Prerequisites
- GCP Console admin access to the billing account and projects you wish to integrate with Pelanor (orgnization-level access is recommended):
- An enabled BigQuery billing export, with the detailed usage cost enabled.
Haven’t set up a billing export yet? Follow Google’s official documentation
here.
here.
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Billing Account | GCP account that receives and pays charges |
| Project | GCP organizational unit that owns resources |
| Workspace | Pelanor environment for a customer or team |
| BigQuery Export | Billing data sent to BigQuery for analysis |
| Metadata | Service-specific data beyond the billing export (API calls, logs, etc.) |
Integration Options
Option 1: Billing Account + All Projects (Recommended)
Pelanor will ingest detailed billing data from the provided billing account. Metadata will be collected from all projects associated with this billing account. Use this configuration for seamless integration across your entire GCP stack. Any new projects created under this billing account in the future will be automatically visible in Pelanor.Option 2: Billing Account + Scoped Projects
Billing data will be collected from the main billing account; resource metadata will only be ingested from a static list of projects (entered directly in the Integration wizard). Use this configuration if you have security or compliance restrictions or only want to integrate a certain part of your environment with Pelanor.Option 3: Projects Only (No Billing Export)
Pelanor will only collect metadata from a static list of projects (entered directly in the Integration wizard). Use this configuration in the following scenarios:- Onboarding new customers in multi-tenant organizations with centralized billing, such as Managed Service Providers (MSPs) or cloud resellers.
- Integrating additional projects into Pelanor when the initial integration was performed using Option 2 (Billing Account + Scoped Projects)
Installation Steps
1
Create a New GCP Integration
Log in to the Pelanor platform, then select the Integrations menu in the left-hand sidebar. Select GCP to start the integration wizard.
2
Select Integration Method
Select the GCP integration method used for this installation. Refer to the above section, Integration Options, to determine the most suitable GCP integration method for your organization.
3
Fill in Details and Run gcloud CLI Commands
Input the parameters required by the integration wizard. Depending on your selected integration method, this may include your billing export name and/or list of projects.
You’ll also be prompted to execute commands using the gcloud CLI.
4
Enable Cost Allocation (optional, GKE only)
To enable Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) cost breakdowns by cluster, namespace, and labels, run the following command for every cluster you intend to install the Pelanor Kubernetes agent on:
5
Validate Integration
You can verify your integration works by visiting the Explore page and filtering by
Vendor = GCP. Data typically appears in Pelanor within 24–48 hours after completing the integration.Architecture & Permissions
Pelanor requests the following IAM permissions, all in read-only mode. If you omit certain permissions, some insights within the platform (including metadata displayed in reports) might not be displayed.| Permission | Purpose |
|---|---|
bigquery.datasets.get | Access billing datasets |
bigquery.jobs.get | Retrieve query details |
bigquery.jobs.list | Read statistics about BigQuery jobs |
bigquery.jobs.listAll | List BigQuery jobs not initiated by the Pelanor principal user |
bigquery.tables.get | Read table metadata |
bigquery.tables.list | Fetch BigQuery table names |
cloudsql.instances.list | Cloud SQL cost insights |
compute.instances.list | Map workloads to instances |
compute.networks.list | Analyze network configs |
compute.regions.list | Retrieve regions enabled for your organization’s account |
compute.routers.get | Routing cost analysis |
compute.routers.list | List Cloud Router resources |
compute.routes.list | Traffic route mapping |
container.clusters.list | Discover GKE clusters |
container.nodes.list | Node-level allocation |
resourcemanager.projects.get | Discover projects |
resourcemanager.projects.getIamPolicy | Cross-project IAM analysis |
billing.resourceAssociations.list | Enumerate projects associated with a billing account (project discovery) |