Choose the underlay from how your site connects and what you already have: private MPLS for a predictable managed path (IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect Direct), internet for a flexible path with a VNF (IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect Flex, which can also run over MPLS), or dedicated Ethernet for a reserved single-customer pipe. You can bring your site in over a new last mile, over your own existing connection, or - if you are already a Tata Communications MPLS VPN customer - reach the service through an Extranet without a new last mile.
Matching the underlay to the service model
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If your access is… |
Use… |
Notes |
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Private MPLS |
IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect Direct |
Predictable, SLA-backed managed path over the Tata Communications MPLS backbone. |
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Internet |
IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect Flex |
Flexible path; a VNF (SD-WAN, firewall, router) typically sits on IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect. |
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MPLS, but you want Flex features |
IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect Flex over MPLS |
Flex is not internet-only; it can be delivered over MPLS where you already have MPLS access. |
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A reserved single-customer Ethernet pipe |
Dedicated connection (Ethernet underlay) |
Layer 2, point-to-point or point-to-multipoint; see below. |
Dedicated Ethernet (dedicated connection)
Where a customer wants a pipe reserved to them alone rather than a shared network-to-network interconnect, the connection can be delivered over a dedicated Ethernet underlay. This is a Layer 2 service (point-to-point or point-to-multipoint): the customer takes a port at the cloud provider and provides the letter of authorisation (LOA) for the cross-connect, and Tata Communications delivers the dedicated connectivity end to end. Because it involves a physical cross-connect and an LOA, it is provisioned over a longer lead time than a shared hosted connection.
Access methods
However the underlay is chosen, your site has to reach a Tata Communications PoP. There are three common ways in:
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A new last mile - Tata Communications provisions a new access circuit from your premises to the nearest PoP - either a physical circuit or a logical circuit over an existing last mile.
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Bring your own network - You use an existing connection (for example internet or MPLS you already have) to reach a Tata Communications location, take an access port at the Tata Communications end, enter the network through that access port, and then use IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect for the cloud leg. This lets you reuse existing connectivity rather than paying for a new last mile end to end.
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Extranet (existing Tata Communications MPLS VPN customers) - If you are already a Tata Communications MPLS VPN customer, your existing VPN can be joined to the IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect service through an Extranet - importing and exporting the necessary routes between the two - so you reach the cloud without a new last mile.
A worked example
A manufacturer already buys MPLS from Tata Communications for its plants and wants private, predictable access to AWS and Azure. Because the access is MPLS, the natural fit is IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect Direct, and because the sites are already on the Tata Communications MPLS VPN, they are joined to the service through an Extranet - no new last mile is required. A retailer without existing private access, needing SD-WAN and a firewall in front of the cloud, instead takes IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect Flex over an internet underlay, with the SD-WAN and firewall delivered as VNFs on IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect.
What’s on the cloud side
The cloud connection at the far end is created in the cloud provider’s console. This page covers how your site connects in on the Tata Communications side; for the cloud-side connection request and routing, see the relevant per-cloud section.