Connect to Alibaba

Establish a direct, layer 2 connection to Alibaba Cloud.

connectToAlibaba_FabricV4

Step 1: Identify Your Alibaba Account ID

Step 2: Create Connection

1. Authenticate

Submit your user credentials, Client ID, and Client Secret for OAuth2 authentication.

Refer to Generating Client ID and Client Secret under the Getting Access Token section for instructions on how to create client ID and client secret and refer to Requesting Access and Refresh tokens section for instructions on how to call Oauth API to validate and authenticate your credentials.

If you are unaware of your user credentials for Equinix Fabric, contact your local Equinix Service Desk.

2. Determine A-side port information
Retrieve your Equinix Fabric ports information using the Get All Ports API request.

3. Choose Z-side metro location
Use the Get All Metros API request to find all metros where Equinix Fabric is available and determine destination location.

4. Establish connection
Use the POST /fabric/v4/connections API request to create a connection with the pre-determined attributes.

	POST /fabric/v4/connections
Method	POST
Endpoint	/fabric/v4/connections
Headers	Authorization, Content-Type
Path Parameters	Not applicable
Query Parameters	Not applicable
Body Parameters	type, name, order, bandwidth, aSide, zSide, additionalInfo, notifications

Use the Retrieve Pricing API request to retrieve connection price estimate.

Sample curl request - connection to Alibaba Express Connect from a DOT1Q port

curl -X
POST 'https://api.equinix.com/fabric/v4/connections'
-H 'content-type: application/json'
-H 'authorization: Bearer qwErtY8zyW1abcdefGHI'
-d '{
    "type": "EVPL_VC",
    "name": "Conn-1",
    "order": {
        "purchaseOrderNumber": "1-129105284100"
    },
    "bandwidth": 1000,
    "aSide": {
        "accessPoint": {
            "type": "COLO",
            "port": {
                "uuid": "a867f685-41b0-1b07-6de0-320a5c00abdd"
            },
            "linkProtocol": {
                "type": "DOT1Q",
                "vlanTag": 1001
            }
        }
    },
    "zSide": {
        "accessPoint": {
            "type": "SP",
            "profile": {
                "uuid": "4c4b8edf-873b-4c6c-805a-edb2c335bd6c"
            },
            "location": {
                "metroCode": "SV"
            },
            "authenticationKey": "xx-xxx-xx",
            "sellerRegion": "us-west-1"
        }
    },
    "notifications": {
        "type": "ALL",
        "emails": [
            "test@equinix.com",
            "test2@equinix.com"
        ]
    }
}'

Sample curl request - connection to Alibaba Express Connect from a QINQ port

curl -X
POST 'https://api.equinix.com/fabric/v4/connections'
-H 'content-type: application/json'
-H 'authorization: Bearer qwErtY8zyW1abcdefGHI'
-d '{
    "type": "EVPL_VC",
    "name": "Conn-1",
    "order": {
        "purchaseOrderNumber": "1-129105284100"
    },
    "bandwidth": 1000,
    "aSide": {
        "accessPoint": {
            "type": "COLO",
            "port": {
                "uuid": "a867f685-41b0-1b07-6de0-320a5c00abdd"
            },
            "linkProtocol": {
                "type": "QINQ",
                "vlanCTag": 1001,
                "vlanSTag": 1002
            }
        }
    },
    "zSide": {
        "accessPoint": {
            "type": "SP",
            "profile": {
                "uuid": "4c4b8edf-873b-4c6c-805a-edb2c335bd6c"
            },
            "location": {
                "metroCode": "SV"
            },
            "authenticationKey": "xx-xxx-xx",
            "sellerRegion": "us-west-1"
        }
    },
    "notifications": {
        "type": "ALL",
        "emails": [
            "test@equinix.com",
            "test2@equinix.com"
        ]
    }
}'

