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Configuring BGP

This guide walks you through creating a BGP session in the NetActuate portal. BGP (Bring Your Own BGP) lets you announce your own IP prefixes from a single point of presence using your own ASN.

Prerequisites​

  • An active NetActuate account with BGP-enabled services
  • At least one deployed VM, bare metal server, or Kubernetes node at the target location
  • Your ASN (NetActuate-provided or your own)
  • An IP prefix to announce (NetActuate-provided or BYOIP)

Step 1: Navigate to BGP Groups​

  1. Log in to the NetActuate Customer Portal.
  2. In the top navigation, click Networking.
  3. In the left sidebar, click BGP.
  4. Click the Groups tab.

Step 2: Create or Select a Group​

If you already have a BGP group, select it from the list to open the group sidebar. Otherwise, create a new group:

  1. Click + Add Group.
  2. Enter a name and optional description for the group.
  3. Assign the ASN you want to use for this group's sessions.
  4. Optionally configure AS-SET / IRR to auto-import prefixes from the IRR database.
  5. Assign a DDoS policy (or leave the account default).
  6. Click Create.

Step 3: Add a BGP Session​

From the group sidebar:

  1. Click Add Session.
  2. Select the location where your resource is deployed.
  3. Select the resource instance (VM, bare metal, or Kubernetes node) to attach the session to.
  4. Review the session details and click Create Session.

The portal provisions the session and displays the peering details:

  • Customer IP and Customer ASN — your side of the peering (configure these in your BGP daemon)
  • Provider Peer IP and Provider Peer ASN — NetActuate's side (configure as your neighbor)
  • Prefixes — the prefixes attached to the group that you are allowed to announce

Step 4: Configure Your BGP Daemon​

Install a BGP routing daemon on your server (e.g., BIRD2, FRR) and configure it with the peering details from the portal. See the Anycast Configuration Guide for a complete BIRD2 configuration example — the daemon configuration is identical for BGP and Anycast sessions.

After configuring, bind any service IPs to the loopback or preferred network interface on your server.

Step 5: Verify the Session​

  1. In the portal, click on your session to open the session sidebar.
  2. The State field should progress from Idle → Connect → Active → Established.
  3. Check Received Routes and Rejected Routes to confirm your prefixes are accepted.

You can also verify from your server:

sudo birdc show protocols all

The session state should show Established with the expected number of imported and exported routes.

Next Steps​

Need Help?​

Contact support@netactuate.com or open a support ticket from the portal.