Appliance Administration

Manual
Version 8.12.1 Revision 1.0.0
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
About this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
About the Appliance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Latest Version Release Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Appliance Configuration Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Appliance Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Security Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Passwords. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The "root" Linux account. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The "loadbalancer" WebUI account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Ports Used by the Appliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Additional Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Deployment Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Quick Start & Configuration Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Contacting Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Chapter 2 - Load Balancing Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Load Balancing - the Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Supported Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Layer 4 & Layer 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
What are VIPs and RIPs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
What is a Floating IP Address? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Load Balancing Algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Round Robin / Weighted Round Robin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Least Connection / Weighted Least Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Destination Hashing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Real Server Agent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Layer 4 vs Layer 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Persistence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Real Server Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Other Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Does Your Application Cluster Correctly Handle its own State? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Replication Solutions for Shared Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Solutions for Session Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
What if Your Application is not Stateless?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Default Persistence Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
What are Your Objectives? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Loadbalancer.org Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 3 - Topologies & Load Balancing Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
One-Arm and Two-Arm Topologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Supported Load Balancing Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Layer 4 DR Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Layer 4 NAT Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Layer 4 SNAT Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Layer 7 SNAT Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Which Load Balancing Method Should I Use? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
 Mode Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Our Recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Chapter 4 - Appliance Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Hardware Appliance Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Virtual Appliance Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Supported Hypervisors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Host Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Virtual Hardware Resource Allocations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Download & Extract the Appliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Hypervisor Deployment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
VMware Host Client. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
VMware vSphere Client. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
VMware Workstation Player. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
VMware Tools / Open VM Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Microsoft Hyper-V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Linux Integration Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
KVM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Nutanix AHV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
XEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Cloud Appliance Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Configuring Initial Network Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Appliance Access & Configuration Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Accessing the Appliance WebUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Main Menu Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
"Root" User Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Keyboard Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Chapter 5 - Appliance Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Installing the License Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Appliance Software Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Determining the Current Software Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Creating a Backup / Checkpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Online Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Auto-Check for Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Configuring Online Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Manual Check for Updates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Offline Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Updating a Clustered Pair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Network Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Physical/Virtual Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Configuring IP Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Configuring Bonding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Configuring VLANs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Interface Offloading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Configuring MTU Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Configuring Default Gateway & Static Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Management Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Configuration Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Policy Based Routing (PBR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Configuring Hostname & DNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Service Socket Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Appliance Security Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
 Security Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Users & Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Linux root Account. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
WebUI User Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
External Authentication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Adding Additional Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Firewall Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Firewall Lock-down Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Conntrack Table Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Appliance Security Lockdown Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
SSH Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
System Date & Time Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Auto Configuration using NTP Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Manual Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Appliance Internet Access via Proxy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
SMTP Relay Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Syslog Server Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
SNMP Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Running OS Level Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Portal Management & Appliance Adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Restarting & Reloading Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Appliance Restart & Shutdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Restoring Manufacturer’s Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Using the WebUI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Using the Console / SSH Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Chapter 6 - Configuring Load Balanced Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Layer 4 Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
The Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Creating Layer 4 Virtual Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Configuring a New Layer 4 VIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Duplicating an Existing Layer 4 VIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Modifying a Layer 4 VIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Creating Layer 4 Real Servers (RIPs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
DR Mode Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
The ARP Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Detecting the ARP Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Solving the ARP Problem for Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Solving the ARP Problem for Solaris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Solving the ARP Problem for Mac OS X/BSD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Solving the ARP Problem for Windows Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Solving the ARP Problem - Possible Side Effect for Windows 2012 & Later . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Other Windows Settings that May Cause Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Configuring Your Application to Respond to Both the RIP and VIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Windows Firewall Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
NAT Mode Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
NAT Mode Potential Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
One-Arm (Single Subnet) NAT Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Firewall Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Firewall Marks - Auto Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Firewall Marks - Manual Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
 Layer 4 - Advanced Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Layer 7 Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
The Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Creating Layer 7 Virtual Services (Using the Wizard) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Creating Layer 7 Virtual Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Configuring a New Layer 7 VIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Duplicating an Existing Layer 7 VIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Modifying a Layer 7 VIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
ACLs (Access Control Lists) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Modifying HTTP Header Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
HTTP Header Field Modification Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Creating Layer 7 Real Servers (RIPs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Layer 7 - Custom Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Configuring Manually Defined Virtual Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Transparency at Layer 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Enabling Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Inserting Headers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Using TProxy to modify the Source IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Configuration Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Layer 7 - Advanced Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
HAProxy Status Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Floating IPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
SSL Termination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
SSL Termination on the Real Servers (SSL Passthrough) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
SSL Termination on the Load Balancer (SSL Offloading). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Using STunnel or Pound to Terminate SSL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Using HAProxy to Terminate SSL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Let’s Encrypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Creating a SSL Termination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Server Name Indication (SNI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
SSL Termination on the Load Balancer with Re-encryption (SSL Bridging) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Using STunnel or Pound to Terminate SSL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Using HAProxy to Terminate SSL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Enabling SSL Re-Encryption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
SSL - Advanced Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Pound Global Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
STunnel Global Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Mutual Transport Layer Security (mTLS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Configuring mTLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Upload the CA Certificate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Front-end mTLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Back-end mTLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Certificate Revocation List (CRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
HTTP to HTTPS Redirection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
When Terminating SSL on the Real Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
When Terminating SSL on the Load Balancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Using STunnel or Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Using HAProxy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Server Feedback Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
 Windows Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Installing the Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Controlling the Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Linux/Unix Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Installation & Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
HTTP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Configuring VIPs To Use The Agent or HTTP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Key Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Key features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
GSLB Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
GSLB Service IP Address & Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
External Health Check Scripts (GSLB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
GSLB Advanced Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
GSLB Multi-site Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Conceptual Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Appliance Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
DNS Server Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
GSLB Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Configuring the Appliance via CLI, API & Direct Service Calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Command Line Interface (CLI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
LBCLI Command Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Running lbcli from a remote Linux Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Running lbcli from a remote Windows Host. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Application Programming Interface (API) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Enabling the API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
API Endpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Creating the JSON Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
JSON Syntax Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Sending API Requests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Using ipvsadm to configure Layer 4 Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Using Linux socket commands to configure Layer 7 Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Chapter 7 - Web Application Firewall (WAF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Implementation Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Creating a New WAF Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Step 1 - Create the Layer 7 VIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Step 2 - Define the Associated Real Servers (RIPs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Step 3 - Define the WAF Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Step 4 - Reload Services to Apply the New Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Step 5 - View Configured Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Fail Open and Fail Closed Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Configuring a WAF Gateway for Fail Open Operation (Default) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Configuring a WAF Gateway for Fail Closed Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
WAF Gateway Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Disable Web Application Firewall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Ruleset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Paranoia Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Rule Engine Traffic Blocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Process Request Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Process Response Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
 Inbound Anomaly Score . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Outbound Anomaly Score . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Audit Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
WAF Proxy Timeout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Enable Cache Acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Double Login Enable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
WAF - Advanced Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
PCRE Match Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
PCRE Match Limit Recursion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Working With the Core Rule Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
What is the Core Rule Set?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Core Rule Set Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Anomaly Scoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Overview of Anomaly Scoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
How Anomaly Scoring Mode Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Summary of Anomaly Scoring Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Anomaly Score Thresholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Severity Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Paranoia Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Introduction to Paranoia Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Description of the Four Paranoia Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Choosing an Appropriate Paranoia Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Setting the Paranoia Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
How Paranoia Levels Relate to Anomaly Scoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
False Positives and Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
What are False Positives? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Example False Positive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Why are False Positives a Problem? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Tuning Away False Positives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Directly Modifying CRS Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Rule Exclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Adding Custom WAF Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Per-Transaction Resource Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Default Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Example 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Example 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Handling Large HTTP Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Large File Uploads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Requests Containing Large Amounts of Non-File Upload Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Requests with Massive Header Fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
WAF Gateway Error Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Logging Mechanism Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Viewing the Error Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Default View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Simple View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Breakdown View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Fixes View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Breakdown of a Log Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Chapter 8 - Real Server Health Monitoring & Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Configuring Health Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Health Checks for Layer 4 Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
 Health Checks for Layer 7 Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
External Health Check Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Default Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Adding Additional Health Check Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Using Script Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Uploading External Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Testing External Health Check Scripts at the Command Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Simulating Health Check Failures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Disabling Health Checks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Fallback Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Local Fallback Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Using a Separate Dedicated Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Using a Layer 7 VIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Configuring A Real Server as the Fallback Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Configuring Primary / Secondary Real Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Configuring Email Alerts for Virtual Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Layer 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Global Layer 4 Email Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
VIP Level Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Configuring a Smart Host (SMTP relay) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Layer 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Real Server Monitoring & Control using the System Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Real Server Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Real Server Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Ordering of VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Sort by Column. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Drag & Drop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Real Server Monitoring & Control using the HAProxy Statistics Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Real Server Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Real Server Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Chapter 9 - Appliance Clustering for HA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Clustered Pair Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Primary/Secondary Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Pair Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Heartbeat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Primary Secondary Replication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Settings that are NOT Replicated to the Secondary Appliance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Manually Forcing Appliance Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
To Create an HA Pair (Add a Secondary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
To Break an HA Pair (Remove a Secondary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Promoting a Secondary to Primary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Configuring Heartbeat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Communication Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Peer Failure Detection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Routing Failure Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Email Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Fail-back Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Configuring a Smart Host (SMTP relay) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Connection State & Persistence Table Replication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Layer 4 VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
 Layer 7 VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Clustered Pair Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Heartbeat State Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Split Brain Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Forcing Primary/Secondary Failover & Failback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Testing & Verifying Primary/Secondary Replication & Failover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Heartbeat Log. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Late Heartbeats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Chapter 10 - Configuration Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Initial Network Settings & WebUI Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Example 1 - One-Arm DR Mode (Single Appliance) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Configuration Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Verify Network Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Configure the Virtual Service (VIP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Configure the Real Servers (RIPs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Configure the Real Backend Servers for DR Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Basic Testing & Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Example 2 - Two-Arm NAT Mode (Clustered Pair) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Configuration Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Configure the Primary’s Network Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Configure the Secondary’s Network Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Configure the Virtual Service (VIP) using the Primary’s WebUI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Configure the Real Servers (RIPs) using the Primary’s WebUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Create the HA Clustered Pair using the Primary’s WebUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Configure the Real Backend Servers for NAT Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Basic Testing & Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Example 3 - One-Arm SNAT Mode & SSL Termination (Single Appliance) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Configuration Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Verify Network Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Configure the Virtual Service (VIP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Configure the Real Servers (RIPs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Configure SSL Termination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Basic Testing & Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Example 4 - Load Balancing FTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Layer 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Layer 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Active Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Passive Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Chapter 11 - Diagnostics & Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
The Appliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Resource Utilization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Administration Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Apache Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Apache Access Log. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Apache Error Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Layer 4 & Layer 7 Virtual Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Checking Service State using the System Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
VIP(s) Fail to appear in the System Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
VIPs & RIPs are Green but Users Can’t Connect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
 Layer 7 VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Layer 4 VIPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Diagnosing Real Server Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Requests are Not being Load Balanced as Expected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Log File - Layer 4 Virtual Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Interpreting the log file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Log File - layer 7 Virtual Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Interpreting the log file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
SSL Termination (Pound) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
SSL Termination (STunnel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
WAF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Heartbeat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Shuttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Chapter 12 - Monitoring & Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
SNMP Reporting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
MIB Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
SNMP for Layer 4 Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Monitoring Layer 4 VIPs & RIPs using SNMP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
SNMP for Layer 7 Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Monitoring Layer 7 VIPs & RIPs using SNMP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
SNMPv3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Layer 4 Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Layer 4 Traffic Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Layer 4 traffic Counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Layer 4 Current Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Layer 4 Current Connections (Resolve Hostnames) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Layer 7 Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Layer 7 Stick Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
GSLB Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Resource Utilization Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Virtual Service & Real Server Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Graphing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Layer 7 (HAProxy) Prometheus Exporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Grafana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Chapter 13 - Useful Tools & Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Useful Diagnostics Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Netstat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Telnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Tcpdump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Ethtool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Nmap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Iptraf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Wireshark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Windows Specific Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Microsoft Network Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
WinSCP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
PuTTy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Chapter 14 - Backup & Restore and Disaster Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Backup & Restore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
 Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Restore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Restore System Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Checkpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Template Deployment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Disaster Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Being Prepared - Creating Backups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Firmware Recovery using a USB Memory Stick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Disaster Recovery After Node (Primary or Secondary) Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Chapter 15 - Technical Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
WebUI Support Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Contact Us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Technical Support Download . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Useful Links. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Remote Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Live Chat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Front & Rear Panel Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Enterprise Prime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Enterprise Flex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Enterprise Max . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
IPMI Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
IPMI Network Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Using the Setup Utility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
Using the IPMI Web Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Technical Support / More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
iDRAC Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
iDRAC Network Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Using System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Using the iDRAC Web Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Technical Support / More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Appliance IPv4 Address Format (CIDR notation). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Appliance Configuration Files & Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Chapter 1 - Introduction
About this Manual
This document covers all required administration information for v8.12.x Loadbalancer.org appliances.

About the Appliance

The core software is based on LBOS-7 which is a customized Linux build maintained by Loadbalancer.org, LVS,
Ldirectord, Linux-HA, HAProxy & STunnel. Full root access is provided which enables complete control of all
settings.

The appliance is available in the following formats: hardware, virtual (VMware, HyperV, KVM, Nutanix & XEN) and
cloud based (Amazon, Azure & GCP).

The appliance can be deployed as a single unit or as a clustered pair.

Loadbalancer.org always recommend that clustered pairs should be used where possible for
high availability and resilience, this avoids introducing a single point of failure to your network.
For more information on configuring an HA pair, please refer to Chapter 9 - Appliance Clustering
for HA.

Latest Version Release Notes

The latest version of the appliance (v8.12.1) includes the following new features & improvements, bug fixes and
security updates:

New Features & Improvements

None in this release.

Bug Fixes


LVS Agent for SNMP : Resolved issue which prevented the full LVS table from being accessed via SNMP.


MS SQL Health Check Template : The MS SQL check is now available in the health check scripts template
dropdown after running the install script.


Stick Tables in TSD : Corrected an issue where stick tables were omitted from Technical Support
Downloads.


RSyslog Configuration : Resolved issue which caused the contents of the “Remote syslog Server Template”
field to be written with improper escaping.


SAN Field in CSR Display : Fixed a display issue caused by particularly long SAN fields in the CSR output.


Balance Mode Persistence : Updated behavior to ensure that the first Balance Mode does not auto-select
persistence as "Stick" on Fallback.


System Overview Display : Resolved minor display issues affecting icons and labels in the System Overview.


PBR Local Routes Feature : Added the ability to select "local routes" for PBR in the WebUI.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 12

 
Restore and Peer Password Prompt : Resolved an issue where if the appliance is paired then the restore
process might block awaiting the entry of the peer’s password even in non-interactive situations.


Rsyslog Remote Protocol : Fixed an issue which caused the rsyslog remote protocol to be set improperly
sometimes.


Timezone Configuration : The selected timezone information is now available to processes other than the
WebUI at the OS level.


Static Routes Restoration : Resolved an issue where restoring did not properly restore static routes at the
OS level.


Gateway to Shuttle Certificate : Ensured proper passing of certificate data from gateway to the shuttle.


SSH Key Format : Corrected an issue where a single invalid SSH key would prevent peer communications
even if other valid SSH keys were present.


VMware Services Start-up : Addressed an issue where VMware services would attempt and fail to start on
physical appliances.


Health Check Scripts on Restore : Fixed an issue where health check scripts were not correctly written
during restore.


Crontab Entry for Updates : Corrected a malformed crontab entry which prevented the update check from
running.


Mod_Security Directory Ownership : Resolved wrong ownership issues for the mod_security directory.


Cookie Persistence Method : Addressed issues with the cookie persistence method.


HAProxy Configuration : Resolved an issue where using an * as a port range in a layer 7 virtual service
caused the reload SYN block to fail.


Layer 4 Health Checks : Corrected flip-flopping behavior observed with Layer 4 health checks when multiple
instances of the same real server are checked under certain configurations.


Upgrade System Issues : Addressed various issues related to the upgrade system.


Shuttle Service Update : Made it so that the Shuttle service is more robust when recovering from network
issues.


Fallback Server Label : Layer 7 fallback servers are now always named “backup” to maintain compatibility
with existing customer ACLs.


Proxy Settings on Upgrade : Resolved an issue where proxy settings were removed when installing a release
or restoring a configuration.


SSH Communication After Restore : Fixed a bug where SSH communication broke after restoring from a
checkpoint.


SSH Keys on Appliance Update : Ensured suitable SSH keys are present on appliances updated from older
versions.

Security Updates

None in this release.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 13

Appliance Configuration Overview
Initial network configuration is carried out at the console using the Network Setup Wizard. Once the wizard has
been run, load balanced services can be configured using the WebUI - either using the Setup Wizard which can be
used to configure layer 7 Virtual Services (VIPs) and the associated Real Servers (RIPs) or by manually
configuring the required services.

By default, the WebUI is accessible on HTTPS port 9443, this can be changed if required. For more information,
please refer to the "Appliance Security" section below.

We always recommend that where possible two appliances are deployed as a clustered pair for high availability
and resilience, this avoids introducing a single point of failure to your network.

We recommend that the Primary appliance is fully configured first, then the Secondary appliance can be added to
create an HA pair. Once the HA pair is configured, load balanced services must be configured and modified on the
Primary appliance. The Secondary appliance will be automatically kept in sync. For more information on
configuring an HA pair, please refer to Chapter 9 - Appliance Clustering for HA.

For Enterprise Azure, the HA pair should be configured first. In Azure, when creating a VIP using
an HA pair, two private IPs must be specified – the first for the VIP when it’s active on the
Primary and the other for the VIP when it’s active on the Secondary. Configuring the HA pair first,
enables both IPs to be specified when the VIP is created.

Appliance Security
For full details of each security mode and all other security related features, please refer to
Appliance Security Features.

Security Mode
To control how the appliance is accessed and which features are enabled, 3 security modes are provided:


Custom - In this mode the security options can be configured to suit your requirements


Secure - (Default) - In this mode:


"root" user console access & SSH password access are disabled


WebUI connections are forced to use HTTPS


Access to the Local Configuration > Execute shell command menu option is disabled


The Firewall Script & the Firewall Lockdown Wizard Script cannot be edited


Secure - Permanent - This mode is the same as Secure but once set it cannot be changed

Setting the security mode to Secure - Permanent is irreversible.

To configure the Security Mode:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 14

 1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Security.

2. Select the required Appliance Security Mode.

3. Click Update.

Passwords
The password for the "root" user Linux account and the "loadbalancer" WebUI user account are set during the
Network Setup Wizard.

The passwords for the cloud products are either set to a default value or are configured during
instance deployment. Also, for Enterprise AWS and Enterprise Azure it’s not possible to directly
log in as "root". For more details, please refer to the relevant Quick Start Configuration Guide.

The "root" Linux account

As explained in Security Mode above, "root" user console & SSH password access are disabled by default. Once
enabled, the "root" user password can be changed at the console or via an SSH session using the following
command:

# passwd

The "loadbalancer" WebUI account

This can be changed using the WebUI menu option: Maintenance > Passwords.

Ports Used by the Appliance

By default, the appliance uses the following TCP & UDP ports:

Protocol Port Purpose

TCP 22 * SSH

TCP & UDP 53 * DNS / GSLB

TCP & UDP 123 NTP

TCP & UDP 161 * SNMP

UDP 6694 Heartbeat between Primary & Secondary appliances in HA mode

TCP 7778 HAProxy persistence table replication

TCP 9000 * Gateway service (Centralized/Portal Management)

TCP 9080 * WebUI - HTTP (disabled by default)

TCP 9081 * Nginx fallback page

TCP 9443 * WebUI - HTTPS

TCP 25565 * Shuttle service (Centralized/Portal Management)

The ports used for SSH, GSLB, SNMP, the WebUI, the fallback page, the gateway service and the

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 15

 shuttle service can be changed if required. For more information, please refer to Service Socket
Addresses.

Additional Information
Deployment Guides
Comprehensive deployment guides are available that focus on load balancing specific applications. They cover
the configuration of the load balancer and also any application specific configuration changes that are required to
enable load balancing. All guides are available on our website at the following URL:
https://www.loadbalancer.org/support/deployment-guides/.

Quick Start & Configuration Guides

The following related documentation may also be useful:


Quick Start Guide - Hardware & Virtual


Quick Start Configuration Guide - Amazon AWS


Quick Start Configuration Guide - Microsoft Azure


Quick Start Configuration Guide - Google Cloud Platform

Contacting Support
If you have any questions regarding the appliance or need assistance with load balancing your application, please
don’t hesitate to contact support@loadbalancer.org.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 16

Chapter 2 - Load Balancing Concepts
Load Balancing - the Basics
Loadbalancer.org appliances enable two or more servers to be combined into a cluster. This enables inbound
requests to be distributed across multiple servers which provides improved performance, reliability and resilience.
Appliances can also be deployed as a clustered pair (our recommended solution) which creates a highly-available
configuration.

Supported Protocols
Loadbalancer.org appliances are able to load balancer virtually any TCP or UDP based protocol including HTTP,
HTTPS, FTP, SMTP, RDP, SIP, IMAP, POP, DNS etc. etc.

Layer 4 & Layer 7

Load balancing at layer 4 and layer 7 is supported. LVS (Linux Virtual Server) is utilized at layer 4 whilst HAProxy is
used at layer 7.

What are VIPs and RIPs?

Load balancer vendors typically use the term Virtual IP address (VIP) to describe the address that the load
balanced cluster is accessed from. It’s important to understand that "VIP" refers to both the physical IP address
and also to the logical load balancer configuration. Likewise, "RIP" refers to both the Real Server’s physical IP
address and its representation in the logical load balancer configuration.

It’s not possible to configure a VIP on the same IP address as any of the network interfaces.
This ensures that services are able to "float" (move) between Primary and Secondary appliances
when using an HA clustered pair.

What is a Floating IP Address?

A floating IP address is automatically created whenever a VIP is configured. The floating IP address is the same
as the VIP address. Since the floating IP must be able to move between the Primary and Secondary appliance, it’s
not possible to configure a VIP on the same IP address as an interface as mentioned in the note above. Floating
IPs can also be manually configured to provide a "floating default gateway" for configurations that require the
load balancer to be the default gateway such as layer 4 NAT mode. This allows the default gateway for the Real
Servers to be brought up on the Secondary appliance should the Primary fail.

Load Balancing Algorithms

The Loadbalancer.org appliance supports several different load balancing algorithms. Each has its own
advantages and disadvantages and it depends on the specific application which is the most appropriate to use.
Usually the default method Weighted Least Connection is a good solution which works well in most situations.
The following sections summarize each method supported.

Round Robin / Weighted Round Robin

With this method, incoming requests are distributed to Real Servers in a sequential manner relative to each Real
Server’s weight. Servers with a higher weight receive more requests. A server with a weight of 200 will receive 4

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 17

times the number of requests than a server with a weight of 50. Weightings are relative, so it makes no difference
if Real Server #1 and #2 have weightings of 50 and 100 respectively or 5 and 10.

Least Connection / Weighted Least Connection

With this method, incoming requests are distributed to Real Servers with the fewest connections relative to each
Real Server’s weight. Servers with a higher weight receive more requests. A server with a weight of 200 will
receive 4 times the number of requests than a server with a weight of 50. Again, weightings are relative, so it
makes no difference if Real Server #1 and #2 have weightings of 50 and 100 respectively or 5 and 10. This is the
default method for new VIPs.

Destination Hashing
With the method, requests are distributed to Real Servers by looking up the destination IP in a static hash table.
This algorithm is designed for use with web proxies and is supported with layer 4 DR mode Virtual Services only.
For more information on this method, please refer to Modifying a Layer 4 VIP.

Real Server Agent

To compliment the methods above, Loadbalancer.org appliances also support Real Server (i.e backend server)
agents. This permits the load balancing algorithm to be dynamically modified based on each Real Server’s
running characteristics. For example, one Real Server could have a run-away process that is consuming
excessive CPU resources or RAM. Without the agent, the load balancer has no way of knowing this and would
continue to send requests to the overloaded server based on the algorithm selected. With the agent installed on
the Real Server, feedback is provided to the load balancer and the algorithm is then adjusted to reduce requests
that are sent to that server. For more information, please refer to Server Feedback Agent.

Layer 4 vs Layer 7
A fundamental choice when setting up the load balancer is whether to configure the services at layer 4 or layer 7.

The Basics
At layer 4 the primary protocols used are TCP and UDP. These protocols are not aware of upper level protocols
such as FTP, HTTP, HTTPS, DNS, RDP etc. Therefore the load balancer can only make load balancing decisions
based on details available at layers 4 and below such as port numbers and IP addresses. At layer 7, the load
balancer has more information to make load balancing related decisions since more information about upper
level protocols is available.

Layer 7 load balancing uses a proxy at the application layer (HAProxy). Requests are terminated on the load
balancer, and the proxy generates a new request which is passed to the chosen Real Server.

Performance
Due to the increased amount of information at layer 7 and the fact that a proxy is in use, performance is not as
fast as at layer 4. If raw throughput is a primary concern, then layer 4 is probably the better choice.

Persistence
Persistence (aka affinity or sticky connections) is the ability to ensure that a specific client connects back to the
same server within a specific time limit. It is normally required when the session state is stored locally on the Real

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 18

Server rather than in a separate database. At layer 4, Source IP persistence is the only option. At layer 7, additional
methods are available such as HTTP cookie persistence where the load balancer sets a cookie to identify the
session and Microsoft Connection Broker where the load balancer is able to utilize the redirection token for
reconnecting users to existing sessions.

Real Server Changes

For layer 4 DR mode, the "ARP Problem" must be solved - for more information, please refer to DR Mode
Considerations . For layer 4 NAT mode, the default gateway on each Real Server must be the load balancer. For
layer 4 SNAT mode and layer 7 SNAT mode the Real Servers do not need to be changed in any way.

Transparency
Transparency refers to the ability to see the originating IP address of the client. For layer 4 DR mode and NAT
mode, connections are transparent. For layer 4 SNAT mode and layer 7 SNAT mode, the IP address of the load
balancer is recorded as the source address (for Layer 7 SNAT mode, this can also be set to a user configured
address). For layer 7 SNAT mode, additional configuration steps can be taken to force the client IP to be logged.
Options include using TProxy to re-write the source address or by enabling support for X-Forwarded-For or Proxy
Protocol headers. For more information, please refer to Transparency at Layer 7.

Other Considerations
Does Your Application Cluster Correctly Handle its own State?
Load balancers work most effectively if the application servers are completely stateless. This means that if an
application server (i.e. Real Server) fails and is automatically taken out of the cluster, then all current user
sessions will be transferred to other servers in the cluster without users needing to re-authenticate to the
application.

Web based applications are inherently stateless and are an ideal candidate for load balancing. However, do your
web servers store files and other information on local drives?


Images (jpeg, png, gif etc.)


Files (html, php, asp etc.)

If so, these files need to be on shared storage or they need to be replicated to all nodes in the cluster.

Replication Solutions for Shared Data

On Linux systems you can use the Rsync command to replicate files. On Windows systems Rsync can also be
used, although the Robocopy command may be preferred. Typically, you’ll upload content to one primary server
and then replicate this to the other servers in the cluster.

Solutions for Session Data

Standard ASP and PHP session data is stored locally by default, leaving your session data in a local store will
prevent you from implementing seamless application server fail-over in your cluster. If an application server fails,
all of the local session data will be lost and your users will need to re-authenticate and possibly lose shopping
baskets etc.

This problem can be resolved by implementing a shared persistent data store for the cluster. This is usually

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 19

achieved using a shared backend database.

What if Your Application is not Stateless?

Some protocols require state to be maintained such as:


SSH


FTP


SMTP

You may also find that you are unable to modify your HTTP/HTTPS based application to handle shared session
data.

For these cases you can use persistence. You lose the ability to have transparent fail-over, but you benefit from
increased capacity and manageability.

Default Persistence Options

For layer 4, source IP address persistence can be used and is enabled by default for all new Virtual Services.

For layer 7, the following persistence options are supported:


Source IP Address


HTTP Cookie (the default for new Virtual Services)


Application Cookie


SSL Session ID


MS Session Broker


RDP Client Cookie


HTTP Cookie with Fallback to Source IP


X-Forwarded-For with Fallback to Source IP


Stick On Fallback


Last Successful

SSL session ID based persistence is useful in certain circumstances, although due to the way
some browsers operate - notably older versions of Internet Explorer, the session ID can be
renegotiated frequently (every few seconds) which breaks the persistence.

For details of all standard layer 7 persistence options, please refer to Modifying a Layer 7 VIP.
It’s also possible to configure other custom persistence types if required using the custom
configuration option available for layer 7 Virtual Services. For more information, please refer to
Layer 7 - Custom Configurations.

What are Your Objectives?

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 20

It’s important to have a clear focus on your objectives and the required outcome for the successful
implementation of your load balancing solution. Are you looking for increased performance, reliability, ease of
maintenance or all three?

Performance A load balancer can increase performance by allowing you to utilize several commodity
servers to handle the workload of one application.

Availability Running an application on one server gives you a single point of failure. Utilizing a load
balancer to present multiple servers improves application availability but moves the point
of failure to the load balancer. We always advise that you deploy load balancers as
clustered pairs to remove this single point of failure. For more information, please refer to
Chapter 9 - Appliance Clustering for HA).

Maintenance Using the appliance, you can easily bring servers on and off line to perform maintenance
tasks, without disrupting users.

In order to achieve all three objectives, your application must handle persistence correctly. For
more information, please refer to Does Your Application Cluster Correctly Handle its own State?.

Loadbalancer.org Terminology
Load Balancer An IP based traffic manager for server clusters.

Primary The normally active appliance in a HA clustered pair of load balancers.

Secondary The normally passive appliance in a HA clustered pair of load balancers.

Virtual Service The main building block used to configure load balanced services. It defines the IP
address clients connect to, which Real Servers are load balanced and other settings such
as health check options, persistence options and timeout settings.

Real Server The actual backend server being load balanced. Multiple Real Servers are associated with
a Virtual Service.

VIP Virtual IP address - the IP address of the load balanced cluster of RIPs, the address
presented to connecting clients. Also refers to the logical load balancer configuration and
is used as an acronym for Virtual Service.

RIP The Real IP address - the IP address of a backend server in the cluster. Also refers to the
logical load balancer configuration and is used as an acronym for Real Server.

Floating IP The Floating IP Address is automatically created whenever a Virtual Service is configured,
the floating IP address is the same as the VIP address. It enables services to be moved
between the Primary and Secondary appliance.

WebUI / WUI Web User Interface. Used to configure and manage the appliance.

Layer 4 Part of the seven layer OSI model. Also a descriptive term for load balancing methods
that routes packets based on TCP/IP header information.

Layer 7 Part of the seven layer OSI model. Also a descriptive term for a proxy based load
balancing method that distributes packets based on the entire TCP/IP header and also
the payload information at the application layer.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 21

DR Mode Direct Routing (aka DSR/Direct Server Return) is a standard layer 4 load balancing
technique that distributes packets by altering only the destination MAC address of the
packet.

NAT Mode Network Address Translation is a standard layer 4 load balancing technique that changes
the destination of packets to and from the VIP (external subnet to internal cluster subnet).

Layer 4 SNAT Mode Source Network Address Translation - similar to NAT mode but also modifies the source
address of all outgoing traffic to be the load balancer.

Layer 7 SNAT Mode Source Network Address Translation - the load balancer acts as a proxy for all incoming &
outgoing traffic.

SSL Termination The SSL certificate is installed on the load balancer in order to decrypt HTTPS traffic on
behalf of the cluster.

MASQUERADE Descriptive term for standard firewall technique where internal servers are represented as
an external public IP address. Sometimes referred to as a combination of SNAT & DNAT
rules.

One-Arm The load balancer has one physical network card connected to one subnet.

Two-Arm The load balancer has two interfaces connected to two subnets - this can be achieved by
using two network adapters, or by creating VLANs on a single adapter.

GW The Default Gateway for a backend server in the cluster.

Eth0 The first Ethernet interface. Also known as Gb0 on the Enterprise Flex and Max. Usually
used as the internal interface in a two-arm deployment, although this is optional.

Eth0 The second Ethernet interface. Also known as Gb1 on the Enterprise Flex and Max.
Usually used as the external interface in a two-arm deployment, although this is optional.

Eth2 The third Ethernet interface.

Eth3 The fourth Ethernet interface.

Eth4 The Fifth Ethernet interface (Enterprise Max only, also depends on choice of adapter
cards).

Eth5 The Sixth Ethernet interface (Enterprise Max only, also depends on choice of adapter
cards).

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 22

Chapter 3 - Topologies & Load Balancing Methods
One-Arm and Two-Arm Topologies
The number of "arms" is a descriptive term for how many interfaces are used to connect a device to a network.
It’s common for a load balancer that uses a routing method (NAT) to have a two-arm configuration although one-
arm is also supported. Proxy based load balancers (SNAT) commonly use a one-arm configuration although two-
arm is also supported.

One-Arm

The VIP and the load balanced servers are located in a single subnet. The load balancer requires a single network
interface adapter - eth0 in the diagram below.

Two-Arm

Here, 2 subnets are used. The VIP is located in one subnet and the load balanced Real Servers are located in the
other. The load balancer requires 2 interfaces, one in each subnet as shown in the diagram below.

This can be achieved by using two network adapters, or by creating VLANs on a single adapter.

Typically eth0 is used as the internal interface and eth1 is used as the external interface. This is
not a requirement - each interface can be used for any purpose.

Supported Load Balancing Methods

The Loadbalancer.org appliance supports multiple load balancing methods/modes. These can be used at the
same time or in combination with each other and are described in the table below.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 23

Layer Method/Mode Comments Topology Note

Layer 4 DR Mode Ultra-fast layer 4 load balancing One-Arm (*) 1

(Direct Routing)

Requires the "ARP problem" to be solved on
each Real Server - for more information, please
refer to DR Mode Considerations

Layer 4 NAT Mode Fast Layer 4 load balancing One-Arm or 1

(Network Address Two-Arm
Translation) 
The appliance must be the default gateway for
the Real Servers

Layer 4 TUN Mode Similar to DR mode but works across IP One-Arm 2

encapsulated tunnels

Layer 4 SNAT Mode Fast layer 4 load balancing One-Arm or 3

(Source Network Two-Arm
Address Translation) 
Supports both TCP & UDP


Very simple to implement


Requires no Real Server configuration changes

Layer 7 SNAT Mode Allows greater flexibility including full SNAT and One-Arm or 4
(Source Network remote server load balancing, also supports Two-Arm
Address Translation advanced functionality such as multiple persistence
using HAProxy) methods, header manipulation and URL rewriting


Very simple to implement


Requires no Real Server configuration changes


Not as fast as Layer 4 methods

Layer 7 SSL Termination Typically required to allow cookie persistence, header One-Arm or 5
(STunnel, Pound & manipulation and URL rewriting in HTTPS streams Two-Arm
HAProxy)

SSL termination is processor intensive

(*) DR mode can also be used in a multi-homed configuration where Real Servers are located in different subnets.
In this case, the load balancer must have an interface in the same subnet to enable layer 2 connectivity which is
required for DR mode to operate.

Notes

1. Recommended for high performance fully transparent and scalable solutions.

2. Only required for DR mode implementations across routed networks (rarely used).

3. Useful when you want to load balance both TCP and UDP but you’re unable to use DR mode or NAT mode
due to network topology or Real Server related reasons.

4. Used for multiple Microsoft applications such as Exchange, SharePoint, ADFS and RDS.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 24

 5. Where possible, for a scalable solution, terminating SSL on the Real Servers is recommended.

Layer 4 DR Mode
Layer 4 DR (Direct Routing) mode is a very high performance solution that requires little change to your existing
infrastructure. The image below shows an example network diagram for this mode.

Kemp, Brocade, Barracuda & A10 Networks call this Direct Server Return and F5 call it nPath.


DR mode works by changing the destination MAC address of the incoming packet to match the selected
Real Server on the fly which is very fast.


When the packet reaches the Real Server it expects the Real Server to own the Virtual Services IP address
(VIP). This means that each Real Server (and the load balanced application) must respond to both the Real
Server’s own IP address and the VIP.


The Real Server should not respond to ARP requests for the VIP. Only the load balancer should do this.
Configuring the Real Server in this way is referred to as "Solving the ARP Problem". For more information
please refer to DR Mode Considerations.


On average, DR mode is 8 times quicker than NAT mode for HTTP and much faster for other applications
such as Remote Desktop Services, streaming media and FTP.


The load balancer must have an interface in the same subnet as the Real Servers to ensure layer 2
connectivity which is required for DR mode to operate.


The VIP can be brought up on the same subnet as the Real Servers or on a different subnet provided that the
load balancer has an interface in that subnet.


Port translation is not possible with DR mode, e.g. VIP:80 → RIP:8080 is not supported.


DR mode is transparent, i.e. the Real Server will see the source IP address of the client.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 25

Layer 4 NAT Mode
Layer 4 NAT mode is a high performance solution, although not as fast as layer 4 DR mode. This is because real
server responses must flow back to the client via the load balancer rather than directly as with DR mode. The
image below shows an example network diagram for this mode.


The load balancer translates all requests from the Virtual Service to the Real Servers.


NAT mode can be deployed in the following ways:


Two-arm (using 2 Interfaces) (as shown above) - Here, 2 subnets are used. The VIP is located in one
subnet and the load balanced Real Servers are located in the other. The load balancer requires 2
interfaces, one in each subnet.

This can be achieved by using two network adapters, or by creating VLANs on a

single adapter.


Normally eth0 is used for the internal network and eth1 is used for the external network although
this is optional. Any interface can be used for any purpose.


If the Real Servers require Internet access, Auto-NAT should be enabled using the WebUI menu
option: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Advanced Configuration, the external interface should be
selected.


The default gateway on the Real Servers must be set to be an IP address on the load balancer.

For an HA clustered pair, a floating IP should be added to the load balancer and
used as the Real Server’s default gateway. This ensures that the IP address can
"float" (move) between Primary and Secondary appliances.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 26

 
Clients can be located in the same subnet as the VIP or any remote subnet provided they can
route to the VIP.


One-arm (using 1 Interface) - Here, the VIP is brought up in the same subnet as the Real Servers.


To support remote clients, the default gateway on the Real Servers must be an IP address on the
load balancer and routing on the load balancer must be configured so that return traffic is routed
back via the router.

For an HA clustered pair, a floating IP should be added to the load balancer and
used as the Real Server’s default gateway. This ensures that the IP address can
"float" (move) between Primary and Secondary appliances.


To support local clients, return traffic would normally be sent directly to the client bypassing the
load balancer which would break NAT mode. To address this, the routing table on the Real Servers
must be modified to force return traffic to go via the load balancer. For more information please
refer to One-Arm (Single Subnet) NAT Mode.


If you want Real Servers to be accessible on their own IP address for non-load balanced services, e.g. RDP,
you will need to setup individual SNAT and DNAT firewall script rules for each Real Server or add additional
VIPs for this.


Port translation is possible with Layer 4 NAT mode, e.g. VIP:80 → RIP:8080 is supported.


NAT mode is transparent, i.e. the Real Server will see the source IP address of the client.

NAT Mode Packet re-Writing

In NAT mode, the inbound destination IP address is changed by the load balancer from the Virtual Service IP
address (VIP) to the Real Server. For outbound replies the load balancer changes the source IP address of the
Real Server to be the Virtual Services IP address.

The following table shows an example NAT mode setup:

Protocol VIP Port RIP Port

TCP 10.0.0.20 80 192.168.1.50 80

In this simple example all traffic destined for IP address 10.0.0.20 on port 80 is load-balanced to the real IP
address 192.168.1.50 on port 80.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 27

Packet rewriting works as follows:

1) The incoming packet for the web server has source and destination addresses as:

Source x.x.x.x:34567 Destination 10.0.0.20:80

2) The packet is rewritten and forwarded to the backend server as:

Source x.x.x.x:34567 Destination 192.168.1.50:80

3) Replies return to the load balancer as:

Source 192.168.1.50:80 Destination x.x.x.x:34567

4) The packet is written back to the VIP address and returned to the client as:

Source 10.0.0.20:80 Destination x.x.x.x:34567

Layer 4 SNAT Mode

Layer 4 SNAT mode is a high performance solution, although not as fast as Layer 4 NAT mode or Layer 4 DR
mode. The image below shows an example network diagram for this mode.


The load balancer translates all requests from the external Virtual Service to the internal Real Servers in the
same way as NAT mode - please refer to Layer 4 NAT Mode for more information.


Layer 4 SNAT mode is not transparent, an iptables SNAT rule translates the source IP address to be the load
balancer rather than the original client IP address.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 28

 
Layer 4 SNAT mode can be deployed using either a one-arm or two-arm configuration. For two-arm
deployments, eth0 is normally used for the internal network and eth1 is used for the external network
although this is not mandatory.


If the Real Servers require Internet access, Auto-NAT should be enabled using the WebUI option: Cluster
Configuration > Layer 4 - Advanced Configuration, the external interface should be selected.


Requires no mode-specific configuration changes to the load balanced Real Servers.


Port translation is possible with Layer 4 SNAT mode, e.g. VIP:80 → RIP:8080 is supported.


You should not use the same RIP:PORT combination for layer 4 SNAT mode VIPs and layer 7 SNAT mode
VIPs because the required firewall rules conflict.

Layer 7 SNAT Mode

Layer 7 SNAT mode uses a proxy (HAProxy) at the application layer. Inbound requests are terminated on the load
balancer and HAProxy generates a new corresponding request to the chosen Real Server. As a result, Layer 7 is
typically not as fast as the Layer 4 methods. Layer 7 is typically chosen when either enhanced options such as
SSL termination, cookie based persistence, URL rewriting, header insertion/deletion etc. are required, or when the
network topology prohibits the use of the layer 4 methods. The image below shows an example network diagram
for this mode.


Because layer 7 SNAT mode is a full proxy, any server in the cluster can be on any accessible subnet
including across the Internet or WAN.


Layer 7 SNAT mode is not transparent by default, i.e. the Real Servers will not see the source IP address of
the client, they will see the load balancer’s own IP address by default, or any other local appliance IP address
if preferred (e.g. the VIP address). This can be configured per layer 7 VIP. If required, the load balancer can
be configured to provide the actual client IP address to the Real Servers in 2 ways. Either by inserting a
header that contains the client’s source IP address, or by modifying the Source Address field of the IP
packets and replacing the IP address of the load balancer with the IP address of the client. For more
information on these methods please refer to Transparency at Layer 7.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 29

 
Layer 7 SNAT mode can be deployed using either a one-arm or two-arm configuration. For two-arm
deployments, eth0 is normally used for the internal network and eth1 is used for the external network
although this is not mandatory.


Requires no mode-specific configuration changes to the load balanced Real Servers.


Port translation is possible with Layer 7 SNAT mode, e.g. VIP:80 → RIP:8080 is supported.


You should not use the same RIP:PORT combination for layer 7 SNAT mode VIPs and layer 4 SNAT mode
VIPs because the required firewall rules conflict.

For detailed configuration examples using various modes, please refer to Chapter 10 -
Configuration Examples.

Which Load Balancing Method Should I Use?

Mode Summary
Layer 4 DR Mode - This mode offers the best performance and requires limited physical Real Server changes. The
load balanced application must be able to bind to the Real Server’s own IP address and the VIP at the same time.
This mode requires the "ARP Problem" to be solved, for more details please refer to DR Mode Considerations.
Layer 4 DR mode is transparent, i.e. the Real Servers will see the source IP address of the client.

Layer 4 NAT Mode - This mode is also a high performance solution but not as fast as DR mode. It requires the
default gateway of each Real Server to be the load balancer and supports both one-arm and two-arm
configurations. Layer 4 NAT mode is transparent, i.e. the Real Servers will see the source IP address of the client.

Layer 4 SNAT Mode - This mode is also a high performance solution but not as fast as the other layer 4 modes. It
does not require any changes to the Real Servers and can be deployed in one-arm or two-arm mode. This mode is
ideal for example when you want to load balance both TCP and UDP but you’re unable to use DR mode or NAT
mode due to network topology or Real Server related reasons. Layer 4 SNAT mode is non-transparent, i.e. the
Real Servers will see the source IP address of the load balancer.

Layer 7 SNAT Mode - This mode offers greater flexibility but at lower performance levels. It supports HTTP
cookie insertion, RDP cookies, Connection Broker integration and directly supports SSL termination or can
forward traffic to STunnel or Pound if preferred. It also enables URL rewriting and header manipulation rules to be
implemented. It does not require any changes to the Real Servers and can be deployed in either one-arm or two-
arm mode. HAProxy is a high performance solution, but since it operates as a full proxy at layer 7 it cannot
perform as fast as the layer 4 methods. Layer 7 SNAT mode is non-transparent by default, i.e. the Real Servers
will see the source IP address of the load balancer rather than the client. This mode can be made transparent
through the use of TProxy.

Our Recommendation
Where possible we recommend that Layer 4 Direct Routing (DR) mode is used. This mode offers the best
possible performance since replies go directly from the Real Servers to the client, not via the load balancer. It’s
also relatively simple to implement. Ultimately, the final choice does depend on your specific requirements and
infrastructure.

If you are using Microsoft Windows Real Servers, we recommend that NLB (Network Load

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 30

 Balancing) is disabled on all servers to ensure that this does not interfere with the operation of
the load balancer.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 31

Chapter 4 - Appliance Fundamentals
Hardware Appliance Installation
1. Remove all packaging and rack mount the appliance if required.

2. Connect the power lead.

The power supply is an auto-sensing unit (100v to 240v).

3. Connect a network cable from your switch to one of the Ethernet ports, typically eth0 but this is not
mandatory as each interface can be used for any purpose. If using a two-armed configuration connect
another cable to a second Ethernet port, typically eth1 but again this is not mandatory.

4. For a clustered hardware pair, the appliances must be able to communicate either via the network (ucast),
via serial cable or both. By default, ucast only is used. If serial is preferred or you want to use both methods,
connect a serial cable between the two appliances.

If a serial cable is used, Heartbeat must be configured for this using the WebUI option:
Cluster Configuration > Heartbeat Configuration and enabling 'Serial'.

5. Attach a monitor & keyboard to the appliance.

6. Check mains power is on and press the power switch. The fans should start & front panel LEDs should light.

The above image shows the Enterprise Prime. For network interface information for other
models please refer to Front & Rear Panel Layouts.

7. Now follow the on-screen instructions to configure the management IP address and other network settings
as detailed in Configuring Initial Network Settings.

Virtual Appliance Installation

Supported Hypervisors
The VA is available for the following hypervisors:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 32

 
VMware vSphere/ESXi : v6.0 & later


Virtual Box : v6.0 & later


Microsoft Hyper-V : v2012 & later


KVM : Kernel version v2.6.20 & later


XEN : v6.0 & later


Nutanix AHV

Host Requirements
To run the Loadbalancer.org Enterprise VA (irrespective of which Hypervisor is being used) the following basic
server specifications must be met:


64bit CPU


Virtual Technology hardware support - either Intel-VT-x or AMD-V compliant CPUs

Virtual Hardware Resource Allocations

By default the appliance is allocated the following resources:


2 vCPUs


4GB RAM


20GB disk

The CPU and memory allocations are suitable for a PoC or for low to medium throughput production applications.
For more demanding situations, they can be increased as needed. Resources required depend on multiple factors
including the application being load balanced, the number of end-users, the anticipated throughput, the underlying
physical hardware running the hypervisor and whether you’ll be load balancing at layer 4 or layer 7. Therefore it’s
not realistic to make generic recommendations. If you need assistance in determining the resources required for
your deployment, please contact support.

Download & Extract the Appliance

1. Go to https://www.loadbalancer.org/get-started/.

2. Enter your details (all fields except email address are optional).

3. Click the Download button.

4. Now click the Download link next to the appropriate hypervisor.

5. Unzip the contents of the file to your chosen location.

All information provided is 100% confidential. If you’re conducting a PoC (Proof of Concept) trial
we may follow up with an email or phone call to see how you’re getting on and offer assistance,
but under no circumstances will Loadbalancer.org share your details with a third party.

The same download is used for the licensed product, the only difference is that a license key file

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 33

 (supplied by our sales team when the product is purchased) must be applied using the
appliance’s WebUI.

The VA has 4 network adapters. For VMware, only the first adapter (eth0) is connected by
default. For HyperV, KVM, XEN and Nutanix AHV all adapters are disconnected by default. Use
the network configuration screen within the Hypervisor to connect the required adapters.

Hypervisor Deployment
VMware Host Client
1. Right-click Host in the VMware Host Client inventory and select Create/Register VM.

2. On the Select creation type page of the wizard, select Deploy a virtual machine from an OVF or OVA file
and click Next.

3. On the Select OVF and VMDK files page, provide a unique name for the virtual machine.

4. Click the blue pane to open your local system storage, browse to the VA download location and select both
the .ovf and .vmdk files.

5. Complete the remaining options according to your requirements and deploy the VA.

VMware vSphere Client

The steps below apply to VMware ESX/ESXi & vSphere Client v6.7 and later.

Upgrading to the latest Hardware Version

When the appliance is deployed, the virtual hardware version is set to 11. This enables compatibility with ESX
version 6.0 and later. You can upgrade to a later hardware version if required.

Create a snapshot or backup of the virtual machine first before upgrading.

Installing the Appliance using vSphere Client

1. Right-click the inventory object where the appliance is to be located and select Deploy OVF Template.

2. In the Select an OVF Template screen, select the Local File option, click Browse, navigate to the download
location, select both the .ovf and .vmdk files and click Next.

3. In the Select a name and folder screen, type a suitable name for the appliance - this can be up to 80
characters in length.

4. Select the required location for the appliance - by default this will be the location of the inventory object from
where the wizard was started and click Next.

5. In the Select a compute resource screen, select the required compute resource for the appliance - by default
this will be the inventory object from where the wizard was started and click Next.

6. In the Review details screen, verify the template details and click Next.

7. In the Configuration screen, select the required CPU/RAM deployment configuration and click Next.

These settings can be changed after deployment if needed.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 34

 8. In the Select Storage screen, first select the required storage location for the appliance.

9. Now select the required disk format and click Next.

Loadbalancer.org recommends selecting a thick provision format. By default the appliance

disk is 20GB.

10. In the Select Networks screen, select the required destination network using the drop-down next to VM
Network and click Next.

11. In the Ready to complete screen, review the settings and click Finish to create the virtual appliance. To
change a setting, use the Back button to navigate back through the screens as required.

Configure Additional Network Adapters

The appliance has 4 network adapters. By default only the first adapter is connected. This will be eth0 when
viewed in the appliance WebUI. If you require additional network adapters to be connected, follow the steps
below:

1. Right-click the appliance, select Edit Settings.

2. Using the drop-down next to the relevant network adapter(s), select the required Network and tick (check)
the Connected check-box and click OK.

Start the Appliance

Now power up the appliance.

VMware Workstation Player

1. Select Player > File > Open.

2. Browse to the VA download location and select the .ovf file.

3. Modify the default name as required and click Import.

VMware Tools / Open VM Tools

From v8.8.1 all new VAs use Open VM Tools rather than VMware Tools.

When updating a v8.7.x appliance to v8.8.1 using online or offline update, VMware tools is removed and Open VM
Tools is installed.

To Verify that Open VM Tools is running

Run the following command at the console or via an SSH session:

# service vmtoolsd status

vmtoolsd (pid 3514) is running...

When using open-vm-tools, the VMware Tools status is shown as "Guest Managed" on the
virtual machine Summary tab. The status Guest Managed means that you cannot use the
vCenter Server to manage VMware Tools and you cannot use vSphere Update Manager to

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 35

 upgrade VMware Tools.

Microsoft Hyper-V
The steps below apply to Windows Hyper-V 2012 & later.

Installing the Appliance using Hyper-V Manager

1. Start Hyper-V Manager, then using the right-click menu or the Actions pane select Import Virtual Machine
and click Next.

2. In the Locate folder screen, browse to the location of the extracted download and select the
Loadbalancer.org Ent. VA folder.

3. Click Next until you reach the Choose Import Type screen, select the option Copy the virtual machine
(create a new unique ID) and click Next.

4. In the Choose Folder For Virtual Machine Files screen, tick (check) the checkbox Store the Virtual Machine
in different location, then select a suitable location for the virtual machines files and click Next.

5. In the Choose Folder to store Virtual Hard Disks screen, select a suitable location for the virtual hard disk
files and click Next.

6. In the Completing Import Wizard screen, verify that all settings are correct and click Finish to complete the
import process. To change a setting, use the Previous button to navigate back through the screens as
required.

Once complete, the load balancer will appear in the Virtual Machines list.

For a clustered pair, make sure that you select a different folder location in steps 4 & 5.

Configure Network Adapters

The appliance has 4 network adapters, these remain disconnected once deployment completes. To connect an
adapter to a virtual switch:

1. Right-click the appliance, select Settings.

2. Select the first network adapter and set the required virtual switch that the adapter should be connected to.
This will be eth0 when viewed in the appliance WebUI.

3. Click Apply.

If you need to connect additional network adapters repeat step 2 as required.

Start the Appliance

Now power up the appliance.

Linux Integration Services

Linux Integration Services are pre-installed by default. Therefore manual installation is not required.

KVM

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 36

The following steps should be followed on the KVM host:

1. Extract the archive to /var/lib/libvirt/images/.

2. virsh define Loadbalancer*.xml.

3. virsh start Loadbalancer*.

Network cards are set to NAT by default so adjust as needed before powering on. Please also
refer to the XML file for additional configuration notes.

Nutanix AHV
For detailed installation and deployment guidance, please refer to our Nutanix blog.

XEN
The following steps should be followed on the XEN host:

1. Extract the archive.

2. Import the xva file into XEN.

Cloud Appliance Installation

For details of our cloud based products, please refer to the relevant guide in the documentation library.

Configuring Initial Network Settings

After power up, the following startup message is displayed on the appliance console:

As mentioned in the text, to perform initial network configuration, login as the "setup" user at the appliance
console.

Once logged in, the Network Setup Wizard will start automatically. This will enable you to configure the
management IP address and other network settings for the appliance.

login to the console:

Username: setup

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 37

Password: setup

A series of screens will be displayed that allow network settings to be configured:

In the Configure Management IP screen, leave Yes selected and hit <ENTER> to continue.

In the Peer Recovery screen, leave No selected and hit <ENTER> to continue.

For more details on node recovery using this option please refer to Disaster Recovery After Node
(Primary or Secondary) Failure.

In the Centralized Management screen, if you would like to enroll the appliance with a management server
(typically portal.loadbalancer.org), select Yes, otherwise leave No selected, then hit <ENTER> to continue. If you
select Yes, you’ll be asked to confirm the server’s details and provide login credentials at the end of this setup
process.

For information on how to modify Centralized Management settings via the WebUI, please refer
to Portal Management & Appliance Adoption.

In the Available Interfaces screen, a list of available interfaces will be displayed, hit <ENTER> to continue.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 38

In the Configure Bonding screen, select Yes if you want to configure a bonded interface, if not leave No selected,
then hit <ENTER> to continue.

If you select Yes, the Select Interfaces screen will be displayed. Using the space bar, select the interfaces you’d
like to include in the bond, select Create and hit <ENTER> to continue.

In the Configure a VLAN screen, select Yes if you want to configure a VLAN, if not leave No selected, then hit
<ENTER> to continue.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 39

If you select Yes you’ll be prompted to enter a VLAN Tag ID.

In the Configure Management IP screen, select the interface that’ll be used to manage the appliance, then hit
<ENTER> to continue.

In the Set IP address screen, either enter the required Static IP Address & CIDR Prefix and select Done or select
Use DHCP, then hit <ENTER> to continue.

A subnet mask such as 255.255.255.0 is not valid, in this case enter 24 instead.

In the Configure Default Gateway screen, enter the required Default Gateway IP Address, select Done and hit
<ENTER> to continue.

