Equinix Fabric and Fabric Cloud Router Release Notes

Release Notes

Spotlight Videos

Functional Learning Demos

Cross-Release Videos

Equinix Fabric enables enterprises to do more in the cloud by providing secure, direct, flexible network connections to a wide range of cloud service providers globally. Our interconnected approach allows you to boost cloud application performance, reduce latency, and improve scale, network control, and visibility to deliver a quality cloud experience to your end users.

The Equinix Fabric portal is a web-based user interface for customers and resellers of Equinix Fabric to order, create, delete and monitor private virtual network connections between buyers and sellers of cloud services.

Release Date

Equinix Fabric and Fabric Cloud Router 2025.1 are available as of February 2025.

Term-based Pricing for VCs

Customers can take advantage of VC discounts based on a 12-, 24-, or 36-month term commitment at the time of order. Available for both port to port and port to E-LAN network use cases. Remote (inter-metro) connections only.

Update Fabric Port Names

The new Port Inventory provides you with the ability to update the Port Name as a self-serve capability.

Port Inventory – UI Refresh and Redesign

The Port Summary Page has a new design. Enhancements include:

  • The ability to sort on any visible column

  • Now displays one of the most requested attributes: LAG

  • The ability filter based on:

    • Location

    • Bandwidth

    • Port Priority

    • LAG Enabled

    • Encapsulation

Port/Service Token to Generic Service Profile Workflow UI Refresh

Geo Boundary capability for port-to-port connections has now been extended to Japan. Customers can enable Geo Boundary for port-to-port connections between TY and OS.

FCR to Generic Service Profile Workflow Shell – New UI Flow

FCR to Generic Service Profile workflow in available in the Fabric portal. This was an API only offering before this.

Self-serve Asset Movement Capability for Virtual Devices, Virtual Device Service Tokens, and Connections from Virtual Devices.

You can move their NE assets (Virtual Devices, Service Tokens, and Connections) individually across projects within their organization. This allows for you to re-organize the resources into projects within a single customer organization.

Visibility of End Customer Information for Cabinets

As resellers of Fabric, you now have the visibility of End Customer information from your cabinets during port ordering/connection creation. This information is displayed as a reference and any updates must be made in the cabinet's inventory view.

Observability - Alert Events for Threshold Crossing

The Stream Alert Rule Management APIs offer a method to send an alert event to a Sink Type when a metric crosses a defined threshold value. The alert rule can define both a warningThreshold and a criticalThreshold, which will trigger a metric alert event if the metric value falls below or exceeds the expected threshold.

Observability - Stream Events to ServiceNow

Users can now stream their Observability events to Service Now, which is now the sixth supported Sink Type for the Fabric Observability Platform.

Observability - Stream Events to Datadog

Users can now stream their Observability events to Datadog. We previously supported streaming just metrics to Datadog, and now we have full integration with the Fabric Observability Platform.

Observability - Stream Events and Metrics to MSFT Teams

There was an initial integration with Microsoft Teams, but this was removed due to a breaking change on Microsoft side. With this fix, users can stream their Observability events and metrics to Microsoft Teams.

Fabric Cloud Router – Route Aggregation w/s Summary Only (API + UI)

FCR now supports the ability to configure Route Aggregation policies to be applied on Egress for supported connection types (excluding IP-WAN).

  • Like Route Filter Policies, Route Aggregation Polices are managed through Policy Manager.

  • User creates rules in policy to define which ‘Summarized’ routes should be advertised to a BGP Peer.

  • If a prefix or multiple prefixes are part of a summarized prefix rule, only the summarized prefix will be advertised.

  • An Aggregation Policy is applied per Connection.

Fabric Cloud Router – Support for FCR to Z-side Service Tokens (API Only)

FCR now supports the ability to create a Connection from FCR to a Port using a Z-Side Service Token. This new capability:

  • Supports Z-Side Token where Z-Side is a Port and A-Side is FCR.

  • Supports FCR connecting to Service Providers that support/prefer Z-Side Token instead of L2 Generic Service Profile.

  • Does not support FCR to Network Edge with a Token.

No videos are available for this release.

These demos describe setup and configuration of features and functionality in a release.

No demos are available for this release.
Title Duration
Multipoint-to-Multipoint Layer 2 Connections 10:31 min
Create Layer 2 Service Profile on Equinix Fabric 3:24 min
Google Cloud Interconnect Through Fabric 4:50 min
Order a Fabric Port 9:52 min

Equinix Fabric and Fabric Cloud Router 2024.6 are available as of December 2024.

