Cloud Enterprise Network:Connect a third-party SD-WAN appliance to a transit router to establish communication between data centers and VPCs

Example

A company has two data centers (IDC1 and IDC2) and a VPC (VPC1) in the China (Shanghai) region, and another VPC (VPC2) in the China (Hangzhou) region. It now needs to enable communication among IDC1, IDC2, VPC1, and VPC2. A solution that the company proposes is to use a third-party SD-WAN appliance to connect IDC1 and IDC2 to Alibaba Cloud, and implement access control on the third-party SD-WAN appliance to ensure security. In addition, it wants to enable automatic route advertisement and learning between Alibaba Cloud and the data centers to reduce O&M workload.

To achieve these goals, the company can connect the third-party SD-WAN appliance to a transit router by creating a VPN attachment. The data centers can use the third-party SD-WAN appliance and transit router to communicate with the VPCs that are connected to the transit router. Furthermore, Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is enabled for the transit routers, the third-party SD-WAN appliance, IDC1, and IDC2, which allows for automatic route advertisement and learning.

Network planning

Network requirements

• Create an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance in a VPC, such as the security VPC in this topic. Then, deploy a third-party SD-WAN appliance on the ECS instance by installing the corresponding image.

  In this example, the image FortiGate V6.2.4 is installed on the ECS instance in the security VPC.

• Connect the third-party SD-WAN appliance to the transit router by creating a VPN attachment that uses a Private VPN gateway.

• Enable BGP between the third-party SD-WAN appliance and transit router to allow automatic route advertisement and learning.

• Create an IPsec-VPN connection between the third-party SD-WAN appliance and IDC1 and between the third-party SD-WAN appliance and IDC2. This way, IDC1 and IDC2 can connect to Alibaba Cloud.

  Use Auto Discovery VPN (ADVPN) to create a full mesh of IPsec-VPN connections between the third-party SD-WAN appliance and IDC1 and IDC2. For more information about ADVPN, see Fortinet Documents Library.

• The third-party SD-WAN appliance and the two on-premises gateway devices (On-premises Gateway 1 and On-premises Gateway 2) all use BGP. After an internal BGP (iBGP) neighbor relationship is established, routes are automatically advertised and learned.

  Both On-premises Gateway 1 and On-premises Gateway 2 are from Fortinet and have the image FortiGate V6.2.4 installed.

CIDR blocks

Prerequisites

Procedures

Step 1: Create transit routers

Before you can use a CEN instance to connect data centers to VPCs, you must deploy transit routers in the China (Shanghai) and China (Hangzhou) regions, and assign CIDR blocks to the transit router in the China (Shanghai) region.

1. Log on to the CEN console.

2. On the Instances page, select the CEN instance that you created in Prerequisites, and click the CEN instance ID.

3. On the Basic Information > Transit Router tab, click Create Transit Router.

4. In the Create Transit Router dialog box, configure the parameters and click OK. The following table describes the parameters.

   The following table lists only the parameters that are closely related to this topic. Other parameters are kept at their default value. For more information, see Transit router CIDR blocks.

   Parameter	Description	China (Shanghai)	China (Hangzhou)
   Region	Select the region where you want to create the transit router.	In this example, China (Shanghai) is selected.	In this example, China (Hangzhou) is selected.
   Edition	The edition of the transit router.	The transit router edition that is supported in the selected region is automatically displayed.
   Enable Multicast	Specify whether to enable multicast.	The default setting is used in this example. Multicast is disabled.
   Name	Enter a name for the transit router.	In this example, TR-Shanghai is entered.	In this example, TR-Hangzhou is entered.
   TR CIDR Block	Specify a CIDR block for the transit router. You can specify a custom CIDR block. The CIDR block works in a similar way as the CIDR block of the loopback interface on a router. IP addresses within the CIDR block can be assigned to IPsec-VPN connections . For more information, see Transit router CIDR blocks.	In this example, 10.10.10.0/24 is entered.	No CIDR block is specified in this example.

