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 Connections (VXCs). You can create either a private connection or a public (Microsoft) connection.

Important

Before you begin, create an MVE in Orchestrator. For details, 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 ONE 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 step through the second and third parts.

Note

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

Adding the ExpressRoute connection in the Megaport ONE Portal

To set up the ExpressRoute connection, you need to create the connection in the Megaport ONE Portal. If you haven’t already created an MVE, see Creating an MVE Integrated with VMware.

To create a connection to ExpressRoute from the Megaport ONE Portal

1. In the Megaport ONE Portal, choose Networking > Services.
2. Click the gear icon next to the MVE you want to use.
3. Select Add Connection.
   
4. Specify the General connection details:
   • Connection Type – Select Cloud VXC.
   • Cloud Provider – Select Microsoft Azure.
5. Specify the Azure Configuration details:
   • Azure ExpressRoute Service Key – Add the ExpressRoute service key.
     The Portal verifies the key and 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 targets.
   • Available Azure Ports – 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 target.
     

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

   • 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 ONE will assign one.

     Important

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

   • Single Azure peering VLAN (optional) – 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. This value must match the A-End VLAN. To set up an inner VLAN and Q-n-Q, turn off this option.
     

7. 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.

8. Click Create Connection.

9. Review the new configuration and pricing then click Confirm.

When the VXC configuration completes, the VXC status is green (Service Is Up).

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 MD5 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 ONE Portal.
   Click the gear icon for the Azure connection from your MVE, select Edit, and select the Details tab. Note the value for the A-End VLAN.

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

4. Click 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 ONE 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. Click 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 details, see Reviewing your VMware MVE connection settings.

---

Last update: 2023-09-22