Important: Equinix Fabric is accessible through a new URL. We recommend updating your bookmarks to portal.equinix.com/fabric.

20/50 Gbps VC - GCP BW Change Support

Existing customer VCs deployed on customer-facing 100Gb Fabric ports can now upgrade/downgrade VC bandwidth to Google at 20/50Gbps speeds.

Note: Not all existing connections with 10Gbps or less speeds will qualify to upgrade to 20/50Gbps. Some customers may still need to create new connections in order to upgrade to 20/50Gbps.

25G/50G VC – Service Profile High Speed Connections BW Update Support

Existing Customer VCs deployed on 100Gb customer ports connected to a standard Service Profile that have 100Gbps ports can now upgrade/downgrade VC bandwidth on-demand to 25/50Gbps speeds if Service Provider has enabled those speeds.

EP-LAN and EVP-LAN Service Tokens Enable Multi-Customer Networks

EP-LAN now supports A-side and Z-side tokens so customers can now create a z-side token for their EP-LAN network and share it with their customers.

Geo Boundary for Japan (TY and OS)

Geo Boundary capability for port-2-port connections has now been extended to Japan. Customers can optionally enable Geo Boundary for port-2-port connections between TY and OS.

Fabric Map/Dashboard Enhancements

The new Fabric landing page released in October includes use cases, common interactions, and a view into a customers' Fabric assets. The Network Map on this page was enhanced in December to show the physical network topology of our backbone including average latency. Additional map enhancements will follow early next year.

Observability - Fabric Provisioning Events (Port, VC, FCR, Network, Token) Streaming

Customers can now subscribe to Fabric asset lifecycle management events, such as provisioning and deprovisioning events, for their observability and monitoring through Fabric Streaming APIs.

For information about support events, see Fabric Events and Metrics.

For information about setting up Fabric observability capabilities, see Integrate with Telemetry Data Collectors.

Observability - NE Provision Events Logging Streaming

Customers can now subscribe to Network Edge asset lifecycle management events, such as provisioning and deprovisioning events, for their observability and monitoring through Fabric Streaming APIs.

For information about support events, see Fabric Events and Metrics.

For information about setting up Fabric observability capabilities, see Integrate with Telemetry Data Collectors.

Observability - Port Error Metrics Support

Customers can now subscribe to metrics regarding virtual port errors and discards so they will be able to identify issues on their Fabric Port and take action. For example, these types of errors can occur due to a received packet having format issues. This is supported on the existing Fabric Streaming APIs for observability.

For information about support events, see Fabric Events and Metrics.

For information about setting up Fabric observability capabilities, see Integrate with Telemetry Data Collectors.

Fabric Cloud Router: Display Connected Routes for FCR

The Active Routes table for Fabric Cloud Router now displays directly connected route type in addition to BGP. As connections are created and configured on a Fabric Cloud Router, the IP Address configured in the Routing Details for each connection that is directly connected to the Fabric Cloud Router will now be visible in the Active Routes table. FCR also advertises these routes via BGP to configured BGP peers and can also be seen in the Advertised Routes table as type BGP.

Fabric Cloud Router: Allow FCRs in same Region to communicate over Global IP-WAN or Regional IP-WAN (Enhancement)

Global IP-WAN Networks now support the ability for associated Fabric Cloud Routers in the same geographic region to learn routes from one another via BGP without being required to also be connected to a Regional IP-WAN Network. This enhancement supports solutions where all Fabric Cloud Routers across multiple metros and regions will be participating in a Global IP-WAN Network at the same Bandwidth speed. The purpose for this change is to enable support for a wider variety of IP-WAN topologies and allow users greater flexibility with architecture, deployment, and scalability of IP-WAN Networks.

 

No videos are available for this release.
Title Duration
Multipoint-to-Multipoint Layer 2 Connections 10:31 min
Create Layer 2 Service Profile on Equinix Fabric 3:24 min
Google Cloud Interconnect Through Fabric 4:50 min
Order a Fabric Port 9:52 min

Equinix Fabric and Fabric Cloud Router 2024.5 are available as of October 2024.

Important: Equinix Fabric is accessible through a new URL. We recommend updating your bookmarks to portal.equinix.com/fabric.

The 2024.5 release introduces several new capabilities:

Equinix Fabric

Fabric Cloud Router

Ports Ordering

You can use the new port ordering workflow to provision a Fabric port in another party's cage or a Building Meet Me Room, in addition to your own cage.