Step 2: Connect the VPCs to the transit routers

To allow the data centers to communicate with the VPCs by using the transit routers, connect VPC1, the security VPC, and VPC2 to the transit router in the desired region.

1. On the Instances page, select the CEN instance that you created in Prerequisites, and click the CEN instance ID.

2. On the Basic Information > Transit Router tab, find the transit router instance that you created in Step 1, and click Actions in the Create Connection column.

3. On the Connection with Peer Network Instance page, configure the VPC connection based on the following information, and then click OK.

   The following table lists only the parameters that are closely related to this topic. Other parameters are kept at their default value. For more information, see Transit router CIDR blocks.

   Parameter	Description	Service VPC (VPC1)	Security VPC	Service VPC (VPC2)
   Instance Type	Select the type of network instance.	In this example, VPC is selected.	In this example, VPC is selected.	In this example, VPC is selected.
   Region	Select the region of the network instance.	In this example, China (Shanghai) is selected.	In this example, China (Shanghai) is selected.	In this example, China (Hangzhou) is selected.
   Transit Router	The transit router in the selected region is automatically displayed.
   Resource Owner UID	Specify whether the network instance belongs to the current Alibaba Cloud account.	In this example, Current Account is selected.	In this example, Current Account is selected.	In this example, Current Account is selected.
   Billing Method	The billing method of the VPC connection. Default value: Pay-as-you-go. For more information about the billing rules of transit routers, see Billing rules.
   Connection Name	Enter a name for the VPC connection.	In this example, Service VPC1 connection is entered.	In this example, Security VPC connection is entered.	In this example, Service VPC2 connection is entered.
   Network Instance	Select a network instance.	In this example, VPC1 is selected.	In this example, the security VPC is selected.	In this example, VPC2 is selected.
   vSwitch	Select the vSwitches that are deployed in the zones of the transit router. If the Enterprise Edition transit router is deployed in a region that supports only one zone, select a vSwitch in the zone. If the Enterprise Edition transit router is deployed in a region that supports multiple zones, select at least two vSwitches. The two vSwitches must be in different zones. The two vSwitches support zone-disaster recovery to ensure uninterrupted data transmission between the VPC and the transit router. We recommend that you select a vSwitch in each zone to reduce network latency and improve network performance because data can be transmitted over a shorter distance. Make sure that each selected vSwitch has at least one idle IP address. If the VPC does not have a vSwitch in the zone supported by the TR or the vSwitch does not have an idle IP address, create a new vSwitch in the zone. For more information, see Create and manage a vSwitch.	In this example, vSwitch 1 in Shanghai Zone F and vSwitch 2 in Shanghai Zone G are selected.	In this example, vSwitch 1 in Shanghai Zone F and vSwitch 2 in Shanghai Zone G are selected.	In this example, vSwitch 1 in Hangzhou Zone I and vSwitch 2 in Hangzhou Zone H are selected.
   Advanced Configuration	Specify whether to enable the advanced features.	In this example, the default settings are used. The advanced features are enabled.	In this example, the default settings are used. The advanced features are enabled.	In this example, the default settings are used. The advanced features are enabled.

Step 3: Create an inter-region connection

As VPC1 and the security VPC are deployed in the same region, they can communicate with each other by default. The transit routers to which VPC1 and VPC2 are attached are in different regions. Therefore, VPC1 and the security VPC cannot communicate with VPC2. To enable communication between them, you must create an inter-region connection between the transit routers deployed in China (Hangzhou) and China (Shanghai).

1. On the CEN Instance page, find the CEN instance you want to manage, and click the ID.

2. On the Basic Information > Bandwidth Plans tab, click Allocate Bandwidth for Inter-region Communication.

3. On the Connect with Peer Network Instance page, configure the following parameters, and then click OK.

   Set the parameters by referring to the following table and keep other parameters at their default values. For more information, see Create an inter-region connection.

