Create a Layer 3 Connection
The following steps are applicable to connections with several access points of IDCs, public clouds, VPCs or virtual edge based on Layer 3 SDN backbone network.
If you need a Layer 3 network connection - the cloud router, you can follow the steps as shown below.
Prerequisites
You have signed up an account with your email and sign in to zenConsole.
If you need to connect to your cloud services, your public cloud provider should be one of the following: Amazon Web Service, Tencent Cloud, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. More public cloud providers will be supported soon.
For VPC connection, instances in subnets with the same IP range can not communicate with each other. Please plan the IP ranges of your subnets reasonably in advance in case of abnormal connection.
Networking Modes
Before creating a Layer 3 cloud router, we recommend that you understand the available networking modes. A Layer 3 cloud router supports two networking modes — Connection Mode and Access Point Mode — designed for different networking scales and interconnection needs. Choose the one that fits your number of access points, topology planning, and billing preferences.
Connection Mode
You define the interconnection between access points on demand, building the topology you need with links established only between the access points that must communicate.
Recommended for networking scenarios with fewer access points.
Each interconnection can independently use fixed bandwidth or 95th percentile billing, offering more flexible commercial billing.
Access Point Mode
Adopts a full-mesh topology by default, where all access points in the network are automatically interconnected without configuring each link.
Suitable for large-scale networking scenarios.
Only fixed bandwidth billing is supported for now.
Note
The networking mode is selected at creation. Choose it based on your actual networking plan.
Connection Mode Configuration
In Connection Mode, you define the interconnection between access points on demand, establishing links only between the access points that must communicate to build the topology you need. The configuration steps are as follows:
Select the networking mode: In the first step of creating a Layer 3 cloud router, select Connection Mode.
Select the access point types: Select the types of access points to connect (such as data center, public cloud, or elastic compute) and add them.
Configure routing information: For each access point, plan the interconnection IP address, Autonomous System Number (ASN), BFD, and advanced settings to enable network communication. See Configure Routing for details.
Specify the interconnected access points: Select the access points to interconnect and assign a VLAN to each interconnection, establishing links only between the access points that need to communicate.
Select the billing mode and business bandwidth: For each interconnection, select the billing mode (fixed bandwidth or 95th percentile) and configure the business bandwidth. Each interconnection can use a billing mode independently.
Access Point Mode Configuration
In Access Point Mode, a full-mesh topology is adopted by default, where all access points in the network are automatically interconnected without configuring each link, making the setup simpler. The configuration steps are as follows:
Select the networking mode: In the first step of creating a Layer 3 cloud router, select Access Point Mode. Once selected, all access points in the network are automatically interconnected in a full mesh.
Select the access point types: Select the types of access points to connect (such as data center, public cloud, or elastic compute) and add them.
Configure routing information: For each access point, plan the interconnection IP address, Autonomous System Number (ASN), VLAN, BFD, and advanced settings to enable network communication. See Configure Routing for details.
Select the billing mode and business bandwidth: Configure the business bandwidth for the access points. Access Point Mode currently supports fixed bandwidth billing only.
Procedures
On the upper left corner of zenConsole, go to Products > Cloud Networking > Cloud Router L3 > Create Cloud Router. The overall steps of creating a cloud router is shown below. For detailed operations, please refer to the links of specific chapters.
1. Select the Networking Mode
In the first step of creating a Layer 3 cloud router, select the networking mode for this deployment:
Connection Mode: Define the interconnection between access points on demand. Recommended for networking scenarios with fewer access points.
Access Point Mode: All access points in the network are automatically interconnected in a full mesh. Suitable for large-scale networking scenarios.
For the differences and full configuration steps of the two modes, see Networking Modes.
Note
The networking mode is selected at creation and cannot be changed afterward. Choose it based on your actual networking plan.
2. Label Your Cloud Router
Click 
to modify the label name of your private connect. You can also click Add Description to give the private connect a note.
3. Add Access Points
You need to add at least 2 access points and configure routing and network information to get started. By default, you can add up to 10 access points; if you need more, submit a support ticket or contact your sales representative. You will be able to make updates in the future. You can choose to add the following access point types:
Note
You can add only one Alibaba Cloud access point into your Layer 3 cloud router temporarily.
4. Configure Routing
If you add access points like data centers, public clouds or virtual edges, you need to configure routing protocols to achieve network communication. If you add a VPC, go to configure access bandwidth directly.
You may have the following options, and if your device supports Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), we recommend using BGP to take care of network segment changes.
Note
For virtual edge connection, you need to configure IPsec tunnel before configuring routing. See IPsec Tunnel Configuration for more details.
5. Configure Access Bandwidth
Configure the access bandwidth of each access point in your cloud router.
What to Do Next
More operations offline or on the public cloud console.
For the Public Cloud Point
Validate your cloud connect on the corresponding console of your public cloud provider.
For the Data Center Point
Contact Zenlayer Support or your data center operator to establish a cross connect offline.
Result
After your cross connect is established offline and your cloud connect is validated on the public cloud console, the states of corresponding points will change into Active and you will receive a notification email.
Once the states of all access points are Active, your cloud router state will become Active.
Note
Billing for cloud router will not start until all access points are active, and your connection is active.
Billing for your port will start:
when the port is active.
15 days after you submit the order – whether or not your cloud router has been established.
Billing for your cloud connect will start:\ Once you have validated your cloud connect on the public cloud console.
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