Service Tokens - Fabric Network and Network Edge Virtual Devices Support

Service tokens authorize access to Fabric assets in connection creation workflows. The 2024.5 Equinix Fabric release enables granting permission to connect to Fabric Networks using Z-side service tokens, allowing multiple customers to participate in the same network. and Network Edge virtual devices . Network Edge virtual devices support enables convenient way to allow your customers to connect to your infrastructure through a Network Edge device.

Redesigned Dashboard

The 2024.5 release features a redesigned, customizable dashboard for convenient management of your Fabric assets and other Equinix services. For more information, see Fabric Portal Dashboard.

Oracle FastConnect 10+ Gbps Bandwidth Upgrade

This release enables upgrading your Oracle FastConnect connections to speeds higher than 10 Gbps, allowing you to easily scale your connections when the traffic exceeds the currently provisioned bandwidth tier.

Upgrade from Lab Package to Standard or Advanced Service Tier

Now, customers can upgrade the package for their Cloud Routers from a Lab service to a Standard or Advanced service. This convenient option quickly converts test configurations to paid service tiers, described in About Fabric Cloud Router. For more details, see Upgrade a Fabric Cloud Router Package.

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) with Max Prefix Limit on Received Routes

This latest BGP update enables users to configure the maximum number of routes for their Cloud Routers to receive for IPv4 and IPv6 from particular peers. This allows users to limit the routes that allow a peer to advertise to their Cloud Routers before resetting their BGP sessions. See BGP Features for more information.

Load, Search, and Manage Route Tables

More flexibility is now available for viewing and managing Cloud Router route tables, which provide details about BGP attributes. Now, customers can load, search, and export their route details, including retrieving received and advertised prefixes towards remote BGP peers on individual Cloud Router connections. To assist with troubleshooting whether a route or prefix is advertised by a Cloud Router, advertised route tables can retrieve BGP routes on particular connections with additional attribute details. To learn more, see Manage Route Tables.

No videos are available for this release.
Title Duration
Multipoint-to-Multipoint Layer 2 Connections 10:31 min
Create Layer 2 Service Profile on Equinix Fabric 3:24 min
Google Cloud Interconnect Through Fabric 4:50 min
Order a Fabric Port 9:52 min

Equinix Fabric and Fabric Cloud Router 2024.4 are available as of August 2024.

The 2024.4 release introduces several new capabilities:

Equinix Fabric

Fabric Cloud Router

Quick Connect to Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute

Quick Connect workflows enable a more convenient way of creating connections. The 2024.4 Fabric release introduces a refreshed Quick Connect to Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute design. For more information, see Quick Connect to Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute (Port, Service Token, Cloud Router).

Purchase Order Number Enhancements

Quick Connect workflows now feature a more convenient option to browse and add purchase order numbers.

Connections Management Enhancements for Service Providers

When accepting a connection, you can choose a port from a different project than the currently selected. For more information, see Accept or Reject Connections.

Metal VLAN to Google Cloud Platform

Connect your Metal instance to Google Cloud Platform. For details, see Quick Connect to Google Cloud Platform (Port, Service Token, Cloud Router, Metal VLAN).

Redesigned Port Ordering Workflow

A more streamlined way to order Fabric ports, that follows our Quick Connect workflows design. For more information, see Order an Equinix Fabric Port - New Ordering Flow.

Note: The new port ordering flow is available for ports ordered to your colocation space.

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) Enhancements

To help users manage how traffic is routed to support complex topologies, Fabric Cloud Router introduces new BGP features. For more information, see BGP Features.

  • Autonomous System (AS) Override – Users can now enable AS Override, which overrides the AS-Path that the FCR advertises to the BGP peer configured for a particular connection, indicating that the FCR ASN is the last in the AS-Path. This capability helps users avoid advertising the CR’s full AS-Path to the remote peer.

  • Inbound/Outbound Multi-Exit Discriminator (MED) – Users can now configure Inbound and Outbound Multi-Exist Discriminator (MED) for each connection. MED parameters allow users to influence the preference of a particular connection over other available alternatives.

OCI Connection Speeds Less Than 1 Gbps Available

Now, Cloud Router offers users the ability to choose connection speeds less than 1 Gbps when creating Oracle FastConnect connections to Oracle Cloud Interface (OCI). This means that users can access lower bandwidth speeds, and are no longer limited to the extra cost of unneeded bandwidth from OCI. For even more flexibility, after provisioning OCI connections, users can easily upgrade or downgrade their connection speeds. For setup details, see Quick Connect to Oracle (OCI).