In the Configure DNS Servers screen, configure the required DNS server(s), select Done and hit <ENTER> to
continue.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 40

In the Set Password screen, hit <ENTER> to continue.

Enter the Password you’d like to use for the loadbalancer WebUI user account and the root Linux user account.
Repeat the password, select Done and hit <ENTER> to continue.

If you selected Yes when asked if you want to enroll for Centralized Management, you’ll now be prompted for the
details. Default values for the Host and Port are set and can be changed if required. Enter the Username and
Password for the management server account you’d like the appliance to be associated with, select Done and hit
<ENTER> to continue.

In the Summary screen, check all settings. If everything is correct, leave Configure selected and hit <ENTER> to
continue. All settings will be applied. If you need to change a setting, use the Back button.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 41

Once the configuration has been written, the Configuration Complete screen and message will be displayed. Click
OK to exit the wizard and return to the command prompt.

Appliance Access & Configuration Methods

Once the initial network settings have been configured, the appliance can be accessed and configured using the
Web User Interface (WebUI). In addition, full "root" user access is provided.

Accessing the Appliance WebUI

The WebUI is accessed using a web browser. By default, users are authenticated using Apache authentication.
Users can also be authenticated against LDAP, LDAPS, Active Directory or Radius - for more information, please
refer to External Authentication.

There are certain differences when accessing the WebUI for the cloud appliances. For details,
please refer to the relevant Quick Start / Configuration Guide.

1. Using a browser, navigate to the following URL:

https://<IP-address-configured-during-the-network-setup-wizard>:9443/lbadmin/

You’ll receive a warning about the WebUI’s SSL certificate. This is due to the default self
signed certificate that is used. If preferred, you can upload your own certificate - for more
information, please refer to Appliance Security Features.

If you need to change the port, IP address or protocol that the WebUI listens on, please
refer to Service Socket Addresses.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 42

 2. Log in to the WebUI using the following credentials:

Username: loadbalancer
Password: <configured-during-network-setup-wizard>

To change the password, use the WebUI menu option: Maintenance > Passwords.

Once logged in, the WebUI will be displayed as shown below:

Main Menu Options

System Overview - Displays a graphical summary of all VIPs, RIPs and key appliance statistics
Local Configuration - Configure local host settings such as IP address, DNS, system time etc.
Cluster Configuration - Configure load balanced services such as VIPs & RIPs
Maintenance - Perform maintenance tasks such as service restarts and creating backups
View Configuration - Display the saved appliance configuration settings
Reports - View various appliance reports & graphs

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 43

Logs - View various appliance logs
Support - Create a support download, contact the support team & access useful links
Live Chat - Start a live chat session with one of our Support Engineers

If you’ve already purchased a license, please refer to Installing the License Key.

"Root" User Access

Log in to the console or via an SSH session:

Username: root
Password: <configured-during-network-setup-wizard>

"root" user console and SSH password access are disabled by default. These options can be
enabled using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration > Security. You’ll need to Set
Appliance Security Mode to Custom, configure the required option(s) and click Update.

For Windows hosts PuTTy can be used for SSH access and WinSCP can be used for secure file
transfer.

If you need to change the port or IP address that SSH listens on, please refer to Service Socket
Addresses. The allowed ciphers and other advanced SSH settings can be configured using the
WebUI menu option Local Configuration > Physical - Advanced Configuration and scrolling to the
SSH Service section.

Keyboard Layout
By default the appliance is configured with a US keyboard layout. The layout can be changed by editing the file
/etc/sysconfig/keyboard. For example, to change the layout from US to UK:

1. edit /etc/sysconfig/keyboard using a text editor such as vi or vim for Linux or WinSCP under Windows.

2. replace KEYTABLE="us" with KEYTABLE="uk".

3. replace Layout=”us” with Layout=”uk”.

4. save the file and re-boot the appliance.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 44

Chapter 5 - Appliance Management
Installing the License Key
The appliance can be used completely unrestricted for 30 days without installing a license key. After 30 days, the
appliance continues to work but it’s no longer possible to make configuration changes.

if you’re conducting a PoC (Proof of Concept) using the VA and require more time to complete
your evaluation, please contact sales@loadbalancer.org who will be able to provide guidance on
how to extend the trial.

For an unlicensed VA, the following message is displayed:

For an unlicensed hardware appliance, the following message is displayed:

To install the license key:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > License Key.

2. Click Choose File then browse to and select the license file provided when the appliance was purchased.

3. Click Install License Key.

Once the license is applied, these warning messages will no longer be displayed.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 45

Appliance Software Update
We recommend that the appliance is kept up to date to ensure that you benefit from the latest bug fixes, security
updates and feature improvements. Both online and offline updates are supported.

Services may need to be restarted/reloaded after the update process completes or in some
cases a full appliance restart may be required. We therefore recommend performing the update
during a maintenance window.

Determining the Current Software Version

The software version is displayed at the bottom of the WebUI as shown in the example below:

Creating a Backup / Checkpoint

We recommend that a backup or checkpoint (v8.11.0 and later) is created before running the update. This can be
done using the WebUI option: Maintenance > Backup & Restore and selecting the Backup or Checkpoints tab. For
more information on creating backups and checkpoints, please refer to Backup & Restore and Disaster Recovery.

Online Update
Auto-Check for Updates
The appliance periodically contacts the Loadbalancer.org update server (update.loadbalancer.org) and checks
for updates. This is the default behavior and can be disabled if preferred. If an update is found, a message will be
displayed at the top of the screen as shown in the following example:

To start the update process click Online Update.

Configuring Online Update

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Physical - Advanced Configuration.

2. Scroll down to the Online Updates section.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 46

 3. Configure the required settings.

4. Click Update.

Manual Check for Updates

If auto-check for updates is disabled, the update check must be initiated manually.

To initiate a manual online update check:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Software Update.

2. Select Online Update.

3. If the latest version is already installed, a message similar to the following will be displayed:

4. If an update is available, details of any new features, improvements, bug fixes & security updates included
will be displayed.

5. Click Online Update to start the update process.

Do not navigate away whilst the update is ongoing, this may cause the update to fail.

6. The update can take several minutes depending on download speed and upgrade version. Once complete
the following message will be displayed:

7. If services need to be reloaded/restarted or the appliance needs a full restart, you’ll be prompted accordingly.

Offline Update
If the appliance does not have access to the Internet, offline update can be used.

Please contact support@loadbalancer.org to check if an update is available and obtain the latest
offline update files.

To perform an offline update:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 47

 1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Software Update.

2. Select Offline Update.

3. The following screen will be displayed:

4. Using the Choose File buttons, select the Archive and Checksum files that were provided by
Loadbalancer.org support.

5. Click Upload and Install.

Updating a Clustered Pair

Since services may need to be reloaded or restarted during the update process, we recommend
performing the update during a maintenance window.

To update a clustered pair:

1. Perform the update on the Secondary (passive) appliance first.

2. Restart/reload services or reboot the appliance as directed.

3. Failover to the Secondary so this is now the active appliance.

4. Now update the Primary appliance in the same way.

5. Restart/reload services or reboot the appliance as directed.

6. Failback to the Primary so this is the active appliance.

For a clustered pair, we recommend fully testing & validating the Primary/Secondary failover
process before going live. For more information, please refer to Testing & Verifying
Primary/Secondary Replication & Failover.

Network Configuration
Physical/Virtual Adapters

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 48

The Enterprise Prime, Enterprise Flex and all virtual models have 4 network adapters. The Enterprise Max has
either 4 or 6 adapters depending on the chosen configuration when purchased. Comprehensive information on all
models is available on our website.

If multiple logical interfaces are required, these can be added by specifying multiple IP addresses as shown
below. If additional network connectivity is required, an external switch can be used.

Typically, the main reason for using all 4 or 6 interfaces is when bonding (e.g. 802.3ad) is required in a two-arm
NAT or SNAT mode highly available configuration.

Multiple VLANs can be configured if required. For details, please refer to Configuring VLANs.

For the VMware appliance, only the first adapter (eth0) is connected by default. For HyperV,
KVM, XEN and Nutanix AHV all adapters are disconnected by default. Use the network
configuration screen within the Hypervisor to connect the required adapters.

Configuring IP Addresses
Initial network settings including the management IP address are configured using the Network Setup Wizard. For
more information, please refer to Configuring Initial Network Settings.

Once the management address is configured, additional IP addresses can be configured using the WebUI menu
option: Local Configuration > Network Interface Configuration.

For one-arm deployments, eth0 is normally used. For two-arm deployments, eth0 is typically used as the internal
interface and eth1 is used as the external interface. This is not mandatory and each interface can be used for any
purpose.

CIDR notation is used to specify IP addresses and subnet masks. For example, to specify an IP address of
192.168.2.100 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, 192.168.2.100/24 would be entered in the relevant
interface field as shown in the example below:

For information on CIDR notation, please refer to Appliance IPv4 Address Format (CIDR
notation).

To configure IP address(es):

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Network Interface Configuration.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 49

 2. Configure the required IP address/mask. Multiple addresses can be assigned as shown below:

3. Click Configure Interfaces.

Configuring Bonding
Multiple network adapters can be bonded.

To configure bonding:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Network Interface Configuration.

2. Any of the available adapters can be bonded. For example, to bond eth0 and eth1, select (check) the eth0
and eth1 checkboxes as shown below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 50

3. Select the required Bonding Mode:

Mode 0 - Balance round robin. Transmits packets in a numerical order from the first available Secondary
through to the last.

Mode 1 - Active Backup (default). This places one of the adapters in a backup state and will only become
active if the link is lost to the active adapter. This mode provides fault tolerance.

Mode 4 - 802.3ad. Dynamic link aggregation mode. This mode requires a switch that supports IEEE 802.3ad.

4. Click Create.

5. The new bond (bond0) is displayed as shown below:

At this point the adapters still have the same IP settings configured previously. Once an IP
address is configured for the bond and Configure Interfaces is clicked, these addresses
will be removed and only the bond address will apply. If the bond is deleted, these
addresses will be re-applied to the adapter(s).

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 51

 6. Enter the IP address for bond0 and click Configure Interfaces.

7. If this is a new bonding configuration or the bonding mode has been changed, restart the appliance using
the WebUI menu option: Maintenance > System Control and clicking Restart Load Balancer.

For a clustered pair you’ll need to configure bonding in the same way on both appliances. Failure
to so will result in heartbeat communication issues.

Configuring VLANs
Native 802.1Q VLAN support can be configured if required.

In access mode switch ports are dedicated to one VLAN. The switch handles all the tagging and de-tagging of
frames - the station connected to the port does not need to be configured for the VLAN at all.

In trunk mode the switch passes on the raw VLAN frames - the station connected must be configured to handle
them. Trunk mode is usually used to connect two VLAN-carrying switches, or to connect a server or router to a
switch.

If the load balancer is connected to an access mode switch port, no VLAN configuration is required. If the load
balancer is connected to a trunk port, then all the required VLANs must be configured on the load balancer.

To configure a VLAN:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Network Interface Configuration.

2. In the VLAN section select the required adapter (e.g. eth0).

3. Enter the VLAN ID (e.g. 250).

4. Click Add VLAN.

5. An extra IP Address Assignment field named eth0.250 will be created, enter the required IP address here.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 52

 6. Click Configure Interfaces.

7. To delete the VLAN definition, click the appropriate Delete button.

For a clustered pair you must configure VLANs in the same way on both appliances.

Interface Offloading
This will enable (when supported) hardware NIC offloading. This option is enabled by default.

To configure Interface offloading:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Physical - Advanced Configuration.

2. Scroll down to the Interface Offload section.

3. configure the required setting.

4. Click Update.

Configuring MTU Settings

To set the MTU for an interface:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Network Interface Configuration

2. Enter the required MTU setting - the default is 1500.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 53

 3. Click Configure Interfaces.

Configuring Default Gateway & Static Routes

To set the default gateway for IPv4 and IPv6:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Routing.

2. Specify the required Default Gateway as shown in the example below:

3. Click Configure Routing.

To configure static routes:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Routing.

2. Specify the required Static Routes as shown in the example below:

3. Click Configure Routing.

Unlimited static routes can be configured. Additional rows will be automatically added to the
WebUI screen as needed.

Management Gateway
If you want to manage the appliance from a remote subnet that is accessible via a different gateway, the relevant
management address and associated gateway must be configured. Traffic from the management address is
then routed via the management gateway rather than via the default gateway.

This is not a security feature, it’s a routing option. By default, the WebUI is still accessible on all
appliance IPs as before (unless this has been changed - for more details, please refer to Service
Socket Addresses). Policy based routing is used to provide this feature. For more information,
please refer to the "PBR" section below.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 54

To configure the management gateway:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Physical Advanced Configuration.

2. Scroll down to the Management Gateway section.

3. Select the required Management Address from the dropdown.

The dropdown is populated with all IP addresses that have been assigned to the various
network interfaces.

4. Specify the required Gateway address.

5. Click Update.

Configuration Example
To enable appliance management on IP 192.168.1.100 from the remote management server shown below:

The following Management Address and Via Gateway settings would be required:

You’ll need to ensure that 192.168.1.100 is configured on eth0. This can be done using the
WebUI menu option: Local Configuration > Network Interface Configuration.

Policy Based Routing (PBR)

If you require a custom gateway for a particular VIP, this can be achieved using PBR.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 55

 If client source addresses are known and predictable, static routes should normally be used to
route traffic. In other situations where this is not known or the network is large with many
subnets, PBR can be used. Here, return traffic is routed based on the source address of the reply
traffic (the VIP/floating IP) rather than on the destination address (the client’s IP).

To configure a VIP to return traffic via a custom gateway rather than via the default gateway:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > PBR Default Gateways.

2. Set the Floating IP to the required VIP address, e.g. 192.168.111.130.

3. Configure Local Only according to your requirements. When enabled, only the link local route for the VIP is
set, when not enabled, all link local routes are set.

4. Set the Gateway Address to the required value, e.g. 192.168.111.254.

5. Click Submit.

6. Once configured, the new default PBR gateway will be displayed as shown below:

To delete the new gateway and use the appliance’s standard default gateway, click Delete.

Configuring Hostname & DNS

To set the hostname, domain & DNS servers:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Hostname & DNS.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 56

 2. Specify the required Hostname, by default this is set to lbmaster.

3. Specify the required Domain Name, by default this is set to localhost.

4. Specify the required Domain Name Server(s).

5. Click Update.

Service Socket Addresses

By default, the WebUI, SSH, GSLB, SNMP, Gateway, Shuttle and the fallback Server are bound to the IPs, ports and
protocols shown in the table below.

Service Default IP Address Default Port Protocol

WebUI * (all IPs) 9080 HTTP

WebUI * (all IPs) 9443 HTTPS

SSH * (all IPs) 22 TCP

GSLB * (all IPs) 53 TCP & UDP

SNMP * (all IPs) 161 TCP

SNMP * (all IPs) 161 UDP

Gateway Management IP address 9000 TCP

Shuttle Management IP address 25565 TCP

Fallback Server * (all IPs) 9081 TCP

Service sockets can be configured to listen on all IP’s, the IPv4 loopback address (127.0.0.1), the IPv6 loopback
address (::1) or set to a specific interface address. The default setting for each is shown in the table above.

To configure service socket addresses:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Physical - Advanced Configuration.

2. Scroll to the Service Socket Addresses section.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 57

 3. Configure the required protocols, IP addresses and ports. Service sockets can be added or deleted for all
services except the Gateway and Shuttle using the buttons provided.

4. Click Update.

5. Restart the relevant service(s) using the button(s) in the "Commit changes" message box at the top of the
screen.

Appliance Security Features

The appliance has a range of security related features that can be used to help ensure the appliance is secure.

Security Mode
To control how the appliance is accessed and which features are enabled, three security modes are provided:


Custom - In this mode the following security options can be configured to suit your requirements:


Disable Console Access - Disable root user console access


Disable SSH Password Access - Disable SSH password access, users must use SSH keys to login


Web User Interface via HTTPS only - WebUI connections are forced to use HTTPS, connections are
redirected to the port specified in the HTTPS Port for Web User Interface field


Secure - (Default) - In this mode:


"root" user console access & SSH password access are disabled


WebUI connections are forced to use HTTPS


Access to the Local Configuration > Execute shell command menu option is disabled


The Firewall Script & the Firewall Lockdown Wizard Script cannot be edited

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 58

 
Secure - Permanent - This mode is the same as Secure but once set it cannot be changed

Setting the security mode to Secure - Permanent is irreversible.

To configure the security mode & related options:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Security.

2. Select the required Appliance Security Mode.

3. If Custom is selected, configure the additional options to suit your requirements.

4. Specify the HTTPS port for the Web User Interface - the default is 9443.

This port must be the same as the port specified for the WebUI’s HTTPS Service Socket
Address. For more details, please refer to Service Socket Addresses.

5. Select the required Web Interface SSL Certificate for the WebUI. If no certificates have been uploaded, the
appliance’s default self-signed certificate is used.

Certificates can be created/uploaded using the WebUI menu option: Cluster Configuration
> SSL Certificate.

6. Specify the required ciphers to use - the default is:

ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:DHE-RSA-
AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256

7. Click Update.

Users & Passwords

Linux root Account
One of the great advantages of the Loadbalancer.org appliance is that full root access can be enabled. This
unlocks the full capabilities of the underlying Linux OS. Other vendors tend to lock this down and only provide
limited access to certain features and tools.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 59

The "root" account is disabled by default. The account is enabled when a password is set using the Network
Setup Wizard. Once set in this way, it can be changed at the console or via an SSH session using the following
command:

# passwd

As mentioned in the section above, "root" user console and SSH password access are disabled
by default. These options can be enabled using the WebUI option: Local Configuration >
Security. You’ll need to Set Appliance Security Mode to Custom, enable the required option(s)
and click Update.

For the AWS and Azure cloud products it’s not possible to directly login as "root". If root access
is required, once you’ve logged into the console/SSH session using the credentials configured
during instance deployment, run the following command:

$ sudo su

WebUI User Accounts

The appliance has 4 default WebUI user accounts:

Username Default Group Description

configuser config appliance administration account

loadbalancer config (see note 1) appliance administration account

reportuser report viewing the appliance configuration, reports & logs

maintuser maint same as reportuser plus can also take servers on/off line & create
the support download archive file

Notes

1. It’s not possible to change the group for the "loadbalancer" account.

All WebUI accounts are disabled by default. The "loadbalancer" account is enabled when a password is set using
the Network Setup Wizard. The "configuser", "reportuser" and "maintuser" accounts are enabled when a password
is set as described below.

The permissions that apply to each group are as follows:

Menu / Permissions

Group System Local Cluster Maintenance View Reports Logs Support

Overview configuration Configuration Configuration

report View None None None View Full View View

maint Full None None None View Full View Full

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 60

 Menu / Permissions

config Full Full Full Full View Full View Full

Configuring Passwords

To set a user’s password:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Passwords.

2. Click Modify next to the relevant user.

3. Enter the required password.

Permitted password characters are: a-z A-Z 0-9 [ ] # ~ _ * ! = -

4. Click Edit User.

Adding New Users

To add a new user:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Passwords.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 61

 2. Scroll down to the Add New User section.

3. Enter the required Username.

4. If the user will be authenticated by an external LDAP/ADAuth or RADIUS system, enable (check) the
LDAP/ADAuth User checkbox.

For more information on external authentication, please refer to External Authentication

below.

5. For locally authenticated users, enter the required Password.

Permitted password characters are: a-z A-Z 0-9 [ ] # ~ _ * ! = -

6. Select the required Group for the new user.

7. Click Add New User.

Resetting forgotten Passwords

It’s possible to reset passwords via the command line if required. To do this login as "root" at the console or via an
SSH session and run the following command:

htpasswd -b /etc/loadbalancer.org/passwords loadbalancer <new password>

"root" user console and SSH password access are disabled by default. These options can be
enabled using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration > Security. You’ll need to Set
Appliance Security Mode to Custom, configure the required option(s) and click Update.

External Authentication
The appliance supports the following external authentication methods:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 62

 
LDAP


LDAPS


Active Directory


Radius

Once a user is configured to use external authentication, they must use their credentials for that system to
access the appliance. It’s important to remember that the username specified in the Add New User screen must
be the exact same username used in the external authentication system.

To demonstrate this feature, an LDAP example is presented below. The steps required to configure other external
authentication systems are similar.

Configuring External LDAP Authentication

To configure external authentication, login as "root" at the console or via SSH and run the following command:

lbauthconfig

"root" user console and SSH password access are disabled by default. These options can be
enabled using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration > Security. You’ll need to Set
Appliance Security Mode to Custom, configure the required option(s) and click Update.

Do not run lbauthconfig from the WebUI.

The following will be displayed:

[root@lbmaster lbadmin]# lbauthconfig

################################################################
# Loadbalancer.org External Authentication Config Script #
################################################################

This script will setup either LDAP or RADIUS authentication for the Load Balancer WUI.
It should be noted that it does not disable the local user access for users such as
"loadbalancer", "maintenance" and "reports" (Or any other additional locally created users)
so it is recommended that once you have tested Auth works successfully that you then assign
long and complex passwords to these users and file them away.

It should also be noted that you will need to add users to the load balancer in order for them
to gain access, authentication is handled by the external authentication method but access is
still controlled by the load balancers default groups so local users identical to those stored
in the external auth provider are required.

Step 1. Select authentication type.

1. Local Files (Reset to defaults)
2. LDAP
3. LDAPS
4. Active Directory
5. Radius

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 63

[1-5]:


To configure LDAP, enter 2 and hit <ENTER>

Step 2. Enter the hostname/address and port of the authentication server.

Hostname/address: 192.168.112.1
Port [1-65535 (389)]:


Specify the hostname or IP address of your LDAP server, e.g. 192.168.112.1 and hit <ENTER>.


Leave the Port blank to use the default value (389) or specify a different port and hit <ENTER>.

Step 3. Enter the LDAP Base Search string.

In the case of AD at a minimum this is your domain name so for "DOMAIN.LOCAL" you would use
DC=DOMAIN,DC=LOCAL.
Search Base: DC=lbtestdom,DC=com


Specify the LDAP search base string for your domain, e.g. DC=lbtestdom,DC=com and hit <ENTER>.

Step 4. Enter the LDAP attribute to authenticate against.

In the case of AD this will be "userPrincipalName" or "samAccountName" while OpenLDAP will
typically use "uid".
Attrib [uid]: UserPrincipalName


Specify the LDAP attribute to authenticate against, e.g. UserPrincipalName and hit <ENTER>.

Step 5. Enter the credentials for a user who can browse the directory.
Username: lbuser@lbtestdom.com
Password:


Specify the credentials for a user who can browse the directory, e.g. lbuser@lbtestdom.com and hit
<ENTER>.

This account must be able to list the current users. It should not be deleted since it is also
used when additional users are added. If the password is changed, steps 1 - 6 must be
repeated.

Step 6. Please add your first user.

This user will be added as a "config" user with full access to the WUI.
Please add additional users via the WUI after this setup process.
Username: tom@lbtestdom.com
Password:


Specify the username of the first LDAP authenticated user, e.g. tom@lbtestdom.com and hit <ENTER>.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 64

 
Specify the password for the user and hit <ENTER>.

Test authentication succeeded.

Creating backup of /etc/httpd/webui.conf.d/10-lbauthconfig-settings.conf at

/etc/loadbalancer.org/bkup/10-lbauthconfig-settings.conf-2023-03-31T12:58:42.698035
Creating backup of /etc/loadbalancer.org/groups at /etc/loadbalancer.org/bkup/groups-2023-03-
31T12:58:42.698035
Writing new /etc/httpd/webui.conf.d/10-lbauthconfig-settings.conf File.
Writing new /etc/loadbalancer.org/groups File.

Finished.

The new user will be added to the appliance and can be viewed using the WebUI menu option: Maintenance >
Passwords. When the user logs in they must use their LDAP credentials.

Adding Additional Users

Configuring external authentication using groups is currently not supported.

Once the first user has been added, additional users can be added using the Add New User screen which is
accessible via the WebUI option: Maintenance > Passwords as shown below:

1. Specify the username of the user to be added, e.g. tim@lbtestdom.com.

2. Enable (check) the LDAP/ADAuth User checkbox.

3. Select the required appliance security Group.

4. Click Add New User.

User tim@lbtestdom.com will now be able to login to the appliance with report user access rights using his LDAP
credentials.

Firewall Configuration
The firewall can be configured using the WebUI script editor. This enables iptables rules and any other required
commands to be easily configured. The editor allows you to directly edit /etc/rc.d/rc.firewall.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 65

 Whilst the load balancer is capable of supporting complex firewall rules, we do not recommend
using the load balancer as your main bastion host. We recommend that the load balancer is
deployed behind your external firewall.

To edit the firewall script:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Firewall Script.

2. The following screen will be displayed:

3. Specify additional rules anywhere in the script above the last two lines:

echo "Firewall Activated"

exit 0;

4. Click Update.

For a clustered pair, make sure you configure the firewall script in the same way on both
appliances.

Firewall Lock-down Wizard

The firewall lock down wizard can be used to automatically configure the load balancer to allow access to the
various admin ports from one specific IP address or subnet. The wizard automatically detects the IP address of
the client running the WebUI and inserts this into the Admin IP field. The default mask is set to 255.255.255.0
which can be changed as required.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 66

The firewall lockdown wizard uses two files:


rc.lockdownwizard - this file contains the script that can be changed.


rc.lockdownwizard.conf - this file contains a set of variable definitions and is written automatically when the
Update firewall lock down button is clicked. The file depends on the rc.lockdownwizard script and the load
balancer’s current configuration. This file should not be changed manually.

When run, rc.lockdownwizard loads the settings from the definitions file rc.lockdownwizard.conf and uses them
to generate the firewall rules. You can modify rc.lockdownwizard via ssh or from the WebUI using the Modify the
firewall lock down wizard script button.

"root" user console and SSH password access are disabled by default. These options can be
enabled using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration > Security. You’ll need to Set
Appliance Security Mode to Custom, configure the required option(s) and click Update.

The default script does not depend on the configured Virtual Services or Real Servers, so the wizard does not
need to be re-run when services are changed. However, it does depend on the IP addresses of the Primary and
Secondary appliance, and the admin related ports used by the WebUI, heartbeat, and HAProxy. If those settings
are changed, the firewall lockdown wizard will need to be re-run in order to reflect the changes. Re-running the
firewall lockdown wizard will adapt the rc.lockdownwizard.conf definitions file automatically - any changes made
to the script rc.lockdownwizard will remain when you re-run the firewall lockdown wizard.

To run the lock-down wizard:

If you plan to configure an HA pair, either run the lockdown script on each appliance after the
pair has been configured, or if it has already been run, temporarily disable the script (on both
appliances) whilst performing the pairing process.

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Firewall Lock Down Wizard.

2. The following screen will be displayed:

3. Enable (check) the Enable lock down script checkbox.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 67

 4. Specify the management subnet or host address in the Administration subnet field.

To specify additional management subnets/hosts, click the Modify the firewall lock down
wizard script button and scroll down to the IPV4_NET_ADMIN parameter. Uncomment the
line and specify additional subnets separated by spaces, e.g.

IPV4_NET_ADMIN=(192.168.4.0/24 192.168.6.0/24)

5. Click Update firewall lock down.

To disable the lock-down script:

1. To disable the lock-down script uncheck the Enable lock down script checkbox and click the Update Firewall
lock down button.

If you accidentally block your own access to the appliance you will need to clear the current
firewall rules and try again. To completely clear the firewall rules use the following command at
the console:

/etc/rc.d/rc.flush-iptables

For a clustered pair you’ll need to run/configure the firewall lockdown wizard/script in the same
way on both appliances.

Conntrack Table Size

By default the connection tracking table size is set to 524288 which works well in most cases. For high traffic
deployment using NAT mode, or when using connection tracking in the firewall script, this value may need to be
increased. If the connection tracking table fills up, the following error will be reported in the log:

nf_conntrack: table full, dropping packet

To configure the table size:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Physical - Advanced Configuration.

2. Scroll down to the Firewall section.

3. Set Connection Tracking table size to the required value.

4. Click Update.

Appliance Security Lockdown Script

To ensure that the appliance is secure it’s recommended that a number of steps should be carried out. These
steps have been incorporated into a lockdown script which can be run at the console (recommended) or via an
SSH session. When run on the Primary of a correctly configured clustered HA pair, both appliances will be

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 68

updated. The script locks down the following:


the password for the "loadbalancer" WebUI account


the password for the Linux "root" account


from which subnet/host WebUI and SSH access is permitted

It also regenerates the SSH keys that are used to secure communicating between the Primary and Secondary
appliance. To start the script, at the console or via an SSH terminal session run the following command:

lbsecure

"root" user console and SSH password access are disabled by default. These options can be
enabled using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration > Security. You’ll need to Set
Appliance Security Mode to Custom, configure the required option(s) and click Update.

The following illustrates how the script works for a single appliance:

Loadbalancer.org security lock-down

This script enhances the security of a single or high-availability pair of

load balancers.

You will be asked to provide new passwords for the web interface and the
console root account, plus an IP subnet that should be allowed remote access
to the load balancer's web interface and ssh console.

Please enter a new password for the web interface 'loadbalancer' user. The
password will not be displayed as you type.
New web interface password: ********
Confirm password:

Please enter a new password for the console 'root' user. The password will not
be displayed as you type.
This password will also be used for the console 'setup' user.
New console password:
Confirm password:

Please enter an IP subnet that should be allowed remote access to the web
interface and ssh console.
Note that any host outside of this subnet will immediately lose access to the
load balancer. If you are running this script remotely, that includes the
current console.
Administration subnet: 192.168.10.0/24

Working...

Setting web interface password...

Setting console root password on local machine...
Setting console 'setup' password on local machine...
Passwords set.

Setting up firewall...

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 69

 Firewall enabled.
Generating new SSH keys...
SSH keys replaced.

Security enhancement complete.

Once the script has finished, the "Security enhancement complete" message is displayed as shown above.

If lbsecure is run on the Primary of a correctly configured HA pair, the passwords, firewall rules
and SSH keys will also be updated on the Secondary appliance.

You should run lbsecure after configuring the HA pair to ensure the correct HA related ports are
configured in the firewall rules.

To reverse the action of lbsecure, the lbinsecure command can be used. For a clustered pair, run
lbinsecure on both Primary and Secondary appliances to completely reverse the configuration
applied by running lbsecure.

SSH Keys
This menu option enables SSH keys to be managed.

To view/manage SSH keys:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > SSH Keys.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 70

 
The first tab (SSH Keys) enables the following keys to be viewed & managed:


Host Keys - the host identification key(s) of the local host


User Keys - the public key(s) of the user presented to remote hosts


The second tab (SSH Authentication) enables the following keys to be viewed & managed:


Host Keys (known_hosts) - the key(s) of known hosts that have been previously connected to or
have been preconfigured. For an HA pair the peer appliance’s keys will be shown.


User Keys (authorized_keys) - the public key(s) of remote hosts that can log in as the specified
user. For an HA pair the peer appliance’s keys will be shown.

System Date & Time Configuration

Auto Configuration using NTP Servers

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 71

To configure NTP:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > System Date & Time.

2. Select the required System Timezone.

3. Specify the required NTP server(s) using the NTP Servers fields.

4. Click Set Timezone & NTP.

Manual Configuration
To manually set the date & time:

1. Set the data & time using the Date & time fields.

2. Click Set Date & Time.

Appliance Internet Access via Proxy

If required, a proxy server can be used to access the Internet.

To configure a proxy server:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Physical Advanced Configuration.

2. Scroll down to the Network Proxy section.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 72

 3. Enter the proxy’s IP address in the Proxy Server field.

4. Enter the port in the Port field.

5. Enter a Username & Password if the proxy requires credentials.

6. Click Update.

SMTP Relay Configuration

The appliance can be configured to use an SMTP smart host to relay all email messages generated by the load
balancer. If this field is not configured, the address will be auto-configured based on an MX lookup of the
destination email address that’s configured under Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Advanced Configuration.

To configure a smart host:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Physical Advanced Configuration.

2. Scroll down to the SMTP Relay section.

3. Enter an appropriate IP address or hostname in the Smart Host field.

4. Click Update.

Syslog Server Configuration

By default, all logs are written locally. Logs can be written to an external Syslog server if preferred, or to both
locations.

To configure a syslog server:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Physical Advanced Configuration.

2. Scroll down to the Logging section.

3. Select either Remote Syslog Server or Both.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 73

 4. Specify the required Rate limit interval, the default is 5 seconds.

5. Specify the required Rate limit Burst limit, the default is 200 messages.

6. Specify the Remote Syslog Server IP - this can be an IP address or hostname.

7. Specify the Remote Syslog Server Port.

8. Specify the Remote Syslog Server Protocol.

If the load balancer has been configured to keep detailed logs of multiple services, and
your syslog server is heavily loaded, we recommend that UDP is used - this is the default.

9. Specify the required Remote Syslog Server Template in string format.

10. Click Update.

SNMP Configuration
The appliance supports SNMP v1, v2 and v3.

To configure SNMP:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > SNMP Configuration.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 74

2. Enable the required SNMP version(s).

3. Enter the required SNMP location and SNMP contact.

4. For SNMP v1 & v2:


Enter the required SNMP v1/v2 community string.

5. For SNMP v3:


Specify the USM Username.


Select the required USM Authorization Algorithm.


Specify the USM Authorization Passphrase, it should be at least 8 characters.


Select the required USM Privacy Algorithm.


Specify USM Privacy Passphrase, it should be at least 8 characters.

6. Click Update.

7. Restart SNMPD using the Restart SNMPD button at the top of the screen.

Valid characters for the Community string, USM Username, USM Authorization Passphrase and
USM Privacy Passphrase fields are: a-z A-Z 0-9 [ ] # ~ _ * ! = - $ % ? { } @ : ; ^

For more information about the various OIDs and associated MIBs supported by the appliance,
please refer to SNMP Reporting.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 75

 If you need to change the port, IP address or protocol that SNMP listens on, please refer to
Service Socket Addresses.

Running OS Level Commands

The appliance supports the ability to run OS level commands directly from the WebUI.

To run an OS level command:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Execute Shell Command.

2. Enter the required command in the field provided.

3. Click Execute shell command.

Commands that run continuously when executed should be run with a specific count to ensure
that they will terminate gracefully and the results can be displayed in the WebUI.

For example with ping use:

ping -c 4 192.168.100.254

"Execute Shell Command" is disabled by default. This can be enabled using the WebUI menu
option: Local Configuration > Security. Set Appliance Security Mode to Custom then click
Update.

Portal Management & Appliance Adoption

The Loadbalancer.org ADC Portal is an ultra-secure, cloud-based ADC management platform that enables ADCs
from Loadbalancer.org and multiple other vendors including F5, Citrix Netscaler and Progress Kemp to be
monitored and managed. This enables centrally controlled backups, software updates, real-time security alerts
(CVEs) and secure remote access for all connected ADCs. To add an appliance to the Portal, follow the steps
below.

Step 1 - Configure Portal Connection Details

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Portal Management.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 76

 2. To enable communication with the Portal, enable (check) the Gateway Enabled and Shuttle Enabled
checkboxes.

3. To view or change the hostname/IP address and port of the Portal click [Advanced].

In most cases the default values for Hostname and Port do not need to be changed.

4. Click Update.

5. To apply the new settings, the Gateway and Shuttle services must be restarted. This can be done using the
buttons in the "Commit changes" box at the top of the screen.

Step 2 - Start the Appliance Adoption Process

1. Enter the Portal Email & Portal Password for the account you’d like the appliance to be associated with.

2. Click Begin Adoption.

Step 3 - Adopt the Shuttle

1. In the Portal, using the Services dropdown at the top of the page, select ADCs.

2. Using the menu on the left, select Shuttle Management, if the details have been specified correctly, the
shuttle for the appliance added will appear in the list as shown below.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 77

 A default name is allocated, this can be changed once the shuttle is adopted. To edit the
name, click the 3 dots at the right side and select Edit Shuttle.

3. Click the Adopt button for the new shuttle to complete the shuttle adoption process.

Step 4 - Add the ADC to the Portal

1. In the Portal, using the Services dropdown at the top of the page, select ADCs.

2. In the ADCs menu, select List then click the Add ADC button.

3. Click the Add button for the Loadbalancer Enterprise.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 78

4. Using the Shuttle dropdown, select the shuttle that corresponds to the appliance being added. If there is only
one shuttle available, it will be greyed out and selected automatically as shown above.

5. Click Next.

6. Specify the "loadbalancer" Username and enter the associated Password.

7. Enter the IP address of the appliance being added.

8. Leave the Port set to the default value (9000).

9. Click Next.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 79

 10. Enter an appropriate Label (name) for the appliance.

11. Ensure that the IP Address is correct.

12. Leave the Port set to the default value (9443).

13. Select the required Namespace.

14. Click Next.

15. Enter any required Notes and Tags to describe the appliance and click Next.

16. Verify all settings, these can be changed if needed using the relevant Edit option.

17. Click Submit - if the details have been specified correctly, the adopted appliance will appear in the list.

The Portal connection method above uses a shuttle and conection for each ADC. It’s also
possible to configure a single dedicated shuttle and use this for all ADCs. For more information,
please refer to the Portal Quickstart Guide and the ADC Portal page on our website.

Restarting & Reloading Services

The various services running on the appliance can be manually reloaded or restarted if required. This is normally
only required when a new configuration is added or an existing configuration is modified.

To restart / reload services:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Restart Services.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 80

 2. Click the relevant restart or reload button.

3. When prompted, click OK to confirm you’d like to proceed.

The following restart & reload options are available:

Restart Ldirectord
Restarting Ldirectord will result in a loss of layer 4 services during the restart.

Reload Ldirectord
Reloading Ldirectord may result in a loss of layer 4 services during the reload.

Restart HAProxy
Restarting HAProxy will result in a loss of layer 7 services during restart. It will cause any persistence tables to be
dropped and all connections to be closed.

Reload HAProxy
Reloading HAProxy will start a new process with the new configuration if settings have been changed and leave
the current process running. New connections will be passed onto this new process, the old process will maintain
existing connections and eventually terminate when there are no more connections accessing it. If you are using
stick tables for persistence the entries will be copied between processes.

If you have long lasting TCP connections it can take some time for the old HAProxy process to
terminate. This means that those connections will continue to use the old configuration. If this is
an issue, you can use Restart HAProxy instead.

Clear HAProxy Stick Table

If you are using stick table persistence, this will clear the entries for all tables. Clients may be directed to a
different server upon re-connection.

Restart Pound
Restarting Pound will result in a loss of related SSL termination services during the restart.

Restart Nginx
Restarts the fallback web server. There will be a brief window of service interruption.

Reload Nginx
Reloads the configuration of the running fallback web server.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 81

Restart STunnel
Restarting STunnel will result in a loss of related SSL termination services during the restart.

Reload STunnel
Reloading STunnel may result in a loss of related SSL termination services during the reload.

Restart Heartbeat
Restarting heartbeat will cause a temporary loss of all layer 4, layer 7 and SSL services.

Reload Heartbeat
Reloading heartbeat may cause a temporary loss of all layer 4, layer 7 and SSL termination services.

Restart Firewall
All firewall rules will be removed, then reloaded from the current configuration. This may result in a temporary
loss of service.

Restart Syslogd
Restart Syslogd to apply any configuration changes.

Restart Collectd
Restart the graphing data collection daemon Previously collected data will not be lost. Note that collectd will not
start if graphing of all services is disabled.

Restart SNMPD
Restart the SNMPD service on the local system.

Reload Apache
Reload Apache performs a graceful restart which causes the parent process to advise the children to exit after
their current request (or immediately if they’re not serving anything). The parent then reloads its configuration and
log files. As each child dies off the parent replaces it with a child with the updated configuration, which begins
serving new requests immediately.

Restart WAF
Restarting the WAF will drop all current connections are re-read the config.

Reload WAF
Reload the WAF and re-read the config.

Restart GSLB
Restart GSLB services to make live any changes to configuration. This will impact live services.

Reload GSLB
Reload GSLB services to make live any changes to configuration. This should not impact live services.

Restart Gateway
Restart the loadbalancer management gateway service.

Restart SSH
Restart the SSH service. This will cause a brief outage of the service.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 82

Appliance Restart & Shutdown
The appliance can be restarted or shutdown using the WebUI.

To restart or shutdown the appliance:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > System Control.

2. Select the required option.

Restoring Manufacturer’s Settings

The load balancer can be reset to factory default settings in two ways. In both cases this will remove all user
defined settings and configurations from the appliance and the IP address for eth0 will be reset to
192.168.2.21/24.

Using the WebUI

To restore factory defaults:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Backup & Restore > Restore Tab.

2. Click Restore Manufacturer’s Defaults.

3. Once restored, restart the appliance to complete the process.

Using the Console / SSH Session

Run the following command:

lbrestore

Once restored, restart the appliance to complete the process.

"root" user console and SSH password access are disabled by default. These options can be
enabled using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration > Security. You’ll need to Set
Appliance Security Mode to Custom, configure the required option(s) and click Update.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 83

Chapter 6 - Configuring Load Balanced Services
Introduction
As discussed in Layer 4 vs Layer 7, a fundamental choice when setting up load balanced services is whether to
configure the services at layer 4 or at Layer 7.

Layer 4 Services
The Basics
Layer 4 services are based on LVS (Linux Virtual Server). LVS implements transport layer load balancing inside
the Linux kernel. It is used to direct requests for TCP/UDP based services to the Real Servers and makes services
on the Real Servers appear as a Virtual Service on a single IP address.

With the exception of Layer 4 SNAT mode, Layer 4 services are transparent by default, i.e. the source IP address
is maintained through the load balancer to the Real Servers.

Layer 4 persistence is based on source IP and is enabled by default. The time out value is in seconds and each
time the client makes a connection the timer is reset, so a 5 minute persistence setting could last for hours if the
client is active and regularly refreshes their connection.

When a VIP is added, the load balancer automatically adds a corresponding floating IP address which is activated
instantly. You can use the WebUI option: View Configuration > Network Configuration to ensure that the floating
IP address is active. It will be listed as a secondary address/alias.

Multiple ports can be specified, for example 80 & 443. In this case persistence is useful to ensure that clients hit
the same backend server for both HTTP & HTTPS traffic and also to prevent the client having to renegotiate the
SSL connection.

It’s not possible to configure a VIP on the same IP address as any of the network interfaces.
This ensures services can "float" (move) between Primary and Secondary appliances when
using an HA Pair.

Creating Layer 4 Virtual Services

Virtual services (VIPs) can be configured either by creating a new VIP and configuring all required settings, or by
using the duplicate VIP feature.

Each Virtual Service can have an unlimited number of Real Servers. Typically you’ll need one Virtual Service for
each distinct cluster (group of load balanced servers). For example, you could create a VIP for a web cluster,
another for an FTP cluster and a third for a SIP cluster.

Configuring a New Layer 4 VIP

To add a new layer 4 VIP:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Virtual Services.

2. Click Add a new Virtual Service.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 84

3. Enter an appropriate Label (name) for the new Virtual Service.

4. Enter the required IP address in the IP address field.

For the Virtual Service to listen on all IP addresses configured on the appliance (including
the management address) specify 0.0.0.0 in the IP address field.

5. Enter the required port(s) in the Ports field. Separate multiple ports with commas, specify a range with a
hyphen and specify all ports using an asterisk (*).

Several ports are used by the appliance and therefore cannot be used for Virtual Services.
For full details, please refer to Ports Used by the Appliance.

6. Select the required Protocol:


TCP - Transmission Control Protocol is the default and most common option


UDP - User Datagram Protocol - used for DNS, SIP, etc.


TCP/UDP - enable both TCP and UDP on the port(s) specified


One Packet Scheduling - used for UDP SIP connections


Firewall Marks - For use when traffic has been tagged in the firewall script using the MARK target

7. Select the required Forwarding Method:


Direct Routing (DR) - This is the default mode for new Layer 4 VIPs. To use this mode, the "ARP
Problem" must be solved on each Real Server. For more information on DR mode, please refer to Layer
4 DR Mode.


NAT - With this mode, the Real Server’s default gateway must be changed to be the load balancer.
Because the load balancer also handles the return traffic, NAT mode is slower than DR mode. For more
information on NAT mode, please refer to Layer 4 NAT Mode.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 85

 
Tunneling - This is for WAN links (Tunneling). Tunneling has somewhat limited use as it requires an IP
tunnel between the load balancer and the Real Server as the VIP is the target address many routers will
drop the packet assuming that it has been spoofed. However, it is useful for private networks with Real
Servers on multiple subnets.


SNAT - The mode requires no Real Server changes but is not as fast as DR mode. Also it’s non
transparent and therefore looses the client source IP information. You should not use the same
RIP:PORT combination for layer 7 SNAT mode VIPs and layer 4 SNAT mode VIPs because the required
firewall rules conflict. For more information on SNAT mode, please refer to Layer 4 SNAT Mode.

8. Click Update.

9. To configure the Real Servers, please refer to Creating Layer 4 Real Servers (RIPs).

Duplicating an Existing Layer 4 VIP

If you have existing Virtual Services, these can be duplicated using the Duplicate Service feature.

This option copies all Virtual Service settings and the associated Real Servers. Once duplicated,
you’ll need to change either the IP address or port for the new VIP so that it does not clash with
the original.

To duplicate an existing layer 4 VIP:

1. Click Modify next to the VIP you’d like to duplicate.

2. Click Duplicate Service.

3. Click OK at the prompt to confirm you’d like to proceed.

4. The VIP will be duplicated with a new label, all other settings will be identical.

5. Change either the IP Address or Port to ensure it does not clash with the source VIP.

6. Modify any other settings to suit your requirements.

7. Click Update.

Modifying a Layer 4 VIP

When a Virtual Service is first created, only certain settings can be configured. All other settings are set at default
values to simplify initial configuration. These settings can be changed after the Virtual Service has been created
by clicking Modify next to the Virtual Service. the following table details the additional settings that can be
changed:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 86

Section Setting Description

Connection Balance Mode Select the required method to distribute new connections. The options are:
Distribution
Method 
Weighted Least-Connection (default) - assign more jobs to servers with
fewer jobs, relative to the Real Server’s weight.


Weighted Round Robin - assign jobs to Real Servers proportionally to
the Real Server’s weight. Servers with higher weights receive new jobs
first and get more jobs than servers with lower weights. Servers with
equal weights get an equal distribution of new jobs.


Destination Hash - assign jobs to servers through looking up a statically
assigned hash table by their destination IP addresses. This algorithm is
designed for use with web proxies and is supported with Layer 4 DR
mode Virtual Services only.

When using destination hash, the web proxy

servers must be configured in transparent mode
as the destination remains set as the page a user
requested. If the web proxy servers are configured
in explicit/routed mode the destination will
become the VIP. If the VIP is configured in either
NAT or SNAT mode, the destination will be altered
when the traffic is DNAT’ed flowing through the
load balancer.

Persistence Enable Enable (default) or disable source IP persistence.

Sticky or persistent connections are required for some protocols such as FTP
and SIP. It is also kind to clients when using SSL and is sometimes required
with HTTP if your web application cannot keep state between Real Servers.

If Protocol for the Virtual Service is set to One Packet

Scheduling, persistence will be based on SIP Call-ID.

If your Real Servers cannot keep session state

persistence themselves, then you will obtain
performance but not reliability benefits from a load
balancer.

Timeout How long do you want connections to be sticky? The persistence time is in
seconds and is reset on every connection. By default this is set to 300s (5
mins).

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 87

Section Setting Description

Granularity Specify the granularity with which clients are grouped for persistent Virtual
Services. The source address of the request is masked with this netmask to
direct all clients from a network to the same Real Server. The default is
255.255.255.255, that is, the persistence granularity is per client host. Less
specific netmasks may be used to resolve problems with non-persistent
cache clusters on the client side.

Health Checks Check Type Specify the type of health check to be performed on the Real Servers. As the
Check Type dropdown is changed, the related field list changes. The options
are:


Negotiate - Scan the page specified in Request to Send, and check the
returned data for the Response Expected string.


Connect to port - Attempt to make a connection to the specified port.


Ping Server - Use a simple ICMP ping to perform health checks.


External script - Use a custom file for the health check. For more
information, please refer to External Health Check Scripts


No checks, always off - all Real Servers are marked offline.


No checks, always on - all Real Servers are marked online.


5 Connects, 1 Negotiate - Repeating pattern of 5 Connect checks
followed by 1 Negotiate check.


10 Connects, 1 Negotiate - Repeating pattern of 10 Connect checks
followed by 1 Negotiate check.

For full details of all layer 4 health check options, please

refer to Health Checks for Layer 4 Services.

Check Port If you want the check port to be different to the port specified for the VIP, set
it here. For a multi-port VIP, by default the first port in the list will be used as
the check port.

Feedback Feedback The method the load balancer uses to measure to performance of the Real
Method Servers. The options are:


Agent - A simple telnet to port 3333 on the Real Server.


HTTP - A simple HTTP GET to port 3333 on the Real Server.


None - No feedback (default setting).

The load balancer expects a 0-99 integer response from the agent, usually
relating to the CPU idle; i.e. a response of 92 would imply that the Real
Server’s CPU is 92% idle. The load balancer will then use the formula (92/100
* requested_weight) to find the new weight.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 88

Section Setting Description

Fallback Server IP Address The server to route to if all of the Real Servers fail their health check. By
default the fallback server is set to be the local NGINX instance.

For more information on configuring the fallback server,

please refer to Fallback Server.

You can also configure the fallback server to be a "hot spare" if required. To
do this, configure the primary server as a Real Server and set the secondary
server as the fallback server.

Port The port of the fallback server. For DR mode and TUN mode with masq
disabled, the port should not be specified so that it defaults to the same as
the Virtual Service.

MASQ Fallback Masquerade fallback. When enabled, this enables the fallback server to be set
as a Layer 7 Virtual Service. This is especially useful in WAN/DR site
environments.

Email Alert Destination email address for server health check notifications.
Destination
Address
For more information on configuring email alerts, please
refer to Configuring Email Alerts for Virtual Services.

If you require a custom gateway for a particular VIP, this can be achieved using Policy Based
Routing. For more information, please refer to Policy Based Routing (PBR).

Creating Layer 4 Real Servers (RIPs)

An Unlimited number of Real Servers can be configured for each VIP.

To add a new layer 4 RIP:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Real Servers.

2. Click Add a new Real Server next to the relevant Virtual Service.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 89

 3. Enter an appropriate Label (name) for the new Real Server.

4. Enter the required IP address in the Real Server IP Address field.

5. Enter the required port in the Real Server Port field.

For a multiport VIP, this field should be left blank.

This field only applies to NAT mode and SNAT mode. In DR mode and TUN mode, port
redirection is not possible so traffic is passed through on the same port that it was
received on by the VIP.

6. Specify the required Weight, this is an integer specifying the capacity of a server relative to the others in the
pool, valid values are 0 to 65535, the default is 100. The higher the value, the more connections the server
will receive. If the weight is set to 0, the server will effectively be placed in drain mode.

7. Specify the Minimum Connections, this is an integer specifying the lower connection threshold of a server.
The valid values are 0 through to 65535. The default is 0, which means the lower connection threshold is not
set. If set, the server will receive new connections when the number of its connections drops below its lower
connection threshold. If not set but Maximum Connections is set, the server will receive new connections
when the number of its connections drops below 3/4 of its upper connection threshold.

8. Specify the Maximum Connections, this is an integer specifying the upper connection threshold of a server.
The valid values of Maximum Connections are 0 through to 65535. The default is 0, which means the upper
connection threshold is not set.

9. Click Update.

DR Mode Considerations
The ARP Problem
DR mode works by changing the MAC address of the inbound packets to match the Real Server selected by the
load balancing algorithm. To enable DR mode to operate:

1. The load balanced application/service/daemon running on each Real Server must be able to accept traffic
destined for the VIP address and the Real Server’s own IP address (RIP). This is because in DR mode the

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 90

 destination address of load balanced packets is the VIP address, whilst for other traffic such as health
checks, administration traffic etc. it’s the Real Server’s own IP address (the RIP).

2. Each Real Server must be configured so that it does not respond to ARP requests for the VIP address - only
the load balancer should do this.

Configuring the Real Servers in this way is known as "Solving the ARP Problem". The steps required depend on the
particular operating system being used.

Detecting the ARP Problem

Attempt to connect to the VIP and then use Reports > Layer 4 Current Connections to check whether the
connection state is SYN_RECV as shown below.

If this is the case, it’s normally a good indication that the "ARP Problem" has not been solved.

Solving the ARP Problem for Linux

There are two different approaches on how to configure a Linux server for correct operation when DR mode load
balancing is in use:


Modifying the server’s ARP behavior and adding the relevant VIP addresses to the loopback interface


Using NAT to convince the server to accept and reply to packets addressed to the relevant VIP addresses

Four independent methods are described below along with instructions. Each method follows one of the two
approaches above. The specific method chosen will depend on technical requirements, the Linux distribution in
use, and personal preferences.

The first method involves setting kernel parameters to alter the server’s ARP behavior and adding IP addresses to
the loopback interface. This method should be universally applicable to any Linux server making this the
preferred method.

If setting kernel parameters and adding IP addresses is not possible for some reason, the remaining three
methods describe setting up a server for DR mode operation by using NAT via the redirect target/statement. The
specific instructions depend on the packet filtering framework and tooling in use, which varies between Linux
distributions. Methods are presented for iptables, nftables, and the firewall-cmd tool.

Method 1: ARP Behavior and Loopback Interface Changes

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 91

This is the preferred method as it should be applicable to any Linux server and doesn’t require any additional
packet filtering or NAT considerations.

Each real server needs the loopback interface to be configured with the virtual IP addresses (VIPs) of the relevant
load balanced services. This is often just a single VIP address, but the logic described below can be extended to
cover multiple VIPs on a server. Having the VIPs on the loopback interface allows the server to accept inbound
load balanced packets that are addressed to a VIP.

The server must not respond to ARP requests for the VIP addresses. The server also must not use ARP to
announce the fact that it owns the VIP addresses. This is necessary to prevent IP address conflicts, as all of the
real servers and the load balancer will own the VIP addresses. Only the load balancer should announce ownership
of the VIPs.

To configure the behavior described above, follow all of the steps below on each real server.

Step 1 of 4: Re-configuring ARP behavior

This step is only applicable if IPv4-based virtual services are in use.

Add the following lines to the file /etc/sysctl.conf (create this file if it does not already exist):

net.ipv4.conf.all.arp_ignore=1
net.ipv4.conf.eth0.arp_ignore=1
net.ipv4.conf.eth1.arp_ignore=1
net.ipv4.conf.all.arp_announce=2
net.ipv4.conf.eth0.arp_announce=2
net.ipv4.conf.eth1.arp_announce=2

Adjust the commands shown above to suit the server’s network configuration, e.g. a different number of network
interfaces or a different interface naming convention.

For reference, the effect of these kernel parameter changes on the server is as follows:


arp_ignore=1: This configures the server to only reply to an ARP request if the request’s
target IP address is local to the incoming interface. This can never be true for VIP
addresses on the loopback interface, as the loopback interface can never be an incoming
interface for ARP requests from other devices. Hence, ARP requests for VIP addresses are
always ignored.


arp_announce=2: This prevents the server from sending an ARP request out of an
interface A where the ARP request’s sender/source address is stated to be an IP address
that is local to some other interface B. For example, this prevents the server from sending
an ARP request from a VIP address (which is local to the loopback interface) out of eth0,
which would announce that the server owns the VIP address.

