App Engine SSL - Apps not allowing SSL

Question

Overview of problem. Site was running on a Free version of Google Apps for over a year as a simple web page. We started developing it we deleted the old Google Apps and and migrated it to our primary App Engine account to avoid billing issues of two+ accounts. We couldn't get App Engine to recognize the Custom Domain even though it was in the Domains tab of our Google Apps Account. In searching I found Google limits using domains on App Engine (http://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=182081 scroll down to App Engine) I had to recreate a separate Google Apps account to verify ownership of the domain. Site is up and operational now outside of SSL. The issue is that when I go to https://admin.google.com/CPanelHome#DomainSettings/subtab=domains and type the app id to enable SSL on the domain Apps account it routes me to create an App Engine app instead of to billing. Because the app is running on the primary App Engine account not the Domain account.

It seems someone must have ran across this and solved it. How do I enable my primary Google Apps account to verify ownership of the domains and allow App Engine to use it? I have a lot of domains that will be hosted on App Engine and a lot of integration between the sites that would really need to be all under a single account to facilitate.

I noticed in searching that Google is offering a free year of Google Apps for customers using App Engine to host a application. Is Google expecting every domain to have a full Google Apps account and host on separate App Engine accounts? If so that would really limit our ability to use App Engine.

Answer 1

After waiting for three days for an answer I am moving on. I believe I tried every way imaginable to accomplish getting multiple domains on a primary Google Apps account to be verified and have SSL enabled. I went so far as to try it with a domain that has never had any Google services. Just in case there were some settings that were causing issues from left over configuration.

So the resolution of this at this time is Google expects you to have a full Google Apps account per domain to enable SSL, or Google App Engine on it. I believe they will be removing the Free Google App Account in the near future. This effectively means that hosting on App Engine will get expensive as a Google App Account is $50/year, and if you use a CloudSQL instance it will be at minimum $9/mo. That is on top of the bandwidth and usage fees.

I have already deactivated billing and disabled the apps on those accounts and have moved them over to a VPS. This is the third year I have spent a lot of time trying to get basic sites using SSL established on Google. While this year it is possible to do it, in the end you pay an arm and a leg for it.

I love Google and really want App Engine to be viable. But I just don't think they will pull it together. All my friends have went with Azure, RackSpace, and the granddaddy Amazon. It really makes me sad that Google is so far from viable and even worse that Azure just works.

If anyone at Google wishes to contact me feel free to do so. If there is something I missed feel free to open this and give directions on how to host multiple domains on a single App Engine / Apps account with SSL. I would greatly appreciate it.