Dedicated Connections
When a low latency, high bandwidth and secure connection is required, we recommend FastConnect.
The more predictable performance and bandwidth offered by FastConnect makes it particularly suitable for enterprise-class workloads and larger scale migrations to Oracle Cloud.
FastConnect is a dedicated, private, and secure network connectivity option for connecting your on-premises locations to Oracle Cloud. In the diagram above, FastConnect is the service that connects the OCI tenancy to the customer or partner edge router via Oracle’s edge router. The physical connectivity between the edge routers is made by cross-connect cabling aggregated into groups (LAG). This provides connection resilience and the ability to scale by the addition of future cross-connects into the group.
The connection between the customer on-premises equipment and the partner/customer edge router is the customer’s responsibility. Oracle recommends that the same degree of resilience, redundancy, and scalability be maintained for edge-to-edge connections.
When the physical connections are in place, communication between resources in Oracle Cloud and resources on-premises takes place over a virtual circuit (VC1). This is a logical connection that represents an isolated network path between each endpoint.
Virtual circuits can be one of two types; private or public.
Private virtual circuits are routed through the Dynamic Gateway Router (DRG) to provide connectivity for traffic between the on-premises network and one or more VCN’s attached to the DRG.
Public virtual circuits provide access to Oracle services in Oracle Cloud such as Object Storage, Autonomous Database, and APIs.
You can have multiple virtual circuits within the FastConnect connection. This is useful to maintain isolated traffic from different parts of an organisation.
There are three ways of establishing the connection between the on-premises CPE and Oracle’s edge router;
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Oracle Partner
This option is suitable if you plan to use or are already using network connectivity services from any FastConnect partner. Depending on your partner, you might have to order redundant cloud connectivity services from them.
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Direct (colocation)
This option is suitable if you already have a presence at a FastConnect POP location or want to establish a colocation presence at one. You can order multiple such connections into a data center for redundancy.
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Direct (third-party provider)
This option is suitable if you have existing relationships with certain network carriers or if any of Oracle’s FastConnect partners does not service your on-premises or remote data center location.
Resilience
The FastConnect service is inherently resilient between the OCI tenancy and the edge router in the Oracle FastConnect Point of Presence (POP).
Oracle provides at least one POP per OCI region. Some regions have two.
Suppose a region has access to more than one POP. In that case, this enables the customer to take advantage of POP redundancy by having a primary and standby FastConnect service routed through each POP.
Resilience for Regions With A Single FastConnect Point of Presence
When provisioning a FastConnect connection, it’s critical to ensure that each connection terminates on a different FastConnect router in Oracle Cloud to avoid single points of failure.
In this example, the CPE is dually connected to two virtual circuits routed through physically separate sets of hardware within the FastConnect POP.
Important:
Please pay special attention to the physical connectivity to ensure that it’s redundant and diverse. As you work with partners and carriers, ensure that they understand the physical connectivity of your existing connection so they can provide the diversity that you require.
Resilience for Regions With A Multiple FastConnect Points of Presence
If a region has two FastConnect points of presence, you can extend resiliency further by routing each virtual circuit through separate POP’s. This not only delivers physical redundancy of hardware but also allows protection across a metro area.
Resilience Using FastConnect & IPSec VPN
It is possible to provide resiliency for your FastConnect service by using an IPSec VPN connection as the standby connection. To do this, connect both the FastConnect and the VPN to the same Dynamic Routing Gateway (DRG). The DRG will always prefer to route traffic via the FastConnect connection and would only route traffic to the VPN connection if the FastConnect link was unavailable.
References & Further Reading
FastConnect Documentation
https://docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/Content/Network/Concepts/fastconnectoverview.htm
Oracle A-Team Blog - FastConnect Design
https://www.ateam-oracle.com/fastconnect-design
OCI Connectivity Redundancy Guide