Express route primary and secondary connection utilization

Question

Can I fully utilize the 1Gbps single Azure express route primary and secondary connection as 1Gbps in primary +1Gbps in secondary which is 2 Gbps thougput concurrently? if yes, how willit charge?

Accepted Answer

@Matthew

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Platform. Thank you for reaching out & I hope you are doing well.

It is possible to have additional bandwidth, however, this is not guaranteed.

To summarize,

Your question is addressed in this FAQ Section : Is it possible to use more bandwidth than I procured for my ExpressRoute circuit?
While it is possible that bandwidth available through your secondary connection can be used for more traffic if necessary, there is no guarantee on the performance or bandwidth with this redundant connection.
This is for redundancy purpose, and it isn't guaranteed and shouldn't be used for extra traffic for a sustained period of time

The pricing depends on the plan and the SKU with which you had deployed your circuit.

For Pricing details,

Refer : https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/expressroute/

ExpressRoute Circuit comes in two plans:

1.Metered Data plan

All inbound data transfer is free of charge, and all outbound data transfer is charged based on a pre-determined rate (listed below).
Users are also charged a fixed monthly port fee (based on High Availability dual ports)
In your case, you will be paying the charges for the amount of data transferred.

2.Unlimited Data plan

All inbound and outbound data transfer is free of charge. Users are charged a single fixed monthly port fee (based on High Availability dual ports).
Note: Global Reach Pricing is excluded from the Unlimited Data plan pricing.
In your case, the total amount of data transferred does not matter. You shall be paying the fixed amount.

Thanks,

Kapil

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Answer

Hello Matthew Tam

No, you cannot fully utilize the 1Gbps single Azure ExpressRoute primary and secondary connection as 1Gbps in primary + 1Gbps in secondary which is 2 Gbps throughput concurrently.

ExpressRoute connections are typically provisioned with a primary and secondary circuit. The primary circuit is used for the majority of traffic, while the secondary circuit is used for failover.

In the case of a 1Gbps ExpressRoute connection, the primary circuit will provide a maximum throughput of 1Gbps. The secondary circuit will also provide a maximum throughput of 1Gbps. However, the two circuits cannot be used simultaneously to achieve a total throughput of 2Gbps.

If you need a connection with a throughput of 2Gbps, you will need to provision a 2Gbps ExpressRoute connection. This will provide you with a single circuit with a maximum throughput of 2Gbps.

Here are some additional things to keep in mind:

ExpressRoute connections are not load balanced. This means that all traffic will be routed over the primary circuit until it fails.
ExpressRoute connections are not symmetrical. This means that the primary circuit may have a different bandwidth than the secondary circuit.

However, you can use the secondary circuit for traffic that is not critical. This can help to improve the performance of your applications by providing a second path for traffic.

For example, you could use the secondary circuit for background traffic such as backups or file synchronization. This would free up the primary circuit for more important traffic such as live user sessions.

You can also use the secondary circuit to test new applications or services before you put them on the primary circuit. This can help to reduce the risk of downtime if the new application or service is not stable.

Overall, the secondary circuit in a 1Gbps ExpressRoute connection can be a valuable tool for improving the performance and reliability of your applications. However, it is important to understand that it cannot be used to achieve a total throughput of 2Gbps.

In terms of how it will be charged, you will be charged for the full 1Gbps of bandwidth for both the primary and secondary circuits, even if you are only using one of the circuits at a time. This is because you are paying for the guaranteed bandwidth of the connection, not the actual bandwidth that you use.

For example, if you provision a 1Gbps ExpressRoute connection, you will be charged for 1Gbps of bandwidth, even if you only use 500Mbps of bandwidth.

This is because Azure ExpressRoute is a dedicated connection, which means that you are guaranteed to have 1Gbps of bandwidth available to you at all times. This is in contrast to a shared connection, where you may not always have access to the full bandwidth that you have provisioned.

If you are looking for a connection with more bandwidth, you can consider provisioning a 2Gbps or 10Gbps ExpressRoute connection. This will give you more bandwidth to work with, but it will also be more expensive.

Ultimately, the best way to determine the right ExpressRoute connection for your needs is to contact Azure and discuss your requirements with them. They will be able to help you choose the right connection for your budget and your needs.

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