This topic describes how to create a multi-cloud connection to implement cross-cloud connectivity between Alibaba Cloud and another cloud service provider to transfer resources.

Prerequisites

  • An Alibaba Cloud Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance and an Alibaba Cloud virtual private cloud (VPC) are created. The VPC is connected to a Cloud Enterprise Network (CEN) instance of Alibaba Cloud. For more information, see Attach networks.
  • An Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instance is created and deployed in an Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC).

Background information

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is used in the example. For more information about Microsoft Azure configurations, see the product introduction on the Microsoft Azure official website.

Configurations on the Alibaba Cloud side

To transfer data between Alibaba Cloud and AWS, you must create a multi-cloud connection in the Alibaba Cloud Management Console. Then, you must attach the virtual border router (VBR) associated with the multi-cloud connection to the CEN instance to which an Alibaba Cloud VPC is connected. This way, the connectivity between the VBR and the VPC is implemented.
Note The system does not support the peering connection mode of VBR-to-VPC. You must use the CEN instance to implement the connectivity between the VBR and the VPC.
  1. Log on to the Express Connect console.
  2. In the top navigation bar, select the region where you want to create the multi-cloud connection.
  3. In the left-side navigation pane, click Multi-cloud Connection.
  4. On the Multi-cloud Connection page, click Create Multi-cloud Connection.
  5. On the Create Multi-cloud Connection page, configure the following parameters:
    • Region: Select the region where you want to create the multi-cloud connection.
    • Access Point: Select the access point close to your business that uses the multi-cloud connection feature.
    • Peer Vendor: Select a cloud service provider at the peer end. Example: AWS.
    • Peer Vendor UID: Select the unique identifier (UID) of the user from the peer cloud service provider.
    • Bandwidth: Specify 1 Gbit/s.
    • Number: Enter 1.
      Note One user can create only a single multi-cloud connection.
    • Subscription Period: Specify 12 months.
  6. Click Buy Now.
  7. On the Confirm Order page, read and select Service Agreement, and then click Pay to apply for a multi-cloud connection.
    After you submit the application, the system creates a VBR that is associated with the multi-cloud connection. The multi-cloud connection enters the Configuring state. Wait until the Alibaba Cloud backend system starts to process your application. After the Alibaba Cloud backend system completes the configurations, the system sends you a notification. At this moment, the multi-cloud connection enters the Running state.
  8. After the Alibaba Cloud backend system completes the configurations, the system sends you a notification. At this moment, the multi-cloud connection enters the Running state.

Configurations on the AWS side

To implement cross-cloud connectivity between Alibaba Cloud and AWS, you must also complete configurations on the AWS side.

The following section describes how to configure parameters for cross-cloud connectivity on the AWS side. For more information about features of AWS Direct Connect and parameter descriptions, visit AWS Direct Connect. If the configurations described in the following section differ from the actual configuration descriptions provided by AWS, the configuration descriptions provided by AWS prevail.

  1. Log on to the AWS Direct Connect Console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Connections.
  3. On the Connections page, click the ID of the Direct Connect connection automatically created by the multi-cloud connection. In the upper-right corner of the connection details page, click Accept.
  4. Create a virtual private gateway. Then, attach the gateway to the AWS VPC.
    1. In the left-side navigation pane, click Virtual private gateways.
    2. On the Virtual private gateways page, click Create virtual private gateway.
    3. On the Create Virtual Private Gateway page, set the name of the virtual private gateway.
      Create a virtual private gateway
    4. Click Create Virtual Private Gateway.
    5. On the Virtual private gateways page, click the ID of the created virtual private gateway.
    6. On the details page of the virtual private gateway, click Edit.
      Create a virtual private gateway
    7. On the Create Virtual Private Gateway page, click Actions in the upper section. Then, select Attach to VPC from the drop-down list.
    8. On the Attach to VPC page, select the VPC to which you want to attach the virtual private gateway. Then, click Yes, Attach.
      Attach to a VPCAfter the virtual private gateway is attached to the VPC, the virtual private gateway enters the attached state.
  5. Create a virtual interface to connect to the AWS VPC.
    1. In the left-side navigation pane, click Virtual interfaces.
    2. On the Virtual interfaces page, click Create virtual interface.
    3. On the Create virtual interface page, configure the information of the virtual interface.
      The following table describes the parameters to be configured.
      Section Parameter Description
      Virtual interface type Type The type of the virtual interface. Select Private.
      Private virtual interface settings Virtual interface name The name of the virtual interface.
      Connection The physical connection on which the virtual interface is to be provisioned.
      Gateway type The type of the gateway for the virtual interface. Select Virtual Private Gateway.
      Virtual private gateway The virtual private gateway attached to the VPC to which you want to connect. Select the virtual private gateway created in Step4.
      VLAN The virtual local area network (VLAN) number for the virtual interface.
      BGP ASN The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Autonomous System Number (ASN) of the Alibaba Cloud object that is associated with the multi-cloud connection for the virtual interface.
      Additional settings Address family The address family used by the virtual interface. Select IPv4.
      Your router peer ip The BGP peer IP address configured on the Alibaba Cloud access point for the object that is associated with the multi-cloud connection.
      Amazon router peer ip The BGP peer IP Address configured on the AWS access point for the object that is associated with the multi-cloud connection.
      BGP authentication key The key used to verify the identity for BGP sessions. This parameter is optional.
      Note To view the related parameter information of the object that is associated with the multi-cloud connection, you can go to the multi-cloud connection page in the Alibaba Cloud Management Console.
    4. After the configurations are complete, click Create virtual interface to complete the connection between AWS and Alibaba Cloud.
  6. Verify the connection.
    1. On the Virtual interfaces page, click the ID of the created virtual interface.
    2. On the Peering tab, view the BGP status. If the value in the BGP status column that corresponds to the virtual interface is up, the AWS virtual interface is connected to the object that is associated with the multi-cloud connection.