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Megaport ONE Documentation
MVE Hosted VIFs

Creating an AWS Hosted VIF for an MVE with Palo Alto SD-WAN

Hosted VIFs can connect to public or private AWS cloud services: a Hosted VIF cannot connect to a transit virtual interface. These connections share bandwidth.

To create a Hosted VIF from an MVE to AWS

  1. In the Megaport ONE Portal, choose Networking > Services.

  2. Click the gear icon Gear icon next to the MVE you want to use.

  3. Select Add Connection.
    Add Connection

  4. Specify the General connection details:

    • Connection Type – Select Cloud VXC.
    • Cloud Provider – Select Amazon Web Services.
    • AWS Connection Type – Select Hosted VIF.

    Tip

    Click What is the difference? for an overview of the AWS connection types. For more details, see Connecting to AWS Direct Connect.

  5. Select the AWS destination port.
    You can search for your preferred AWS port using the Country drop-down list, or enter a search term to filter results as you type. Click Clear Filters to reset the filters.

  6. Specify the AWS Configuration details:

    • AWS Connection Name – This is a text field and will be the name of your virtual interface that appears in the AWS console. The AWS Connection Name is automatically populated with the name specified in a previous step.
    • AWS Account ID – This is the ID of the account you want to connect. You can find this value in the management section of your AWS console.
    • Type – Select Public or Private.
      • Private – Access private AWS services such as a VPC, EC2 instances, load balancers, RDS DB instances, on private IP address space.
      • Public – Access public AWS services such as Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), DynamoDB, CloudFront, and Glacier. You’ll also receive Amazon’s global IP prefixes (approximately 2,000 prefixes).
        Note: Public VIFs require manual intervention from Amazon and could take up to 72 hours.
    • Customer ASN (optional) – Specify the ASN used for BGP peering sessions on any VXCs connected to the MVE. This value is defined when you configure the MVE and, once defined, it cannot be changed.
    • BGP Password (optional) – Specify the BGP MD5 key. If you leave this blank, Megaport negotiates a key automatically for you with AWS, and displays the key in the Megaport ONE Portal. The key is not displayed in the AWS console.
    • Customer IP Address – The IP address space (in CIDR format) used on your network for peering. This field is optional for private connections and if left blank, Megaport ONE assigns an address.
    • Amazon IP Address – The IP address space in CIDR format assigned in the AWS VPC network for peering. This field is optional for private connections and if left blank, Megaport ONE automatically assigns an address.

    • Prefixes (optional) – (visible for Public connections only) Specifies IP Prefixes to announce to AWS. Specify the prefixes you will advertise when deploying a Public Direct Connect (RIR-assigned IPv4 addresses only).

      After you configure Prefixes for a Public connection, you cannot change them and the field is dimmed. To change this value, create a support ticket with AWS so they can make this change in a non-impacting way. Or, you can cancel the Hosted VIF and reorder. In both cases, you need to wait for AWS to manually approve the request.
      AWS 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 – The speed of your connection in Mbps. Accepted values range from 1 Mbps to 5 Gbps in 1 Mbps increments. Note the sum of all hosted virtual VXCs to a service can exceed the MVE capacity, but the total aggregate will never burst beyond the MVE capacity.
    • A-End vNIC – Specify a vNIC by using the pre-populated default, or select from the drop-down list.
    • 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 ONE will assign one.
      VXC Configuration 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.

    • Monthly Price – The monthly rate is based on location and size.

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

  9. Click Create Connection.

The AWS VXC appears as a connection for the MVE in the Megaport ONE Portal.

Next, accept the connection in AWS.

Accepting the Virtual Interface for Private Connections

A few minutes after ordering a private Hosted VIF VXC, the corresponding inbound VIF request is visible on the AWS Direct Connect > Virtual Interfaces page in the AWS console. (This is specific to the region associated with the target AWS port.) If your VIF doesn’t appear after a few minutes, confirm that you are viewing the correct region.

To review and accept the private virtual interface

  1. From the AWS Direct Connect > Virtual Interface page, click the ID of the interface to display the configuration and peering details.
    Accepting AWS Virtual Interfaces

    The name and account ID of the VIF should match the values supplied in the Portal and the BGP ASN should match the Customer ASN configured with the VXC. The Amazon ASN is the default region’s AWS ASN and not the value specified during the configuration - this is updated when the virtual interface is accepted and assigned.

  2. Click Accept.

  3. Select the gateway type and then the specific gateway for this new virtual interface.
    Specify a gateway

  4. Click Accept virtual interface.

The state of the connection changes from confirming to pending, and then changes to available once BGP is established. Note that sometimes there is a delay in the available BGP status appearing on the AWS end, though you can confirm the current state of the Layer 3 link through the Portal view.

