requires single-phase or
three-phase alternating current power at 50Hz or 60Hz. You must specify the
required power supply type when you order the hardware.

You must supply power to the installation site in accordance with your local
building codes, including the following work:

- Installing cabling conduits
- Running the required cabling
- Connecting the cabling to your electrical panel
- Turning on the power

All electrical work must be performed by a certified electrician.

### Line specifications

You must supply the following number of independent power lines to ensure high
availability, based on the variant that you want to deploy.

| Variant | Line requirement |
|---|---|
| **AC power (rack)** | Two (2) independent power lines with a dedicated ground connection |
| **AC power (server)** | One (1) independent power supply line with a dedicated ground connection per machine. |

All power receptacles must be located at most 6 feet (1.8 meters) from the
installation site.

### Power specifications for Distributed Cloud racks

For AC power supplied to Distributed Cloud connected racks, all power
supply lines must meet *one* of the following specifications.

| Phase | Voltage | Amperage | Connector |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Single-phase** | 208V, 50/60Hz | 30A | NEMA L6-30P |
| **Single-phase** | 230V, 50/60Hz | 32A | IEC 60309 2P+2E 6Hr |
| **Three-phase Wye** | 120V/208V, 50/60Hz | 30A | NEMA L21-30P |
| **Three-phase Delta** | 208V, 50/60Hz | 60A | IEC 60309 3P+G 9Hr |
| **Three-phase Delta** | 208V, 50/60Hz | 50A | CS8365 50A 3P+G |
| **Three-phase Wye** | 240V/410V, 50/60Hz | 16A | IEC 60309 3P+N+PE 6Hr |
| **Three-phase Wye** | 230V/400V, 50/60Hz | 32A | IEC 60309 3P+N+PE 6Hr |

### Power specifications for Distributed Cloud connected servers

For AC power supplied to each Distributed Cloud connected server machine,
all power supply lines must be capable of supplying between 100V and 240V at 50 or 60Hz
of single-phase power per Distributed Cloud connected server machine.
The Distributed Cloud connected server machine power supplies are auto-switching.

### Power draw

The power draw of a Distributed Cloud connected rack ranges
between 6,000W and 20,000W based on the selected configuration, presence of GPUs,
CPU load, and other factors.

The power draw of a Distributed Cloud connected server
machine ranges between 200W and 800W based on the selected configuration,
CPU load, and other factors.

### Backup power

For either variant, each of the independent power lines must have an independent
uninterruptible power supply (UPS) capable of powering the
Distributed Cloud hardware continuously for a minimum of
20 minutes for battery systems and 15 seconds for inertial systems.

In addition to UPS backup, you must also provide emergency electrical generator
backup of sufficient capacity to both charge the UPS units and power the
Distributed Cloud hardware for a minimum of four hours.
The Distributed Cloud hardware must be connected to the UPS
units. The UPS units must then connect to the generator backup by using
an automatic transfer switch (ATS) or similar system
that does not require human intervention to facilitate an emergency transfer.

Battery UPS systems without generator backup, such as older DC plants, must have
sufficient capacity to power Distributed Cloud hardware for a
minimum of four hours.

## Cooling

The Distributed Cloud connected hardware is air-cooled and
requires a climate-controlled environment to operate. Your installation site
must provide adequate cooling to keep the Distributed Cloud
connected hardware operational.

Your installation site must provide the following ambient environment.

| Environmental factor | Required range |
|---|---|
| **Temperature** | Between 59°F (15°C) and 89°F (31°C) |
| **Relative humidity** | Between 30% and 70%, non-condensing |

The ambient temperature and relative humidity fluctuations must not be greater
than the following:

- Ambient temperature: +/- 9°F (5°C) per hour
- Relative humidity: +/- 5% per hour

These guidelines apply to installations at altitudes below 10,000' MSL (3050m). For
higher altitudes, consult an HVAC professional and your Google or Google-certified SI
representative. Extreme swings outside of these recommended ranges can result in a protective
shutdown and/or permanent damage to Distributed Cloud hardware.

A Distributed Cloud connected rack produces up to 27,000 BTUs of heat
per hour and uses forced air to remove the heat from the installed hardware.
The front of the rack acts as a cold air intake, and the back of the rack acts
as a hot air exhaust. You must provide 4 feet (1.2 meters) of open space at both
the front and the back of the rack to allow for sufficient airflow. If possible,
install the rack in front of a dedicated perforated tile or register.

A Distributed Cloud connected server typically produces about 3,000 BTUs
of heat per hour and also uses forced air to remove heat from its chassis. Google
strongly recommends that you follow best practices similar to those described above
to ensure proper cooling of your Distributed Cloud connected server machines.

Distributed Cloud hardware requires that air at your deployment site
be continuously circulated, conditioned, and filtered by using permanently installed
commercial or industrial-grade HVAC equipment. Failure to maintain the required
environmental conditions could result in long-term damage to
Distributed Cloud hardware and a reduced reliability of
your Distributed Cloud deployment.