   Parameter	Description
   Instance Type	Select Inter-region Connection.
   Region	Select the region to be connected. In this example, China (Hangzhou) is chosen.
   Transit Router	The ID of the transit router in the selected region is automatically displayed.
   Connection Name	Enter a name for the inter-region connection. In this example, Inter-region connection is entered.
   Peer Region	Select the other region to be connected. In this example, China (Shanghai) is selected.
   Transit Router	The ID of the transit router in the selected region is automatically displayed.
   Bandwidth Plan	The following modes are supported: Allocate from Bandwidth Plan: Allocate bandwidth from the purchased bandwidth plan. Pay-by-data Transfer: Charged by traffic used by the inter-region connection. In this example, Pay-by-data Transfer is selected.
   Bandwidth	Specify a bandwidth value for the inter-region connection. Unit: Mbit/s.
   Default Link Type	Use the default link type.
   Advanced Configuration	Keep the default value, with all advanced features enabled.

Step 4: Create VPN attachments

After you complete the preceding steps, VPC1, VPC2, and the security VPC can communicate with each other. However, the transit routers and the security VPC cannot learn routes from the data centers. To enable the third-party SD-WAN appliance to learn routes, you must create a VPN attachment between the third-party SD-WAN appliance and the transit routers, and between the third-party SD-WAN appliance and the data centers. Then, the third-party SD-WAN appliance can advertise routes to the transit routers over the VPN attachment.

1. Log on to the VPN Gateway console.

2. Create a customer gateway.

   Before you can create VPN attachments between the third-party SD-WAN appliance and the transit routers, you must deploy a customer gateway and register the third-party SD-WAN appliance on Alibaba Cloud.

   1. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Interconnections > VPN > Customer Gateways.

   2. In the top navigation bar, select the region of the customer gateway.

      Select the region in which the third-party SD-WAN appliance is deployed. In this example, China (Shanghai) is selected.

   3. On the Customer Gateway page, click Create Customer Gateway.

   4. In the Create Customer Gateway panel, configure the parameters, and click OK.

      The following table lists only the parameters that are closely related to this topic. You can keep other parameters at their default value. For more information, see Create and manage a customer gateway.

      Parameter	Description	Customer gateway
      Name	Enter a name for the customer gateway.	In this example, Customer-Gateway is entered.
      IP Address	Enter the IP address that the third-party SD-WAN appliance uses to create the VPN attachments.	In this example, the private IP address 172.16.0.15 of the third-party SD-WAN appliance is entered.
      ASN	Enter the BGP ASN used by the third-party SD-WAN appliance.	In this example, 65534 is entered.

3. Create an IPsec-VPN connection.

   After you create a customer gateway, you need to create an IPsec-VPN connection on Alibaba Cloud. The transit routers use the IPsec-VPN connection to connect to the third-party SD-WAN appliance.

   1. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Interconnections > VPN > IPsec Connections.

   2. In the top menu bar, select the region of the IPsec-VPN connection.

      The IPsec-VPN connection and the customer gateway must be created in the same region. In this example, China (Shanghai) is selected.

   3. On the IPsec-VPN connection page, click Create IPsec-VPN Connection.

   4. On the Create IPsec-VPN Connection page, configure the parameters for the IPsec-VPN connection and click OK. The following table describes the parameters.

      Creating an IPsec-VPN connection incurs charges. For more information about the billing of IPsec-VPN connections, see Billing description.

