Connecting to AWS Direct Connect¶

To request a network connection between Metal and AWS Direct Connect, open the Project's Interconnections page. Click Request a new interconnection. Click Request AWS Direct Connection.

In the Add AWS Account Number section, enter your twelve-digit AWS Account Number in the field.

In the Specify Connection Settings section, enter the following:

• Enter a name for your connection.
• Select the metro location from the drop-down. Select a metro where your Equinix Metal infrastructure lives and the location where the CSP you are connecting to lives.
• Select the connection speed from the drop-down.

In the Connection Redundancy section, choose whether you want a set of redundant ports or a single port. Redundant ports are highly recommended. Selecting a single port may result in significant downtime due to planned and unplanned outages.

Note: If you select a pair of redundant ports, you must select one primary VLAN and one secondary VLAN.

Select whether you are attaching your ports to a VLAN and select the VLAN or VLANs to connect to your ports. If you do not have any eligible VLANs, you can click + Create new VLAN to create them.

If you are creating a VLAN, enter the metro, a description (optional), and a VNID in the fields provided. Click Add VLAN. Then select the new VLAN from the drop-down to attach to a port.

The same VLAN can't be connected to two or more virtual circuits, so if you request redundant ports, select or create a VLAN for each.

Note: You must create a Layer 2 virtual connection by attaching Metal VLANs to the interconnection.

You must specify your VLANs during the creation of new virtual connections for CSP connections. VLANs created after February 29th, 2024 will be available here. If you do not see your VLAN, you must create a new VLAN.

Review your connection details to verify that the information entered is correct and click Connect. If the request connection is successful, you will receive a pop-up message displaying "Connection request submitted".

Click View Request to see the request status from your Project’s Interconnection page.

Sign into your AWS Direct Connect Console to accept the request.

To request a connection through the API, send a POST request to the /projects/{project_id}/connections endpoint.

curl -X POST \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-Auth-Token: <API_TOKEN>" \
"https://api.equinix.com/metal/v1/projects/{project_id}/connections" \
-d '{

    "contact_email": "<string>",
    "description": "<string>",
    "name": "<string>",
    "metro": "<string>",
    "speed": "<string>",
    "type": "shared_port_vlan_to_csp",
    "vlans": [ <integer>, <integer> ],
    "fabric_provider": 
        {
            "type": "CSP_AWS",
            "account_id": "<AWS_ACCOUNT_ID>",
            "location": "<string>"
        }
}'

"fabric_provider":

The fabric provider object is a required parameter where you supply the CSP you are connecting to, your account ID, and the CSP's location that you are connecting to.

For connecting to AWS Direct Connect, the type must be "CSP_AWS". The corresponding AWS Direct Connect location can be looked up from the /connections/metros endpoint.

curl -X GET -H 'X-Auth-Token: <API_TOKEN>' \
https://api.equinix.com/metal/v1/connections/metros

Other Body Parameters:

• "name" (required) - The name of your new connection.
• "description" (optional) - A user-friendly description for your Fabric Virtual Connection.
• "contact_email" - The preferred email used for communication and notifications about the Interconnection. Required when using a Project API key. Optional and defaults to your user email address when using a User API key.
• "metro" (required) - Specify the metro of your Equinix Metal infrastructure.
• "type" (required) - The type of connection. For connecting to AWS Direct Connect, this value must be "shared_port_vlan_to_csp".
• "speed" (optional) - Set the connection speed. Your options are "50mbps", "200mbps", "500mbps", "1gbps", "2gbps", 5gbps, or "10gbps". Note: the speed cannot be changed after you submit your request. A new request is required to change the speed.
• "vlans" (required) - A list of VLAN IDs that will be used for the connection(s), and also determines redundancy. The first VLAN will be used for the primary port. If you specify a second VLAN, a redundant connection is automatically created, and the second VLAN is used for the secondary port. You can not connect the same VLAN to both ports, so specify a different VLAN for each. Note: VLANs created before February 29th, 2024 do not support AWS Direct Connect. If you do not have any VLANs created after February 29th, 2024, you will need to create some before requesting your connection.

Once you submit your request, you can check on the status of your request by sending a GET request to the /connections/{connection_id} endpoint.

curl -X GET -H 'X-Auth-Token: $API_TOKEN' \
"https://api.equinix.com/metal/v1/connections/{connection_id}"

Once the interconnection between AWS and Equinix Metal is established for a request, the state of the interconnection will display as Active in the Status column on your Project’s Interconnection page in the Cloud Service Provider Connections section.

Note: The interconnection state change to Active is not immediate. Please allow for some time for the Interconnection from both Metal and AWS to provision.

Cloud Service Provider Connections are listed as Cloud Service Provider in the Type column. Billing starts when the status becomes Active on the Cloud Service Provider.

Click the Pending Request tab on your Project’s Interconnection page to view the status of a pending request interconnection. To cancel a request interconnection, click the arrow associated with interconnection name in the table. The Manage Interconnect request page displays. Click Cancel interconnection request.

All non-pending interconnections can be viewed under the Interconnections tab. To display the details associated with an interconnection, click the arrow.

To view details about an interconnection, such as the primary or secondary port configurations, click the interconnection’s name. The Overview page displays the high-level detail view, including Interconnection ID, Type, Speed, etc. For more information, click the Primary Port or Secondary Port tab to view the port's status and configuration.

To list all the Interconnections in a project, send a GET request to the /projects/{project_id}/connections endpoint. Note that Dedicated Ports are managed at the organization level, so if there are any Dedicated Ports in your organization, they will also appear in the response.

curl -X GET -H 'X-Auth-Token: <API_TOKEN>' \
https://api.equinix.com/metal/v1/projects/{project_id}/connections

To get the details of a Metal Billed Fabric VC, send a GET request to the /connections/{connection_id} endpoint, specifying the UUID in the request path.

curl -X GET -H 'X-Auth-Token: <API_TOKEN>' \
https://api.equinix.com/metal/v1/connections/{connection_id}

You can use this information to manage and update a connection by sending a PUT request to the /connections/{connection_id} endpoint. Specify what you want changed in the body of the request. You can modify the name, description, tags, and contact email.

curl -X PUT \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-Auth-Token: <API_TOKEN>" \
"https://api.equinix.com/metal/v1/connections/{connection_id}" \
-d '{
    "contact_email": "<string>",
    "description": "<string>",
    "name": "<string>",
    "tags": [
        "<string>"
    ]
}'

You can also get the port information of your Interconnections.

To get a list of ports, send a GET request to the /connections/{connection_id}/ports endpoint.

curl -X GET -H 'X-Auth-Token: <API_TOKEN>' \
https://api.equinix.com/metal/v1/connections/{connection_id}/ports

And to get one of the port's details, send a GET request to the /connections/{connection_id}/ports/{id} endpoint.

curl -X GET -H 'X-Auth-Token: <API_TOKEN>' \
https://api.equinix.com/metal/v1/connections/{connection_id}/ports/{id}

From the list of connections on the Interconnections page, click the name of the Cloud Service Provider connection you want to delete.

Click Delete Interconnection to delete the Cloud Service Provider Connection permanently.

To delete an AWS Direct Connection from the API, send a DELETE request to the /connections/{connection_id} endpoint, specifying the ID of the connection in the path.

curl -X DELETE -H 'X-Auth-Token: <API_TOKEN>' \
https://api.equinix.com/metal/v1/connections/{id}