Your cooling infrastructure must meet the following guidelines:

- All HVAC equipment must have backup power and the capability to automatically restart after power loss.
- Air handlers, conditioning equipment, condensers, pumps, cooling towers, chillers, and other HVAC components must have appropriate redundancy.
- You must regularly inspect and maintain your HVAC equipment to keep its operating performance consistent and within the required ranges.
- You must not expose the Distributed Cloud hardware to direct sunlight or any other type of infrared radiation because this alters the validated temperature profile of the hardware.
- You must not expose the Distributed Cloud hardware to unconditioned, unfiltered air. Even brief exposure can cause dust buildup and restrict airflow to critical components.
- A fresh-air cooling system is acceptable if it is professionally engineered and installed. However, it must meet the thermal requirements listed previously.

## Networking

A Distributed Cloud connected rack requires four LC single-mode fiber
connections split between two redundant network devices on your local network.
Supported connection types are 10GBASE-LR, 25GBASE-LR, 40GBASE-LR4, and 100GBASE-LR4.

A Distributed Cloud connected server machine requires, at a minimum,
two gigabit Ethernet connections to your Top-of-Rack (ToR) switch, one in-band,
and one out-of-band. Google recommends two in-band connections per machine for
redundancy.

You must specify your network requirements, such as IP address ranges and firewall
configuration, when you order Distributed Cloud connected hardware.
For optical transport circuits, enable fault propagation for optimal routing
protocol convergence.

Before you order, your network administrator must work with Google to plan the
network configuration for the Distributed Cloud connected
installation.

For more information, see [Distributed Cloud connected
hardware](https://docs.cloud.google.com/distributed-cloud/connected/1.8.0/docs/how-it-works#hardware).

### Internet connection bandwidth

Distributed Cloud connected requires the following minimum bandwidth
for its connection to the internet:

- **Downstream:** 100 megabits per second
- **Upstream:** 30 megabits per second

### Allocate address blocks

Distributed Cloud connected requires that you allocate the following
address blocks on your local network.

#### Address blocks for Distributed Cloud connected racks

The following table describes the required address blocks for
Distributed Cloud connected racks:

| Network component | Allocation requirement |
|---|---|
| Peering link to your local network | Four public or private /31 CIDR blocks. You can provide four /31 CIDR blocks, a VLAN ID, and two BGP ASNs that cover these four address blocks. One ASN is for your local routers that peer with Distributed Cloud connected ToR switches, and one ASN is for the Distributed Cloud switches. |
| ToR switch management subnetwork | At least one /30 CIDR block, either public or RFC 1918. |
| Distributed Cloud connected machine management subnetwork | At least one /27 CIDR block, either public or RFC 1918. |
| Distributed Cloud connected nodes subnetwork | At least one /27 CIDR block, either public or RFC 1918. |

#### Address blocks for Distributed Cloud servers

The following table describes the required address blocks for
Distributed Cloud connected servers:

| Network component | Allocation requirement |
|---|---|
| Distributed Cloud connected machine management subnetwork | One (1) IP address per machine in your local network VLAN, either public or RFC 1918. |
| Distributed Cloud connected nodes subnetwork | One (1) IP address per machine in your local network VLAN, either public or RFC 1918. |
| Distributed Cloud connected load balancer pool | Six (6) IP address per machine in your local network VLAN, either public or RFC 1918. |

The IP addresses for the machine management and node subnetworks must be contiguous.
You must also provide the IP address of your default gateway, and the subnet mask of your
local network.

#### How to allocate the required address blocks

When you order Distributed Cloud connected hardware, your network
administrator must provide the preceding CIDR block allocation information.
These values cannot be changed after Distributed Cloud connected is
deployed.

Node, machine management, and ToR switch CIDR blocks must be routable
subnetworks on your local network. They can be private RFC 1918-range
subnetworks or public networks. You must configure the appropriate BGP
sessions on your peering edge routers to accept routes for the
Distributed Cloud connected nodes subnetwork, the
Distributed Cloud connected machine management subnetwork, and
the lower two /32 IP addresses of the ToR switch management subnetwork.

The CIDR blocks are allocated per Distributed Cloud connected rack.
When you create a Distributed Cloud connected cluster,
Distributed Cloud connected automatically assigns
nodes within that cluster to IP addresses within the specified node CIDR block
based on their capabilities and availability.

In a multi-rack Distributed Cloud connected installation, you must
specify unique CIDR blocks for each Distributed Cloud connected rack.
Each rack is connected to your network separately.

If you plan to expand your Distributed Cloud connected installation
with additional machines, you must account for the additional IP addresses that
this requires in your initial Distributed Cloud connected order.
You must also account for overhead IP addresses, such as gateway addresses and
floating addresses used by VPN connections between your workloads and
Google Cloud. Work with your Google Cloud sales representative
to determine the optimum node CIDR block allocations based on your business
requirements.

