Help Center> Direct Connect> Getting Started> Preparations
Updated on 2023-07-06 GMT+08:00
View PDF

Preparations

Before you use Direct Connect to establish connectivity, you need to make preparations, including selecting an appropriate Direct Connect location and consulting the carrier about the site survey.

Selecting a Direct Connect Location

When selecting a location, you need to consider the distance to your on-premises data center, which carrier you want to choose, and which type of port will be used.
  • Distance to your on-premises data center

    Select a location nearest to your on-premises data center to reduce network latency. The telecom carriers and bandwidth capabilities vary at different locations.

  • Carrier

    Select whichever carrier that can best meet your service requirements. Generally, you can choose one from carriers such as China Unicom, China Telecom, and China Mobile.

  • Port type

    Decide what type of port you want to use, an optical port or electrical port.

    • Optical port: The carrier directly provides a fiber optic transmission path for the end user. The port speed is effectively infinite, only limited by the auto-negotiation rate of the optical modules at both ends, for example, 1GE, 10GE, 40GE, and 100GE.
    • Electrical port: Generally, RJ45 ports are used. The carrier uses an optical transceiver to convert electrical signals to optical signals required on the transmission network. The industry standard is to use this type of port when the bandwidth is less than 100 Mbit/s.
      • Currently, 1GE and 10GE single-mode optical ports can transmit data up to 10 km. If you need an optical port to transmit data for more than 10 km, or you need a 40GE or 100GE port, you need to purchase the optical modules by yourself.
      • Ensure that the leased line provider can provide the optical fibers to connect to Direct Connect devices.
      • No O/E conversion device is allowed on Huawei Cloud. Ensure that the leased line provider uses the correct line type to connect to Direct Connect devices.

To obtain detailed address of a Direct Connect location, contact the Direct Connect manager or submit a service ticket.

Contacting the Carrier for Site Survey

After you select a location, contact the carrier for a site survey.

  1. Consult the carrier about how to access the cloud.

    You can contact the Direct Connect manager or submit a service ticket to obtain the detailed address of the equipment room.

  2. Submit an application to Huawei Cloud for conducting a site survey in the equipment room.

    The application must include the name, ID card number, and contact information of the personnel who will go to the equipment room for the site survey.

    If the site survey can be completed at the carrier's meet-me room, you do not need to submit an application.

  3. After the application is approved, Huawei Cloud will assist the carrier in entering the equipment room for completing the site survey within two working days.
  4. Ask the carrier to carry out the site survey and confirm the fees, including the costs of:
    • The port (paid to Huawei Cloud) and one-time setup (free for now)
    • The leased line (paid to the carrier)
    • In-building cabling