Create or modify a Direct peering using the Azure portal

This article describes how to create a Microsoft Direct peering for an Internet Service Provider or Internet Exchange Provider by using the Azure portal. This article also shows how to check the status of the resource, update it, or delete and de-provision it.

If you prefer, you can complete this guide by using Azure PowerShell.

Before you begin

Create and provision a Direct peering

Sign in to the portal and select your subscription

From a browser, go to the Azure portal and sign in with your Azure account.

If you have multiple subscriptions and need to switch subscriptions:

  1. Select the profile button, and then select Switch Directory.

    Select Switch directory

  2. Choose a subscription you want to use for peering setup.

    Choose subscription

Create a Direct peering

As an Internet Service Provider or Internet Exchange Provider, you can create a new direct peering request by Creating a Peering.

  1. On the Create a Peering page, on the Basics tab, fill in the boxes as shown here:

    Screenshot shows the Create a Peering page Basics tab with the Create new link called out.

  2. Select your Azure Subscription.

  3. For Resource group, you can either choose an existing resource group from the drop-down list or create a new group by selecting Create new. We'll create a new resource group for this example.

  4. Name corresponds to the resource name and can be anything you choose.

  5. Region is auto-selected if you chose an existing resource group. If you chose to create a new resource group, you also need to choose the Azure region where you want the resource to reside.

    Note

    The region where a resource group resides is independent of the location where you want to create peering with Microsoft. But it's a best practice to organize your peering resources within resource groups that reside in the closest Azure regions. For example, for peerings in Ashburn, you can create a resource group in East US or East US2.

  6. Select your ASN in the PeerASN box.

    Important

    You can only choose an ASN with ValidationState as Approved before you submit a peering request. If you just submitted your PeerAsn request, wait for 12 hours or so for ASN association to be approved. If the ASN you select is pending validation, you'll see an error message. If you don't see the ASN you need to choose, check that you selected the correct subscription. If so, check if you have already created PeerAsn by using Associate Peer ASN to Azure subscription.

  7. Select Next: Configuration to continue.

    Screenshot shows the Create a Peering page Basics tab with all values entered.

Configure connections and submit

  1. On the Create a Peering page, on the Configuration tab, fill in the boxes as shown here.

    • For Peering type, select Direct.

    • For Microsoft network, select AS8075. Don't create peering with ASN 8069. It's reserved for special applications and only used by Microsoft peering.

    • Select SKU as Basic Free. Don't select Premium Free because it's reserved for special applications.

    • Select the Metro location where you want to set up peering.

      Note

      If you already have peering connections with Microsoft in the selected Metro location, and you're using the Azure portal for the first time to set up peering in that location, your existing peering connections will be listed in the Peering connections section as shown. Microsoft will automatically convert these peering connections to an Azure resource so that you can manage them all, along with the new connections, in one place. For more information, see Convert a legacy Direct peering to an Azure resource by using the portal.

  2. Under Peering connections, select Create new to add a line for each new connection you want to set up.

    • To configure or modify connection settings, select the edit button for a line.

      Edit button

    • To delete a line, select ... > Delete.

      Delete button

    • You're required to provide all the settings for a connection, as shown here.

      Direct Peering Connection page

      1. Select the Peering facility where the connection needs to be set up.
      2. Session Address Provider is used to determine who provides the subnet needed to set up the BGP session between your network and Microsoft. If you can provide the subnet, select Peer. Otherwise, select Microsoft and Microsoft peering will contact you. Choosing this option will take longer for Microsoft to process the peering request. In some cases, Microsoft might not be able to provide subnets, which will result in request denial.
      3. If you selected the Session Address Provider option as Peer, enter the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses along with the prefix masks in the Session IPv4 prefix and Session IPv6 prefix boxes, respectively.
      4. Enter the number of IPv4 and IPv6 prefixes you'll advertise in the Maximum advertised IPv4 addresses and Maximum advertised IPv6 addresses boxes, respectively.
      5. Adjust the Total bandwidth slider to reflect the bandwidth for the connection.
      6. Select Save to save your connection settings.
  3. Repeat the previous step to add more connections at any facility where Microsoft is colocated with your network, within the Metro that you selected previously.

  4. After you add all the required connections, select Review + create.

    Peering Configuration tab final

  5. Notice that the portal runs basic validation of the information you entered. A ribbon at the top displays the message Running final validation....

    Peering Validation tab

  6. After the message changes to Validation passed, verify your information. Submit the request by selecting Create. To modify your request, select Previous and repeat the steps.

    Peering submission

  7. After you submit the request, wait for deployment to finish. If deployment fails, contact Microsoft peering. A successful deployment appears as shown here.

    Peering success

Verify Direct peering

  1. Go to Resource groups, and select the resource group you selected when you created the Peering resource. Use the Filter box if you have too many resource groups.

    Resource groups

  2. Select the Peering resource you created.

    The Overview page is selected in the left pane. It shows information about PeeringResourceGroup. In the Peering list, AshburnPeering is highlighted.

  3. The Overview page shows high-level information, as shown here.

    Peering resource Overview pane

  4. On the left, select ASN information to view the information submitted when you created PeerAsn.

    Peering resource ASN information

  5. On the left, select Connections. At the top of the screen, you see a summary of peering connections between your ASN and Microsoft, across different facilities within the metro. You can also access the connections summary from the Overview page by selecting Connections in the center of the pane, as shown.

    Peering resource Connections

    • Connection State corresponds to the state of the peering connection setup. The states displayed in this field follow the state diagram shown in the Direct peering walkthrough.
    • IPv4 Session State and IPv6 Session State correspond to the IPv4 and IPv6 BGP session states, respectively.
    • When you select a row at the top of the screen, the Connection section on the bottom shows details for each connection. Select the arrows to expand Configuration, IPv4 address, and IPv6 address.

Modify a Direct peering

This section describes how to perform the following modification operations for Direct peering.

Add Direct peering connections

  1. Select the + Add connections button, and configure a new peering connection.

    The AshburnPeering - Connections page lists the connections. The + Add connections button is highlighted.

  2. Fill out the Direct Peering Connection form, and select Save. For help with configuring a peering connection, review the steps in the "Create and provision a Direct peering" section.

    Direct Peering Connection form

Remove Direct peering connections

Removing a connection isn't currently supported in the Azure portal. For more information, contact Microsoft peering.

Upgrade or downgrade bandwidth on Active connections

  1. Select a peering connection you want to modify, and then select ... > Edit connection.

    Edit connection

  2. Modify bandwidth by moving the slider, and then select Save.

    Modify bandwidth

Add IPv4 or IPv6 session information on Active connections

  1. Select a peering connection you want to modify, and then select ... > Edit connection as shown in step 1.
  2. Enter Session IPv4 prefix or Session IPv6 prefix information, and select Save.

Remove IPv4 or IPv6 session information on Active connections

Removing Session IPv4 prefix or Session IPv6 prefix information isn't currently supported in the portal. For more information, contact Microsoft peering.

Deprovision a Direct peering

At this time, deprovisioning isn't supported by using the Azure portal or PowerShell. To deprovision, contact Microsoft peering.