Merge pull request #270768 from duongau/metroga

ExpressRoute Metro (new article)

Author: v-dirichards

articles/expressroute/TOC.yml

@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@
     href: expressroute-erdirect-about.md
   - name: About ExpressRoute Global Reach
     href: expressroute-global-reach.md
+  - name: About ExpressRoute Metro
+    href: metro.md
   - name: About ExpressRoute encryption
     href: expressroute-about-encryption.md
   - name: About ExpressRoute limits

articles/expressroute/expressroute-howto-circuit-portal-resource-manager.md

@@ -50,6 +50,10 @@ Sign in to the Azure portal with this [Preview link](https://aka.ms/expressroute
 
     :::image type="content" source="./media/expressroute-howto-circuit-portal-resource-manager/maximum-resiliency.png" alt-text="Diagram of maximum resiliency for an ExpressRoute connection.":::
 
+    **High Resiliency** - This option provides a single ExpressRoute circuit with redundancy at two peering locations within the same metropolitan area.
+
+    :::image type="content" source="./media/expressroute-howto-circuit-portal-resource-manager/high-resiliency.png" alt-text="Diagram of high resiliency for an ExpressRoute connection.":::
+
     **Standard Resiliency** - This option provides a single ExpressRoute circuit with local redundancy at a single ExpressRoute location.
 
     > [!NOTE]
@@ -73,18 +77,22 @@ Sign in to the Azure portal with this [Preview link](https://aka.ms/expressroute
     | Provider (Provider port type)| Select the internet service provider who you are requesting your service from. |
     | ExpressRoute Direct resource (Direct port type) | Select the ExpressRoute Direct resource that you want to use. |
     | Bandwidth | Select the bandwidth for the ExpressRoute circuit. |
-    | SKU | Select the SKU for the ExpressRoute circuit. You can specify **Local** to get the local SKU, **Standard** to get the standard SKU or **Premium** for the premium add-on. You can change between Local, Standard and Premium. |
+    | SKU | Select the SKU for the ExpressRoute circuit. You can specify **Local** to get the local SKU, **Standard** to get the standard SKU or **Premium** for the premium add-on. You can change between Local, Standard, and Premium. |
     | Billing model | Select the billing type for egress data charge. You can specify **Metered** for a metered data plan and **Unlimited** for an unlimited data plan. You can change the billing type from **Metered** to **Unlimited**. |
 
     > [!IMPORTANT]
     > * The Peering Location indicates the [physical location](expressroute-locations.md) where you are peering with Microsoft. This is **not** linked to "Location" property, which refers to the geography where the Azure Network Resource Provider is located. While they're not related, it is a good practice to choose a Network Resource Provider geographically close to the Peering Location of the circuit.
     > * You can't change the SKU from **Standard/Premium** to **Local** in Azure portal. To downgrade the SKU to **Local**, you can use [Azure PowerShell](expressroute-howto-circuit-arm.md) or [Azure CLI](howto-circuit-cli.md).
     > * You can't change the type from **Unlimited** to **Metered**.
 
-    Complete the same information for the second ExpressRoute circuit. When selecting an ExpressRoute location for the second circuit, you are provided with distances information from the first ExpressRoute location. This information can help you select the second ExpressRoute location.
+    Complete the same information for the second ExpressRoute circuit. When selecting an ExpressRoute location for the second circuit, you're provided with distances information from the first ExpressRoute location. This information can help you select the second ExpressRoute location.
 
     :::image type="content" source="./media/expressroute-howto-circuit-portal-resource-manager/peering-location-distance.png" alt-text="Screenshot of distance information from first ExpressRoute circuit.":::
 
+    **High Resiliency**
+
+    For high resiliency, select one of the supported ExpressRoute Metro service providers and the corresponding **Peering location**. For example, **Megaport** as the *Provider* and **Amsterdam Metro** as the *Peering location*. For more information, see [ExpressRoute Metro](metro.md).
+
     **Standard Resiliency**
 
