Hardware and software requirements

Make sure you can support these requirements before configuring Direct Connect.

Direct Connect uses Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) to exchange routes between an on-premises network. In order for your router to work with Direct Connect, you need to:

• Use a public Autonomous System Number (ASN) and own the ASN. Akamai does not support private ASN. The ASN is used to identify a network node for routing purposes.
• Configure your router to use public IP addresses. Akamai does not support private IP addresses.
• Configure your router with an Akamai-provided point-to-point IP address.
• Own the prefixes that you advertise.
• Confirm your router supports BGP attributes (such as AS_PATH prepend, local preference).
• Configure the BGP prefixes (both number and rate) in accordance with these Specifications.
• Make sure your router doesn't override the BGP attribute (for example, no-export), so the Direct Connect routes are not leaked upstream causing a route hijack.
• Verify that your router can handle number and rate prefixes announced by Akamai.
• Confirm your router supports Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) because Link Aggregation Groups (LAGs) are used by default. A LAG bonds ports as one interface.
• Make sure the interfacing router supports either 10 GbE or 100 GbE LR single mode transceiver.
  - Interface for one 10 GE Akamai Direct Connect port is one 10Gb-LR SMF SFP+ transceiver.
  - Interface for one 100 GE Akamai Direct Connect port is one 100Gb-LR4 SMF QSFP28 transceiver.