Contact your Dedicated Account Team and they will get you started.  If you are new to Rackspace, contact us at www.rackspace.com for chat or email, or give us a call at 800-961-2888.

Setting up a RackConnect Configuration

1. Contact your Dedicated Account Manager or Account Management Team and let them know you would like to get RackConnect set up in your environment.  They will get the process started by having our network engineers assess your configuration for RackConnect compatibility and readiness.

• If you don’t yet have a RackConnect-compatible device, your sales and account team will work with you to upgrade your environment.

• If you do have a compatible device, your account team will assess your device for RackConnect readiness (software versions, an available physical interface, etc.). Once the device has passed the qualification checks, the RackConnect implementation process will start.

2. When you begin the RackConnect implementation process, you will receive a ticket in the MyRackspace Portal that outlines the steps that will get your environment ready for RackConnect.

• When you receive the ticket, you will have access to the RackConnect Management Interface in the MyRackspace Portal.  Navigate to “Network” -> “RackConnect” from the main menu to review your configuration details, track the status of your implementation, and get started setting up your Cloud Account(s) and Network Policies.

• RackConnect engineers will run the physical cabling to connect your network device to our Cloud network, as well as set up the configuration on your device to support RackConnect automation.

3. To help keep the RackConnect implementation process moving as quickly as possible, we encourage you to associate an existing Cloud Account to your RackConnect Configuration.  If you do not already have an existing Cloud Account, you can set one up from within the MyRackspace Portal via the online signup process.  See below for instructions on associating your Cloud Account with RackConnect and completing the setup of your Network Policies.

4. Once we have completed the necessary steps and your RackConnect Configuration is ready to use (typically within 5-10 business days of receiving the ticket in step 2 above) you will receive an additional update in the ticket letting you know that the implementation is complete. To use RackConnect, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve completed the process detailed below for at least one Cloud Account and you’ll be on your way to experiencing the best of both worlds!

5. For videos demonstrating steps in this process, including an overview of the RackConnect portal interface, creating Network Policies, and adding a Cloud Account to RackConnect, visit the “Community” -> “Video Knowledge Base” section of MyRackspace Portal.

6. You can also find further documentation about RackConnect in the “Community” -> “Discussions” -> “RackConnect” section of the MyRackspace Portal: my.rackspace.com/csx/community/rackconnect

Associating your Cloud Account with your RackConnect Configuration

1. To associate a Cloud Account with your RackConnect Configuration you must first ensure that it is linked to your Dedicated Account.  Verify this from the MyRackspace Portal by navigating to “Products” -> “Rackspace Cloud” -> Cloud “Accounts” (my.rackspace.com/portal/cloudAccount/list).  From that screen, you can link either an existing account or sign up for a new account.

From this page, you can ‘Link’ an existing cloud account or ‘Sign Up’ for a new US or UK cloud account.

2. After linking your Cloud Account to your Dedicated Account, and while still in the Cloud Accounts section, click the “Add to RackConnect” link and select the appropriate RackConnect Configuration to associate it with.  (In most cases, you will only have one (1) RackConnect Configuration).

"Add to RackConnect" example

3. After establishing the association, we will begin the process of validating the provisioning region for both Cloud Servers and Cloud Files, checking that they match the region (or Datacenter location) of your Dedicated environment. If there are any discrepancies, a RackConnect engineer will work with you to resolve them. You can track the status of these steps by selecting the newly associated Cloud Account under the RackConnect Management Interface (“Network” -> “RackConnect” -> <Your Cloud Account>) and selecting the “Tasks” tab.

4. Setup your Network Policies to define the access that you wish to allow between your Cloud Servers, your Dedicated environment, and the Internet. This can be accomplished by selecting the Cloud Account under the RackConnect Management Interface and selecting the Network Polices tab: “Network” -> “RackConnect” -> <Your Cloud Account> -> “Network Policies” tab.  You can also use one of the available “Network Policy Templates” for an easy way to get started.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not create any servers on your Cloud Account until you receive confirmation that your Cloud Account is setup in our automation system and that your RackConnect Configuration implementation is complete (if this is a new Configuration).  Any Cloud Servers created prior to these steps being complete will not be able to participate in your RackConnect Configuration unless you image/snapshot and rebuild them after the implementation process is complete.  Therefore, we encourage you to create Cloud Servers only after you receive confirmation from us that your RackConnect Configuration and Cloud Account(s) are ready for use with RackConnect.  You will also want to verify that you have Network Policies in place to allow traffic to/from your Cloud Servers before creating Cloud Servers.