The ExpressRoute Direct connects directly to Microsoft's global network via strategically located peering points. The ExpressRoute Direct provides 10 Gbps or 100 Gbps connectivity, which supports Active/Active connectivity.
This feature is not generally available in the Azure portal, and we must register this service before using this service.
Step 1
In PowerShell, enter the below commands to enroll in our subscription.
- Connect-AzAccount
- Select-AzSubscription -Subscription “Subscription Name / ID”
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Step 2
Enter the below command to register our ExpressRoute Ports and Microsoft Network for our subscription.
- Register-AzProviderFeature -FeatureName AllowExpressRoutePorts -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.Network
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Step 3
In the Azure portal, type ExpressRoute Direct in the global search, select ExpressRoute Direct. Click the Create button to open the Create ExpressRoute Direct page.
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Step 4
Select the Subscription, Resource group and enter the name for the ExpressRoute Direct. Then, click the Next button for Configuration.
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Step 5
Select the peering location where we will connect to the ExpressRoute Direct. In this demo, we will choose Airtel-Chennai2-CLS.
We can select the Bandwidth we want; if the Bandwidth is not displayed in the Bandwidth section, create a Microsoft Support ticket.
In the Encapsulation, we can choose Dot1Q (We must manage the uniqueness of the C-Tag (VLAN) across the entire ExpressRoute Direct resource) or QinQ (The ExpressRoute circuit will be dynamically assigned an S-Tag and will be unique throughout the ExpressRoute Direct resource). In this demo, we will choose QinQ, select Review + create, and click Create.
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Step 6
The ExpressRoute Direct deployment is completed. In the ExpressRoute Direct Overview, the Links are disabled.
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Step 7
To activate the Links, go to the Links under the Settings and select the Admin Stage to Enable and Save it. Repeat the same step to activate Link 2 as well.
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Link 1 and the Link 2 are activated.
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Summary
In the article, we learned how to deploy the Azure ExpressRoute Direct. In our next article, we will learn how to create the ExpressRoute connection.