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version 10.2
MAN-0318-00
Product Version
This manual applies to product version 10.2 of the BIG-IP Link Controller.
Publication Date
This manual was published on March 19, 2010.
Legal Notices
Copyright
Copyright 2010, F5 Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. F5 Networks, Inc. (F5) believes the information it furnishes to be accurate and reliable. However, F5 assumes no responsibility for the use of this information, nor any infringement of patents or other rights of third parties which may result from its use. No license is granted by implication or otherwise under any patent, copyright, or other intellectual property right of F5 except as specifically described by applicable user licenses. F5 reserves the right to change specifications at any time without notice.
Trademarks
F5, F5 Networks, the F5 logo, BIG-IP, 3-DNS, Access Policy Manager, APM, Acopia, Acopia Networks, Application Accelerator, Ask F5, Application Security Manager, ASM, ARX, Data Guard, Edge Client, Edge Gateway, Enterprise Manager, EM, FirePass, FreedomFabric, Global Traffic Manager, GTM, iControl, Intelligent Browser Referencing, Internet Control Architecture, IP Application Switch, iRules, Link Controller, LC, Local Traffic Manager, LTM, Message Security Module, MSM, NetCelera, OneConnect, Packet Velocity, Protocol Security Module, PSM, Secure Access Manager, SAM, SSL Accelerator, SYN Check, Traffic Management Operating System, TMOS, TrafficShield, Transparent Data Reduction, uRoam, VIPRION, WANJet, WAN Optimization Module, WOM, WebAccelerator, WA, and ZoneRunner are trademarks or service marks of F5 Networks, Inc., in the U.S. and other countries, and may not be used without F5's express written consent. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Patents
This product protected by U.S. Patents 6,374,300; 6,473,802; 6,970,933; 7,047,301. Other patents pending.
RF Interference Warning
This is a Class A product. In a domestic environment this product may cause radio interference, in which case the user may be required to take adequate measures.
FCC Compliance
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device pursuant to Part 15 of FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This unit generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference, in which case the user, at his own expense, will be required to take whatever measures may be required to correct the interference. Any modifications to this device, unless expressly approved by the manufacturer, can void the user's authority to operate this equipment under part 15 of the FCC rules.
Standards Compliance
This product conforms to the IEC, European Union, ANSI/UL and Canadian CSA standards applicable to Information Technology products at the time of manufacture.
Acknowledgments
This product includes software developed by Gabriel Fort. This product includes software developed by Bill Paul. This product includes software developed by Jonathan Stone. This product includes software developed by Manuel Bouyer. This product includes software developed by Paul Richards. This product includes software developed by the NetBSD Foundation, Inc. and its contributors. This product includes software developed by the Politecnico di Torino, and its contributors. This product includes software developed by the Swedish Institute of Computer Science and its contributors. This product includes software developed by the University of California, Berkeley and its contributors. This product includes software developed by the Computer Systems Engineering Group at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. This product includes software developed by Christopher G. Demetriou for the NetBSD Project. This product includes software developed by Adam Glass. This product includes software developed by Christian E. Hopps. This product includes software developed by Dean Huxley. This product includes software developed by John Kohl. This product includes software developed by Paul Kranenburg. This product includes software developed by Terrence R. Lambert. This product includes software developed by Philip A. Nelson. This product includes software developed by Herb Peyerl. This product includes software developed by Jochen Pohl for the NetBSD Project. This product includes software developed by Chris Provenzano. This product includes software developed by Theo de Raadt. This product includes software developed by David Muir Sharnoff. This product includes software developed by SigmaSoft, Th. Lockert. This product includes software developed for the NetBSD Project by Jason R. Thorpe. This product includes software developed by Jason R. Thorpe for And Communications, http://www.and.com. This product includes software developed for the NetBSD Project by Frank Van der Linden. This product includes software developed for the NetBSD Project by John M. Vinopal. This product includes software developed by Christos Zoulas. This product includes software developed by the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College and Garrett A. Wollman. In the following statement, "This software" refers to the Mitsumi CD-ROM driver: This software was developed by Holger Veit and Brian Moore for use with "386BSD" and similar operating systems. "Similar operating systems" includes mainly non-profit oriented systems for research and education, including but not restricted to "NetBSD," "FreeBSD," "Mach" (by CMU). This product includes software developed by the Apache Group for use in the Apache HTTP server project (http://www.apache.org/). This product includes software licensed from Richard H. Porter under the GNU Library General Public License ( 1998, Red Hat Software), www.gnu.org/copyleft/lgpl.html. This product includes the standard version of Perl software licensed under the Perl Artistic License ( 1997, 1998 Tom Christiansen and Nathan Torkington). All rights reserved. You may find the most current standard version of Perl at http://www.perl.com.