     For standard resiliency, you only need to enter information for one ExpressRoute circuit.
@@ -128,7 +136,7 @@ From a browser, sign in to the [Azure portal](https://portal.azure.com) and sign
     | Create new or import from classic | Select if you're creating a new circuit or if you're migrating a classic circuit to Azure Resource Manager. |
     | Provider | Select the internet service provider who you are requesting your service from. |
     | Peering Location | Select the physical location where you're peering with Microsoft. |
-    | SKU | Select the SKU for the ExpressRoute circuit. You can specify **Local** to get the local SKU, **Standard** to get the standard SKU or **Premium** for the premium add-on. You can change between Local, Standard and Premium. |
+    | SKU | Select the SKU for the ExpressRoute circuit. You can specify **Local** to get the local SKU, **Standard** to get the standard SKU or **Premium** for the premium add-on. You can change between Local, Standard, and Premium. |
     | Billing model | Select the billing type for egress data charge. You can specify **Metered** for a metered data plan and **Unlimited** for an unlimited data plan. You can change the billing type from **Metered** to **Unlimited**. |
     | Allow classic operations | Enable this option to allow classic virtual networks to link to the circuit. |
 

articles/expressroute/expressroute-introduction.md

@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ Each ExpressRoute circuit consists of two connections to two Microsoft Enterpris
 
 ### Resiliency
 
-Microsoft offers multiple ExpressRoute peering locations in many geopolitical regions. To ensure maximum resiliency, Microsoft recommends that you connect to two ExpressRoute circuits in two peering locations. For non-production and non-critical workloads, you can achieve standard resiliency by connecting to a single ExpressRoute circuit that offers redundant connections within a single peering location. The Azure portal provides a guided experience to help you create a resilient ExpressRoute configuration. For Azure PowerShell, CLI, ARM template, Terraform, and Bicep, maximum resiliency can be achieved by creating a second ExpressRoute circuit in a different ExpressRoute location and establishing a connection to it. For more information, see [Create maximum resiliency with ExpressRoute](expressroute-howto-circuit-portal-resource-manager.md?pivots=expressroute-preview).
+Microsoft offers multiple ExpressRoute peering locations in many geopolitical regions. For maximum resiliency, Microsoft recommends that you establish connection to two ExpressRoute circuits in two peering locations. If ExpressRoute Metro is available with your service provider and in your preferred peering location, you can achieve a higher level of resiliency compared to a standard ExpressRoute circuit. For non-production and non-critical workloads, you can achieve standard resiliency by connecting to a single ExpressRoute circuit that offers redundant connections within a single peering location. The Azure portal provides a guided experience to help you create a resilient ExpressRoute configuration. For Azure PowerShell, CLI, ARM template, Terraform, and Bicep, maximum resiliency can be achieved by creating a second ExpressRoute circuit in a different ExpressRoute location and establishing a connection to it. For more information, see [Create maximum resiliency with ExpressRoute](expressroute-howto-circuit-portal-resource-manager.md?pivots=expressroute-preview).
 
 :::image type="content" source="./media/expressroute-howto-circuit-portal-resource-manager/maximum-resiliency.png" alt-text="Diagram of maximum resiliency for an ExpressRoute connection.":::
 

articles/expressroute/media/expressroute-howto-circuit-portal-resource-manager/high-resiliency.png

