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Megaport ONE Documentation
Oracle MCR Connections

Creating MCR Connections to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

The Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) private connection model is called FastConnect. FastConnect provides private connectivity and self-service provisioning, including full API-level integration.

When connecting to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) through FastConnect with Megaport ONE, the Virtual Cross Connect (VXC) forms the Layer 2 component of the connection. Layer 3 BGP connectivity is established directly between you and Oracle.

A common FastConnect deployment might look like this: FastConnect deployment

This topic describes the basic steps needed to establish a FastConnect connection:

  • Create the FastConnect in the Oracle console with Megaport ONE as the provider.
  • Provision the VXC in the Megaport ONE Portal to connect to your FastConnect location.

Note

Oracle offers a service level agreement (SLA) for its FastConnect connectivity, as long as you configure two FastConnect VXCs for redundancy.

Tip

You can deploy a Megaport MCR using the OCI console without having to switch between the Oracle and Megaport ONE Portals. For details, see FastConnect integration with Megaport Cloud Router.

Creating the FastConnect

The first task before you connect MCR to your target Oracle Virtual Cloud Network (VCN) is to create a FastConnect in the Oracle console.

To create FastConnect in the OCI console

  1. Log in to the OCI console and select the region from the upper-right corner. FastConnect region

  2. Create a compartment or select an existing compartment to deploy these new resources.

    Compartments help you organize resources to make it easier to control access to them. Your root compartment is created for you by Oracle when your tenancy is provisioned. An administrator can create more compartments in the root compartment and then add the access rules to control which users can take action in them. FastConnect compartment

  3. Select Networking > Virtual Cloud Networks. Create FastConnect

  4. Create your VCN, which is a customizable and private network in OCI.

  5. If you plan to use a private virtual circuit (private peering) to advertise private IPv4 addresses such as RFC 1918, you need to create a Dynamic Routing Gateway (DRG).

    A DRG is a virtual edge router attached to your VCN that provides a single point of entry for private traffic coming into your Virtual Cloud Network (VCN). Use the OCI console to set up a DRG and attach it to your VCN. A DRG can be attached to only one VCN at a time. Next, you need to update routing in your VCN to include a route rule to send traffic to the DRG. It’s easy to forget to update the route table but without the route rule, no traffic will flow.

  6. Create the FastConnect.
    When you create the FastConnect in the Oracle Console, Oracle provides you with an Oracle-assigned unique ID called an Oracle Cloud Identifier (OCID).

  7. Click the FastConnect to view its details.
    FastConnect details

  8. Copy the OCID.

  9. Confirm the autonomous system number (ASNAutonomous system number.
    A collection of connected IP routing prefixes under the control of one or more network operators on behalf of a single administrative entity or domain.    ).

  10. Log in to the Megaport ONE Portal.

Creating a VXC to FastConnect

With an MCR configured, VXCs are needed to connect to services on the Megaport network. A VXC is essentially a private point-to-point Ethernet connection between an A-End (your MCR) and a B-End (a port location based on the FastConnect region).

Before you begin, create a Megaport Cloud Router (MCR). If you don’t have an MCR, create one following the procedures in Creating an MCR.

To create the VXC to FastConnect

  1. In the Megaport ONE Portal, choose Networking > Services.
  2. Select the MCR you want to use.
  3. Click Actions and choose Add Connection.
    Add Connection
  4. Choose Cloud Virtual Cross Connect as the Connection Type.
  5. Choose Oracle Cloud as the Cloud Provider.
  6. Specify the Oracle Configuration details:
    • Oracle Virtual Circuit ID – Enter the OCID you copied from the Oracle Console.
      The Megaport ONE Portal verifies the OCID and displays the available port locations based on the FastConnect region. For example, if your FastConnect service is deployed in Ashburn, you only see the Ashburn FastConnect targets.
    • Available Oracle Ports – Select a target location for the first connection.
      Oracle Configuration details
  7. Specify the VXC Configuration details:
    • VXC Name – The name of your VXC to be shown in the Megaport ONE Portal.
    • Rate Limit (Mbps) – The speed of your connection. Enter the same rate or up to the rate you specified in the Oracle Console.
      Oracle Connection details

  8. Specify the Billing Details:

    • 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.

