Create the Order
This self-service user guide is aimed for LINX members only. If you are a Reseller and you are ordering on behalf of a sub-customer, please see the relevant documentation.
LINX members can add a new Peering service anytime on demand. This self-service request is visible via the Orders page with a full order log on Portal. For any error conditions, LINX NOC will immediately be notified to take over manual control of the request.
When ordering a Peering service, you have the following options:
Option 1: Order a new Port Access, and add a Peering service in the same order
Option 2: Order via Port based services, ordering Peering service on a new port
Option 3: Order via Port based services, ordering Peering service to an existing port without a peering service
This article covers Option 1. Please refer to the appropriate articles for the other options.
On LINX Portal navigate to Orders.
Click on request a new service
Select Port Access
Complete each section of the order form:
Location:
Required fields:
Select the desired Peering LAN and building
Optional fields:
Floor/Building: Please provide which building you are located in, and which floor within the data centre
Room/Row: Please provide which room within the data centre you are in, and which row within the room
Rack: Please provide your position within the rack so we can locate the port
Only Peering LAN and building are mandatory fields in the location section so if you do not know already any of the optional fields you will be able to provide that information to LINX NOC at a later stage.
Port Access:
Select the desired port access speed
Depending on the peering LAN you selected you would be able to choose within the offered speeds in that location. These could be any combination of the following speed: 10Gbps, 100Gbps and 400Gbps.
Select number of required ports.
If you select more than one port they will be automatically bundled together. Furthermore if ordering bundle ports a peering service utilising the full bandwidth of the bundle will be automatically added later in the order. That is because peering services are the only services offered on bundle ports.
Once selected the Port speed and Number of Ports you will be able to check the monthly cost and set up charges on the top right corner. These prices are calculated on demand accordingly to your selection.
If the your selection qualifies for a discount this will be automatically deducted to your total amount and displayed in red underneath the relevant charge.
Port Details
Select the encapsulation of the port. Please bear in mind that we do not offer any form of encapsulation on bundled ports.
You can choose between None, Dot1Q, and QinQ.
Any form of encapsulation other than None allows you to host multiple logical services on the ordered port access. Nevertheless, only one peering service per port access is allowed. If you plan to utilise Cloud Connect or Microsoft Azure Private Peering, we recommend you to select QinQ as it would allow you to utilise the full functionality of such services if required. Please note that the encapsulation of your port can be changed at a later date, please see the related article.Presentation type: Please select the presentation type that is appropriate for your demarcation point:
Please select Other if none of the available options qualify or if unsure and it will be handled
Select the connection type. The connection type allows LINX NOC to determine the right process for provisioning including which person to contact and who will be issuing an LoA.
The available options are:Layer 2 Provider: Please select this option if you are using a layer 2 provider to reach your demarcation point.
Own Rack Space: Please select this option if your demarcation point is located on your own equipment.
Third-Party Rack Space: Please select this option if your demarcation point is located on a third-party supplier rented equipment.
Click add service details to proceed.
At this point, you would be presented with the following scenarios:
If you selected a port access bundle (more than one port) a peering service utilising the full bandwidth of the bundle has been automatically added on the order. That is because peering services are the only services offered on bundle ports and a port access bundle cannot be ordered on his own
If you selected a single port you can either decide to complete the order of an empty port access or to add a peering service to the order. Since the latter is the most common case we will cover this in this article and we will consider that. In the order summary page please click on LINX Peering Service and you will be redirected to the LINX Peering Service order form.
In the port bundle scenario (first scenario) the bandwidth is automatically set according to the cumulative size of the port bundle and cannot be changed. In the single port scenario (second scenario) you can choose with a slider the bandwidth of the peering service according to the available options for that port access.
Different peering service bandwidth have different prices which are visualised on the top right corner.
2G over 10G example.
5G over 10G example
In both scenarios you need to enter your ASN and MAC address and click add service details to proceed.
Review the order summary page and any additional details if required. If you are happy with the details provided, select Submit Order.
Review the MoU pop up and click confirm to proceed with the order or select cancel to return to the order page.
Upon pressing the "Confirm" button, your self-service order will be submitted successfully.
Track the Order
After selecting Confirm, you will be returned to the orders screen where you can view recent orders. The status will show the progress of your order. Click “View order” to see additional information.
On the left side, you can see the steps that your order will need to pass through. On the right side, you can view a summary of your order items.
At the bottom of the summary, click the + symbol to expand the progress log for a live status update of the order progress.
The order will now pass through the required four stages:
Inventory - the details of the order are added to our inventory and ticketing systems.
Quality assurance - after the services are created they are verified to guarantee that all the data is correct.
Provisioning - the services is deployed on the peering LAN.
Completed - The order was successfully provisioned.
Complete the Order
The provisioning stage will be composed by two subsequent provisioning phases:
The provisioning of the port access
The provisioning of the peering service
In both phases, you will be required to intervene and be able to orchestrate via portal the progress of those steps.
Provisioning of the port access
When the order reaches the Provisioning state it will pause to allow the set up of the cross connect. Depending on the data centre the cross connect initiation could be performed by LINX NOC or your company. In any case NOC will contact with you to organise this step and exchange demarcation points and LoA (if needed).
Once the cross-connect is set up, the order will update to provisioning (awaiting member) and pause again. A banner will appear at the top of the order details page explaining the cross-connect has been completed and instructing you to complete your patching. Once completed, click on Continue to perform connectivity testing and resume automation.
Whilst still in Provisioning, LINX NOC will manually monitor the port for any incrementing errors and check light levels to ensure there is no deviation from accepted thresholds. Once the port test is complete, the new port access service provisioning is completed and billing for the service will start from that day.
Provisioning of the peering service
Once the port access service/s are successfully configured, a banner will appear at the top of the orders page.
You will need to configure your port/s with the specified IP address details. You will also need to make sure that the traffic being sent to the peering LAN is compliant with the LINX MoU and that at least the IPv4 address can be pinged from the LINX peering LAN. Once done, select CONFIRM to continue with the order.
There are three scenarios that can now occur:
The order will fail the quarantine test and you will have the chance to double-check your port configuration and retry.
The order will fail because of an issue unrelated to your port configuration and a ticket to LINX NOC will be automatically opened.
The order will be completed successfully.