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This product includes software developed by Jared Minch. This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit (http://www.openssl.org/). This product includes cryptographic software written by Eric Young (eay@cryptsoft.com). This product contains software based on oprofile, which is protected under the GNU Public License. This product includes RRDtool software developed by Tobi Oetiker (http://www.rrdtool.com/index.html) and licensed under the GNU General Public License. This product contains software licensed from Dr. Brian Gladman under the GNU General Public License (GPL). This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation <http://www.apache.org/>. This product includes Hypersonic SQL. This product contains software developed by the Regents of the University of California, Sun Microsystems, Inc., Scriptics Corporation, and others. This product includes software developed by the Internet Software Consortium. This product includes software developed by Nominum, Inc. (http://www.nominum.com). This product contains software developed by Broadcom Corporation, which is protected under the GNU Public License. This product contains software developed by MaxMind LLC, and is protected under the GNU Lesser General Public License, as published by the Free Software Foundation. This product includes the GeoPoint Database developed by Quova, Inc. and its contributors. This product includes software developed by Balazs Scheidler <bazsi@balabit.hu>, which is protected under the GNU Public License. This product includes software developed by NLnet Labs and its contributors. This product includes software written by Steffen Beyer and licensed under the Perl Artistic License and the GPL. This product includes software written by Makamaka Hannyaharamitu 2007-2008.
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1
Introducing Implementations for the Link Controller
Introducing the Link Controller ..................................................................................................1-1 Getting started .......................................................................................................................1-1 Introducing implementations ........................................................................................................1-2
2
Configuring a Basic Link Controller Implementation
Introducing a basic Link Controller configuration ..................................................................2-1 Setting the management IP address and default route for the system ...............................2-2 Performing initial system setup ....................................................................................................2-3 Provisioning the Link Controller .................................................................................................2-6 Configuring the host name and user accounts .........................................................................2-6 Creating VLANs ..............................................................................................................................2-7 Creating the default gateway pool ..............................................................................................2-9 Defining the physical connections to the Internet ............................................................... 2-10 Creating listeners ......................................................................................................................... 2-12 Creating a load balancing pool .................................................................................................. 2-13 Creating virtual servers .............................................................................................................. 2-14 Creating a wide IP ........................................................................................................................ 2-15
3
Controlling Load Balancing Costs
Introducing cost-based load balancing .......................................................................................3-1 Configuring cost-based load balancing .......................................................................................3-3 Configuring the links .............................................................................................................3-4 Creating the default gateway pool for cost-based load balancing ..............................3-5 Implementing the default gateway pool for cost-based load balancing .....................3-5 Configuring the virtual servers ...........................................................................................3-6 Adding a wide IP for inbound load balancing ..................................................................3-7
4
Implementing Bandwidth Load Balancing
Introducing bandwidth load balancing ........................................................................................4-1 Configuring bandwidth load balancing ........................................................................................4-2 Configuring the links .............................................................................................................4-3 Creating the default gateway pool for bandwidth load balancing ...............................4-4 Implementing the default gateway pool for bandwidth load balancing ......................4-5 Defining the virtual servers for an additional Internet connection ............................4-5 Adding a wide IP for bandwidth load balancing ..............................................................4-7
5
Setting Up a Link Controller Redundant System Configuration
About Link Controller redundant system configurations .....................................................5-1 Setting up a Link Controller redundant system configuration .............................................5-3 Configuring the redundant system settings .....................................................................5-4 Creating VLANs for Link Controller redundant systems ............................................5-4 Assigning self IP addresses ...................................................................................................5-6 Creating floating IP addresses .............................................................................................5-7 Configuring the high availability options ...........................................................................5-9 Defining an NTP server ..................................................................................................... 5-10 Defining the default gateway route ................................................................................. 5-10 BIG-IP Link ControllerTM: Implementations 1
Table of Contents
Defining a listener ............................................................................................................... 5-11 Running a configuration synchronization operation ................................................... 5-12 Enabling synchronization ................................................................................................... 5-12 Adding links .......................................................................................................................... 5-13 Running the gtm_add script .............................................................................................. 5-14
Glossary Index
1
Introducing Implementations for the Link Controller
Getting started
The Link Controller runs on the Traffic Management Operating System, commonly referred to as TMOS. Before you begin configuring an implementation, F5 Networks recommends that you familiarize yourself with these additional resource:
BIG-IP Systems: Getting Started Guide This guide provides detailed information about licensing and provisioning the BIG-IP system, as well as installing upgrades. The guide also provides a brief introduction to the features of BIG-IP system and the tools for configuring the system. TMOS Management Guide for BIG-IP Systems This guide contains any information you need to configure and maintain the network and system-related components of the BIG-IP system, such as routes, VLANs, and user accounts. Configuration Guide for BIG-IP Link Controller This guide contains any information you need for configuring specific features of the BIG-IP system to manage links. Traffic Management Shell (tmsh) Reference Guide This guide contains information about using the Traffic Management Shell (tmsh) commands to manage the BIG-IP systems.
