# ALIBABA ON DEMAND

Alibaba Cloud Express Connect provides private and reliable network connectivity to the Alibaba cloud across a dedicated private connection – allowing customers to bypass the public internet.

Colt supports **Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated (dedicated ports)** on the On Demand platform.\
\
Dedicated ports allow customers to establish multiple BGP peerings across the same Alibaba Cloud port. On Demand circuit connections can be established in near real time, but a physical cross connect is required between the Alibaba Cloud Express Connect and the Colt network.

| Feature                                                                       | Dedicated Port                         |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated handover                              | New port and fibre cross connect       |
| Delivery experience                                                           | Multiple days for physical fibre build |
| Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated bandwidths                            | 1Gbps or 10Gbps                        |
| BGP peering / VLAN                                                            | Multiple BGP peerings / VLAN           |
| Bandwidth changes on On Demand circuit (flexing, BW Boost, permenant upgrade) | Yes – up to dedicated port speed       |

### ALIBABA CLOUD EXPRESS CONNECT DEDICATED PORTS

<figure><img src="/files/iaH7KGV41GYPJcJPKaLM" alt="" width="563"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated ports support multiple BGP peerings with Alibaba Cloud.
\
\
Dedicated ports are the best Alibaba Cloud Express Connect solution where a customer needs to establish multiple peerings with Alibaba Cloud at the same physical Direct Connect location.

#### ALIBABA CLOUD EXPRESS CONNECT DEDICATED PORTS (VIA CLOUD PORT PAGE)

Customers will need to first request a dedicated port via the Alibaba Cloud subscription, taking care to select the correct Alibaba Cloud Connect region and Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated PoP. A Letter of Authority (LOA) is then generated within the Alibaba Cloud console which should be uploaded to the On Demand portal using the button provided.

*\*IMPORTANT – it is important that the customer selects the correct* Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated *region and* Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated *PoP location within the Alibaba Cloud Console.\**

Each Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated PoP is linked to a primary region – but customers can access multiple regions.

1Gbps and 10Gbps dedicated ports are supported on the On Demand platform.

Once the request has been placed, Colt’s delivery team will arrange for the cross connect between the Colt On Demand port and the Alibaba Cloud router using the information provided within the LOA. The typical lead time for the cross connect is 5 working days.

#### CONNECTIONS TO ALIBABA CLOUD EXPRESS CONNECT DEDICATED PORTS

Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated ports are based on a standard port model, which means that single or multiple circuit connections can be routed to a single Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated port.

The standard port VLAN modes apply at the customer A end site.

Under the dedicated port model, Alibaba Cloud do not impose any bandwidth on VLANs – they are dynamically scaled.

The following VLAN modes apply at the Alibaba Cloud B end (i.e. dedicated port end), summarised in the below table:

| Mode      | Application                                                                        | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| --------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Open port | Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated port mapped to a single circuit connection | Port based handover, all Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated VLANs are passed transparently across the Colt network to the B end port Customer is responsible for allocating VLANs via the Alibaba Cloud Console (Filter VLAN option at A end site not supported) |

#### ALIBABA CLOUD EXPRESS CONNECT DEDICATED PORT CONFIGURATION

The below diagram summarises the configuration:

<figure><img src="/files/r2OoVLvV9SPQR7tDVdWV" alt="" width="563"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### ALIBABA CLOUD EXPRESS CONNECT DEDICATED PORT CUSTOMER JOURNEY

The customer journey to establish end to end connectivity to an Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated port is illustrated below. Note that the LOA must be requested for the correct Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated Region and Alibaba Cloud Express Connect Dedicated PoP associated with that region.

<figure><img src="/files/IvTGFSbC0q7rEToNLit1" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.colt.net/on-demand/user-guides/cloud-on-demand/alibaba-on-demand.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.