ExpressRoute prerequisites & checklist

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To connect to Microsoft cloud services using ExpressRoute, you need to verify that the following requirements listed in the following sections have been met.

Azure account

  • A valid and active Azure account. This account is required to set up the ExpressRoute circuit. ExpressRoute circuits are resources within Azure subscriptions. An Azure subscription is a requirement even if connectivity is limited to non-Azure Microsoft cloud services.

Connectivity provider

Network requirements

  • Redundancy at each peering location: Azure requires redundant BGP sessions to be set up between Azure's routers and the peering routers on each ExpressRoute circuit (even when you have just one physical connection to a cloud exchange).

  • Redundancy for Disaster Recovery: Azure strongly recommends you set up at least two ExpressRoute circuits in different peering locations to avoid a single point of failure.

  • Routing: depending on how you connect to the Azure Cloud, you or your provider needs to set up and manage the BGP sessions for routing domains. Some Ethernet connectivity providers or cloud exchange providers may offer BGP management as a value-add service.

  • NAT: Azure only accepts public IP addresses through Microsoft peering. If you're using private IP addresses in your on-premises network, you or your provider needs to translate the private IP addresses to the public IP addresses using the NAT.

  • Network Security: consider network security when connecting to the Azure Cloud via ExpressRoute.

Next steps