So what exactly is FastConnect? Let’s assume you have your on-premises environment, and your OCI, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. So by FastConnect, we mean a dedicated and private connection. So it’s a dedicated and private connection between your on-premise environment and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
And what is the implication of having a dedicated and private connection? The first implication is, it provides higher bandwidth options. And because it is a private connection, it is more reliable, it is more consistent, consistent from a network experience standpoint. So higher bandwidth, more reliable, and more consistent. Now let’s have a look at some of the concepts associated with FastConnect.
Now, the first concept is with respect to the first FastConnect itself. FastConnect basically means there is a private, physical connectivity between OCI and your on-prem network. So that is your FastConnect.
Now, the second concept is with respect to FastConnect location. So this Oracle FastConnect location is an Oracle data center where you can connect to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
The third concept is Metro area. What is this metro area? This is a geographical area with multiple FastConnect locations. Let’s say, there is FastConnect location one. And FastConnect location two. So it’s area with multiple FastConnect locations.
Now let’s look at the fourth concept, which is Oracle partner. The fifth concept– so I’ll cover the fourth one and the fifth one together. So let me also write the fifth one. This is a third-party provider.
So what is the difference between an Oracle partner and a third-party provider? First of all, both these are network service providers. So both these are network service providers. But in case of Oracle partner, this one Oracle partner has integrated with Oracle in a FastConnect location. So Oracle partner has already integrated with Oracle in a FastConnect location. Whereas, in the case of a third-party provider, this is a network service provider which is not on the list of Oracle partners.
So both these are network service providers. One is integrated with Oracle in a FastConnect location. That is your Oracle partner. And the third-party provider is not an Oracle partner. This is the difference between Oracle partner and third-party provider.
Now, the sixth concept is co-location. We talked about a FastConnect location. So, in a FastConnect location, there is usually an Oracle cage. And inside the Oracle cage, there are Oracle edge servers. By co-location, I mean that your equipment is also deployed in a FastConnect location. So what it means is that you also have a cage. And inside your cage, you have your edge servers. So that is the meaning of co-location. That means your equipment is also deployed in a FastConnect location.
Now, the next concept is cross-connect. So cross-connect is the physical connection aspect in a FastConnect. Now, note that, in FastConnect, we have a physical connection, as well as a logical connection. When I say physical connection, you should understand that it’s basically a cross-connect. And when I say logical connection, it is basically a virtual circuit.
So please make a note of this, that there is a physical connection, and then there is a logical connection. Physical connection is your cross-connect. And logical connection is your virtual circuit.
What does this cross connect basically mean? It means that there is a physical cable– so this is the cable– which is connecting your network to Oracle in a FastConnect location.
Then the eighth concept is very much related to cross-connect, which is your cross-connect group. So as you require more bandwidth, you might need to enable a feature, which is cross-connect group. That means it’s a collection of cross-connects. And when will you use it? When your bandwidth needs increase.
Now, the ninth concept is Dynamic Routing Gateway. How is Dynamic Routing Gateway related to FastConnect? First of all, I mentioned that the logical part of the FastConnect connection is a virtual circuit. There are two types of virtual circuits, one is public, and the other one is private.
When there is a dedicated connection between on-premise network and the public OCI services, we typically use a public virtual circuit. And when there is a private communication between your on-premises environment and a Virtual Cloud Network, that is what is your private virtual circuit.
Now, we know that a VCN can have a Dynamic Routing Gateway attached to it. And hence, a dynamic routing gateway is necessary for private peering. In case of public peering, the DRG doesn’t come into action.
Now, the 10th concept is with respect to virtual circuit. We know that this virtual circuit is a logical concept when it comes to Oracle FastConnect. And this represents an isolated network path. So ultimately, this virtual circuit, which is logical, is going to run over the physical network.
So if this is our physical network, think of this like a logical or virtual circuit. So it’s basically an isolated network path. And the virtual circuit, it comes in two flavors, private virtual circuit, and public virtual circuit.
Now, the 11th concept is with respect to BGP session. So what is the meaning of BGP session? Let’s say, there are two different autonomous systems. And these Autonomous systems, they exchange routing information. So this exchange of routing information is known as BGP session.
Now, the next concept is something that is known as BFD. BFD stands for Bi-directional Forwarding Detection. So what is this BFD? It simply verifies connectivity between devices. So it is least interested, or it does not exchange routing information. It simply verifies connectivity between devices. So what it typically means is that it is a kind of method for detection of failures.
And what kind of failure am I talking about? Between adjacent networks. So it is going to verify the connectivity between the devices, and identify failures. Now we are going to discuss about Oracle edge. Now, in the architecture, when we discuss connectivity models, you’ll hear me talking about Oracle edge.
So what is this Oracle edge? Let’s say, this is your FastConnect location. In FastConnect location, there is an Oracle cage. And inside Oracle cage, there is an Oracle edge. And this Oracle edge is nothing but this is going to have a physical device, as well as a logical device. Because we know that there is both a physical and logical aspect in FastConnect.
Now let’s try to understand what is this physical device all about. So physical device is a FastConnect device that terminates the physical connection. And what is the physical connection? It’s the cross-connect. So the physical connection is going to be terminated on the physical device. And what is the logical device? The FastConnect device that is going to terminate the logical connection. Meaning, the virtual circuit.
So these are the physical and logical devices. Now we will talk about the last concept, which is LOA. LOA stands for letter of authorization. Now, to help you understand this, I will again draw this FastConnect location, where there is an Oracle cage, and there are Oracle logical and physical devices.
In case you are working with an Oracle partner, partner already has established the physical connection with Oracle in a FastConnect location. So for partner, this LOA is not applicable. But in case of a third-party provider, because this provider is not on the list of Oracle partners, it does not have a physical connection in the FastConnect location.
So in order for you to help the third-party provider facilitate the physical connection in a FastConnect location, Oracle is going to give you a letter of authorization that you can hand it over to the third-party provider. And the third party provider will then lay the physical connection in the FastConnect location. So that is the case of a third-party provider.
There is another model. So this is first, this is second, this is third. The third model is co-location. So in case of a co-location, your edge servers are also deployed in a FastConnect location. So this is basically your cage. Still in case of co-location, the physical connection needs to be established. Meaning, the cross-connect needs to be established.
So for you to establish this cross-connect, again, Oracle is going to provide you a letter of authorization. But this time, because there is no third-party provider, you need to provide this letter of authorization to the FastConnect location data center technician. And that person is going to help you complete the provisioning of the physical connection.
So it’s basically a letter that provides authorization to another party within a data center. And which data center are we currently talking about? We are talking about the FastConnect location data centers. And this letter of authorization, it is not applicable in case of a partner. It is only applicable in case of a third-party provider and co-location. And we are going to look at the connectivity models in the next lesson.
So I hope you understand what is a FastConnect, and what are the important concepts related to FastConnect.
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