F5 Networks recommends that you then run the Setup utility to configure basic network elements such as self IP addresses, interfaces, and VLANs. After running the Setup utility, you can use this guide to configure specific implementations. For information on running the Setup utility, see the BIG-IP Systems: Getting Started Guide.
1-1
Chapter 1
Introducing implementations
This guide is designed to help you accomplish specific configuration tasks associated with the Link Controller. Each chapter focuses on a specific implementation, providing an overview of the situation and a detailed example of how to configure the system to accomplish the objectives outlined in the implementation. The tasks outlined in each chapter are designed so that you can quickly apply them to your own network.
1-2
2
Configuring a Basic Link Controller Implementation
Introducing a basic Link Controller configuration Setting the management IP address and default route for the system Performing initial system setup Provisioning the Link Controller Configuring the host name and user accounts Creating VLANs Creating the default gateway pool Defining the physical connections to the Internet Creating listeners Creating a load balancing pool Creating virtual servers Creating a wide IP
2-1
Chapter 2
Setting the management IP address and default route for the system
You can use either the liquid crystal display (LCD) panel on the device, or access the system command line to set the management interface IP address and route for the system.
Note
You can use only an IPv4 address for the device management interface IP address.
To set the management interface IP address and default route using the LCD panel
1. Press the X button on the LCD panel. The LCD goes into Menu mode, and the arrow buttons become functional. 2. Use the arrow buttons to select the System menu, and the Management option. 3. Type the management interface IP address. For this example, use the preferred management interface IP address 192.168.1.245. 4. Select the Mgmt Mask option. 5. Type the netmask for the management interface IP address. For this example, use the default netmask 255.255.255.0. 6. Select the Mgmt Gateway option. 7. Type the default route for the management interface of this device. This route is necessary if you plan to manage the unit from a different subnetwork. 8. Select the Commit option to save your changes.
To set the management interface IP address and default route from the command line
1. Log on to the command-line interface for the Link Controller as root using the default password, default. 2. At the prompt, enter: config customization/ 3. Follow the F5 Management Port Setup utility prompts to set the management interface IP address, subnet and default route.
2-2
You can find your registration key printed on a paper certificate that is included in the box with the BIG-IP system. 4. Highlight and copy the dossier that displays. Copy only the section that begins on the line after the command you typed in step 3, and ends just before the next command prompt. 5. Open a web browser and connect to the following URL: http://activate.f5.com 6. Follow the instructions to submit your dossier. The web site returns your product license. 7. Highlight and copy the entire product license. 8. From the BIG-IP system command line, to use a vi text editor to open the file /config/bigip.license, type the following command sequence:
vi /config/bigip.license
9. To enable the vi insert mode, press the i key. 10. Paste the license file that you copied in Step 7 into the bigip.license file. 11. To exit vi insert mode, press the Esc key. 12. To save the bigip.license file and exit vi, enter the following command sequence:
wq
13. To restart the BIG-IP system services, enter this command sequence:
bigstart restart
The BIG-IP system is now licensed. Note that the system prompt changes from INOPERATIVE to Active.
