Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute is a dedicated, private network connection between your enterprise network and Azure, bypassing the public internet. IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect delivers ExpressRoute as a managed service: Tata Communications provisions the circuit over the global MPLS backbone, brings up BGP to Microsoft’s edge routers, and assures performance end to end up to the Azure hand-off. You keep control of the Azure-side constructs – the ExpressRoute circuit, peering selection, and VNet attachment – in your own Azure subscription.
IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect supports ExpressRoute bandwidths from 50 Mbps to 10 Gbps. Private Peering (to reach VNets) or Microsoft Peering (to reach Microsoft public services) is selected per circuit; each circuit is delivered with dual BGP sessions to Microsoft's edge routers for resilience.
How Tata Communications delivers ExpressRoute
The provisioning sequence, from your perspective:
-
You create an ExpressRoute circuit in the Azure portal and select the connectivity provider for your peering location. Where the peering location is served by a Tata Communications direct interconnect, select Tata Communications; where it is reached through an interconnection partner, the Azure portal lists that partner as the provider – select the one Tata Communications confirms for your location during ordering.
-
Microsoft generates a service pairing key.
-
You share the service key with Tata Communications via the TCx Portal, along with your peering type and any VLAN preference. On the default L3VPN delivery a customer-side ASN is not required; Tata Communications establishes the BGP session between its edge and Microsoft's. (A customer ASN is required only where the circuit is delivered as L2VPN; a public ASN is separately required for Microsoft Peering so Microsoft can validate your advertised prefixes.)
-
Tata Communications configures the ExpressRoute circuit and allocates the C-tag (113 for Private Peering, 115 for Microsoft Peering by standard agreement, or a preferred VLAN from the 2–4094 range if you specify one during provisioning) and brings up the circuit.
-
On the default L3VPN delivery, Tata Communications brings up the two BGP sessions to Microsoft's MSEE routers on your behalf; you exchange routes with the Tata Communications L3VPN. (Where a circuit is delivered as point-to-point L2VPN, you run BGP from your CPE to the MSEE – see the peering-configuration pages.)
The dedicated path bypasses the public internet entirely, and performance is SLA-backed end to end across the Tata Communications backbone.
Bandwidth options
Tata Communications supports the following ExpressRoute bandwidth tiers:
|
Tier |
Bandwidth |
|
Entry |
50 Mbps |
|
Standard |
100 Mbps |
|
Standard |
200 Mbps |
|
Standard |
500 Mbps |
|
High capacity |
1 Gbps |
|
High capacity |
2 Gbps |
|
High capacity |
5 Gbps |
|
High capacity |
10 Gbps |
For sustained throughput beyond 10 Gbps, Microsoft offers ExpressRoute Direct (customer-dedicated 10 Gbps or 100 Gbps port pairs at an Azure edge) – see ExpressRoute Direct.
Bandwidth upgrades within the same Microsoft SKU are non-disruptive. A downgrade requires deprovisioning the existing circuit and creating a new one – plan it as a change with a maintenance window. See High Availability for Azure for capacity planning.
Peering types
ExpressRoute supports two peering types.
Through the IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect self-service journey you select the peering type per circuit; to run both, order a circuit for each.
-
Private Peering reaches resources in your VNets (VMs, databases, internal load balancers). Uses RFC 1918 addressing and either private or public ASNs.
-
Microsoft Peering reaches Microsoft public services (Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Azure Storage public endpoints). Requires a public ASN and public IP space registered to your organisation.
For configuration detail, see Azure Private Peering Configuration and Azure Microsoft Peering Configuration.
SKU support
IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect supports both Microsoft’s Standard and Premium ExpressRoute SKUs – delivery is identical from the Tata Communications side. Microsoft also offers a Local SKU (available at 1 Gbps and above) that gives free egress within the same metro as the circuit, reaching only the 1–2 Azure regions in that metro. The SKU is selected in your Azure subscription when you create the circuit.
Premium raises the advertised-route limits and enables global reach (connecting VNets across Azure geographies). The SKU is selected in your Azure subscription when you create the circuit.
What’s on the Azure side
These are configured in your Azure portal:
-
Creating the ExpressRoute circuit and selecting the connectivity provider Tata Communications confirms for your location
-
Choosing peering location, bandwidth, SKU and billing model
-
Configuring the peering type(s)
-
Connecting VNets to the circuit via a Virtual Network Gateway.
The end-to-end walkthrough, including where these steps sit relative to the Tata Communications order, is documented in full under Provisioning & Configuration.