Step 2 of 4: Re-configuring duplicate address detection (DAD) behavior

This step is only applicable if IPv6-based virtual services are in use.

Add the following lines to the file /etc/sysctl.conf (create this file if it does not already exist):

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 92

 net.ipv6.conf.lo.dad_transmits=0
net.ipv6.conf.lo.accept_dad=0

For reference, the effect of these kernel parameter changes on the server is as follows:


dad_transmits=0: This prevents a given interface from sending out duplicate address
detection probes in order to test the uniqueness of unicast IPv6 addresses. Any IPv6 VIP
addresses will not be unique, so this mechanism is disabled.


accept_dad=0: This prevents a given interface from accepting duplicate address
detection messages. This prevents any IPv6 VIP addresses from being marked as
duplicate addresses.

Step 3 of 4: Applying the new settings

To apply the new settings, either reboot the real server or execute the following command to immediately apply
the changes:

/sbin/sysctl -p

Steps 1, 2, and 3 can be replaced by instead modifying the necessary kernel variables by writing
directly to their corresponding files under /proc/sys/. Note that changes made in this way will
not persist across reboots.

Execute the following commands (as root) to implement these temporary changes (adapting the
number of interfaces and interface names as needed):

echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/all/arp_ignore

echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth0/arp_ignore
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth1/arp_ignore
echo 2 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/all/arp_announce
echo 2 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth0/arp_announce
echo 2 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/conf/eth1/arp_announce
echo 0 > /proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/lo/dad_transmits
echo 0 > /proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/lo/accept_dad

Step 4 of 4: Adding the virtual IP addresses (VIPs) to the loopback interface

Each of the VIP addresses must be permanently added to the loopback interface. VIPs must be added with a
network prefix of /32 for IPv4 addresses or /128 for IPv6 addresses. The IP addresses can be added using the
usual configuration files and tools for modifying network interfaces, which vary between different Linux
distributions.

As an alternative, the ip command can be used as a universal way to add IP addresses to any Linux server. Note
that addresses added in this way will not persist across reboots. To make these addresses permanent, add the
ip commands to an appropriate startup script such as /etc/rc.local.

Execute the following ip command for each IPv4 VIP:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 93

 ip addr add dev lo <IPv4-VIP>/32

Execute the following ip command for each IPv6 VIP:

ip addr add dev lo <IPv6-VIP>/128

To check that the VIPs have been successfully added, execute the command:

ip addr ls

To remove an IPv4 VIP from the loopback adapter, execute the command:

ip addr del dev lo <IPv4-VIP>/32

To remove an IPv6 VIP from the loopback adapter, execute the command:

ip addr del dev lo <IPv6-VIP>/128

Method 2: NAT "redirect" via iptables

iptables can be used on each real server to identify incoming packets that are addressed to a virtual IP address
(VIP) and redirect those packets to the server itself. This is achieved using the REDIRECT target in iptables, which
performs the necessary NAT to make this possible. This allows a real server to accept packets addressed to a
VIP without the server owning the VIP.

Execute the following command to put the necessary iptables rule in place to redirect traffic for a single IPv4 VIP
address. Note that iptables rules added in this way will not persist across reboots. To make such a rule
permanent, either add the rule to an iptables firewall script, if one is provided with the Linux distribution in
question, or add the command to an appropriate startup script such as /etc/rc.local on each real server.

iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -d <IPv4-VIP> -j REDIRECT

The VIP address should be changed to match the virtual service in question, for example:

iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -d 10.0.0.21 -j REDIRECT

The example above will redirect any incoming packets destined for 10.0.0.21 (the virtual service) locally, i.e. to the
primary address of the incoming interface on the real server.

If a real server is responsible for serving multiple VIPs then additional iptables rules should be added to cover
each VIP.

For an IPv6 VIP address, a command like the following should be used:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 94

 ip6tables -t nat -A PREROUTING -d <IPv6-VIP> -j REDIRECT

The VIP address should be changed to match the virtual service in question, for example:

ip6tables -t nat -A PREROUTING -d 2001:db8::10 -j REDIRECT

Method 2 may not be appropriate when using IP-based virtual hosting on a web server. This is
because an iptables REDIRECT rule will redirect incoming packets to the primary address of the
incoming interface on the web server rather than any of the virtual hosts that are configured.
Where this is an issue, use method 1 instead.

Method 3: NAT "redirect" via nftables

nftables is the modern Linux kernel packet filtering framework. It is supported on all major Linux distributions and
has replaced iptables as the default framework on most major distributions.

nftables can be used on each real server to identify incoming packets that are addressed to a virtual IP address
(VIP) and redirect those packets to the server itself. This is achieved using the redirect statement in nftables,
which performs the necessary NAT to make this possible. This allows a real server to accept packets addressed
to a VIP without the server owning the VIP.

Use a script like the following to put the necessary nftables structures in place to redirect traffic for both IPv4 and
IPv6 VIP addresses. To make such a configuration permanent, either add the inet nat table to an nftables
firewall script, if one is provided with the Linux distribution in question, or configure a script like the following to
execute as a startup script on each real server.

#!/usr/sbin/nft -f

table inet nat {

chain prerouting {
comment "Allow server to accept packets destined for VIP addresses";
type nat hook prerouting priority -100; policy accept;
ip daddr <IPv4-VIP> redirect comment "Description"
ip6 daddr <IPv6-VIP> redirect comment "Description"
}
}

The VIP addresses and comments should be changed to match the virtual services in question, for example:

#!/usr/sbin/nft -f

table inet nat {

chain prerouting {
comment "Allow server to accept packets destined for VIP addresses";
type nat hook prerouting priority -100; policy accept;
ip daddr 10.0.0.21 redirect comment "VIP 1: HTTP"
ip6 daddr 2001:db8::10 redirect comment "VIP 2: HTTPS"
}

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 95

 }

The example above will redirect any incoming packets destined for 10.0.0.21 or 2001:db8::10 (the virtual services)
locally, i.e. to the primary address of the incoming interface (for each IP version) on the real server.

Note that Linux kernels prior to 5.2 may not support performing NAT (which is required for the redirect
statement) in an inet family table. In this scenario, use either an ip or an ip6 family table instead, or both if a
mixture of IPv4 and IPv6 VIPs are in use on the same server. Also note that older kernels may not support the use
of comments in chains.

Note that Linux kernels prior to 4.18 require explicitly registering both prerouting and postrouting chains in order
for the implicit NAT of the redirect statement to be correctly performed in both the inbound and outbound
directions.

A legacy-friendly setup may look like the following:

#!/usr/sbin/nft -f

table ip nat {
chain prerouting {
type nat hook prerouting priority -100; policy accept;
ip daddr 10.0.0.21 counter redirect comment "VIP 1: HTTP"
}

chain postrouting {
type nat hook postrouting priority 100; policy accept;
}
}

table ip6 nat {

chain prerouting {
type nat hook prerouting priority -100; policy accept;
ip6 daddr 2001:db8::10 counter redirect comment "VIP 2: HTTPS"
}

chain postrouting {
type nat hook postrouting priority 100; policy accept;
}
}

Method 3 may not be appropriate when using IP-based virtual hosting on a web server. This is
because an nftables redirect statement will redirect incoming packets to the primary address of
the incoming interface on the web server rather than any of the virtual hosts that are configured.
Where this is an issue, use method 1 instead.

Method 4: NAT "redirect" via firewall-cmd

Some recent versions of Linux distributions make use of firewalld as a high-level firewall configuration
framework. In this case, while it may actually be iptables performing the work at a lower level, it may be preferred
to implement the iptables NAT solution described in method 2 in firewalld, as opposed to directly manipulating
iptables. This is achieved by using the firewall-cmd tool provided by firewalld and executing a command like

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 96

the following on each real server:

firewall-cmd --permanent --direct --add-rule ipv4 nat PREROUTING 0 -d <IPv4-VIP> -j REDIRECT

The VIP address should be changed to match the virtual service in question, for example:

firewall-cmd --permanent --direct --add-rule ipv4 nat PREROUTING 0 -d 10.0.0.50 -j REDIRECT

To apply the new configuration, reload the firewall rules like so:

firewall-cmd --reload

Configuration applied in this way will be permanent and will persist across reboots.

Method 4 may not be appropriate when using IP-based virtual hosting on a web server. This is
because an iptables REDIRECT rule will redirect incoming packets to the primary address of the
incoming interface on the web server rather than any of the virtual hosts that are configured.
Where this is an issue, use method 1 instead.

Solving the ARP Problem for Solaris

For Solaris, the loopback interface does not respond to ARP requests so you just need add the VIP address to the
interface:

ifconfig lo0:1 plumb

ifconfig lo0:1 <VIP> netmask 255.255.255.255 up

You’ll need to add this to the startup scripts on all of your Real Servers.

For Solaris v11 and later, a new command is used:

ipadm create-addr -a <VIP>/32 lo0

The configuration survives a reboot so there’s no need to add this command to a startup script, just run it on each
Real Server.

Solving the ARP Problem for Mac OS X/BSD

OS X is BSDish, so you need to use BSDish syntax:

ifconfig lo0 alias <VIP> netmask 255.255.255.255 -arp up

You’ll need to add this to the startup scripts on all of your Real Servers.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 97

 Don’t forget that the service on the Real Servers needs to listen on both the RIP address and VIP
address as mentioned previously.

Failure to correctly configure the Real Servers to handle the "ARP Problem" is the most common
issue when using DR mode.

Solving the ARP Problem for Windows Servers

Windows Server 2012 & Later
Windows Server 2012 and later support Direct Routing (DR) mode through the use of the Microsoft Loopback
Adapter that must be installed and configured on each load balanced (Real) Server. The IP address configured on
the Loopback Adapter must be the same as the Virtual Service (VIP) address. This enables the server to receive
packets that have their destination set as the VIP address. If a Real Server is included in multiple DR mode VIPs,
an IP address for each VIP must be added to the Loopback Adapter.

In addition, the strong/weak host behavior must be configured on each Real Server. The weak host model allows
packets with any IP to be sent or received via an interface. The strong host model only allows packets with an IP
belonging to the interface to be sent or received.

The following 3 steps must be completed on all Real Servers associated with the VIP.

Step 1 of 3: Install the Microsoft Loopback Adapter

1. Click Start, then run hdwwiz to start the Hardware Installation Wizard.

2. Once the Wizard has started, click Next.

3. Select Install the hardware that I manually select from a list (Advanced), click Next.

4. Select Network adapters, click Next.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 98

 5. Select Microsoft & Microsoft KM-Test Loopback Adapter, click Next.

6. Click Next to start the installation, when complete click Finish.

Step 2 of 3: Configure the Loopback Adapter

1. Open Control Panel and click Network and Sharing Center.

2. Click Change adapter settings.

3. Right-click the new Loopback Adapter and select Properties.

You can configure IPv4 or IPv6 addresses or both depending on your requirements.

IPv4 Addresses

1. Uncheck all items except Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) as shown below:

2. Ensure that Internet Protocol Version (TCP/IPv4) is selected, click Properties and configure the IP address
to be the same as the Virtual Service address (VIP) with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.255, e.g.
192.168.2.20/255.255.255.255 as shown below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 99

 192.168.2.20 is an example, make sure you specify the correct VIP address.

If a Real Server is included in multiple DR mode VIPs, an IP address for each VIP must be
added to the Loopback Adapter.

3. Click OK then click Close to save and apply the new settings.

IPv6 Addresses

1. Uncheck all items except Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) as shown below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 100

2. Ensure that Internet Protocol Version (TCP/IPv6) is selected, click Properties and configure the IP address
to be the same as the Virtual Service (VIP) and set the Subnet Prefix Length to be the same as your network
setting, e.g. 2001:470:1f09:e72::15/64 as shown below:

2001:470:1f09:e72::15/64 is an example, make sure you specify the correct VIP address.

If a Real Server is included in multiple DR mode VIPs, an IP address for each VIP must be

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 101

 added to the Loopback Adapter.

3. Click OK then click Close to save and apply the new settings.

Step 3 of 3: Configure the strong/weak host behavior

The strong/weak host behavior can be configured using either of the following 2 methods:


Option 1 - Using network shell (netsh) commands


Option 2 - Using PowerShell cmdlets

The commands in this section assume that the LAN Adapter is named "net" and the Loopback Adapter is named
"loopback" as shown in the example below:

Either adjust the commands to use the names allocated to your LAN and loopback adapters, or
rename the adapters before running the commands. Names are case sensitive so make sure
that the interface names used in the commands match the adapter names exactly.

Option 1 - Using Network Shell (netsh) Commands

To configure the correct strong/weak host behavior run the following commands:

For IPv4 addresses:

netsh interface ipv4 set interface "net" weakhostreceive=enabled

netsh interface ipv4 set interface "loopback" weakhostreceive=enabled
netsh interface ipv4 set interface "loopback" weakhostsend=enabled

For IPv6 addresses:

netsh interface ipv6 set interface "net" weakhostreceive=enabled

netsh interface ipv6 set interface "loopback" weakhostreceive=enabled
netsh interface ipv6 set interface "loopback" weakhostsend=enabled
netsh interface ipv6 set interface "loopback" dadtransmits=0

Option 2 - Using PowerShell Cmdlets

For IPv4 addresses:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 102

 Set-NetIpInterface -InterfaceAlias loopback -WeakHostReceive enabled -WeakHostSend enabled
-DadTransmits 0 -AddressFamily IPv4

Set-NetIpInterface -InterfaceAlias net -WeakHostReceive enabled -AddressFamily IPv4

For IPv6 Addresses:

Set-NetIpInterface -InterfaceAlias loopback -WeakHostReceive enabled -WeakHostSend enabled

-DadTransmits 0 -AddressFamily IPv6

Set-NetIpInterface -InterfaceAlias net -WeakHostReceive enabled -AddressFamily IPv6

Verify the Strong/Weak Host Configuration

The following PowerShell Cmdlets can be used to verify the settings:

The "net" interface:

netsh interface ipv4 show interface net

The "loopback" interface:

netsh interface ipv4 show interface loopback

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 103

 For IPv6, replace "ipv4" with "ipv6" in the above commands.

For Windows 2012 & later you can also use the following PowerShell Cmdlets to verify the settings:

To view both IPv4 and IPv6:

Get-NetIpInterface -InterfaceAlias loopback | FL

for IPv4 only:

Get-NetIpInterface -InterfaceAlias loopback -AddressFamily IPv4 | FL

for IPv6 only:

Get-NetIpInterface -InterfaceAlias loopback -AddressFamily IPv6 | FL

Failure to correctly configure the Real Servers to handle the "ARP Problem" is the most common
issue when using DR mode.

Solving the ARP Problem - Possible Side Effect for Windows 2012 & Later
With DR Mode, the source IP address of return traffic from a Real Server will be the IP address assigned to the
loopback adapter, which is the same as the VIP address that the client connected to. For traffic initiated by a Real
Server, the source IP address should under normal circumstances be the Real Server’s own IP address, i.e. the
address assigned to the standard network adapter.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 104

However, due to the way the network adapters are configured to solve the "ARP Problem", and the way that
Windows selects the source IP address, it’s possible under certain circumstances for the source IP address of
traffic initiated by a Real Server to be the IP address configured on the loopback adapter rather than the Real
Server’s own IP address. Please refer to this Microsoft article for more information on how Windows selects the
source IP address.

To prevent the IP address(es) assigned to the loopback adapter being used in this way, the skipassource flag
must be set for each IP assigned to the loopback adapter.

To check the current skipassource setting for all IPs associated with the loopback adapter, use the following
command:

Get-NetAdapter -name loopback | Get-NetIPAddress | select ipaddress, skipassource


If your loopback adapter is not named "loopback" modify the command accordingly

Example output:

ipaddress skipassource
--------- ------------
192.168.111.180 false

This shows that for the 192.168.111.180 address, the skipassource flag is not set.

To set the skipassource flag for the 192.168.111.180 address, use the following command:

Set-NetIPAddress –IPAddress 192.168.111.180 –SkipAsSource $True

To clear the skipassource flag for the 192.168.111.180 address, use the following command:

Set-NetIPAddress –IPAddress 192.168.111.180 –SkipAsSource $False

To set the skipassource flag for all IP addresses associated with the loopback adapter, the following two
PowerShell commands can be used:

[array]$IPs = Get-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias loopback

Set-NetIPAddress -IPAddress $IPs.IPAddress -InterfaceAlias loopback -SkipAsSource $true


The first command gathers all IP addresses assigned to the loopback adapter


The second command then sets the SkipAsSource flag for all IPs found


If your loopback adapter is not named "loopback" modify the commands accordingly

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 105

 Make the sure that the same settings are configured on all Real Servers.

Other Windows Settings that May Cause Issues

Receive Segment Coalescing (RSC)
RSC is a stateless offload technology that helps reduce CPU utilization for network processing on the receive side
by offloading tasks from the CPU to an RSC-capable network adapter. In rare cases it has been discovered that
RSC can adversely effect performance when using DR mode. In these cases the performance issue was
addressed by disabling RSC.

To check the current RSC settings for all RSC compatible interfaces, use the following command:

Get-NetAdapterRsc

Example output:

Name IPv4Enabled IPv6Enabled IPv4Operational IPv6Operational IPv4FailureReason IPv6FailureReason

State State
---- ----------- ----------- --------------- --------------- ----------------- -----------------
net True True True True NoFailure NoFailure


In this example IPv4Operational State and IPv6Operational State are set to True which shows that RSC is
enabled for both IPv4 and IPv6

RSC can be disabled and enabled using the GUI or by using PowerShell commands.

Using the GUI

RSC for IPv4 (Recv Segment Coalescing (IPv4)) and for IPv6 (Recv Segment Coalescing (IPv6)) can be
configured using the NIC’s advanced properties tab as shown in the example below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 106

To access the adapter’s advanced properties using Windows 2016 (other versions may be slightly different) go to:
Start > Settings > Network and Internet > Change adapter options, right click the adapter, select Properties, click
Configure and then select the Advanced tab.

Using PowerShell

To disable RSC:

Disable-NetAdapterRsc -Name "net" -IPv4

or for IPv6

Disable-NetAdapterRsc -Name "net" -IPv6

To enable RSC:

Enable-NetAdapterRsc -Name "net" -IPv4

or for IPv6

Enable-NetAdapterRsc -Name "net" -IPv6


If your network adapter is not named "net" modify the command accordingly

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 107

Configuring Your Application to Respond to Both the RIP and VIP
For DR & TUN modes, it’s important to make sure that your application (IIS in this example) responds to both the
VIP and RIP.

By default, IIS listens on all configured IP addresses as shown in the example below. As can be seen, the IP
address field is set to "All Unassigned".

If the default setting is not changed, no further IIS configuration is required. If you do change the IP address in the
bindings from "All Unassigned" to a specific IP address, then you need to make sure that you also add a binding
for the Virtual Service IP address (VIP) as shown in the example below:

This example illustrates how IIS must be configured to ensure that it’s listening on both the RIP

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 108

 and VIP address. Remember that this applies to ALL applications when using DR mode.

Windows Firewall Settings

When IIS is installed, default rules are created that allow inbound traffic on port 80 and 443. By default, these rules
apply to the Domain, Public and Private profiles and all interface types. If the rules are changed, make sure that
inbound traffic can still reach both the LAN interface and the loopback adapter.

NAT Mode Considerations

Layer 4 NAT mode requires Real Server return traffic to pass back via the load balancer. This is achieved by
setting each Real Server’s default gateway to be the load balancer. For an HA Pair, a floating IP address should be
used to allow the gateway to "float" (move) between appliances should a failover occur.

Whilst NAT mode is fairly straight forward, a few points need to be considered.

NAT Mode Potential Issues

1. By default your Real Servers won’t be able to access the Internet through the new default gateway (except
when replying to requests made through the external VIP).

2. Non-load balanced services on the Real Servers (e.g. RDP for management access to Windows servers) will
not be accessible since these have not been exposed via the load balancer.

Enabling Real Server Internet Access Using Auto-NAT

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Advanced Configuration.

2. Change Auto-NAT from off to the external interface being used - typically eth1.

3. Click Update.

This activates the rc.nat script that forces external network traffic to be MASQUERADED to and from the
external network. The iptables masquerade rule that’s used for this is shown below:

iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth1 -j MASQUERADE

Enabling Access to non Load Balanced Services

If you want non load balanced services on your Real Servers to be accessible from the external subnet, you have
two choices:

1. Setup a NAT mode Virtual Service listening on the relevant service ports and add the required Real Server
leaving the Real Server Port field blank. The Real Server’s default gateway must be the load balancer.

2. Setup a floating IP address and add SNAT/DNAT rules for each server as shown in the example below, these
lines can be added to the firewall script using the WebUI menu option Maintenance > Firewall Script. The
Real Server will then be accessibe via the floating IP address. Once again, the Real Server’s default gateway
must be the load balancer.

INT_ADDR="192.168.110.240" # The Real Server's IP address

EXT_ADDR="10.200.110.240" # A floating IP on the load balancer in the external subnet

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 109

 iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -p tcp -s $INT_ADDR -j SNAT --to-source $EXT_ADDR
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp -d $EXT_ADDR -j DNAT --to-destination $INT_ADDR

Once configured, firewall entries similar to the following will be listed under View Configuration > Firewall
Rules:

Chain PREROUTING (policy ACCEPT 923 packets, 86608 bytes)

pkts bytes target prot opt in out source destination
18 944 DNAT tcp -- * * 0.0.0.0/0 10.200.110.240 to:192.168.110.240

Chain POSTROUTING (policy ACCEPT 23 packets, 1784 bytes)

pkts bytes target prot opt in out source destination
0 0 SNAT tcp -- * * 192.168.110.240 0.0.0.0/0 to:10.200.110.240

Notes


INT_ADDR can also be any other server on the internal subnet.


Separate floating IPs and SNAT/DNAT rules are needed for each internal server.


The DNAT rule changes the destination IP address of inbound packets from the external floating IP
address (EXT_ADDR) to the internal server’s address (INT_ADDR).


The SNAT rule changes the source IP address of outbound packets from the internal server’s address
(INT_ADDR) to the external floating IP addess (EXT_ADDR).


The default gateway on the internal server must be the load balancer.


If Auto-NAT is already enabled, only the DNAT rule is required.

One-Arm (Single Subnet) NAT Mode

Normally the VIP is located on a different subnet to the Real Servers. However, it is possible to perform NAT
mode load balancing on a single subnet where the VIP is brought up in the same subnet as the Real Servers. For
clients located on this subnet, return traffic would normally be sent directly to the client bypassing the load
balancer which would break NAT mode. To address this, the routing table on the Real Servers must be modified
to force return traffic to pass via the load balancer. The sections below explain how routing must be modified for
Windows hosts and Linux hosts.

Route Configuration for Windows Servers

To rectify this issue for Windows servers, a route must be added to each Real Server that takes priority over the
default Windows routing rules. This is a simple case of deleting the default On-link route and adding a permanent
route via the load balancer using the following commands on each real server:

netsh interface ipv4 delete route 192.168.2.0/24 "LAN"

netsh interface ipv4 add route 192.168.2.0/24 "LAN" 192.168.2.21

Replace "192.168.2.0/24" with your subnet address, "192.168.2.21" with your load balancer’s IP
address and "LAN" with the name of the interface on your server.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 110

 After running the above commands, reboot the server and check if the updated routing rules
have remained. Depending on the specific version of Windows, it may be necessary to add the
commands to a startup script. This is because under certain circumstances routing rules for on-
link, directly accessible addresses can get reset to defaults after a reboot.

Verify routing rules using the following command:

netsh interface ipv4 show route

Route Configuration for Linux Servers

To rectify this issue for Linux servers, we need to modify the local network route by changing to a higher metric:

route del -net 192.168.2.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 dev eth0

route add -net 192.168.2.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 metric 2000 dev eth0

Ensure you specify your local subnet address.

Then we need to make sure that local network access uses the load balancer as its default route:

route add -net 192.168.2.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 gateway 192.168.2.21 metric 0 dev eth0

Replace 192.168.2.0 & 255.255.255.0 with your local subnet address and replace 192.168.2.21
with the IP address of your load balancer.

Any local traffic (same subnet) is then handled by the manual route and any external traffic is handled by the
default route (which also points at the load balancer).

Firewall Marks
Firewall marks are used to group ports and protocols into a single Virtual Service. For example, firewall marks can
be used to bundle HTTP connections on port 80 and secure HTTPS connections on port 443 for an e-commerce
site. By assigning the same firewall mark to each protocol, state information for the transaction can be preserved
because the load balancer forwards all requests from a particular client to the same Real Server.

Firewall Marks - Auto Configuration

When configuring a layer 4 VIP with multiple ports, firewall marks is used automatically in the background to
enable this functionality. For example, to configure an HTTP & HTTPS NAT mode Virtual Service, port 80 & 443
must be specified separated by a comma in the Virtual Service’s Ports field as shown below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 111

This will automatically configure the required firewall marks.

Persistence will be enabled automatically.

When configuring the Real Servers, the Ports field must be left blank as shown below:

Packets will then be forwarded to the Real Servers on the same port as received by the VIP.

For Layer 4 DR mode VIPs, there is no Real Server Port field since port translation is not possible
in this mode.

To create an auto firewall mark VIP that listens on all ports, enter an asterisk (*) in the ports field
rather than a specific port number.

The health check port is automatically set to the first port in the list. This can be changed if
required by modifying the VIP and setting the required port in the Check Port field.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 112

Firewall Marks - Manual Configuration
Firewall Marks can also be configured manually. The basic concept is to create a firewall rule that matches
incoming packets to a particular IP address/port/protocol and mark them with an arbitrary integer. When the
Virtual Service is configured, this firewall mark integer is specified rather than an IP address.

In most cases, it’s not necessary to create firewall marks manually. Multiple ports and protocols
can easily be dealt with using the standard Creating Layer 4 Virtual Services feature.

Step 1: Create the New VIP

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Virtual Services.

2. Click Add a new Virtual Service.

3. Specify the required Label (name) for the VIP, e.g. Cluster-1.

4. Instead of entering an IP address, enter a numeric value, e.g. 1 - this is the numeric reference for the Firewall
Mark, this reference is used in step 5 below when configuring the firewall rules.

5. The Ports field does not need to be set as it is not relevant in this case - the actual port(s) used are
configured in the firewall script in step 5 below.

6. Set Protocol to Firewall Marks - at this point the Ports field will be grayed out and the IP Address field will be
renamed as Firewall Mark Identifier as shown above.

7. Click Update.

Persistence will be enabled automatically.

Step 2: Specify a Health Check Port

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Virtual Services.

2. Click Modify next to the new Virtual Service.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 113

 3. Enter the appropriate value in the Check Port field.

4. Click Update.

Step 3: Add the Real Servers

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Real Servers.

2. Click Add a new Real Server.

3. Enter the required details as shown below.

4. Click Update.

Step 4: Add the Associated Floating IP Address for the VIP

If you’re modifying an existing layer 4 VIP, the floating IP will already exist so this step can be
skipped.

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Floating IPs.

2. Add a floating IP that corresponds to the required VIP, in this example 192.168.111.240.

3. Click Add Floating IP.

Step 5: Modify the Firewall Script

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Firewall Script.

2. Scroll down to the Manual Firewall Marks section and add the following lines as shown below:

VIP1="192.168.111.240"
iptables -t mangle -A PREROUTING -p tcp -d $VIP1 --dport 8025 -j MARK --set-mark 1

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 114

 iptables -t mangle -A PREROUTING -p udp -d $VIP1 --dport 8025 -j MARK --set-mark 1

3. Click Update.

4. For a clustered pair, make the same changes to the firewall script on the Secondary appliance.

The VIP is now configured and should be accessible on 192.168.111.240, TCP & UDP port 8025.

Firewall Mark Notes

1. When using firewall marks the load balancer forwards traffic to the selected Real Server without changing
the destination port. So incoming traffic to port 80 on the Virtual IP will be forwarded to port 80 on one of the
Real Servers. Likewise, incoming traffic to port 443 will be forwarded to port 443 on the same Real Server.

2. A single health check port can be configured. For auto-firewall marks this is set as the first port in the list by
default. For manual firewall marks this must be manually configured.

3. You can specify a range of ports rather than a single port as shown below:

iptables -t mangle -A PREROUTING -p tcp -d 10.141.12.34 --dport 1024:5000 -j MARK --set-mark 1


This specifies destination ports from 1024 to 5000

4. You can leave the upper limit blank to use the default upper limit as shown below:

iptables -t mangle -A PREROUTING -p tcp -d 10.141.12.34 --dport 1024: -j MARK --set-mark 1

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 115

 
This specifies destination ports from 1024 to 65535

5. You can specify a range of IP addresses as shown below:

iptables -t mangle -A PREROUTING -p tcp -m iprange --dst-range 10.141.12.34-10.141.12.40

--dport 80 -j MARK --set-mark 1


This specifies the destination IP address as a range from 10.141.12.34 to 10.141.12.40

Layer 4 - Advanced Configuration

This section allows you to configure various layer 4 global settings.

Lock Ldirectord Configuration - Prevent the WebUI from writing the Ldirectord configuration file, so that manual
changes are retained. Manual changes to the Ldirectord configuration file may be overwritten if settings are
edited in the WebUI. Locking the configuration file will prevent the WebUI from modifying the file so that custom
edits are preserved. A warning message will be displayed on all Layer 4 configuration pages, and changes will be
denied.

Check Interval - Layer 4 health check interval in seconds. If this setting is too low, you may experience
unexpected Real Server downtime.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 116

Check Timeout - Layer 4 health check timeout in seconds. If this setting is too low, you may induce unexpected
Real Server downtime.

TCP FIN Timeout - The time to remember an TCP session for after seeing a FIN packet.

UDP Timeout - The time to remember a session for after seeing a UDP packet. The timeout is reset on every UDP
packet received.

Negotiate Timeout - Layer 4 negotiate health check timeout in seconds. The negotiate checks may take longer to
process as they involve more server side processing than a simple TCP socket connect check. If this setting is
too low, you may induce unexpected Real Server downtime.

Failure Count - Layer 4 number of times a check has to fail before taking server offline. The time to detect a
failure and take down a server will be (check interval + check timeout) x failure count.

Quiescent - When a Real Server fails a health check, do we kill all connections?

When Quiescent is set to yes, on a health check failure the Real Server is not removed from the load balancing
table, but the weight is set to 0. Persistent connections will continue to be routed to the failed server, but no new
connections will be accepted. When Quiescent is set to no, the server is completely removed from the load
balancing table on a health check failure. Persistent connections will be broken and sent to a different Real
Server.

Quiescent only applies to health checks - it has no effect on taking Real Servers offline in System
Overview. To manually force a Real Server to be removed from the table, set Quiescent to no
and arrange for the server to fail its health check. This may be done, for example, by shutting
down the daemon or service, changing the negotiate check value, or shutting down the server.

Email Alert Source Address - Specify the global source address of the email alerts. When an email alert is sent,
the system will use this address in the "From" field.

Email Alert Destination Address - Specify the global destination email alert address. This address is used to send
notifications of Real Server health check failures. This can also be configured on a Virtual Service level.

Auto-NAT - Automatically NAT outbound network connections from internal servers. By default servers behind
the load balancer in a NAT configuration will not have access to the outside network. However, clients on the
outside will be able to access load balanced services. By enabling Auto-NAT the internal servers will have their
requests automatically mapped to the load balancer’s external IP address. The default configuration is to map all
requests originating from internal network eth0 to the external IP on eth1. If you are using a different interface for
external traffic you can select it here. Manual SNAT and DNAT configurations for individual servers can also be
configured in the firewall script.

Multi-threaded - Perform health checks with multiple threads. Using multiple-threads for health checks will
increase performance when you have a large number of Virtual Services.

Layer 7 Services
The Basics

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 117

Layer 7 services are based on HAProxy which is a fast and reliable proxying and load balancing solution for TCP,
HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2 applications.

Since HAProxy is a full proxy, Layer 7 services are not transparent by default, i.e. the client source IP address is
lost as requests pass through the load balancer and instead are replaced by an IP address owned by the load
balancer. This is the interface IP by default, but can also be set to any other IP address that the load balancer
owns, for example the VIP address.

When a VIP is added, the load balancer automatically adds a corresponding floating IP address which is activated
instantly. You can use the WebUI option: View Configuration > Network Configuration to ensure that the floating
IP address is active. It will be listed as a secondary address/alias.

Multiple persistence methods (aka affinity/stickiness) are supported and can be enabled when needed.

Multiple ports can be specified, for example 80 & 443. In this case persistence will probably be required (default
setting) to ensure that clients hit the same backend server for both HTTP & HTTPS traffic and also prevent the
client having to renegotiate the SSL connection.

With Layer 7, port re-direction is possible, i.e. VIP:80 → RIP:8080 is supported.

Manual configuration of layer 7 services is supported using the WebUI menu option: Cluster Configuration > Layer
7 - Manual Configuration. This enables custom layer 7 VIPs to be created that are able to use HAProxy features
not directly supported via the WebUI. For more information, please refer to Layer 7 - Custom Configurations.

It’s not possible to configure a VIP on the same IP address as any of the network interfaces.
This ensures services can "float" (move) between Primary and Secondary appliances when
using an HA Pair.

Creating Layer 7 Virtual Services (Using the Wizard)

The wizard can be used to configure Layer 7 Virtual Services and the associated Real Servers.

To run the wizard:

1. Using the WebUI, naviagate to: Cluster Configuration > Setup Wizard and click General Layer 7 Virtual
Service.

2. Configure the required Virtual Service settings as shown in the example below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 118

3. Click Create Virtual Service.

4. Now continue and add the associated load balanced servers (Real Servers) as shown below:


Use the Add Real Server button to configure additional Real Servers and use the red cross to delete
Real Servers.


Once you’re happy, click Attach Real Servers to create the Real Servers.


A confirmation message will be displayed as shown in the example below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 119

 5. Click Continue.

6. Finally, reload HAProxy using the Reload HAProxy button in the "Commit changes" message box at the top
of the screen or by using the WebUI menu option: Maintenance > Restart Services and clicking Reload
HAProxy.

Running the wizard again will permit additional Layer 7 VIPs and associated RIPs to be
configured.

By default, Real Server health checks are set to a TCP port connect. If you need to
configure a more robust check, please refer to Chapter 8 - Real Server Health Monitoring &
Control.

Creating Layer 7 Virtual Services

Virtual services (VIPs) can be configured either by creating a new VIP and configuring all required settings, or by
using the duplicate VIP feature to clone an existing VIP and then modifying the settings as needed.

Each Virtual Service can have an unlimited number of Real Servers. Typically you’ll need one Virtual Service for
each distinct cluster (group of load balanced servers). For example, you’d create a VIP for a web cluster, another
for an FTP cluster and a third for a SIP cluster.

Configuring a New Layer 7 VIP

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Virtual Services.

2. Click Add a new Virtual Service.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 120

 3. Enter an appropriate Label (name) for the new Virtual Service.

4. Enter the required IP address in the IP Address field.

For the Virtual Service to listen on all IP addresses configured on the appliance (including
the management address) specify 0.0.0.0 in the IP address field.

5. Enter the required port(s) in the Ports field - separate multiple ports with commas, specify a range with a
hyphen.

Several ports are used by the appliance and therefore cannot be used for Virtual Services.
For full details, please refer to Ports Used by the Appliance.

6. Select the required Layer 7 protocol:


HTTP Mode - Use the mode if the Virtual Service will handle only HTTP traffic. This allows more
flexibility in the processing of connections. When using persistence types such as HTTP Cookie and
HTTP Application, HTTP mode must be selected. In addition, the HAProxy log will show more
information on the client requests and Real Server responses.


TCP Mode - Use this mode to support all non HTTP traffic such as HTTPS, RPC, RDP, FTP, SIP etc.


HTTP/2 Mode - Use this mode to support HTTP/2.

7. For HTTP/2 Mode VIPs:


Select the required SSL Certificate.


If client validation is required, select the relevant CA Certificate.


To configure advanced HTTP/2 settings, click [Advanced].


Configure the required Ciphers to use, the default is:

ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-
SHA384:DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-
SHA256


Configure the remaining Cipher options.

8. Click Update.

9. To configure the Real Servers, please refer to Creating Layer 7 Real Servers (RIPs).

Duplicating an Existing Layer 7 VIP

If you have existing Virtual Services, these can be duplicated using the "Duplicate Service" feature.

This option copies all Virtual Service settings and the associated Real Servers. Once duplicated,
you’ll need to change either the IP address or port for the new VIP so that it does not clash with
the original.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 121

To duplicate an existing layer 7 VIP:

1. Click Modify next to the VIP you’d like to duplicate.

2. Click the Duplicate Service button.

3. Click OK at the prompt to confirm you want to duplicate the VIP.

4. The VIP will be duplicated with a new label, all other settings will be identical.

5. Change the IP Address, Port and any other setting to suit your requirements.

6. Click Update.

Modifying a Layer 7 VIP

When a Virtual Service is first created, only certain settings can be configured. All other settings are set at default
values to simplify initial configuration. These settings can be changed after the Virtual Service has been created
by clicking Modify next to the Virtual Service. the following table details the additional settings that can be
changed:

Section Setting Description

Virtual Service [Advanced] > Enabling this option will prevent the HAProxy configuration file being written
Manual for this Virtual Service, leaving the user to configure it via the Layer 7 - Manual
Configuration Configuration page. If the Virtual Service label is the same in the manual
configuration you will be able to see the status of the Virtual Service as well as
control it via the System Overview as you would any other service.

For more information on creating a manually configured

layer 7 VIP, please refer to Layer 7 - Custom
Configurations.

[Advanced] > Enabling this option will prevent the automatic creation of a Frontend in the
Create HAProxy configuration file for this Virtual Service’s Backend. The pool of Real
Backend Only Servers will not be directly accessible to clients via the network but can
instead be made accessible from another Virtual Service by naming this
Virtual Service in a Backend ACL rule.

For more information on creating backend VIPs, please

refer to HAProxy Backends.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 122

Section Setting Description

Protocol [Advanced] > Select how HAProxy should handle HTTP pipelining to client and server. The
HTTP Pipeline options are:
Mode

Keep-alive Both - Enable pipelining from both the client to HAProxy and
(HTTP mode from HAProxy to the server.
only)

Close both client and server - Disable pipelining, always closing
connections to both client and server after the end of the response, and
appending the Connection: close header in both directions.


Keep-alive client, close server - Allow client to negotiate pipelining,
whilst closing the server connection using HTTP.

[Advanced] > Work around Real Servers that do not correctly implement the HTTP
Work around Connection:close option.
broken
Connection:
close

(HTTP mode
only)

[Advanced] > This allows invalid characters in header names to be passed through to the
Accept Invalid backend. If a fix is not immediately available, enable this option. However it
HTTP can hide further application bugs as well as open security breaches and
Requests should only be enabled as a last resort. Ultimately fix your application.

(HTTP mode
only)

[Advanced] > Enabling this option helps protect against Slowloris type attacks. With this
HTTP request option enabled the client must send the full HTTP header request within 5
timeout (DoS Seconds.
Protection)

(HTTP mode
only)

[Advanced] > It’s possible to reuse idle connections to serve requests from the same
Reuse Idle session which can be beneficial in terms of performance. It’s important to
HTTP note that the first request of a session is always sent over its own connection,
Connections and only subsequent requests may be dispatched over other existing
connections.
(HTTP mode
only)

[Advanced] > Enables the transmission of TCP keep-alive on both the client and the server
TCP Keep-alive sides of the connection. It’s important to note that this has nothing to do with
HTTP keep-alive. This Option is enabled by default when using persistence
(TCP mode modes - MS Session Broker and RDP Client Cookie.
only)

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 123

Section Setting Description

[Advanced] > If a real server becomes un-responsive ignore persistence and send client
Redispatch connection to another available real server. If Unsure leave enabled.

Connection Balance Mode The scheduler used to specify server rotation. Specify the scheduler to utilize
Distribution when deciding the backend server to use for the next new connection. The
Method options are:


Weighted Round Robin - Incoming requests are distributed to Real
Servers in a sequential manner relative to each Real Server’s weight.
Servers with a higher weight receive more requests. A server with a
weight of 200 will receive 4 times the number of requests than a server
with a weight of 50. Weightings are relative, so it makes no difference if
Real Server #1 and #2 have weightings of 50 and 100 respectively or 5
and 10. The default weight for new Real Servers is 100.


Weighted Least Connection (default for new VIPs) - Incoming requests
are distributed to Real Servers with the fewest connections relative to
each Real Server’s weight. Servers with a higher weight receive more
requests. A server with a weight of 200 will receive 4 times the number of
requests than a server with a weight of 50. Again, weightings are relative,
so it makes no difference if Real Server #1 and #2 have weightings of 50
and 100 respectively or 5 and 10. The default weight for new Real
Servers is 100. This is the default method for new VIPs.


First - The first server with available connection slots receives the
connection. The servers are chosen from the lowest numeric identifier to
the highest which defaults to the server’s position in the farm. Once a
server reaches its maxconn value, the next server is used.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 124

Section Setting Description

Persistence Persistence Select how the load balancer should track clients so as to direct each request
Mode to the same server. The options are:


HTTP Cookie (HTTP mode only) - The load balancer will set an HTTP
Cookie to track each client.


Application Cookie (HTTP mode only) - Where an existing HTTP Cookie
is set by the web application on the Real Servers, use this to track each
client.


SSL Session ID (TCP mode only) - Read the Session ID from the SSL
connection and use this to track each client.


MS Session Broker (TCP mode only) - Use the server-set msts RDP
Cookie to track clients connecting to a Microsoft Terminal Server. The
Session Broker service must be enabled on the real servers.


RDP Client Cookie (TCP mode only) - Use the client-set mstshash RDP
Cookie to track clients connecting to a Microsoft Terminal Server. If the
cookie is missing, source IP persistence will be used instead.


Source IP - The same source IP always hits the same Real Server.


HTTP Cookie and Source IP (HTTP mode only) - As HTTP Cookie, falling
back to Source IP if the cookie is missing from the HTTP request.


X-Forwarded-For and Source IP (HTTP mode only) - Use X-Forwarded-
For, falling back to Source IP if the X-Forwarded-For header is missing
form the request.

You cannot use the set X-Forwarded-For header

option with this method of persistence. It will be
disabled.


Stick On Fallback – This option disables automatically failing back to the
Real Server from the fallback server when the Real Server comes back
online. An external fallback server is required. This method is appropriate
where you have one Real Server and one fallback server. If the Real
Server fails, traffic will be handled by the fallback server. When the Real
Server comes back online, the fallback server will continue to handle all
traffic and no automatic fallback to the Real Server will occur. In order to
force fallback you will need to clear the stick table.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 125

Section Setting Description

Last Successful - Clients will use which ever server last successfully
served a client.

This includes the fallback server if one is

configured.

The last successful server is recorded in the stick table and clearing this
will cause the server selection for the next connection to be determined
by the Balance Mode.


None - No persistence. The allocation of clients to Real Servers will be
determined solely by the Balance Mode.

Persistence HTTP Cookie Set the name of the HTTP cookie.

Options Name

Application Set the name of the application cookie.

Cookie Name

[Advanced] > Set the max idle time of the cookie.

HTTP Cookie
Max Idle
Duration

[Advanced] > Set the max lifetime of the cookie.

HTTP Cookie
Max Life
Duration

[Advanced] > The time-out period before an idle connection is removed from the connection
Persistence table. The source IP address will be removed from memory when it has been
timeout idle for longer than the persistence timeout. The default units are minutes.

[Advanced] > The size of the table of connections in KB. The size of the table of connections
Persistence (approximately 50 bytes per entry) where connection information is stored to
table size allow a session to return to the same server within the timeout period. The
default units are in KB.

[Advanced] > Clear the stick table entries for a particular real server when that server is
Clear Stick on drained using the system overview. Clearing the associated stick table entries
Drain when draining a real server is particularly useful and recommended if you
have long lived connections with large connection timeouts such as RDP or
SSH. When the server is taken out of drain mode and this option is enabled
users will be load balanced across all servers in the normal way when they
reconnect, when disabled (default) users are reconnected to the same server
until their persistence entry in the stick table expires.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 126

Section Setting Description

[Advanced] > With XFF headers it’s possible to have either more than one header or more
XFF IP Position than one IP in that header. This option gives the user the ability to select a
specific IP position inside the header to use for persistence. For example: X-
Forwarded-For: 192.168.1.1, 192.168.1.2, 10.10.10.1.

In the above example the -1 (default) position is 10.10.10.1 this will always be
the last appended value, -2 is 192.168.1.2 and -3 is 192.168.1.1 and so on for
as many IPs as you have in your header.

It’s possible to do the same thing with Multiple XFF headers:

X-Forwarded-For: 192.168.1.1

X-Forwarded-For: 192.168.1.2

X-Forwarded-For: 10.10.10.1

It works the same as the previous example -1 is 10.10.10.1 or the most

recently added header -2 is 192.168.1.2 and -3 is 192.168.1.1 and so on. The
IP address at the position you select will be stored in the stick table and used
for persistence on the next request from the user.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 127

Section Setting Description

Health Checks Check Type Specify the type of health check to be performed on the Real Servers. The
options are:


Negotiate HTTP/HTTPS (GET) - Scan the page specified in Request to
Send, and check the returned data for the Response Expected string


Negotiate HTTP/HTTPS (HEAD) - Request the page headers of the page
specified in Request to Send


Negotiate HTTP/HTTPS (OPTIONS) - Request the options of the page
specified in Request to Send


Connect to port - Attempt to make a connection to the specified port.


External script - Use a custom file for the health check. For more
information, please refer to External Health Check Scripts.


MySQL - The check consists of sending two MySQL packets, one Client
Authentication packet, and one QUIT packet, to correctly close the
MySQL session. It then parses the MySQL Handshake Initialization
packet and/or Error packet. It’s a basic but useful test and does not
produce error nor aborted connect on the server. However, it requires
adding an authorization in the MySQL table, like this:

USE mysql; INSERT INTO user (Host,User) values ('',''); FLUSH

PRIVILEGES;


No checks, Always on - No health checks, all real servers are marked
online.

For full details of all layer 7 health check options, please

refer to Health Checks for Layer 7 Services.

ACL Rules Enables ACLs to be configured. For more information on configuring ACLs,
please refer to ACLs (Access Control Lists).

Header Rules Enables HTTP headers to be added, set or deleted. For more information on
(HTTP mode configuring HTTP headers, please refer to Modifying HTTP Header Fields.
only)

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 128

Section Setting Description

Feedback Feedback Select whether HAProxy should query each Real Server for its load level. The
Method Method options are:


None - HAProxy will not modify the Real Server’s weight.


Agent - The Real Server is queried every health check interval for the real
server’s percent CPU idle. This is used to set each Real Server’s weight to
a value proportional to its initial weight. For example, if the initial weight
is 100 and the percentage CPU idle is 34, the weight will be set to 34.
Remember lower numbers mean lower priority for traffic, when
compared with other real servers in the pool.

Fallback Disable Disable fallback server functionality. In the case that all real servers are failing
Server Fallback health checks connections will not be sent to a fallback server, instead TCP
connections will be closed and HTTP requests will be answered with a 503.

IP Address The server to route to if all of the Real Servers fail their health check. By
default the fallback server is set to be the local NGINX instance.

For more information on configuring the fallback server,

please refer to Fallback Server.

You can also configure the fallback server to be a "hot spare" if required. To do
this, configure the primary server as a Real Server and set the secondary
server as the fallback server.

Port The port of the fallback server. By default this is set to 9081.

[Advanced] > Configure the Fallback server to be persistent. During a health check failure
Fallback users can be forwarded to a fallback server. Setting this to on will make this
Persistence server persistent so that when the Real Servers are put back in the pool, they
will remain on the fallback server until their persistence times out.

When disabled (default), users will be moved to a Real Server when one
becomes available.

There is a delay equal to the current setting of the "Slow

Start Delay" (Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Advanced)
before users are moved to a Real Server.

[Advanced] > Enable SSL encryption to the fallback server.

Encrypt
Connection

SSL Enable Enabling this option will enable by default the use of HTTPS for all new
Backend Backend Servers. This options can then be disabled per backend server under
Encryption the Real Server settings.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 129

Section Setting Description

Other [Advanced] > Specifies the maximal number of concurrent connections that will be sent to
Maximum this server. If the number of incoming concurrent requests goes higher than
Connections this value, they will be queued, waiting for a connection to be released.

[Advanced] > Use this option to override the default client & server timeouts in the Layer 7
Timeout advanced section.

Client Timeout - The inactivity timeout applies when the client is expected to
acknowledge or send data.

Real Server Timeout - The inactivity timeout applies when the server is
expected to acknowledge or send data.

[Advanced] > Instruct HAProxy to add an X-Forwarded-For (XFF) header to all requests,
Set X- showing the client’s IP Address. If HTTP is selected under Layer 7 Protocol,
Forwarded-For HAProxy is able to process the header of incoming requests. With this option
Header enabled, it will append a new X-Forwarded-For header containing the client’s
IP Address. This information may be extracted by the Real Server for use in
web applications or logging.

[Advanced] > If set to "Yes" any HTTP connections that are made on this VIP will be forced
Force to to reconnect using HTTPS. This will keep any entered URL. If you are
HTTPS terminating the SSL on the Load balancer you should use the same VIP
address for both the SSL Termination and Layer 7 configurations.

HTTPS Redirect Code - this indicates which type of HTTP redirection is

desired. Codes 301, 302, 303, 307 and 308 are supported, with 302 used by
default if no code is specified. The options are:


301 means "Moved permanently", and a browser may cache the
Location.


302 means "Moved permanently" and means that the browser should not
cache the redirection.


303 is equivalent to 302 except that the browser will fetch the location
with a GET method.


307 is just like 302 but makes it clear that the same method must be
reused.


308 replaces 301 if the same method must be used.

HTTPS Redirect Port - Setting this option to a port other than 443 will cause a
port to be specified in the Force-to-HTTPS redirection emitted when clients
connect via HTTP.

[Advanced] > When set to "Yes" the Host Header is set to the name allocated to the RIP.
Use RIP name
as Host Header

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 130

Section Setting Description

[Advanced] > Insert the rules to inspect the ClientHello packet for SSL/TLS connections
Force SSL even if the rules are not required for the configuration.
Content
Inspection

[Advanced] > If you wish to use this VIP with STunnel for SSL off-load or another supported
Accept Proxy proxy such as Amazons ELB whilst passing the client’s IP address to the real
Protocol servers this option needs to be enabled (checked). If using with STunnel
please ensure that Enable Proxy Protocol is enabled in your STunnel VIP.

When used with STunnel, the preferred method is to use

the Enable Proxy Protocol option in the STunnel VIP’s
configuration in conjunction with the Bind Proxy Protocol
to L7 VIP option. This will configure both the STunnel VIP
and the HAProxy VIP in a single step and allows a single
HAProxy VIP to support both HTTP and HTTPS. For
more information, please refer to Transparency at Layer
7.

[Advanced] > Enable Proxy Protocol to the backend servers. This option allows the back end
Send Proxy servers to see the client’s IP address. It should only be enabled if your server
Protocol supports Proxy Protocol and is configured to use it. The options are:


Send V1 - This uses the first version of the Proxy Protocol and send the
headers in a human readable format.


Send V2 - This is the newer version of the Protocol and sends the
headers in binary.


Send V2 SSL - This is used to show the client was connected over
SSL/TLS.


Send V2 SSL CN - This is the same as V2 SSL but also provides the
Common Name from the client certificate if set.

[Advanced] > Enable gzip HTTP compression. The following MIME types will be
Enable compressed when this is enabled: text/html , text/plain , text/css , text/xml ,
Compression text/javascript , application/javascript , application/xml

[Advanced] > Allows the setting of the source IP address that your backend server will see
Set Source the traffic coming from. This is useful when you wish to only allow a known IP
Address Address to access your Real Servers or need to allow access through a public
gateway.

[Advanced] > HSTS specifies a period of time during which the users browser (agent)
Enable HSTS should only access the server in a secure fashion. The recommended duration
should be three months or more.

[Advanced] > Timeout for the websocket protocol tunnel when no data is passed between
Tunnel client and server. Can be specified as s/m/h for seconds/minutes/hours.
Timeout

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 131

Section Setting Description

[Advanced] > This will set the source address of the data stream leaving the load balancer
Transparent destined for the real server to be that of the client. As a result you will need to
Proxy set the default gateway for the real servers to be that of the load balancer.
Other wise, depending on the source address the return traffic will route round
the load balancer and no responses will be received. Note: Enabling this
feature will enable the TProxy system. Once enabled if no longer required it
will need to be disabled from: Layer7 - Advanced Configuration > Transparent
Proxy.

If you require a custom gateway for a particular VIP, this can be achieved using Policy Based
Routing. For more information, please refer to Policy Based Routing (PBR).

ACLs (Access Control Lists)

The WebUI supports the ability to create ACLs which can be used to control and direct traffic based on a set of
defined rules. This functionality is also known as URL rewriting, URL redirection, URL forwarding or content
switching. This option can be accessed under the ACL Rules section by clicking the Add Rule button when
modifying a VIP:

This brings up the ACLs pop-up menu:

Select the desired ACL type from the Type dropdown list, fill in the details as appropriate, and create the ACL by
clicking the Ok button.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 132

An ACL can be modified by clicking on it in the ACL list. ACLs can be reordered by clicking and dragging them in
the ACL list:

Different types of ACLs can be created. Some ACLs are dependent on information from the application layer and
so are only available for HTTP mode virtual services. The ACL types and their supported modes are listed below.

ACL Type TCP Mode Support HTTP Mode Support

path

path_beg

path_end

hdr

hdr_host

hdr_beg(Host)

Query

SNI

Flags

IP Address

Port

Free Type

URL-Based ACLs

path:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 133

 
Match against the request’s full URL path, which starts at the first slash and ends before the (optional)
question mark (signifying the start of the query string).


Bool:


Equals: Perform action if URL/Text value matches.


Not equal: Perform action if URL/Text value does not match.

URL/Text: String to compare the full URL path to, e.g. static/page.html.



Action: Action to perform if condition is met. See ACL Actions.

path_reg:


Match against a regular expression (regex).


Bool:


Equals: Perform action if URL/Text value matches.


Not equal: Perform action if URL/Text value does not match.

URL/Text: Regex to match, e.g. ^\/blog[^\/]*$ - match if the trailing slash after "blog" is missing.



Action: Action to perform if condition is met. See ACL Actions.

path_beg:


Match against the beginning of the request’s URL path.


Bool:


Equals: Perform action if URL/Text value matches.


Not equal: Perform action if URL/Text value does not match.

URL/Text: String to compare the beginning of the URL path to, e.g. /static/ or /level_1/level_2/.



Action: Action to perform if condition is met. See ACL Actions.

path_end:


Match against the end of the request’s URL path.


Bool:


Equals: Perform action if URL/Text value matches.


Not equal: Perform action if URL/Text value does not match.

URL/Text: String to compare the end of the URL path to, e.g. /page.html or .png.



Action: Action to perform if condition is met. See ACL Actions.

Query (aka url_param):

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 134

 
Match against a specified query string parameter.

Header/Param: Name of the query string parameter to match against, e.g. fruit.



Bool:


Equals: Perform action if URL/Text value matches.


Not equal: Perform action if URL/Text value does not match.

URL/Text: String to compare the specified query string parameter to, e.g. pineapple.



Action: Action to perform if condition is met. See ACL Actions.

Header-Based ACLs

hdr_host (aka hdr(host)):


Match against the request’s full Host header.


Bool:


Equals: Perform action if URL/Text value matches.


Not equal: Perform action if URL/Text value does not match.

URL/Text: String to compare the full Host header to, e.g. www.example.com or en.wikipedia.org.



