In case you’re an enterprise community supervisor in want of a devoted cloud connection service, you’re in luck; you’ve received a wide selection of service suppliers and areas to select from.
You might arrange a hyperlink immediately with the cloud supplier, however why not use a third-party—akin to a provider, colocation supplier, or connectivity specialist?
The query then adjustments. Who’re you going to decide on? And the place will you arrange your connections? This usually relies on the placement of your enterprise WAN in relation to the cloud suppliers’ areas or information facilities.
On this evaluation, we’ll discover the choices out there to community managers—to assist them connect with cloud supplier networks and to map the place these cloud on-ramps and areas are situated.
Cloud Connectivity Suppliers
Extending a company community into the cloud by way of a devoted connection begins with the bodily hyperlink.
Along with a conventional cross join, colocation suppliers can join enterprise WANs to cloud supplier networks by way of a cloud alternate or service cloth. These exchanges work by utilizing an Ethernet change, very like an web alternate does for Web Service Suppliers.
In contrast to a cross-connect between the enterprise router and the cloud supplier’s router (enterprise-to-one supplier), the cloud alternate permits the enterprise to attach—by way of one digital hyperlink—to all Cloud Service Supplier (CSP) members of the cloud alternate (enterprise-to-many suppliers).
Whereas cloud suppliers normally supply 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps choices over a fiber cross join, cloud alternate suppliers can supply the service in smaller increments, normally from 50 Mbps to 500 Mbps.
Whereas cloud suppliers normally supply 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps choices over a fiber cross join, cloud alternate suppliers can supply the service in smaller increments, normally from 50 Mbps to 500 Mbps—one of many many perks of a cloud alternate.
Carriers current numerous entry expertise choices for community connection configuration, the place the enterprise configures the routing for the circuit. Carriers additionally usually supply both Layer 2 or managed Layer 3 providers, the place the service supplier configures the routing.
Digital Native Space Networks (VLANs) are the widespread configuration for these devoted connections. The benefit of organising a VLAN on an interconnect is that the devoted connection may be partitioned into a number of digital interfaces. This observe permits the identical connection to entry each public web and personal cloud providers—essential for mixing private and non-private cloud providers from the identical cloud supplier.
WAN service suppliers providing MPLS IP VPN can interconnect a WAN website with the cloud community to make it appear to be another department workplace.
Carriers
The commonest approach for an enterprise to arrange a devoted cloud connection is to work by way of the provider.
Nearly each main worldwide provider that responded to this 12 months’s survey reported that they provide the service both by way of direct partnership with cloud service suppliers or by partnering with Community as a Service (NaaS) suppliers, akin to Megaport and Packetfabric. Partnership with information middle suppliers like Equinix—which supplies cloud interconnection providers—can be quite common.
Carriers have a bonus, having the ability to supply the connection from enterprise websites to the cloud supplier edge by way of conventional WAN providers, akin to VPN or personal traces.
Community as a Service Suppliers
Enterprise prospects have one other community transport-oriented possibility to connect with the cloud.
A brand new breed of suppliers—often called NaaS suppliers—has come to market.
A brand new breed of suppliers—often called NaaS suppliers—has come to market. This group differs out of your conventional provider in that they provide connectivity to cloud on-ramps by way of a software program platform, and prospects usually join to those suppliers at a colocation facility.
NaaS suppliers supply a spread of transport and cloud interconnection providers, from point-to-point transport (to carry the enterprise shopper to the cloud on-ramps), to hybrid and multi-cloud interconnectivity.
Companies are usually not the one prospects for NaaS providers. It’s common for information middle operators, web exchanges, and carriers to make use of their providers as nicely.
This isn’t to say that carriers don’t—or won’t—have their very own cloud join platforms (e.g. PCCW’s Console Join). Nevertheless, for the second, carriers rely closely on the likes of Megaport, Packetfabric, and BSO (which bought IXReach in 2019) to assist join their prospects to CSP networks.
Colocation and Web Alternate Suppliers
Cloud providers have helped shift the function of colocation suppliers as a part of the enterprise community.
If an enterprise already has a presence at a colocation middle the place its CSP has an on-ramp, the enterprise might choose to work immediately with the colocation supplier to arrange a personal connection.
Word that colo services have at all times been the de facto interconnection factors for carriers. Now, they’re turning into the central alternate level between enterprises and cloud service suppliers. Enterprises have additionally used colo services to outsource their infrastructure, reducing capital bills for company information middle builds.
Enterprises that set up their very own PoPs in colocation services are capable of reap the benefits of a wealthy ecosystem of suppliers. This, in flip, can enhance their connectivity to cloud supplier networks. Information facilities and web exchanges each supply their very own connection providers to CSPs, and will help the enterprise join immediately by way of a devoted connection or by way of a digital connection to their very own cloud exchanges.
Equinix was the primary colocation supplier to supply cloud alternate providers. And, based mostly on the carriers participating in our survey, it’s by far essentially the most prevalent colocation supplier the place devoted connections happen—accounting for greater than half of on-ramp areas in Q2 2022.
Driving Equinix’s dominance on this area is the corporate’s cloud alternate service (which later morphed to type a part of its Equinix Cloth platform). Launched in 2014, Equinix Cloud Alternate provides providers in about 50 of its markets. Different corporations providing comparable cloud join providers embody Digital Realty (Interxion), and Coresite.
Prime Colocation Suppliers Providing On-Ramp Providers
Notes: Information signify the variety of on-ramp choices at colocation services. Information embody out there data from Alibaba, AWS, Google Cloud, IBM, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud. Interxion is a Digital Realty firm. Information as of Q1 2022. Supply: TeleGeography, © 2022 TeleGeography
Geography of Cloud Connections
The cloud just isn’t ubiquitous. Devoted connections to Infrastructure as a Service suppliers typically map intently to the place these suppliers have deployed information facilities. There are two separate units of information middle groupings related to devoted interconnect.
WAN Discussion board members can preserve studying this evaluation over right here.