2-3
Chapter 2
Important
Even if you typically use the command line to configure a system, you must run the Setup utility from the browser-based Configuration utility before you begin.
3. At the logon prompt, type admin for the user name, and admin for the password. The Configuration utility opens displaying the Welcome screen.
Tip
As you proceed through the Setup utility, click the Help tab on the navigation pane for information about the settings on each screen.
2-4
but there is a possibility that some timestamps might be logged or displayed incorrectly, depending on which service has been restarted and which has not. 7. In the Password box, type the password for the root account. The root account provides only console access to this system. 8. In the Confirm box, retype the password that you typed in the Password box. 9. In the Password box, type the password for the account, admin. The admin account provides only browser access to the system. 10. In the Confirm box, retype the password that you typed in the Password box. 11. Select Enabled from the SSH access list. 12. Specify either the IP address or address range for other systems that can use SSH to communicate with the system: Select *All Addresses, to grant unrestricted SSH access to all IP addresses. Select Specify Range, and then type an address range in the box, to restrict SSH access to a block of IP addresses. For example, to restrict access to only systems on the 192.168.0.0 network, type 192.168.*.*.
Now that you have set up the system, you can set the setup.run db key to prevent the Link Controller from starting the Setup utility each time a user accesses the Configuration utility.
2-5
Chapter 2
You must provision the Link Controller before you configure it; otherwise, when you provision the module, you lose the configuration.
2-6
Creating VLANs
The next task in this implementation is to set up three VLANs that encompass the IP addresses associated with the Link Controller and the other network components that help manage DNS traffic. For this example, create three VLANs using the information in Table 2.1.
VLAN Name internal Assign Untagged Interface 1.1
VLAN used for communication between the Link Controller and the rest of the internal network communication between the Link Controller and ISP1 communication between the Link Controller and ISP2
isp1
1.2
isp2
1.3
2-7
Chapter 2
2-8
After you create a default gateway pool, you must instruct the Link Controller to use the pool as the default gateway connection between the internal network and the Internet.
2-9
Chapter 2
4. In the Router Address box, type the IP address of the router associated with the ISP. For this example, type 192.168.10.5. 5. In the Uplink Address box, type the IP address of the ISP. For this example, type 192.168.10.6. 6. In the Service Provider box, type the name of the ISP. For this example, type ISP2. 7. For the Health Monitors setting, use the Move buttons to add the bigip_link and gateway_icmp monitors to the Enabled list. The bigip_link monitor uses iQuery to provide the status of the link. The gateway_icmp monitor provides the status of the gateway. 8. Click Create.
2 - 11
Chapter 2
Creating listeners
The next task in this implementation is to configure two listeners, one that detects DNS traffic bound for SiteRequest from each of the ISPs.
2 - 12
2 - 13
Chapter 2
2 - 14
Creating a wide IP
To complete the link load balancing configuration, you must configure a wide IP that encompasses the virtual servers.
To create a wide IP
1. On the Main tab of the navigation pane, expand Link Controller and then click Inbound Wide IPs. 2. Click Create. 3. In the Name box, type the URL of the wide IP. For this example, type www.siterequest.com. 4. For the Members List setting, add the virtual servers that you created in the previous task. For this example, from the Virtual Server list, select: 10.10.10.80, and then click Add. 10.20.20.80, and then click Add. 5. Click Finished.
You now have a Link Controller configured to manage the DNS traffic into and out of the SiteRequest network.
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Chapter 2
2 - 16
3
Controlling Load Balancing Costs
Weighting The Weighting option for each link determines how the Link Controller prioritizes the links in its configuration. By default, this option is set to Ratio. For cost-based load balancing, however, you must set this option to Price (Dynamic Ratio). Prepaid Segment Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer bandwidth plans that include a prepaid amount of bandwidth. In the Prepaid Segment option, you assign the appropriate bandwidth and cost values that are prepaid for the link. Incremental Segments The Incremental Segment option allows you to define the cost per segment values that apply to this link. You can assign as many incremental segments as needed.
Note
When implementing cost-based load balancing, it is important that your configuration applies to all of the links that the Link Controller manages. For example, F5 Networks does not recommend applying cost-based load balancing to one set of links and ratio load balancing to another set.
