InterLink - Concepts

Note

InterLink is currently in Public Beta.

Attached VPCLink to this anchor

Each InterLink can be attached to one Scaleway VPC. The InterLink and the VPC must be in the same region. You can detach the InterLink from the VPC at any time, and attach it to a different VPC in the same region, if you wish. When an InterLink is not attached to any VPC, no traffic can flow.

BandwidthLink to this anchor

Every InterLink has a defined bandwidth, representing the maximum data transfer rate possible over the link. Measured in megabits per second (Mbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps), it shows how much data can be transmitted over InterLink per second.

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)Link to this anchor

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is a standardized gateway protocol that allows autonomous systems to exchange routing information. InterLink uses BGP to facilitate route propagation, so that the Scaleway VPC and the external infrastructure’s router can learn each other’s routes.

Connection typeLink to this anchor

The type of physical connection for an InterLink. In the long term, InterLink will be available in both hosted and self-hosted connection types. For now, only hosted connections (facilitated via a partner) are available:

• Hosted InterLink: The customer provisions an InterLink via a partner. The available bandwidth of the partner’s physical connection is shared between multiple customers: each gets a specified amount when creating their InterLink.
• Self-hosted InterLink: The customer gets sole use of a single InterLink port on Scaleway’s router, with the entire bandwidth of that port. They create their own dedicated physical connection, and can use its available bandwidth to provision several InterLinks for themselves.

Find out more about connection types.

InterLinkLink to this anchor

InterLink, currently in Public Beta, is Scaleway’s product to let you create a secure, private connection between your external infrastructure, and your Scaleway VPC. This allows you to direct your traffic safely from your Scaleway infrastructure to your on-premises infrastructure, away from the public internet.

Currently, InterLink is available in hosted version only. This means that you must choose a compatible partner to facilitate the physical connection between the external infrastructure and the Scaleway VPC. The physical connection may be shared between several clients, each allocated a specific amount of bandwidth for their InterLink.

For more information on how InterLink works, see our detailed overview.

LocationLink to this anchor

A location, aka a Point of Presence (PoP), is a physical location where you can establish an InterLink between your on-premises infrastructure and the Scaleway network. Locations are facilitated by partners.

Pairing keyLink to this anchor

A pairing key is a unique identifier used to establish and authenticate an InterLink via a partner. It is provided by Scaleway once an InterLink order is made. You must then share this key with your selected partner to facilitate the setup of the physical link. The pairing key ensures that the correct endpoints are securely connected.

PartnerLink to this anchor

A partner is a third party service provider that facilitates a hosted InterLink between a client’s on-premises infrastructure, and their Scaleway infrastructure. Current partners include Free Pro, with more coming soon.

Partners are generally companies specialized in data transit, with their own fibers at data connection points. To establish an InterLink via a partner, generally you must be a client of that partner, e.g. with your infrastructure in their datacenter, or on your own premises using the partner as a network provider. See our information on hosted InterLinks for more information.

PoPLink to this anchor

See Location

RegionLink to this anchor

When creating an InterLink, you must specify a region for the resource. The region sets the scope for the Scaleway infrastructure that can be connected via the InterLink: it must correspond to the region of the VPC to attach to the InterLink.

Route propagationLink to this anchor

Route propagation can be activated or deactivated at any given time on an InterLink. When activated, the Scaleway VPC and external infrastructure dynamically exchange and update information about their routes. Route propagation must be activated to allow traffic to flow over the InterLink. When deactivated, all pre-learned/announced routes are removed from the VPC’s route table, and traffic cannot flow. Note that even with route propagation activated, the default rule blocks all route announcements: you must attach a routing policy to specify the route ranges to whitelist. Learn more about routing across an InterLink

Routing policyLink to this anchor

The default rule blocks any and all routes from being propagated over InterLink. Attaching a routing policy allows you to define the ranges of routes that should be whitelisted. When creating a routing policy, you specify one or many IP ranges representing the outgoing routes to announce from the Scaleway VPC, and one or many IP ranges representing the incoming route announcements to accept from the external infrastructure.

Each InterLink can have one routing policy attached to it, but a single routing policy can be attached to multiple InterLinks, if desired. When route propagation is activated, the route ranges defined in the routing policy are whitelisted, and traffic can flow across the InterLink along these routes. Learn more about routing across an InterLink