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This topic describes how to create and configure a Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE) with VM-Series next-generation firewall (NGFW). You can use VM-Series to secure application traffic that flows through the MVE. Before you begin, you need user accounts with ordering permissions that provide access to the Megaport Portal and the VM-Series firewall. For more information about setting up a Megaport account, see Creating an Account. Palo Alto Networks provides documentation for VM-Series at VM-Series Tech Docs.

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Basic steps

This section provides an overview of the configuration steps in the Megaport Portal and PAN-OS. Detailed procedures follow this basic step summary. The basic steps are:
  • Obtain a VM-Series license from Palo Alto Networks.
  • Set a temporary admin password for VM-Series.
  • Generate an SSH Public Key for authentication.
  • Create the Palo Alto Networks VM-Series MVE in the Megaport Portal.
    We strongly recommend that you provision a Megaport Internet connection onto the management plane virtual interface.
  • View the MVE public IP address assignment in the Megaport Portal.
  • Allow secure console access to the VM-Series.

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Licensing

Before you create an MVE in the Megaport Portal, you need a valid license from Palo Alto Networks. After purchasing a VM-Series firewall, you receive an authorization code via email. You will use this Auth Code to register the MVE with Palo Alto Networks. To obtain an authorization code from Palo Alto Networks for VM-Series
  1. Log in to the Palo Alto Networks Customer Support Portal with your account credentials.
  2. Choose Assets > VM-Series Auth-Codes > Add VM-Series Auth-Code.
  3. Enter the Auth Code you received by email in the Add VM-Series Auth-Code field.
  4. Select the check box on the far right to save.
    The page displays the list of Auth Codes registered to your Support account.
  5. To view all the assets that are deployed, choose Assets > Devices.
Once the product is registered, it appears in the Palo Alto Networks Registration Completion page. The next step is to generate an SSH key pair for authentication.

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Administrative access to MVE

You connect your MVE through a public/private SSH key pair to establish a secure connection. The public SSH key allows you to use SSH to access the MVE and perform administrative tasks, such as setting the administrative password, enabling HTTPS access, and optionally registering the MVE to your management platform. Megaport supports the 2048-bit RSA key type. To generate an SSH key pair (Linux/Mac OSX)
  • Enter the SSH keygen command in the terminal.
The key generator command creates an SSH key pair and adds two files to your ~/.ssh directory:
  • megaport-mve-instance-1-2048 - contains the private key.
  • megaport-mve-instance-1-2048.pub - contains the public key that is authorized to log in to the vendor account.
To generate an SSH key pair (Windows, using PuTTYgen)
  1. Open PuTTYgen.
  2. In the Key section, choose RSA 2048 bit and click Generate.
  3. Move your mouse randomly in the small screen to generate the key pairs.
  4. Enter a key comment to identify the key.
    This is convenient when you use several SSH keys.
  5. Enter a Key passphrase, and re-enter to confirm.
    The passphrase is used to protect your key. You will be asked for it when you connect via SSH.
  6. Click Save private key, choose a location, and click Save.
  7. Click Save public key, choose a location, and click Save.
You will copy and paste the contents of the public key file in the Megaport Portal later to distribute the public key to the MVE. Your private key will match the public key to grant access. Only a single private key has access to the MVE for SSH access.

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Creating an MVE in the Megaport Portal

