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Creating an Azure ExpressRoute Connection for an MVE with VMware SD-WAN

You can create a network connection from an MVE (a VMware edge) to Azure ExpressRoute with Virtual Cross Connects (VXCs). You can create either a private connection or a public (Microsoft) connection.

Important

Before you begin, create an MVE in Orchestrator. For more information, see Creating an MVE Integrated with VMware.

There are three parts to adding an ExpressRoute connection to your MVE and Orchestrator.

1. Set up your ExpressRoute plan and deploy the ExpressRoute circuit in the Azure console. When deployed, you get a service key. For additional details, see the Microsoft ExpressRoute documentation.

2. In the Megaport Portal, create a connection (VXC) from your MVE to your ExpressRoute location.

3. In VMware Orchestrator, create a new interface and add the details of the Azure connection.

The instructions in this topic describe the second and third parts.

Note

MVE for VMware SD-WAN requires configuration steps in both VMware Orchestrator and the Megaport Portal for all cloud connections.

Adding the ExpressRoute connection in the Megaport Portal

To set up the ExpressRoute connection, you need to create the connection in the Megaport Portal.

To create a connection to ExpressRoute from the Megaport Portal

1. In the Megaport Portal, go to the Services page and select the MVE you want to use.

2. Click +Connection on the MVE.
   

3. Click the Cloud tile.

4. Select Microsoft Azure as the provider.

5. Add the ExpressRoute service key into the Microsoft Azure Service Key field on the right.
   The Portal verifies the key then displays the available port locations based on the ExpressRoute region. For example, if your ExpressRoute service is deployed in the Australia East region in Sydney, you can select the Sydney locations.

6. Select the connection point for your first connection.
   To deploy a second connection (and this is recommended), you can create a second VXC - enter the same service key and select the other connection location.

   Some helpful links appear on the configuration screen to resources including the Azure Resource Manager console and some tutorial videos.

7. Click Next.

8. 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 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 rate limit for the VXC will be capped at the maximum allowable based on the ExpressRoute service key.

   • 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.

   • A-End vNIC – Select an A-End vNIC from the drop-down list. For more information about vNICs, see Creating an MVE in the Megaport Portal.

   • Preferred A-End VLAN (optional) – Specify an unused VLAN ID for this connection (for ExpressRoute this is the S-Tag). This must be a unique VLAN ID on this MVE 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.

   • 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).

     Enable the Minimum Term Renewal option for services with a 12, 24, or 36-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.

     Warning

     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.

   • Configure Single Azure Peering VLAN – By default, this option is enabled for MVE and we strongly recommend keeping it enabled.
     This option provides a single tag VLAN solution. You configure peering in Azure with the MVE VLAN (A-End) and the peer VLAN set in Azure (B-End). Note, you can have only one peering type (Private or Microsoft) per VXC with this option.

     Important

     If you do not enable this option, the VXC appears active but it does not recognize traffic.

   • Azure Peering VLAN – This value needs to match the A-End VLAN for single tag VLAN peering. A different Azure peering VLAN can also be set, if required.
     

9. Click Next and proceed through the ordering process.

When the VXC configuration completes, the VXC icon is green.

In the Azure Resource Management console, the provider status will be Provisioned.

When provisioned, you need to configure peerings. You can configure private and Microsoft peering. Click the peer to configure and provide these details:

• Peer ASN – Enter the ASN for the MVE.
• IPv4 Subnets – From each of these subnets, MVE uses the first usable IP address and Microsoft uses the second usable IP for its router.
• VLAN ID – Enter the A-End VLAN from the MVE. (Note, the VLAN ID in the Azure console can be different from the A-End VLAN.)
• Shared Key (optional) – Enter a MD5Sometimes known as an MD5 hash or BGP key. The message-digest (MD5) algorithm is a widely used cryptographic function producing a string of 32 hexadecimal digits. This is used as a password or key between routers exchanging BGP information.
  password for BGP.

Adding Azure connection details to Orchestrator

After you create the connection from your MVE to Azure and set up the connection in the Azure console, you need to configure it in Orchestrator. This involves configuring BGP settings, ASNs, VLANs, and MD5 values.

To add the Azure Cloud connection in Orchestrator

1. Collect the connection details from the Azure console.
   Display the details of the connection you created in Azure for this connection. Note the values for the Peer ASN, Shared Key, VLAN ID, and IPv4 Primary Subnet.

2. Collect the connection details from the Megaport Portal.
   Click the gear icon for the Azure connection from your MVE and click the Details view. Note the value for the A-End VLAN.

3. In Orchestrator, go to Configure > Edges and click the MVE device.
   

4. Select the Device tab and scroll down to the Interface Settings.

5. Click +Add Subinterface.
   
   The Select Interface dialog box appears.

6. From the Select Interface menu, choose GE3 and for the Subinterface ID enter the A-End VLAN ID configured for the connection in the Megaport Portal.
   
   The subinterface settings appear.

7. Change the Addressing Type to Static and provide the IP Address, CIDR value, and Gateway.
   These values are available in the Azure console. The IP addresses and CIDR appear in the IPv4 Primary Subnet field; MVE uses the first usable IP address and Azure uses the second usable IP for its router.
   

8. Ensure Enable VLAN Tagging is enabled.
   The field is automatically populated with the VLAN ID you specified for the subinterface ID.

9. Click Update GE3:vlan-id.

10. In the upper-right corner of the Configure > Edges window, click Save Changes and then confirm.
    This configures the interface, VLAN tags, and IP addresses, which you can test with ping commands through the CLI. (BGP is not yet configured.)

    Note

    Adding the subinterface momentarily disrupts the connection.

To configure BGP for the Azure connection in Orchestrator

1. In Orchestrator, go to Configure > Edges and click the MVE device.

2. Select the Device tab and in the Configure Segments section click Enable Edge Override for BGP Settings.
   This override lets us define BGP values specific for this device beyond the profile definition.
   

3. Click the toggle button to turn on BGP and click Edit.
   The BGP Editor appears.

4. For Local ASN, add the Peer ASN from the Azure console.

5. For the Neighbor IP, add the second usable IP address from the IPv4 Primary Subnet from the Azure console.

6. Add the Azure ASN of 12076 to the ASN field for the neighbor.
   This is a fixed value from Azure.

7. If you set an MD5 password in the Azure console, view all Additional Options and enable MD5 Auth and enter your MD5 Password (Shared Secret) from Azure.
   

8. Click OK and then click Save Changes.

Validating your connection

Under Test & Troubleshoot > Remote Diagnostics, select the MVE and click Run for Troubleshoot BGP - Show BGP Summary to verify the BGP session.

You can also check connectivity and BGP status from the CLI of the edge device. For more information, see Reviewing your VMware MVE connection settings.