Action: Action to perform if condition is met. See ACL Actions.

hdr_beg(host):


Match against the beginning of the request’s Host header.


Bool:


Equals: Perform action if URL/Text value matches.


Not equal: Perform action if URL/Text value does not match.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 135

 URL/Text: String to compare the beginning of the Host header to, e.g. www. or en..



Action: Action to perform if condition is met. See ACL Actions.

hdr:


Match against a specified request header.

Header/Param: Name of the request header to match against, e.g. Content-Type.




Bool:


Equals: Perform action if URL/Text value matches.


Not equal: Perform action if URL/Text value does not match.

URL/Text: String to compare the specified request header to, e.g. application/json.



Action: Action to perform if condition is met. See ACL Actions.

Network/Transport Layer-Based ACLs

IP Address (aka src):


Match against the source IP address of the request.


Bool:


Equals: Perform action if URL/Text value matches.


Not equal: Perform action if URL/Text value does not match.


URL/Text: IP address to compare the request’s source IP address to. CIDR notation can be used and
multiple comma-separated values can be given, e.g. 10.0.0.0/8 123.45.67.8.


Action: Action to perform if condition is met. See ACL Actions.

Port (aka dst_port):


Match against the destination TCP port of the request.


Bool:


Equals: Perform action if URL/Text value matches.


Not equal: Perform action if URL/Text value does not match.


URL/Text: Integer to compare the request’s destination TCP port to.


Action: Action to perform if condition is met. See ACL Actions.

Miscellaneous ACLs
SNI:


Match against the Server Name Indication (SNI) TLS extension field of the request.


Bool:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 136

 
Equals: Perform action if URL/Text value matches.


Not equal: Perform action if URL/Text value does not match.

URL/Text: String to compare the SNI field to, e.g. www.example.com.




Action: Action to perform if condition is met. See ACL Actions.

Flags:


Match based on the status of flags set by other ACL rules.


Bool:


Equals: Perform action if condition described by URL/Text field evaluates to true.


Not equal: Perform action if condition described by URL/Text field does not evaluate to true.

URL/Text: Condition to test, e.g. flag_a || flag_b or protected_path internal_src_addr.




Action: Action to perform if condition is met. See ACL Actions.

See ACL Examples for an example of how to use the flags feature.

Free Type:


Free-form custom ACL rule(s) to write into the HAProxy configuration verbatim.


Freetype: ACL configuration line(s) to write into the HAProxy configuration file.

Multiple ACLs can be defined in a single block. Enter one ACL per line.

Full and detailed documentation on how to write ACLs can be found in the HAProxy
Configuration Manual, here.

ACL Actions
When an ACL rule matches an action is taken (or, alternatively, an action is taken when the rule doesn’t match,
depending on the "bool" setting of the rule). Some actions are dependent on information from the application
layer and so are only available for HTTP mode virtual services. The different actions and their supported modes
are listed below.

ACL Type TCP Mode Support HTTP Mode Support

Drop

Deny

Set Flag

URL Location

URL Prefix

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 137

ACL Type TCP Mode Support HTTP Mode Support

Use Backend

Use Server


Drop (aka reject): Stop and immediately close the connection without sending a response.


Deny: Stop and immediately deny the request, emitting the chosen HTTP status code as a response.


Status code: Status code to use as a response.


200 OK


400 Bad Request


403 Forbidden


405 Method Not Allowed


408 Request Timeout


425 Too Early


429 Too Many Requests


500 Internal Server Error


502 Bad Gateway


503 Service Unavailable


504 Gateway Timeout


Set Flag: Set a flag for use in subsequent ACL rules of type "Flag".

Location/Value: Name of the flag to set, e.g. flag_a or protected_path.




URL Location (aka redirect location): Redirect the request to the exact location specified, using a 301 Moved
Permanently status code.


Location/Value: Exact location to redirect to, e.g.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_Datagram_Protocol.


URL Prefix (aka redirect prefix): Redirect the request to the URL path originally requested prefixed with a
specified string, using a 301 Moved Permanently status code.


Location/Value: String to prefix to the requested URL path to create the redirect location, e.g.
https://www.example.com.


Use Backend: Use the specified backend, or another virtual service, to handle the request.


Location/Value: Name of a valid backend, or another virtual service, to use, e.g.
apache_srv_cluster_b.


Use Server: Use the specified server to handle the request.


Location/Value: Name of a valid real server, in the same virtual service or backend, to use, e.g.
apache_srv_7.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 138

ACL Examples
Example 1

A virtual service occasionally sees requests for a retired domain, www.foo.com. These requests need to be
redirected to the new domain: www.bar.com. For example, a request for
https://www.foo.com/static/diagram.svg must be redirected to
https://www.bar.com/static/diagram.svg.

ACL type to use: hdr_host, matching against www.foo.com.

ACL action to use: URL Prefix, with the prefix https://www.bar.com.

Example 2

A web service has been moved: previously, all of its resources were located under /web-service/, but now
everything is located under /legacy/web-service/. Any requests for old locations, whose paths start with
just web-service, must be redirected to the correct new locations.

ACL type to use: path_beg, matching against /web-service/.

ACL action to use: URL Prefix, with the prefix /legacy.

Example 3

A web service hosts an administration panel which is located under /admin/. The only legitimate use of this
panel should be from users on the local network, which is 10.0.0.0/8. Any non-local users attempting to access
the administration panel should be redirected to a branded page, located at
https://example.com/restricted.html, which explains that they have attempted to access a restricted
part of the service.

First ACL type to use: path_beg, matching against /admin/.

First ACL action to use: Set Flag, setting the flag is_admin_panel.

Second ACL type to use: IP Address, matching against the network 10.0.0.0/8.

Second ACL action to use: Set Flag, setting the flag is_local_user.

Third ACL type to use: Flags, matching against is_admin_panel !is_local_user.

Third ACL action to use: URL Location, with the location https://example.com/restricted.html.

The two flag names together, is_admin_panel !is_local_user, create a logical AND (a logical OR could be
achieved, instead, by explicitly placing || between the flag names). The exclamation mark negates the match on
is_local_user. The resulting expression of the third ACL will match, and cause the redirection action to be

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 139

carried out, when is_admin_panel is true and is_local_user is false.

The ACL that evaluates the two flags must be placed after the two ACLs that set the flags.

Example 4

It’s necessary to force the use of a particular real server in some scenarios. This must be achieved by setting a
particular query string parameter to the name of the server. For example,
http://192.168.0.10/?server_override=apache_srv_dev should trigger the override ACL condition
and send the request to the special server.

ACL type to use: Query, looking for the server_override parameter and matching against apache_srv_dev.

ACL action to use: Use Server, with the server name apache_srv_dev.

Example 5

You have the following VIPs, both with source IP persistence enabled:


VIP1 that listens on 192.168.10.10:80 and forwards traffic to the Real Servers on port 8080


VIP2 that listens on 192.168.10.10:443 and forwards traffic to the same Real Servers on port 4443

You want all requests from a particular client to be handled by the same Real Server irrespective of which VIP
receives the request. You can’t group port 80 and 443 into a single VIP because port translation is used. To
achieve the same objective, both VIPs are configured to share the same persistence table.

Configuration steps:

1. Set VIP2’s Persistence Mode to None.

2. Create an ACL for VIP2 with the following settings:


type to use: Free Type


value: stick on src table VIP1

HAProxy Backends
When an ACL is created and the Action is set to Use Backend it’s possible to set the Location/Value field to either
a backend only VIP, a standard VIP or a manually defined VIP.

1 - Backend only VIP (Recommended)

A Backend VIP does not have a frontend in the HAProxy configuration, only a backend. As a result, there is no
floating IP address associated with the VIP. This kind of VIP is used exclusively for ACLs where access is only
needed from another VIP and not directly from clients over the network.

To create a backend only VIP:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 140

 1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Virtual Services.

2. Click Add a New Virtual Service.

3. Click [Advanced] and enable (check) the Create Backend Only checkbox.

4. Enter a suitable Label (name), e.g. backend-1.

5. Select the required Layer 7 Protocol.

6. Click Update.

7. Now navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Real Servers.

8. Click the Add a New Real Server button next to the newly created VIP.

9. Define all the Real Servers that make up the backend.

This new backend VIP can now be referenced as backend-1 in ACLs.

You can modify the Backend Virtual Service in the normal way if additional settings must be
configured.

2 - As a Manually Defined Backend

Manually defined backends allow additional custom settings that are not directly supported via the WebUI to be
configured.

To create a manually defined backend:

Using the WebUI menu option: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Manual Configuration, the backend "Blog" can be
defined as shown below:

backend Blog
mode http
balance roundrobin
option forwardfor
server rip3 192.168.110.242:80 weight 1 check
server rip4 192.168.110.243:80 weight 1 check

3 - As a Standard VIP with the Required Real Servers

Standard VIPs can also be used. Here, "Blog" has been defined as an additional standard VIP with two Real
Servers:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 141

 When defining ACLs that have their Action set to Use Backend or Use Server, the relevant
Backend VIP or Real Server must exist before HAProxy can be successfully restarted. Note also
that names used are case sensitive.

For more details on configuring ACLs please also refer to the HAProxy online documentation
available here.

Using Regular Expressions to Rewrite Requests

Regular expressions can be used to rewrite HTTP requests. This is often used to maintain compatibility between
old and new URLs or to turn user-friendly URLs into CMS-friendly URLs, etc. This is achieved using the "reqrep"
and "reqirep" keywords within a manual layer 7 VIP. The following examples illustrate how these commands can
be used:

Example 1

Replace "/static/" with "/" at the beginning of any request path.

reqirep ^([^\ :]*)\ /static/(.*) \1\ /\2

Example 2

Replace any host name in the HTTP header with "www.mywebsite.com".

reqirep ^Host:\ Host:\ www.mysite.com

Example 3

Replace /jpg/ with /images/ while maintaining the components before and after the folder.

reqrep ^([^\ ]*)\ /jpg/(.*) \1\ /images/\2

HAProxy uses PCRE compatible regular expressions. For more information about PCRE syntax,
see Regex Quick Start and Regex Cheat Sheet.

The "reqrep" keyword is strictly case-sensitive, while "repirep" is case insensitive. For more
details on configuring manually defined layer 7 VIPs, please refer to Configuring Manual Virtual
Services.

Modifying HTTP Header Fields

For HTTP Mode Virtual Services, the WebUI supports the ability to add, set, delete, and replace HTTP header
fields. This option can be accessed under the Header Rules section by clicking the Add Rule button when
modifying a VIP:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 142

This brings up the headers pop-up menu:

Select the desired header type from the Type dropdown list, fill in the details as appropriate, and create the header
rule by clicking the Ok button.

A header rule can be modified by clicking on it in the header rules list. Header rules can be reordered by clicking
and dragging them in the header rules list:

Two different types of header rules can be created:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 143

 
Request: Affect specified HTTP header fields in HTTP request messages.


Response: Affect specified HTTP header fields in HTTP response messages.

Four different header field manipulation options are supported:

Option Description

Add Append an HTTP header field. If a header field of the same name already exists then an
additional header field will still be appended.

Set Append an HTTP header field. If a header field of the same name already exists then it is
first removed before a new one is appended. This is useful for handling security
information which external users must not be able to set themselves.

Delete Remove all HTTP header fields of a specified name.

Replace Perform a regular expression powered "find and replace" operation on all HTTP header
field values of a specified name.

The specifics of the header field manipulation options are as follows:

Add:


Header: Field name of the HTTP header to append.


Value: Field value of the HTTP header to append.


Flags (optional): Conditionally execute the header manipulation rule based on the status of flags set by ACL
rules, e.g. is_external_request.

Set:


Header: Field name of the HTTP header to append.


Value: Field value of the HTTP header to append.


Flags (optional): Conditionally execute the header manipulation rule based on the status of flags set by ACL
rules, e.g. is_external_request.

Delete:


Header: Field name of the HTTP header to delete.


Flags (optional): Conditionally execute the header manipulation rule based on the status of flags set by ACL
rules, e.g. is_external_request.

Replace:


Header: Field name of the HTTP header to replace.

Value: "Find and replace" operation to execute, of the form <matching-regular-expression>



<replacement>.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 144

 
Flags (optional): Conditionally execute the header manipulation rule based on the status of flags set by ACL
rules, e.g. is_external_request.

See HTTP Header Field Modification Examples for an example of how to use the replace option.

It’s possible to include dynamic information in header fields, for example the IP address of a
request. This is achieved by using log format variables, e.g. %ci for the client IP address, and
sample expressions, e.g. %[fe_name] for the name of the virtual service handling the request.
This functionality is explained in detail in the HAProxy online documentation: the relevant section
can be found here.

HTTP Header Field Modification Examples

Example 1

A secure deployment requires that the X-Forwarded-For header field in client requests never be trusted. The
header is under the control of the client and could potentially contain misinformation set by a malicious client. All
header fields of this name should be deleted from incoming requests.

Header rule type to use: Request.

Header rule option to use: Delete.

Header rule "Header" value to use: X-Forwarded-For.

Example 2

A poorly designed web service behind the load balancer leaks sensitive information through an HTTP response
header field. The vulnerable response field looks like so: Database-Engine: MongoDB_3.4.14. All header
fields of this name should be deleted from outgoing responses.

Header rule type to use: Response.

Header rule option to use: Delete.

Header rule "Header" value to use: Database-Engine.

Example 3

A web service behind the load balancer expects to receive information about client requests via HTTP header
fields. The service expects to receive the source IP address, destination IP address, and destination port of the
client’s initial connection to the load balancer, which it expects to find in header fields named X-Client-Source, X-
Client-Dest, and X-Client-Dest-Port, respectively. The load balancer should add these header fields to incoming
requests and populate their values appropriately. The load balancer should also delete any pre-existing header
fields that use the field names that the web service is logging, to prevent clients from tampering with or injecting
arbitrary data into the web service’s logs.

First header rule type to use: Request.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 145

First header rule option to use: Set.

First header rule "Header" value to use: X-Client-Source.

First header rule "Value" value to use: %ci.

Second header rule type to use: Request.

Second header rule option to use: Set.

Second header rule "Header" value to use: X-Client-Dest.

Second header rule "Value" value to use: %fi.

Third header rule type to use: Request.

Third header rule option to use: Set.

Third header rule "Header" value to use: X-Client-Dest-Port.

Third header rule "Value" value to use: %fp.

Example 4

Any requests containing the HTTP header field "Fruit" with a corresponding value of "pineapple" should have this
value changed to "kiwi".

Header rule type to use: Request.

Header rule option to use: Replace.

Header rule "Header" value to use: Fruit.

Header rule "Value" value to use: pineapple kiwi.

Creating Layer 7 Real Servers (RIPs)

You can add an unlimited number of Real Servers to each Virtual Service. Real Servers in a Layer 7 configuration
can be on any subnet/network provided they are accessible from the load balancer.

To add a new layer 7 RIP:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Real Servers.

2. Click Add a new Real Server next to the relevant Virtual Service.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 146

3. Enter an appropriate Label (name) for the new Real Server.

4. Enter the required IP address in the Real Server IP Address field.

5. Enter the required port in the Real Server Port field.

For a multiport VIP, this field should be left blank.

A valid FQDN can be used rather than an IP address if required. The name is resolved
using the DNS server(s) specified in Local Configuration > Hostname & DNS.

6. Enable the Re-Encrypt to Backend option if required.

For more details about this option, please refer to SSL Termination on the Load Balancer
with Re-encryption (SSL Bridging) and Mutual Transport Layer Security (mTLS).

7. If required, enable the Enable Redirect option. When enabled, this option allows a particular Real Server to
respond to GET or HEAD requests with a redirect to a specified location. Requests will be redirected to a URL
made up of the prefix specified and the path of their GET or HEAD request. Other request types will continue
to be handled by the Real Server.

This option is only available when the associated VIP’s Layer 7 Protocol is set to HTTP
Mode.

8. Specify the required Weight, this is an integer specifying the capacity of a server relative to the others in the
pool, valid values are 0 to 256, the default is 100. The higher the value, the more connections the server will
receive. If the weight is set to 0, the server will effectively be placed in drain mode.

To configure Minimum Connections and Maximum Connections, modify the Real Server
after it has been created, these options will then be available.

9. Click Update.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 147

Layer 7 - Custom Configurations
Custom, manually configured Layer 7 services are useful when your configuration requires advanced HAProxy
settings that are not directly supported by the WebUI.

Configuring Manually Defined Virtual Services

Often, the best approach is to first create a VIP and it’s associated RIPs in the normal way, configuring as many
settings as you can using the available WebUI configuration options, then convert this to a manual VIP and add
the custom HAProxy configuration settings that you require. The steps are as follows:


Step 1 - Define the VIP in the normal way using the WebUI menu option: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 -
Virtual Services.


Step 2 - Define the required Real Servers in the normal way using the WebUI menu option: Cluster
Configuration > Layer 7 - Real Servers.


Step 3 - Using the WebUI menu option: View Configuration > Layer 7, scroll down to the newly created VIP
and copy the whole configuration section for the VIP - from the initial Listen <VIP name> line, right to the end
of the Real Server definitions.


Step 4 - Click Modify next to the newly created VIP, then click [Advanced] in the Virtual Service section.
Enable (check) the Manual Configuration checkbox and click Update.


Step 5 - Navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Manual Configuration and paste the configuration
copied in Step 3 into the editor window, then add the additional custom configuration settings for the VIP
and click Update when complete.

When you click update in step 5, a syntax check will be done to ensure that the lines you
have added are valid.

Manual Config Example 1 - Simple HTTP Redirect

This example illustrates how a VIP can be created, converted to a manual VIP and then modified to include a
custom configuration that forces requests that start with /staff/ or /staff to be redirected to
https://login.domain.com.

This example is for demonstration purposes only. Complex ACLs can be configured in the
WebUI without the need for a manual configuration. For more information on configuring ACLs,
please refer to ACLs (Access Control Lists).

The lines that need to be manually inserted to achieve this are:

acl ACL-1 path_beg /staff/ (see note 1)

acl ACL-2 path_beg /staff (see note 1)
redirect location https://login.domain.com if ACL-1 or ACL-2 (see note 2)

Notes

1. These lines configure two ACLs named ACL-1 & ACL-2 where the criteria for a match is that the URL starts
with either /staff/ or /staff.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 148

 2. This line causes a redirect to https://login.domain.com to occur when either ACL is matched.

Configuration Steps:

1. Using the WebUI menu option: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Virtual Services create a Layer 7 VIP with the
required Label (name), IP Address and Port. At this point leave the Manual Configuration checkbox un-
checked, e.g.

2. Using the WebUI menu option: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Real Servers configure the associated RIPs
in the normal way, e.g.

3. Using the WebUI menu option: View Configuration > Layer 7 scroll down to the newly created VIP. Now copy
the entire configuration for the VIP.

listen VIP1
bind 192.168.2.110:80 transparent
mode http
balance leastconn
cookie SERVERID maxidle 30m maxlife 12h insert nocache indirect
server backup 127.0.0.1:9081 backup non-stick
option http-keep-alive
timeout http-request 5s
option forwardfor
timeout tunnel 1h
option redispatch

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 149

 option abortonclose
maxconn 40000
option httplog
server RIP1 192.168.2.111:80 weight 100 cookie Rip1 check inter 4000 rise 2 fall 2 slowstart
8000 minconn 0 maxconn 0 on-marked-down shutdown-sessions
server RIP2 192.168.2.112:80 weight 100 cookie Rip1 check inter 4000 rise 2 fall 2 slowstart
8000 minconn 0 maxconn 0 on-marked-down shutdown-sessions

4. Using the WebUI menu option: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Virtual Services, modify the VIP and check
the Manual Configuration checkbox and click Update.

5. Select the WebUI menu option: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Manual Configuration and paste the VIP’s
configuration into the editor window, then add the extra manual config lines:

listen VIP1
bind 192.168.2.110:80 transparent
mode http
balance leastconn
acl ACL-1 path_beg /staff/
acl ACL-2 path_beg /staff
redirect location https://login.domain.com if ACL-1 or ACL-2
cookie SERVERID maxidle 30m maxlife 12h insert nocache indirect
server backup 127.0.0.1:9081 backup non-stick
option http-keep-alive
timeout http-request 5s
option forwardfor
timeout tunnel 1h
option redispatch
option abortonclose
maxconn 40000
option httplog
server RIP1 192.168.2.111:80 weight 100 cookie Rip1 check inter 4000 rise 2 fall 2 slowstart
8000 minconn 0 maxconn 0 on-marked-down shutdown-sessions
server RIP2 192.168.2.112:80 weight 100 cookie Rip1 check inter 4000 rise 2 fall 2 slowstart
8000 minconn 0 maxconn 0 on-marked-down shutdown-sessions

6. Click Update.

7. Now reload HAProxy using the Reload HAProxy button in the "Commit changes" message box at the top of
the screen.

Transparency at Layer 7
HAProxy, Pound and STunnel are all proxies which means that a new connection is established from the proxy
out to the backend server in response to an inbound client connection to the proxy. This means that the source IP
address of the packet reaching the Real Servers will not be the client’s IP address, but an IP address owned by the
load balancer. The source IP address applied depends on which proxy is in operation:

HAProxy - By default the IP address of the network interface is used, but this can also be configured to be any IP
address that the load balancer owns using the Set Source Address field of the Layer 7 VIP.

STunnel - By default the IP address of the STunnel Virtual Service is used, but this can also be configured to be
any IP address that the load balancer owns using the Set Source Address field of the STunnel VIP.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 150

Pound - The IP address of the network interface is used.

Enabling Transparency
The load balancer can provide the actual client IP address to the Real Servers in two ways:

1. By inserting a header that contains the client IP source address. For HTTP traffic the X-Forwarded-For (XFF)
header is used, for TCP traffic the Proxy Protocol Header is used.

For more information on XFF headers, please refer to Mozilla - X-Forwarded-For, for more
information on Proxy Protocol headers, please refer to HAProxy Technologies - The PROXY
Protocol.

2. By modifying the Source Address field of the IP packets and replacing the IP address of the load balancer
with the IP address of the client. The load balancer uses TProxy for this purpose.

In many cases, option 1 (using headers) can be used to achieve your objectives. Option 1
is easier to implement because there are no network topology requirements.

These methods can be used independently or in combination to achieve a range of objectives as illustrated in the
Configuration Examples section.

Inserting Headers
X-Forwarded-For (XFF) Headers
X-Forward-For headers are inserted by HAProxy when the layer 7 VIP option Set X-Forwarded-For header is
enabled (the default for new layer 7 VIPs). A new X-Forwarded-For header is appended by the load balancer
containing the client’s IP address. This information can then be extracted by the Real Servers for use in web
applications or logging.

Proxy Protocol Headers

STunnel & HAProxy can be configured for Proxy Protocol Headers as described below:

STunnel - To configure STunnel to send Proxy Protocol Headers, the STunnel Virtual Service option Enable Proxy
Protocol must be enabled.

If Associated Virtual Service is set when configuring the STunnel Virtual Service Enable Proxy
Protocol will be enabled by default and cannot be disabled.

HAProxy - To configure HAProxy to send Proxy Protocol Headers, the layer 7 Virtual Service dropdown Send
Proxy Protocol must be set to the required header version/type.

To configure HAProxy to receive Proxy Protocol Headers, two methods can be used:

1. By specifying the Layer 7 Virtual Service where the STunnel VIP will forward its connections when creating /
modifying the STunnel Virtual Service. This will also automatically configure the layer 7 VIP to expect Proxy
Protocol Headers only for connections from the STunnel VIP where the option was enabled. In this way, the
layer 7 VIP will accept traffic with Proxy Protocol Headers from the STunnel VIP as well as standard traffic

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 151

 from other sources that do not present Proxy Protocol Headers. To configure this method:


Click Modify next to the STunnel VIP.


Set the Associated Virtual Service dropdown to the relevant Layer 7 VIP.


Click Update.

2. By enabling the layer 7 Virtual Service option Accept Proxy Protocol - this will configure the layer 7 VIP to
expect Proxy Protocol Headers for all connections. With this method, the layer 7 VIP will only accept
connections from sources that present Proxy Protocol Headers. To configure this method:


Click Modify next to the HAProxy VIP.


Scroll down to the Other section and click [Advanced].


Enable (check) Accept Proxy Protocol.


Click Update.

Using TProxy to modify the Source IP Address

Loadbalancer.org appliances utilize TProxy to modify the source IP address of each packet. TProxy can be used
in conjunction with HAProxy and Pound. When TProxy is enabled, it’s important to be aware of the topology
requirements for TProxy to operate correctly. Both one-arm and two-arm topologies are supported:

TProxy Topology Requirements - One-arm Deployments


Here, the VIP is brought up in the same subnet as the Real Servers.


To support remote clients, the default gateway on the Real Servers must be an IP address on the load
balancer and routing on the load balancer must be configured so that return traffic is routed back via the
router.

For an HA clustered pair, a floating IP should be added to the load balancer and used as the Real
Server’s default gateway. This ensures that the IP address can "float" (move) between Primary
and Secondary appliances.


To support local clients, return traffic would normally be sent directly to the client bypassing the load
balancer which would break TProxy. To address this, the routing table on the Real Servers must be modified
to force return traffic to go via the load balancer in the same way as one-arm NAT mode. For more
information, please refer to One-Arm (Single Subnet) NAT Mode.

TProxy Topology Requirements - Two-arm Deployments

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 152

 
Here, two subnets are used. The VIP is located in one subnet and the load balanced Real Servers are located
in the other. The load balancer requires two interfaces, one in each subnet.

This can be achieved by using two network adapters, or by creating VLANs on a single adapter.


The default gateway on the Real Servers must be an IP address on the load balancer.

For an HA clustered pair, a floating IP should be added to the load balancer and used as the Real
Server’s default gateway. This ensures that the IP address can "float" (move) between Primary
and Secondary appliances.


Clients can be located in the same subnet as the VIP or any remote subnet provided they can route to the
VIP.

To enable TProxy for a particular layer 7 VIP:


Click Modify next to the HAProxy VIP.


Scroll down to the Other section and click [Advanced].


Enable (check) Transparent Proxy.


Click Update.

Configuration Examples
Example 1 - Using Proxy Protocol & X-Forwarded-For Headers
In this example, Proxy Protocol Headers are used with STunnel and HAProxy to present the original client source
IP address to the load balanced servers in an XFF header inserted by HAProxy.

HAProxy can also be used to perform SSL termination. In this case, STunnel and Proxy Protocol
Headers are not needed. For more information on using HAProxy for SSL termination, please
refer to SSL Termination on the Load Balancer (SSL Offloading).

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 153

Configuration Notes

1. Configure the STunnel VIP and the HAProxy VIP on the same IP address. Clients then connect to a single IP
address for HTTP and HTTPS.

2. Proxy Protocol must be enabled via the STunnel VIP, not via the Layer 7 (HAProxy) VIP. In this way, the
HAProxy VIP where STunnel forwards its traffic is automatically configured to accept traffic with Proxy
Protocol Headers from the STunnel VIP, and also standard traffic without Proxy Protocol Headers from other
sources, i.e. the direct HTTP connections.

Configuring the STunnel VIP:

The STunnel VIP option Associated Virtual Service must be set to the backend HAProxy VIP where STunnel will
forward its traffic. Then, both the STunnel VIP and the associated HAProxy VIP will be configured automatically.

These STunnel settings will:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 154

 1. Configure the STunnel VIP to send Proxy Protocol Headers.

2. Configure the HAProxy VIP to expect Proxy Protocol Headers only from traffic that comes from the STunnel
VIP.

Configuring the Layer 7 (HAProxy) VIP:

X-Forwarded-For Headers must be enabled for HAProxy (this is the default setting).

Once all settings are configured, the X-Forwarded-For header received by the load balanced servers Web 1 & Web
2 will contain the source IP address of the client.

Example 2 - Using HAProxy & TProxy

In this example, TProxy is enabled for HAProxy so that the source IP address in IP packets is modified by the load
balancer to be the client’s IP address.

Configuration Notes & Topology Requirements

1. Certain topology requirements must be met when using TProxy. For details, please refer to Using TProxy to
modify the Source IP Address.

2. TProxy for HAProxy must be enabled. This is done at the VIP level rather than globally as in previous
versions. To enable TProxy at the VIP level, click Modify next to the VIP in question, scroll down to the Other
section and click [Advanced], then enable (check) Transparent Proxy.

3. On the Real Servers, the default gateway must be configured to be an IP address on the load balancer. When
using a clustered pair, this should be a floating IP to allow failover to the Secondary.

Example 3 - Using STunnel, HAProxy & TProxy

In this example, Proxy Protocol Headers are used to pass the client IP address from STunnel to the Layer 7

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 155

HAProxy VIP. TProxy is enabled for HAProxy so that the source IP address in packets sent to the Real Servers is
modified by the load balancer to be the client’s IP address.

Configuration Notes & Topology Requirements

1. Certain topology requirements must be met when using TProxy. For details, please refer to Using TProxy to
modify the Source IP Address.

2. Configure the STunnel VIP and the HAProxy VIP on the same IP address. Clients then connect to a single IP
address for HTTP and HTTPS.

3. TProxy for HAProxy must be enabled. This is done at the VIP level rather than globally as in previous
versions. To enable TProxy at the VIP level, click Modify next to the VIP in question, scroll down to the Other
section and click [Advanced], then enable (check) Transparent Proxy.

4. On the Real Servers, the default gateway must be configured to be an IP address on the load balancer. When
using a clustered pair, this should be a floating IP to allow failover to the Secondary.

5. Proxy Protocol must be enabled via the STunnel VIP, not via the Layer 7 (HAProxy) VIP. This is done by
checking the Enable Proxy Protocol option when either creating or modifying the STunnel VIP (please refer to
configuration example 1). This automatically configures the HAProxy VIP to accept traffic with Proxy
Protocol Headers from the STunnel VIP and also standard traffic from other sources (i.e. the direct HTTP
connections) that do not present Proxy Protocol Headers.

6. If you want to enable HTTP to HTTPS redirection, enable Force to HTTPS on VIP1.

Example 4 - Using Pound, HAProxy & TProxy

In this example, TProxy is enabled for HAProxy and Pound so that the source IP address is modified by the load
balancer to be the client’s IP address.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 156

Configuration Notes & Topology Requirements

1. Certain topology requirements must be met when using TProxy. For details, please refer to Using TProxy to
modify the Source IP Address.

2. Configure the Pound VIP and the HAProxy VIP on the same IP address. Clients then connect to a single IP
address for HTTP and HTTPS.

3. Configure the Layer 7 HAProxy VIP to listen on two ports - e.g. 80 & 81, then use port 80 for client
connections on HTTP and port 81 for the Pound backend.

4. When configuring Real Servers for HAProxy VIP, ensure that the Real Server Port field is set and not left
blank.

5. TProxy for HAProxy must be enabled. This is done at the VIP level rather than globally as in previous
versions. To enable TProxy at the VIP level, click Modify next to the VIP in question, scroll down to the Other
section and click [Advanced], then enable (check) Transparent Proxy.

6. TProxy for Pound must be enabled using the WebUI menu option: Cluster Configuration > SSL - Advanced
Configuration and Transparent Proxy to On.

7. On the load balanced backend Servers, the default gateway must be configured to be an IP address on the
load balancer. When using a clustered pair, this should be a floating IP to allow failover to the Secondary
appliance.

8. If you want to enable HTTP to HTTPS redirection, you’ll need to split the Layer 7 HAProxy VIP into two
separate VIPs, one on port 80 with Force to HTTPS enabled and the other configured to accept traffic from
Pound.

Layer 7 - Advanced Configuration

This section allows you to configure the various layer 7 global settings.

Lock HAProxy Configuration (Deprecated) - Prevent the WebUI writing to the HAProxy configuration file. Manual
changes to the HAProxy configuration file may be overwritten if settings are edited in the WebUI. Locking the
configuration file will prevent the WebUI from modifying the file, so that custom edits are preserved. A warning
message will be displayed on all Layer 7 configuration pages, and changes will be denied.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 157

 Layer 7 manual configurations should be used instead. For more information, please refer to
Layer 7 - Custom Configurations.

Logging - Set the required logging level for layer 7 services. Logs are written to /var/log/haproxy.log.

Redispatch - Allows HAProxy to break persistence and redistribute to working servers should failure occur.
Normally this setting should not require changing.

Connection Timeout - HAProxy connection timeout in milliseconds. This setting should normally not require
changing.

Client Timeout - HAProxy client timeout in milliseconds. This setting should normally not require changing.

Real Server Timeout - HAProxy Real Server timeout in milliseconds. This setting should not require changing.

Maximum Connections - HAProxy maximum concurrent connections. This setting should not require changing,
unless you are running a high volume site. See also Maximum Connections for a Virtual Service (HAProxy).

Abort on Close - Abort connections when users close their connection. Recommended as the probability for a
closed input channel to represent a user hitting the browser’s "stop" button is close to 100%.

Transparent Proxy - Enable TProxy support for Layer 7 HAProxy. TProxy support is required in order for the Real
Servers behind a layer 7 HAProxy configuration to see the client source IP address. The load balancer must be in
a NAT configuration (internal and external subnets) with the Real Servers using an IP address on the load
balancer (preferably a floating IP) as their default gateway. Can be used on its own or in combination with Pound
and TProxy.

TProxy must be enabled at the VIP level. This is a change from previous versions where enabling
it here would enable it for ALL layer 7 VIPs. To enable TProxy at the VIP level, click Modify next to
the VIP in question, scroll down to the Other section and click [Advanced], then enable (check)
Transparent Proxy. Setting this at the VIP level will also automatically set the Transparent Proxy
option here. For more information on using TProxy, please refer to Transparency at Layer 7.

Since the load balancer must be in a NAT configuration (i.e. VIPs & RIPs in different subnets and
default gateway on the Real Servers set as an IP on the load balancer) to utilize TProxy, it’s not
always an appropriate solution. In situations such as this, it’s also possible to use the X-
forwarded-for header with layer 7 Virtual Services. Most web servers can then be configured to
record the X-Forwarded-For IP address in the log files.

For details on how to enable X-Forwarded-For headers, please click here. For details on how to
enable X-Forwarded-For headers in Apache, please refer to our Apache blog, For details on how
to enable X-Forwarded-For headers in IIS, please refer to our IIS blog.

Disable On Start - HAProxy brings up all real servers in the UP state after the restart. Enabling this option will
bring the real servers up in MAINT mode stopping any connections to them. The init script will then return the real
servers back to their previous state pre reload/restart. The init script can do this without this option enabled but
while waiting for the init script to get to each service to set the state the real server will be accepting traffic. So it’s

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 158

recommended that you use this with large deployments, or if you just want to stop connections before the the
previous state has been returned.

Interval - Interval between health checks. This is the time interval between Real Server health checks in
milliseconds.

Rise - Number of health checks to Rise. The number of positive health checks required before re-activating a Real
Server.

Fall - Number of health checks to Fall. The number of negative health checks required before deactivating a Real
Server.

Slow Start Time - To minimize the thundering heard effect of a real server recovering from a health check failure
getting overwhelmed with all its old users attempting to reconnect at once. This timer will gradually increase the
connections for a period set by this value until the end of the timer is reached at which point the server will be
running at normal capacity.

If the feed back agent is enabled, the slowstart time MUST be greater than the Interval value.

Feedback Agent Interval - The time in milliseconds between each feedback agent check from HAProxy to the
feedback agent.

Advanced Stats - Enable/disable additional actions available on the HAProxy stats page.

Auto-refresh Stats Page - Enable to allow the layer 7 stats page to refresh periodically. Automatic refreshing can
be paused and resumed using Disable refresh and Enable refresh in the Display options on the stats page.

Auto-refresh Interval - Enter the time to wait before refreshing after the statis page is loaded. A suffix of us, ms, s,
m, h or day can be added to specify microseconds, milliseconds, seconds, minutes, hours or days respectively.
The default unit is seconds.

Request Buffer Length - Set the health check buffer length in bytes.

Changing this value will effect the performance of HAProxy. Do not make changes unless you
know exactly what you are doing.

Lower values allow more sessions to coexist in the same amount of RAM, and higher values allow some
applications with very large cookies to work. The default value is 16384 bytes. It is strongly recommended not to
change this from the default value, as very low values will break some services such as statistics, and values
larger than the default size will increase memory usage, possibly causing the system to run out of memory.
Administrators should consider reducing the Maximum Connections parameter if the request buffer is increased.

Header Buffer Length - Set the header buffer length, in bytes The header buffer is a section of the request buffer,
reserved for the addition and rewriting of request headers. The default value is 1024 bytes. Most applications will
only require a small header buffer, as few headers are added or rewritten.

Persistence Table Replication - When enabled, HAProxy’s persistence tables are replicated to the Secondary

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 159

device.

Replication Port - Set the TCP port to use for persistence table replication. The default port is TCP 7778.

eMail Alert From - Set the "from address" for email alerts.

eMail Alert To - Set the "to address" for email alerts.

eMail Server Address - Set the email server address as either an IP address or FQDN.

eMail Server Port - Set the email server TCP port.

For more information on configuring email alerts, please refer to Configuring Email Alerts for
Virtual Services.

Enable Multi-threading - This can improve performance if limits are being reached.

Default Number of Threads - Let the appliance choose a sensible number of worker threads. By default this will
be be the same as the number of cores available when HAProxy starts or reloads.

Number of Threads - Be aware that starting too many threads will have a detrimental affect on performance.
Leaving this field blank will have the same effect as selecting default number of threads.

Multi-threading is enabled by default and the number of threads is auto set based on the
number of detected CPUs / vCPUs.

Enable Prometheus Exporter - Enable the Prometheus exporter for HAProxy. The end point will be mapped to
/lbadmin/stats/l7prometheus/ in the WebUI.

HAProxy Status Codes

For reference, HAProxy’s may emit the following status codes:

Code When/Reason

200 access to stats page, and when replying to monitoring requests

301 when performing a redirection, depending on the configured code

302 when performing a redirection, depending on the configured code

303 when performing a redirection, depending on the configured code

307 when performing a redirection, depending on the configured code

308 when performing a redirection, depending on the configured code

400 for an invalid or too large request

401 when an authentication is required to perform the action (when accessing the stats page)

403 when a request is forbidden by a "block" ACL or "reqdeny" filter

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 160

Code When/Reason

404 when the requested resource could not be found

408 when the request timeout strikes before the request is complete

410 when the requested resource is no longer available and will not be available again

500 when haproxy encounters an unrecoverable internal error, such as a memory allocation failure,
which should never happen

502 when the server returns an empty, invalid or incomplete response, or when an "rspdeny" filter blocks
the response.

503 when no server was available to handle the request, or in response to monitoring requests which
match the "monitor fail" condition

504 when the response timeout strikes before the server responds

For a complete HAProxy reference please refer to the HAProxy Configuration Manual.

Floating IPs
In order for the load balancer to function, the appliance must physically own the Virtual IP address that the clients
are accessing before they get re-directed to a Real Server in the cluster. When new layer 4 or layer 7 Virtual
Services (VIPs) are created, corresponding Floating IPs are added automatically and can be viewed using the
WebUI menu option: Cluster Configuration > Floating IPs.

It’s also possible to manually configure floating IPs if required, this is normally only required when manually
configuring firewall marks or when using layer 4 NAT mode or TProxy where in both cases the load balancer must
be the default gateway for the Real Servers. A floating IP is required for an HA pair to allow the gateway address
to be brought up on the secondary appliance should a failover occur.

Floating IPs are controlled by heartbeat to ensure that only the active appliance (normally the Primary) owns the
Floating IP(s) at any time.

To manually add a floating IP:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Floating IPs.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 161

 2. Specify the new floating IP.

3. Click Add Floating IP.

When using a clustered pair, ensure that the Secondary also has a static IP address
assigned that’s in the same subnet as the floating IP being added. Failure to do so will
result in heartbeat issues during a failover.

To disable a floating IP address and bring the IP down, use the relevant Disable button.
The Disable button will be replaced with an Enable button to bring it back up when
required.

Floating IPs are not deleted automatically when Virtual Services are removed or the IP
address is changed, this must be done manually.

SSL Termination
Concepts
SSL termination can be handled in the following ways:

1. On the Real Servers (recommended) - aka SSL Passthrough.

2. On the load balancer - aka SSL Offloading.

3. On the load balancer with re-encryption to the backend servers - aka SSL Bridging.

The following sections describe each method.

SSL Termination on the Real Servers (SSL Passthrough)

In this case SSL certificates are installed on each Real Server in the normal way. Data is encrypted from client to
server. This provides full end-to-end data encryption as shown in the diagram above.

Notes

1. This is our recommended solution. SSL termination on the load balancer (SSL Offload) can be very CPU
intensive and in most cases, for a scalable solution, terminating SSL on the Real Servers is the best option.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 162

 2. It’s not possible to use HTTP cookie persistence as well as other layer 7 techniques that control how traffic
is sent to the Real Servers because all data is encrypted as it passes through the load balancer.

The load balancer is configured with a VIP that listens on HTTPS port 443 and distributes inbound requests to the
Real Servers on port 443 as shown below:

A fairly common configuration is to include port 80 in the VIP’s definition and also enable persistence. This
ensures that both HTTP and HTTPS requests from a particular client are always sent to the same Real Server as
shown below:

SSL Termination on the Load Balancer (SSL Offloading)

SSL termination on the load balancer can be very CPU intensive. In most cases, for a scalable
solution, terminating SSL on the Real Servers is the best option.

SSL Termination can be configured using STunnel, Pound and HAProxy.

Using STunnel or Pound to Terminate SSL

Here, either an STunnel or Pound SSL Virtual Service is used to decrypt the traffic. Once decrypted, traffic is
passed to a second VIP which handles the load balancing between the backend servers as shown below.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 163

Notes

1. By default, a self-signed certificate is used for the new VIP. Certificates can be created or uploaded as
explained in Certificates.

2. The backend for the STunnel / Pound VIP can be a Layer 7 SNAT mode VIP, a Layer 4 NAT mode VIP or a
layer 4 SNAT mode VIP.

3. If a layer 7 SNAT mode VIP is used as the backend for the STunnel or Pound VIP, cookie based persistence
as well as all other layer 7 techniques can be used to control traffic flow to the Real Servers.

Using HAProxy to Terminate SSL

Here, a single layer 7 SNAT mode VIP handles both the decryption and the load balancing between the backend
servers as shown below.

Notes

1. By default, a self-signed certificate is used for the new VIP. Certificates can be created or uploaded as
explained in Certificates.

2. Cookie based persistence as well as all other layer 7 techniques can be used to control traffic flow to the
Real Servers.

Certificates
If you already have an SSL certificate in either PFX or PEM file format, this can be uploaded to the Load balancer
using the certificate upload option as explained in Uploading Certificates. Alternatively, you can create a
Certificate Signing Request (CSR) and send this to your CA to create a new certificate, or you can create a locally
signed custom certificate.

Generating a CSR on the Load Balancer

CSRs can be generated on the load balancer to apply for a certificate from your chosen CA.

To generate a CSR:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > SSL Certificates.

2. Click Add a new SSL Certificate & select Create a New SSL Certificate (CSR).

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 164

 =

3. Enter a suitable Label (name) for the certificate.

4. Populate the remaining fields according to your requirements.

To specify multiple SANs, separate each name with a comma.

5. Once all fields are complete click Create.

6. To view the CSR click Modify next to the new certificate, then expand the Certificate Signing Request (CSR)
section.

7. Copy the CSR and send this to your chosen CA.

8. Once received, copy/paste your signed certificate into the Your Certificate section.

9. Intermediate and root certificates can be copied/pasted into the Intermediate Certificate and Root Certificate
sections as required.

10. Click Update to complete the process.

Generating a Self Signed Custom Certificate on the Load Balancer

To generate a self signed certificate:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 165

 1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > SSL Certificates.

2. Click Add a new SSL Certificate & select Create a new Self-Signed SSL Certificate.

3. Enter a suitable Label (name) for the certificate.

4. Populate the remaining fields according to your requirements.

To specify multiple SANs, separate each name with a comma.

5. Once all fields are complete click Create.

Uploading Certificates
Certificates in either PEM or PFX formats can be uploaded to the load balancer.

To upload a certificate:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > SSL Certificates.

2. Click Add a new SSL Certificate & select Upload prepared PEM/PFX file.

3. Enter a suitable Label (name) for the certificate.

4. Browse to and select the certificate file to upload (PEM or PFX format).

5. Enter the password, if applicable.

6. Click Upload Certificate, if successful, a message similar to the following will be displayed:

If your Primary & Secondary are correctly configured as a clustered pair, when you upload the
certificate file to the Primary, the file will be automatically copied over to the Secondary
appliance.

SSL certificates are included in the backup archive when a backup is created. For details, please
refer to Backup & Restore.

Checking where a Particular Certificate is Used

Certificates can be used for securing the WebUI, SSL termination (HAProxy, STunnel or Pound) as well as for
client certificates with mTLS. A particular certificate can be used for multiple purposes and it’s often useful to be
able to quickly view where the certificate has been used.

To list where a particular certificate has been used:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > SSL Certificates.

2. Move the mouse to hover over the "Used" text.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 166

 3. All currrent uses for the certificate will be listed as shown in the example below:

Exporting PFX Certificates from Windows Servers

When exporting certificates from Windows servers, make sure that Yes, export the private key is selected, this will
enable the output format to be PFX. Also make sure that Include all certificates in the certification path if possible
is selected.

Creating a PEM file

Using a text editor such as vi or vim under Linux or Notepad under Windows, create an empty file (e.g. pem.txt)
then copy/paste the entire contents of each of the following items into this file in the order listed below:


Private Key


SSL Certificate


Intermediate Certificate


Root CA Certificate

Make sure you include the beginning and end tags. The resulting file should look similar to the following:

-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----

(the contents of your Private Key goes here)
-----END PRIVATE KEY-----
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
(the contents of your SSL Certificate goes here)
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
(the contents of your Intermediate Certificate goes here)
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
(the contents of your Root Certificate goes here)
-----END CERTIFICATE-----

Once created, the file can be uploaded to the load balancer.

Converting between certificate formats

In some circumstances it may be required to manually convert certificates between formats. In these cases,
OpenSSL can be used. OpenSSL is included on the appliance and is typically included by default in Linux
distributions. For Windows, it can be downloaded here. Once installed, you’ll have an OpenSSL directory located
on your filesystem (by default C:\OpenSSL). To use the program, open a command window, navigate to the
location where it was installed (by default C:\OpenSSL\bin) then run the required command as shown below.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 167

Converting PFX certificates to PEM format

openssl pkcs12 -in file.pfx -nodes -out file.pem

Converting .cer certificates to PEM format

openssl x509 -in file.cer -inform DER -out file.pem -outform PEM

Converting an Encrypted Private Key to an Unencrypted Key

If a password has been included in the private key, this should be removed before it is used with your PEM file.
This can be done using the following command:

openssl rsa -in encrypted-server.key -out unencrypted-server.key

Let’s Encrypt
Lets Encrypt is a zero cost Certificate Authority for HTTPS encryption, now trusted by all major root programs,
including Google, Microsoft, Apple, Mozilla and Oracle. Used in conjunction with freely available tools it provides
automatic enrollment/renewal, simple cert creation, negating validation emails and manual configuration.

For much more information, please refer to our Let’s encrypt introductory blog and also the follow up blog that
details the lb-letsencrypt.sh script and how to use it.

Creating a SSL Termination

STunnel is used by default for all new SSL terminations. If you want to use Pound or HAProxy, you’ll need to set
the SSL Operating Mode to Custom as described in SSL Operation Mode - Custom.

To add a SSL termination:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > SSL Termination.

2. Click Add a new Virtual Service.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 168

3. Set the Associated Virtual Service to the required value:


If you leave it set to None:


Enter the required Label (name) for the Virtual Service.


Enter the required Virtual Service IP Address.


Enter the required Virtual Service Port - typically 443.


Enter the required Backend IP Address - This is normally the same IP address as the Virtual
Service IP address but can be any valid IP. The IP address specified must correspond to a Layer 7
SNAT mode VIP or a Layer 4 NAT / SNAT mode VIP. Unencrypted traffic will be sent here for load
balancing.


Enter the required backend Virtual Service Port - typically 80.


Select the required SSL Operation Mode:

For more information see SSL Operation Mode.


High Security - Configure the STunnel VIP for high security


FIPS Compliant - Configure the STunnel VIP for FIPS compliance


High Compatibility - Configure the STunnel VIP for high compatibility


Custom - All settings can be configured manually

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 169

 For more information see SSL Operation Mode - Custom.


Select the required SSL Certificate.


Set the required Source IP Address - by default the Virtual Service IP Address is used but this can
be changed to any other address owned by the load balancer if required.


Configure Enable Proxy Protocol - If you wish to use HAProxy and the Proxy Protocol this option
needs to be enabled (checked) to allow SSL termination on the load balancer whilst passing the
client’s IP address to the Real Servers. This option only enables a Proxy ACL Rule on a Single
STunnel VIP.


Configure Bind Proxy Protocol to L7 VIP - If Enable Proxy Protocol is enabled, selecting a layer 7
Virtual service here configures the layer 7 service to expect the proxy protocol from this STunnel
service. This enables the layer 7 service to pass the client’s IP in a X-Forwarded-For header or with
TProxy while still accepting HTTP traffic on the same port (for more information, please refer to
Transparency at Layer 7). Note that manually defined layer 7 VIPs are not included in the
dropdown.


If you select a particular VIP where you want to forward the unencrypted STunnel traffic:


Enter the required Label (name) for the Virtual Service.

The label will be auto configured based on the Associated Virtual Service
selected. This can be changed if required.


Enter the required Virtual Service Port - typically 443.


Select the required SSL Operation Mode:

For more information see SSL Operation Mode.


High Security - Configure the STunnel VIP for high security


FIPS Compliant - Configure the STunnel VIP for FIPS compliance


High Compatibility - Configure the STunnel VIP for high compatibility


Custom - All settings can be configured manually

For more information see SSL Operation Mode - Custom.


Select the required SSL Certificate.


Click Update to create the new STunnel Virtual Service.

Once the SSL Termination is created, the associated VIP will be displayed with a padlock symbol in the system
overview as shown below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 170

SSL Operation Mode
The following STunnel settings are auto-configured for each SSL Operation Mode:

STunnel Setting High Security FIPS Compliant High Compatibility

Disable SSLv3 Ciphers

Disable TLSv1.0 Ciphers

Disable TLSv1.1 Ciphers

Disable TLSv1.2 Ciphers

Disable TLSv1.3 Ciphers

Do Not Insert Empty Fragments

Delay DNS Lookups

Honor Cipher Order

Disable SSL Renegotiation

The following SSL Ciphers are auto-configured for each SSL Operation Mode:

High Security

ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:DHE-RSA-
AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256

FIPS Compliant

ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-
AES256-SHA384:DHE-DSS-AES256-GCM-SHA384:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA256:DHE-DSS-
AES256-SHA256:AES256-GCM-SHA384:AES256-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-
SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA256:DHE-DSS-AES128-GCM-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES128-
GCM-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256:DHE-DSS-AES128-SHA256:AES128-GCM-SHA256:AES128-SHA256:AES256-
SHA:AES128-SHA

High Compatibility

ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:AES128-GCM-SHA256:AES256-SHA256:AES128-
SHA256:AES256-SHA:AES128-SHA:DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA256

Custom (Initial Setting)

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 171

 ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:AES128-GCM-SHA256:AES256-SHA256:AES128-
SHA256:AES256-SHA:AES128-SHA:DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA256

SSL Operation Mode - Custom

If you set the SSL Operating Mode to Custom the following SSL/TLS settings can be configured manually:

1. Ciphers to use - the default is:

ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:AES128-GCM-SHA256:AES256-SHA256:AES128-
SHA256:AES256-SHA:AES128-SHA:DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA256

This can be modified as required, or the field can be cleared (blank) to allow all available ciphers (not
recommended)

2. Disable SSLv3 Ciphers - When checked this option disables all SSLv3 Ciphers.

3. Disable TLSv1.0 Ciphers - When checked this option disables all TLSv1.0 Ciphers.

4. Disable TLSv1.1 Ciphers - When checked this option disables all TLSv1.1 Ciphers.

5. Disable TLSv1.2 Ciphers - When checked this option disables all TLSv1.2 Ciphers.

6. Disable TLSv1.3 Ciphers - When checked this option disables all TLSv1.3 Ciphers.

7. SSL Terminator - the options are STunnel, HAProxy or Pound.


If STunnel is selected:


Do not Insert Empty Fragments - This option should be enabled (checked) to ensure mitigation of
both the BEAST and CRIME MITM attacks. It is also required for PCI Testing.


Delay DNS Lookups - This option is useful for dynamic DNS, or when DNS is not available during
STunnel startup (road warrior VPN, dial-up configurations).


Honor Cipher Order - When choosing a cipher during an SSLv3 or TLSv1 handshake, normally the
client’s preference is used. If this directive is enabled, the server’s preference will be used instead.


Disable SSL Renegotiation - Applications of the SSL renegotiation include some authentication
scenarios, or re-keying long lasting connections. On the other hand this feature can facilitate a
trivial CPU-exhaustion DoS attack. This option should be enabled (checked) to mitigate the BEAST
Attack.


Time to Close - Configure the global client response timeout in seconds. This setting should not
require changing.


If HAProxy is selected:

To use HAProxy for SSL termination, the Associated Virtual Service field must be set
to a layer 7 VIP.

It’s also possible to create an HAProxy SSL termination at the same time that a layer
7 VIP is created. When creating the VIP, click [Advanced] and enable (check) Create

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 172

 HAProxy SSL Termination and enter the required information.


CA Certificate - If you want to use client certificate authentication, set the relevant CA Certificate
here.

To configure a CA Certificate, create a PEM file with the complete CA certificate

chain and private key, then use the WebUI menu option: Cluster Configuration >
CA Certificate Families to configure a new CA Certificate Family and upload the
PEM file. Multiple certificates can be associated with each family, the first
certificate is activated by default. For more information about mTLS, please
refer to Mutual Transport Layer Security (mTLS).


ALPN - Select one or more (using the CTRL key) Application-Layer Protocol Negotiation protocol
IDs to advertise for this termination.


If Pound is selected:


Enable WebDAV Verbs - Selecting this option permits the use of the following commands:


Extended HTTP Requests: PUT, DELETE


Standard WebDAV verbs: LOCK, UNLOCK, PROPFIND, PROPPATCH, SEARCH, MKCOL, MOVE,
COPY, OPTIONS, TRACE, MKACTIVITY, CHECKOUT, MERGE, REPORT


Microsoft WebDAV extensions: SUBSCRIBE, BPROPPATCH, POLL, BMOVE, BCOPY, BDELETE,
CONNECT


Header Field Name & Header Field Value - Use to configure a custom Pound header.


Rewrite HTTP Redirects - If they point to the backend itself or to the listener (but with the wrong
protocol) the response will be changed to show the virtual host in the request.


Honor Cipher Order - When choosing a cipher during an SSLv3 or TLSv1 handshake, normally the
client’s preference is used. If this directive is enabled, the server’s preference will be used instead.
This option should be enabled to mitigate the BEAST attack.


Client Cipher Renegotiation - Sets whether the client is allowed to renegotiate the cipher order.
This option should be set to "No Client Renegotiation" to mitigate the BEAST attack. The options
are:


No Client Renegotiation - no client renegotiation will be honored


Secure Renegotiation - secure renegotiation will be honored


Insecure Renegotiation - insecure renegotiation will be honored

Server Name Indication (SNI)

Server Name Indication (SNI) rules can be configured for STunnel VIPs. SNI is an extension to the TLS protocol
which allows a client to indicate which hostname it is attempting to connect to at the start of the handshaking
process. This allows the load balancer to present the correct certificate based on the FQDN requested and route
requests to the appropriate layer 7 VIP or a custom IP address / port.

