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Cloud Routers

A Cloud Router is a virtualized router running on a VM in NetActuate's infrastructure. You do not have direct SSH or console access to the underlying VM: it is managed by NetActuate. Cloud Routers can also run on bare metal if higher throughput is required.

Navigate to Networking → Cloud Routing → Cloud Routers to create and manage Cloud Routers. Create a router by selecting a plan size, then configure it through the sections below.

Interfaces​

Interfaces define how other devices connect to the Cloud Router. Four interface types are available.

WireGuard​

Encrypted VPN-style tunnel for connecting VMs, another Cloud Router, or a remote network (e.g., home or office) over the public internet. Configure the interface IP address and WireGuard port.

Note: WireGuard is layer-3 only: it does not support broadcast traffic (ARP). If you need layer-2 protocols, use GRE.

GRE Tunnel​

Encapsulates traffic and supports lower-level protocols that WireGuard cannot carry. GRE can also be run inside a WireGuard tunnel for encrypted GRE. Configuration fields:

  • Endpoint address: the public IP of the remote side, or a WireGuard peer IP if nesting GRE inside WireGuard
  • Key: filters GRE traffic to separate multiple tunnels
  • MTU: reduce from the default to account for tunnel overhead

Dummy Interface​

A loopback-style interface used to advertise a network via BGP. One dummy interface per router.

Ethernet (VLAN)​

Connects the Cloud Router to a specific VLAN, enabling BGP peering with an external provider (e.g., AWS Direct Connect). The VLAN is added as an additional NIC to the Cloud Router VM.

Note: Ethernet interfaces require a VLAN to be provisioned by NetActuate operations first. Contact support to set this up. When no Ethernet interfaces are available, the portal will display a message to contact NetActuate.

Routing​

Static Routes​

Add a network prefix and specify the next hop: either an interface name or the peer IP of a tunnel. Static routes are the starting point for most configurations.

Static routes are automatically redistributed into BGP if BGP is configured on the router.

BGP​

Configure BGP sessions with neighbors (peers) for automated route exchange. BGP fields include:

  • Local ASN: the ASN assigned to this Cloud Router
  • Peer address: the IPv4 address of the BGP neighbor
  • Remote ASN: the neighbor's ASN
  • Source address: optional; the local IP to source BGP traffic from
  • Prefix rules: import and export filters to control which routes are accepted or advertised
  • IPv4/IPv6 toggles: enable or disable route exchange for each address family

BGP is for advanced setups where automated route exchange is needed, for example, establishing a session with AWS or connecting to another provider's network.

NAT Rules​

Network Address Translation rules. Only needed when connecting two networks that have overlapping private IP ranges. Most configurations will not require NAT.

VRFs​

Virtual Routing and Forwarding allows separate routing tables for multi-tenant or isolated routing scenarios. Advanced use case: most setups use the default VRF only.

Note: Magic Mesh only works with the default VRF.

NTP​

Configure time servers for the Cloud Router. Most setups will not need to change the defaults.

DHCP​

DHCP server configuration. Only works with Ethernet interfaces. Edge case: most setups will not use this.

  • Magic Mesh: automated mesh network connecting multiple Cloud Routers
  • How-To Guide: step-by-step WireGuard and Magic Mesh setup
  • Cloud (VPC): isolated private cloud environments

Need Help?​

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