25 Gbps Connections to IP-WAN Provided

With this release, Cloud Router’s Advanced service tier supports IP-WAN connections greater than 10 Gbps. When connecting from their Cloud Routers to regional or global IP-WAN networks, users can choose 25 Gbps to accommodate higher bandwidth requirements across different metros. For details, see 25 Gbps & 50 Gbps Networks Availability. More information about connecting to an IP-WAN network is available.

No videos are available for this release.

These demos describe setup and configuration of features and functionality in a release.

Title Duration
How to Delete an Equinix Fabric Port 1:11 min
Title Duration
Multipoint-to-Multipoint Layer 2 Connections 10:31 min
Create Layer 2 Service Profile on Equinix Fabric 3:24 min
Google Cloud Interconnect Through Fabric 4:50 min
Order a Fabric Port 9:52 min

Equinix Fabric 2024.3 is available as of June 2024.

2024.3 Equinix Fabric release introduces option to self-deprovision ports. This release of Equinix Fabric adds Fabric Cloud Router and Multipoint Networks components to the Solution Builder. The newest release also adds the option to connect to Oracle Cloud from a Metal VLAN. The 2024.3 release features a refreshed workflow design for Quick Connecting to Google Cloud Platform. This release adds 25 and 50 Gbps bandwidth options in connections to any service provider. The Pricing Calculator now supports local networks allowing you to estimate the price for interconnecting your assets deployed within a single metro. We've also upgraded the Boston metro, which now supports connection speeds of up to 50 Gbps

Fabric Cloud Router enhancements are also included with this release, including connecting to Metal VLANs, IPv4 router filters for IP-WAN connections and Equinix global billing accounts.

Delete Fabric Ports

Delete an Equinix Fabric port instance yourself using the Equinix Fabric portal. For more information, see Delete an Equinix Fabric Port.

Solution Builder

Fabric Cloud Router and Fabric Multipoint Networks support have been added to the Solution Builder.

For more information on how to use the Solution Builder, see Solution Builder.

Metal VLAN to Oracle FastConnect

Connect your Metal instance to Oracle FastConnect. For details, see Connect to Oracle FastConnect (Port, Service Token, Cloud Router, Metal VLAN).

Quick Connect to Google Cloud Platform

Quick Connect workflows enable a more convenient way of creating connections. The 2024.3 Fabric release introduces a refreshed Quick Connect to Google Cloud Platform design. For information, see Quick Connect to Google Cloud Platform (Port, Service Token, Cloud Router, Metal VLAN).

Pricing Calculator

The Pricing Calculator enables you to estimate the price of your Fabric deployment. With the 2024.3 Fabric release, you can add multipoint-to-multipoint connections to your estimates to determine the cost of interconnecting your assets deployed across multiple IBX data centers.

10+ Gbps Connections Any Service Provider

Service providers can enable 10+ Gbps connectivity options in their service profiles.

Note: Enabling 10+ Gbps bandwidth options require 100GE ports. For more information on setting up your service profile, see Create a Layer 2 Service Profile.

Boston Metro Upgrade

Our Boston metro has been upgraded to support connections at up to 50 Gbps. For details, see 25 Gbps & 50 Gbps Virtual Connection Availability.

Fabric Cloud Router Connects to Equinix Metal VLANs

Customers can now create single or redundant connections directly to Fabric Cloud Router from their Equinix Metal virtual connections within the same metro. This new Cloud Router-to-Metal VLAN configuration provides high availability, scaling directly with the number and bandwidth of each connection. Customers can connect to multiple managed IPv4 and IPv6 Cloud Routers within the same metro. Once provisioned, the new connection is included in the Fabric Connections Inventory.

To set up Cloud Router connections to Metal using the Fabric portal workflow, see Connect to a Metal Virtual Connection. Instructions for using public API are available at Connect Fabric Cloud Router to Metal VLAN.

Fabric Cloud Router Adds IPv4 Router Filters for IP-WAN Connections

Route filtering enhancements now provide greater control over the IPv4 inbound and outbound networks at the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) peering points. This helps restrict the reachability of a user’s network, providing a level of isolation for the Cloud Router connections. This support is available for regional and global IP-WANs, and is managed through the Equinix Fabric portal or APIs. For more information, see Route Filters.

Fabric Cloud Router Orders with Global Billing Accounts

Cloud Router can be ordered using Equinix global billing. Users with an Equinix global billing account can purchase Cloud Router connections across multiple countries with a single currency. This simplifies the billing process for international deployments. See Billing Account Management for more information.