Configuring Server Name Indication (SNI) Rules

SNI rules cannot be added at the same time the STunnel VIP is initially created. They must added afterwards

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 173

using the modify option.

To configure SNI rules:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > SSL Termination.

2. Click Modify next to the relevant STunnel VIP.

3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click New SNI Rule.

4. Enter an appropriate Friendly Name for the new rule, e.g. rule1.

5. Enter the required SNI to Match e.g. www.loadbalancer.org.

Wildcard entries such as *.loadbalancer.org are also supported. Make sure that the SSL
certificates match accordingly.

6. Select the required SSL Certificate.

7. Set the Associated Virtual Service dropdown according to your requirements, either:


Select the required Virtual Service where you’d like to forward traffic.


Or select Custom, specify the Backend IP Address and Backend Virtual Service Port and configure
Enable Proxy Protocol as needed - Proxy Protocol is enabled by default.

8. Click Add Rule.

9. Repeat the above steps to add additional rules.

10. Once the rules are added, they’re displayed in a list under the Current SNI Rules section as shown in the
example below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 174

 11. Modify or delete SNI rules using the buttons provided.

12. To apply the new settings, restart STunnel using the Reload STunnel button in the "Commit changes" box at
the top of the screen.

13. Once SNI rules have been configured for a particular STunnel VIP, this is indicated next to the STunnel VIP
name as shown below:

SSL Termination on the Load Balancer with Re-encryption (SSL Bridging)

SSL termination on the load balancer can be very CPU intensive. In most cases, for a scalable
solution, terminating SSL on the Real Servers is the best option.

For information on configuring SSL termination, please refer to SSL Termination on the Load
Balancer (SSL Offloading).

Using STunnel or Pound to Terminate SSL

Here, SSL is terminated using STunnel or Pound. Un-uncrypted traffic and is then passed to a layer 7 VIP which
handles the re-encryption as shown below.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 175

Using HAProxy to Terminate SSL
Here, SSL termination and re-encryption are both handled by a single layer 7 VIP as shown below.

Enabling SSL Re-Encryption

Backend encryption can be enabled at the Virtual Service level which then applies to all associated Real Servers or
for each Real Server as detailed below.

To enable re-encryption at the Virtual Service level:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Virtual Services.

2. Click Modify next to relevant Virtual Service.

3. Scroll down to the SSL section and enable (check) the Enable Backend Encryption checkbox. If there are
existing Real Servers, you’ll be asked if you want to apply the new setting to those servers - click OK or
Cancel as required.

4. The following default ciphers are used:

ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:DHE-RSA-
AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256

To change this, click [Advanced] in the SSL section, enable (check) the Use Custom Ciphers checkbox and
specify the required cipher in the Default Real Server Ciphers field.

5. Click Update.

To enable re-encryption at the Real Server level:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 176

 1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Real Servers.

2. Click Modify next to relevant Real Server.

3. Enable (check) the option Re-Encrypt to Backend.

4. Click Update.

SSL - Advanced Configuration

Pound Global Settings
Lock Pound Configuration - When enabled it will stop the user interface overwriting the configuration files so
manual changes can be made.

Logging - Activate detailed logging of the Pound SSL termination service. When activated the Pound log is written
to /var/log/poundssl.log.

Client Timeout - Configure the global client response timeout in seconds. This setting should not require
changing. The default is 30 seconds.

Global Server Timeout - Configure the global Real Server response timeout in seconds. This setting should not
require changing.

Ulimit - This setting will change the maximum number of file descriptors available to the pound process. The
default is 81000.

Process Threads - Start the Pound process with X number of threads. Note that these threads are allocated at
start so if you’re not using them they will take up memory needlessly. The default is 250.

Transparent Proxy - Enable TProxy support in Pound SSL. The combination of Pound, TProxy, and HAProxy
allows SSL termination on the load balancer whilst passing the client’s IP address to the Real Servers. This option
also automatically enables TProxy for HAProxy.

A consequence of using Transparent Proxy with both Pound and HAProxy is that you can no
longer access the HAProxy Virtual Service directly. With transparency turned on, HAProxy will

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 177

 only accept traffic from Pound. One way to get around this is to configure the HAProxy VIP to
listen on two ports. One will listen on port 80, and be your standard HTTP service. The other will
listen on a different port - 81 for example, and will be the destination for traffic from Pound. For
more information, please refer to Transparency at Layer 7.

STunnel Global Settings

Debug Level - Option to set the debugging level for all STunnel Services. The Debug Level is one of the syslog
level names or numbers emergency (0), Alert (1), Critical (2), err (3), Warning (4), Notice (5), Information (6), or
Debug (7). The higher the number the more detail will be contained in the STunnel Logs.

Disable Nagle Algorithm - With this option ticked (enabled) the Nagle Algorithm will be disabled. More details can
be found in RFC 896.

Enable FIPS 140-2 Mode - FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) are a set of standards that describe
document processing, encryption algorithms and other information technology standards for use within non-
military government agencies and by government contractors and vendors who work with the agencies. Check to
enable FIPS 140-2 mode for STunnel.

Mutual Transport Layer Security (mTLS)

mTLS is a way to establish a secure and encrypted connection between two entities. With mTLS, both the client
and server have digital certificates that they use to verify their identities to each other before exchanging any data.
This helps to ensure that the connection is secure and that the data being transmitted between the client and
server cannot be intercepted or tampered with by any unauthorized parties.

Configuring mTLS
mTLS can be enabled on the front-end between the client and the load balancer and on the back-end between the
load balancer and the load balanced servers.

The configuration steps below assume that there is an existing layer 7 VIP named AppServers with associated
Real Servers AppServer1, AppServer2 and AppServer3.

Upload the CA Certificate

In the example presented here, the same CA certificate is used to validate the connecting clients and also the
backend servers. If different CAs are used, multiple CA Certificate Families can be configured.

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > CA Certificate Families.

2. Click Create Family.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 178

 3. Specify a suitable Family label, e.g. mTLS.

4. Specify a suitable Certificate Label, e.g. ca-cert.

5. Click Choose File and browse to and select the relevant PEM or PFX file.

6. Click Create.

Front-end mTLS
Step 1 - Upload the Certificate to be Used for the SSL Termination

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to Cluster Configuration > SSL Certificate.

2. Click Add a new SSL Certificate.

3. Select the Upload prepared PEM/PFX file option.

4. Specify an appropriate label (name), e.g. server-cert.

5. Click Choose File and select the relevant PEM or PFX file.

6. Click Upload Certificate.

Step 2 - Configure the SSL Termination and Enable mTLS

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to Cluster Configuration > SSL Termination and click Add a new Virtual Service.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 179

 2. Using the Associated Virtual Service dropdown, select the Virtual Service where mTLS should be enabled,
e.g. AppServers.

Once the VIP is selected, the Label field will be auto-populated with SSL-AppServers. This
can be changed if preferred.

3. Set the SSL Operation Mode to Custom.

4. Set the SSL Terminator to HAProxy.

5. Set the SSL Certificate to the SSL Certificate uploaded previously, e.g. server-cert.

6. Set the CA Certificate to the CA Certificate Family created previously, e.g. mTLS.

7. Click Update to create the SSL Termination.

Back-end mTLS
Step 1 - Upload the Certificate that will be Used to Prove the Identity of the Load Balancer

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to Cluster Configuration > SSL Certificate.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 180

 2. Click Add a new SSL Certificate.

3. Select the Upload prepared PEM/PFX file option.

4. Specify an appropriate label (name), e.g. client-cert.

5. Click Choose File and select the relevant PEM or PFX file.

6. Click Upload Certificate.

Step 2 - Enable mTLS

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 – Real Servers and click Modify next to the first
Real Server.

2. Configure the following Settings:


If desired, update the Label to indicate that mTLS is now enabled, e.g. mTLS-AppServer1.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 181

 
Update the Real Server Port field to the required port, e.g. 443.


Enable (check) the Re-Encrypt to Backend checkbox.


Set the Verify Server Certificate dropdown to the certificate family created previously, e.g. mTLS.


Set the Send Client Certificate dropdown to the certificate uploaded above, e.g. client-cert.

3. Click Update.

4. Repeat these steps for all remaining Real Servers.

Certificate Revocation List (CRL)

If required, a CRL can be uploaded and applied to the CA Certificate Family as described below:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > CA Certificate Families.

2. Click Modify next to the CA Certificate Family, e.g. mTLS.

3. Click Upload Certificate Revocation List.

4. Click Choose File and browse to and select the required CRL file.

5. Click Upload.

Once everything is configured, reload HAProxy using the Reload HAProxy button in the "Commit changes" box at
the top of the screen to apply the new settings.

HTTP to HTTPS Redirection

HTTP to HTTPS redirection is supported both when terminating SSL on the Real Servers and when offloading SSL
on the load balancer as described in the following sections.

When Terminating SSL on the Real Servers

This method requires two VIPs:


VIP 1 - This is a layer 7 HTTP mode VIP that listens on port 80 and redirects all requests to VIP 2.


This VIP does not require any Real Servers. Once configured, it will be shown purple/green in the
System Overview.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 182

 
Force to HTTPS is enabled - this is set by modifying the VIP, scrolling to the Other section and enabling
Force to HTTPS.

Force to HTTPS is only available when the VIP is in HTTP mode.


VIP 2 - This is a layer 7 TCP mode VIP that listens on port 443 and load balances connections between Web
1 & Web 2.


This VIP is configured on the same IP address as VIP 1.

When Terminating SSL on the Load Balancer

Using STunnel or Pound
This method requires two VIPs:


VIP 1 - This is a Pound or STunnel VIP that listens on port 443, terminates the SSL connection and then
forwards the decrypted HTTP traffic to VIP 2 on port 80.


VIP 2 - This is a layer 7 HTTP mode VIP that listens on port 80 and load balances connections between Web
1 & Web 2.


This VIP is configured on the same IP address as VIP 1.


Force to HTTPS is enabled - this is set by modifying the VIP, scrolling to the Other section and enabling
Force to HTTPS.

Force to HTTPS is only available when the VIP is in HTTP mode.

If you want to re-encrypt the data from the load balancer to the Real Server, enable
the Re-encrypt to Backend option for the each Real Server. For more information on
using this option, please refer to SSL Termination on the Load Balancer with Re-
encryption (SSL Bridging).

Using HAProxy
This method requires one VIP:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 183

 
VIP 1 - This is a Layer 7 SNAT mode VIP configured in HTTP mode. It listens on port 80 and load balances
the decrypted HTTP requests to Web 1 & Web 2.


This VIP also handles SSL termination. To configure SSL termination at the same time as creating the
layer 7 VIP, click [Advanced] and in the termination section enable (check) the Create HAProxy SSL
Termination option.


Force to HTTPS is enabled - this is set by modifying the VIP, scrolling to the Other section and enabling
Force to HTTPS.

Force to HTTPS is only available when the VIP is in HTTP mode.

If you want to re-encrypt the data from the load balancer to the Real Server, enable
the Re-encrypt to Backend option for the each Real Server. For more information on
using this option, please refer to SSL Termination on the Load Balancer with Re-
encryption (SSL Bridging).

Server Feedback Agent

The load balancer can dynamically modify the weight of each Real Server by gathering data from either a custom
feedback agent or a HTTP server. Reducing the weight of a server compared to others in the pool will reduce the
amount of traffic it receives.

For layer 4 VIPs, both the agent and HTTP Server methods can be used, for Layer 7 VIPs, only the agent method is
supported.

By default, the agent listens on TCP port 3333, although this can be changed if required.

A telnet to port 3333 on a Real Server with the agent installed returns the current idle value as an integer value
between 0 and 100. By default, the idle value is based on current CPU utilization. This can also be based on RAM
utilization and the number of current connections or a combination of all three.

This can be configured by modifying the XML configuration file located in the agent’s installation folder - by
default C:\ProgramData\LoadBalancer.org\LoadBalancer. The file can be edited directly or by clicking the
Configuration button in the agent monitor program - see "Controlling the Agent" below.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 184

The load balancer uses the formula (idle value/100) * initial weight to find the new dynamic weight.

The "initial weight" is the weight set in the WebUI for each Real Server.

For more information about the feedback agent, please refer to this blog.

Windows Agent
The latest Windows feedback agent (v4.6.0) can be downloaded here.

Installing the Agent

To install the agent, run loadbalanceragent.msi. Once the installation is complete, the Feedback Agent service is
started automatically.

The agent must be installed on each Real Server.

Controlling the Agent

The Feedback Agent service can be controlled and configured using the Loadbalancer.org Feedback Agent
monitor program. By default this can be accessed from: Windows Start Menu > Loadbalancer.org.

Linux/Unix Agent
The Linux feedback agent files can be downloaded using the following links:

readme file: https://downloads.loadbalancer.org/agent/linux/v4.1/readme.txt

xinetd file: https://downloads.loadbalancer.org/agent/linux/v4.1/lb-feedback
feedback script: https://downloads.loadbalancer.org/agent/linux/v4.1/lb-feedback.sh

Installation & Testing

Install xinetd - if not already installed:

apt-get install xinetd

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 185

Insert the following line into /etc/services:

lb-feedback 3333/tcp # Loadbalancer.org feedback daemon

Then run the following commands:

cp lb-feedback.sh /usr/bin/lb-feedback.sh
chmod +x /usr/bin/lb-feedback.sh
cp lb-feedback /etc/xinetd.d/lb-feedback
chmod 644 /etc/xinetd.d/lb-feedback
/etc/init.d/xinetd restart

To test the agent:

telnet 127.0.0.1 3333

Trying 127.0.0.1...
Connected to 127.0.0.1.
Escape character is '^]'.
95%
Connection closed by foreign host.

The agent files must be installed on each Real Server.

HTTP Server
You can use any HTTP server responding on port 3333 to give feedback information to the load balancer. The
format of this information must be an integer number of 0-100 without any header information. Using this
method, you can generate a custom response based on your application’s requirements.

Configuring VIPs To Use The Agent or HTTP Server

To Configure Virtual Services to use Agent or HTTP Server (layer 4 only) feedback:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Virtual Services or Cluster Configuration >
Layer 7 - Virtual Services.

2. Click Modify next to the relevant Virtual Service.


For layer 4 VIPs set the Feedback Method to either Agent or HTTP depending on your requirements.


For layer 7 VIPs set the Feedback Method to Agent.

3. Click Update.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 186

 4. Reload/restart services as prompted.

Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB)

GSLB enables traffic to be load balanced across multiple geographically dispersed servers. When used in
conjunction with the failover and high availability features of the appliance, GSLB enables highly available, multi-
site load balanced environments to be created. GSLB functionality is provided using the Open Source Polaris
GSLB.

Key Concepts
GSLB enables the load balancer(s) to provide intelligent DNS responses to inbound client queries for one or more
sub domains. The responses given depend on the health of each endpoint and if Topology is configured, the
location of those endpoints relative to the client making the request. Where GSLB is deployed along side
application load balancing, the endpoints are usually the VIPs that are configured at each site. Where application
load balancing is not used and only GSLB is configured, the endpoints are normally the Real Servers.

DNS delegation is used to delegate responsibility for the sub domain(s) to the GSLB service on the load
balancers. Once delegated, it is the GSLB service on the load balancers that is responsible for providing the
response to DNS queries for that sub domain.

In a two site setup with an HA pair of load balancers in each site, once GSLB and DNS delegation are correctly
configured, the four load balancers act as intelligent name servers for the sub domains specified.

Key features

Reliable health checking service supporting both TCP, HTTP(S) and custom external checks so that only
healthy members/endpoints are returned on lookups


Failover, round robin and also a topology method that directs clients to servers in the same location


Can return single or multiple (up to 1024) answers at once


Option to fallback to any healthy server or refuse the query


Uses EDNS Client Subnet (ECS) by default so the client IP address / subnet is used when considering
topology. For more details, please refer to GSLB Advanced Configuration.

For additional information, please refer to our GSLB blog.

GSLB Configuration
GSLB is configured using the WebUI menu option: Cluster Configuration > GSLB Configuration. Four tabs are used
to configure GSLB as illustrated below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 187

Global Names - Define the sub domain(s) that GSLB responds to.

Members - Are returned to clients in DNS responses, also known as "endpoints".

Pools - Associate one or more Global Names with the relevant Members. Also defines health checks, load
balancing method, timeouts and various other settings.

Topologies - Define how network subnets and host addresses map to sites. In a multi-site deployment, this can
be used to ensure that clients connect to the nearest / most appropriate site. A topology groups together the
member(s) for a particular site and the clients who would normally connect via those members. Members and
clients can be specified using a subnet address such as 10.0.0.0/24 or a host address such as 10.0.0.1/32.

The following table details the options in each tab.

Tab Setting Description

Global Names Name Name can be a combination of "0-9", "a-z", "A-Z", "-" (dash), "_"
(underscore) or a "." (dot).

Hostname A valid RFC 1123 hostname, for example www.example.com.

TTL TTL is how long to cache the (hostname) DNS response in

seconds. For example 3600 would be equal to 1 hour, the
minimum value is "0" (0s).

Members Name Name can be a combination of "0-9", "a-z", "A-Z", "-" (dash), "_"
(underscore) or a "." (dot).

IP A valid IPv4 address, for example 10.0.1.1.

Monitor IP A valid IPv4 address, for example 10.0.1.1.

Weight Weight of the server, min: 0 (server is disabled), max: 10.

Pools Name Name can be a combination of "0-9", "a-z", "A-Z", "-" (dash), "_"
(underscore) or a "." (dot).

Monitor The type of health check to use. The options are:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 188

Tab Setting Description

Monitor - HTTP Perform a HTTP or HTTPS GET depending on Monitor Use SSL.
Succeeds if HTTP response status is 200 or one of the codes
specified in Monitor Expected codes.


Monitor Use SSL - Whether to use SSL, default is "No"
(false).


Monitor Hostname - Hostname to supply in HTTP Host:
header. When using SSL this will also be supplied in SNI.


Monitor URL Path - A URL path to request, appended after
the member’s IP address, default is "/".


Monitor Port - Which port to check. If a value is not
provided, port 80 will be used when Monitor Use SSL is
false, port 443 will be used when Monitor Use SSL is true.


Monitor Expected Codes - A comma separated list of
HTTP codes to match in a response. Valid range is
between 100 and 599.

Monitor - TCP Perform a TCP connect. Optionally: send text, read response
and match a regex pattern.


Monitor Port - Which port to check.


Monitor Send String - A string to send after connecting to
the port, for example "check".


Monitor Match Return - A regex pattern to match (not case
sensitive) in the response, for example "up".

Monitor - Forced Forces a member to be either UP or DOWN effectively disabling

health checking.


Monitor Status - A string, either "up" or "down", default is
"up".

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 189

Tab Setting Description

Monitor - External Will run the script selected in the Monitor Script dropdown. The
check will receive the IP address and port of the member and
any additional arguments that are passed. If a Monitor Result is
set, the check will be deemed a success if the script returns the
configured string. If there is no Monitor Result the exit code will
be used.


Monitor Port - see above.


Monitor Script - Specify the script to use.


Monitor Parameters - A single or double quoted, comma
separated list of additional parameters you may wish to
pass in. This value is not required.

The parameters that are passed

into the shell script are as follows:

 $1 = pool member IP
address

 $2 = monitor port

 $3 and onwards are taken

fron Monitor Parameters


Monitor Result - A string to match in the response, for
example "success".

For more details on adding additional

health check scripts, please refer to
External Health Check Scripts (GSLB).

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 190

Tab Setting Description

Monitor - External This will dynamically adjust the weight based on the output of
Dynamic Weight the health check script. It should output between 0 and 10, 10
being of the highest priority and 0 being offline and removed
from the pool. The exit code should be 0 at all times, anything
else will report as a health check failure.


Monitor Port - see above.


Monitor Script - see above.


Monitor Parameters - see above.

The "Feedback_Agent_Weight" GSLB

template can be used to create a
dynamic weight health check script that
interacts with the Loadbalancer.org
Feedback Agent.

For more details on adding additional

health check scripts, please refer to
External Health Check Scripts (GSLB).

LB Method The load balancing method to use. The options are:


wrr - Weighted round robin. Round robin with weighting.


twrr - Topology weighted round robin. As above but the
topology file is also considered to direct clients to end-
points in the same region/data center.


fogroup - Failover group. With this method, the first
healthy end-point is handed out continuously unless it
becomes unhealthy, then, the next healthy end-point is
used, etc. Can be used for active-backup scenarios.

Global Names A Pool can be associated with one or more global names. A
pool requires at least one global name. Use the CTRL key to
select multiple global names.

Members A pool must have at least one endpoint member. Drag and drop
the endpoints from Available Members to _Members in Use.

If the load balancing method is set to

fogroup, the order in which the
members are listed should be the same
as the order in which they are intended
to be used.

Advanced > In seconds, min: 1, max: 3600.

Monitor Interval

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 191

Tab Setting Description

Advanced > In milliseconds, min: 100 (0.1s), max: 10000 (10 seconds).
Monitor Timeout

Advanced > Retry min: 0, max: 5, default is "0" no retries.

Monitor Retries

Advanced > Resolution behavior when all members of the pool are DOWN.
Fallback The options are:


any - Perform distribution among all the configured
members with non-zero weight ignoring the health status.
This is the default.


refuse - Refuse all queries. Note: fallback is set to "any"
with all member weights set to 0 will result in a NOERROR
response with no answer section data.

Advanced > Maximum number of A records to return in response, large

Max Addresses responses will go over TCP min: "1", max: "1024", default: "1".
Returned

Toplogies Name Name can be a combination of "0-9", "a-z", "A-Z", "-" (dash), "_"
(underscore) or a "." (dot).

IP/CIDR A comma separated list of valid IPv4 address or CIDR denoted

IP blocks for example "10.1.1.0/24, 10.1.1.2".

GSLB Service IP Address & Port

By default, the GSLB service listens on TCP & UDP port 53 on all appliance IP addreses. This can be changed if
required. For more details, please refer to Service Socket Addresses.

External Health Check Scripts (GSLB)

Custom GSLB health checks can be created and modified using the WebUI.

Adding Health Check Scripts

New scripts can be created either by using the script templates or by uploading files from an external source.

Using Script Templates

To create a new script from template:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to Cluster Configuration > Health Check Scripts and click Add New Health Check.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 192

 2. Specify an appropriate Name for the health check, e.g. GSLB-Custom-Check.

3. Set Type to GSLB.

4. Using the Template dropdown select an appropriate template from the GSLB section of the list, e.g.
Example.

5. Modify the script to suit your requirements.

6. Click Update.

Once the health check has been added, it will appear in the Health Check Scripts list as shown below:

The new script will also appear in the Monitor Script dropdown when Monitor for a Pool is set to External:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 193

Uploading External Files
To create a new script by uploading an external file:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to Cluster Configuration > Health Check Scripts and click Upload Existing Health
Check.

2. Specify an appropriate Name for the health check, e.g. GSLB-London-Paris-Check.

3. Set Type to GSLB.

4. Click the Choose File button next to Contents.

5. Browse to and select the required file, e.g. London-Paris-Check.sh.

If you have an HA Pair and the secondary node requires a different health check, click the
Choose File button next to Secondary Node Contents and browse to and select the
required file.

6. If the file is binary, enable the File is Binary checkbox - this will prevent the editor window being displayed.

7. Click Update.

Once the health check has been added, it will appear in the Health Check Scripts list and in the Monitor Script
dropdown as explained in Using Script Templates above.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 194

GSLB Advanced Configuration
By default (for v8.11 and later), the GSLB service uses the address of the original requester supplied by the EDNS
Client Subnet (ECS) option rather than the address of the DNS server that makes the final request to the appliance
when considering topologies. If required, this can be disabled so the address of the DNS server is used as with
previous versions.

To configure ECS:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to GSLB - Advanced Configuration.

2. Configure the Use Client Subnet Extension checkbox according to your requirements:


If enabled (default), the address of the requesting client will be used when considering Topologies


If disabled, the address of the client’s DNS server making the request will be used when considering
Topologies

3. Click Update to apply any changes.

GSLB Multi-site Example

This example demonstrates the steps required to configure GSLB for a two site deployment.

Conceptual Overview
For multi-site deployments, GSLB functionality can be used to provide high availability and location affinity across
multiple sites.


Clients across multiple sites use the same FQDN to access the load balanced service(s)


Under normal operation, clients are directed to their site’s local load balanced cluster (configured using
Topology)


In the event that a site’s load balanced service(s) and/or load balancers are offline, then local clients are
automatically directed to a functioning load balanced cluster at another site

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 195

Explanation:

1. A client tries to access the load balanced service by using the service’s FQDN, in this example
service.domain.com.

2. The client sends a DNS lookup request for service.domain.com to its local DNS server.

3. The local site’s DNS server has the domain service.domain.com delegated to the load balancers.

4. The DNS server sends a delegated DNS lookup request for service.domain.com to one of the load
balancers.

5. The load balancer that received the delegated DNS lookup request replies to the DNS server by serving up
the appropriate, local VIP address. For example, if the request originated from the 10.0.0.0/24 subnet then
the VIP in that subnet is served up. Likewise, if the request originated from the 172.16.0.0/24 subnet then the
VIP in that subnet is served up. As such, clients are always directed to their local, on-site load balanced
service, provided that the on-site instance is online and available and topology has been correctly configured.

6. The DNS server sends the delegated reply to the client.

7. The client connects to the load balanced service at service.domain.com by using the local VIP address.

In the event that the load balanced cluster and/or load balancers at one site should completely
fail then local clients will be directed to the load balanced cluster at the other site and the service
will continue to be available. This style of multi-site failover is possible because the load
balancer’s GSLB functionality continuously health checks the service at each site. When the
service at a site is observed to be unavailable then that site’s IP address is no longer served

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 196

 when responding to DNS queries.

Appliance Configuration
GSLB must be configured on the Primary appliance at each site. The GSLB configuration must be identical at both
sites to ensure consistent DNS responses irrespective of which load balancer responds. The following steps
assume that an HA pair is already configured in each site. For more information on configuring HA, please refer to
Chapter 9 - Appliance Clustering for HA.

Data Center 1
Configure the first HA pair using the WebUI of the Primary appliance in data center 1.

Step 1 – Configure the Global Name

1. Navigate to: Cluster Configuration > GSLB Configuration.

2. Select the Global Names tab.

3. Click New Global Name.

4. Define the required Name and Hostname, in this example both are set to service.domain.com.

5. Set the TTL as required, the default is 0 seconds.

6. Click Submit.

Step 2 – Configure the Members

Two members are required, one for each data center.

1. Select the Members Tab.

2. Click New Member.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 197

 3. Enter a Name for the first member, e.g. nodes-dc1.

4. Specify the IP and Monitor IP, in this example 10.0.0.10.

5. Leave the Weight set to 1.

6. Click submit.

7. To create the second member, click the New Member button again and configure the second member
(nodes-dc2,172.16.0.10) in the same way.

Step 3 – Configure the Pool

1. Select the Pools Tab.

2. Click New Pool.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 198

3. Enter a suitable Name for the Pool, in this example service-nodes.

4. Set the Monitor to TCP – this will perform a basic TCP port connect to verify each member.

5. Set the Monitor Port to the required value, in this example 80.

6. Set the LB Method to twrr (Topology Weighted Round Robin).

7. Select the Global Name created previously, e.g. service.domain.com.

8. Drag the required Members from the Available Members list to the Members in Use list, in this example
nodes-dc1 and nodes-dc2.

9. Click Submit.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 199

Step 4 – Configure the Topologies

Two Topologies are required, one for each data center.

1. Select the Topologies Tab.

2. Click New Topology.

3. Enter a sutaible Name for the first Topology, e.g. datacenter1.

4. Specify the IP/CIDR for the data center, in this example 10.0.0.0/24.

5. Now add the IP’s of clients that will connect to this member under normal circumstances. This can be either
as a subnet address or host address, for example 10.0.100.0/24 and 192.168.10.20/32. Separate each
address with a comma as shown.

If you have disabled ECS (see GSLB Advanced Configuration), the IP address of the DNS
servers that are making requests on behalf of clients should be added rather than the
client addresses.

6. Click Submit.

7. To create the second topology, click the New Topology button again and configure the second topology
(datacenter2) in the same way.

Data Center 2
Now configure the second HA pair in exactly the same way using the WebUI of the Primary appliance in data
center 2.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 200

DNS Server Configuration
Once GSLB has been configured at both sites and is identical, the local DNS server at each site must then be
configured for GSLB.

The DNS server at each site must be configured to delegate DNS requests for the subdomain in question (in this
case service.domain.com) to the load balancers. The load balancer’s GSLB services will then serve the
appropriate A records to the DNS servers and then back to the client making the request.

Using the example presented here, the DNS server at each site would be configured with a delegation for the
subdomain service.domain.com. The subdomain would be delegated to every load balancer across every site,
which provides multi-site redundancy.

The exact steps for creating a DNS delegation vary between different DNS servers and are outside the scope of
this document. For further information, a blog post that walks through creating a DNS delegation on a Microsoft
DNS server in the context of setting up GSLB on our appliance can be found here (see the section titled
“Delegating your subdomain to your GSLBs using Microsoft’s DNS Server”).

GSLB Diagnostics
Two reports are available to view the current state of the running GSLB service. These reports are very useful
when first setting up GSLB and also when diagnosing any issues. They are available via the WebUI menu option:
Reports.

GSLB Generic State – This report shows information about the running configuration of GSLB and also the health
state of each member/endpoint.

Example:

{
"timestamp": 1658309678.8496737,
"globalnames": {
"service.domain.com": {
"pool_name": "service-nodes",
"name": "service.domain.com",
"ttl": 30
}
},
"pools": {
"service-nodes": {
"last_status": true,
"max_addrs_returned": 1,
"members": [
{
"name": "nodes-dc1",
"status": true,
"ip": "10.0.0.10",
"weight": 1,
"region": "None",
"status_reason": "monitor passed",
"retries_left": 2,
"monitor_ip": "10.0.0.10"
},
{

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 201

 "name": "nodes-dc2",
"status": false,
"ip": "172.16.0.10",
"weight": 1,
"region": "None",
"status_reason": "OSError [Errno 113] No route to host during
socket.connect()",
"retries_left": 0,
"monitor_ip": "172.16.0.10"
}
],
"name": "service-nodes",
"monitor": {
"send_string": "None",
"timeout": 5,
"name": "tcp",
"match_re": "None",
"retries": 2,
"interval": 10,
"port": 80
},
"fallback": "any",
"lb_method": "twrr"
}
}
}

This shows that:


Member 10.0.0.10 is passing its health check


Member 172.16.0.10 is failing its health check


The running configuration matches the settings configured in the WebUI

GSLB PPDNS State – This report shows information about the running configuration of GSLB and also shows
which results will be returned to inbound queries based on the current state of all members/endpoints.

Example:

{
"timestamp": 1658309678.9508624,
"pools": {
"service-nodes": {
"lb_method": "twrr",
"max_addrs_returned": 1,
"status": true,
"fallback": "any",
"dist_tables": {
"_default": {
"index": 0,
"num_unique_addrs": 1,
"rotation": [
"10.0.0.10"
]
}

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 202

 }
}
},
"globalnames": {
"service.domain.com": {
"pool_name": "service-nodes",
"ttl": 30
}
}
}

This shows that:


Only member 10.0.0.10 is currently in the rotation of addresses being returned because as shown in the
GSLB Generic State example above, member 172.16.0.10 is failing its health check


The running configuration matches the settings configured in the WebUI

If you want to configure a multi-site load balanced deployment using GSLB and require further
assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact support@loadbalancer.org.

Configuring the Appliance via CLI, API & Direct Service Calls
A command line interface (CLI) is included that enables the appliance to be configured and controlled directly
from the command line. A JSON based Application Programming Interface (API) is also provided that enables CLI
commands to be called via a Web Service. The API is a wrapper around the CLI, so any CLI command can also be
called using the API.

It’s also possible to directly control layer 4 and layer 7 services, although the disadvantage here is that changes
made will not be reflected in the System Overview. If changes are made via the CLI or API, the System Overview is
kept in sync.

Command Line Interface (CLI)

All CLI actions are invoked using the lbcli command. To obtain help for lbcli, run the following command:

lbcli --help

A summary of all help options is displayed:

lbcli --help sections list help sections.

lbcli --help all show help for all actions.
lbcli --help [act] show help for action [act].
lbcli --help about show information about LBCLI.

LBCLI Command Reference

Activate CA Certificate

lbcli activate-ca-certificate

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 203

Make a CA certificate active within its Family

Required Arguments

--family expects an argument of type existing-cacert-family

--cert expects an argument of type existing-cacert

Add an ACL rule

lbcli add-acl
or
lbcli --action acl --function add

Adds an ACL rule to the specified layer 7 virtual service. If allow-duplicates is on then the new ACL will always be
appended even if there is an existing, matching ACL defined already.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-l7-vip

--allow-duplicates expects an argument of type bool defaults to off
--bool argument should be one of equal or notEqual defaults
to equal
--denystatus argument should be one of 200, 400, 403, 405, 408,
425, 429, 500, 502, 503 or 504 defaults to 403
--freetype expects an argument of type string defaults to
--headername expects an argument of type string defaults to
--location expects an argument of type string defaults to
--path expects an argument of type string defaults to /
--pathtype argument should be one of path_beg, path_end,
path_reg, hdr_host, hdr_beg, query, src_blk, header,
path, sni, ssl_sni, dst_port, flag or freetype
--redirecttype argument should be one of url_loc, url_pre, backend,
drop, none, use_server or flag

Add CA Certificate

lbcli add-ca-certificate

Add a CA Certificate to a Family

Required Arguments

--family expects an argument of type existing-cacert-family

--contents expects an argument of type string
--cert expects an argument of type strict-label

Optional Arguments

--auto-fix-label expects an argument of type bool

Add CA Certificate Family

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 204

 lbcli add-ca-certificate-family

Add a CA Certificate Family

Required Arguments

--family expects an argument of type strict-label

--cert expects an argument of type strict-label
--contents expects an argument of type string

Optional Arguments

--crl-contents expects an argument of type string

--auto-fix-label expects an argument of type bool

Create a Certificate Signing Request

lbcli add-csr
or
lbcli --action termination --function csr --type certificate

Create a Certificate Signing Request. When --yes-i-am-sure on is specified this command will overwrite existing
certificates.

Required Arguments

--country expects an argument of type string

--province expects an argument of type string
--city expects an argument of type string
--organisation expects an argument of type string
--unit expects an argument of type string
--domain expects an argument of type string
--email expects an argument of type string
--csrsize argument should be one of 2048 or 4096 defaults to 4096
--signalgorithm argument should be one of sha256 or sha256 defaults to
sha256
--csrname expects an argument of type string

Optional Arguments

--yes-i-am-sure expects an argument of type bool

Add a floating IP address

lbcli add-floating-ip

Adds a floating IP to the cluster.

Required Arguments

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 205

 --ip expects an argument of type ip

Optional Arguments

--disabled expects an argument of type bool defaults to off

Add a global name

lbcli add-gslb-globalname
or
lbcli --action gslb --function add --section globalnames

Adds a GSLB global name.

Required Arguments

--name expects an argument of type string

--hostname expects an argument of type hostname
--ttl expects an argument of type uint

Add a member

lbcli add-gslb-member
or
lbcli --action gslb --function add --section members

Adds a GSLB member.

Required Arguments

--name expects an argument of type string

--ip expects an argument of type ip
--weight expects an argument of type gslb-weight

Optional Arguments

--monitor-ip argument should be one of ip-or-empty

--add-pool expects an argument of type string

Add a pool

lbcli add-gslb-pool
or
lbcli --action gslb --function add --section pools

Adds a GSLB pool.

Required Arguments

--add-globalname expects an argument of type string

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 206

 --lb-method argument should be one of wrr, twrr or fogroup
--monitor argument should be one of http, tcp, forced,
external, external_weight or
externaldynamicweight
--name expects an argument of type string

Optional Arguments

--add-member expects an argument of type string

--fallback argument should be one of any or refuse defaults
to any
--max-addrs-returned expects an argument of type uint defaults to 1
--monitor-expected-codes expects an argument of type http-code-list
--monitor-hostname argument should be one of hostname-or-empty
--monitor-interval expects an argument of type uint defaults to 10
--monitor-parameters expects an argument of type string
--monitor-port expects an argument of type port
--monitor-result expects an argument of type string
--monitor-retries expects an argument of type uint defaults to 2
--monitor-return-match expects an argument of type string
--monitor-script expects an argument of type string
--monitor-send-string expects an argument of type string
--monitor-status argument should be one of up or down
--monitor-timeout expects an argument of type uint defaults to
5000
--monitor-url-path expects an argument of type string
--monitor-use-ssl expects an argument of type bool

Add a topology

lbcli add-gslb-topology
or
lbcli --action gslb --function add --section topologies

Adds a GSLB topology.

Required Arguments

--name expects an argument of type string

Optional Arguments

--add-ips expects an argument of type string

Add HAProxy SSL Associated Termination

lbcli add-haproxy-associated-termination

Add an HAProxy SSL Associated Termination to a Virtual Service

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 207

 --certificate expects an argument of type strict-label
--ca-certificate argument should be one of strict-label-or-empty defaults
to
--port expects an argument of type port defaults to 443
--disablesslv3 expects an argument of type bool defaults to on
--disabletlsv1 expects an argument of type bool defaults to on
--disabletlsv1-1 expects an argument of type bool defaults to on
--disabletlsv1-2 expects an argument of type bool defaults to off
--disabletlsv1-3 expects an argument of type bool defaults to off

Optional Arguments

--ciphers expects an argument of type cipher-list

--alpn expects an argument of type alpn-list

Add a header

lbcli add-header
or
lbcli --action headers --function add

Adds a header rule to the specified layer 7 virtual service.

Required Arguments

--header-type argument should be one of http-request or http-response

--vip expects an argument of type existing-l7-vip
--header-option argument should be one of add, set, del, delete or
replace
--header-name expects an argument of type string
--header-value expects an argument of type string

Add a health check

lbcli add-healthcheck

Add a health check to the cluster. If the --slave argument is omitted then the script passed to the --master
argument will be used on both appliances. If --base64 is yes then the health check body should be base64
encoded. If --zlib is set then the health check body should be compressed according to RFC-1950. If both base64
encoding and compression are used then the body should first be compressed then base64 encoded.

Required Arguments

--label expects an argument of type string

--kind argument should be one of check or gslbcheck defaults to check
--master expects an argument of type string

Optional Arguments

--base64 expects an argument of type bool defaults to no

--zlib expects an argument of type bool defaults to no

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 208

 --slave expects an argument of type string

Add a layer 4 real server

lbcli add-layer4-server
or
lbcli --action add-rip --layer 4

Adds a layer 4 real server to the specified virtual service.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

--ip expects an argument of type ip
--rip expects an argument of type rip

Optional Arguments

--port expects an argument of type port

--weight expects an argument of type rip-weight defaults to 100
--minconns expects an argument of type uint
--maxconns expects an argument of type uint

Add a layer 4 virtual service

lbcli add-layer4-service
or
lbcli --action add-vip --layer 4

Adds a layer 4 virtual service to the cluster.

Required Arguments

--ip expects an argument of type ip

--ports argument should be one of port-list-or-asterisk
--vip expects an argument of type vip

Optional Arguments

--forwarding argument should be one of gate, masq, ipip or snat

defaults to gate
--protocol argument should be one of tcp, udp, tcpudp, ops or fwm
defaults to tcp
--slave-ip expects an argument of type ip
--granularity expects an argument of type cidr
--fallback-ip expects an argument of type ip
--fallback-port expects an argument of type port
--persistent expects an argument of type bool
--persist-time expects an argument of type uint
--scheduler argument should be one of wlc, wrr or dh
--feedback argument should be one of agent, http or none
--email expects an argument of type string
--email-from expects an argument of type string

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 209

 --check-service argument should be one of none, dns, ftp, http,
http_proxy, https, imap, imaps, ldap, mysql, nntp, pop,
pops, radius, simpletcp, sip or smtp
--check-vhost expects an argument of type string
--check-database expects an argument of type string
--check-login expects an argument of type string
--check-password expects an argument of type string
--check-type argument should be one of negotiate, connect, ping,
external, off, on, 5 or 10
--check-port expects an argument of type port
--check-request expects an argument of type string
--check-response expects an argument of type string
--check-secret expects an argument of type string
--check-command expects an argument of type string
--feedback-port expects an argument of type port
--fallback-local expects an argument of type bool
--autoscale-group expects an argument of type string

Add a layer 7 real server

lbcli add-layer7-server
or
lbcli --action add-rip --layer 7

Adds a layer 7 real server to the specified virtual service.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

--ip expects an argument of type ip
--rip expects an argument of type rip

Optional Arguments

--port expects an argument of type port

--weight expects an argument of type rip-weight defaults to 100
--minconns expects an argument of type uint
--maxconns expects an argument of type uint
--encrypted expects an argument of type bool defaults to off
--cert argument should be one of existing-certificate-or-empty
defaults to
--cacert argument should be one of existing-cacert-family-or-empty
defaults to
--redir expects an argument of type string
--redir-enabled expects an argument of type bool defaults to off

Add a layer 7 virtual service

lbcli add-layer7-service
or
lbcli --action add-vip --layer 7

Adds a layer 7 virtual service to the cluster.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 210

Required Arguments

--disablesslv3 expects an argument of type bool defaults to

true
--disabletlsv1 expects an argument of type bool defaults to
true
--disabletlsv1-1 expects an argument of type bool defaults to
false
--disabletlsv1-2 expects an argument of type bool defaults to
false
--disabletlsv1-3 expects an argument of type bool defaults to
false
--ip expects an argument of type ip
--ports expects an argument of type port-list
--vip expects an argument of type vip

Optional Arguments

--ca-certificate argument should be one of

existing-cacert-family-or-empty
--certificate expects an argument of type existing-certificate
--ciphers expects an argument of type cipher-list
--mode argument should be one of other_tcp, tcp, ip,
http or http2 defaults to http
--fallback-ip expects an argument of type ip
--fallback-port expects an argument of type port
--service-type expects an argument of type string
--slave-ip expects an argument of type ip
--no-write expects an argument of type bool
--backend-only expects an argument of type bool
--appsession-cookie expects an argument of type string
--as-port expects an argument of type port
--autoscale-group expects an argument of type string
--backend-encryption expects an argument of type bool
--check-host expects an argument of type string
--check-negate-response expects an argument of type bool
--check-password expects an argument of type string
--check-port argument should be one of port-or-empty
--check-receive expects an argument of type string
--check-request expects an argument of type string
--check-type argument should be one of connect, external,
negotiate_http, negotiate_https,
negotiate_http_head, negotiate_https_head,
negotiate_http_options, negotiate_https_options,
mysql or none
--check-username expects an argument of type string
--clear-stick-drain expects an argument of type bool
--compression expects an argument of type bool
--cookie-attr-domain expects an argument of type
space-seperated-cookie-domains
--cookie-attr-httponly expects an argument of type bool
--cookie-attr-secure expects an argument of type bool
--cookie-maxidle expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--cookie-maxlife expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--cookiename expects an argument of type string
--default-ciphers argument should be one of cipher-list-or-empty
--enable-hsts expects an argument of type bool
--encrypt-all-backends expects an argument of type bool

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 211

 --external-check-script expects an argument of type existing-healthcheck
--fallback-disabled expects an argument of type bool
--fallback-encrypt expects an argument of type bool
--fallback-persist expects an argument of type bool
--feedback-method argument should be one of agent or none
--feedback-port expects an argument of type port
--force-to-https expects an argument of type bool
--force-to-https-port argument should be one of port-or-empty
--forward-for expects an argument of type bool
--hsts-month expects an argument of type uint
--http-pipeline argument should be one of http_keep_alive,
http_close, http_server_close or
http_force_close
--http-pretend-keepalive expects an argument of type bool
--http-request expects an argument of type bool
--invalid-http expects an argument of type bool
--maxconn expects an argument of type uint
--persist-table-size expects an argument of type uint
--persist-time expects an argument of type uint
--persistence argument should be one of none, ip, tcp,
sslsesid, http, appsession, rdp-session,
rdp-cookie, http_ip, waf, last, xff or
fallback_persist
--proxy-bind expects an argument of type string
--redirect-code expects an argument of type http-300-code
--redispatch expects an argument of type bool
--reuse-idle expects an argument of type bool
--scheduler argument should be one of first, roundrobin or
leastconn
--send-proxy argument should be one of none, v1, v2, v2_ssl
or v2_ssl_cn defaults to none
--send-rip-name-as-host expects an argument of type bool
--source-address expects an argument of type ip
--stunnel-source expects an argument of type string
--stunneltproxy expects an argument of type bool
--tcp-keep-alive expects an argument of type bool
--timeout expects an argument of type bool
--timeout-client expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--timeout-server expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--tproxy expects an argument of type bool
--tunneltimeout expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--use-content-inspection expects an argument of type bool
--xff-ip-pos expects an argument of type int

Add a PBR rule

lbcli add-pbr
or
lbcli --action pbr --function set
lbcli set-pbr

Adds a policy based routing rule to the appliance.

Required Arguments

--ip expects an argument of type ip

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 212

 --gateway expects an argument of type ip

Optional Arguments

--local-routing expects an argument of type bool defaults to off

Add a Certificate Revocation List

lbcli add-revocation-list

Add or replace the Certificate Revocation List for a Family

Required Arguments

--family expects an argument of type existing-cacert-family

--contents expects an argument of type string

Add a static IP address

lbcli add-static-ip
or
lbcli --action address --function add

Adds a static IP to the specified virtual service.

Required Arguments

--interface expects an argument of type existing-interface

--address expects an argument of type ip-with-optional-cidr

Optional Arguments

--cidr expects an argument of type cidr

Add a static route

lbcli add-static-route
or
lbcli --action route --function static --type add

Adds a route via the given gateway to the specified network.

Required Arguments

--gateway expects an argument of type ip

--network expects an argument of type ip-with-optional-cidr

Optional Arguments

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 213

 --cidr expects an argument of type cidr

Add an SSL Termination

lbcli add-termination
or
lbcli --action termination --function add --type stunnel

Adds an SSL Termination to the cluster.

Required Arguments

--port expects an argument of type port

--disablesslv2 expects an argument of type bool defaults to true
--disablesslv3 expects an argument of type bool defaults to true
--disabletlsv1 expects an argument of type bool defaults to true
--stunneldnsdelay expects an argument of type bool defaults to true
--stunnelproxy expects an argument of type bool defaults to false
--servercipherorder expects an argument of type bool defaults to true
--emptyfragments expects an argument of type bool defaults to true
--stunnelrenegotiation expects an argument of type bool defaults to true
--stunneltimetoclose expects an argument of type uint defaults to 0
--sslcert expects an argument of type existing-certificate
defaults to server
--proxy-bind expects an argument of type bool defaults to false
--disabletlsv1-1 expects an argument of type bool defaults to false
--disabletlsv1-2 expects an argument of type bool defaults to false
--disabletlsv1-3 expects an argument of type bool defaults to false
--sslmode argument should be one of high, fips or compatable
defaults to high

Optional Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type string

--associated-to expects an argument of type existing-l7-vip
--proxy-bind expects an argument of type existing-l7-vip
--source expects an argument of type ip
--slave-source expects an argument of type ip
--ciphers expects an argument of type cipher-list
--ip expects an argument of type ip
--slave-ip expects an argument of type ip
--backend-ip expects an argument of type ip
--slave-backend-ip expects an argument of type ip
--backend-port expects an argument of type port
--stunnel-source expects an argument of type string

Add a WAF

lbcli add-waf

Adds a Web Application Firewall to the specified layer 7 virtual service.

Required Arguments

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 214

 --waf expects an argument of type string
--vip expects an argument of type existing-l7-vip

Clone a health check

lbcli clone-healthcheck

Clone an existing health check on the cluster.

Required Arguments

--label expects an argument of type existing-healthcheck

Clone a virtual service.

lbcli clone-layer4-service
or
lbcli --action clone-vip --layer 4

Create a copy of the specified virtual service.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

--ip expects an argument of type ip
--ports argument should be one of port-list-or-asterisk
--clone expects an argument of type label

Optional Arguments

--forwarding argument should be one of gate, masq, ipip or snat

--protocol argument should be one of tcp, udp, tcpudp, ops or fwm
--slave-ip expects an argument of type ip
--granularity expects an argument of type cidr
--fallback-ip expects an argument of type ip
--fallback-port expects an argument of type port
--persistent expects an argument of type bool
--persist-time expects an argument of type uint
--scheduler argument should be one of wlc, wrr or dh
--feedback argument should be one of agent, http or none
--email expects an argument of type string
--email-from expects an argument of type string
--check-service argument should be one of none, dns, ftp, http,
http_proxy, https, imap, imaps, ldap, mysql, nntp, pop,
pops, radius, simpletcp, sip or smtp
--check-vhost expects an argument of type string
--check-database expects an argument of type string
--check-login expects an argument of type string
--check-password expects an argument of type string
--check-type argument should be one of negotiate, connect, ping,
external, off, on, 5 or 10
--check-port expects an argument of type port
--check-request expects an argument of type string

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 215

 --check-response expects an argument of type string
--check-secret expects an argument of type string
--check-command expects an argument of type string
--feedback-port expects an argument of type port
--fallback-local expects an argument of type bool
--autoscale-group expects an argument of type string

Clone a virtual service.

lbcli clone-layer7-service
or
lbcli --action clone-vip --layer 7

Create a copy of the specified virtual service.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

--ip expects an argument of type ip
--ports expects an argument of type port-list
--clone expects an argument of type label

Optional Arguments

--appsession-cookie expects an argument of type string

--as-port expects an argument of type port
--autoscale-group expects an argument of type string
--backend-encryption expects an argument of type bool
--backend-only expects an argument of type bool
--ca-certificate argument should be one of
existing-cacert-family-or-empty
--certificate expects an argument of type existing-certificate
--check-host expects an argument of type string
--check-negate-response expects an argument of type bool
--check-password expects an argument of type string
--check-port argument should be one of port-or-empty
--check-receive expects an argument of type string
--check-request expects an argument of type string
--check-type argument should be one of connect, external,
negotiate_http, negotiate_https,
negotiate_http_head, negotiate_https_head,
negotiate_http_options, negotiate_https_options,
mysql or none
--check-username expects an argument of type string
--ciphers expects an argument of type cipher-list
--clear-stick-drain expects an argument of type bool
--compression expects an argument of type bool
--cookie-attr-domain expects an argument of type
space-seperated-cookie-domains
--cookie-attr-httponly expects an argument of type bool
--cookie-attr-secure expects an argument of type bool
--cookie-maxidle expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--cookie-maxlife expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--cookiename expects an argument of type string
--default-ciphers argument should be one of cipher-list-or-empty
--disablesslv3 expects an argument of type bool

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 216

 --disabletlsv1 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1-1 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1-2 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1-3 expects an argument of type bool
--enable-hsts expects an argument of type bool
--encrypt-all-backends expects an argument of type bool
--external-check-script expects an argument of type existing-healthcheck
--fallback-disabled expects an argument of type bool
--fallback-encrypt expects an argument of type bool
--fallback-ip expects an argument of type ip
--fallback-persist expects an argument of type bool
--fallback-port expects an argument of type port
--feedback-method argument should be one of agent or none
--feedback-port expects an argument of type port
--force-to-https expects an argument of type bool
--force-to-https-port argument should be one of port-or-empty
--forward-for expects an argument of type bool
--hsts-month expects an argument of type uint
--http-pipeline argument should be one of http_keep_alive,
http_close, http_server_close or
http_force_close
--http-pretend-keepalive expects an argument of type bool
--http-request expects an argument of type bool
--invalid-http expects an argument of type bool
--maxconn expects an argument of type uint
--mode argument should be one of other_tcp, tcp, ip,
http or http2
--no-write expects an argument of type bool
--persist-table-size expects an argument of type uint
--persist-time expects an argument of type uint
--persistence argument should be one of none, ip, tcp,
sslsesid, http, appsession, rdp-session,
rdp-cookie, http_ip, waf, last, xff or
fallback_persist
--proxy-bind expects an argument of type string
--redirect-code expects an argument of type http-300-code
--redispatch expects an argument of type bool
--reuse-idle expects an argument of type bool
--scheduler argument should be one of roundrobin, leastconn
or first
--send-proxy argument should be one of none, v1, v2, v2_ssl
or v2_ssl_cn defaults to none
--send-rip-name-as-host expects an argument of type bool
--slave-ip expects an argument of type ip
--source-address expects an argument of type ip
--stunnel-source expects an argument of type string
--stunneltproxy expects an argument of type bool
--tcp-keep-alive expects an argument of type bool
--timeout expects an argument of type bool
--timeout-client expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--timeout-server expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--tproxy expects an argument of type bool
--tunneltimeout expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--use-content-inspection expects an argument of type bool
--xff-ip-pos expects an argument of type int

Delete an ACL rule

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 217

 lbcli delete-acl
or
lbcli --action acl --function del
lbcli --action acl --function delete
lbcli del-acl

Delete the first matching ACL rule from the specified layer 7 virtual service.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-l7-vip

--bool argument should be one of equal or notEqual defaults to
equal
--denystatus argument should be one of 200, 400, 403, 405, 408, 425,
429, 500, 502, 503 or 504 defaults to 403
--freetype expects an argument of type string defaults to
--headername expects an argument of type string defaults to
--location expects an argument of type string defaults to
--path expects an argument of type string defaults to /
--pathtype argument should be one of path_reg, path_beg, path_end,
hdr_host, hdr_beg, query, src_blk, header, path, sni,
ssl_sni, dst_port, flag or freetype
--redirecttype argument should be one of url_loc, url_pre, backend, drop,
none or use_server

Delete CA Certificate

lbcli delete-ca-certificate
or
lbcli del-ca-certificate

Remove a CA certificate from its Family

Required Arguments

--family expects an argument of type existing-cacert-family

--cert expects an argument of type existing-cacert

Delete CA Certificate Family

lbcli delete-ca-certificate-family
or
lbcli del-ca-certificate-family

Delete a CA Certificate Family

Required Arguments

--family expects an argument of type existing-cacert-family

Delete a floating IP

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 218

 lbcli delete-floating-ip
or
lbcli del-floating-ip

Delete a floating IP from the cluster.

Required Arguments

--ip expects an argument of type ip

Delete a global name

lbcli delete-gslb-globalname
or
lbcli --action gslb --function del --section globalnames
lbcli --action gslb --function delete --section globalnames
lbcli del-gslb-globalname

Delete the specified GSLB global name.

Required Arguments

--name expects an argument of type string

Delete a member

lbcli delete-gslb-member
or
lbcli --action gslb --function del --section members
lbcli --action gslb --function delete --section members
lbcli del-gslb-member

Delete the specified GSLB member.

Required Arguments

--name expects an argument of type string

Delete a pool

lbcli delete-gslb-pool
or
lbcli --action gslb --function del --section pools
lbcli --action gslb --function delete --section pools
lbcli del-gslb-pool

Delete the specified GSLB pool.

Required Arguments

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 219

 --name expects an argument of type string

Delete a member

lbcli delete-gslb-topology
or
lbcli --action gslb --function del --section topologies
lbcli --action gslb --function delete --section topologies
lbcli del-gslb-topology

Delete the specified GSLB member.

