Nine Common Scenarios for Multicloud Design

How to use Megaport and Megaport Cloud Router for multicloud designs – from simple single-region to complex resilient multi-region architectures.

When it comes to architecting cloud infrastructure to host business-critical applications, any enterprise should make sure they have measures in place to protect their organisation from experiencing an outage. A high-performance backup architecture could mean the difference between your mission-critical workloads running smoothly and major disruptions causing potential loss of data, customers, and revenue.

Some of the headaches you might experience when designing networks for hybrid and multicloud architectures include:

  • Moving data between CSPs
  • Knowing where to add resiliency
  • Knowing how much resiliency to add to meet budget

In order to solve for these potential issues, we’ll look at nine different design scenarios using Megaport and Megaport Cloud Router (MCR) that you can build. These range from a simple partially protected network to an end-to-end highly available resilient network for multicloud and hybrid cloud with an affordable price tag and with no lock-in contract.

Scenario 1
Single Megaport connecting to each CSP.
HA design No
Multicloud Yes
On-premises DC (Colo) or Office Yes – 1 DC
On-premises geographically close to CSPs Yes
Diverse regions No
.
Prerequisites
    • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports LX Optical 1Gbps or LR Optical 10Gbps Ports
    • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports BGP
    • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports IEEE 802.1ad (Q-in-Q) – Specifically for Microsoft Azure
Note: If 802.1ad not supported, use Scenario 3 (MCR).
Megaport Technology Required How many?
Megaport Yes 1
Megaport Cloud Router (MCR) No  
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Same Metro Yes 4 (1 for each CSP)
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Long Haul No  
Scenario 2
Dual Megaports configured as a LAG that connects to each CSP in an HA configuration.
HA design Yes
Multicloud Yes
On-premises DC (Colo) or Office Yes – 1 DC
On-premises geographically close to CSPs Yes
Diverse regions No
.
Prerequisites
  • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports LX optical 1 Gbps or LR optical 10 Gbps ports
  • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports BGP
  • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports IEEE 802.1ad (Q-in-Q) – Specifically for Microsoft Azure
Note: If 802.1ad not supported, use Scenario 3 (MCR).
Megaport Technology Required How many?
Megaport Yes 2 (in LAG)
Megaport Cloud Router (MCR) No  
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Same Metro Yes 8 (2 for each CSP)
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Long Haul No  
Scenario 3
MCR as a hub that connects a single Megaport in a DC with CSPs.
HA design No
Multicloud Yes
On-premises DC (Colo) or Office Yes – 1 DC
On-premises geographically close to CSPs No
Diverse regions No
.
Prerequisites
  • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports LX optical 1 Gbps or LR optical 10 Gbps ports
  • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports BGP (for better path selection, not mandatory)
Megaport Technology Required How many?
Megaport Yes 1
Megaport Cloud Router (MCR) Yes 1
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Same Metro Yes 4 (1 for each CSP)
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Long Haul Yes 1
Scenario 4
Megaport in each Diversity Zone connecting to each CSP in an HA configuration.
HA design Yes
Multicloud Yes
On-premises DC (Colo) or Office Yes
On-premises geographically close to CSPs Yes
Diverse regions No
.
Prerequisites
    • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports LX optical 1 Gbps or LR optical 10 Gbps ports
    • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports BGP
    • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports IEEE 802.1ad (Q-in-Q) – Specifically for Azure
Note: If 802.1ad not supported, use MCR (Scenario 6).
Megaport Technology Required How many?
Megaport Yes 2 (4 in a LAG)
Megaport Cloud Router (MCR) No  
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Same Metro Yes 8 (2 for each CSP)
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Long Haul No  
Scenario 5
Dual MCRs as hubs that connect CSPs in an HA configuration without requiring on-premise infrastructure.
HA design Yes
Multicloud Yes
On-premises DC (Colo) or Office No
On-premises geographically close to CSPs N/A
Diverse regions No
.
Prerequisites
  • None required
Megaport Technology Required How many?
Megaport No  
Megaport Cloud Router (MCR) Yes 2
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Same Metro Yes 8 (2 for each CSP)
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Long Haul No  
Scenario 6
Dual MCRs as hubs that connect a DC with a Megaport in each Diversity Zone to CSPs in an HA configuration.
HA design Yes
Multicloud Yes
On-premises DC (Colo) or Office Yes
On-premises geographically close to CSPs No
Diverse regions No
.
Prerequisites
  • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports LX Optical 1Gbps or LR Optical 10Gbps Ports
  • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports BGP (for better path selection, not mandatory).
Megaport Technology Required How many?
Megaport Yes 2 (4 in a LAG)
Megaport Cloud Router (MCR) Yes 2
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Same Metro Yes 8 (2 for each CSP)
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Long Haul Yes 2
Scenario 7
Single Megaport in each DC connecting to CSPs in HA configuration.
HA design Yes
Multicloud Yes
On-premises DC (Colo) or Office Yes – 2 DCs
On-premises geographically close to CSPs Yes
Diverse regions Yes
.
Prerequisites
    • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports LX Optical 1Gbps or LR Optical 10Gbps Ports
    • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports BGP
    • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports IEEE 802.1ad (Q-in-Q) – Specifically for Azure
Note: If 802.1ad not supported, use MCR (Scenario 8).
Megaport Technology Required How many?
Megaport Yes 2 (4 in a LAG)
Megaport Cloud Router (MCR) No  
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Same Metro Yes 8 (2 for each CSP)
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Long Haul No  
Scenario 8
Dual MCRs as hubs that connect DCs with Megaports to CSPs in an HA configuration.
HA design Yes
Multicloud Yes
On-premises DC (Colo) or Office Yes
On-premises geographically close to CSPs N/A
Diverse regions Yes
.
Prerequisites
  • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports LX Optical 1Gbps or LR Optical 10Gbps Ports
  • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports BGP
Megaport Technology Required How many?
Megaport Yes 2
Megaport Cloud Router (MCR) Yes 2
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Same Metro Yes 8 (2 for each CSP)
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Long Haul Yes 2 (plus 2 optional)
Scenario 9
Dual MCRs as hubs that connect DCs with Megaports in different Diversity Zones to CSPs in an HA configuration.
HA design Yes
Multicloud Yes
On-premises DC (Colo) or Office Yes – 2 DCs
On-premises geographically close to CSPs No
Diverse regions Yes
.
Prerequisites
  • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports LX Optical 1Gbps or LR Optical 10Gbps Ports
  • Customer (on-premises) network equipment supports BGP (For better path selection, not mandatory)
Megaport Technology Required How many?
Megaport Yes 4
Megaport Cloud Router (MCR) Yes 2
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Same Metro Yes 8 (2 for each CSP)
VXC (Virtual Cross Connect) – Long Haul Yes 4
Legends

Read more at Megaport Documentation: Common Multicloud Connectivity Scenarios

Implementing a high availability strategy within your organisation means you reduce the risk that service outages can pose to your business continuity, profits, and reputation. Our connectivity specialists can provide design and support to ensure your organisation never goes dark. Got questions? Reach out to us via Twitter or visit our contact page and we’d be happy to help.

Note

Don’t miss our update on multicloud design in our blog post, Design Scenarios for Multicloud — Diversity and Design Principles.

Steve Tu
Principal Solutions Architect

Filed under: Blog Networking Tech

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