Connecting to IBM Cloud Direct Link

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Benefits of IBM Direct Link through Megaport

• Reduced latency, increased availability
• Reduced data egress cost
• Secure connectivity

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Creating a connection to IBM Direct Link

• Redundancy — Megaport supports redundant connections. In each of the Direct Link peering locations, Megaport has established two diverse Direct Links with IBM Cloud. In the , the Ports are noted as Port 1 and Port 2. A redundant configuration requires two or more VXCs.
• Local and Global Routing Options — The Local Routing option provides access to data centers with the same three-letter prefix as the Point of Presence (such as DAL, AMS, and MEL). The Global Routing option is required as an add-on to reach data centers outside of those locations. For more information about local and global routing options, see the IBM cloud documentation.
• Port speed — Port speed options for IBM Direct Link Connect are 50 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps, 500 Mbps, 1 Gbps, 2 Gbps, or 5 Gbps. For pricing details from IBM, see Pricing for IBM Cloud Direct Link.
• Megaport-enabled Direct Link locations:
  • North America: Ashburn, Chicago, Dallas, San Jose, Toronto
  • Europe: Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris
  • Australia: Melbourne, Sydney
  • Asia: Osaka, Tokyo

1. In the , go to the Services page and select the Port you want to use.
   If you haven’t already created a Port, see Creating a Port.
2. Add an IBM Cloud connection for the Port.
   If this is the first connection for the Port, click the IBM Cloud tile. The tile is a shortcut to the configuration page. Alternatively, click +Connection, click Cloud, then click IBM Cloud.
3. Select the IBM Direct Link location where the peer will be set up with IBM Cloud and click Next.
   This destination should match the peer location selected in the IBM Cloud.
4. Specify the connection details:
   • Connection Name — The name of your VXC to be shown in the .
   • Service Level Reference (optional) — Specify a unique identifying number for your Megaport service to be used for billing purposes, such as a cost center number, unique customer ID, or purchase order number. 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.
   • Rate Limit — The speed of your connection in Mbps. The speed tiers available are dependent on the selected location, and match the speeds available in IBM. Select the port speed from the drop-down list to match the selected speed in the IBM Cloud portal for the Direct Link service.
   • 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.
     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 (optional) — Specify an unused VLAN ID for this connection.
     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 select Untagged to remove the VLAN tagging for this connection. The untagged option limits you to only one VXC deployed on this Port. You must use untagged VLANs if you are creating a MACsec connection.
   • Minimum Term — Select No Minimum Term, 12 Months, 24 Months, 36 Months, 48 Months, or 60 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). Enable the Minimum Term Renewal option for services with a 12, 24, 36, 48 or 60-month term to automatically renew the contract at the same discounted price and term length at the end of the contract. If you don’t renew the contract, at the end of the term, the contract will automatically roll over to month-to-month contract for the following billing period, at the same price, without term discounts. For more information, see VXC Pricing and Contract Terms and VXC, Megaport Internet, and IX Billing.
   • Resource Tags — You can use resource tags to add your own reference metadata to a Megaport service.
     To add a tag:
     1. Click Add Tags.
     2. Click Add New Tag.
     3. Enter details into the fields:
        • Key — string maximum length 128. Valid values are a-z 0-9 _ : . / \ -
        • Value — string maximum length 256. Valid values are a-z A-Z 0-9 _ : . @ / + \ - (space)
     4. Click Save. If you already have resource tags for that service, you can manage them by clicking Manage Tags.
     Never include sensitive information in a resource tag. Sensitive information includes commands that return existing tag definitions and information that will identify a person or company.
5. Click Next.
   The Cloud Details page appears.
6. Specify these IBM cloud details:
   • IBM Account ID — Your IBM account ID. You can get your account ID from the IBM account setting in the IBM Cloud portal.
     This is used to link the Megaport Portal and IBM Cloud portal. Confirmation for this new connection will be sent to the specified account ID in the IBM Cloud portal.
   • Customer ASN — Your network’s autonomous system number (ASN). This can be a public or private ASN and the supported ranges are 1 - 65401, 65434 - 4201064999, and 4201066000 - 4294967294 (default is 64999).
     Excluded ranges are 65201 - 65234, and excluded values are 13884, 36351, 64512, 64513, 65100, 65500, 65516, 65519, 65521, and 65531.
   • Customer IP Address (optional) — The IP address space (in CIDR format) you will use on your network for peering. For private connections, this field is optional and if left blank, Megaport assigns a private /30 address. For public connections, this field is required and needs public IPs (/30) allocated by you for BGP connectivity. You must own the public IPs.
   • Provider IP Address (optional) — The IP address space in CIDR format assigned in the IBM network for peering. If left blank, Megaport automatically assigns a private /30 address.
7. Click Next.
   A summary page appears that includes a drop-down of the IBM cloud details and the monthly cost.
8. Click Back to make changes or click Add VXC.
   Once you have finished this configuration, you can configure additional VXCs or proceed through the ordering process.
9. Click Review Order to proceed through the checkout process, or click Save to save the configured services before placing the order.
10. Review the Important Information section and confirm agreement with the Service Agreements. If you do not have a promotion code, skip to the Order Now step. If you do have a promotion code, enter it into the Enter discount code field then click Apply. Alternatively, if a code already appears in the Discounts field, verify it is correct and click Apply. The promotional discount appears below the Standard Term discount. This discount is not reflected in the Monthly Rate shown here, it is applied at the time of billing. If an invalid or expired code causes an error with your order, contact your Megaport Account Manager for a replacement code. If you entered an incorrect promotion code, you can remove it by clicking Remove.
11. Click Order Now.

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Helpful references

• Models for diversity and redundancy in Direct Link