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Operator sign up and service onboarding for Microsoft Connected Cache

This article details the process of signing up for Microsoft Connected Cache for Internet Service Providers (public preview).

Note

Microsoft Connected Cache is now in public preview. Instead of submitting a survey, you can directly onboard by following the instructions in this article.

Prerequisites

Before you begin sign up, ensure you have the following components:

  1. Azure Pay-As-You-Go subscription: Microsoft Connected Cache is a completely free-of-charge service hosted in Azure. You'll need to have a Pay-As-You-Go subscription in order to onboard to our service. To create a subscription, go to the Pay-As-You-Go subscription page.

    Note

    Microsoft Connected Cache is a completely free service for operators. None of the resources created in Azure will incur any charges. However, be aware that any additional services that might be selected as part of the Azure sign-up process might incur charges.

  2. Access to Azure portal: Ensure you have the credentials needed to access your organization's Azure portal.

  3. Peering DB: Ensure your organization's Peering DB page is up-to-date and active. Check that the NOC email listed is accurate, and that you have access to this email.

  4. Server: Ensure the server you wish to install Microsoft Connected Cache on is ready, and that the server is installed on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

  5. Configure cache drive: Make sure that you have a data drive configured with full permissions on your server. You'll need to specify the location for this cache drive during the cache node configuration process. The minimum size for the data drive is 100 GB. For instructions to mount a disk on a Linux VM, see Attach a data disk to a Linux VM.

Resource creation and sign up process

  1. Navigate to the Azure portal. Select Create a Resource. Then, search for Microsoft Connected Cache.

    Screenshot of the Azure portal that shows the Microsoft Connected Cache resource in Azure marketplace.

  2. Select Create to create a Microsoft Connected Cache. When prompted, choose the subscription, resource group, and location of your cache node. Also, enter a name for your cache node.

    Screenshot of the Azure portal that shows the Microsoft Connected Cache resource creation step.

    Important

    After your resource has been created, we need some information to verify your network operator status and approve you to host Microsoft Connected Cache nodes. Please ensure that your Peering DB organization information is up to date as this information will be used for verification. The NOC contact email will be used to send verification information.

    After a few moments, you'll see a "Validation successful" message, indicating you can move onto the next step and select Create.

    Screenshot of the Azure portal that shows a green validation successful message for the creation of the Microsoft Connected Cache resource.

  3. The creation of the cache node may take a few minutes. After a successful creation, you'll see a Deployment complete page as below. Select Go to resource.

    Screenshot of the Azure portal that shows a successful deployment for the creation of the Microsoft Connected Cache resource.

  4. Navigate to Settings > Sign up. Enter your organization ASN. Indicate whether you're a transit provider. If so, additionally, include any ASN(s) for downstream network operators that you may transit traffic for.

    Screenshot of the sign up page in the Microsoft Connected Cache resource page in Azure portal.

  5. Once we verify the information entered, a verification code will be sent to the NOC email address provided on Peering DB. Once you receive the email, navigate to your Azure portal > Microsoft Connected Cache > Settings > Verify operator, and enter the verification code sent to the NOC email address.

    Note

    Verification codes expire in 24 hours. You will need to generate a new code if it expires.

    Screenshot of the sign up verification page on Azure portal for Microsoft Connected Cache.

    Note

    Can't find the verification email in your inbox? Check that the email under the NOC role is correct in Peering DB. Search for an email from the sender microsoft-noreply@microsoft.com with the email subject: "Here's your Microsoft Connected Cache verification code" in your Spam folders. Still can't find it? Ensure that your email admin rules allow emails from the sender microsoft-noreply@microsoft.com.

  6. Once verified, follow the instructions in Create, provision, and deploy cache node to create your cache node.