When creating an MVE, select a location that supports the MVE and is in a compatible metro area for your network design. You can connect multiple locations to an individual MVE. For more information about location details, see Planning Your Deployment. You can deploy multiple MVEs within the same metropolitan area for redundancy or capacity reasons. As part of the MVE creation process, you will also create two Megaport Internet connections. To create an MVE
  1. In the , go to the Services page.
  2. Click Add Service, then select Virtual Edge (MVE). The Create Virtual Edge page opens. Complete the sections on this page to configure your MVE. The order summary updates as you make selections. On wider screens, the summary is displayed in a panel on the right. On narrower screens, it is displayed in a bar at the bottom of the page that you can expand.
  3. In the Details section, specify these fields:
    • MVE Name — Specify a name that helps you identify the MVE, particularly if you plan to have more than one MVE. This name appears 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.
    • Project (optional) — Select a project to add the MVE to, or leave the default (No Project).
      You can type in the field to search by project name. The selected project appears in the order summary, and the MVE is added to it when provisioned.       To create a project without leaving the page, select New Project at the bottom of the list, then specify a project name and description. The new project is automatically selected for the order.
      You need permission to manage projects to create a project. Without this permission, the New Project option does not appear, but you can still select an existing project.
  4. In the Select Vendor / Product section, select Palo Alto VM-Series, then select the software version.
    To find the product, browse the category tabs or use the Search vendors field. The locations, sizes, and configuration fields available on the rest of the page depend on the product you select.
  5. In the Location section, specify these fields:
    • Location — Select your preferred location. Use the Search field to find a location by metro or country name. Alternatively, browse the region tabs, then select a location.
      Only locations where the selected product is available are listed. Select a location geographically close to your target branch or on-premises locations.       The country you choose must be a market in which you have already registered. If you have not registered a billing market in the location where you will deploy the MVE, follow the procedure in Enabling Billing Markets.
    • Mode — Select Auto to have Megaport automatically choose a provider and data center at the selected location. Select Manual to choose the provider and data center yourself.
    • Diversity Zone — Select Red or Blue, or select Auto to have Megaport select the zone for you. The selected diversity zone appears in the order summary. For more information, see MVE Diversity.
  6. If you selected Manual mode, select a data center provider in the Provider section, then select a data center from the drop-down list in the Data Center section.
    Only providers and data centers available at your selected location are listed.
  7. In the MVE Size section, select a size.
    Each size shows its vCPU and RAM allocation. For example, Small (MVE 2/8) has 2 vCPUs and 8 GB of RAM. Only sizes supported by the selected product are listed, and sizes that are not available at the selected location are grayed out and labeled Not available here. The sizes support varying numbers of concurrent connections, and individual partner product metrics vary slightly.
    If the MVE size you want is not available, 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.
  8. In the Vendor Configuration section, specify the Palo Alto VM-Series-specific settings:
    • License Data (optional) — Specify the VM-Series Auth Code (the valid license for the virtual appliance). The Auth Code is used to register the VM-Series MVE instance with Palo Alto Networks. You can find it in the Palo Alto Networks Support portal.
    • Admin Password — Specify a temporary administrator password. The password must be a minimum of 8 characters and include:
      • 1 uppercase character (A-Z)
      • 1 lowercase character (a-z)
      • 1 number (0-9)
      • 1 symbol
      Megaport does not store customer passwords.
    • SSH Key — Copy and paste the contents of your public SSH key here. You can find the public key in the megaport-mve-instance-1-2048.pub file generated earlier.
    • Virtual Interfaces (vNICs) — Each MVE is configured with two vNICs named Management Plane and Data Plane by default. To change a name, type over the name text in the box. You can also change the vNIC name later, after the MVE has been deployed. You cannot remove a default vNIC. You can add a total of five vNICs to the MVE, including the two added by default. For more information, see Types of vNIC Connections. To add a vNIC, click Add, then specify a name for the vNIC.
      If you want to increase or decrease the number of vNICs on this MVE after it has been deployed, you must delete the entire MVE and recreate it. You cannot add or delete vNICs on a deployed MVE.
  9. In the Pricing section, specify these fields:
    • Contract Term — Select a contract term: No Minimum Term, 12 Months, 24 Months, 36 Months, 48 Months, or 60 Months. Longer terms result in a lower monthly rate. The default is 12 Months.
    • Contract Renewal — Automatically renews the contract at the same price and term length when the current term ends. The initial setting comes from your company default. If you disable it, the contract rolls over to a month-to-month term at the end of the current term, without the term discount. Contract Renewal is not available when you select No Minimum Term. For more information, see Managing Minimum Term Renewal and MVE Pricing and Contract Terms.
  10. In the Resource Tags section, add any tags you want to apply to this MVE.
    To add a tag, click Add New Tag, then specify these fields:
    • Key — Specify a lowercase string with a maximum length of 128 characters. Valid characters are lowercase letters, numbers, and - . _ : / \.
    • Value — Specify a string with a maximum length of 256 characters. Valid characters are letters, numbers, spaces, and - . _ : @ / + \. Repeat for each tag. You can add up to 50 tags.
    Never include sensitive information in a resource tag. Sensitive information includes commands that return existing tag definitions and information that identifies a person or company.
    The price in the order summary updates dynamically based on your selections. Note that some partner-managed accounts do not display the pricing details.
  11. Review the order summary, then click Add MVE. The newly created MVE is added to your cart under Configured Services, ready for checkout. You are prompted to create a Megaport Internet connection. A Megaport Internet connection provides connectivity and allows MVE to register and communicate with Palo Alto Networks licensing systems and, optionally, Panorama.