3-1
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1 depicts the cost-base load balancing process. In this process the following sequence occurs: 1. A client sends a DNS request to a Local DNS server. 2. The LDNS server sends an iterative request that leads to the Link Controller. 3. The Link Controller determines the best link based on current cost estimates and bandwidth usage, and sends the appropriate response back to the LDNS server. 4. The LDNS server forwards the response to the client. 5. The client then communicates with the appropriate virtual server through the corresponding link that the Link Controller specified.
3-2
The tasks required to configure cost-based load-balancing include: Configure the links Create a default gateway pool Implement the default gateway pool Configure the virtual servers Add a wide IP
3-3
Chapter 3
Repeat this procedure to add the second link to the configuration. In this example, when you add the second link, accept the default Weighting value of Ratio, set the Prepaid Segment option to 0 and add the following entry in the Incremental Segment option: Up to 1000 bps at 1 $/Mbps
3-4
3-5
Chapter 3
3-6
To add a wide IP
1. On the Main tab of the navigation pane, expand Link Controller and then click Inbound Wide IPs. 2. Click Create. 3. In the Name box, type the name of the wide IP For this example, type www.siterequest.com. 4. For the Load Balancing Method setting, make selections from the three lists. For this example: Select Ratio from the Preferred list. Select Round Robin from the Alternate list. Select Return to DNS from the Fallback list. 5. In the Member List setting, add the virtual servers that you created previously. For this example, select the following from the Virtual Server list, and then click Add: 10.10.5.5:80 10.10.5.6:80 6. Click Finished.
You now have a Link Controller configured to manage DNS traffic for www.siterequest.com. As data flows in and out of the network, the Link Controller monitors the total amount of bandwidth for each link. While traffic remains below 4Mbps, the Link Controller uses Link Alpha. If traffic exceeds that amount, the Link Controller sends the overflow traffic to Link Beta. If a link goes offline for any reason, the Link Controller uses the Alternate and Fallback load balancing modes to route traffic through an available link.
3-7
Chapter 3
3-8
4
Implementing Bandwidth Load Balancing
When implementing bandwidth load balancing, it is important that your configuration applies to all of the links that the Link Controller manages. For example, F5 Networks does not recommend applying cost-based load balancing to one set of links and ratio load balancing to another set.
4-1
Chapter 4
4-2
4-3
Chapter 4
4-4
4-5
Chapter 4
4-6
To add a wide IP
1. On the Main tab of the navigation pane, expand Link Controller and then click Inbound Wide IPs. 2. Click Create. 3. In the Name box, type the URL of the wide IP. For this example, type www.siterequest.com. 4. For the Load Balancing Method setting, make selections from the three lists. For this example: Select Kilobytes/Second from the Preferred list. Select Round Robin from the Alternate list. Select Return to DNS from the Fallback list. 5. For the Member List setting, add the virtual servers that you created previously. For this example, select the following from the Virtual Server list, and then click Add: 10.10.5.5:80 10.10.10.6:80 6. Click Finished.
You now have a Link Controller configured to manage DNS traffic for wide IP www.siterequest.com. As data flows in and out of the network, the Link Controller monitors the total amount of bandwidth for each link. While traffic remains below 4Mbps, the Link Controller uses Link Alpha. If traffic exceeds that amount, the Link Controller sends the overflow traffic to Link Beta. If a link goes offline for any reason, the Link Controller uses the Alternate and Fallback load balancing modes to route traffic through an available link.
4-7
Chapter 4
4-8
5
Setting Up a Link Controller Redundant System Configuration
About Link Controller redundant system configurations Setting up a Link Controller redundant system configuration
5-1
Chapter 5
Table 5.3 describes the VLANs you will set up for SiteRequest.
Name VLAN 1 Characteristics Assigned interfaces: 1.1 (untagged) Role: Communication between network and the first link VLAN 2 Assigned interfaces: 1.2 (untagged) Role: Communication between network and the second link VLAN 3 Assigned interfaces: 1.3 (untagged) Role: Communication between Link Controllers and rest of internal network. Default Gateway NTP server IP address: 10.1.1.100 IP address: 192.168.5.15
Table 5.4 describes several other network characteristics that play an important role in a redundant system configuration for SiteRequest.
