Planning Guide

Multicloud Networking

7 key questions to ask

when optimizing a
multicloud network
A comprehensive guide to enhancing
your multicloud strategy.

Equinix.com
 Multicloud Networking Planning Guide 2

Contents Are you planning a new cloud-to-

cloud network or looking to refine
Question 1: How do you route an existing one? By answering seven
cloud-to-cloud traffic today?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
crucial questions, you can sidestep
common pitfalls and optimize your
Question 2: Do you need to adapt
quickly and flexibly as your industry
multicloud strategy.
and organization evolve? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Navigating Multicloud Complexities
Question 3: Do you need to integrate Recent surveys, like the one by TechTarget’s Enterprise
your multicloud network with existing Strategy Group, show that 94% of organizations
tools and systems?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 leverage multiple public clouds.1 This strategy, tapping
into the strengths of various clouds, offers a blend of
capabilities fitting business requirements and budget
Question 4: Are you looking for without the threat of vendor lock-in.
an OPEX consumption model? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
However, just picking the right cloud mix isn’t enough.
Effective multicloud networking, which routes traffic
Question 5: Would you benefit from between clouds efficiently, is vital. This ensures top-
a hybrid multicloud approach?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 notch application performance, cost savings, and swift
service. Conversely, poor networking can undermine
Question 6: Do you prefer to manage multicloud benefits, resulting in lower performance,
your cloud-to-cloud network yourself, user dissatisfaction, and limited organizational agility.
or would you like it managed for you?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
This guide will help you navigate the complexities
of multicloud networking, ensuring your chosen
Question 7: Does your current approach aligns with your broader multicloud goals.
cloud-to-cloud implementation
match your geographic needs,
now and going forward?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1 Enterprise Strategy Group Research Report, Distributed Cloud Series:

The Mainstreaming of Cloud-native Apps and Methodology, July 2023.

Equinix.com

1 How do you route cloud-
to-cloud traffic today?
Considerations
The most popular default methods for multicloud
networking—routing cloud-to-cloud traffic through a
company WAN or through the public internet—have
significant downsides. Using your WAN can degrade
performance of both cloud and non-cloud applications,
since both are competing for the same limited and
costly bandwidth, and it can drive up WAN complexity
and operational costs. Using the public internet, while
cheaper and simpler, can compromise performance,
security and overall reliability. If you’re using either of
these approaches, you need to think again.
Recommendations
Don’t burden your WAN unnecessarily with cloud-
to-cloud traffic. And don’t rely on the unpredictable,
insecure public internet for workloads that require
more reliable and private connectivity. Instead, a cloud
adjacent network provides a more direct path between
clouds (compared to roundabout routing through
a centralized WAN), resulting in lower latency and
better overall performance as well as improved cost
efficiencies. A private, cloud adjacent network also
allows robust security, reliability and control, unlike
the public internet.
Implementing your own cloud adjacent networking
infrastructure doesn’t have to be complicated,
either. Equinix offers deployment options that make
setting up and managing a multicloud network as
simple as using public clouds. With our software-
defined interconnection service, automated virtual
network functions and our virtual routing service,
you can deploy and modify cloud adjacent network
infrastructure in near real time. With our easy-to-use
portal or APIs, you can spin up connections, add virtual
network devices (routers, firewalls, load balancers and
more) and make changes in minutes.
Equinix.com
Multicloud Networking Planning Guide 3
2 Do you need to adapt quickly
and flexibly as your industry
and organization evolve?
Considerations
Flexibility is one of the primary reasons for using
multiple clouds in the first place, but limitations on
how you deploy and operate your multicloud network
can undercut that benefit and tie you down in ways
you’ll regret. It’s better to use a versatile platform
that enables you to nimbly change deployments to
keep pace with shifting market conditions, business
requirements and organizational priorities.
Recommendations
Don’t box yourself in. Look for a platform that supports
the full range of deployment models, giving you the
flexibility to:
§ operate your own physical networking equipment
in highly connected colocation data centers
§ deploy network services on bare metal servers
§ use fully automated virtual network functions and
virtual routing services, integrated with software-
defined interconnection services
With Equinix, you can use all or any of the above,
and you can migrate from one to another as your
needs evolve. For example, many Equinix customers
start with virtual deployments, enabling them to
get up and running and scale quickly as they roll
out new applications. Over time, as their operations
mature and demand becomes more predictable,
some customers shift to physical deployments using
their own equipment to leverage better long-term
economics, while other customers continue using
virtual deployments to benefit from a cloud-like
consumption model. Alternatively, some customers
use a blend of both deployment models, augmenting
physical infrastructure with virtual deployments to
create an optimal mix of economy and flexibility.

