A cloud network administrator is planning to expand the primary IPv4 address range of an existing subnet within a custom-mode Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) network in Google Cloud to support newly required virtual machine instances. Arrange the following steps in the correct chronological order required to safely plan and execute this subnet expansion.
- 1Audit existing VPC subnets, peered networks, and on-premises route tables to identify contiguous unallocated IP address space.
- 2Calculate the expanded IP range boundaries to ensure the new prefix encompasses the current range and uses a smaller netmask length.
- 3Run the `gcloud compute networks subnets expand-ip-range` command with the `--prefix-length` flag specifying the target netmask.
- 4Confirm the updated subnet configuration in Google Cloud and update internal IP Address Management (IPAM) records.
Answer
The correct sequence to expand a VPC primary subnet range is: 1) Audit existing network routes and IP ranges for unallocated space, 2) Calculate valid expanded CIDR boundaries using a smaller netmask, 3) Execute the gcloud compute networks subnets expand-ip-range command, and 4) Confirm the updated configuration and update IPAM records.
Safely expanding a primary VPC subnet CIDR range requires evaluating unallocated IP space across all connected networks first, calculating valid CIDR netmask boundaries, running the gcloud compute networks subnets expand-ip-range command, and updating IP address documentation upon completion.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Subnet IP Range Expansion Planning and Execution