Component NTP server Default Gateway Pool Characteristics IP address: 192.168.5.15 Name: gw_pool IP addresses: 10.1.1.5 and 10.1.2.5
5-2
5-3
Chapter 5
Apply the following procedures to both the active and standby Link Controllers.
5-4
5-5
Chapter 5
Apply the following procedures to both the active and standby systems.
5-6
For this task, configure only the active system. The settings you configure on this system are transferred to the standby system during a synchronization that you initiate later in this implementation.
5-7
Chapter 5
4. In the Netmask box, type the subnet mask that applies to the floating IP address. For this example, type 255.255.255.0. 5. Check the Floating IP box. 6. Click Finished.
5-8
Apply the following procedure to both the active and standby systems.
In this example, for the lc2.siterequest.com system, use 192.168.1.2 for the Peer Management Address, and reverse the values of the Local Address and Remote Address settings. Optionally, define a set of secondary failover IP addresses. In this example, the secondary failover addresses can be the self IP addresses the Link Controllers use to communicate with link1 or link2.
5-9
Chapter 5
Apply the following procedure to both the active and standby systems.
Apply the following procedures to both the active and standby systems.
5 - 10
6. For the New Members setting, add the IP address of each link. For this example type the following: IP address 10.1.1.5, selecting All Services from the Service Port list. This IP address represents the link1 link. IP Address 10.1.2.5, selecting All Services from the Service Port list. This IP address represents the link2 link. 7. Click Add. 8. Click Finished.
Defining a listener
The Link Controller employs a listener to identify the traffic for which it is responsible. In this example, create a listener that corresponds to the floating IP address shared between the two systems.
Important
For this task, configure only the active system. The settings you establish on this system are transferred to the standby system during a synchronization that you initiate later in this process.
5 - 11
Chapter 5
For this task, ensure that you are working with the active Link Controller system.
Enabling synchronization
For the next task, you enable the synchronization options and assign an appropriate name for the synchronization group.
Important
For this task, configure only the active system. The settings you establish on this system are transferred to the standby system during a synchronization that you initiate later in this process.
To enable synchronization
1. On the Main tab of the navigation pane, expand System and then click Configuration. 2. From the Global Traffic menu, choose General. 3. Check the Synchronization check box. 4. Check the Synchronize DNS Zone Files check box. 5. In the Synchronization Group Name box, type the name of the synchronization group. For this example, type Link Controller Group A. 6. Click Update.
5 - 12
Adding links
The next task is to add the links that represent the two Internet connections. Each Link Controller configuration must contain at least two links for the system to load balance network traffic.
Important
For this task, configure only the active system. The settings you establish on this system are transferred to the standby system during a synchronization that you initiate later in this process.
To add a link
1. On the Main tab of the navigation pane, expand Link Controller, and then click Links. 2. Click Create. 3. In the Name box, type the name of the link. For this example, type link1. 4. In the Router Address box, type the IP address of the link. In this example, type 10.1.1.5. 5. For the Health Monitors setting, use the Move buttons to add the bigip_link monitor to the Enabled list. 6. Click Finished.
Repeat the procedure to define the second link. In this example, the second link on the Link Controller, uses the name link2 and the router address 10.1.2.5.
5 - 13
Chapter 5
The gtm_add process begins, acquiring configuration data from the active Link Controller (in this example lc1.sitequrest.com). Once the process completes, you have successfully created a redundant system configuration consisting of two Link Controllers.
5 - 14
Glossary
Glossary
active unit In a redundant system configuration, the active unit is the system that currently load balances connections. If the active unit fails, the standby unit assumes control and begins to load balance connections. See also redundant system configuration. bandwidth load balancing In bandwidth load balancing, the Link Controller uses a specific link until a traffic threshold has been met. After that threshold is met, the Link Controller shifts traffic to another link. When the traffic falls below the threshold, the Link Controller shifts traffic back to the first link. Configuration utility The Configuration utility is the browser-based application that you use to configure the BIG-IP system. cost-based load balancing In cost-based load balancing, the system prioritizes link usage based on the cost of the bandwidth for that connection to the Internet. The Link Controller sends traffic to the link that is currently operating at the lowest cost. As the usage cost for each link changes, the Link Controller dynamically shifts traffic to the best link. default wildcard virtual server A default wildcard virtual server has an IP address and port number of 0.0.0.0:0. or *:* or "any":"any". This virtual server accepts all traffic that does not match any other virtual server defined in the configuration. See also wildcard virtual server. domain name A domain name is a unique name that is associated with one or more IP addresses. Domain names are used in URLs to identify particular Web pages. For example, in the URL http://www.siterequest.com/index.html, the domain name is siterequest.com. floating IP address A floating self IP address is an additional self IP address for a VLAN that serves as a shared address by both units of a BIG-IP redundant system configuration. health monitor A health monitor checks a node to see if it is up and functioning for a given service. If the node fails the check, it is marked down. Different monitors exist for checking different services. See also health check, EAV, ECV, external monitor.