3 Do you need to integrate your
multicloud network with
existing tools and systems?
Considerations
Integrating your cloud-to-cloud network with
your existing systems and processes (such as your
orchestration platform, management tools and
templates) may necessitate the use of routers and
other products from particular vendors. Conversely,
if you don’t need name-brand solutions, you may
be able to save significant expense using less costly
generic components.
Recommendations
Before purchasing equipment for your multicloud
network, determine whether you need specific name-
brand components in order to mesh with your current
environment. If so, make sure to use a networking
platform that supports those devices, ideally in both
physical and virtual form, letting you choose whatever
deployment model works best in each circumstance.
If you don’t need name-brand devices, see if your
platform offers less-expensive generic alternatives.
Equinix offers the full range of options. You can use
any physical hardware of your choice in Equinix
data centers. Or you can pick from a comprehensive
selection of industry-standard virtual devices, including
routers, firewalls, load balancers and more from Cisco,
Juniper, Palo Alto Networks and other leading vendors.
You can deploy these virtual devices within minutes
around the globe using Network Edge or our bare
metal service, Equinix Metal®. If you don’t need name-
brand routers, Equinix’s Fabric Cloud Router enables
you to create resilient, high-performance Layer 3
connections quickly and easily between your clouds,
data centers and on-premises resources—without
the costs of owning and operating a vendor-supplied
physical or virtual router.
Equinix.com
Multicloud Networking Planning Guide 4
4 Are you looking for an OPEX
consumption model?
Considerations
Many companies these days are looking to reduce
up-front spending and financial risk by moving from a
CAPEX (capital expenditure) model to a more cloud-like
OPEX (operating expenditure) model—in effect, renting
rather than buying. Subscription-based “as a service”
offerings let companies pay as they go, avoiding long-
term commitments and sunk costs. Organizations
can adjust their spending as their needs change, and
an OPEX approach can also simplify budgeting and
accounting. On the flip side, organizations that are
confident that they know their long-term requirements
and have sufficient budget to invest in their own
equipment may find that CAPEX lets them better
control costs in the long run.
Recommendations
Don’t limit your options. Choose a platform that
supports both OPEX and CAPEX models, letting
you pick what’s best for you now and change later if
needed. With Equinix’s Digital Services offerings, you
can create a fully OPEX-based multicloud network
using our Bare Metal as a Service, virtual network
functions and software-defined connectivity. Or you
can go the CAPEX route, running your own equipment
in any of Equinix’s 250 global data centers. Either
way, you’ll benefit from Equinix’s wide array of cloud
adjacent locations and infrastructure options. Many
of our customers combine the strengths of both
OPEX and CAPEX, using whichever model best suits
a particular project or deployment. As a company
that serves more than 10,000 customers and over
260 Fortune 500 organizations, we can help you find
a solution that matches your business needs and
buying processes.

5 Would you benefit from a
hybrid multicloud approach?
Considerations
Your multicloud choices aren’t limited to public
cloud services. In many cases, it may make sense to
distribute workloads and data across public and private
clouds. Such a hybrid cloud strategy can give you the
control you need to meet stringent security standards,
data privacy rules and other regulations in regions
worldwide. It can also enable better control over costs—
for example, by keeping your data in cloud adjacent
private storage, you can cut down on data egress fees
charged by cloud providers.
Recommendations
Take a close look at your requirements, today
and tomorrow. Analyze each workload’s specific
characteristics and business needs. Are you in a
highly regulated industry, or do you/will you operate
in countries with strict data sovereignty rules? Are
you likely to want to repatriate your data at any time?
Could you save significant money by reducing data
egress charges? Do you have workloads that demand
predictable high-performance computation or have
other specialized requirements that might benefit from
dedicated hardware?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, having
your own private cloud adjacent infrastructure
may be the perfect solution. In that case, Equinix’s
cloud-neutral infrastructure enables you to directly
connect to any cloud anywhere, minimizing latency
through native cloud on-ramps and high-speed
interconnections. Likewise, Equinix provides a
complete range of deployment models, from physical
to virtual, and the flexibility to migrate from one to the
other as your requirements change.
Equinix.com
Multicloud Networking Planning Guide 5
6 Do you prefer to manage
your cloud-to-cloud network
yourself, or would you like it
managed for you?
Considerations
Outsourcing network management to a systems
integrator or network service provider (NSP) can
offload your staff and allow them to focus on your core
business. Alternatively, if you have the necessary skill
set and resources in-house, you may want to manage
your network yourself, allowing more direct control and
a greater ability to make changes quickly.
Recommendations
Choose a platform that gives you access to a large and
diverse roster of NSP and system integrator partners, as
well as convenient options to take more ownership and
manage it yourself, ideally through digital experiences
or APIs.
Platform Equinix® is supported by a vast ecosystem of
partners, ranging from system integrators to thousands
of local, regional and international NSPs who can help
you with any aspect of your multicloud network, from
planning to deployment, support and end-to-end
management. Or if you’re interested in doing things
in-house, we make deployment and operation of our
services remarkably easy, enabling organizations to
take more ownership and control. This is especially true
for our growing portfolio of digital services, including
the Fabric Cloud Router service on Equinix Fabric® (our
software-defined interconnection service), which allows
you to manage an on-demand, Equinix-developed
virtual routing service through an easy-to-use web
interface right within the Equinix Fabric Portal.
 Multicloud Networking Planning Guide 6

7 Does your current cloud-to-

cloud implementation match
your geographic needs, now
Learn more about consuming
network infrastructure on-demand,
globally and instantly.
and going forward?
Considerations
Proximity matters. If you’re backhauling cloud-
to-cloud traffic through a central WAN, you may
be introducing latency that negatively impacts
application performance and user experience.
Locating multicloud networking resources nearer
Ready to get started?
(physically or virtually) to your cloud providers and See what it’s like to deploy best-in-class
users can be critical to achieving the performance network infrastructure–in minutes.
levels your workloads require.
Explore Digital Services
Recommendations
Choose an infrastructure provider with the reach to Learn about the benefits of the Fabric Cloud
support your geographic needs, now and in the years Router and get started with our free service.
to come. Equinix has an unmatched global presence,
with 250 data centers in more than 70 metropolitan Equinix.com/EquinixFabric/CloudRouter
areas, 32 countries and six continents. That enables
you to maximize cloud adjacency and deliver better
performance to users and markets around the world.
Moreover, you can leverage a common set of tools
and capabilities across all of these locations, making
deployment and management a highly repeatable,
efficient process.

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