      Parameter	Description	IPsec-VPN connection
      Name	Enter a name for the IPsec-VPN connection.	In this example, IPsec connection is entered.
      Associated Resource	Select the type of network resource to be associated with the IPsec-VPN connection.	In this example, CEN is selected.
      Gateway Type	Select the type of gateway used by the IPsec-VPN connection.	In this example, Private is selected. The security VPC is already connected to the transit router. The third-party SD-WAN appliance can connect to the transit router over a private network connection.
      CEN Instance ID	Select a CEN instance.	In this example, the CEN instance that you created in Prerequisites is selected.
      Transit Router	Select the transit router that you want to associate with the IPsec-VPN connection.	The transit router in the region of the IPsec-VPN connection is automatically selected.
      Zone	Select the zone in which the IPsec-VPN connection is created. Make sure that the IPsec-VPN connection is created in a zone that supports transit routers.	In this example, Shanghai Zone F is selected.
      Routing Mode	Select a routing mode.	In this example, Destination Routing Mode is selected.
      Effective Immediately	Specify whether to immediately start IPsec negotiations. Valid values: Yes: immediately starts IPsec negotiations after the configurations take effect. No: starts negotiations when traffic is detected.	In this example, Yes is selected.
      Customer Gateway	Select the customer gateway to be associated with the IPsec-VPN connection.	In this example, Customer-Gateway is selected.
      Pre-shared Key	Enter a pre-shared key that is used to authenticate the on-premises gateway devices. The key must be 1 to 100 characters in length, and can contain digits, letters, and the following special characters: ~ ` ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ - + = { } [ ] \ | ; : ' , . < > / ?. The key cannot contain spaces. If you do not specify a pre-shared key, the system randomly generates a 16-character string as the pre-shared key. After an IPsec-VPN connection is created, you can click Edit in the Actions column of the IPsec-VPN connection to view the pre-shared key that is generated for the IPsec-VPN connection. For more information, see the Modify an IPsec-VPN connection section of this topic. Important The IPsec-VPN connection and peer gateway device must use the same pre-shared key. Otherwise, the system cannot establish an IPsec-VPN connection.	In this example, fddsFF123**** is entered.
      Enable BGP	Specify whether to enable BGP. By default, BGP is disabled.	In this example, BGP is enabled.
      Local ASN	Enter the ASN of the IPsec-VPN connection. Default value: 45104. Valid values: 1 to 4294967295.	In this example, 65531 is entered.
      Encryption Setting	Specify custom encryption configurations, including IKE configurations and IPsec configurations.	Configure the following parameters. Keep other parameters at default values. In the IKE Configurations, select des as the Encryption Algorithm. In the IPsec Configurations, select des as the Encryption Algorithm. Note You need to select encryption parameters based on the on-premises gateway device to ensure that the encryption configurations for the IPsec connection are the same as those for the on-premises gateway device.
      BGP Configuration
      Tunnel CIDR Block	Enter the CIDR block that is used for IPsec tunneling. The CIDR block must fall within 169.254.0.0/16. The mask of the CIDR block must be 30 bits in length. The CIDR block must fall into 169.254.0.0/16. The subnet mask of the CIDR block must be 30 bits in length. The CIDR block cannot be 169.254.0.0/30, 169.254.1.0/30, 169.254.2.0/30, 169.254.3.0/30, 169.254.4.0/30, 169.254.5.0/30, or 169.254.169.252/30.	In this example, 169.254.20.0/30 is entered.
      Local BGP IP address	Enter a BGP IP address for the IPsec-VPN connection. This IP address must fall within the CIDR block of the IPsec tunnel.	In this example, 169.254.20.1 is entered.
      Advanced Settings	Enable or disable the advanced features for the IPsec-VPN connection.	In this example, the advanced features are enabled.

      After the IPsec-VPN connections are created, the system assigns a gateway IP address to each IPsec-VPN connection. The gateway IP address is an endpoint on the Alibaba Cloud side of the IPsec-VPN connection. You can view the gateway IP address on the details page of the IPsec-VPN connection, as shown in the following figure.

      Note

      • The system assigns gateway IP addresses to IPsec-VPN connections only after you associate the IPsec-VPN connections with transit routers. If the Associated Resource type of the IPsec-VPN connection is set to Not Bound or VPN Gateway when you create the IPsec-VPN connection, the system does not assign a gateway IP address to the IPsec-VPN connection.

      • After a private IPsec-VPN connection is associated with a transit router, the system automatically advertises the gateway IP address of the IPsec-VPN connection to the route table of the transit router.

4. Download the configurations of the IPsec-VPN connection peer.

   Return to the IPsec-VPN Connections page, find the IPsec-VPN connection that you created, and click Download Peer Configuration in the Actions column.

