Ports Overview and Technical Specifications

Provisioning a port (also called an “access port” or “interface”) is the first step in accessing most PacketFabric services. The only exception is the PacketFabric Cloud Router, which does not require a port.

PacketFabric offers ports in the following capacities: 1, 10, 40, and 100 Gbps. Each port supports up to 4,000 virtual circuits. You can also combine ports into a LAG interface. For example, a LAG with two 10 Gbps ports would give you similar functionality to a 20 Gbps port.

You first provision a port and then set up a cross connect from that port to your on-premises equipment. Once that is complete, all other services can be provisioned and de-provisioned virtually.

Pricing and billing

For detailed information on the available port terms and when billing begins on a port, see Port Terms and Billing.

For pricing information, see our pricing page.

Colt-powered ports

When a port is “powered by Colt,” this means that it is owned and operated by Colt Technology Services, but can be used as if it is a native part of the PacketFabric network.

In other words, these ports can be provisioned and managed using PacketFabric API, monitored in our portal, and are subject to the PacketFabric SLA and MSA.

For more information, see Colt-Powered Ports.

ENNI ports

An ENNI port is also known as an “external network-to-network interface,” as defined in MEF 26.

Before you can provision an ENNI port, they must be enabled for your account. You can enable ENNI ports by contacting support@packetfabric.com.

For more information, see ENNI Ports and ENNI Support for Q-in-Q, Network Extension and Backbone Expansion.

Non-core vs. core locations

When provisioning a port in certain POPs, you might see a message that the port is in a “non-core location.” A non-core location is also known as a “single-armed” or “single-homed” site.

Our core locations are multi-armed/multi-homed. This means that there are multiple fiber pathways connecting to the POP device, and should something happen to one fiber pathway we can reroute your traffic with minimal disruption.

However, a non-core location is connected to a single fiber pathway. Think of it like a cul-de-sac: one way in, one way out. This means that if something should disrupt connections along that pathway, we cannot reroute your traffic to avoid disruption, thereby upholding the SLA.

If you are not shown an alert when ordering the port, then it is located in a core location.

API

Our portal is powered by our API, meaning that everything you can do in the portal to manage a port can be done programmatically via the API.

In some cases, the API provides more information about a port than is visible in the portal, making it a valuable troubleshooting tool.

See the Ports API reference.

Troubleshooting

See Troubleshooting Ports and Cross Connects.

Technical notes and constraints

Service specifications

Optics specifications

* All cables are Single Mode Fiber, Duplex
** Distance is approximate