No videos are available for this release.

These demos describe setup and configuration of features and functionality in a release.

Title Duration
How to Delete an Equinix Fabric Port 1:11 min
Title Duration
Multipoint-to-Multipoint Layer 2 Connections 10:31 min
Create Layer 2 Service Profile on Equinix Fabric 3:24 min
Google Cloud Interconnect Through Fabric 4:50 min
Order a Fabric Port 9:52 min

Equinix Fabric 2024.2 is available as of April 2024.

This release of Equinix Fabric introduces Fabric Pricing Calculator, a tool for estimating the cost of your Fabric deployment. This release also adds the Unlimited Port Plus port package that enables creation of unlimited number of remote connections at no extra charge. The 2024.2 release features a refreshed workflow design for Quick Connecting to Oracle FastConnect. The newest revision also adds support for Metal VLANs as origin asset types when connecting to Amazon Web Services. 2024.2 enables connecting to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure at speeds under 1 Gbps and it allows for connecting to networks at up to 50 Gbps. This release also adds 10+ Gbps bandwidth support for service tokens.

Fabric Pricing Calculator

Fabric Pricing Calculator is an online tool that is available to you, as an Equinix Fabric portal user, to estimate the price of your Fabric components.

You can use this tool to:

  • Explore Equinix Fabric price points before ordering.

  • Plan your spending.

  • Collaborate with your team, and share the estimates with your key stakeholders.

For more information, see Estimate Your Fabric Deployment Price.

Unlimited Port Plus

Unlimited Port Plus enables you to create local and remote connections at no extra charge.

Note: Unlimited remote connections port package is available for offline ordering in Europe, US and Canada. For more information, see Pricing, Billing, & Terms - Ports.

Metal VLAN to AWS

Connect your Metal instance to Amazon Web Services. For details, see Connect to AWS Direct Connect (Port, Service Token, Cloud Router, Metal VLAN).

Quick Connect to Oracle

Quick Connect workflows enable a more convenient way of creating connections. The 2024.2 Fabric release introduces a refreshed Quick Connect to Oracle FastConnect design. For information, see Connect to Oracle FastConnect (Port, Service Token, Cloud Router, Metal VLAN).

Connect to Oracle Cloud - Connection Speed Options under 1 Gbps

Establish connections to Oracle Cloud services at 10 Mbps, 50 Mbps, 200 Mbps, 500 Mbps in addition to already available 1 Gbps, 2 Gbps, 5 Gbps and 10 Gbps. For more information, see Oracle Cloud.

10+ Gbps Multipoint Networks

Networks enable interconnecting your assets, deployed across multiple IBX data centers, efficiently. Now you can create connections to local and regional networks at up to 50 Gbps, and connect to global networks at up to 25 Gbps. For more information, see 25 Gbps & 50 Gbps Networks Availability.

10+ Gbps Connection Speeds in Service Tokens

Service tokens authorize a third party to use a port to create a connection. The token specifies at what speeds the connection can be established. Now you can create service tokens that allow for establishing connections at up to 50 Gbps.

No videos are available for this release.

These demos describe setup and configuration of features and functionality in a release.

Title Duration
Creating Redundant Connections Using Oracle Quick Connect 4:03 min
Title Duration
Multipoint-to-Multipoint Layer 2 Connections 10:31 min
Create Layer 2 Service Profile on Equinix Fabric 3:24 min
Google Cloud Interconnect Through Fabric 4:50 min
Order a Fabric Port 9:52 min

Equinix Fabric 2024.1 is available as of February 2024.

This release of Equinix Fabric adds a new network type for local mesh networking. It also introduces a new workflow design for Quick Connecting to AWS.

Local Network

Networks enable reducing the number of Fabric connections needed for implementing multipoint to multipoint networks. Use the local network type to create a mesh network between assets located in the same metro.

Quick Connect to AWS

Quick Connect workflows enable a more convenient way of creating connections. The 2024.1 Fabric release introduces a refreshed Quick Connect to AWS design. For information, see Connect to AWS Direct Connect (Port, Service Token, Cloud Router, Metal VLAN).

No videos are available for this release.

These demos describe setup and configuration of features and functionality in a release.

Title Duration
Redesigned Port Details Page 2:41 min
Title Duration
Multipoint-to-Multipoint Layer 2 Connections 10:31 min
Create Layer 2 Service Profile on Equinix Fabric 3:24 min
Google Cloud Interconnect Through Fabric 4:50 min
Order a Fabric Port 9:52 min