5. Add VPN and BGP configurations on the third-party SD-WAN appliance.

   After you create the IPsec-VPN connections, add VPN and BGP configurations on the third-party SD-WAN appliance based on the IPsec peer configurations and the following steps to create a VPN attachment between the third-party SD-WAN appliance and transit routers:

   Note

   In this example, a FortiGate firewall of v6.2.4 is used as an example. As the commands may vary with software versions, you can consult the firewall vendor or refer to their documents based on your actual environment. For more configuration examples, see On-premises gateway device configuration examples.

   The following content contains third-party product information, which is only for reference. Alibaba Cloud does not guarantee or make any form of commitments to the performance and reliability of these products, or the potential impacts of operations performed by using these products.

   1. Open the command-line interface (CLI) on the third-party SD-WAN appliance.

   2. Add configurations of IPsec-VPN phase 1 negotiation for the third-party SD-WAB appliance (IKE settings).

      # Add the IPsec-VPN phase 1 configuration for tunnel 1
      config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
       edit "to_aliyun_test1"
       set interface "port1"             # Use port1 to establish a VPN connection to the transit router.
       set ike-version 2
       set peertype any
       set net-device disable
       set proposal des-sha1             # Configure the phase 1 encryption algorithm and authentication algorithm. The settings must be consistent with the phase 1 configuration (IKE configuration) on the IPsec-VPN connection side.
       set localid-type address          # Specify the format of the local ID as an IP address, which must be consistent with the format of the Remote ID on the Alibaba Cloud IPsec-VPN connection.
       set dhgrp 2                       # Configure the phase 1 DH group. The settings must be consistent with the phase 1 configuration (IKE configuration) on the IPsec-VPN connection side.
       set remote-gw 192.168.168.1       # Specify the IP address of the peer of the third-party SD-WAN appliance, which is the gateway IP address of the IPsec-VPN connection.
       set psksecret fddsFF123****       # Specify the pre-shared key of the tunnel. The pre-shared key on the Alibaba Cloud IPsec-VPN connection side and the third-party SD-WAN appliance side must be consistent.
       next
      end

   3. Add configurations of IPsec-VPN phase 2 negotiation for the third-party SD-WAS appliance (IPsec settings).

      # Add the IPsec-VPN phase 2 configuration for the tunnel
      config vpn ipsec phase2-interface
          edit "to_aliyun_test1"
              set phase1name "to_aliyun_test1"    # Associate the tunnel with the phase1-interface.
              set proposal des-sha1               # Configure the phase 2 encryption algorithm and authentication algorithm. The settings must be consistent with the phase 2 configuration (IPsec configuration) on the IPsec-VPN connection side.
              set dhgrp 2                         # Configure the phase 2 DH group. The settings must be consistent with the phase 2 configuration (IPsec configuration) on the IPsec-VPN connection side.
              set auto-negotiate enable           
              set keylifeseconds 86400            # Configure the security association lifetime.
          next
      end

   4. Configure BGP IP addresses for the tunnel interface.

      config system interface
          edit "to_aliyun_test1"
              set ip 169.254.20.2 255.255.255.255          # Configure the BGP IP address of the tunnel interface.
              set type tunnel                              # Specify the tunnel port type.
              set remote-ip 169.254.20.1 255.255.255.255   # Specify the peer BGP IP address of the tunnel.
              set interface "port1"                        # Associate the tunnel with port1.
          next
      end

   5. Configure firewall policies.

      config firewall policy
          edit 1
              set name "forti_to_aliyun1"       # Configure the security policy from the third-party SD-WAN appliance to Alibaba Cloud.
              set srcintf "port1"               # The source interface is port1.
              set dstintf "to_aliyun_test1"     # The destination interface is the VPN connection tunnel interface.
              set srcaddr "all"                 # Match traffic from all source CIDR blocks.
              set dstaddr "all"                 # Match traffic to all destination CIDR blocks.
              set action accept                 # Allow traffic.
              set schedule "always"
              set service "ALL"
          next
          edit 2
              set name "aliyun_to_forti1"       # Configure the security policy from Alibaba Cloud to the third-party SD-WAN appliance.
              set srcintf "to_aliyun_test1"     # The source interface is the VPN connection tunnel interface.
              set dstintf "port1"               # The destination interface is port1.
              set srcaddr "all"                 # Match traffic from all source CIDR blocks.
              set dstaddr "all"                 # Match traffic to all destination CIDR blocks.
              set action accept                 # Allow traffic.           
              set schedule "always"
              set service "ALL"
          next
      end