Required Arguments

--name expects an argument of type string

Delete HAProxy SSL Associated Termination

lbcli delete-haproxy-associated-termination
or
lbcli del-haproxy-associated-termination

Delete a HAProxy SSL Associated Termination from Virtual Service

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

Delete a header rule

lbcli delete-header
or
lbcli --action headers --function delete
lbcli --action headers --function del
lbcli del-header

Delete the first matching header rule from the specified layer 7 virtual service.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-l7-vip

--header-option argument should be one of add, set, del, delete or
replace
--header-name expects an argument of type string

Delete a health check

lbcli delete-healthcheck
or
lbcli del-healthcheck

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 220

Delete an existing health check from the cluster.

Required Arguments

--label expects an argument of type existing-healthcheck

Delete a header rule

lbcli delete-pbr
or
lbcli --action pbr --function del
lbcli --action pbr --function delete
lbcli del-pbr

Delete the first matching header rule from the specified layer 7 virtual service.

Required Arguments

--ip expects an argument of type ip

--gateway expects an argument of type ip

Delete a Certificate Revocation List

lbcli delete-revocation-list
or
lbcli del-revocation-list

Delete Certificate Revocation List from a Family

Required Arguments

--family expects an argument of type existing-cacert-family

Delete a real server

lbcli delete-server
or
lbcli del-rip
lbcli delete-rip

Delete the real server from the specified virtual service.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

--rip expects an argument of type existing-rip

Delete a virtual service

lbcli delete-service
or

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 221

 lbcli del-service
lbcli del-vip
lbcli delete-vip

Delete a virtual service from the cluster.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

Delete a static IP address

lbcli delete-static-ip
or
lbcli --action address --function delete
lbcli --action address --function del
lbcli del-static-ip

Delete a static IP from the appliance.

Required Arguments

--interface expects an argument of type existing-interface

--address expects an argument of type ip-with-optional-cidr

Optional Arguments

--cidr expects an argument of type cidr

Delete a static route

lbcli delete-static-route
or
lbcli --action route --function static --type del
lbcli --action route --function static --type delete
lbcli del-static-route

Delete a static route from the appliance.

Required Arguments

--network expects an argument of type ip-with-optional-cidr

Optional Arguments

--cidr expects an argument of type cidr

Delete an SSL termination

lbcli delete-termination
or

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 222

 lbcli --action termination --function del --type stunnel
lbcli --action termination --function delete --type stunnel
lbcli del-termination

Delete an SSL termination from the appliance.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-termination

Delete a WAF

lbcli delete-waf

Delete the specified Web Application Firewall from the cluster.

Required Arguments

--waf expects an argument of type existing-waf

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

Disable the API endpoint

lbcli disable-api
or
lbcli --action api --function disable

Disable the API endpoint on the appliance.

Disable Floating IP.

lbcli disable-floating-ip

Make it so that the given floating IP cannot be made active on this appliance.

Drain a real server

lbcli drain

Drain connections from the specified real server. No new connections will be allowed to the real server but
existing connections will remain until they are closed.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

--rip expects an argument of type existing-rip

Edit a global name

lbcli edit-gslb-globalname

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 223

 or
lbcli --action gslb --function edit --section globalnames

Edit a GSLB global name.

Required Arguments

--name expects an argument of type string

--hostname expects an argument of type hostname
--ttl expects an argument of type uint

Optional Arguments

--new-name expects an argument of type string

Edit a member

lbcli edit-gslb-member
or
lbcli --action gslb --function edit --section members

Edit a GSLB member.

Required Arguments

--name expects an argument of type string

Optional Arguments

--add-pool expects an argument of type string

--delete-pool expects an argument of type string
--ip expects an argument of type ip
--weight expects an argument of type gslb-weight
--monitor-ip argument should be one of ip-or-empty

Edit a pool

lbcli edit-gslb-pool
or
lbcli --action gslb --function edit --section pools

Edit a GSLB pool.

Required Arguments

--name expects an argument of type string

Optional Arguments

--add-globalname expects an argument of type string

--add-member expects an argument of type string

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 224

 --delete-globalname expects an argument of type string
--delete-member expects an argument of type string
--fallback expects an argument of type string
--lb-method argument should be one of wrr, twrr or fogroup
--max-addrs-returned expects an argument of type string
--monitor argument should be one of http, tcp, forced,
external, external_weight or
externaldynamicweight
--monitor-expected-codes expects an argument of type http-code-list
--monitor-hostname expects an argument of type string
--monitor-interval expects an argument of type string
--monitor-parameters expects an argument of type string
--monitor-port expects an argument of type string
--monitor-result expects an argument of type string
--monitor-retries expects an argument of type string
--monitor-return-match expects an argument of type string
--monitor-script expects an argument of type string
--monitor-send-string expects an argument of type string
--monitor-status argument should be one of up or down
--monitor-timeout expects an argument of type string
--monitor-url-path expects an argument of type string
--monitor-use-ssl expects an argument of type bool

Edit a topology

lbcli edit-gslb-topology
or
lbcli --action gslb --function edit --section topologies

Edit a GSLB topology.

Required Arguments

--name expects an argument of type string

Optional Arguments

--add-ips expects an argument of type string

--delete-ips expects an argument of type string

Edit HAProxy SSL Associated Termination

lbcli edit-haproxy-associated-termination

Edit an HAProxy SSL Associated Termination

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

Optional Arguments

--certificate expects an argument of type strict-label

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 225

 --ca-certificate argument should be one of strict-label-or-empty
--port expects an argument of type port
--disablesslv3 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1-1 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1-2 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1-3 expects an argument of type bool
--ciphers argument should be one of cipher-list-or-empty
--alpn argument should be one of alpn-list-or-empty

Modify a health check

lbcli edit-healthcheck

Modify an existing health check on the cluster. If the --master argument is omitted then the --slave argument
cannot be specified. If --base64 is yes then the health check body should be base64 encoded. If --zlib is set then
the health check body should be compressed according to RFC-1950. If both base64 encoding and compression
are used then the body should first be compressed then base64 encoded.

Required Arguments

--label expects an argument of type existing-healthcheck

Optional Arguments

--new-label expects an argument of type string

--base64 expects an argument of type bool defaults to no
--zlib expects an argument of type bool defaults to no
--kind argument should be one of check or gslbcheck
--master expects an argument of type string
--slave expects an argument of type string

Edit a layer 4 real server

lbcli edit-layer4-server
or
lbcli --action edit-rip --layer 4

Edit the specified layer 4 real server.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

--rip expects an argument of type existing-rip

Optional Arguments

--ip expects an argument of type ip

--port expects an argument of type port
--weight expects an argument of type rip-weight
--minconns expects an argument of type uint

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 226

 --maxconns expects an argument of type uint

Edit a layer 4 virtual service

lbcli edit-layer4-service
or
lbcli --action edit-vip --layer 4

Edit the specified layer 4 virtual service.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

Optional Arguments

--autoscale-group expects an argument of type string

--check-command expects an argument of type string
--check-database expects an argument of type string
--check-login expects an argument of type string
--check-password expects an argument of type string
--check-port expects an argument of type port
--check-request expects an argument of type string
--check-response expects an argument of type string
--check-secret expects an argument of type string
--check-service argument should be one of none, dns, ftp, http,
http_proxy, https, imap, imaps, ldap, mysql,
nntp, pop, pops, radius, simpletcp, sip or smtp
--check-type argument should be one of negotiate, connect,
ping, external, off, on, 5 or 10
--check-vhost expects an argument of type string
--email expects an argument of type string
--email-from expects an argument of type string
--fallback-ip expects an argument of type ip
--fallback-local expects an argument of type bool
--fallback-port expects an argument of type port
--feedback argument should be one of agent, http or none
--feedback-port expects an argument of type port
--forwarding argument should be one of snat, masq, gate or
ipip
--granularity expects an argument of type cidr
--ip expects an argument of type ip
--negate-response expects an argument of type bool
--persist-time expects an argument of type uint
--persistent expects an argument of type bool
--ports argument should be one of port-list-or-asterisk
--protocol argument should be one of ops, udp, tcp, tcpudp
or fwm
--scheduler argument should be one of wlc, wrr or dh
--send-rip-name-as-host expects an argument of type bool
--slave-ip expects an argument of type ip

Edit a layer 7 real server

lbcli edit-layer7-server

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 227

 or
lbcli --action edit-rip --layer 7

Edit the specified layer 7 real server.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

--rip expects an argument of type existing-rip

Optional Arguments

--ip expects an argument of type ip

--port expects an argument of type port
--weight expects an argument of type rip-weight
--minconns expects an argument of type uint
--maxconns expects an argument of type uint
--encrypted expects an argument of type bool
--cert argument should be one of existing-certificate-or-empty
--cacert argument should be one of existing-cacert-family-or-empty
--redir expects an argument of type string
--redir-enabled expects an argument of type bool

Edit a layer 7 virtual service

lbcli edit-layer7-service
or
lbcli --action edit-vip --layer 7

Edit the specified layer 7 virtual service.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

Optional Arguments

--appsession-cookie expects an argument of type string

--as-port expects an argument of type port
--autoscale-group expects an argument of type string
--backend-encryption expects an argument of type bool
--backend-only expects an argument of type bool
--ca-certificate argument should be one of
existing-cacert-family-or-empty
--certificate expects an argument of type existing-certificate
--check-host expects an argument of type string
--check-negate-response expects an argument of type bool
--check-password expects an argument of type string
--check-port argument should be one of port-or-empty
--check-receive expects an argument of type string
--check-request expects an argument of type string
--check-type argument should be one of connect, external,
negotiate_http, negotiate_https,
negotiate_http_head, negotiate_https_head,

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 228

 negotiate_http_options, negotiate_https_options,
mysql or none
--check-username expects an argument of type string
--ciphers expects an argument of type cipher-list
--clear-stick-drain expects an argument of type bool
--compression expects an argument of type bool
--cookie-attr-domain expects an argument of type
space-seperated-cookie-domains
--cookie-attr-httponly expects an argument of type bool
--cookie-attr-secure expects an argument of type bool
--cookie-maxidle expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--cookie-maxlife expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--cookiename expects an argument of type string
--default-ciphers argument should be one of cipher-list-or-empty
--disablesslv3 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1-1 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1-2 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1-3 expects an argument of type bool
--enable-hsts expects an argument of type bool
--encrypt-all-backends expects an argument of type bool
--external-check-script expects an argument of type existing-healthcheck
--fallback-disabled expects an argument of type bool
--fallback-encrypt expects an argument of type bool
--fallback-ip expects an argument of type ip
--fallback-persist expects an argument of type bool
--fallback-port expects an argument of type port
--feedback-method argument should be one of agent or none
--feedback-port expects an argument of type port
--force-to-https expects an argument of type bool
--force-to-https-port argument should be one of port-or-empty
--forward-for expects an argument of type bool
--hsts-month expects an argument of type uint
--http-pipeline argument should be one of http_keep_alive,
http_close, http_server_close or
http_force_close
--http-pretend-keepalive expects an argument of type bool
--http-request expects an argument of type bool
--invalid-http expects an argument of type bool
--ip expects an argument of type ip
--maxconn expects an argument of type uint
--mode argument should be one of other_tcp, tcp, ip,
http or http2
--no-write expects an argument of type bool
--persist-table-size expects an argument of type uint
--persist-time expects an argument of type uint
--persistence argument should be one of none, ip, tcp,
sslsesid, http, appsession, rdp-session,
rdp-cookie, http_ip, waf, last, xff or
fallback_persist
--ports expects an argument of type port-list
--proxy-bind expects an argument of type string
--redirect-code expects an argument of type http-300-code
--redispatch expects an argument of type bool
--reuse-idle expects an argument of type bool
--scheduler argument should be one of roundrobin, leastconn
or first
--send-proxy argument should be one of none, v1, v2, v2_ssl
or v2_ssl_cn defaults to none

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 229

 --send-rip-name-as-host expects an argument of type bool
--slave-ip expects an argument of type ip
--source-address expects an argument of type ip
--stunnel-source expects an argument of type string
--stunneltproxy expects an argument of type bool
--tcp-keep-alive expects an argument of type bool
--timeout expects an argument of type bool
--timeout-client expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--timeout-server expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--tproxy expects an argument of type bool
--tunneltimeout expects an argument of type haproxy-interval
--use-content-inspection expects an argument of type bool
--xff-ip-pos expects an argument of type int

Edit a SSL termination

lbcli edit-termination
or
lbcli --action termination --function edit --type stunnel

Edit the specified SSL termination.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-termination

--proxy-bind expects an argument of type bool defaults to false

Optional Arguments

--port expects an argument of type port

--associated-to expects an argument of type existing-l7-vip
--proxy-bind expects an argument of type existing-l7-vip
--disablesslv2 expects an argument of type bool
--disablesslv3 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1 expects an argument of type bool
--stunneldnsdelay expects an argument of type bool
--stunnelproxy expects an argument of type bool
--servercipherorder expects an argument of type bool
--emptyfragments expects an argument of type bool
--stunnelrenegotiation expects an argument of type bool
--stunneltimetoclose expects an argument of type uint
--sslcert expects an argument of type existing-certificate
--disabletlsv1-1 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1-2 expects an argument of type bool
--disabletlsv1-3 expects an argument of type bool
--sslmode argument should be one of high, fips or compatable
--source expects an argument of type ip
--slave-source expects an argument of type ip
--ciphers expects an argument of type cipher-list
--ip expects an argument of type ip
--slave-ip expects an argument of type ip
--backend-ip expects an argument of type ip
--slave-backend-ip expects an argument of type ip
--backend-port expects an argument of type port

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 230

Edit a WAF

lbcli edit-waf

Edit the specified Web Application Firewall.

Required Arguments

--waf expects an argument of type existing-waf

Optional Arguments

--in-anom-score expects an argument of type uint

--out-anom-score expects an argument of type uint
--req-data expects an argument of type bool
--resp-data expects an argument of type bool
--audit expects an argument of type bool
--dlogin expects an argument of type bool
--dlogin-mode argument should be one of static,
openid_google or ldap
--dlogin-google-clientid expects an argument of type string
--dlogin-google-clientsecret expects an argument of type string
--dlogin-google-redirect-uri expects an argument of type string
--dlogin-google-passphrase expects an argument of type string
--dlogin-google-allowed-domain expects an argument of type string
--rule-engine expects an argument of type bool
--proxytimeout expects an argument of type uint
--dlogin-location expects an argument of type string
--dlogin-static-username expects an argument of type string
--dlogin-static-password expects an argument of type string
--ldap-server expects an argument of type string
--ldap-server-port expects an argument of type port
--search-base expects an argument of type string
--ldap-attribute expects an argument of type string
--ldap-group expects an argument of type string
--bind-user expects an argument of type string
--bind-password expects an argument of type string
--disable-waf expects an argument of type bool
--cacheaccel expects an argument of type bool
--cache-nocache-files expects an argument of type string
--cache-force-cache expects an argument of type bool
--cache-object-size expects an argument of type uint

Enable the API endpoint

lbcli enable-api
or
lbcli --action api --function enable

Enable the API endpoint on the appliance. The apikey must be the unencoded value of the base64 string passed
in the X-LB-APIKEY header of all requests.

Required Arguments

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 231

 --username expects an argument of type string defaults to loadbalancer
--password expects an argument of type string defaults to loadbalancer

Optional Arguments

--apikey expects an argument of type string

Enable Floating IP.

lbcli enable-floating-ip

Make it so that the given floating IP can be made active on this appliance.

Remove and add a floating IP address

lbcli fix-floating-ip

Remove and re-add a floating IP in order to ensure it is up after altering the kernel state.

Required Arguments

--ip expects an argument of type ip

Remove all ACLs for a virtual service

lbcli flush-acls

Remove all ACLS for the specified layer 7 virtual service.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-l7-vip

Remove all static IP addresses

lbcli flush-static-ips
or
lbcli --action address --function flush

Remove all static IP addresses from an appliance.

Optional Arguments

--interface expects an argument of type existing-interface

Remove all static routes

lbcli flush-static-routes
or

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 232

 lbcli --action route --function static --type flush

Remove all static routes from an appliance.

Show the properties of the API endpoint

lbcli get-api
or
lbcli --action api --function get

Show the username, password and unencoded X-LB_APIKEY header value expected by the API endpoint.

Show the default route

lbcli get-default-route
or
lbcli --action route --function default --type get

Show the default route of the default table for this appliance.

Show the DNS servers

lbcli get-dns
or
lbcli --action dns --function get

Show the Domain Name Servers for this appliance.

Show the firewall settings

lbcli get-firewall
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --get firewall

Show the settings for the firewall for this appliance.

Show the graphing settings

lbcli get-graphing
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --get graphing

Show the graphing settings for this appliance.

Show the GSLB reports

lbcli get-gslb-reports
or
lbcli --action gslb --function get --section reports

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 233

Show the GSLB reports for this appliance.

Required Arguments

--report argument should be one of get_generic_state or get_ppdns_state

Show the hostname

lbcli get-hostname
or
lbcli --action hostname --function get

Show the host and domain name for this appliance.

Show the interface offload settings

lbcli get-interface-offload
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --get interface_offload

Show the interface offload settings for this appliance.

Show the management gateway

lbcli get-management-gateway
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --get management_gateway

Show the details of the routing rule that traffic from this appliance’s WebUI will return via.

Show the interface MTU settings

lbcli get-mtu
or
lbcli --action mtu --function get

Show the MTU settings for the interfaces on this appliance.

Show the NTP servers

lbcli get-ntp
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --get ntp

Show the Network Time Protocol servers this appliance will use.

Show the HTTP proxy server settings

lbcli get-proxy
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --get proxy

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 234

Show the HTTP proxy server the WebUI on this appliance will use.

Show the security settings

lbcli get-security
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --get security

Show the security settings for this appliance.

Show the email smarthost

lbcli get-smarthost
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --get smarthost

Show the email smarthost this appliance will use to send emails.

Show the email smarthost

lbcli get-snmp
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --get snmp

Show the email smarthost this appliance will use to send emails.

Show the syslog settings

lbcli get-syslog
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --get syslog

Show the syslog settings for this appliance.

Show the current date and time

lbcli get-timedate
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --get timedate

Show the current date and time for this appliance.

Show the URL of the updates server

lbcli get-updates
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --get updates

Show the URL of the updates server this appliance will use to fetch online updates.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 235

Create a cluster

lbcli ha_create
or
lbcli create-ha

Pair this appliance with another to create a high availability cluster. This appliance will become the primary server.

Required Arguments

--local-ip expects an argument of type ip

--peer-ip expects an argument of type string
--peer-password expects an argument of type string

Halt a real server

lbcli halt

Close all connections to the specified real server and forbid and new connections.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

--rip expects an argument of type existing-rip

Clear all HAProxy stick tables

lbcli haproxy-clear-stick

Clear all HAProxy stick tables.

Install a licence

lbcli install-licence

Install a key to licence this appliance.

Required Arguments

--key expects an argument of type string

List ACL rules

lbcli list-acls
or
lbcli --action acl --function list

List all ACL rules for the specified layer 7 virtual service.

Required Arguments

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 236

 --vip expects an argument of type existing-l7-vip

List CA Certificates

lbcli list-ca-certificates

List the CA Certificates in a Family

Required Arguments

--family expects an argument of type existing-cacert-family

List SSL certificates

lbcli list-certificates
or
lbcli --action termination --function list --type certificate

List all SSL certificates on this cluster.

List floating IP addresses

lbcli list-floating-ips
or
lbcli --action list --function floatingip

List all floating IPs on this cluster.

List global names

lbcli list-gslb-globalnames
or
lbcli --action gslb --function list --section globalnames

List all GSLB global names.

List members

lbcli list-gslb-members
or
lbcli --action gslb --function list --section members

List all GSLB members.

List pools

lbcli list-gslb-pools
or
lbcli --action gslb --function list --section pools

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 237

List all GSLB pools.

List topologies

lbcli list-gslb-topologies
or
lbcli --action gslb --function list --section topologies

List all GSLB topologies.

List header rules

lbcli list-headers
or
lbcli --action headers --function list

List all header rules for the specified layer 7 virtual service.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-l7-vip

List health checks

lbcli list-healthchecks

List existing health checks on the cluster.

List PBR rules

lbcli list-pbr
or
lbcli --action pbr --function get
lbcli get-pbr

List Policy Based Routing rules for this appliance.

Optional Arguments

--ip expects an argument of type ip

--gateway expects an argument of type ip

List static IP addresses

lbcli list-static-ips
or
lbcli --action address --function get

List static IPs configured on the specified interface.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 238

Required Arguments

--interface expects an argument of type existing-interface

List static routes

lbcli list-static-routes
or
lbcli --action route --function static --type get

List static routes configured on this appliance.

List WAFs

lbcli list-waf

List Web Apoplication Firewalls configured on this appliance.

Lockdown access to the WebUI

lbcli lockdown

Lockdown the WebUI on this appliance so that it only responds to clients on the specified subnet.

Required Arguments

--enabled expects an argument of type bool

Optional Arguments

--network expects an argument of type ip-and-cidr

Report the node statuses

lbcli nodestatus

Report the status of the nodes in this cluster as this appliance understands them.

Bring a real server online

lbcli online

Bring a real server that is halted or drained back online by allowing it to receive connections once more.

Required Arguments

--vip expects an argument of type existing-vip

--rip expects an argument of type existing-rip

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 239

Reboot appliance

lbcli reboot
or
lbcli --action power --function restart

Reboot this appliance.

Regenerate default certificate

lbcli regenerate-default-certificate
or
lbcli --action termination --function regenerate_local --type certificate

Regenerate the default self-signed certificate used by the webui and SSL-terminations.

Reload WebUI

lbcli reload-apache
or
lbcli reload-webui

Reload the WebUI service on this appliance.

Reload GSLB

lbcli reload-gslb

Reload the GSLB service on this appliance.

Reload HAProxy

lbcli reload-haproxy

Reload the HAProxy service on this appliance.

Reload Heartbeat

lbcli reload-heartbeat

Reload the Heartbeat service on this appliance.

Reload LDirectord

lbcli reload-ldirectord

Reload the LDirectord service on this appliance.

Reload STunnel

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 240

 lbcli reload-stunnel

Reload the STunnel service on this appliance.

Reload Syslog

lbcli reload-syslog

Reload the Syslog service on this appliance.

Reload WAF

lbcli reload-waf

Reload the WAF service on this appliance.

Break a cluster

lbcli reset-cluster-config
or
lbcli --action reset --function cluster

Break a high-availability pair.

Restart Autoscaled

lbcli restart-autoscaling

Reload the Autoscaled service on this appliance.

Restart AZHA

lbcli restart-azha

Reload the AZHA service on this appliance.

Restart Collectd

lbcli restart-collectd

Reload the Collectd service on this appliance.

Restart Firewall

lbcli restart-firewall

Reload the Firewall service on this appliance.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 241

Restart GSLB

lbcli restart-gslb

Restart the GSLB service on this appliance.

Restart HAProxy

lbcli restart-haproxy

Reload the HAProxy service on this appliance.

Restart Heartbeat

lbcli restart-heartbeat

Reload the Heartbeat service on this appliance.

Restart LDirectord

lbcli restart-ldirectord

Reload the LDirectord service on this appliance.

Restart Pound

lbcli restart-pound

Reload the Pound service on this appliance.

Restart SNMP

lbcli restart-snmp

Reload the SNMP service on this appliance.

Restart STunnel

lbcli restart-stunnel

Reload the STunnel service on this appliance.

Restart Syslog

lbcli restart-syslog

Reload the Syslog service on this appliance.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 242

Restart WAF

lbcli restart-waf

Reload the WAF service on this appliance.

Restore factory defaults

lbcli restore

Restore this appliance to factory defaults.

Required Arguments

--yes-i-am-sure expects an argument of type bool

Set default route

lbcli set-default-route
or
lbcli --action route --function default --type set

Set the default gateway for this appliance.

Required Arguments

--interface argument should be one of existing-interface-or-auto defaults

to auto
--gateway expects an argument of type ip

Set DNS servers

lbcli set-dns
or
lbcli --action dns --function set

Set the Domain Name Servers for this appliance.

Optional Arguments

--dns0 argument should be one of ip-or-empty

--dns1 argument should be one of ip-or-empty
--dns2 argument should be one of ip-or-empty

Set firewall properties

lbcli set-firewall
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --set firewall

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 243

Set the properties for the firewall for this appliance.

Required Arguments

--conntrack-size expects an argument of type uint

Set graphing properties

lbcli set-graphing
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --set graphing

Set the graphing properties for this appliance.

Optional Arguments

--layer4 expects an argument of type bool

--layer7 expects an argument of type bool
--interfaces expects an argument of type bool
--interfaces expects an argument of type bool
--load expects an argument of type bool
--memory expects an argument of type bool
--disk expects an argument of type bool
--interval expects an argument of type uint
--timeout expects an argument of type uint

Set hostname

lbcli set-hostname
or
lbcli --action hostname --function set

Set the host and domain name for this appliance.

Required Arguments

--hostname expects an argument of type string

--domain expects an argument of type string defaults to localdomain

Set interface offload

lbcli set-interface-offload
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --set interface_offload

Enable or disable TCP offload for this appliance.

Required Arguments

--hardware-offload expects an argument of type bool

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 244

Set the management gateway

lbcli set-management-gateway
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --set management_gateway

Set the routing rule which traffic from the WeBUI will follow for this appliance.

Required Arguments

--iface-ip expects an argument of type existing-static-ip

--gateway expects an argument of type ip

Set the MTU

lbcli set-mtu
or
lbcli --action mtu --function set

Set the MTU for the specified interface.

Required Arguments

--interface expects an argument of type existing-interface

--mtu expects an argument of type mtu

Set NTP server

lbcli set-ntp
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --set ntp

Set the Network Time Protocol servers used by this appliance.

Set HTTP proxy

lbcli set-proxy
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --set proxy

Set the HTTP proxy used by the WebUI of this appliance.

Optional Arguments

--ip argument should be one of hostname-or-ip

--port expects an argument of type port
--username expects an argument of type string
--password expects an argument of type string

Set security settings

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 245

 lbcli set-security
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --set security

Set the security settings for this appliance.

Optional Arguments

--security-mode argument should be one of custom, secure or secure-perm

--rootaccess expects an argument of type bool
--sshpassword expects an argument of type bool
--httpsonly expects an argument of type bool
--httpsport expects an argument of type bool
--certificate expects an argument of type existing-certificate
--httpsciphers expects an argument of type cipher-list

Set the email smarthost

lbcli set-smarthost
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --set smarthost

Set the email smarthost this appliance will use to send emails.

Optional Arguments

--smtp-relay expects an argument of type string

Set SNMP properties

lbcli set-snmp
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --set snmp

Set the properties of the SNMP service on this appliance.

Optional Arguments

--community expects an argument of type string

--location expects an argument of type string
--contact expects an argument of type string
--user expects an argument of type string
--auth-method expects an argument of type string
--auth expects an argument of type string
--priv-method expects an argument of type string
--priv expects an argument of type string
--snmpv3-enable expects an argument of type string
--snmpv2-enable expects an argument of type string

Set syslog properties

lbcli set-syslog

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 246

 or
lbcli --action local-configuration --set syslog

Set the properties of the syslog service on this appliance.

Optional Arguments

--interval expects an argument of type uint

--burst expects an argument of type uint
--destination expects an argument of type string
--ip expects an argument of type ip
--port expects an argument of type port
--protocol argument should be one of tcp or udp
--template expects an argument of type string

Set time and date

lbcli set-timedate
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --set timedate

Set the time and date of this appliance.

Required Arguments

--year expects an argument of type uint

--month expects an argument of type month
--day expects an argument of type day
--hour expects an argument of type hour
--minute expects an argument of type minute

Enable or disable update check

lbcli set-updates
or
lbcli --action local-configuration --set updates

Enable or disable the update check on this appliance.

Optional Arguments

--auto-check-for-updates expects an argument of type bool

--update-server expects an argument of type string

Show configuration.

lbcli show-full-config
or
lbcli --action list --function dumpconfig

Show configuration for this appliance.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 247

Show configuration for LDirectord.

lbcli show-layer4-advanced
or
lbcli --action list --function advanced --layer 4

Show configuration for LDirectord for the cluster.

Show configuration for Layer 4 virtual services.

lbcli show-layer4-services
or
lbcli --action list --function virtual --layer 4

Show the configuration for Layer 4 virtual services on this cluster.

Show configuration for HAProxy.

lbcli show-layer7-advanced
or
lbcli --action list --function advanced --layer 7

Show configuration for HAProxy for the cluster.

Show configuration for Layer 7 virtual services.

lbcli show-layer7-services
or
lbcli --action list --function virtual --layer 7

Show the configuration for Layer 7 virtual services on this cluster.

Show a Certificate Revocation List

lbcli show-revocation-list

Show Certificate Revocation List for a Family

Required Arguments

--family expects an argument of type existing-cacert-family

Shutdown appliance.

lbcli shutdown
or
lbcli --action power --function shutdown

Shutdown this appliance.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 248

Show GSLB status.

lbcli status-gslb

Show the status of the GSLB service for this appliance.

Create a techincal support download.

lbcli support-download

Create a techincal support download for this appliance.

Get uptime.

lbcli uptime

Get the uptime for this appliance.

Running lbcli from a remote Linux Host

These commands can also be run from a remote Linux host. This example halts VIP1/RIP1:

ssh root@192.168.111.42 "lbcli --action halt --vip VIP1 --rip RIP1"

Running lbcli from a remote Windows Host

These commands can also be run from a remote Windows host. This example halts VIP1/RIP1:

plink -pw loadbalancer root@192.168.111.42 "lbcli --action halt --vip VIP1 --rip RIP1"

Notes

1. PuTTy must be installed to use the plink command.

2. The password for the "root" user is set during the Network Setup Wizard.

3. 192.168.111.42 is the IP address of the load balancer.

Application Programming Interface (API)

Enabling the API
To enable the API, run the following command:

lbcli --action api --function enable --username (username) --password (password) --apikey (apikey))

e.g. The following command sets the API username to "loadbalancer", the password to "loadbalancer" and the
apikey to "ApIk3y2345118".

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 249

 lbcli --action api --function enable --username loadbalancer --password loadbalancer --apikey
ApIk3y2345118

To automatically generate a 32 character random key, omit the --apikey option.

Once enabled, the API enables all CLI commands to be executed using HTTP POST requests.

When making API calls, the base64 encoded version of the apikey must be specified.

To obtain the base64 encoded version of the apikey, the following command can be used:

echo '<apikey>' | base64

for example, if the apikey is set to "ApIk3y2345118" as in the example above, the following command can be
used:

echo 'ApIk3y2345118' | base64

QXBJazN5MjM0NTExOAo=

In this case QXBJazN5MjM0NTExOAo= would be used in API requests. Please refer to the examples in Sending
API Requests.

API Endpoint
API calls must be posted to the following URL on the load balancer:

https://<appliance IP address>:9443/api/v2/

If the WebUI has been configured to listen on a different port, modify the URL accordingly. For
more details on setting the port, please refer to Service Socket Addresses.

Creating the JSON Request

To illustrate how JSON requests are formed, the following examples show the CLI command and the
corresponding JSON request in each case.

Example 1 - Halt a Real Server

This example shows how RIP1 of VIP1 can be halted.

lbcli command:

lbcli --action halt --vip VIP1 --rip RIP1

JSON equivalent:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 250

 {
"lbcli": [{
"action": "halt",
"vip": "VIP1",
"rip": "RIP1"
}]
}

Example 2 - Add a Layer 7 VIP

This example shows how to add a Layer 7 HTTP mode VIP.

lbcli command:

lbcli --action add-vip --layer 7 --vip VIP1 --ip 192.168.1.1 --ports 80 --mode http

JSON equivalent:

{
"lbcli": [{
"action": "add-vip",
"layer": "7",
"vip": "VIP1",
"ip": "192.168.1.1",
"ports": "80",
"mode": "http"
}]
}

Example 3 - Restart HAProxy

This example shows how to restart HAProxy.

lbcli command:

lbcli --action restart-haproxy

JSON equivalent:

{
"lbcli": [{
"action": "restart-haproxy"
}]
}

JSON Syntax Validation

The website https://jsonlint.com/ is a useful resource for JSON syntax validation. Paste the JSON into the

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 251

window provided and click Validate JSON.

Sending API Requests

Using Postman
Postman is a great tool for testing and verifying API functionality. For more details on using Postman, please refer
to our blog.

Using script/code
Example 1 - Using the Linux curl command

curl -u loadbalancer:loadbalancer -X POST https://192.168.110.150:9443/api/v2/ -H "X-LB-APIKEY:

QXBJazN5MjM0NTExOAo=" -H "Content-Type:application/json" -d
'{"lbcli":[{"action":"dns","function":"get"}]}' -k

Example 2 - Using Microsoft PowerShell

# Configure Variables
$user = "loadbalancer" # Appliance API Username
$pass = "loadbalancer" # Appliance API Password
$apikey = "ApIk3y2345118" # Appliance Non base64 encoded APIKEY
$ip = "192.168.111.220" # Appliance Management IP address
$jsonfile = "c:\api-json\add-vip.json" # Local path to JSON configuration file

# Disable certificate verification checks to allow for the self signed WebUI certificate on the
load balancer
if (-not ([System.Management.Automation.PSTypeName]'TrustAllCertsPolicy').Type)
{
add-type @"
using System.Net;
using System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates;
public class TrustAllCertsPolicy : ICertificatePolicy {
public bool CheckValidationResult(
ServicePoint srvPoint, X509Certificate certificate,
WebRequest request, int certificateProblem) {
return true;
}
}
"@
}
[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::CertificatePolicy = New-Object TrustAllCertsPolicy

# Base64 encode the apkey

$bytes_api = [System.Text.Encoding]::ASCII.GetBytes("$apikey")
$base64_api = [System.Convert]::ToBase64String($bytes_api)
$APIAuthValue = "${base64_api}"

# Set the auth headers

$headers = @{"Authorization"=$basicAuthValue; "X-LB-APIKEY"=$APIAuthValue }

# Fetch the json configuration file

$json = Get-Content $jsonfile -Raw

# Send the API call

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 252

 Invoke-WebRequest -Uri ("https://${ip}:9443/api/v2/") -Method Post -Body $json -ContentType
"application/json" -Headers $headers

Change the variable declarations to suit your environment.

The add-vip.json file referred to in the above example:

{
"lbcli": [{
"action": "add-vip",
"layer": "7",
"vip": "VIP1",
"ip": "192.168.111.228",
"ports": "80",
"mode": "http"
}]
}

For more examples of making API call using other languages, please refer to our blog How to
automate load balancer deployments, Part 2!.

Using ipvsadm to configure Layer 4 Services

For layer 4 services, the ipvsadm command can be used. Several examples are provided below.

Add a TCP based Virtual Service & use weighted round robin scheduling:

ipvsadm -A -t 192.168.65.192:80 -s wrr

Add a TCP based Real Server in DR mode:

ipvsadm -a -t 192.168.65.192:80 -g -r 192.168.70.196:80

Add a TCP based Real Server in NAT mode:

ipvsadm -a -t 192.168.65.192:80 -m -r 192.168.70.196:80

Add a UDP based Virtual Service & use weighted least connection scheduling:

ipvsadm -A -u 192.168.65.192:80 -s wlc

Add a UDP based Real Server in DR mode:

ipvsadm -a -u 192.168.65.192:80 -g -r 192.168.70.196:80

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 253

Delete a TCP based Virtual Service:

ipvsadm -D -t 192.168.65.180:80

Delete a TCP based Real Server:

ipvsadm -d -t 192.168.65.122:80 -r 192.168.70.134:80

View the current running config:

ipvsadm -ln

Command output:

IP Virtual Service version 1.2.1 (size=4096)

Prot LocalAddress:Port Scheduler Flags
-> RemoteAddress:Port Forward Weight ActiveConn InActConn
TCP 192.168.65.120:80 rr
-> 192.168.70.130:80 Route 1 0 0
-> 192.168.70.131:80 Route 1 0 0
TCP 192.168.65.122:80 rr
-> 192.168.70.132:80 Mass 1 0 0
-> 192.168.70.133:80 Mass 1 0 0

Please note that since these changes are being made directly to the running configuration, the
services that are displayed in the System Overview will no longer match the running
configuration when ipvsadm/socat commands are used. Using the lbcli command or the API
does not have this disadvantage since the System Overview will show the correct VIP and RIP
status.

Using Linux socket commands to configure Layer 7 Services

For layer 7 HAProxy VIPs, the socat socket command can be used as shown in the examples below.

To take a server offline:

echo "disable server VIP_Name/RIP_Name" | socat unix-connect:/var/run/haproxy.stat stdio

To bring a server online:

echo "enable server VIP_Name/RIP_Name" | socat unix-connect:/var/run/haproxy.stat stdio

To set the weight of a Real Server:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 254

 echo "set weight VIP_Name/RIP_Name 0" | socat unix-connect:/var/run/haproxy.stat stdio

To view HAProxy’s running configuration:

echo "show info" | socat unix-connect:/var/run/haproxy.stat stdio

To clear HAProxy’s statistics:

echo "clear counters all" | socat unix-connect:/var/run/haproxy.stat stdio

Other Linux Socket command examples can be found here.

Since these changes are being made directly to the running configuration, the services that are
displayed in the System Overview will no longer match the running configuration when
ipvsadm/socat commands are used. Using the lbcli command or the API does not have this
disadvantage since the System Overview will show the correct VIP and RIP status.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 255

Chapter 7 - Web Application Firewall (WAF)
Introduction
A Web Application Firewall (WAF) filters, monitors, and blocks HTTP traffic to and from a web application.

The load balancer includes a built-in WAF. It can be deployed in front of a web application to provide an additional
layer of security, where required. It is based on the free and open-source ModSecurity WAF engine and includes
the OWASP ModSecurity Core Rule Set (CRS) by default. The CRS is a set of generic attack detection rules. It
aims to protect web applications from a wide range of attacks, including the OWASP Top 10, while keeping false
positives (false alerts) to a minimum.

The OWASP Top 10 represents a broad consensus about the most critical security risks to web applications.
These risks are broken down into ten categories, as shown in the table below:

Category Description

A01 - Broken Access Control Access control failures typically lead to unauthorized information disclosure,
modification, or destruction of all data or performing a business function
outside the user’s limits.

A02 - Cryptographic Failures Previously known as Sensitive Data Exposure, the focus is on failures related
to cryptography (or lack thereof). Which often lead to exposure of sensitive
data.

A03 - Injection An application is vulnerable to injection attack when, for example, user-
supplied data is not validated, filtered, or sanitized by the application.

A04 - Insecure Design A new category which focuses on risks related to design and architectural
flaws, with a call for more use of threat modeling, secure design patterns, and
reference architectures.

A05 - Security Misconfiguration The application might be vulnerable if the application is, for example, missing
appropriate security hardening across any part of the application stack.

A06 - Vulnerable and Outdated You are likely vulnerable, for example, if you do not know the versions of all
Components components you use (both client-side and server-side), including nested
dependencies.

A07 - Identification and Previously known as Broken Authentication, confirmation of the user’s identity,
Authentication Failures authentication, and session management is critical to protect against
authentication-related attacks.

A08 - Software and Data A new category which focuses on making assumptions related to software
Integrity Failures updates, critical data, and CI/CD pipelines without verifying integrity.

A09 - Security Logging and Detecting and responding to breaches is critical. This category is to help
Monitoring Failures detect, escalate, and respond to active breaches.

A10 - Server-Side Request SSRF flaws occur whenever a web application is fetching a remote resource
Forgery (SSRF) without validating the user-supplied URL.

More details can be found at the OWASP Top 10 website.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 256

Implementation Concept
The load balancer supports the ability to configure multiple WAF gateways, one for each web application to be
protected. Each WAF gateway is associated with a layer 7 VIP when created. On creation, the data path is
automatically modified so that the WAF becomes the initial connection point for inbound client connections, as
illustrated below:

Data flow before WAF is deployed:

Modified data flow once WAF is deployed:

Notes


When configuring a WAF gateway on the load balancer, the associated layer 7 VIP must be selected from a
dropdown list. This enables the WAF to be automatically configured to listen on the same TCP socket as the
original layer 7 VIP. The WAF gateway is then automatically configured to forward packets to the original
layer 7 VIP.


Each WAF gateway is associated with one layer 7 VIP.


Once the WAF gateway is configured, the Label, IP Address, Port and Protocol of the associated layer 7 VIP
cannot be edited to ensure the association remains intact. If changes to these settings are required, take a
backup copy of the WAF gateway’s manual configuration (if one exists), remove the WAF, make the
changes, and then recreate the WAF.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 257

 
Each WAF gateway is actually comprised of two component parts: an additional layer 7 VIP, which acts as
the frontend to the WAF, and an Apache instance, of which ModSecurity is a module. Both are automatically
created when the WAF gateway is configured.

Creating a New WAF Gateway

For reasons mentioned in the previous section, the layer 7 VIP must be created first (if it doesn’t already exist),
followed by the WAF gateway.

Step 1 - Create the Layer 7 VIP

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Virtual Services and click Add a new Virtual
Service.

2. Enter a suitable Label (name) for the VIP, e.g. Web-Cluster.

3. Enter a valid IP address, e.g. 192.168.110.46.

4. Enter a valid port, e.g. 80.

5. Click Update.

Step 2 - Define the Associated Real Servers (RIPs)

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Real Servers and click Add a new Real Server
next to the VIP just created.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 258

 2. Enter a suitable Label (name) for the RIP, e.g. Web1.

3. Enter a valid IP address, e.g. 192.168.110.241.

4. Enter a valid port, e.g. 80.

5. Click Update.

Step 3 - Define the WAF Gateway

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > WAF - Gateway and click Add a new WAF gateway.

2. Select the VIP created in step 1 in the dropdown.

3. The WAF label (name) field will be populated automatically, this can be changed if required.

4. The Rule Set will automatically choose the latest available stable version of the Core Rule Set. This should
not ordinarily require changing.

5. Click Update.

Step 4 - Reload Services to Apply the New Settings

1. Click System Overview in the WebUI.

2. Reload the services (WAF and HAProxy) as prompted in the "Commit changes" message box.

Step 5 - View Configured Services

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 259

 1. The original layer 7 VIP and the auto created layer 7 WAF frontend VIP are now displayed in the system
overview as shown below:

Fail Open and Fail Closed Designs

In the event that a WAF gateway should become unavailable for any reason, for example being overwhelmed by a
denial of service attack, there are two response strategies that can be employed:


Fail open: Traffic flow is allowed to continue by bypassing the failed WAF gateway, and service availability is
maintained (default)


Fail closed: Traffic flow is stopped until the WAF gateway can recover

Loadbalancer.org’s top priority is ensuring that services are highly available, first and foremost. As such, the load
balancer’s default policy is to fail open in the event of a WAF gateway failure.

There may be scenarios where security is the primary concern, with high availability being a secondary

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 260

consideration in comparison. For example, if working with highly sensitive web traffic, it may be preferential to
experience a service outage rather than allowing the service to be accessed insecurely by bypassing a WAF
gateway.

Configuring a WAF Gateway for Fail Open Operation (Default)

This is the default starting configuration for all WAF gateways.

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Virtual Services.

2. Find the relevant pair of layer 7 virtual services: the original layer 7 VIP and the automatically created WAF
frontend VIP, which is titled "WAF-…" by default.

3. Click Modify next to the "WAF-…" frontend VIP.

4. Scroll down to the Fallback Server section.

5. Set the IP Address to the address that the original layer 7 VIP is listening on, e.g. 192.168.85.150.

6. Set the Port to the port that the original layer 7 VIP is listening on, e.g. 65435.

7. Click Update.

8. Click System Overview in the WebUI.

9. Reload the services (WAF and HAProxy) as prompted in the "Commit changes" message box.

Configuring a WAF Gateway for Fail Closed Operation

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Virtual Services.

2. Find the relevant pair of layer 7 virtual services: the original layer 7 VIP and the automatically created WAF
frontend VIP, which is titled "WAF-…" by default.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 261

 3. Click Modify next to the "WAF-…" frontend VIP.

4. Scroll down to the Fallback Server section.

5. Set the IP Address to the local address of the fallback server, 127.0.0.1.

6. Set the Port to the port that the fallback server is listening on, 9081.

7. Click Update.

8. Click System Overview in the WebUI.

9. Reload the services (WAF and HAProxy) as prompted in the "Commit changes" message box.

It’s possible to use a dedicated, external fallback server instead of the local instance on
127.0.0.1. It’s also possible to customise the HTML of the built-in fallback page which is
presented to users. For more information, refer to the Fallback Server section.

WAF Gateway Settings

Each WAF gateway has a variety of settings which can be configured through the WebUI. To access these
settings, navigate to Cluster Configuration > WAF - Gateway and click Modify next to the WAF gateway in
question.

After modifying any WAF gateway settings, be sure to save the new configuration to disk by
pressing the Update button and then apply the new configuration by reloading services as
prompted in the "Commit changes" message box.

Disable Web Application Firewall

Default value: False.

When checked, this option completely disables all ModSecurity and CRS configuration for a given WAF gateway

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 262

(this includes disabling any manual WAF configuration, if present, while leaving the manual configuration itself
intact). The proxy sandwich remains in place, allowing traffic to continue to flow in the same way, except without
any WAF functionality present.

Ruleset
Default value: Core Rule Set 3.3.2.

The WAF rule set to use for a given WAF gateway can be selected from the dropdown list. There are currently two
rule sets to choose from:


Core Rule Set 3.3.2 (default): the latest stable release of the OWASP ModSecurity Core Rule Set.


Core Rule Set 2: a legacy option provided for backward compatibility with older WAF installations. Provides
CRS version 2.2.9.

Paranoia Level
Default value: Paranoia Level 1.

Not available when the Core Rule Set 2 (legacy) is in use.

This can be set to paranoia level 1, 2, 3, or 4. Paranoia level 1 offers a baseline level of security with a minimal, or
zero, need to tune away false positives. At the other end of the scale, paranoia level 4 offers the strongest level of
security and features many additional rules, but is extremely likely to cause a large number of false positives,
requiring a significant investment of time to tune them away.

See the section on Paranoia Levels for full details about this key concept.

Rule Engine Traffic Blocking

Default value: False.

Allows the WAF rule engine to take disruptive actions and block malicious looking traffic for this WAF gateway.

By default, the rule engine of a newly created WAF gateway is not able to block traffic. This is sometimes referred
to as detection only mode. This means that WAF rule logic is processed in order to examine traffic but disruptive
actions, e.g. "deny" and "drop", are never executed. As such, traffic is never blocked, even if it triggers rules and
appears to be malicious.

One approach to configuring and tuning a WAF deployment is to leave the WAF gateway in detection only mode,
pass known good traffic through the WAF (e.g. traffic from user testing), and then use the resulting log data to
tune the WAF. This "tuning" is accomplished by writing rule exclusions to cover all false positives caused by the
known good traffic. Once confident that all false positives have been accounted for, traffic blocking could then be
enabled for the WAF gateway’s rule engine. This takes the WAF gateway out of detection only mode and allows it
to start actively blocking malicious looking traffic.

Process Request Data

Default value: True.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 263

Instructs the WAF engine to buffer and process request bodies. This allows the data in request bodies to be
inspected, for example the parameters of a POST request.

Process Response Data

Default value: False.

Instructs the WAF engine to buffer and process response bodies. This allows the data in response bodies to be
inspected, for example an HTML response.

By default, a WAF gateway only processes request data, i.e. the data in requests coming in from clients. It’s also
possible to process response data, i.e. the data passed back to clients from the back end web application. This
can be useful, for example, to catch instances of data leakage, such as an unintended SQL database error being
passed back to the client (which may expose information about the type, version, and configuration of database
software in use).

Inbound Anomaly Score

Default value: 20.

Sets the inbound anomaly score threshold: the cumulative anomaly score at which an inbound request will be
blocked.

See the section on Anomaly Scoring for full details about this key concept.

Outbound Anomaly Score

Default value: 4.

Sets the outbound anomaly score threshold: the cumulative anomaly score at which an outbound response will
be blocked.

See the section on Anomaly Scoring for full details about this key concept.

Audit Mode
Default value: False.

Enables the audit logging engine for all transactions passing through a WAF gateway.

Audit logs record full transaction data, including full request bodies. This information can be invaluable for
troubleshooting particularly difficult issues.

Audit logs can grow extremely large very quickly. As such, it is strongly recommended not to
enable audit logging on a production machine: doing so is likely to fill the logging disk partition
and is likely to cause disruptive issues on production machines.

WAF Proxy Timeout

Default value: 120.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 264

The Apache proxy service that hosts a WAF gateway has a 60 second timeout by default. This can be changed if
required.

Enable Cache Acceleration

Default value: False.

While not directly related to WAF functionality, the proxy sandwich that hosts the WAF functionality also features
a simple object cache. It will only cache objects that are HTML and below 64k in size, independent of any cache
or no-cache options that your real servers may provide.

Enabling cache acceleration exposes the following cache-specific options:


Force 'no-cache' override


Location to exclude from the cache


Cache object size

Double Login Enable

Default value: False.

Web Gateway Authentication

While not directly related to WAF functionality, the proxy sandwich that hosts the WAF functionality also features
a simple web gateway / "double login" page. It supports the following authentication methods:


Locally configured static user


Google OpenID

Once enabled, users will be prompted for credentials when accessing the WAF:

Enabling double login exposes the following double login-specific options:


Location to protect


Double login mode (Static user; OpenID Connect - Google)

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 265

 
Static username


Static password

WAF - Advanced Configuration

These settings should not typically require changing.

The global WAF service has two advanced settings which can be configured through the WebUI. To access these
settings, navigate to Cluster Configuration > WAF - Advanced Configuration.

The two advanced settings are match limits, which help avoid potential regular expression denial of service
attacks by preventing PCRE (the underlying pattern matching library that evaluates regular expressions in
ModSecurity / the WAF) from consuming huge amounts of system resources. PCRE uses a function called
match() which it calls repeatedly, sometimes recursively. The match limits are imposed on the number of times
this function is called during a match. The default values are both 250000, which is the minimum recommended
value. A modern system (i.e. 4+ CPU cores, 8+ GB of RAM) could run without issue in production with match
limits of 500000.

After modifying any advanced WAF settings, be sure to save the new configuration to disk by
pressing the Set PCRE Match Limits button and then apply the new configuration by reloading
services as prompted in the "Commit changes" message box.

PCRE Match Limit

Default value: 250000.

Defines the global value of the SecPcreMatchLimit directive, which sets a maximum limit on the number of
calls to the underlying match function when evaluating a regular expression in the WAF engine.

PCRE Match Limit Recursion

Default value: 250000.

Defines the global value of the SecPcreMatchLimitRecursion directive, which sets a maximum limit on the
number of recursive calls to the underlying match function when evaluating a regular expression in the WAF
engine.

Working With the Core Rule Set

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 266

What is the Core Rule Set?
The OWASP® (Open Worldwide Application Security Project) CRS (Core Rule Set) is an open source collection of
rules that work with ModSecurity® and compatible web application firewalls (WAFs). These rules are designed to
provide easy to use, generic attack detection capabilities, with a minimum of false positives (false alerts), to your
web application as part of a well balanced defense-in-depth solution.

Core Rule Set Map

A map of the Core Rule Set can be downloaded as a PDF file from our website. It shows each rule along with its
ID number, a summary explanation, its phase, its paranoia level, and any relationships it has with other rules.

Anomaly Scoring
The Core Rule Set 3 is designed as an anomaly scoring rule set. This section explains what anomaly scoring is
and how to use it.

Overview of Anomaly Scoring

Anomaly scoring, also known as "collaborative detection", is a scoring mechanism used in the Core Rule Set. It
assigns a numeric score to HTTP transactions (requests and responses), representing how "anomalous" they
appear to be. Anomaly scores can then be used to make blocking decisions. The default CRS blocking policy, for
example, is to block any transaction that meets or exceeds a defined anomaly score threshold.

How Anomaly Scoring Mode Works

Anomaly scoring mode combines the concepts of collaborative detection and delayed blocking. The key idea to
understand is that the inspection/detection rule logic is decoupled from the blocking functionality.

Individual rules designed to detect specific types of attacks and malicious behavior are executed. If a rule
matches, no immediate disruptive action is taken (e.g. the transaction is not blocked). Instead, the matched rule
contributes to a transactional anomaly score, which acts as a running total. The rules just handle detection,
adding to the anomaly score if they match. In addition, an individual matched rule will typically log a record of the
match for later reference, including the ID of the matched rule, the data that caused the match, and the URI that
was being requested.

Once all of the rules that inspect request data have been executed, blocking evaluation takes place. If the anomaly
score is greater than or equal to the inbound anomaly score threshold then the transaction is denied.
Transactions that are not denied continue on their journey.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 267

Continuing on, once all of the rules that inspect response data have been executed, a second round of blocking
evaluation takes place. If the outbound anomaly score is greater than or equal to the outbound anomaly score
threshold then the transaction is denied.

Having separate inbound and outbound anomaly scores and thresholds allows for request data
and response data to be inspected and scored independently.

Summary of Anomaly Scoring Mode

To summarize, anomaly scoring mode in the CRS works like so:

1. Execute all request rules

2. Make a blocking decision using the inbound anomaly score threshold

3. Execute all response rules

4. Make a blocking decision using the outbound anomaly score threshold

Anomaly Score Thresholds

An anomaly score threshold is the cumulative anomaly score at which an inbound request or an outbound
response will be blocked.

Most detected inbound threats carry an anomaly score of 5 (by default), while smaller violations, e.g. protocol and
standards violations, carry lower scores. An anomaly score threshold of 7, for example, would require multiple
rule matches in order to trigger a block (e.g. one "critical" rule scoring 5 plus a lesser-scoring rule, in order to reach

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 268

the threshold of 7). An anomaly score threshold of 10 would require at least two "critical" rules to match, or a
combination of many lesser-scoring rules. Increasing the anomaly score thresholds makes the CRS less
sensitive and hence less likely to block transactions.

Rule coverage should be taken into account when setting anomaly score thresholds. Different CRS rule
categories feature different numbers of rules. SQL injection, for example, is covered by more than 50 rules. As a
result, a real world SQLi attack can easily gain an anomaly score of 15, 20, or even more. On the other hand, a rare
protocol attack might only be covered by a single, specific rule. If such an attack only causes the one specific rule
to match then it will only gain an anomaly score of 5. If the inbound anomaly score threshold is set to anything
higher than 5 then attacks like the one described will not be stopped. As such, a CRS installation should aim for
an inbound anomaly score threshold of 5.

Increasing the anomaly score thresholds may allow some attacks to bypass the CRS rules.

An outbound anomaly score threshold of 4 (the default) will block a transaction if any single
response rule matches.

CRS uses two anomaly score thresholds, which can be defined for each WAF gateway. This is done using the
WebUI, by navigating to: Cluster Configuration > WAF - Gateway and clicking Modify next to the relevant WAF. The
two score thresholds are:


Inbound Anomaly Score threshold


Outbound Anomaly Score threshold

Severity Levels
Each CRS rule has an associated severity level. Different severity levels have different anomaly scores associated
with them. This means that different rules can increment the anomaly score by different amounts if the rules
match.

The four severity levels and their default anomaly scores are:

Severity Level Anomaly Score

CRITICAL 5

ERROR 4

WARNING 3

NOTICE 2

For example, by default, a single matching CRITICAL rule would increase the anomaly score by 5, while a single
matching WARNING rule would increase the anomaly score by 3.