To create the Megaport Internet connection
  1. Click Create Megaport Internet to proceed (recommended), or click Not now to provision internet access at a later time.
    MVE requires connectivity to the internet onto the management plane virtual interface. You can either provision a Megaport Internet connection or configure a third-party internet connection using a private VXC. We strongly recommend that you create a Megaport Internet connection for the initial MVE startup and deployment to ensure that the MVE is provisioned and functioning correctly.
  2. Select the target Port (the internet router).
    The B-End of a Megaport Internet connection can be anywhere that Megaport Internet is available.
    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.
  3. Click Next.
  4. Specify the connection details:
    • Connection Name — The name of your Megaport Internet connection to be shown in the . As a best practice, we recommend including “Management Plane” in the name for reference later.
    • 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.
      Use the same Service Level Reference numbers for the Megaport Internet connection and MVE to help identify the matching pair in your invoice.
    • Rate Limit — The speed of your connection in Mbps. The rate limit is configurable starting from 20 Mbps and can scale to several Gbps or more, in 1 Mbps increments. Available speed tiers might vary by location and service type. You can change the speed as required after you create the Megaport Internet connection. Monthly billing details appear based on location and rate limit.
    • 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.
    • A-End vNIC — Select vNIC-0 Management Plane from the drop-down list.
      The internet connection on the management virtual interface will be used only for management purposes such as licensing, updates, and communication with Panorama. If you require internet traffic to flow between branches, users, and/or the cloud, you will create a second Megaport Internet connection on the data plane virtual interface. For more information, see To create a second Megaport Internet connection on the data plane.
    • Preferred A-End VLAN (optional) — Select Untagged to remove VLAN tagging and allow first-time administrative login to the device.
    • 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). Select Automatically Renew at the same price at the end of Contract Term 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 Managing Minimum Term Renewal. For more information, see Megaport Internet 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 characters. Valid values are a-z 0-9 _ : . / \ -
        • Value — String, maximum length 256 characters. Valid values are a-z A-Z 0-9 _ : . @ / + \ - and spaces
      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 to proceed to the connection detail summary.
  6. Click Add VXC to order the connection.
  7. Click Review Order to proceed through the checkout process, or click Save to save the configured services before placing the order.
  8. 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.
    In addition to entering a promotion code manually, there are two other ways to apply promotion codes.
    • Auto-apply — Megaport automatically applies the promotion code to your order. It appears automatically on the Checkout page.
    • Manual list — Eligible promotion codes appear at checkout for any applicable services in your cart. You can then select and apply them.
  9. Click Order Now.
A second Megaport Internet connection is required if the firewall will be exchanging internet traffic with branches. Each data plane Megaport Internet connection receives its own unique public IP Address.
To create a second Megaport Internet connection on the data plane virtual interface
  1. In the , go to the Services page.
  2. In the Actions section for the Palo Alto Networks MVE, click Connect.
  3. Select Megaport Internet.
  4. Select the target Port (the internet router).
    The B-End of a Megaport Internet connection can be anywhere that Megaport Internet is available.
    You can filter by diversity zone, or select to view all.
  5. Click Next.
  6. Specify the connection details:
    • Connection Name — The name of your data plane Megaport Internet connection to be shown in the . As a best practice, we recommend including “Data Plane” in the name for reference later.
    • 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. This speed is adjustable starting from 20 Mbps, in 1 Mbps increments. Maximum available speed depends on location and service availability. You can change the speed as required after you create the Megaport Internet connection. Monthly billing details appear based on location and rate limit.
    • 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.
    • A-End vNIC — Select vNIC-1 Data Plane from the drop-down list.
    • Preferred A-End VLAN (optional) — Specify an unused VLAN ID for this connection.
      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.       Alternatively, you can select Untagged. This selection removes the VLAN tagging for this connection and it will be configured without a VLAN ID.
    • 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). Select Automatically Renew at the same price at the end of Contract Term 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 Managing Minimum Term Renewal. For more information, see Megaport Internet 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 characters. Valid values are a-z 0-9 _ : . / \ -
        • Value — String, maximum length 256 characters. Valid values are a-z A-Z 0-9 _ : . @ / + \ - and spaces
      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.
  7. Click Next to proceed to the connection detail summary, then click Add VXC to move this configuration to your cart.
  8. (Optional) To add more data plane Megaport Internet connections to the order, repeat these steps from the Services page.
  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.
    In addition to entering a promotion code manually, there are two other ways to apply promotion codes.
    • Auto-apply — Megaport automatically applies the promotion code to your order. It appears automatically on the Checkout page.
    • Manual list — Eligible promotion codes appear at checkout for any applicable services in your cart. You can then select and apply them.
  11. Click Order Now.
Ordering MVE provisions the instance and assigns IP addresses from the Megaport SDN. The Palo Alto Networks MVE provisioning time varies between versions and depends on whether you provide a license authorization code. It can take up to 15 minutes for the MVE to provision before you can log in and continue configuration. After you order the MVE from the Megaport Portal, you can use Palo Alto Networks Panorama to manage the firewall.