When your Distributed Cloud connected installation is up and running,
you also need to allocate network IP addresses for your
Distributed Cloud connected Pods and Services as described in
[Distributed Cloud connected Pod and Service network address
allocation](https://docs.cloud.google.com/distributed-cloud/connected/1.8.0/docs/address-allocation).

### Configure firewalls

Distributed Cloud connected requires that you configure your firewall
to allow the following types of network traffic:

- Distributed Cloud connected management and monitoring traffic
- Distributed Cloud connected workload traffic

#### Distributed Cloud connected management and monitoring traffic

Distributed Cloud connected requires that you open the following ports
on your local network. Distributed Cloud connected requires these
ports for outbound connections to Google over the internet for management and
monitoring traffic. You must use a stateful firewall that tracks this
outbound traffic and allows the corresponding returning inbound traffic through
to Distributed Cloud connected.

| Function | Originating subnetwork | Protocol | Ports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain Name System (DNS) | ToR switch management, Distributed Cloud connected machine management, Distributed Cloud connected nodes | TCP, UDP | 53 |
| Network Time Protocol (NTP) | ToR switch management, Distributed Cloud connected machine management, Distributed Cloud connected nodes | UDP | 123 |
| Terminal Access Controller Access Control System (TACACS) for switch authentication | ToR switch management | TCP | 3535 |
| Management VPN | ToR switch management, Distributed Cloud connected machine management | TCP, UDP | 443 |
| Bootstrap and Management API | ToR switch management, Distributed Cloud connected machine management | TCP, UDP | 443 |
| Monitoring service | Distributed Cloud connected machine management, Distributed Cloud connected nodes | TCP, UDP | 443 |
| Logging service | Distributed Cloud connected machine management, Distributed Cloud connected nodes | TCP, UDP | 443 |
| Cloud VPN and Virtual Private Cloud data plane | Distributed Cloud connected nodes | UDP (ESP, IKE) | 500, 4500 |

#### Distributed Cloud connected workload traffic

Your network administrator must also configure additional firewall rules to
allow traffic to and from the workloads deployed on your
Distributed Cloud connected clusters.

If you deploy Distributed Cloud connected behind a NAT gateway, and
you have additional firewall rules configured on your WAN gateways that filter
or block inbound UDP traffic, the Cloud VPN connectivity required by
Distributed Cloud connected might be affected. In such cases, you must
allow inbound Cloud VPN UDP traffic from the Cloud VPN IP
address ranges.

For example, you need to allow inbound UDP traffic from the source IP address ranges
`35.242.0.0/17`, `35.220.0.0/17`, and `34.157.0.0/16` with the source port
matching `500` or `4500` (IKE/ESP). If your firewall solution requires a more
exact configuration, set the destination IP address range to match the IP
address range of the Distributed Cloud connected nodes subnetwork.
If your firewall is upstream of your NAT gateway,
set the destination IP address range to the NAT gateway's public IP address.

### Validate your connectivity before ordering Distributed Cloud connected

Google provides a network connectivity validation tool for Distributed Cloud connected.
This tool allows you to verify whether your local network is properly configured to support a
Distributed Cloud connected deployment, including:

- DNS configuration
- NTP configuration
- Switch management connectivity
- Google API endpoint connectivity
- VPN connectivity

You can download the tool from the following locations:

- [Download for Windows](https://gitlab.com/danielxia/site-discovery/-/blob/master/release/alpha/siteDiscovery.exe)
- [Download for Linux](https://gitlab.com/danielxia/site-discovery/-/blob/master/release/alpha/siteDiscovery)
- [Download the playbook file (required)](https://gitlab.com/danielxia/site-discovery/-/blob/master/playbook.yaml)

You can also view the tool's [source code](https://gitlab.com/danielxia/site-discovery).

To run the tool, execute the respective binary. The tool generates a report file and a log file.
Send these files with your Google field sales representative to complete the network validation.

## On-site maintenance

Google remotely monitors the Distributed Cloud connected hardware. If
you encounter an issue, contact [Support](https://docs.cloud.google.com/distributed-cloud/connected/1.8.0/docs/support)
to file a ticket. If Google detects a hardware failure, we will do one of the following:

- For Google-owned Distributed Cloud hardware, we will schedule a visit to your installation site. A Google-certified technician works with you to coordinate the visit and make the required repairs.
- For customer-owned Distributed Cloud hardware, we will notify you and the Google-certified SI who delivered your Distributed Cloud connected hardware. You must work with the SI to coordinate a technician visit and make the required repairs.

## What's next

- [Order Distributed Cloud connected hardware](https://docs.cloud.google.com/distributed-cloud/connected/1.8.0/docs/order)