Paranoia Levels
Paranoia levels are an essential concept when working with the Core Rule Set. This section explains the concept
behind paranoia levels and how to work with them on a practical level.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 269

Introduction to Paranoia Levels
The paranoia level (PL) makes it possible to define how aggressive the Core Rule Set is. Paranoia level 1 (PL 1)
provides a set of rules that hardly ever trigger a false alarm (ideally never, but it can happen, depending on the
local setup). PL 2 provides additional rules that detect more attacks (these rules operate in addition to the PL 1
rules), but there’s a chance that the additional rules will also trigger new false alarms over perfectly legitimate
HTTP requests.

This continues at PL 3, where more rules are added, namely for certain specialized attacks. This leads to even
more false alarms. Then at PL 4, the rules are so aggressive that they detect almost every possible attack, yet
they also flag a lot of legitimate traffic as malicious.

A higher paranoia level makes it harder for an attacker to go undetected. Yet this comes at the cost of more false
positives: more false alarms. That’s the downside to running a rule set that detects almost everything: your
business / service / web application is also disrupted.

When false positives occur they need to be tuned away. In ModSecurity parlance: rule exclusions need to be
written. A rule exclusion is a rule that disables another rule, either disabled completely or disabled partially only for
certain parameters or for certain URIs. This means the rule set remains intact yet the CRS installation is no
longer affected by the false positives.

Depending on the complexity of the service (web application) in question and on the paranoia
level, the process of writing rule exclusions can be a substantial amount of work.

For more information on this topic, see the section on False Positives and Tuning.

Description of the Four Paranoia Levels

The CRS project views the four paranoia levels as follows:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 270

Paranoia Level Description

1 Baseline security with a minimal need to tune away false positives. This is CRS for everybody
running an HTTP server on the internet. Please report any false positives encountered with a PL
1 system to support@loadbalancer.org.

2 Rules that are adequate when real user data is involved. Perhaps an off-the-shelf online shop.
Expect to encounter false positives and learn how to tune them away.

3 Online banking level security with lots of false positives. From the CRS project’s perspective,
false positives are accepted and expected here, so it’s important to learn how to write rule
exclusions.

4 Rules that are so strong (or paranoid) they’re adequate to protect the "crown jewels". To be used
at one’s own risk: be prepared to face a large number of false positives.

Choosing an Appropriate Paranoia Level

It’s important to think about a service’s security requirements. The difference between protecting a personal
website and the admin gateway controlling access to an enterprise’s Active Directory are very different. The
paranoia level needs to be chosen accordingly, while also considering the resources (time) required to tune away
false positives at higher paranoia levels.

Running at the highest paranoia level, PL 4, may seem appealing from a security standpoint, but it could take
many weeks to tune away the false positives encountered. It is crucial to have enough time to fully deal with all
false positives.

Failure to properly tune an installation runs the risk of exposing users to a vast number of false
positives. This can lead to a poor user experience, and might ultimately lead to a decision to
completely disable the WAF / Core Rule Set. As such, setting a high PL in blocking mode
without adequate tuning to deal with false positives is very risky.

For an enterprise environment, consider developing an internal policy to map the risk levels and security needs of
different assets to the minimum acceptable paranoia level to be used for them, for example:


Risk Class 0: No personal data involved → PL 1


Risk Class 1: Personal data involved, e.g. names and addresses → PL 2


Risk Class 2: Sensitive data involved, e.g. financial/banking data; highest risk class → PL 3

Setting the Paranoia Level

To set the paranoia level for a WAF gateway, navigate to Cluster Configuration > WAF - Gateway and click Modify
next to the WAF gateway in question.

From the Paranoia Level dropdown list, select the desired paranoia level.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 271

 After modifying any WAF gateway settings, be sure to save the new configuration to disk by
pressing the Update button and then apply the new configuration by reloading services as
prompted in the "Commit changes" message box.

How Paranoia Levels Relate to Anomaly Scoring

It’s important to understand that paranoia levels and CRS anomaly scoring (the CRS anomaly threshold/limit) are
two entirely different things with no direct connection. The paranoia level controls the number of rules that are
enabled while the anomaly threshold defines how many rules can be triggered before a request is blocked.

At the conceptual level, these two ideas could be mixed if the goal was to create a particularly granular security
concept. For example, saying "we define the anomaly threshold to be 10, but we compensate for this by running
at paranoia level 3, which we acknowledge brings more rule alerts and higher anomaly scores."

This is technically correct but it overlooks the fact that there are attack categories where CRS scores very low. For
example, there is a plan to introduce a new rule to detect POP3 and IMAP injections: this will be a single rule, so,
under normal circumstances, an IMAP injection would never score more than 5. Therefore, an installation running
at an anomaly threshold of 10 could never block an IMAP injection, even if running at PL 3. In light of this, it’s
generally advised to keep things simple and separate: a CRS installation should aim for an anomaly threshold of
5 and a paranoia level as deemed appropriate.

False Positives and Tuning

When a genuine transaction causes a rule from the Core Rule Set to match in error it is described as a false
positive. False positives need to be tuned away by writing rule exclusions, as this section explains.

What are False Positives?

The Core Rule Set provides generic attack detection capabilities. A fresh CRS deployment has no awareness of
the web services that may be running behind it, or the quirks of how those services work. It is possible that
genuine transactions may cause some CRS rules to match in error, if the transactions happen to match one of
the generic attack behaviors or patterns that are being detected. Such a match is referred to as a false positive, or
false alarm.

False positives are particularly likely to happen when operating at higher paranoia levels. While paranoia level 1 is
designed to cause few, ideally zero, false positives, higher paranoia levels are increasingly likely to cause false
positives. Each successive paranoia level introduces additional rules, with higher paranoia levels adding more
aggressive rules. As such, the higher the paranoia level is the more likely it is that false positives will occur. That is
the cost of the higher security provided by higher paranoia levels: the additional time it takes to tune away the
increasing number of false positives.

Example False Positive

Imagine deploying the CRS in front of a WordPress instance. The WordPress engine features the ability to add
HTML to blog posts (as well as JavaScript, if you’re an administrator). Internally, WordPress has rules controlling
which HTML tags are allowed to be used. This list of allowed tags has been studied heavily by the security
community and it’s considered to be a secure mechanism.

Consider the CRS inspecting a request with a URL like the following:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 272

 www.example.com/?wp_post=<h1>Welcome+To+My+Blog</h1>

At paranoia level 2, the wp_post query string parameter would trigger a match against an XSS attack rule due to
the presence of HTML tags. CRS is unaware that the problem is properly mitigated on the server side and, as a
result, the request causes a false positive and may be blocked. The false positive may generate an error log line
like the following:

[Wed Jan 01 00:00:00.123456 2022] [:error] [pid 2357:tid 140543564093184] [client 10.0.0.1:0]
[client 10.0.0.1] ModSecurity: Warning. Pattern match
"<(?:a|abbr|acronym|address|applet|area|audioscope|b|base|basefront|bdo|bgsound|big|blackface|blink
|blockquote|body|bq|br|button|caption|center|cite|code|col|colgroup|comment|dd|del|dfn|dir|div|dl|d
t|em|embed|fieldset|fn|font|form|frame|frameset|h1|head ..." at ARGS:wp_post. [file
"/etc/crs/rules/REQUEST-941-APPLICATION-ATTACK-XSS.conf"] [line "783"] [id "941320"] [msg "Possible
XSS Attack Detected - HTML Tag Handler"] [data "Matched Data: <h1> found within ARGS:wp_post:
<h1>welcome to my blog</h1>"] [severity "CRITICAL"] [ver "OWASP_CRS/3.3.2"] [tag "application-
multi"] [tag "language-multi"] [tag "platform-multi"] [tag "attack-xss"] [tag "OWASP_CRS"] [tag
"capec/1000/152/242/63"] [tag "PCI/6.5.1"] [tag "paranoia-level/2"] [hostname "www.example.com"]
[uri "/"] [unique_id "Yad-7q03dV56xYsnGhYJlQAAAAA"]

This example log entry provides lots of information about the rule match. Some of the key pieces of information
are:


The message from ModSecurity, which explains what happened and where:

ModSecurity: Warning. Pattern match "<(?:a|abbr|acronym ..." at ARGS:wp_post.


The rule ID of the matched rule:

[id "941320"]


The additional matching data from the rule, which explains precisely what caused the rule match:

[data "Matched Data: <h1> found within ARGS:wp_post: <h1>welcome to my

blog</h1>"]

Why are False Positives a Problem?

Alert Fatigue
If a system is prone to reporting false positives then the alerts it raises may be ignored. This may lead to real
attacks being overlooked. For this reason, leaving false positives mixed in with real attacks is dangerous: the false
positives should be resolved.

Sensitive Information and Regulatory Compliance

A false positive alert may contain sensitive information, for example usernames, passwords, and payment card
data. Imagine a situation where a web application user has set their password to "/bin/bash": without proper
tuning, this input would cause a false positive every time the user logged in, writing the user’s password to the
error log file in plaintext as part of the alert.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 273

It’s also important to consider issues surrounding regulatory compliance. Data protection and privacy laws, like
GDPR and CCPA, place strict duties and limitations on what information can be gathered and how that
information is processed and stored. The unnecessary logging data generated by false positives can cause
problems in this regard.

Poor User Experience

When working in strict blocking mode, false positives can cause legitimate user transactions to be blocked,
leading to poor user experience. This can create pressure to disable the CRS or even to remove the WAF solution
entirely, which is an unnecessary sacrifice of security for usability. The correct solution to this problem is to tune
away the false positives so that they don’t reoccur in the future.

Tuning Away False Positives

Directly Modifying CRS Rules

Making direct modifications to CRS rule files is a bad idea and is strongly discouraged.

It may seem logical to prevent false positives by modifying the offending CRS rules. If a detection pattern in a
CRS rule is causing matches with genuine transactions then the pattern could be modified. This is a bad idea.

Directly modifying CRS rules essentially creates a fork of the rule set. Any modifications made would be undone
by a rule set update, meaning that any changes would need to be continually reapplied by hand. This is a tedious,
time consuming, and error-prone solution.

There are alternative ways to deal with false positives, as described below. These methods sometimes require
slightly more effort and knowledge but they do not cause problems when performing rule set updates.

Rule Exclusions
Overview
The ModSecurity WAF engine has flexible ways to tune away false positives. It provides several rule exclusion
(RE) mechanisms which allow rules to be modified without directly changing the rules themselves. This makes it
possible to work with third-party rule sets, like the Core Rule Set, by adapting rules as needed while leaving the
rule set files intact and unmodified. This allows for easy rule set updates.

Two fundamentally different types of rule exclusions are supported:


Configure-time rule exclusions: Rule exclusions that are applied once, at configure-time (e.g. when
(re)starting or reloading ModSecurity, or the server process that holds it). For example: "remove rule X at
startup and never execute it."

This type of rule exclusion takes the form of a ModSecurity directive, e.g. SecRuleRemoveById.


Runtime rule exclusions: Rule exclusions that are applied at runtime on a per-transaction basis (e.g.
exclusions that can be conditionally applied to some transactions but not others). For example: "if a
transaction is a POST request to the location 'login.php', remove rule X."

This type of rule exclusion takes the form of a SecRule.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 274

 Runtime rule exclusions, while granular and flexible, have a computational overhead, albeit a
small one. A runtime rule exclusion is an extra SecRule which must be evaluated for every
transaction.

In addition to the two types of exclusions, rules can be excluded in two different ways:


Exclude the entire rule/tag: An entire rule, or entire category of rules (by specifying a tag), is removed and
will not be executed by the rule engine.


Exclude a specific variable from the rule/tag: A specific variable will be excluded from a specific rule, or
excluded from a category of rules (by specifying a tag).

These two methods can also operate on multiple individual rules, or even entire rule categories (identified either
by tag or by using a range of rule IDs).

The combinations of rule exclusion types and methods allow for writing rule exclusions of varying granularity.
Very coarse rule exclusions can be written, for example "remove all SQL injection rules" using
SecRuleRemoveByTag. Extremely granular rule exclusions can also be written, for example "for transactions to
the location 'web_app_2/function.php', exclude the query string parameter 'user_id' from rule 920280" using a
SecRule and the action ctl:ruleRemoveTargetById.

The different rule exclusion types and methods are summarized in the table below, which presents the main
ModSecurity directives and actions that can be used for each type and method of rule exclusion:

Exclude entire rule/tag Exclude specific variable from

rule/tag

Configure-time SecRuleRemoveById* SecRuleUpdateTargetById

SecRuleRemoveByTag SecRuleUpdateTargetByTag

Runtime ctl:ruleRemoveById** ctl:ruleRemoveTargetById

ctl:ruleRemoveByTag ctl:ruleRemoveTargetByTag

*Can also exclude ranges of rules or multiple space separated rules.

**Can also exclude ranges of rules.

It is not currently possible to exclude phase 1 rules using runtime rule exclusions on
Loadbalancer.org appliances. Configure-time rule exclusions must be used instead. This is a
known limitation of the WAF implementation. The Core Rule Set Map can be used to lookup the
phase of a CRS rule. More information on rule phases can be found in the ModSecurity
Reference Manual.

There’s also a third group of rule exclusion directives and actions, the use of which is
discouraged. As well as excluding rules "ById" and "ByTag", it’s also possible to exclude "ByMsg"
(SecRuleRemoveByMsg, SecRuleUpdateTargetByMsg, ctl:ruleRemoveByMsg, and
ctl:ruleRemoveTargetByMsg). This excludes rules based on the message they write to the

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 275

 error log. These messages can be dynamic and may contain special characters. As such, trying
to exclude rules by message is difficult and error-prone.

Rule Tags
CRS rules typically feature multiple tags, grouping them into different categories. For example, a rule might be
tagged by attack type ('attack-rce', 'attack-xss', etc.), by language ('language-java', 'language-php', etc.), and by
platform ('platform-apache', 'platform-unix', etc.).

Tags can be used to remove or modify entire categories of rules all at once, but some tags are more useful than
others in this regard. Tags for specific attack types, languages, and platforms may be useful for writing rule
exclusions. For example, if lots of the SQL injection rules are causing false positives but SQL isn’t in use anywhere
in the back end web application then it may be worthwhile to remove all CRS rules tagged with "attack-sqli"
(SecRuleRemoveByTag attack-sqli).

Some rule tags are not useful for rule exclusion purposes. For example, there are generic tags like "language-
multi" and "platform-multi": these contain hundreds of rules across the entire CRS, and they don’t represent a
meaningful rule property to be useful in rule exclusions. There are also tags that categorize rules based on well
known security standards, like CAPEC and PCI DSS (e.g. 'capec/1000/153/267', 'PCI/6.5.4'). These tags may be
useful for informational and reporting purposes but are not useful in the context of writing rule exclusions.

Excluding rules using tags may be more useful than excluding using rule ranges in situations where a category of
rules is spread across multiple files. For example, the "language-php" rules are spread across several different rule
files (both inbound and outbound rule files).

Rule Ranges
As well as rules being tagged using different categories, CRS rules are organized into files by general category. In
addition, CRS rule IDs follow a consistent numbering convention. This makes it easy to remove unwanted types
of rules by removing ranges of rule IDs. For example, the file REQUEST-913-SCANNER-DETECTION.conf
contains rules related to detecting well known scanners and crawlers, which all have rule IDs in the range 913000-
913999. All of the rules in this file can be easily removed using a configure-time rule exclusion, like so:

SecRuleRemoveById "913000-913999"

Excluding rules using rule ranges may be more useful than excluding using tags in situations where tags are less
relevant or where tags vary across the rules in question. For example, a rule range may be the most appropriate
solution if the goal is to remove all rules contained in a single file, regardless of how the rules are tagged.

Support for Regular Expressions

Most of the configure-time rule exclusion directives feature some level of support for using regular expressions.
This makes it possible, for example, to exclude a dynamically named variable from a rule. The directives with
support for regular expressions are:

SecRuleRemoveByTag


A regular expression is used for the tag match. For example, SecRuleRemoveByTag "injection"
would match both "attack-injection-generic" and "attack-injection-php".

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 276

 SecRuleRemoveByMsg


A regular expression is used for the message match. For example, SecRuleRemoveByMsg "File
Access" would match both "OS File Access Attempt" and "Restricted File Access Attempt".

SecRuleUpdateTargetById, SecRuleUpdateTargetByTag, SecRuleUpdateTargetByMsg



A regular expression can optionally be used in the target specification by enclosing the regular expression in
forward slashes. This is useful for dealing with dynamically named variables, like so:

SecRuleUpdateTargetById 942440 "!REQUEST_COOKIES:/^uid_.*/".

This example would exclude request cookies named "uid_0123456", "uid_6543210", etc. from rule 942440.

The "ctl" action for writing runtime rule exclusions does not support any use of regular
expressions. This is a known limitation of the ModSecurity rule engine.

Example 1 (SecRuleRemoveById)
(Configure-time RE. Exclude entire rule.)

Scenario: Rule 933151, "PHP Injection Attack: Medium-Risk PHP Function Name Found", is causing false
positives. The web application behind the WAF makes no use of PHP. As such, it is deemed safe to tune away
this false positive by completely removing rule 933151.

Rule Exclusion:

# CRS Rule Exclusion: 933151 - PHP Injection Attack: Medium-Risk PHP Function Name Found
SecRuleRemoveById 933151

Example 2 (SecRuleRemoveByTag)
(Configure-time RE. Exclude entire tag.)

Scenario: Several different parts of a web application are causing false positives with various SQL injection rules.
None of the web services behind the WAF make use of SQL, so it is deemed safe to tune away these false
positives by removing all the SQLi detection rules.

Rule Exclusion:

# CRS Rule Exclusion: Remove all SQLi detection rules

SecRuleRemoveByTag attack-sqli

Example 3 (SecRuleUpdateTargetById)
(Configure-time RE. Exclude specific variable from rule.)

Scenario: The content of a POST body parameter named "wp_post" is causing false positives with rule 941320,

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 277

"Possible XSS Attack Detected - HTML Tag Handler". Removing this rule entirely is deemed to be unacceptable:
the rule is not causing any other issues, and the protection it provides should be retained for everything apart
from "wp_post". It is decided to tune away this false positive by excluding "wp_post" from rule 941320.

Rule Exclusion:

# CRS Rule Exclusion: 941320 - Possible XSS Attack Detected - HTML Tag Handler
SecRuleUpdateTargetById 941320 "!ARGS:wp_post"

Example 4 (SecRuleUpdateTargetByTag)
(Configure-time RE. Exclude specific variable from rule.)

Scenario: The values of request cookies with random names of the form "uid_<STRING>" are causing false
positives with various SQL injection rules. It is decided that it is not a risk to allow SQL-like content in cookie
values, however it is deemed unacceptable to disable the SQLi detection rules for anything apart from the request
cookies in question. It is decided to tune away these false positives by excluding only the problematic request
cookies from the SQLi detection rules. A regular expression is to be used to handle the random string portion of
the cookie names.

Rule Exclusion:

# CRS Rule Exclusion: Exclude the request cookies "uid_<STRING>" from the SQLi detection rules
SecRuleUpdateTargetByTag attack-sqli "!REQUEST_COOKIES:/^uid_.*/"

Example 5 (ctl:ruleRemoveById)
(Runtime RE. Exclude entire rule.)

Scenario: Rule 920230, "Multiple URL Encoding Detected", is causing false positives at the specific location
"/webapp/function.php". This is being caused by a known quirk in how the web application has been written, and
it cannot be fixed in the application. It is deemed safe to tune away this false positive by removing rule 920230 for
that specific location only.

Rule Exclusion:

# CRS Rule Exclusion: 920230 - Multiple URL Encoding Detected

SecRule REQUEST_URI "@beginsWith /webapp/function.php" \
"id:1000,\
phase:1,\
pass,\
nolog,\
ctl:ruleRemoveById=920230"

Example 6 (ctl:ruleRemoveByTag)
(Runtime RE. Exclude entire tag.)

Scenario: Several different locations under "/web_app_1/content" are causing false positives with various SQL
injection rules. Nothing under that location makes any use of SQL, so it is deemed safe to remove all the SQLi

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 278

detection rules for that location. Other locations may make use of SQL, however, so the SQLi detection rules must
remain in place everywhere else. It has been decided to tune away the false positives by removing all the SQLi
detection rules for locations under "/web_app_1/content" only.

Rule Exclusion:

# CRS Rule Exclusion: Remove all SQLi detection rules

SecRule REQUEST_URI "@beginsWith /web_app_1/content" \
"id:1010,\
phase:1,\
pass,\
nolog,\
ctl:ruleRemoveByTag=attack-sqli"

Example 7 (ctl:ruleRemoveTargetById)
(Runtime RE. Exclude specific variable from rule.)

Scenario: The content of a POST body parameter named "text_input" is causing false positives with rule 941150,
"XSS Filter - Category 5: Disallowed HTML Attributes", at the specific location "/dynamic/new_post". Removing
this rule entirely is deemed to be unacceptable: the rule is not causing any other issues, and the protection it
provides should be retained for everything apart from "text_input" at the specific problematic location. It is
decided to tune away this false positive by excluding "text_input" from rule 941150 for location
"/dynamic/new_post" only.

Rule Exclusion:

# CRS Rule Exclusion: 941150 - XSS Filter - Category 5: Disallowed HTML Attributes
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@beginsWith /dynamic/new_post" \
"id:1020,\
phase:1,\
pass,\
nolog,\
ctl:ruleRemoveTargetById=941150;ARGS:text_input"

Example 8 (ctl:ruleRemoveTargetByTag)
(Runtime RE. Exclude specific variable from rule.)

Scenario: The values of request cookie "uid" are causing false positives with various SQL injection rules when
trying to log in to a web service at location "/webapp/login.html". It is decided that it is not a risk to allow SQL-like
content in this specific cookie’s values for the login page, however it is deemed unacceptable to disable the SQLi
detection rules for anything apart from the specific request cookie in question at the login page only. It is decided
to tune away these false positives by excluding only the problematic request cookie from the SQLi detection rules,
and only when accessing "/webapp/login.html".

Rule Exclusion:

# CRS Rule Exclusion: Exclude the request cookie "uid" from the SQLi detection rules
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@beginsWith /webapp/login.html" \
"id:1030,\

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 279

 phase:1,\
pass,\
nolog,\
ctl:ruleRemoveTargetByTag=attack-sqli;REQUEST_COOKIES:uid"

It’s possible to write a conditional rule exclusion that tests something other than just the request
URI. Conditions can be built which test, for example, the source IP address, HTTP request
method, HTTP headers, and even the day of the week.

Multiple conditions can also be chained together to create a logical AND by using ModSecurity’s
chain action. This allows for creating powerful rule logic like "for transactions that are from
source IP address 10.0.0.1 AND that are for location '/login.html', exclude the query string
parameter 'user_id' from rule 920280". Extremely granular and specific rule exclusions can be
written, in this way.

Adding Custom WAF Configuration

Rule exclusions and custom rules can be added to a WAF gateway. To access this functionality:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > WAF - Manual Configuration.

2. From the dropdown list, select the name of the WAF gateway in question.

By default, a WAF gateway’s manual configuration contains a set of commented-out examples. The examples
can be uncommented and adapted for use. Alternatively, all of the example text can safely be deleted to give a
clean slate.

To add rule exclusions or custom rules, write or paste the custom content directly into the text box.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 280

 After modifying any WAF manual configuration, be sure to save the new configuration to disk by
pressing the Update button and then apply the new configuration by reloading services as
prompted in the "Commit changes" message box.

Per-Transaction Resource Limits

WAFs can be susceptible to simple denial-of-service attacks. Bombarding a WAF with certain types of HTTP
requests can cause serious problems:


Requests with large bodies (excluding file uploads) consume a significant amount of CPU time while the
WAF rules are executed against the body data.


Requests with large bodies consume a large amount of memory while they’re buffered for inspection.


Requests with very large headers consume a significant amount of CPU time while the WAF rules are
executed against the header data.


Large file uploads consume a large amount of disk space while they’re buffered during a transaction.

A WAF can thus be attacked from multiple angles: attempting to exhaust its CPU, memory, and disk space. As
such, it is imperative to control and limit the resources that a single HTTP transaction can consume. This
hardens the WAF against these kinds of attacks.

Default Limits

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 281

The following default resource limits are enforced for all WAF gateways:


Maximum request body size (including file uploads): 13 MB (13107200 bytes)


Maximum request body size (excluding file uploads): 131 kB (131072 bytes)


Maximum amount of request body to store in memory before switching to disk: 131 kB (131072 bytes)


Maximum size of a single HTTP request header field: 8 kB (8190 bytes)

The default limits for the maximum non-file request body size and the maximum amount of
memory to use to buffer a request body are equal. This means that non-file request bodies
under the size limit will always be buffered in memory, which is fast. Only request bodies of file
uploads exceeding 131 kB will be streamed to disk, which is much slower.

Example 1
As an example, under the default limits, it is permissible to submit an HTTP request with up to 131 kB of non-file
upload data, e.g. data from filling in form fields:

A request that exceeds the limit will:

receive a 400 Bad Request response status code if the WAF engine is enabled



pass through the WAF gateway without issue if the WAF engine is not enabled, i.e. is in detection only mode

Example 2
As another example, under the default limits, it is permissible to submit an HTTP request with up to 13 MB of file
upload data, either one large file or multiple smaller files:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 282

A request that exceeds the limit will:

receive a 500 Internal Server Error response status code if the WAF engine is enabled



pass through the WAF gateway without issue if the WAF engine is not enabled, i.e. is in detection only mode

Handling Large HTTP Requests

When working with some web applications, it can be necessary to handle HTTP requests that exceed the default
size limits in one or more ways.

Large File Uploads

The maximum request body size, including file uploads, should be as large as the largest file upload that the web
application should accept. If the web application should accept file uploads that are larger than the default 13 MB
limit then the limit should be increased.

As an example, to increase the limit to 20 MB for a given WAF gateway, add the following directive to the WAF
gateway’s manual configuration:

# Buffer request bodies of up to 20 MB in size.

# Allows for requests to contain up to 20 MB of file upload data.
SecRequestBodyLimit 20000000

For additional granularity, a Location directive can be used to increase the limit for certain locations only. For
example:

# For the admin portal upload page only, buffer request bodies of up to 500 MB
# in size. Allows for requests to contain up to 500 MB of file upload data.
<Location "/admin-portal/upload.php">

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 283

 SecRequestBodyLimit 500000000
</Location>

Request body handling has a hard upper limit of 1 GB.

Requests Containing Large Amounts of Non-File Upload Data

The maximum request body size, excluding file uploads, should be as small as is practical. An example of non-file
upload data would be data from filling in form fields. Unlike file upload data, non-file upload data is inspected: the
WAF rules are executed against the data. For large chunks of data, rule execution can use a significant amount of
CPU time.

If a web application should accept request bodies containing more than the default limit of 131 kB of non-file
upload data then the limit should be increased. Some web applications transfer state data or small files in this
way, which can often exceed the 131 kB limit where this technique is used.

Increasing the non-file upload request body size limit makes the WAF more susceptible to
denial-of-service attacks. This limit should only be increased if necessary and should still be
kept as small as possible.

As an example, to increase the limit to 200 kB for a given WAF gateway, add the following directive to the WAF
gateway’s manual configuration:

# Buffer request bodies, excluding file uploads, of up to 200 kB in size.

# Allows for requests to contain up to 200 kB of non-file upload data.
SecRequestBodyNoFilesLimit 200000

Because increasing this limit makes a WAF more susceptible to denial-of-service attacks, it is a very good idea to
increase the limit only where it is needed. For additional granularity, a Location directive can be used to
increase the limit for certain locations only. For example:

# For the user profile avatar upload functionality only, buffer request bodies
# containing up to 200 kB of non-file upload data. Allows users to upload
# avatars up to 200 kB in size.
<Location "/user/profile/avatar-upload.php">
SecRequestBodyNoFilesLimit 200000
</Location>

The limit for the maximum amount of memory to use to buffer a request body can be set using
the SecRequestBodyInMemoryLimit directive. The default values of the
SecRequestBodyNoFilesLimit and SecRequestBodyInMemoryLimit directives are
equal.

Requests with Massive Header Fields

If a web application requires the use of massive HTTP request header fields, with any single header field
exceeding the default size limit of 8 kB, then the limit should be increased.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 284

As an example, to increase the limit to 13 kB for a given WAF gateway, which should be large enough to let
through many known large authentication headers which are seen very occasionally, add the following directive to
the WAF gateway’s manual configuration:

# Allow HTTP request header fields of up to 13 kB in size.

# Should be large enough to let through many known large authentication headers.
LimitRequestFieldSize 13000

Note that the LimitRequestFieldSize directive cannot be defined inside a Location directive, so being
granular with this setting is not possible.

To handle HTTP request header fields above 15 kB in size it’s necessary to increase HAProxy’s
Request buffer length. This can be found under Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Advanced
Configuration. This is required as HAProxy becomes the limiting factor, not Apache.

WAF Gateway Error Logs

Logging Mechanism Overview
If a transaction does not cause any ModSecurity (WAF) rules to match then nothing is written to the WAF error
log.

If a transaction does cause rules to match:


A record of each rule match is written to the WAF error log.


If a transaction’s inbound or outbound anomaly score is high enough to reach either the inbound or
outbound anomaly score thresholds then a record of this is written to the WAF error log, stating the action
taken, if any (e.g. "Access denied with code 403").


A summary of the transaction’s anomaly score is written to the WAF error log, stating the makeup of the
anomaly score total per-paranoia level and per-rule category.

If a rule is expected to match and should not log those matches for some reason (e.g. it’s a
helper rule), the nolog action can be used to prevent a rule from creating error log output and
cluttering up the log.

Viewing the Error Logs

To view the error logs for a given WAF gateway:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Logs > WAF Error.

2. From the dropdown list, select the name of the WAF gateway in question.

Default View
After selecting a WAF gateway from the dropdown list, the default view displays error log lines in their raw,
unedited format. The most recent 500 log lines are displayed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent
log entry shown at the top.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 285

Simple View
When the Simple button is pressed, the most recent 1000 error log lines are shown in chronological order
(matching the log file itself), with the oldest log entry shown at the top.

Log entries are broken up across multiple lines to aid readability. Individual log entries are separated by horizontal
lines.

Breakdown View
When the Breakdown button is pressed, a summary of which matched rules are present in the error log is
presented. The information presented is:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 286

 
Occurrences: The number of times a given event is present in the log, e.g. "how many times rule X has
matched for host name Y at location Z".


Rule ID: The ID number of the rule that matched.


Hostname: The host name that the matches were against. Useful to break up data if multiple services are
sitting behind a single WAF gateway.


Severity (optional): If present, the severity of the rule that matched (as described in the Severity Levels
section).


URI: The location that the match was against.

Fixes View
When the Fixes button is pressed, a best efforts, automated list of rule exclusions are generated. These rule
exclusions are based on the assumption that only known, good traffic has passed through (and hence been
logged by) the WAF gateway. It is thus assumed that the error log contains only false positives, which the load
balancer attempts to generate rule exclusions to resolve.

The Fixes view is not a substitute for a proper tuning process. Writing meaningful rule
exclusions requires an understanding of the web service behind the WAF gateway, which the
script that generates the automated rule exclusions can never provide.

Breakdown of a Log Entry

A single, full error log entry from the Simple view is presented below:

[Fri Dec 03 12:14:06.323315 2021]

[:error]
[pid 2547:tid 140172380346112]
[client 192.168.85.1:0]
[client 192.168.85.1]
• ModSecurity: Warning. Pattern match
"(?:^|=)\\\\s*(?:{|\\\\s*\\\\(\\\\s*|\\\\w+=(?:[^\\\\s]*|\\\\$.*|\\\\$.*|<.*|>.*|\\\\'.*\\\\'|\\".*
\\")\\\\s+|!\\\\s*|\\\\$)*\\\\s*(?:'|\\")*(?:[\\\\?\\\\*\\\\[\\\\]\\\\(\\\\)\\\\-
\\\\|+\\\\w'\\"\\\\./\\\\\\\\]+/)?[\\\\\\\\'\\"]*(?:l[\\\\\\\\'\\"]*(?:s(?:[\\\\\\\\'\\"]*(?:b[\\\\
\\\\'\\"]*_[\\\\\\\\'\\"]*r[\\\\\\\\'\\"]*e[\\\\\\\\'\\"]*l[\\\\\\\\' ..." at ARGS:text_input.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 287

 [file "/etc/modsecurity.d/rules_3-3-2/REQUEST-932-APPLICATION-ATTACK-RCE.conf"]
[line "463"]
• [id "932150"]
[msg "Remote Command Execution: Direct Unix Command Execution"]
[data "Matched Data: ping found within ARGS:text_input: ping pong is great!"]
[severity "CRITICAL"]
[ver "OWASP_CRS/3.3.2"]
[tag "application-multi"]
[tag "language-shell"]
[tag "platform-unix"]
[tag "attack-rce"]
[tag "paranoia-level/1"]
[tag "OWASP_CRS"]
[tag "capec/1000/152/248/88"]
[tag "PCI/6.5.2"]
[hostname "example.com"]
[uri "/"]
[unique_id "YaoKDmrMWmz0GZzK9ZmMCAAAAEA"]

The most important parts and their meanings are as follows:

[Fri Dec 03 12:14:06.323315 2021]



The date and time that the log entry was written.

[client 192.168.85.1]


The source IP address of the transaction.

ModSecurity: Warning. Pattern match "(?:^|=)…" at ARGS:text_input.



A summary message from ModSecurity describing what has happened and where.

[id "932150"]


The rule ID of the rule that matched.

[msg "Remote Command Execution: Direct Unix Command Execution"]



A summary message from the matched rule describing what happened.

[data "Matched Data: ping found within ARGS:text_input: ping pong is great!"]


Additional data from the rule describing what happened.

[severity "CRITICAL"]


The severity of the rule that matched (as described in the Severity Levels section).

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 288

 [ver "OWASP_CRS/3.3.2"]


The Core Rule Set version of the rule that matched.

[tag "platform-unix"]


A tag used to categorise the type of rule or type of attack it is designed to detect.

[tag "paranoia-level/1"]


A tag used to report the paranoia level of the rule that matched.

[tag "OWASP_CRS"]


A tag used to report that the matched rule was part of the Core Rule Set.

[hostname "example.com"]


The host name used in the transaction.

[uri "/"]


The location requested by the transaction.

[unique_id "YaoKDmrMWmz0GZzK9ZmMCAAAAEA"]


The transaction’s unique ID, which ties together all log entries relating to a single transaction.

An error log entry from the Simple view showing the outcome of inbound blocking evaluation is presented below:

[Fri Dec 03 12:14:06.327738 2021]

[:error]
[pid 2547:tid 140172380346112]
[client 192.168.85.1:0]
[client 192.168.85.1]
• ModSecurity: Access denied with code 403 (phase 2). Operator GE matched 5 at
TX:anomaly_score.
[file "/etc/modsecurity.d/rules_3-3-2/REQUEST-949-BLOCKING-EVALUATION.conf"]
[line "93"]
• [id "949110"]
[msg "Inbound Anomaly Score Exceeded (Total Score: 5)"]
[severity "CRITICAL"]
[ver "OWASP_CRS/3.3.2"]
[tag "application-multi"]
[tag "language-multi"]
[tag "platform-multi"]
[tag "attack-generic"]
[hostname "example.com"]
[uri "/"]
[unique_id "YaoKDmrMWmz0GZzK9ZmMCAAAAEA"]

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 289

The most important unique parts and their meanings are as follows:

ModSecurity: Access denied with code 403 (phase 2). Operator GE matched 5 at


TX:anomaly_score.

A summary message from ModSecurity describing what has happened (access denied with status code 403
Forbidden) and why (anomaly score reached threshold of 5).

[msg "Inbound Anomaly Score Exceeded (Total Score: 5)"]



A summary message from the matched (blocking evaluation) rule describing what happened, in a slightly
more readable way.

An error log entry from the Simple view showing an event correlation summary is presented below:

[Fri Dec 03 12:14:06.329017 2021]

[:error]
[pid 2547:tid 140172380346112]
[client 192.168.85.1:0]
[client 192.168.85.1]
• ModSecurity: Warning. Operator GE matched 5 at TX:inbound_anomaly_score.
[file "/etc/modsecurity.d/rules_3-3-2/RESPONSE-980-CORRELATION.conf"]
[line "91"]
• [id "980130"]
[msg "Inbound Anomaly Score Exceeded (Total Inbound Score: 5 -
SQLI=0,XSS=0,RFI=0,LFI=0,RCE=5,PHPI=0,HTTP=0,SESS=0): individual paranoia level scores: 5, 0, 0,
0"]
[ver "OWASP_CRS/3.3.2"]
[tag "event-correlation"]
[hostname "example.com"]
[uri "/"]
[unique_id "YaoKDmrMWmz0GZzK9ZmMCAAAAEA"]

The most important unique part and its meaning is as follows:

[msg "Inbound Anomaly Score Exceeded (Total Inbound Score: 5 -



SQLI=0,XSS=0,RFI=0,LFI=0,RCE=5,PHPI=0,HTTP=0,SESS=0): individual paranoia

level scores: 5, 0, 0, 0"]

A summary message from the matched (event correlation) rule giving a full breakdown of the transaction’s
anomaly score, both by paranoia level and category. The paranoia level breakdown is given in ascending
paranoia level (i.e. PL 1, PL 2, PL 3, PL 4).

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 290

Chapter 8 - Real Server Health Monitoring & Control
Configuring Health Checks
The appliance supports a comprehensive range of Real Server health check methods and options. These range
from simple ping checks to much more complex negotiate options to determine that the underlying
daemon/service is running and responding correctly. The specific options available depend on whether services
are deployed at Layer 4 or Layer 7, details of both are covered in the following sections.

Health Checks for Layer 4 Services

At layer 4, Real Server health checking is performed by Ldirectord. To configure health checks, use the WebUI
menu option: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Virtual Services, then click Modify next to the VIP to be configured.
The health check options available depend on the check type selected.

For new Layer 4 VIPs the default check type is Connect to Port.

The following table details the health check types available and the associated options for each:

Health Check Option Description

Type

Negotiate Sends a request and looks for a specific response.

Check Port The port to monitor. If specified this setting overrides the default which is
the Real Server port. For multiport VIPs where the Real Server port field is
left blank, the default checkport is the first in the list. This can be changed
using this field if required. Note that for DR mode, the port cannot be
specified at the Real Server level, so the port specified for the VIP is used.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 291

Health Check Option Description
Type

Protocol Set the protocol for the health check. The options are:


HTTP - use HTTP as the negotiate protocol


HTTPS - use HTTPS as the negotiate protocol


HTTP Proxy - Use an HTTP proxy check


FTP - use FTP as the negotiate protocol


IMAP (IPv4 only) - use IMAP as the negotiate protocol


IMAPS (IPv4 only) - use IMAPS as the negotiate protocol


POP - use POP as the negotiate protocol


POPS - use POPS as the negotiate protocol


LDAP (IPv4 only) - use LDAP as the negotiate protocol


SMTP - use SMTP as the negotiate protocol


NNTP (IPv4 only) - use NNTP as the negotiate protocol


DNS - use DNS as the negotiate protocol


MySQL (IPv4 only) - use MySQL as the negotiate protocol (also
requires username/password)


SIP - use SIP as the negotiate protocol


Simple TCP - Sends a request string to the server and checks the
response


RADIUS (IPv4 only) - use RADIUS as the negotiate protocol

Virtual Host Used when using a HTTP or HTTPS negotiate check. Sets the host header
used in the HTTP request. In the case of HTTPS this generally needs to
match the common name of the SSL certificate.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 292

Health Check Option Description
Type

Request to Send The use of this parameter varies with the protocol selected in the
negotiate Protocol.


With protocols such as HTTP and FTP, this should be the object to
request from the server. Bare filenames will be requested from the
web or FTP root.


With DNS, this should be either a name to look up in an A record, or
an IP address to look up in a PTR record.


With databases, this should be a SQL SELECT query. The Response
Expected field in not used by the SQL health check since the data
returned in not read, the answer must simply be one or more rows.


With LDAP, this should be the search base for the query. The load
balancer will perform an (ObjectClass=*) search relative to this base.


With Simple TCP, this should be a string to send verbatim to the
server.

Response This is the response that must be received for the check to be a success.
Expected If the string matches anywhere in the response data, the negotiate check
is considered a success. For a DNS check this should be any one the A
record’s addresses or any one of the PTR record’s names.

For HTTP and HTTPS, if Response Expected is left

blank, the appliance will check the location specified
in Request To Send (if blank the root will be checked)
and will consider all HTTP 2xx (usually HTTP 200)
and HTTP 3xx response statuses as valid and the
server will be marked as up. All other responses
including no response or a timeout will be
considered invalid and the server will be marked as
down.

Login The username when authentication is required.

Password The password when authentication is required.

Database Name The database to use for the MySQL check.

Radius Secret The RADIUS secret string to use for the RADIUS check.

Connect to Port Attempt to make a TCP connection to the specified port.

Check Port See above.

Ping Server Sends an ICMP echo request packet to the Real Server.

External Script Use a custom file (typically a script but can also be a binary) for the health
check. Select the script from the External script dropdown. For more
information on using custom external health check scripts, please refer to
External Health Check Scripts.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 293

Health Check Option Description
Type

Check Port See above.

External Script Select the required external check script from the dropdown. For more
information on creating and using custom external health check scripts,
please refer to External Health Check Scripts.

By default the Microsoft SQL external health check is

not available in the dropdown. This health check
requires several Microsoft related pre-requisites
such as the Microsoft Linux ODBC driver, and these
must first be installed and configured. To install the
pre-requisites and configure thw required settings, at
the console or via an SSH session, login as "root"
and run the following command:

$ lb_mssql -i

Once completed, the additional option "ms-sql-

check" will appear in the External Script dropdown.

"root" user console and SSH password access are

disabled by default. These options can be enabled
using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration >
Security. You’ll need to Set Appliance Security Mode
to Custom, configure the required option(s) and click
Update.

No Checks No health checks, all Real Servers are assumed to be down.

Always Off

No Checks No health checks, all Real Servers are assumed to be up.

Always On

5 Connects, 1 Do 5 connect checks followed by 1 negotiate check. The appropriate

Negotiate negotiate check must be selected and configured (see above).

10 Connects, 1 Do 10 connect checks followed by 1 negotiate check. The appropriate

Negotiate negotiate check must be selected and configured (see above).

Health Checks for Layer 7 Services

At layer 7, Real Server health checking is performed by HAProxy. To configure health checks, use the WebUI menu
option: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Virtual Services, then click Modify next to the VIP to be configured. The
health check options available depend on the check type selected and whether the [Advanced] option is clicked.
When clicked, the advanced options for each check type are displayed, when clicked again, they are hidden.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 294

 For new Layer 7 VIPs the default check type is Connect to Port.

The following table details the health check types available and the associated options for each:

Health Check Option Description

Type

Negotiate Scan the file/page specified in Request to Send, and check the returned
HTTP/HTTPS data for the Response Expected string.
(GET)

Request to Send The file/page to open. This can also be the name of a server-side script
that’s used to check the health of the backend application.

Response The content expected in the specified file/page. The Response Expected
Expected can also be any valid regular expression statement. The result can be
inverted by selecting "Not Equals".

For HTTP and HTTPS, if Response Expected is left

blank, the appliance will check the location specified
in Request To Send (if blank the root will be
checked) and will consider all HTTP 2xx (usually
HTTP 200) and HTTP 3xx response statuses as
valid and the server will be marked as up. All other
responses including no response or a timeout will be
considered invalid and the server will be marked as
down.

It’s possible to escape characters in the response

expected. For example, if you wanted to look for
"success" (including the quotes), specify \"success\"
in Response Expected.

Advanced > The port to monitor. If specified this setting overrides the default which is
Check Port the Real Server port. For multiport VIPs where the Real Server port field is
left blank, the default checkport is the first in the list. This can be changed
using this field if required.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 295

Health Check Option Description
Type

Advanced > Specify a username if authentication is required.

Username

Advanced > Host If the Real Server is configured to require a Host header, specify the value
Header here.

Advanced > Specify a password if authentication is required.

Password

Negotiate Request the page headers of the page specified in Request to Send.
HTTP/HTTPS
(HEAD)

Request to Send See above.

Advanced > See above.

Check Port

Advanced > See above.

Username

Advanced > Host See above.

Header

Advanced > See above.

Password

Negotiate Request the options of the page specified in Request to Send.

HTTP/HTTPS
(OPTIONS)

Request to Send See above.

Advanced > See above.

Check Port

Advanced > See above.

Username

Advanced > Host See above.

Header

Advanced > See above.

Password

Connect to port Attempt to make a TCP connection to the specified port.

Advanced > See above.

Check Port

External Script Use a custom file (typically a script but can also be a binary) for the health
check. Select the script from the Check Script dropdown. For more
information on using custom external health check scripts, please refer to
External Health Check Scripts.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 296

Health Check Option Description
Type

Check Script Select the required external check script from the dropdown. For more
information on creating and using custom external health check scripts,
please refer to External Health Check Scripts.

By default the Microsoft SQL external health check is

not available in the dropdown. This health check
requires several Microsoft related per-requisites
such as the Microsoft Linux ODBC driver, and these
must first be installed and configured. To install the
prerequisites and configure required settings, at the
console or via an SSH session, login as "root" and
run the following command:

$ lb_mssql -i

Once completed, the additional option "ms-sql-

check" will appear in the External Script dropdown.

"root" user console and SSH password access are

disabled by default. These options can be enabled
using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration >
Security. You’ll need to Set Appliance Security Mode
to Custom, configure the required option(s) and click
Update.

MySQL The check consists of sending two MySQL packets, one Client
Authentication packet, and one QUIT packet to correctly close the MySQL
session. It then parses the MySQL Handshake Initialization packet and/or
Error packet. It is a basic but useful test and does not produce error nor
aborted connect on the server. However, it requires adding an
authorization in the MySQL table, like this:

USE mysql; INSERT INTO user (Host,User) values ('',''); FLUSH

PRIVILEGES;

Advanced > This is the user that will be used to connect to the database to verify it’s
Username running successfully.

No checks, No health checks, all Real Servers are assumed to be up.

always On

External Health Check Scripts

Custom health checks can be created and modified using the WebUI.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 297

Default Scripts
By default, 5 external scripts are available:


SMTP


Ping_IPv4_or_IPv6


POP3_or_IMAP


Exchange


TCP_half_open

These are available in the External Script dropdown when the Check Type for a VIP is set to External Script as
shown below:

Adding Additional Health Check Scripts

New scripts can be created either by using the script templates or by uploading files from an external source.

Using Script Templates

To create a new script from template:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to Cluster Configuration > Health Check Scripts and click Add New Health Check.

2. Specify an appropriate Name for the health check, e.g. Multi-Port-Check.

3. Set Type to Virtual Service.

4. Using the Template dropdown select an appropriate template from the Virtual Service section of the list, e.g.
Multi-port-check.sh.

5. Modify the script if required.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 298

 6. Click Update.

Once the health check has been added, it will appear in the Health Check Scripts list below the 5 default scripts as
shown below:

The new script will also appear in the External Script dropdown when the Check Type for a VIP is set to External
Script:

Uploading External Files

To create a new script by uploading an external file:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to Cluster Configuration > Health Check Scripts and click Upload Existing Health
Check.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 299

 2. Specify an appropriate Name for the health check, e.g. Check-Control-Servers.

3. Set Type to Virtual Service.

4. Click the Choose File button next to Contents.

5. Browse to and select the required file, e.g. control-server-check.sh.

If you have an HA Pair and the secondary node requires a different health check, click the
Choose File button next to Secondary Node Contents and browse to and select the
required file.

6. If the file is binary, enable the File is binary checkbox - this will prevent the editor window being displayed.

7. Click Update.

Once the health check has been added, it will appear in the Health Check Scripts list and in the External Script
dropdown as explained in Using Script Templates above.

For additional Layer 4 health check options such as Check interval and Failure Count, please
refer to Layer 4 - Advanced Configuration. For Layer 7, please refer to Layer 7 - Advanced
Configuration.

Testing External Health Check Scripts at the Command Line

Health check scripts use 4 passed parameters. These 4 values represent Virtual Service IP Address, Virtual
Service Port, Real Server IP Address and Real Server Port. If a script does not use all 4 values, for example the
ping.sh script, then a zero should be entered as a place-holder.

The Skeleton and Example script templates provide additional information about the 4 passed
parameters.

# ./<check-script-name> <$1> <$2> <$3> <$4>

Examples:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 300

 # ./SMTP-check.sh 192.168.1.1 25 192.168.1.10 25

# ./ping.sh 192.168.1.1 0 192.168.1.10 0

to check the return value, use the command:

# echo $?

A return value of 0 means the check has passed, any other value means it has failed.

Simulating Health Check Failures

It may not always be possible to take a server offline to check that health checks are working correctly. In these
cases, firewall rules can be used. The following rules can be configured at the console, using SSH or via the
WebUI option Local Configuration > Execute a Shell Command.

"root" user console and SSH password access are disabled by default. These options can be
enabled using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration > Security. You’ll need to Set
Appliance Security Mode to Custom, configure the required option(s) and click Update.

To block access to a particular Real Server port:

iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp --dport <Check Port> -d <REAL-SERVER-IP> -j DROP

e.g. iptables -A OUTPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -d 192.168.65.60 -j DROP

To re-enable access to a particular Real Server port:

iptables -D OUTPUT -p tcp --dport <Check Port> -d <REAL-SERVER-IP> -j DROP

e.g. iptables -D OUTPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -d 192.168.65.60 -j DROP

Make sure that blocking rules are deleted after testing & verification is complete!

Disabling Health Checks

In some cases it may be desirable to completely disable health checking and simply assume that the Real Servers
are up and working correctly. The can be configured by setting the health check option to No Checks, Always On -
this applies to both layer 4 and layer 7 services.

Fallback Server

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 301

The fallback server is activated under the following conditions for both Layer 4 & Layer 7 Virtual Services:


When all associated Real Servers have failed their health check


When all associated Real Servers have been taken offline using the System Overview page in the WebUI

The fallback page can be provided in the following ways:


Using the load balancer’s built in NGINX local fallback page


Using a separate server to host the fallback page


Using a layer 7 VIP

Local Fallback Server

The appliance has a built in fallback server that uses NGINX. The local fallback page can be modified using the
WebUI menu option: Maintenance > Fallback Page:

Notes

1. The local fallback server is an NGINX instance that by default listens on all appliance IP’s on port 9081. If you
want to change the port, IP address or protocol that the fallback server listens on, please refer to Service
Socket Addresses.

2. You can use any valid HTML for the default page, simply copy and paste the required HTML into the Fallback
Page.

3. If you are using the load balancer for your holding page and your Real Servers are all offline then the local
NGINX server is exposed to hacking attempts, if you are concerned about this you can use a separate
dedicated internal server for the fallback.

Using a Separate Dedicated Server

For DR mode the fallback server must be listening on the same port as the VIP (port re-mapping is not possible
with DR mode). Also, the "ARP Problem" must be solved for the dedicated fallback server. For more information,
please refer to The ARP Problem.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 302

For NAT mode the default gateway of the fallback server must be the load balancer. For an HA clustered pair, use
a floating IP for the default gateway to allow it to move between Primary and Secondary.

Using a Layer 7 VIP

It’s also possible to set the fallback server to be a layer 7 VIP. This is especially useful in WAN/DR site
environments. It also enables an external fallback server to be easily configured for Layer 4 VIPs without having to
comply with the requirements mentioned in the previous section. To do this, create a layer 7 fallback VIP and
configure your fallback server as an associated RIP. Then enable the MASQ option for the Layer 4 VIP and set the
fallback VIP as its fallback server. If all servers are down, requests will then be routed via the Layer 7 VIP to your
fallback server. If the layer 4 VIP is multi-port, specify "0" as the port for the fallback server. Requests will then be
forwarded to the correct port.

Configuring A Real Server as the Fallback Server

It’s possible to configure one of the Real Servers as the fallback server. This can be useful for example when all
servers are very busy and health checks start to fail simply because the response is taking longer than the
configuration allows. In this case, traffic will still be sent to one of the Real Servers rather than to a separate
fallback page.

Configuring Primary / Secondary Real Servers

If you want to setup a VIP that sends all traffic to a primary server and only sends traffic to a secondary server if
the primary server fails, configure the VIP with the primary server as a RIP, and the secondary server as the
fallback server.

Configuring Email Alerts for Virtual Services

Email alerts can be configured for layer 4 and layer 7 Virtual Services. This enables emails to be sent when one or
more of the associated Real Servers fail their health check and also when they subsequently start to pass their
health check.

Layer 4
For layer 4 Virtual Services, settings can be configured globally for all VIPs or individually per VIP.

Global Layer 4 Email Settings

Once configured, these settings apply to all layer 4 VIPs by default.

To configure global email alert settings for layer 4 services:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 Advanced Configuration.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 303

 2. Enter an appropriate email address in the Email Alert Source Address field.

e.g. lb1@loadbalancer.org

3. Enter an appropriate email address in the Email Alert Destination Address field.

e.g. alerts@loadbalancer.org

4. Click Update.

VIP Level Settings

VIP level settings override the global settings.

Once configured, these settings apply to the individual VIP.

To configure VIP level email alerts:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 Virtual Service and click Modify next to the VIP
to be configured.

2. Scroll down to the Fallback Server section.

3. Enter an appropriate email address in the Email Alert Destination Address field.

e.g. alerts@loadbalancer.org

4. Click Update.

You can set the Email Alert Source Address field as explained above if required to configure a
default source address.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 304

Configuring a Smart Host (SMTP relay)
For layer 4 services (and Heartbeat), email alerts are sent from the load balancer directly to the mail server
defined in the destination domain’s DNS MX record by default. Alternatively, a custom smart host (mail relay
server) can be specified. A smart host is an email server through which approved devices can send emails. Where
possible, we recommend that you use a smart host for email alerts as this often helps improve the deliverability
of emails.

To configure a smart host:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Physical - Advanced Configuration.

2. Scroll down to the SMTP Relay section.

3. Specify the FQDN or IP address of the Smart Host.

4. Click Update.

By default the Smart Host is set as the destination email domain’s DNS MX record when the
Email Alert Destination Address is configured - either at the global level or VIP level. It must
either be left at its default setting or a custom smart host must be configured to enable email
alerts to be sent.

Layer 7 services do not use the smart host configured here. For layer 7, an SMTP server/smart
host must be specified in the eMail Server Address field which is accessed using the WebUI
menu option: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 Advanced Configuration.

Layer 7
For layer 7 services, email settings are configured globally for all VIPs.

To configure global email alert settings for layer 7 services:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 Advanced Configuration.

2. Enter an appropriate email address in the eMail Alert From field.

e.g. lb1@loadbalancer.org

3. Enter an appropriate email address in the eMail Alert To field.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 305

 e.g. alerts@loadbalancer.org

4. Enter an appropriate IP address/FQDN in the eMail Server Address field.

e.g. mail.loadbalancer.org

5. Enter an appropriate port in the eMail Server Port field.

e.g. 25

6. Click Update.

Real Server Monitoring & Control using the System Overview

Real Server Monitoring
The System Overview includes a visual display indicating the health status of all Virtual and Real Servers as
shown in the example below:

Clicking on each Virtual Service expands the view so that the associated Real Servers can also be seen:

The various colors used to indicate status are:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 306

 
Green - All Real Servers in the cluster are healthy


Yellow - One or more Real Servers in the cluster has failed or has been taken offline using Halt or Drain


Red - All Real Servers in the cluster have failed


Blue - All Real Servers have been taken offline using Drain or Halt (see below)


Purple/Green - Used to indicate that a particular VIP is used for HTTP to HTTPS redirection

This information is also displayed when clicking the system overview help button:

Real Server Control

The System Overview also enables each Real Server to be taken offline. This can be achieved in two ways:

1. Drain - This option allows all existing connections to complete & close gracefully. It also prevents any new
connections being established.

