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Megaport Documentation
Planning Your Deployment
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Planning Your F5 BIG-IP Deployment

This topic provides an overview of the provisioning process and describes deployment considerations for the Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE).

You Provide Megaport Provides
F5 BIG-IP VE software license Platform to host the F5 BIG-IP VE virtual appliance
Application servers, backend services, or destinations to be load balanced, accelerated, or protected Connectivity from the MVE to data centers, CSPs, and other endpoints on the Megaport SDN, and interoperation with other Megaport products and services
Configuration of BIG-IP modules (LTM, BIG-IP DNS, WAF, SSL/TLS offload) for your use case Megaport Internet connection for management plane access, licensing, and updates
Administrator credentials and SSH key for initial access Access to the Megaport ecosystem

Deployment considerations

This section describes MVE deployment options and sizing for F5 BIG-IP VE. For an overview of F5 BIG-IP VE features, see F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition with Megaport Virtual Edge. For information about all supported NFVsThe MVE is an on-demand, vendor-neutral Network Function Virtualization (NFV) platform that provides virtual infrastructure for network services at the edge of Megaport’s global software-defined network (SDN). Network technologies such as SD-WAN and NGFW are hosted directly on Megaport’s global network via Megaport Virtual Edge.
 on the MVE platform, see the Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE) product page.

MVE locations

For a list of global locations where you can connect to an MVE, see Megaport Virtual Edge Locations.

Sizing your MVE instance

The instance size determines the MVE capabilities, such as how many concurrent connections it can support. To size your MVE correctly, consult the vendor’s sizing documentation to ensure it aligns with the number and type of features you plan to enable.

When choosing an MVE instance size, keep in mind these items:

  • Any increase on the network data stream load can degrade performance. For example, establishing secure tunnels with IPsec, adding traffic path steering, or using deep packet inspection (DPI) can affect the maximum throughput speed.

  • Future plans to scale the network.

To check which MVE instance sizes are available for your deployment, use the Megaport Portal during the MVE setup process. Instance size availability depends on both the selected vendor and the deployment location, and might vary accordingly. The Megaport Portal displays the sizes that are available for your selected vendor and location.

To check the MVE instance sizes in the Megaport Portal

  1. In the Megaport Portal, go to the Services page.

  2. Click Create MVE.
    Create MVE button

  3. Select F5 BIG IP.

  4. Select the software version.

  5. Click Next.

  6. Select an MVE location.

    Select a location geographically close to your target branch and/or on-premises locations.

    You can use the Search field to find the Port name, Country, Metro City, or address of your destination Port. You can also filter by diversity zone.

  7. A list of available instance sizes appear based on the selected location. Available sizes are highlighted in green and labeled Available. The sizes support varying numbers of concurrent connections, and individual partner product metrics vary slightly.

    Note

    If the MVE size you want is not in the list, then there is not enough capacity at the selected location. You can either select another location with enough capacity or contact your Account Manager to discuss requirements.

What if I need more MVE capacity in the future?

To increase your MVE capacity, you have these options:

  • You can provision another MVE instance, add it to your network, and split the workload between the two MVEs.

  • You can provision a larger MVE instance, migrate connections from the old MVE to the new larger MVE, and then retire the old MVE.

You can adjust the Megaport Internet bandwidth at any time without having to tear down the virtual machine.

Security

MVE provides secure capacity to and from your internet-enabled branch locations, to any endpoint or service provider on the Megaport SDN.

Licensing

Before you create an MVE in the Megaport Portal, you need user accounts with ordering permissions that provide access to the Megaport Portal. For more information, see Creating an Account.

You bring your own F5 BIG-IP license for use with MVE. For more information about obtaining an F5 BIG-IP license, contact your F5 representative or see the F5 Licensing Documentation.

VLAN tagging

Megaport uses Q-in-Q802.1Q tunneling (also known as Q-in-Q or 802.1ad) is a technique used by OSI Layer 2 providers for customers. 802.1ad provides for both an inner and an outer tag whereby the outer (sometimes called S-tag for service provider) can be removed to expose the inner (C-tag or customer) tags that segment the data.
 to differentiate VXCs and MVEs on a host hardware system. The tenant MVE receives untagged traffic for the internet-facing link, and single-tagged 802.1Q traffic for VXCs toward other destinations on the Megaport network (such as CSP on-ramps or other MVEs). For more information, see Configuring Q-in-Q.

vNICs

Each MVE can have up to five vNICs. An F5 BIG-IP VE MVE is created with one vNIC by default. You can add up to four more, making a total of five.

Before specifying the number of vNICs on your MVE:

  • You cannot change the number of vNICs after ordering an MVE. Decide in advance how many vNICs to specify when you create the MVE.

  • Consult your service provider to verify that adding a vNIC does not affect functionality.

Note

If you need to change the number of vNICs after an MVE has been ordered, you must cancel and re-order the MVE.

For more information, see Types of vNIC Connections.