Body parameters

Parameter	Mandatory	Type	Example values	Applicable values	Description
type	yes	string	EVPL_VC	EVPL_VC	Connection type. EVPL_VC - Ethernet virtual private line connection type used for tagged layer 2 connections.
name	yes	string	Conn-1	Maximum: 24 characters Allowed characters: alpha-numeric, hyphens ('-') and underscores ('_')	Connection name.
order	no	object	-	-	Order details.
bandwidth	yes	integer	1000	50 200 500 1000	Connection bandwidth in Mbps.
aSide	yes	object	-	-	Source port definition.
zSide	yes	object	-	-	Connection destination definition.
notifications	yes	array[object]	-	-	Subscriber preferences for notification of changes in asset configuration or status.

order
purchaseOrderNumber	no	string	1-129105284100	-	Subscriber's purchase order identifier.

aSide
accessPoint	yes	object	-	-	Connection endpoint configuration.

aSide.accessPoint
type	yes	string	COLO	COLO	Connection endpoint type. COLO - Colocation space in an IBX data center
port	yes	object	-	-	Port associated with the connection.
linkProtocol	yes	object	-	-	Link protocol configuration.

aSide.accessPoint.port
uuid	yes	string	a867f685-41b0-1b07-6de0-320a5c00abdd	-	Equinix-assigned port identifier.

aSide.accessPoint.linkProtocol
type	yes	string	DOT1Q	DOT1Q QINQ	Link protocol type.
vlanTag	yes	integer	1001	Range: 2-4094	DOT1Q protocol VLAN tag.
vlanCTag	yes	integer	1002	Range: 2-4094	QINQ protocol, inner virtual local area network (VLAN) customer frame tag used to identify packets as they traverse trunk lines.
vlanSTag	yes	integer	1003	Range: 2-4094	QINQ protocol, outer virtual local area network (VLAN) service frame tag used to identify packets as they traverse trunk lines.

zSide
accessPoint	yes	object	-	-	Connection endpoint configuration.

zSide.accessPoint
type	yes	string	SP	SP	Connection endpoint type. SP - Service profile defining connection details.
profile	yes	object	-	-	The service profile associated with this access point.
location	yes	object			Attributes associated with the specified asset location.
authenticationKey	yes	string	xx-xxx-xx	-	Your Alibaba account ID.
sellerRegion	yes	string	us-west-1	-	Access point seller region.

zSide.accessPoint.profile
uuid	yes	string	20d32a80-0d61-4333-bc03-707b591ae2f5	-	Unique identifier assigned to the service profile associated with this access point.

zSide.accessPoint.location
metroCode	yes	string	SV	-	Metropolitan area identifier.

notifications
type	yes	string	ALL	ALL	Notification preferences for a specified asset, such as a service token, port, access point, or profile.
emails	yes	array[string]	["john@equinix.com", "jenkins@equinix.com"]	Minimum: 1 Maximum: 12	List of up to 12 recipients.

If you get “Access Denied” error, contact your local Equinix Service Desk for Equinix Fabric Portal access.

Sample response - connection to Alibaba Express Connect from a DOT1Q port

{
    "href": "https://api.equinix.com/fabric/v4/connections/3a58dd05-f46d-4b1d-a154-2e85c396ea62",
    "type": "EVPL_VC",
    "uuid": "3a58dd05-f46d-4b1d-a154-2e85c396ea62",
    "name": "Conn-1",
    "state": "PROVISIONING",
    "order": {
        "purchaseOrderNumber": "1-129105284100",
        "billingTier": "Up to 1 Gbps"
    },
    "bandwidth": 1000,
    "aSide": {
        "accessPoint": {
            "type": "COLO",
            "port": {
                "href": "https://api.equinix.com/fabric/v4/ports/a867f685-41b0-1b07-6de0-320a5c00abdd",
                "type": "XF_PORT",
                "uuid": "a867f685-41b0-1b07-6de0-320a5c00abdd"
            },
            "linkProtocol": {
                "type": "DOT1Q",
                "vlanTag": 1001
            }
        }
    },
    "zSide": {
        "accessPoint": {
            "type": "SP",
            "profile": {
                "href": "https://api.equinix.com/fabric/v4/services/serviceProfiles/20d32a80-0d61-4333-bc03-707b591ae2f5",
                "type": "L2_PROFILE",
                "uuid": "20d32a80-0d61-4333-bc03-707b591ae2f5"
            },
            "location": {
                "href": "https://api.equinix.com/v4/metros/SV",
                "metroCode": "SV",
                "region": "AMER"
            },
            "authenticationKey": "xx-xxx-xx",
            "sellerRegion": "us-west-1"
        }
    },
    "notifications": [
        {
            "type": "ALL",
            "emails": [
                "test@equinix.com",
                "test2@equinix.com"
            ]
        }
    ],
    "operation": {
        "equinixStatus": "PROVISIONING",
        "providerStatus": "PROVISIONING"
    },
    "changeLog": {
        "createdDateTime": "2021-07-15T19:30:29.526Z"
    }
}

