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Configure internet access from a third-party operator

The connection is organized via a private L3 network through a global router. To set up the connection, you create a global router network and connect the devices that require operator internet access to the global router. A cross-connect subnet with the operator router is added to the global router network, and NAT is configured on the operator router to provide access from the private network to the internet.

When connecting to the internet via Direct Connect, you cannot assign public IP addresses from the operator's pool to your servers. To do this, choose another internet connection method.

  1. Make sure you have connected the Direct Connect — Physical Port service.
  2. Check or create a global router network.
  3. Connect the Direct Connect network to the global router.
  4. Check the settings on the operator's side.
  5. Configure routing to the Direct Connect subnet in the global router network.
  6. Configure routing to the internet on the global router.

1. Verify that the Direct Connect – physical port service is connected

  1. Make sure that in the service order ticket, you received the VLAN number to which the operator port will be added.
  2. Make sure this VLAN appears in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → Network → VLAN tab.

2. Check or create a global router network

Make sure that your account has a global router network and that it includes all devices that need internet access via the operator. You can view created global routers and their networks in the control panel under Network Services → Selectel Global Router.

If you do not have a global router network yet or want to create a new one, use the Create private connectivity via global router instructions.

3. Connect the Direct Connect subnet to the global router

  1. In the control panel, in the top menu, click Products and select Selectel Global Router.
  2. Open the router page → Networks tab.
  3. Click Create network.
  4. Enter a network name. It will only be used in the control panel.
  5. Select the Servers and Hardware service.
  6. Select the network location — the region and pool that you specified when ordering the Direct Connect – Physical Port service.
  7. Select or enter the VLAN to which the operator port has been added. The VLAN number can be found in the ticket you received when ordering the Direct Connect – Physical Port service.
  8. If a trunk port is configured on the operator side, specify a Q-in-Q tag — a number from 2 to 4094.
  9. Enter a subnet name. It will only be used in the control panel.
  10. Enter the CIDR — the private subnet IP address and mask. You can choose any addressing that does not overlap with other subnets on the global router.
  11. Enter the gateway IP address or leave the first address from the subnet, which is assigned by default. Do not assign this address to your devices to avoid disrupting network operation.
  12. Enter the service IPs or leave the last addresses from the subnet, which are assigned by default. Do not assign these addresses to your devices to avoid disrupting network operation.
  13. Click Create network.
  14. Optional: check the network topology on the global router. In the control panel, in the top menu, click Products → Selectel Global Router → router page → click Network map.
  15. If you specified a Q-in-Q tag, make sure you have enabled Q-in-Q on the switch port for the VLAN specified in step 7.

4. Check settings on the operator side

Contact the operator and ensure they have performed the following settings on their side:

  • assigned an IP address from the Direct Connect subnet that you connected to the global router to the router. The address must not match the gateway address or the reserved addresses that you selected during connection. The gateway address and reserved addresses can be viewed in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Selectel Global Router → router page → open the card of the network to which the subnet belongs → Gateway field.
  • configured NAT on the router from the Direct Connect subnet IP address to a public IP address from their address pool.

5. Configure routing to the Direct Connect subnet in the global router network

On all devices in the global router network, configure static routes to the Direct Connect subnet that you connected to the global router.

As the next hop, specify the IP address from the device subnet assigned to the global router as the gateway. You can view the gateway address in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Global Router → global router page → open the card of the network the subnet belongs to → Gateway field.

  1. Connect to the server.

  2. Open the network configuration file in the vi text editor:

    vi /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml

  3. At the end of the data block for the required network interface, add a route:

    routes:
      - to: <ip_address>/<mask>
        via: <gateway>

    Specify:

    • <ip_address>/<mask> — IP address of the Direct Connect subnet you connected to the global router, specifying the mask;
    • <gateway> — gateway for the subnet of the current server specified on the global router.

  4. Press the ESC key.

  5. Exit the vi text editor, saving the changes:

    :wq

  6. Check the settings:

    sudo netplan try

  7. Apply the changes:

    netplan apply

6. Configure internet routing on the global router

Configure an internet route to the default network 0.0.0.0/0. You can set a static route or configure dynamic routing using BGP.

  1. In the control panel, go to Network Services → Selectel Global Router.
  2. Open the router page → Static routes tab.
  3. Click Create route.
  4. Enter a route name — any name; it will only be displayed in the control panel.
  5. Enter the destination subnet CIDR — 0.0.0.0/0.
  6. Enter the Next hop IP address — the IP address from the Direct Connect subnet assigned to the operator router.
  7. Click Create.