Connecting to Cisco Webex Edge Connect with Megaport

Megaport makes it easy to provision fast, secure, and private connections to Webex through our global Software Defined Network (SDN). As a Webex Edge Connect partner, Megaport provides customers with direct, private access to global Webex infrastructure via pre-provisioned on-ramps.

Webex Edge Connect peering is a private point-to-point network connection that bypasses the public internet and connects your network directly to Webex Meetings and Webex Calling Data Centers. Webex Edge Connect insulates meetings from the public internet, resulting in less congestion, packet lossPacket loss rate/packet loss ratio. This is the percentage of packet loss while traveling from the source to the destination. Packet loss can be caused by congested links, network device failure, or network reachability status changes.
, jitterA variation in packet transit delay (RTT/RTD/PTD, latency) caused by queuing, contention and serialization effects on a path through the network. Higher levels of jitter are more likely to occur on slow or heavily congested links.
, and delay. No exposure to the internet means connections are more secure.

The benefits of direct connectivity to Webex through Megaport include:

• Private access that bypasses the public internet
• High performance and predictability for your network
• Improved data and operational security
• Flexible and scalable cloud networking
• Consistent connectivity while scaling bandwidth to Webex. This means no downtime when you need to increase or decrease your speed.
• Connect to multiple regions from a single interconnection point, which leverages multi-region redundancy at a fraction of the cost.

Availability

Webex Edge Connect is available in these locations with Megaport:

Asia Pacific

Singapore, Equinix SG1
Sydney, Equinix SY1
Melbourne, Equinix ME1
Tokyo, Equinix TY2

Europe

Amsterdam, Equinix AM1
London, Telehouse North
Frankfurt, Equinix FR5

North America

Ashburn, Equinix DC 4
Chicago, Equinix CH4
Dallas, Equinix DA1
San Jose, Equinix SV1
New York City, Digital Realty NYC2

Prerequisites

Before you begin, notify Cisco Webex. If you are an existing Cisco Webex customer, contact your Cisco Account Manager.

To create a connection to Cisco Webex, you need the following:

• ASN - Public and Private BGP Autonomous System Number (ASN).

• IP address – An IP space that is public and provider-independent. This is not supplied by Megaport, please discuss these specific details with Cisco.

  Note

  Edge Connect does not accept private IP advertisements like RFC1918 addresses for Meetings and Calling connections.

• Megaport account – If you haven’t already created one, see Creating an Account.

• Port – You can create a 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps Port onto the Megaport network, with Virtual Cross Connects (VXCs) that connect your data center and a Webex location. 100 Gbps Ports are available in limited locations. If you haven’t already created one, see Creating a Port.

Creating a connection to Webex

To create a connection between Megaport and Webex, you must obtain a service key from Cisco Webex. A service key includes the essential configuration details and automates much of the configuration process. Webex requires information from the customer in order to configure Layer 3 BGP peering in the appropriate metro. This is a manual process that the Cisco Account Teams will lead.

After obtaining the service key from Cisco Webex, you can create a VXC from a Port to Webex.

To request a connection to Webex

1. Contact the Cisco Account Team to obtain a service key.
2. The Cisco Account Team engages Webex Engineering.
3. The Cisco Account Team provides connectivity details from the customer side to configure the Cisco side equipment.

4. After all Webex side configurations are complete, a service key will be created by Webex for the customer.

   Note

   Service keys are issued only after the Webex team has collected customer data and configured Layer 3 BGP peering in the appropriate metro.

5. Webex Engineering provide the service key to the customer which the customer uses to connect to Webex Services using Megaport.

Note

This process will take between 2 - 3 weeks to be completed.

To create a VXC to Webex in the Megaport Portal

1. In the Megaport Portal, go to the Services page.
2. Select the Port for the connection and click +Connection.
   
3. Click Enter Service Key and click Next.
   

4. Enter the key provided by Webex.
   
   Megaport validates the key. For more information on using a service key, see Creating a VXC with a service key.

5. Click Next.

6. Specify the connection details:

   • Connection Name – The name of your VXC to be shown in the Megaport Portal.

   • Service Level Reference (optional) – Specify a unique identifying number for the VXC to be used for billing purposes, such as a cost center number or a unique customer ID. The service level reference number appears for each service under the Product section of the invoice. You can also edit this field for an existing service.

     Note

     Partner-managed accounts can apply a Partner Deal to a service. For more information, see Associating a Deal With a Service.

   • Rate Limit – The speed of your connection in Mbps. Accepted values range from 1 Mbps to 5 Gbps in 1 Mbps increments. Note the sum of all hosted virtual VXCs to a service can exceed the Port capacity (1 or 10 Gpbs) but the total aggregate will never burst beyond the Port capacity.

   • VXC State – Select Enabled or Shut Down to define the initial state of the connection. For more information, see Shutting Down a VXC for Failover Testing.

     Note

     If you select Shut Down, traffic will not flow through this service and it will behave as if it was down on the Megaport network. Billing for this service will remain active and you will still be charged for this connection.

   • Preferred A-End VLAN – The VLAN for this connection that you will receive through the Port.
     This must be a unique VLAN ID on this Port and can range from 2 to 4093. If you specify a VLAN ID that is already in use, the system displays the next available VLAN number. The VLAN ID must be unique to proceed with the order. If you don’t specify a value, Megaport will assign one.

     Alternatively, you can click Untag. This selection removes the VLAN tagging for this connection but also means that only one VXC can be deployed on this Port.

   • Minimum Term – Select No Minimum Term, 12 Months, 24 Months, or 36 Months. Longer terms result in a lower monthly rate. 12 Months is selected by default.
     Take note of the information on the screen to avoid early termination fees (ETF). For more information, see VXC Pricing and Contract Terms and VXC, Megaport Internet, and IX Billing.

   

7. Click Next.
   A summary page appears that includes the monthly cost.
   

8. Click Add VXC to move the configuration to your cart.
9. Click Order to continue through the checkout process, or create a new connection.
10. Review the Order Services agreement and click Order Now.

Expectations

Meetings and Calling:

• This process is under Early Access status and is manually configured.
• Plan for up to 3 business weeks turnaround.
• Dependent on the quality of the technical information provided to the Webex team.

Webex Suite (Meetings, Calling and Dedicated Instances):

• This process is under Early Access status and is manually configured.
• Plan for up to 3 business weeks turnaround.
• Dependent on the services required and the quality of the technical information provided to the Webex team.

Redundancy

To establish full redundancy between your data center and Webex, we recommend deploying redundant VXCs between two different Webex regions (or availability zones within a region) and two corresponding Ports at each Megaport-enabled data center.

Helpful references

• Cisco Webex Edge Connect Product Overview
• Webex Edge Data Sheet
• Webex Edge Connect Help Center