Glossary - 1
Glossary
interface The physical port on a BIG-IP system is called an interface. internal VLAN The internal VLAN is a default VLAN on the BIG-IP system. In a basic configuration, this VLAN has the administration ports open. In a normal configuration, this is a network interface that handles connections from internal servers. iQuery The iQuery protocol is used to exchange information between Global Traffic Manager systems and BIG-IP systems. The iQuery protocol is officially registered with IANA for port 4353, and works on UDP and TCP connections. link load balancing Link load balancing is defined as managing traffic across multiple Internet or wide-area network (WAN) gateways. listener A listener is a specialized resource that is assigned a specific IP address and uses port 53, the DNS query port. When traffic is sent to that IP address, the listener alerts the Global Traffic Manager, allowing it to handle the traffic locally or forward the traffic to the appropriate resource. load balancing method A particular method of determining how to distribute connections across a load balancing pool. load balancing pool See pool. local DNS A local DNS is a server that makes name resolution requests on behalf of a client. With respect to the Global Traffic Manager, local DNS servers are the source of name resolution requests. Local DNS is also referred to as LDNS. member Member is a reference to a node when it is included in a particular load balancing pool. Pools typically include multiple member nodes. monitor The Link Controller uses monitors to determine whether nodes are up or down. There are several different types of monitors and they use various methods to determine the status of a server or service.
Glossary - 2
Glossary
nameserver A nameserver is a server that maintains a DNS database, and resolves domain name requests to IP addresses using that database. name resolution Name resolution is the process by which a nameserver matches a domain name request to an IP address, and sends the information to the client requesting the resolution. Network Time Protocol (NTP) Network Time Protocol functions over the Internet to synchronize system clocks to Universal Coordinated Time. NTP provides a mechanism to set and maintain clock synchronization within milliseconds. pool A pool is composed of a group of network devices (called members). The Link Controller load balances requests to the nodes within a pool based on the load balancing method and persistence method you choose when you create the pool or edit its properties. pool member A pool member is a server that is a member of a load balancing pool. port A port can be represented by a number that is associated with a specific service supported by a host. Refer to the Services and Port Index for a list of port numbers and corresponding services. ratio A ratio is a parameter that assigns a weight to a virtual server for load balancing purposes. redundant system configuration Redundant system configuration refers to a pair of units that are configured for fail-over. In a redundant system, there are two units, one running as the active unit and one running as the standby unit. If the active unit fails, the standby unit takes over and manages connection requests. self IP address Self IP addresses are the IP addresses owned by the BIG-IP system that you use to access the internal and external VLANs. service Service refers to services such as TCP, UDP, HTTP, and FTP.
Glossary - 3
Glossary
Setup utility The Setup utility walks you through the initial system configuration process. You can run the Setup utility from the Configuration utility start screen. standby unit A standby unit in a redundant system configuration is a unit that is always prepared to become the active unit if the active unit fails. synchronization group A synchronization group is a group of Global Traffic Manager systems that synchronize system configurations and zone files (if applicable). All synchronization group members receive broadcasts of metrics data from the big3d agents throughout the network. All synchronization group members also receive broadcasts of updated configuration settings from the Global Traffic Manager that has the latest configuration changes. virtual server Virtual servers are a specific combination of virtual address and virtual port, associated with a content site that is managed by an Link Controller or other type of host server. VLAN VLAN stands for virtual local area network. A VLAN is a logical grouping of network devices. You can use a VLAN to logically group devices that are on different network segments. wide IP A wide IP is a collection of one or more fully-qualified domain names that maps to one or more pools of virtual servers that host the content of the domains, and that are managed either by BIG-IP systems, or by host servers. The Global Traffic Manager load balances name resolution requests across the virtual servers that are defined in the wide IP that is associated with the requested domain name. wildcard virtual server A wildcard virtual server is a virtual server that uses an IP address of 0.0.0.0, * or "any". A wildcard virtual server accepts connection requests for destinations outside of the local network. Wildcard virtual servers are included only in Transparent Node Mode configurations. See also default wildcard virtual server. zone In DNS terms, a zone is a subset of DNS records for one or more domains.