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Viewing the MVE in the Megaport Portal

After creating the MVE, you can view it in the Megaport Portal on the Services page. You can also view the public IP addresses assigned. To view an MVE in the Megaport Portal
  • Go to the Services page.
The Megaport Internet icon differs from a standard VXC icon in the Megaport Portal, as shown in the image. For more information about the Services page, see Understanding the Services Page. To view the public IP addresses assigned to the MVE
  1. On the Services page, click Details in the Actions section for the Management Plane Megaport Internet connection.
    The Connection Details page appears. From here, you can modify any of the Megaport Internet connection details.
  2. Select the Details tab.
  3. Locate the Assigned IPv4 Address and Assigned IPv6 Address fields.
    These are the public IP addresses assigned to the MVE.

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Updating the administrator password

Next, you will replace the temporary password you set in the Megaport Portal with a new secure password. To update the administrator password
  1. Log in to the Palo Alto Networks system using the temporary admin password you set in the Megaport Portal.
  2. Choose Device > Administrators.
  3. Select the admin user.
  4. Enter the old temporary password, a new secure password, and confirm the new password.
  5. Click OK.
  6. Choose Config > Save Changes.

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Configuring the data plane interface

Next, you will configure the data plane interface and assign it an interface type. To configure the data plane interface
  1. Choose Network > Interfaces.
  2. Select ethernet1/1 from the Interface column.
  3. Select Layer3 from the Interface Type drop-down list.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Highlight the ‘ethernet1/1’ row and click Add Subinterface at the bottom of the screen.
  6. Provide these details:
    • Interface Name — Enter a name for the subinterface. In the adjacent field, enter a number to identify the subinterface.
    • Comment — Enter an alternate name.
    • Tag — Specify the A-End VLAN value associated with the Megaport Internet destination Port.
    • Virtual Router — Select a virtual router to the interface, as required by your network.
  7. Select the IPv4 tab.
  8. Select DHCP Client as the Type.
  9. Click OK.
  10. Click Commit in the top right corner.
  11. Review the changes and click Commit.

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Next steps

Once the MVE is provisioned with an Active status, the next step is to connect a VXC to a Cloud Service Provider (CSP), a local port, or a third-party network. You can optionally connect a physical Port to the MVE through a private VXC or connect to a service provider in the Megaport Marketplace. For more information, see Creating a VXC.
Last modified on October 12, 2026