    • Promo Code – If you have a promo code, enter it and click Add Code.

  9. Click Create Connection to deploy the VXC.
    A summary page appears that includes the monthly cost.

  10. Click Confirm to acknowledge the MCR Connection details.

To configure the MCR

  1. Select the MCR VXC.
  2. Select the A-End Configuration tab.
  3. Click Edit.
    AWS new connection details

  4. For Interface IP Addresses, enter the IP address and mask for the MCR interface facing Oracle. This IP address matches the address you entered in the Oracle Console to create the FastConnect.
    Assign a /30 address in private address space.

    You can add a secondary IP address, if needed.

To configure a BGP Connection

  1. Select the VXC and select the A-End Configuration tab.

  2. Click Edit.

  3. Click Add BGP Connection.

    IP details

  4. In the Basic tab, specify these values:

    • Local IP – Select the IP address assigned to the MCR from the drop-down list.

    • Peer IP – Specify the second available IP address in the /30 CIDR.

    • Peer ASN – Enter 31898, which is always the peer ASN for FastConnect.

    • Local ASN – The default ASNAutonomous system number.
      A collection of connected IP routing prefixes under the control of one or more network operators on behalf of a single administrative entity or domain.       assigned to the MCR is 133937.

      For most configurations, the default ASN is appropriate. Optionally, you can specify another local ASN to override the default ASN on a per-peer basis.

      Enter a public or private ASN (for example, enter a number from 64512 to 65534). For most configurations, the default ASN is appropriate.

      The ASN range is from 2 to 4294967294, but the following ASNs are not available:

      • 8074, 8075, 12076, 65515 - 65520 (reserved in Azure)
      • 23456, 64496-64511, 65535 - 65551 (reserved by Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA))

    • ASN Path Prepend (optional) – Enter the number of times to add the local ASN to the BGP path to prioritize route advertisements. Enter an integer within the range of 1 to 10.

      The ASN path length determines the route advertisement priority for outgoing BGP paths. The route with the shortest AS path has the highest preference, and it wins over any longer path advertisements. AS path prepending lengthens the path to lower the path priority. For example, 2 prepends the ASN to the existing AS path twice, creating an AS path length of 3.

    • BGP Password (optional) – Specify a shared key to authenticate the BGP peer. The shared key length is from 1 to 32 characters. This is not a mandatory field for Oracle connections because they traverse a private path.

    • Description (optional) – Include a description that will help identify this connection. The minimum description length is from 1 to 100 characters.

    • BGP State – Shuts down the connection without removing it. The initial setting will be taken from the setting on the A-End of the MCR. Enabling or shutting down the BGP state does not impact existing BGP sessions. The BGP state only affects new VXCs. This setting overrides the MCR state for an individual connection.

Once the VXC connection is deployed successfully, it appears on the Megaport ONE Portal Networking > Services page and is associated with the MCR. Click the VXC title to display the details of this connection. Note that the service status (Layer 2) is up but BGP (Layer 3) will be down because the configuration does not exist yet.

Viewing the VXC status

You can check the VXC status in the Megaport ONE Portal Networking > Services page.

VXC established

To view the VXC connection details

  1. In the Megaport ONE Portal, choose Networking > Services.
  2. Locate the MCR and click the right arrow to view its connections.
  3. Click the VXC name.
  4. View the service status from the Details tab.
  5. Return to the Oracle Console to view the FastConnect status.
    FastConnect status

Next steps

  • Oracle offers an SLA on its FastConnect connectivity. To comply with the SLA, you need to deploy two FastConnect VXCs for redundancy. You must set up both BGP sessions on separate VXCs. You can configure the VXCs on a single MCR or across two MCR instances, depending on your HA requirements.

  • To establish a separate BGP session, create a FastConnect on the Oracle Console and repeat the steps in the Megaport ONE Portal.

Last update: 2023-05-16