   6. Configure BGP dynamic routing.

      config router bgp
          set as 65534
          set router-id 172.16.0.15
          config neighbor
              edit "169.254.20.1"                       # Specify the peer BGP neighbor of the tunnel.
                  set remote-as 65531
              next
          end
          config network
              edit 1
                  set prefix 172.16.0.0 255.255.0.0    # Advertise the CIDR block in the security VPC that needs to communicate with other networks.
              next
          end
      end

Step 5: Configure the on-premises gateway devices

You need to add VPN and BGP configurations on On-premises Gateway 1, On-premises Gateway 2, and the third-party SD-WAN appliance. Then, On-premises Gateway 1, On-premises Gateway 2, and the third-party SD-WAN appliance can establish IPsec-VPN connections among each other and enable IDC1 and IDC2 to communicate with the VPCs and IDC1 to communicate with IDC2. You can refer to the following configuration examples.

Step 6: Test the connectivity

After you complete the preceding steps, the data centers are connected to the VPCs. This step shows how to test network connectivity among the data centers and the VPCs.

1. Test the connectivity between IDC1 and VPC1, VPC2, and IDC2.

   1. Open the CLI in the IDC1 client.

   2. Run the ping command from the client to test connectivity with ECS1 in VPC1, ECS1 in VPC2, and a client in IDC2.

      As shown in the preceding figure, if IDC1 gets returned messages, it means IDC1 can access resources in VPC1, VPC2, and IDC2.

2. Test the connectivity between IDC2 and VPC1, VPC2, and IDC1.

   1. Open the CLI of the client in IDC2.

   2. Run the ping command from the client to test connectivity with ECS1 in VPC1, ECS1 in VPC2, and a client in IDC1.

      As shown in the preceding figure, if IDC2 gets the returned messages, it means IDC2 can access resources in VPC1, VPC2, and IDC1.

3. Test the connectivity between VPC1 and two IDCs.

   1. Log on to the ECS1 instance in VPC1. For more information, see ECS remote connection guide.

   2. Run the ping command on the ECS1 instance to test connectivity with clients in IDC1 and IDC2.

      ping <IP address of the IDC client>

      

      The preceding figure indicates that VPC1 can access resources in IDC1 and IDC2, as the ECS1 instance gets returned messages.

4. Test the connectivity between VPC2 and two IDCs.

   1. Log on to the ECS1 instance in VPC2. For more information, see the ECS remote connection guide.

   2. Run the ping command on the ECS1 instance to test connectivity with clients in IDC1 and IDC2.

      ping <IP address of the IDC client>

      

      The preceding figure indicates that VPC2 can access resources in IDC1 and IDC2, as the ECS1 instance gets returned messages.

5. Test the connectivity between VPC1 and VPC2.

   1. Log on to the ECS1 instance in VPC1. For more information, consult the ECS remote connection guide.

   2. Run the ping command on the ECS1 instance to test connectivity with the ECS1 instance in VPC2.

      ping <IP address of the ECS instance>

      

      The preceding figure shows that ECS1 in VPC1 can access resources in VPC2, as the ECS1 instance gets returned messages.

   3. Log on to the ECS1 instance in VPC2. For more information, see the ECS remote connection guide.

   4. Run the ping command on the ECS1 instance to test connectivity with the ECS1 instance in VPC1.

      ping <IP address of the ECS instance>

      

      The preceding figure indicates that VPC2 can access resources in VPC1, as the ECS1 instance gets the returned messages.