Response payload body description

Response payload includes configuration parameters defined in the request body. The following table contains descriptions of additional information included in the response payload. For descriptions of the remaining fields, refer to the Body parameters section.

Parameter	Type	Example values	Description
href	string	https://api.equinix.com/fabric/v4/connections/3a58dd05-f46d-4b1d-a154-2e85c396ea62	An absolute URL that returns the specified connection.
uuid	string	3a58dd05-f46d-4b1d-a154-2e85c396ea62	Equinix-assigned connection identifier.
state	string	PROVISIONING	Lifecycle stage of a connection.
aSide	object	-	Source endpoint definition.
zSide	object	-	Connection destination definition.
operation	object	-	Access point operational data.
changeLog	object	-	A permanent record of asset creation, modification, or deletion.

order
billingTier	string	Up to 1 Gbps	Billing tier for connection bandwidth.

aSide.accessPoint.port
href	string	https://api.equinix.com/fabric/v4/ports/a867f685-41b0-1b07-6de0-320a5c00abdd	An absolute URL that returns the specified port.
type	string	XF_PORT	Type of port. XF_PORT - Equinix Fabric port used as a Fabric connection endpoint.

zSide.accessPoint.profile
href	string	https://api.equinix.com/fabric/v4/services/serviceProfiles/20d32a80-0d61-4333-bc03-707b591ae2f5	An absolute URL that returns the specified service profile.
type	string	L2_PROFILE	Service profile type. L2_PROFILE - layer 2 service profile for establishing connections in layer 2 of the OSI networking model.

zSide.accessPoint.location
href	string	https://api.equinix.com/v4/metros/SV	An absolute URL that returns the specified metro.
region	string	AMER	Broad geographic area in which a specified Equinix asset is located.

operation
equinixStatus	string	PROVISIONING	Progress towards provisioning a specified connection.
providerStatus	string	NOT_AVAILABLE	Provider's progress towards provisioning a specified connection.

changeLog
createdDateTime	string	2021-07-15T19:30:29.526Z	Connection creation timestamp in the IETF ISO 8601 extended date/time format: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.000+0000

Use the Get Specified Connection API request to monitor connection status.

equinixStatus attribute values	providerStatus attribute values	Alibaba Cloud status	Description
PROVISIONING	NOT_AVAILABLE	-	Connection request has not been sent to Alibaba yet.
PROVISIONED	PENDING_APPROVAL	Pending creation	The connection awaits for approval.
PROVISIONED	PROVISIONING / PROVISIONED	Create in progress	Connection establishment in progress.
PROVISIONED	PROVISIONED	Active	Connection established.

Step 3: Accept and Pay for the Connection

Log in to Alibaba Express Connect Management Console.
From the left manu, select Physical Connections.
Identify the newly created instance and click Accept and Pay.
Create a Virtual Border Router (VBR) instance and associate it with the connection.

For more information, refer to Billing - Pricing | Alibaba Cloud Documentation Center.

Step 1: Identify Your Alibaba Account ID​

Step 2: Create Connection​

Step 3: Accept and Pay for the Connection​

Step 1: Identify Your Alibaba Account ID

Step 2: Create Connection

Step 3: Accept and Pay for the Connection