Glossary - 4
Glossary
zone file In DNS terms, a zone file is a database set of domains with one or many domain names, designated mail servers, a list of other nameservers that can answer resolution requests, and a set of zone attributes, which are contained in an SOA record.
Glossary - 5
Glossary
Glossary - 6
Index
Index
A
active unit 5-1
I
inbound traffic option 4-1 incremental segments 3-1, 3-4 initial system setup 2-3 Internet, and physical connections 2-10 Introducing the Link Controller 2-1 IP address assigning for redundant systems 5-9 See also floating IP addresses. See also self IP addresses. See also wide IP.
B
bandwidth load balancing adding wide IPs 4-7 and inbound traffic 4-1 and outbound traffic 4-1 and total traffic 4-1 and virtual servers 4-5 configuring 4-2 basic Link Controller configuration about 2-1
L
LCD panel about menus 2-2 about X button 2-2 using to set default route 2-2 using to set management interface IP address 2-2 licensing the Link Controller 2-3 Link Controller and cost-based load balancing 3-1 and redundant systems 5-1 introducing 2-1 provisioning 2-6 Link Controller and licensing 2-3 links and bandwidth load balancing 4-3 and cost-based load balancing 3-4 and virtual servers 3-5 and wildcard virtual servers 3-6 configuring 3-4, 4-3 creating primary 3-3, 4-2 creating secondary 3-3, 4-2 defining configuration properties 5-13 listeners and redundant systems 5-11 creating 2-12 load balancing adding wide IPs 3-7 using cost-based parameters 3-1 load balancing pool, creating 2-13
C
configuration synchronization operation 5-3 Configuration utility, accessing 2-4 cost-based load balancing adding wide IPs 3-7 and incremental segments 3-1 and prepaid segments 3-1 and weighting 3-1 configuring 3-3 defined 3-1 example 3-2
D
default gateway pool and bandwidth load balancing 4-4, 4-5 and cost-based load balancing 3-5 creating 2-9 See also gateway pool. default gateway route 5-10 default route configuring for the default gateway 2-9 setting using the LCD panel 2-2 setting using tmsh 2-2
F
failover IP addresses 5-9 floating IP addresses 5-7
M
management interface IP address setting using the LCD panel 2-2 setting using tmsh 2-2 menus on LCD panel 2-2
G
gateway pool and bandwidth-based load balancing 4-4 and cost-based load balancing 3-5 defining 5-10 See also default gateway pool. gateway route 5-10
N
NTP server 5-10
H
host name, configuring for Link Controller system 2-6 BIG-IP Link ControllerTM: Implementations
O
outbound traffic option 4-1
Index - 3
Index
P
pool, creating load balancing 2-13 prepaid segments 3-1 primary links 3-3 provisioning software modules 2-6
W
weighting 3-1 wide IP adding 3-7, 4-7 and inbound load balancing 3-7 creating 2-15 wildcard virtual server, creating 2-15
R
redundant systems adding links 5-13 and Link Controllers 5-1 configuring for Link Controllers 5-4 synchronizing 5-12
X
X button on LCD panel 2-2
Z
zones, synchronizing 5-12
S
secondary links 3-3 self IP addresses, and Link Controller redundant systems 5-6 settings, for redundant systems 5-4 Setup utility preventing from starting 2-5 running 2-4 standby unit 5-1 synchronization, and redundant systems 5-12 system settings, redundant 5-4 system setup, performing initial 2-3
T
total traffic option 4-1 traffic, assigning thresholds 4-1
U
user accounts, configuring for Link Controller system 2-6
V
virtual servers adding 3-6, 4-5 configuring 3-6 creating 2-14 creating wildcard 2-15 defining 4-5 using wildcard 3-6 VLANs and floating IP addresses 5-7 creating 2-7 creating for redundant systems 2-7, 5-4
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