Adding a new external connection

External connections represent physical (L1) ports in the network fabric that act as uplinks outside of the network fabric. By configuring an external connection for a Logical Network, MetalSoft terminates the configured VLANs/VNIs on that external connection.

To configure an external connection:

1. Navigate to Fabric Manager, click Fabrics, click on the fabric you want to configure, and click External Connections.
2. Click Add external connection.
3. Fill in a name and a label and click Create.
4. Click on the newly created external connection.
5. Click the Interfaces tab.
6. Click Attach Interface.
7. Click the network device and click Next.
8. Click the required port and click Attach.

Adding an external connection to an infrastructure

1. Log into the Consumer UI by clicking on your initials in the top right and selecting Infrastructure designer.
2. Click on Add element and select the network you wish to use.
3. If selecting a Private network, fill in the Name and the Label, select the Network profile, and click Create.
4. Click on the network on the diagram, click on External Connections, click on Attach Connection, select the External Connection, and click on Attach Connection.
5. The external connection now appears.

Once complete, you can deploy the infrastructure or delete the external connection.

Managing external connections via the API

External connections have a full REST API with support for managing interfaces and logical network attachments.

Creating an external connection

curl -X POST "https://<your-server>/api/v2/external-connections" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "label": "ext-conn-01",
    "name": "Uplink to WAN router",
    "fabricId": 1,
    "externalConnectionInterfaces": [
      {"networkDeviceInterfaceId": 100}
    ]
  }'

Listing external connections

curl "https://<your-server>/api/v2/external-connections"

Managing interfaces

# List interfaces for an external connection
curl "https://<your-server>/api/v2/external-connections/{externalConnectionId}/interfaces"

# Add an interface
curl -X POST "https://<your-server>/api/v2/external-connections/{externalConnectionId}/interfaces" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"networkDeviceInterfaceId": 101}'

# Remove an interface
curl -X DELETE "https://<your-server>/api/v2/external-connections/{externalConnectionId}/interfaces/{interfaceId}"

Attaching a logical network

MetalSoft can link external connections to logical networks. Each attachment has its own status (pending_activation, active, etc.):

# Attach a logical network
curl -X POST "https://<your-server>/api/v2/external-connections/{externalConnectionId}/logical-networks" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"logicalNetworkId": 10}'

# List attached logical networks
curl "https://<your-server>/api/v2/external-connections/{externalConnectionId}/logical-networks"

# Detach a logical network (from the logical network side)
curl -X DELETE "https://<your-server>/api/v2/logical-networks/{logicalNetworkId}/external-connections/{externalConnectionId}"

Viewing external connections for a logical network

curl "https://<your-server>/api/v2/logical-networks/{logicalNetworkId}/external-connections"