Cisco CSR 1000v Deployment Guide for Google Cloud Platform

Overview of Cisco CSR 1000v Deployment

The Cisco CSR 1000v is an enterprise-class cloud router designed to provide advanced networking services and VPN capabilities within the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) environment. This guide outlines the process of deploying the router using a solution template, which simplifies the configuration of associated cloud resources.

Prerequisites and SSH Key Generation

Before initiating the deployment, you must prepare your environment. A critical requirement for accessing the Cisco CSR 1000v VM instance is an SSH key pair. You can generate this on a terminal server using the ssh-keygen command. Ensure you create both a private and a public key. The public key is essential during the VM instance creation process to establish secure administrative access to the router.

Configuring the VPC Network

A Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) network must be established before deploying the CSR 1000v. Within the GCP console, navigate to the VPC network section to create a new network. You will need to define a name, description, and at least one subnet. When configuring the subnet, specify a region and an appropriate IP address range, such as 10.10.1.0/24. You may repeat the subnet creation process if your architecture requires multiple subnets for the VPC.

Deploying the Solution Template

Once the network infrastructure is ready, proceed to the Google Marketplace to locate the Cisco CSR 1000v template. Launching this template on the Compute Engine opens a configuration screen where you must provide specific deployment details. Key parameters include the instance name, which must adhere to GCP naming conventions, the username for access, and the previously generated SSH public key. You must also select the appropriate zone and machine type based on your performance requirements.

Networking and Advanced Configuration

During the deployment setup, you will configure critical networking parameters. Select the previously created VPC network and the associated subnetwork, which will serve as the primary network interface (nic0). You can also define external IP addresses and firewall rules to manage traffic on specific TCP ports like 21, 22, and 80. IP forwarding is enabled by default to facilitate traffic flow between interfaces. If your deployment requires additional network interfaces, ensure you configure them correctly, noting that there is a known requirement to fill in all eight interface slots if the option is selected, even if not all are strictly necessary for your current topology.