Megaport Launches Megaport Virtual Edge, an On-demand NFV Service with Immediate Support for Branch-to-Cloud Connectivity with Cisco SD-WAN Cloud Interconnect

Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE) enables businesses to modernise their network by hosting on-demand network functions natively on Megaport’s global Software Defined Network

Megaport Limited, a global leading Network as a Service (NaaS) provider, announces the launch of Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE), an on-demand vendor-neutral Network Function Virtualization (NFV) service that enables branch-to-cloud connectivity on Megaport’s global Software Defined Network (SDN). With MVE, companies can host network functions such as virtual routers, SD-WAN controllers, and future networking technologies directly on Megaport’s global platform to extend their network functions closer to the edge, in real time, and without the need to deploy hardware.

Transforming Networking at the Edge

MVE is a globally distributed compute and network service in one. The compute aspect of the service enables customers to host NFV instances in locations where they need them, on demand, and manage them in a point-and-click manner. On the network side, MVE’s built-in transit gateway provides a highly scalable access point for connecting networks, via the public internet, to Megaport’s private SDN. Virtualised devices hosted on MVE can utilise the transit gateway to create connections between the Megaport SDN and their own networks, including branch locations, data centres, and private clouds.

At launch, MVE is available in 15 metros across North America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe with 6 additional locations to be available at the end of April. This allows customers more flexibility to deploy virtual devices near concentrations of users to localise traffic and optimise data termination for performance.

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Supercharging SD-WAN Connectivity

Many businesses have embraced SD-WAN and internet connections as a means of simplifying their IT connectivity. However, dependence on end-to-end internet connections to key services and resources can impact performance, availability, and security. With MVE, customers can host localised virtual SD-WAN controllers on Megaport’s global platform and reduce the distance data traverses over internet paths from branch locations to critical services in public or private clouds and even other branch locations.

Once connected, customers can access Megaport’s leading ecosystem of more than 700 enabled data centres worldwide and over 360 service providers, including 220+ cloud on-ramps from the world’s leading clouds such as Alibaba Cloud, AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, Oracle Cloud, and Salesforce.

SD-WAN on MVE Highlights:

• Reduced cloud egress costs to cloud on-ramps when compared to internet rates.
• Better performance with reduced jitter and latency.
• Vendor neutral service that supports SD-WAN technologies from leading providers.
• Highly distributed for localised connections.
• Point-and-click network provisioning to support interconnection between branch locations, data centres, cloud providers, and IT services.
• Real-time provisioning of virtual network infrastructure and interconnections.
• No hardware to ship, install, or manage.
• Unified end-to-end network provisioning and management to transform legacy networks.
• Secure, multi-cloud connections to more than 360 service providers, 700+ enabled data centres and 220+ cloud interconnect points.

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Cisco SD-WAN Cloud Interconnect

Megaport and Cisco have partnered to integrate Cisco SD-WAN Cloud Interconnect with MVE for enterprises that want their SD-WAN controllers to be able to provision on-demand cloud interconnects using Megaport’s SDN. Building a bridge from SD-WAN to Megaport enables software-defined cloud interconnect fabrics with reliable network performance, cost-optimised connectivity, and reduced provisioning time. This provides enterprise IT full control of SD-WAN (overlay fabric) and cloud interconnects (underlay fabric) from the same Cisco SD-WAN controller with the release of vManage 20.5.

Fortune 500 companies with a global presence that use Cisco SD-WAN for consuming multicloud applications can take advantage of Cisco SD-WAN Cloud Interconnect with MVE to enable on-demand provisioning of cloud interconnect with global reach. This capability of the underlay interconnect connectivity, in addition to the SD-WAN overlay, offers unprecedented control and visibility to enterprise IT.

“Cisco’s collaboration with Megaport enables customers to extend their Cisco SD-WAN fabric from site to multiple clouds over a direct, high-performance, and neutral interconnect platform, delivering enhanced performance and security,” said JL Valente, Vice President, Product Management, for Cisco Enterprise Routing, SD-WAN and Cloud Networking. “The integration of Cisco’s new SD-WAN Cloud Interconnect with Megaport Virtual Edge brings together the secure networking capability of Cisco SD-WAN and the programmable, on-demand cloud interconnects offered by Megaport to automate provisioning of high-performance site-to-cloud and site-to-site connectivity.”

“As enterprises and service providers rapidly adopt SD-WAN technology to improve edge network connectivity, the ability for Megaport customers to easily, and in minutes, ‘spin up’ SD-WAN virtual appliances around the world on our platform is a big enabler for global organisations,” said Vincent English, CEO of Megaport. “Having these virtual appliances fully integrated into Megaport’s global Software Defined Network allows customers to optimise their SD-WAN connectivity via a single workflow to improve overall network and application performance at a fraction of the cost of legacy methods.”

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