Accepting the Virtual Interface for Public Connections

Several minutes after ordering a public Hosted VIF VXC, the corresponding inbound VIF request appears on the AWS Direct Connect > Virtual Interfaces page in the AWS console. This is specific to the region associated with the target AWS port.

To review and accept the public virtual interface

  1. From the AWS Direct Connect > Virtual Interface page, click the ID of the interface to display the configuration and peering details.
  2. Review the configuration details and click Accept, and when prompted, click Confirm.

The state of the connection changes from confirming to verifying. At this point, the connection needs to be verified by Amazon - a process that can take up to 72 hours. When verified, the state changes to available.

Adding AWS connection details to Palo Alto VM-Series

After you create the connection from your MVE to AWS and set up the connection in the AWS console, you need to configure it in VM-Series. This involves adding a device interface and configuring BGP settings.

To configure an AWS connection between a Palo Alto MVE and AWS

  1. Collect the connection details from the Megaport ONE Portal.
    Click the gear icon for the AWS connection from your MVE and click the Details view. Note the values for the A-End VLAN, Customer Address (and CIDR), Amazon Address, and Customer ASN.

  2. Log in to the VM-Series.

  3. Choose Network > Interfaces.

  4. Select the A-End MVE (ethernet1/1).

  5. Click Add Subinterface at the bottom of the screen.
    Add subinterface

  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, for example, AWS VIF dxvif-fh9aokej.

    • Tag – Specify the A-End inner VLAN value associated with the AWS VXC you created in the Megaport ONE Portal.

    • Virtual Router – Select a virtual router to the interface, as required by your network.

  7. Select the IPv4 tab.

  8. Select Static as the Type.
  9. Click +Add to add a new IP address.
  10. Enter the IPv4 address and netmask.
  11. Click OK.
  12. Click Commit in the top right corner.
    Commit button
  13. Review the changes and click Commit. Commit changes

The new VLAN interface appears with your ethernet1/1 physical interface.

Next, you will create a security zone so the interface can route traffic.

To create a security zone

  1. Select the ethernet1/1.1010 subinterface.
  2. Select New Zone from the Security Zone drop-down list.
  3. Specify a name for the security zone.
    Security zone settings
  4. Click +Add under Interfaces and add ethernet1/1.1010 to the security zone.
  5. Specify any additional details as required for your network security.
  6. Select New Zone Protection Profile from the Zone Protection Profile drop-down list.
  7. Specify any details as required for your network security. This example uses all the defaults.
    Zone Protection profile
  8. Click OK.
  9. Click OK in the Layer3 Subinterface screen.
  10. Click Commit in the top right corner.
    Commit button
  11. Review the changes and click Commit. Commit changes

At this point, you have created the interface. Next, you will create the BGP session.

To create the BGP session

  1. Choose Network > Virtual Routers.
  2. Select the virtual router.
    Select virtual router
  3. In the left pane, select BGP.
  4. Provide the following BGP details:
    • Enable – Select this check box to start the BGP session after committing these changes.
    • Router ID – Specify an IP address on this Palo Alto system to use as Router ID. This is the Customer Address value from the Megaport connection details.
    • AS Number – Specify the ASN you used in the AWS VIF order. This is the Customer ASN value from the AWS connection in the Megaport ONE Portal. BGP details
  5. Click +Add under Auth Profiles.
  6. Specify a Profile Name.
    Profile name
  7. Enter and confirm the auth password.
  8. Click OK.
  9. Select the Peer Group tab.
    Peer Group tab
  10. Click +Add to add a peer group.
  11. Specify a name for the peer group. For example, AWS-VIF-xxxx.
  12. Specify eBGP as the session type.
  13. Specify any additional details as required for your network.
  14. Click +Add to add a new peer.
  15. Specify the details for the peer:
    • Name – Specify a name for the peer.
    • Peer AS – Specify the Autonomous System Number (ASN) for the peer.
    • Local Address – Select the proper subinterface and IP address from the drop-down list.
    • Peer Address – Enter the AWS side IPv4 address. This is the Amazon Address from the Megaport ONE Portal Connection Details. BGP Peer Group screen
  16. Select the Connection Options tab.
    Connection Options tab
  17. Select the previously created Auth Profile.
  18. Click OK in the Peer Group - Peer screen.
  19. Click OK in the BGP - Peer Group/Peer screen.
  20. Click OK in the Virtual Router screen.
    Virtual Router
  21. Click Commit in the top right corner.
    Commit button
  22. Review the changes and click Commit. Commit changes

Validating your AWS connection

To check the status of the BGP peer

  1. Choose Network > Virtual Routers.
  2. Locate your virtual router (default).
  3. Click More Runtime Stats in the Runtime Stats column on the right.
    Runtime stats
  4. Select the BGP tab, then select the Peer tab.

  5. Verify that the peer status is Established.
    Established status

    You can also check the status in your AWS Direct Connect portal (this might take a few minutes to refresh).
    AWS status

Last update: 2023-09-22