@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+---
+title: About ExpressRoute Metro
+description: This article provides an overview of ExpressRoute Metro and how it works.
+services: expressroute
+author: duongau
+ms.service: expressroute
+ms.topic: conceptual
+ms.date: 03/25/2024
+ms.author: duau
+ms.custom: references_regions, ai-usage
+---
+
+# About ExpressRoute Metro
+
+ExpressRoute facilitates the creation of private connections between your on-premises networks and Azure workloads in a designated peering locations. These locations are colocation facilities housing Microsoft Enterprise Edge (MSEE) devices, serving as the gateway to Microsoft's network.
+
+Within the peering location, two types of connections can be established:
+
+* **ExpressRoute circuit** - an ExpressRoute circuit consist of two logical connections between your on-premises network and Azure. These connections are made through a pair of physical links provided by an ExpressRoute partner, such as AT&T, Verizon, Equinix, among others.
+
+* **ExpressRoute Direct** - ExpressRoute Direct is a dedicated and private connection between your on-premises network and Azure, eliminating the need for partner provider involvement. It enables the direct connection of your routers to the Microsoft global network using dual 10G or 100G Ports.
+
+The standard ExpressRoute configuration is set up with a pair of links to enhance the reliability of your ExpressRoute connection. This setup is designed to provide redundancy and improves the availability of your ExpressRoute connections during hardware failures, maintenance events, or other unforeseen incidents within the peering locations. However, you should note that these redundant connections don't provide resilience against certain events. These events could disrupt or isolate the edge location where the MSEE devices are located. Such disruptions could potentially lead to a complete loss of connectivity from your on-premises networks to your cloud services.
+
+## ExpressRoute Metro
+
+ExpressRoute Metro is a high-resiliency configuration designed to provide multi-site redundancy. This configuration allows you to benefit from a dual-homed setup that facilitates diverse connections to two distinct ExpressRoute peering locations within a city. The high resiliency configuration benefits from the redundancy across the two peering locations to offer higher availability and resilience for your connectivity from your on-premises to resources in Azure.
+
+Key features of ExpressRoute Metro include:
+
+* Dual-homed connections to two distinct ExpressRoute peering locations within the same city.
+* Increased availability and resiliency for your ExpressRoute circuits.
+* Seamless connectivity from your on-premises environment to Azure resources through an ExpressRoute circuit with the assistance of a connectivity provider or with ExpressRoute Direct (Dual 10G or 100G ports)
+
+The following diagram allows for a comparison between the standard ExpressRoute circuit and a ExpressRoute Metro circuit.
+
+:::image type="content" source="./media/metro/standard-versus-metro.png" alt-text="Diagram of a standard ExpressRoute circuit and a ExpressRoute Metro circuit.":::
+
+## ExpressRoute Metro locations
+
+| Metro location | Peering locations | Location address | Zone | Local Azure Region | ER Direct | Service Provider |
+|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|
+| Amsterdam Metro | Amsterdam<br>Amsterdam2 | Equinix AM5<br>Equinix AMS8 | 1 | West Europe | &check; | Megaport<br>Equinix<sup>1</sup><br>Colt<sup>1</sup><br>Console Connect<sup>1</sup><br>Digital Reality<sup>1</sup> |
+| Singapore Metro | Singapore<br>Singapore2 | Equinix SG1<br>Global Switch Tai Seng | 2 | West Europe | &check; | Megaport<sup>1</sup><br>Equinix<sup>1</sup><br>Console Connect<sup>1</sup> |
+| Zurich Metro | Zurich<br>Zurich2 | Interxion ZUR2<br>Equinix ZH5 | 1 | Switzerland North | &check; | Colt<sup>1</sup><br>Digital Reality<sup>1</sup> |
+
+
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> The naming convention for Metro sites will utilize `City` and `City2` to denote the two unique peering locations within the same metropolitan region. As an illustration, Amsterdam and Amsterdam2 are indicative of the two separate peering locations within the metropolitan area of Amsterdam. In the Azure portal, these locations will be referred to as `Amsterdam Metro`.
+
+## Configure ExpressRoute Metro
+
+### Create an ExpressRoute Metro circuit
+
+You can create an ExpressRoute Metro circuit in the Azure portal in any of the three metropolitan areas. Within the portal, specify one of the Metro peering locations and the corresponding service provider supported in that location. For more information, see [Create an ExpressRoute circuit](expressroute-howto-circuit-portal-resource-manager.md?pivots=expressroute-preview).
+
+:::image type="content" source="./media/metro/create-metro-circuit.png" alt-text="Screenshot of creating an ExpressRoute Metro circuit.":::
+
+### Create a Metro ExpressRoute Direct
+
+1. A Metro ExpressRoute Direct port can be created in the Azure portal. Within the portal, specify one of the Metro peering locations. For more information, see [Create an ExpressRoute Direct](how-to-expressroute-direct-portal.md).
+
+    :::image type="content" source="./media/metro/create-metro-direct.png" alt-text="Screenshot of creating Metro ExpressRoute Direct ports.":::
+
+1. One you provisioned the Metro ExpressRoute Direct ports, you can download the LOA (Letter of Authorization), obtain the Meet-Me-Room details, and extend your physical cross-connects.
+
+    :::image type="content" source="./media/metro/generate-letter-of-authorization.png" alt-text="Screenshot of generating letter of authorization.":::
+
+## Next steps
+
+* Review [ExpressRoute partners and peering locations](expressroute-locations.md) to understand the available ExpressRoute partners and peering locations.
+* Review [ExpressRoute pricing](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/expressroute/) to understand the costs associated with ExpressRoute.