2. Halt - This option drops all existing connections immediately without waiting. It also prevents any new
connections being established.

The screen shot below shows that RDS2 has been placed in drain mode:

To bring RDS2 back online, click the Online (drain) link. If the server had been halted rather than drained, then the
link would be displayed as Online (Halt).

If a particular Real Server is used in multiple VIPs you’ll be asked if you’d like to apply the

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 307

 offline/online action to all relevant VIPs or only a single VIP. This simplifies taking Real Servers
offline for maintenance purposes.

Halting or draining all Real Servers in a cluster activates the fallback server.

Ordering of VIPs
The display order of configured VIPs can be changed either by clicking on the column heading, or by drag and
drop.

Sort by Column
If VIPs are ordered by a particular column, this is indicated using a single arrow next to the column heading as
shown below:

In the example above, the VIPs are ordered alphanumerically by Virtual Service name in ascending order.

To change the order, click on the required column heading then click save. If you want to reverse the order for a
particular column, click that column heading again.

For example, clicking on the IP column heading orders the VIPs by IP in descending order:

Clicking on the IP column heading again orders the VIPs by IP in ascending order:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 308

Once you’re happy with the ordering, click Save.

Drag & Drop

To order VIPs using drag and drop, simply click the mouse on any part of the VIP:

Then drag it to the required position:

And release it. Once you’ve set the required order, click Save.

Real Server Monitoring & Control using the HAProxy Statistics Report
Real Server Monitoring
The layer 7 Statistics Report shows the status of all layer 7 Virtual Services and Real Servers as shown in the
example below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 309

To access the page, navigate to: Reports > Layer 7 Status - a new tabbed window will be opened.

From v8.8.1, all statistics are automatically refreshed every 30 seconds by default. This can
disabled if preferred or the refresh interval can be changed. To configure these settings, use the
Auto-refresh Stats Page and Auto-refresh Interval options available under Cluster Configuration
> Layer 7 - Advanced Configuration.

Real Server Control

It’s also possible to control layer 7 Real Servers using the HAProxy statistics Report. By default this is not enabled.

To enable Real Server control:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Advanced.

2. Enable (check) the Advanced Stats option.

3. Click Update.

4. Reload HAProxy using the button at the top of screen. With this setting, the HAProxy stats page has the
ability to control the state of Real Servers as shown below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 310

5. Use the checkboxes to select the relevant Real Server(s), then select the required action in the dropdown,
then click Apply.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 311

Chapter 9 - Appliance Clustering for HA
Introduction
Loadbalancer.org appliances can be deployed as single unit or as a clustered pair.

We always recommend deploying a clustered pair to avoid introducing a single point of failure.

Clustered Pair Concepts

When configured as a clustered pair, the appliances work in Active-Passive mode. In this mode the active
appliance (normally the Primary) handles all traffic under normal circumstances. If the active appliance fails, the
passive appliance (normally the Secondary) becomes active and handles all traffic.

Whilst HA clustering can be configured at any time, we generally recommend that the Primary appliance should
be fully configured first and then the Secondary appliance should be added to create the clustered pair. Once this
is done, all load balanced services configured on the Primary are automatically replicated to the Secondary.
Pairing must be performed on the appliance that is to be the Primary appliance.

For Enterprise Azure, the HA pair should be configured first. In Azure, when creating a VIP using
an HA pair, two private IPs must be specified – the first for the VIP when it’s active on the
Primary and the other for the VIP when it’s active on the Secondary. Configuring the HA pair first,
enables both IPs to be specified when the VIP is created.

Primary/Secondary Operation
Pair Communication
To allow the pair to function correctly, the Primary and Secondary must be able to:


Perform an ICMP echo request (ping) to each other


Communicate with each other on TCP port 22 (or the selected custom port if the default SSH port has been
changed)


Communicate with each other on UDP port 6694 (or the selected custom port if the default heartbeat port
has been changed)


Communicate with each other on TCP port 9443 (or the selected custom port if the default WebUI port has
been changed)

For details on setting custom ports for SSH and the WebUI, please refer to Service Socket
Addresses, for details on setting a custom port for heatbeat, please refer to Configuring
Heartbeat.

Heartbeat
By default, heartbeat uses ucast on UDP port 6694 to communicate between the Primary and Secondary
appliances. The link enables the state of each to be monitored by the other and permits a failover to the passive

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 312

appliance if the active appliance should fail. For hardware appliances, it’s possible to configure both ucast and
serial communication if required.

For hardware appliances, if the load balancer pair is located in close proximity, enabling serial
communication in addition to ucast is recommended. Once the serial cable is connected
between the appliances, serial comms can be enabled using the WebUI menu option: Cluster
Configuration > Heartbeat Configuration.

Ping checks to a common node such as the default gateway can also be configured. If the active node loses
access to the ping node, the system will fail-over to the peer. However, if both nodes lose access, no fail-over will
occur.

Primary Secondary Replication

Once the Primary and Secondary are paired, all load balanced services are automatically replicated from Primary
to Secondary. This ensures that should the Primary appliance fail, the Secondary is already configured to run the
same services. Replication of the configured load balanced services from the Primary to the Secondary appliance
occurs over the network using SSH/SCP.

Settings that are NOT Replicated to the Secondary Appliance

Local appliance settings such as hostname and DNS, IP address configuration and time/date settings are not
replicated and must be manually configured on each appliance. The table below lists all settings by WebUI menu
option that are not replicated from the Primary appliance to the Secondary appliance when an HA pair is
configured.

WebUI Main Menu Sub Menu Option Description

Option

Local Configuration Hostname & DNS Hostname and DNS settings

Local Configuration Network Interface Interface IP addresses, bonding configuration and VLANs
Configuration

Local Configuration Routing Default gateways and static routes

Local Configuration System Date & time Time and date related settings

Local Configuration Physical – Advanced Various appliance settings

Configuration

Local Configuration Portal Management Portal management settings

Local Configuration Security Security settings

Local Configuration SNMP Configuration SNMP settings

Local Configuration Graphing Graphing settings

Local Configuration License Key Appliance licensing

Maintenance Backup & Restore Local XML backups

Maintenance Software Updates Appliance software updates

Maintenance Fallback Page Fallback page configuration

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 313

WebUI Main Menu Sub Menu Option Description
Option

Maintenance Firewall Script Firewall (iptables) configuration

Maintenance Firewall Lockdown Appliance management lockdown settings

Wizard

Manually Forcing Appliance Synchronization

If changes are made to the Primary appliance of an HA Pair whilst the Secondary appliance is down, the HA Pair
must be manually re-synchronised once the secondary is back up.

To force Primary to Secondary synchronization:

1. Using the WebUI on the Primary, navigate to: Maintenance > Backup & Restore.

2. Select the Synchronisation tab.

3. Click Synchronize Configuration with peer.

To Create an HA Pair (Add a Secondary)

If you have already run the firewall lockdown wizard on either appliance, you’ll need to ensure
that it is temporarily disabled on both appliances whilst performing the pairing process.

1. Power up a second appliance that will be the Secondary and configure initial network settings - for more
details on initial deployment and network setup, please refer to Chapter 4 - Appliance Fundamentals.

2. Using the WebUI of the Primary appliance, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > High-Availability
Configuration.

3. Specify the IP address and the "loadbalancer" user’s password for the Secondary (peer) appliance as shown
above.

4. Click Add new node.

5. A warning will be displayed indicating that the pairing process will overwrite the new Secondary appliance’s

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 314

 existing configuration, click OK to continue.

6. The pairing process now commences as shown below:

7. Once complete, the following will be displayed under: Cluster Configuration > High Availabuility Configuration
on the Primary appliance:

The following will be displayed under: Cluster Configuration > High Availabuility Configuration on the
Secondary appliance:

8. Now restart heartbeat as prompted in the "Commit changes" message box at the top of the screen.

Clicking the Restart Heartbeat button on the Primary appliance will also automatically

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 315

 restart heartbeat on the Secondary appliance.

To Break an HA Pair (Remove a Secondary)

1. Using the WebUI of the Primary or Secondary appliance, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > High-Availability
Configuration (shows the Primary appliance).

2. To break the pair, click the Break Clustered Pair button.

3. Click OK to confirm you want to proceed.

4. Once the process is complete, the pairing configuration screen will be displayed on both appliances:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 316

 5. To complete the reconfiguration, restart the system services on both appliances as directed in the "Commit
changes" message box.

Notes

1. Load balanced services will be momentarily interrupted as system services are restarted.

2. After the pair is broken, the Secondary appliance will be left configured as a Secondary and any configured
load balanced services will remain.

3. If you later want to use the Secondary as a Primary, use the Cluster Configuration > High Availability
Configuration menu option on the Secondary to setup a new pair. The Secondary will then be re-configured
as a Primary, and the added peer will be configured as a Secondary.

4. If you want to reset the configuration to factory defaults, use the WebUI menu option: Maintenance > Backup
& Restore > Restore > Restore Manufacturer’s Defaults.

Promoting a Secondary to Primary

This is useful if the Primary appliance fails and you’d like to change the now active Secondary to be a Primary,
and then add the repaired/replaced Primary back as a Secondary appliance.

To promote a Secondary appliance to a Primary:

1. Using the WebUI of the Secondary appliance, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > High-Availability
Configuration.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 317

 2. Click Promote.

3. Click OK to confirm you want to proceed.

If the Primary is still up and operational, it will not be possible to promote the Secondary.

4. Once complete, the appliance will be configured as a Primary.

Please refer to Chapter 14 - Backup & Restore and Disaster Recovery for more details on how to
recover from various appliance failure scenarios.

Configuring Heartbeat
The default heartbeat settings are appropriate in most cases, but can be changed if required.

To configure heartbeat:

1. Using the WebUI of the Primary appliance, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Heartbeat Configuration.

The screen shot below shows the configuration screen for a hardware appliance. The virtual
appliance does not have the serial option checkbox in the communications method section.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 318

Communication Method
Serial - Enable or disable heartbeat Primary/Secondary communication over the serial port (hardware appliances
only). Ucast is the default heartbeat communication method. However, if the load balancer pair is located in close
proximity, enabling serial communication in addition to ucast is recommended. This method requires a null
modem cable (supplied with the appliance) to be connected to the serial port of each appliance.

Console access via the serial port is not supported. The serial port can only be used for
heartbeat communication between appliances.

UDP Unicast - Enable or disable unicast heartbeat Primary/Secondary communication. This is the default method
of heartbeat communication and uses unicast UDP between Primary and Secondary, with a destination port
specified by the UDP Port for broadcast & unicast parameter. When unicast is enabled, the load balancer
determines the correct interface and IP addresses to use based upon the configured Secondary IP address.

UDP Broadcast (Deprecated) - Enable or disable broadcast heartbeat Primary/Secondary communication, and
choose the interface. This option is deprecated - please migrate to Unicast. This method of heartbeat
communication uses broadcast UDP between Primary and Secondary, with a destination port specified by the
UDP Port for broadcast & unicast parameter. Care must be taken when using broadcast on multiple pairs of load

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 319

balancers in the same network. Each high- availability pair must operate on a different UDP port if they are not to
interfere with each other. If heartbeat communication over the network is required, it is recommended that
unicast be used in preference to broadcast.

UDP Port for unicast & broadcast - The UDP port number used by heartbeat for network communication over
unicast or broadcast. By default, heartbeat uses UDP port 6694 for unicast or broadcast communication. If you
have multiple load balancer pairs on the same subnet, and wish to use broadcast, you will need to set each pair to
a different UDP port.

Peer Failure Detection

Keep-alive message interval - Specify the number of seconds between keepalive pings. The Keepalive setting
must be less than the warntime and deadtime.

Dead peer timer - The number of seconds communication can fail before a fail over is performed. A very low
setting of deadtime could cause unexpected failovers.

Warning timer - If communication fails for this length of time write a warning to the logs. This is useful for tuning
your deadtime without causing failovers in production.

Routing Failure Detection

Test IP address - Specify one or more mutually accessible IP address to test network availability. A good ping
node to specify is the IP address of a router that both the Primary and Secondary node can access. If the active
node loses access to the ping node, the system will fail-over to the peer. However, if both nodes lose access, no
fail-over will occur. Multiple IP addresses may be given, separated by spaces or commas. In this case, all
addresses must be reachable for the routing test to pass.

Test time-out - Specify the time-out, in seconds, for the routing test. If a response is not received from the test
address within the time-out period, the route to that host will be considered dead.

Email Alerts
Email Alert Destination Address - Specify the email address where to send heartbeat alerts. In the event of
failover or failback the email address specified will receive an alert.

Email Alert Source Address - Specify the email address from where to send heartbeat alerts. In the event of
failover failback the email specified will send an alert.

Both Primary and Secondary appliances will send an email in the event of a failover or failback.

Fail-back Settings
Automatic Fail-back - Enable/disable auto-failback. This option controls the cluster behavior when the Primary
returns to service after a failure. With Automatic Fail-back enabled, the Primary will automatically return to active
status, taking back the floating IP addresses from the Secondary. With Automatic Fail- back disabled, the
Secondary will remain active and will retain the floating IP addresses. Fail-over back to the Primary must then be
controlled manually.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 320

 Automatic Fail-back is disabled by default. Manual intervention is required to force the repaired
Primary to become active and the Secondary appliance to return to passive mode. For more
information on controlling failback, please refer to Forcing Primary/Secondary Failover &
Failback.

Configuring a Smart Host (SMTP relay)

For Heartbeat (and layer 4 services), email alerts are sent from the load balancer directly to the mail server
defined in the destination domain’s DNS MX record by default. Alternatively, a custom smart host (mail relay
server) can be specified. A smart host is an email server through which approved devices can send emails. Where
possible, we recommend that you use a smart host for email alerts as this often helps improve the deliverability
of emails.

To configure a Smart Host:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Physical - Advanced Configuration.

2. Scroll down to the SMTP Relay section.

3. Specify the FQDN or IP address of the Smart Host.

4. Click Update.

By default the Smart Host is set as the destination email domain’s DNS MX record when the
Email Alert Destination Address is configured. It must either be left at its default setting or a
custom smart host must be configured to enable email alerts to be sent.

Connection State & Persistence Table Replication

Layer 4 VIPs
If you want the current connection state and persistence table to be available when the active appliance (typically
the Primary) fails over to the passive appliance (typically the Secondary), then you can start the synchronization
daemons on both appliances to replicate this data in real time as detailed below.

First, login to the Primary appliance as "root" and run the following commands:

ipvsadm --start-daemon master

ipvsadm --start-daemon backup

Next, login to the Secondary appliance as "root" and run the following commands:

ipvsadm --start-daemon master

ipvsadm --start-daemon backup

"root" user console and SSH password access are disabled by default. These options can be
enabled using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration > Security. You’ll need to Set
Appliance Security Mode to Custom, configure the required option(s) and click Update.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 321

To ensure that these sync daemons are started on each reboot, put these commands in the file
/etc/rc.d/rc.firewall. This can be done using the WebUI menu option: Maintenance > Firewall Script. Make sure
that the full path is specified in the firewall script, i.e.

/usr/local/sbin/ipvsadm --start-daemon master

/usr/local/sbin/ipvsadm --start-daemon backup

After a few seconds you can confirm that it is working by viewing the connections report on each appliance which
is available in the WebUI by navigating to: Reports > Layer 4 Current Connections as shown in the following
examples:

The active appliance:

The passive appliance:

You can can also run the following command at the command line:

ipvsadm -Lc

As shown, the state of all current connections as well as the persistence entries (i.e. those in state "NONE") are
replicated to the passive device. This enables current connections to continue through the passive appliance
should the active appliance fail.

To stop the replication, run the following commands on both appliances:

ipvsadm --stop-daemon master

ipvsadm --stop-daemon backup

Setting this option can generate a high level traffic between the Primary and Secondary
appliances.

Once configured, you’ll see multicast UDP traffic from the active appliance to multicast IP

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 322

 address 224.0.0.81 on port 8848.

Layer 7 VIPs
If you want the current persistence tables to be available when the active appliance (typically the Primary) fails
over to the passive appliance (typically the Secondary), then persistence table replication must be enabled.
Enabling this option will replicate all persistence tables for layer 7 VIPs that use stick table based persistence.

To enable persistence state table replication:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Advanced Configuration.

2. Enable the Persistence Table Replication.

3. Click Update.

4. Now reload HAProxy using the Reload button in the "Commit changes" message box at the top of the
screen.

Clustered Pair Diagnostics

Heartbeat State Diagnostics
The status of the appliance is shown at the top of the screen. For a HA pair, the normal status for the Primary
appliance is shown below:

This shows that:


This is the Primary appliance and it’s currently active


The heartbeat link between the Primary & Secondary is up and working correctly

If no VIPs are configured, the status on the Primary & Secondary appear as follows:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 323

Other possible states:

this is a Primary appliance, it’s active, no

Secondary appliance has been configured.

this is a Primary appliance, it’s active, a

Secondary has been configured but the link to the
Secondary is down.

Action: check & verify the heartbeat configuration

& if required restart heartbeat on both appliances.

this is a Secondary appliance, it’s active (a failover

from the Primary has occurred) and the heartbeat
link to the Primary has been established.

this is a Primary appliance, a Secondary appliance

has been configured, but the link is down (e.g.
serial cable unplugged) so the state cannot be
determined. In this case the floating IPs may be
active on both appliances.

Action: check & verify the heartbeat configuration,

check the serial cable (if applicable), check
heartbeat logs & if required restart heartbeat on
both appliances.

Split Brain Scenarios

Split brain can occur if heartbeat on the Primary/Secondary clustered pair can no longer communicate with one
another. In this case both appliances will assume that the other appliance is down and will bring up the Virtual
Services. The system status will look similar to the following on both appliances:

When heartbeat communication is re-established, heartbeat will automatically attempt to resolve the split brain
and ensure that only one of the appliances is active. If heartbeat fails to do this automatically, the system status
will show as follows on both appliances:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 324

The Take over button can then be used on either Primary or Secondary to attempt to force that appliance to
become active.

Forcing Primary/Secondary Failover & Failback

Under normal conditions, the Primary is the active appliance and the Secondary is the passive appliance. If
required, a failover can be triggered so the Secondary becomes active and the Primary passive. This can be
acheived in 3 ways as detailed below. Once the Secondary is active, the same methods can be used on the
Primary to force failback.

Method 1 - Using the Take over button on the Secondary

1. Using the WebUI on the Secondary, select: System Overview.

2. Click [Advanced] in the blue message box.

3. Click Take Over.

Method 2 - Using the Make Active button on the Secondary

1. Using the WebUI on the Secondary, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > High Availability Configuration.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 325

 2. Click Make Active.

Method 3 - Using the hb_takeover command

Run the following command on the Secondary appliance:

/usr/local/sbin/hb_takeover.php all

This command can either be run on the console, via an SSH session or via the WebUI menu
option: Local Configuration > Execute shell command.

The "Execute Shell Command" menu option is disabled by default. This can be enabled using the
WebUI option: Local Configuration > Security. Set Appliance Security Mode to Custom then click
Update.

"root" user console and SSH password access are disabled by default. These options can be
enabled using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration > Security. You’ll need to Set
Appliance Security Mode to Custom, configure the required option(s) and click Update.

Testing & Verifying Primary/Secondary Replication & Failover

Make sure you verify that Primary/Secondary failover occurs correctly before going live. This
proves the resilience of the HA cluster and makes you aware of the failover/failback process.

When testing appliance fail-over, if heartbeat is configured to use only the serial link, don’t just
pull the serial cable out. This will not cause a fail-over but will cause a split brain (i.e. both
appliances active) to occur. Testing must be done by pulling both the network and serial cable (if
used) as detailed below.

STEP 1 - Verify Basic Settings for the Clustered Pair

1. On the Primary appliance verify that the system status appears as follows:

2. On the Secondary appliance verify that the system status appears as follows:

STEP 2 - Verify Replication

1. Verify that the load balanced services have been replicated to the Secondary appliance, this can be done by
using either the View Configuration or Edit Configuration menus to validate that the same Virtual & Real
Servers exist on the Secondary as on the Primary.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 326

STEP 3 - Verify Failover to the Secondary (Using the Take Over Button)

1. On the Secondary appliance, click the [Advanced] option in the information box, then click the Take Over
button.

2. Verify that the Secondary’s status changes to Active:

3. Verify that the Primary’s status changes to Passive:

4. Using the WebUI menu option: View Configuration > Network Configuration, verify that the floating IPs
associated with the VIPs have been brought up on the Secondary appliance and brought down on the
Primary.

e.g. the partial screen shot below from the View Network Configuration screen on the Secondary appliance
shows the status of eth0:

This shows the secondary IP address 192.168.111.72 (the VIP address) is up and therefore the Secondary
has become active as intended.

STEP 4 - Verify Fail-back to the Primary (Using the Take Over Button)

1. On the Primary appliance, click the [Advanced] option in the information box, then click the Take Over
button.

2. Verify that the Primary’s status has changed to Active:

3. Verify that the Secondary’s status has changed to Passive:

4. Also, using the WebUI menu option: View Configuration > Network Configuration, verify that the floating IPs
associated with the VIPs have been brought up on the Primary appliance and brought down on the
Secondary (see STEP 3 above for more details).

STEP 5 - Verify Failover to the Secondary (when Removing the Network and Serial Cables from the Primary)

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 327

 1. Remove the network cable and serial cable (if applicable) from the Primary.

2. Verify that the Secondary’s status has changed as follows:

This indicates that the Secondary is unable to communicate with the Primary. This means that either the
Primary is down, or is still up but is unreachable. In both cases the Secondary will become active.

3. On the Secondary using the WebUI menu option: View Configuration > Network Configuration, verify that the
floating IPs associated with the VIPs have been brought up (see STEP 3 above for more details).

STEP 6 - Verify Normal Operation Resumes (when Reconnecting the Network & Serial cables to the Primary)

1. Reconnect the cables to the Primary.

2. Verify that the Primary’s status is set to Active:

3. Verify that the Secondary has changed to Passive:

4. Also, using the WebUI menu option: View Configuration > Network Configuration, verify that the floating IPs
associated with the VIPs have been brought up on the Primary appliance and down on the Secondary.

If the power cable on the Primary is removed rather than disconnecting the network cable and
serial cable (if applicable), when the Primary is brought back online it assumes the passive role
and the Secondary remains active. The Take over button on the Primary can then be used to
make the Primary active. If Auto Fail-Back is enabled, the Primary automatically assumes the
active role when brought back online.

Heartbeat Log
The log provides a useful insight into the health of an HA pair and can be viewed using the WebUI menu option:
Logs > Heartbeat. The log can be searched using the search box at the top of the screen or can be downloaded
for external analysis. The log can be refreshed using the Check Status button. The log file is located here:
/var/log/ha.log.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 328

Late Heartbeats
Late Heartbeats are caused when the heartbeat packets either arrive at the other appliance later than the Warning
Timer configured in the WebUI under Cluster Configuration > Heartbeat Configuration or not at all.

The following log snippet shows three entries reporting a late heartbeat:

This suggests that there is either high latency or packet loss and is the first signs of issues that can lead to a split
brain.

Troubleshooting late Heartbeats


Verify that the system load average is acceptable - An overloaded system can be struggling to send or
receive messages.


Check if the network card is saturated - An overloaded NIC can add latency.

For more information, please refer to Resource Utilization Graphs.


Confirm that there are no bottlenecks or packet loss further down the wire - Such as links between data
centres where there may be traffic congestion/contention.


Once a possible cause has been identified and addressed, monitor the situation to make sure the issue has
been resolved.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 329

Chapter 10 - Configuration Examples
Introduction
This section presents a number of simple examples that illustrate how the appliance can be configured.

Initial Network Settings & WebUI Access

The examples below assume that the Network Setup Wizard has already been run and an appropriate IP address
and network mask have been assigned to eth0. For details on how to access the WebUI, please refer to
Accessing the WebUI.

Example 1 - One-Arm DR Mode (Single Appliance)

This web server example uses a DR mode Virtual Service (VIP) with two Real Servers (RIPs). DR mode offers the
highest possible performance because return traffic passes directly from the Real Servers to the client bypassing
the load balancer. For more information, please refer to Layer 4 DR Mode.

Configuration Overview

Verify Network Settings - A single Interface is required and was configured during the Network Setup
Wizard. This can be verified using the WebUI.


Configure the Virtual Service (VIP) - The Virtual Service specifies the IP address and port presented to
clients, the forwarding method to use - in this example layer 4 DR Mode and other settings such as health
checks and timeouts.


Configure the Real Servers (RIPs) - The Real Servers are the load balanced backend servers.


Configure the Real Backend Servers for DR Mode - For DR mode to work correctly, the "ARP Problem" must
be solved on each Real Server.

Verify Network Settings

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Network Interface Configuration.

2. Scroll down to the IP Address Assignment section.

3. Verify that the IP address & subnet mask assigned during the Network Setup Wizard are configured, e.g.
192.168.2.120/24.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 330

 Typically eth0 is used for single-arm configurations although this is not mandatory.

Configure the Virtual Service (VIP)

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Virtual Services and click Add a new Virtual
Service.

2. Enter a suitable Label (name) for the VIP, e.g. ExVIP1.

3. Enter a valid IP address, e.g. 192.168.2.150.

4. Enter a valid port, e.g. 80.

5. Ensure that the Protocol is set to TCP.

6. Ensure that the Forwarding Method is set to Direct Routing.

7. Click Update.

Configure the Real Servers (RIPs)

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Real Servers and click Add a new Real Server
next to the Virtual Service created above.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 331

 2. Enter a suitable Label (name) for the RIP, e.g. RIP1.

3. Enter a valid IP address, e.g. 192.168.2.151.

There is no option to specify a Real Server port because port redirection is not possible
when using DR mode. Traffic will be passed to the Real Servers on the same port that it
was received on at the Virtual Service.

4. The weight can be left at the default value of 100. This is a relative number, so if all Real Servers have the
same value each server will receive the same amount of traffic.

5. Leave Minimum Connections & Maximum Connections set to 0, this means unrestricted.

6. Click Update.

7. Now repeat these steps to add the second Real Server.

Configure the Real Backend Servers for DR Mode

The steps required to solve the ARP problem depend on the particular Real Server OS used. For more information
on the "ARP Problem" and the configuration requirements for various operating systems, please refer to DR Mode
Considerations.

Failure to correctly configure the Real Servers to handle the "ARP Problem" is the most common
issue when using DR mode.

Basic Testing & Verification

Once configured, a few quick checks can be performed to verify the setup:

1. Using the System Overview in the WebUI, verify that the VIP & RIPs are shown as active (green).

2. Using a browser, navigate to the VIP address, i.e. http://192.168.2.150 to verify that you can reach the Real
Servers via the Virtual Service.

3. Check Reports > Layer 4 Current Connections to ensure that client connections are reported in state
"ESTABLISHED". If connections are in state "SYN_RECV", this normally indicates that the "ARP Problem" on
the Real Servers has not been solved.

Example 2 - Two-Arm NAT Mode (Clustered Pair)

This web server example uses a layer 4 NAT mode Virtual Service (VIP) with two Real Servers (RIPs). NAT mode
is not as fast as DR mode, but Real Server configuration is simpler since NAT mode only requires that the default
gateway on each Real Server is set to be the load balancer. For more information, please refer to Layer 4 NAT
Mode.

This example also demonstrates how to configure a clustered pair using two appliances.

Using two appliances configured as a clustered pair is Loadbalancer.org’s recommended

configuration and ensures that no single point of failure is introduced.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 332

 When using a clustered pair with NAT mode, a floating IP address should be used as the default
gateway. This allows the gateway to move between appliances should a failover occur.

Configuration Overview

Configure the Primary’s Network Settings - two interfaces are required, in this example eth0 which was
configured during the network setup wizard is used as the internal (Real Server) interface and eth1 is used
as the external (client) interface.


Configure the Secondary’s Network Settings - two interfaces are required, in this example eth0 which was
configured during the network setup wizard is used as the internal (Real Server) interface and eth1 is used
as the external (client) interface.

Alternatively, two VLANs could be created on a single adapter.


Configure the Virtual Service (VIP) using the Primary’s WebUI - The Virtual Service specifies the IP address
and port presented to clients, the forwarding method to use - in this example layer 4 NAT Mode and other
settings such as health checks and timeouts.


Configure the Real Servers (RIPs) using the Primary’s WebUI - The Real Servers are the load balanced
backend servers.


Create the HA Clustered Pair using the Primary’s WebUI - Pair the Primary & Secondary appliances to
create an HA clustered pair.


Configure the Real Backend Servers for NAT Mode - For NAT mode to work correctly, the default gateway
on each Real Server must be set to be an IP on the load balancer.

Configure the Primary’s Network Settings

1. Using the WebUI on the Primary, navigate to: Local Configuration > Network Interface Configuration.

2. Scroll down to the IP Address Assignment section.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 333

 3. The IP address & subnet mask will already be set for eth0, this was configured during the Network Setup.

4. Specify an IP address & mask for eth1, e.g. 192.168.20.120/24.

Make sure that both interfaces are connected to the relevant switch.

5. Click Configure Interfaces.

Configure the Secondary’s Network Settings

1. Using the WebUI on the Secondary, navigate to: Local Configuration > Network Interface Configuration.

2. The IP address & subnet mask will already be set for eth0, this was configured during the Network Setup.

3. Specify an IP address & mask for eth1, e.g. 192.168.20.121/24.

Make sure that both interfaces are connected to the relevant switch.

4. Click Configure Interfaces.

Configure the Virtual Service (VIP) using the Primary’s WebUI

1. Using the WebUI of the Primary appliance, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Virtual Services and
click Add a new Virtual Service.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 334

 2. Enter a suitable label (name) for the VIP, e.g. ExVIP2.

3. Enter a valid IP address, e.g. 192.168.20.150.

4. Enter a valid port, e.g. 80.

5. Set the Forwarding Method to NAT.

6. Click Update.

Configure the Real Servers (RIPs) using the Primary’s WebUI

Add the Real Servers, i.e. the web servers. This should be done on the Primary appliance.

1. Using the WebUI of the Primary appliance, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Real Servers and
click Add a new Real Server.

2. Enter a suitable Label (name) for the RIP, e.g. RIP1.

3. Enter a valid IP address, e.g. 192.168.2.151.

4. Enter a valid port, e.g. 80.

5. The weight can be left at the default value of 100. This is a relative number, so if all Real Servers have the

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 335

 same value each server will receive the same amount of traffic.

6. Leave Minimum Connections & Maximum Connections set to 0, this means unrestricted.

7. Click Update.

8. Now repeat these steps to add the second Real Server.

Create the HA Clustered Pair using the Primary’s WebUI

This will configure the HA Pair and also replicate the Virtual Service and Real Servers to the Secondary appliance.
The Secondary appliance will then be kept in-sync with the Primary. This must be performed on the Primary
appliance.

1. Using the WebUI of the Primary appliance, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > High Availability
Configuration

2. Leave the Local IP address set as the address assigned to eth0, in this case 192.168.2.120.

3. Specify the IP address of new peer (i.e. the Secondary appliance), in this case 192.168.2.121.

4. Specify the "loadbalancer" user’s password for the Secondary appliance.

5. Click Add new node.

6. A warning will be displayed indicating that the pairing process will overwrite the new Secondary appliance’s
existing configuration, click OK to continue.

7. The pairing process will start as shown below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 336

 8. Once completed successfully, the following will be shown:

9. To finalize the configuration, click Restart Heartbeat in the "Commit changes" message box at the top of the
screen.

Review Heartbeat Settings

1. Using the WebUI on the Primary appliance, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Heartbeat Configuration.

2. The default Heartbeat settings are normally fine for most situations. For details of all heartbeat options,
please refer to Configuring Heartbeat.

Checking the Status

A successfully configured clustered pair will display the following status on the Primary appliance:

And the followong status on the Secondary appliance:

Verify Replication to the Secondary

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 337

To verify that the new VIP & RIPs have been replicated correctly, open the WebUI on the Secondary appliance and
navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Virtual Services and Cluster Configuration > Layer 4 - Real Servers
and verify that the VIPs and RIPs have been replicated successfully and their configuration is the same as on the
Primary appliance.

Configure the Real Backend Servers for NAT Mode

When using NAT mode, each Real Server’s default gateway must be set to be an IP address on the load balancer.
For a clustered pair, a floating IP address must be used. This allows the gatway address to move to the
Secondary should a failover occur. The floating IP address must be added on the Primary appliance.

1. Using the WebUI of the Primary appliance, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Floating IPs.

1. Specify the IP address you’d like to use for the default gateway, e.g. 192.168.2.254.

2. Click Add Floating IP.

Now configure the default gateway on each Real Server to use this address.

Basic Testing & Verification

A few quick checks can be performed to verify the configuration:

1. On the Primary, use System Overview to check that the VIP & RIPs are shown as active (green).

2. Using a browser, navigate to the VIP address, i.e. http://192.168.2.150 to verify that you can reach the Real
Servers via the Virtual Service.

3. On the Primary, check Reports > Layer 4 Current Connections to ensure that client connections are reported
in state "ESTABLISHED". If not and instead "SYN-RECV" is shown, double-check that you have set the default
gateway on all Real Servers to be the floating IP address on the load balancer.

4. On

Example 3 - One-Arm SNAT Mode & SSL Termination (Single Appliance)

In this example, STunnel is used to terminate SSL on the load balancer. STunnel passes the unencrypted HTTP
traffic to an HAProxy VIP which then load balances the traffic between two Real Servers. HAProxy does not offer
the raw throughput of layer 4, but is still a high performance solution.

In this example it’s assumed that the Real Server application has not been designed to track & share session
details between Real Servers. Therefore, cookie based persistence is enabled on the load balancer to ensure that
clients connect to the same Real Server on each subsequent connection (within the persistence timeout window).
If persistence is not configured, new connections may get distributed to a different Real Server which may break
the application.

Layer 7 SNAT mode does not require any mode specific changes to the Real Servers.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 338

 SSL termination on the load balancer can be very CPU intensive. In most cases, for a scalable
solution, terminating SSL on the Real Servers is the best option.

Configuration Overview

Verify Network Settings - A single Interface is required and was configured during the Network Setup
Wizard. This can be verified using the WebUI.


Configure the Virtual Service (VIP) - The Virtual Service specifies the IP address and port presented to
clients, the forwarding method to use - in this example layer 4 DR Mode and other settings such as health
checks and timeouts.


Configure the Real Servers (RIPs) - The Real Servers are the load balanced backend servers.


Configure SSL Termination - STunnel is used by default for SSL terminations.

Verify Network Settings

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Network Interface Configuration.

2. Specify the IP address & mask for eth0 - normally eth0 is used for one-arm configurations although this is
not mandatory, e.g. 192.168.2.120/24.

3. Click Configure Interfaces.

4. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > DNS & Hostname.

5. Specify the DNS server(s).

6. Click Update.

7. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Routing.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 339

 8. Specify the Default Gateway, e.g. 192.168.2.254.

9. Click Configure Routing.

Configure the Virtual Service (VIP)

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Virtual Services and click Add a new Virtual
Service.

2. Enter a suitable Label (name) for the VIP, e.g. ExVIP3.

3. Enter a valid IP address, e.g. 192.168.2.150.

4. Enter a valid port, e.g. 80.

5. Leave Layer 7 Protocol set to HTTP Mode.

6. Click Update.

Configure the Real Servers (RIPs)

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Real Servers and click Add a new Real Server.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 340

 2. Enter a suitable Label (name) for the RIP, e.g. RIP1.

3. Enter a valid IP address, e.g. 192.168.2.151.

4. Enter a valid port, e.g. 80.

5. The Weight defaults to 100 making Real Servers active as soon as HAProxy is restarted.

6. Click Update.

7. Now repeat these steps to add the second Real Server.

8. Reload HAProxy to apply the new settings using the link provided in the "Commit changes" message box at
the top of the screen.

Configure SSL Termination

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Cluster Configuration > SSL Termination and click Add a new Virtual Service.

2. Set Associated Virtual Service to the Layer 7 VIP created earlier, e.g. ExVIP3.

The label will be automatically set to SSL-ExVIP3. This can be edited if required.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 341

 3. Leave Virtual Service Port set to 443.

4. Leave the other settings at their default values.

5. Click Update.

6. Reload STunnel and HAProxy to apply the new settings using the buttons in "Commit changes" message
box.

When creating the SSL Virtual Service, by default a self-signed certificate is used. This is ideal for
testing but needs to be replaced for live deployments. Certificates can be added using the
WebUI option: Cluster Configuration > SSL Certificate. Once added, these will appear in the SSL
Certificate dropdown when creating the SSL VIP.

For more information on configuring SSL termination, please refer to SSL Termination.

Basic Testing & Verification

A few quick checks can be performed to verify the configuration:

1. Using System Overview, verify that the VIP & RIP are shown as active (green).

2. Using a browser, navigate to the VIP address, i.e. http://192.168.2.150 to verify that you can reach the Real
Servers via the Virtual Service using HTTP.

3. Using a browser, navigate to the STunnel SSL VIP address, i.e. https://192.168.2.150 to verify that you can
reach the Real Servers via the Virtual Service using HTTPS.

Example 4 - Load Balancing FTP

This section provides guidance on how FTP can be load balanced using both layer 4 and layer 7 Virtual Services.

FTP is a multi-port service in both active and passive modes:

Active 20 (Data), 21 (Command)

Passive 21 (Command), High Port (Data)

Layer 4
To load balance FTP at layer 4, configure a layer 4 VIP and set the Ports field to 21. The load balancer will then
automaticaly configure the Virtual Service with the additional ports that are required for both active and passive
mode. The full port list is:

Port 20 - active mode data channel

Port 21 - active and passive mode command channel
ports 1024 to 65535 - passive mode data channel

The full passive port range is configured to allow for any passive range on the FTP servers.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 342

Layer 7
Active Mode
In active mode, the FTP server connects back to the client to establish the data channel, so it must be aware of
the client’s IP address. To achieve this, TProxy must be enabled to make the load balancer transparent at layer 7.
For this to work, two subnets must be used - the Virtual Service in one subnet and Real Servers (i.e. the FTP
servers) in the other and the default gateway on each FTP server must be the load balancer. For more details on
TProxy, please refer to Transparency at Layer 7.

Also, to ensure that the client receives a connection from the same address that it established the control
connection to, an iptables SNAT rule for each FTP server must be configured in the load balancer’s firewall script.
The format of the required rule is as follows:

iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -p tcp -s <FTP-Server-IP> -j SNAT --to-source <FTP-VIP>

e.g.

iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -p tcp -s 10.20.1.1 -j SNAT --to-source 192.168.2.180

Make sure you add one rule for each FTP server in the cluster.

These rules can be added to the firewall script using the WebUI menu option: Maintenance >
Firewall Script.

Active Mode - Key Points:


Use separate subnets for the VIP & RIPs


Enable TProxy for the layer 7 VIP


Set the default gateway on the FTP servers to be an IP on the load balancer (For an HA pair, this should be a
floating IP to permit failover to the Secondary appliance)


The VIP must be configured to listen on port 21


Ensure the Layer 7 Protocol is set to TCP Mode


Increase the default client & server HAProxy timeouts to 5 minutes


Add the SNAT firewall rules - one for each FTP server

Windows Example
1. Create a L7 VIP with the following settings. Change the name and IP address as required:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 343

2. Click Update to create the VIP.

3. Click Modify next to the newly created VIP.

4. Scroll down to the Other section and click [Advanced].

5. Enable (check) the Timeout checkbox then set both Client Timeout and Server Timeout to 5m (5 minutes).

6. Define the FTP servers as RIPs as illustrated below (these must be on a different subnet to the VIP to enable
TProxy to work correctly):

7. Enable TProxy for the VIP - modify the VIP, scroll down to the Other section, click [Advanced] and enable
(check) Transparent Proxy.

8. Now reload HAProxy using the Reload button in the "Commit changes" message box at the top of the
screen.

9. Define a SNAT rule for each FTP server using the WebUI menu option: Maintenance > Firewall Script.

e.g.

iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -p tcp -s 10.10.1.1 -j SNAT --to-source 192.168.2.150

iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -p tcp -s 10.10.1.2 -j SNAT --to-source 192.168.2.150

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 344

 10. Configure the default gateway on each FTP server to be the load balancer. For an HAP pair this should be a
floating IP address to allow it to float (move) between the Primary & Secondary appliance. This can be added
using the WebUI menu option: Cluster Configuration > Floating IPs.

11. Active FTP clients should now be able to connect to the VIP address (192.168.2.150) and view the directory
listing successfully.

Passive Mode
In passive mode all connections are initiated by the client. The server passes the client a port to use for the
inbound data connection. By default, FTP servers can use a wide range of ports for the inbound connection and
it’s often useful to limit this range. For more information on configuring passive mode for a range of OSs, please
refer to Configuring FTP Passive Mode Port Range.

Passive Mode - Key Points:


It’s sensible to use a controlled passive port range, this can be configured on the FTP server


Configure the VIP to listen on port 21 and also the same passive range configured on the FTP servers, e.g.
50000-50100


Configure the RIPs without specifying a port


Ensure the Layer 7 Protocol is set to TCP Mode


Increase the default client & server HAProxy timeouts to 5 minutes


If transparency is required (for passive mode this is optional), enable TProxy. To enable TProxy, modify the
VIP, scroll down to the Other section, click [Advanced] and enable (check) Transparent Proxy.

If TProxy is enabled, certain topology requirments must be met. Also the default gateway
on each FTP server must be set to be an IP on the load balancer. For an HA pair, this
should be a floating IP to allow failover to the Secondary appliance. For More information
on using TProxy, please refer to Transparency at Layer 7.


Set the Client Timeout & Real Server Timeout to 5m (i.e. 5 minutes)


Set the Persistence Mode to Source IP


To ensure that the correct address is passed back to the client, configure the external address on each FTP
server to be the VIP address.


for Windows 2008 R2 & later use the External IP address of Firewall field


for Linux vsftpd use the directive: pasv_address=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx


for Linux ProFTPd use the directive: MasqueradeAddress=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

Windows Example
1. Create a layer VIP with the following settings. Change the name, IP address & passive port range as required:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 345

2. Configure the VIP to listen on both the control port (21) and passive data range (e.g. 50000-50100) as
shown.

3. Click Update to create the VIP.

4. Click Modify next to the newly created VIP.

5. Scroll down to the Other section and click [Advanced].

6. Enable (check) the Timeout checkbox then set both Client Timeout and Server Timeout to 5m (5 minutes).

7. Define the FTP servers as RIPs leaving the port field blank as illustrated below:

8. Now reload HAProxy using the Reload button in the "Commit changes" message box at the top of the
screen.

9. On each FTP server, open IIS Manager and double click the FTP Firewall Support icon. Ensure that the same
passive port range is specified and set the External IP Address of Firewall to be the same as the Virtual
Service (VIP) address as shown in the example below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 346

 This ensures that the VIP address is passed back to the client to use for the subsequent
inbound connection.

10. If TProxy is enabled, make sure the gateway of each FTP server is set to be an IP on the load balancer. For
an HA pair, this should be a floating IP to permit failover to the Secondary appliance.

11. Now restart both IIS and the Microsoft FTP Service on each FTP server or reboot each server.

12. Passive FTP clients should now be able to connect to the VIP address (192.168.2.180) and view the
directory listing successfully.

Configuring FTP Passive Mode Port Range

Limiting passive ports allows your firewall to be more tightly locked down.

For Windows 2008 R2 & Later

As mentioned in the example above, the IIS Management console can be used to configure the passive port range
for Windows.

Specify a suitable port range, in the example below this is 50000-50100.

For Linux

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 347


For vsftpd, the following line can be added to the vsftpd.conf file to limit the port range:

pasv_max_port - max is 65535

pasv_min_port - min is 1024


For proftpd, the following line can be added to the proftpd.conf file to limit the port range:

PassivePorts 50000 - 50100


For pureftpd, the following startup switch can be used:

-p --passiveportrange <min port:max port>

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 348

Chapter 11 - Diagnostics & Troubleshooting
Don’t hesitate to contact support@loadbalancer.org if you’re experiencing any issues or need
assistance configuring your appliance.

The Appliance
If your appliance is exhibiting performance issues or you’re having administrative related problems, the resource
utilization Graphs, administration log and the Apache logs may offer further insight.

Resource Utilization
The graphs in the System Overview can be used to give a quick overview of appliance resource utilization. By
default, the system Overview includes graphs for Network Bandwidth, System Load Average and Memory Usage.
For more information, please refer to Resource Utilization Graphs.

Administration Log
The appliance maintains a log of all administration tasks and all notificatons. The log can be viewed using the
WebUI menu option: Logs > Load Balancer. The log can be searched using the search box at the top of the screen
or can be downloaded for external analysis. The log can be refreshed using the Check Status button. The log file
is located here: /var/log/lbadmin.log.

Apache Logs
Apache is used to run the WebUI. The following log files may be useful when diagnosing WebUI related issues:

Apache Access Log

This log can be viewed using the WebUI menu option: Logs > Apache. The log can be searched using the search
box at the top of the screen or can be downloaded for external analysis. The log can be refreshed using the Check
Status button. The log file is located here: /var/log/httpd/user_access.log.

Apache Error Log

This log can be viewed using the WebUI menu option: Logs > Apache Error. The log can be searched using the
search box at the top of the screen or can be downloaded for external analysis. The log can be refreshed using
the Check Status button. The log file is located here: /var/log/httpd/error.log.

Layer 4 & Layer 7 Virtual Services

Virtual services may not function as expected for a variety of reasons. This section suggests various diagnostic
methods that can help identify problems and also looks at potential configuration issues that could be the cause.

Checking Service State using the System Overview

The system overview can be used to quickly check the state of layer 4 and layer 7 Virtual Services and their
associated Real Servers.

for more information, please also refer to Real Server Monitoring & Control using the System
Overview.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 349

The first screenshot shows that the Virtual Service Web-Cluster is healthy and that all associated Real Servers are
up.

The second screenshot shows that the Virtual Service is now colored yellow and marked with an exclaimation
mark indicating that one or more of the associated Real Servers is not available. The colored tab and the arrow on
the left show the current status of each Real Server.

In the example above:


Web-Cluster is yellow indicating that one or more of the Real Servers in the cluster is down - either due to a
failed health check or because it’s been manually taken offline (either drained or halted)


Web1 is green, this indicates that it’s passing it’s health check


Web2 is blue, this indicates that it has been either Halted or Drained, in this example Halt has been used as
indicated by Online (Halt) being displayed. If it had been drained it would show as Online (Drain)


Web3 is red, this indicates that it has failed it’s health check

In addtion to the above colours, Purple/Green is used to indicate that a particular VIP is used for HTTP to HTTPS
redirection.

VIP(s) Fail to appear in the System Overview

If you have configured new layer 7 VIPs and these have not automatically appeared in the System Overview, make
sure that you’ve reloaded or restarted HAProxy.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 350

VIPs & RIPs are Green but Users Can’t Connect
If you’ve configured your VIPs and RIPs and everything looks fine (green) in the System Overview but users still
cannot connect, there are a number of causes for this, some are dependent on whether you’ve configured layer 4
or layer 7 VIPs.

General
Multi-port VIPs - Does your VIP listen on multiple ports, for example, 80,443? if so, make sure that the Real Server
port field if left blank so that traffic is passed through on the correct port. If you specify for example 80, all traffic
including traffic intended to reach port 443 will be passed to port 80.

DR mode does not have a Real Server port field since port translation is not possible when using
this mode. Traffic is always passed through to the same port as received by the VIP.

Layer 7 VIPs
Protocol - Have you configured the correct Layer 7 Protocol? The default protocol for new layer 7 VIPs is HTTP.
This is fine for web based traffic typically on port 80, but if you’ve configured your layer 7 VIP to load balance
something else such as HTTPS on port 443 or RDP on port 3389 then you’ll need to change the Layer 7 Protocol
dropdown to TCP.

TProxy - If you’ve enabled Transparent Proxy, there are certain topology and other requirements that must be
met. For more information about enabling transparency at layer 7, please refer to Transparency at Layer 7.

Layer 4 VIPs
Layer 4 DR mode and NAT mode have certain configuration requirements. It’s important to remember that the
health checks performed by the load balancer verify that the load balancer can successfully access the
server/service/application. This does not verify that each server has been configured correctly to enable client
access. The following sections explain how the connection state can be used to determine if the Real Servers
have been configured correctly, and also what are the configuration requirements for each mode.

DR Mode
Connection State - Use the WebUI option: Reports > Layer 4 Current Connections to view the current traffic in
detail. Connections that are in the state SYN_RECV can indicate that the "ARP Problem" has not been correctly
solved on the associated Real Server.

Real Server Configuration Requirements - For layer 4 DR mode VIPs, the "ARP Problem" must be solved on all
associated Real Servers - the exact steps required depend on the particular Real Server OS. For more information,
please refer to DR Mode Considerations.

NAT Mode
Connection State - Use the WebUI option: Reports > Layer 4 Current Connections to view the current traffic in
detail. Any connections in state SYN_RECV can indicate that the default gateway on the associated Real Server
has not been set to be an IP address on the load balancer.

Real Server Configuration Requirements - For layer 4 NAT mode VIPs, the default gateway on all associated Real
Server must be configured to be an IP address on the load balancer to ensure that client return traffic passes
back via the load balancer. For an HA pair, this should be a floating IP address to allow the IP address to float

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 351

(move) between the Primary and Secondary.

Diagnosing Real Server Issues

If Real Servers are down (red) in the System Overview, this means that the configured health check is failing
which can be caused by a variety of reason.


Verify that the application/service is actually running on each Real Server.


Is the health check correctly configured and is it appropriate for the Real Servers? The default check for TCP
services is a simple port connect - if this has been changed to a negotiate HTTP health check for example,
has a valid Request & Response been configured? For more information on configuring health checks,
please refer to Chapter 8 - Real Server Health Monitoring & Control.


Check that you can ping the Real Server from the load balancer. This can be done using the WebUI option:
Local Configuration > Execute Shell Command, at the console or via an SSH session, e.g.

ping -c 4 192.168.111.240

The -c 4 causes 4 ping attempts, and the command then ends. The is important when running the command
from the WebUI to ensure it terminates cleanly.

The "Execute Shell Command" menu option is disabled by default. This can be enabled
using the WebUI option: Local Configuration > Security. Set Appliance Security Mode to
Custom then click Update.

"root" user console and SSH password access are disabled by default. These options can
be enabled using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration > Security. You’ll need to Set
Appliance Security Mode to Custom, configure the required option(s) and click Update.


Verify that you can connect to the application port from the load balancer. This can be done using telnet at
the console or via an SSH session:

telnet 192.168.111.240 <application Port>

e.g. for a web server listening on port 80:

This example shows that a telnet connection was successfully established:

[root@lbmaster ~]# telnet 192.168.110.240 80

Trying 192.168.110.240...
Connected to 192.168.110.240.
Escape character is '^]'.

This example shows that the telnet connection failed:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 352

 [root@lbmaster ~]# telnet 192.168.110.240 80
Trying 192.168.110.240...
telnet: connect to address 192.168.110.240: Connection refused

"root" user console and SSH password access are disabled by default. These options can
be enabled using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration > Security. You’ll need to Set
Appliance Security Mode to Custom, configure the required option(s) and click Update.

You can also use nmap on the load balancer to verify that the required Real Server port is open:

[root@lbmaster ~]# nmap 192.168.110.241

Starting Nmap 5.51 ( http://nmap.org ) at 2022-07-12 10:54 UTC

Nmap scan report for 192.168.110.240
Host is up (0.0012s latency).
Not shown: 996 filtered ports
PORT STATE SERVICE
80/tcp open http
135/tcp open msrpc
443/tcp open https
3389/tcp open ms-term-serv
MAC Address: 00:50:56:82:0B:D3 (VMware)

Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 4.97 seconds

Another option is curl:

[root@lbmaster ~]# curl http://192.168.110.241

or
[root@lbmaster ~]# curl http://host.mydomain.com

For a working web server listening on port 80, the default page is returned.

The ping, nmap and curl commands can also be run from the WebUI using the menu
option: Local Configuration > Execute Shell Command.


Check if there is a firewall preventing access to the Real Server.

Requests are Not being Load Balanced as Expected

If the system Overview reports that there is an imbalance in the number of connections. This may be caused by a
number of reasons as listed below:

Are clients connecting from behind a NAT device - If this is the case, then all requests will appear to come from
the same source IP address. This will be an issue if source IP address persistence is used because all client
sessions would be load balanced to the same Real Server.

Has a real server been brought back online - If Balance Mode has been set to Weighed Least Connection, when

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 353

the server is brought online it will handle all new requests until balance is reached across all servers. This may
occur quickly if lots of new requests are received. If not, the inbalance will continue for longer. If Balance Mode
has been set to Weighted Round Robin, requests will continue to be distributed equally (assuming the weight is
the same). If the other Real Servers in the cluster were already processsing requests there will again be an
imbalance.

Are you testing using a single test client - If persistence is enabled for the VIP then you’ll be load balanced to the
same Real Server.

Log File - Layer 4 Virtual Services

The layer 4 log contains all log entries from the layer 4 health checking process Ldirectord daemon. This is useful
for monitoring when and why real services were down. The log can be viewed using the WebUI menu option: Logs
> Layer 4. The log can be searched using the search box at the top of the screen or can be downloaded for
external analysis. The log can be refreshed using the Check Status button. The logging here can be quite verbose
but it clearly shows exactly what the health checking process is doing. The log file is located here:
/var/log/ldirectord.log.

Interpreting the log file

The following log snippet shows Real Server RIP1 failing its healthcheck and then subsequently passing the
check. The latest entries are at the top:

This shows that:

1. Real Server RIP1 failed its first health check at 10:57:04.

2. By 10:57:12 RIP1 had failed its second health check and since this is the default failure threshold and since
this was the failure of the last remaining working Real Server, the fallback server was added and RIP1 was
removed.

3. At 10:57:25 RIP1 started passing health checks so was re-added and the fallback server was removed.

Log File - layer 7 Virtual Services

By default, logging for Layer 7 services is disabled.

To enable logging for layer 7 services:

1. Using the WebUI navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Advanced Configuration.

2. Set Logging to the required value, the options are:


Off - No logging enabled.


Service State - Logs service restarts, reloads and health checks.


Errors - Logs the service state and Errors.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 354

 
Everything - Logs errors and all connections. Note that this logs every connection handled by HAProxy,
which is likely to rapidly exhaust the log space on a busy Virtual Service.

3. Click Update.

4. Reload HAProxy using the Reload button in the "Commit changes" message box at the top of the screen.

Once enabled, the log can be viewed using the WebUI menu option: Logs > Layer 7. The log can be searched
using the search box at the top of the screen or can be downloaded for external analysis. The log can be
refreshed using the Check Status button. The log file is located here: /var/log/haproxy.log.

Interpreting the log file

The following log snippet shows Real Server RIP1 failing its healthcheck and then subsequently passing the
check. The latest entries are at the top:

This shows that:

1. Real Server RIP1 failed its first health check at 13:11:10.

2. By 13:11:18 RIP1 had failed its second health check and since this is the default failure threshold and since
this was the failure of the last remaining working Real Server, the fallback server was activated and RIP1 was
removed.

3. At 13:12:26 RIP1 started working and passed its first health check.

4. At 13:12:30 RIP1 passed its second health check (2 passes before being brought online is the default) so
was brought back online and the fallback server was deactivated.

The following log snippet shows a client (192.168.65.194) making three HTTP GET requests to VIP1/RIP1. The
latest entries are at the top:

HAProxy HTTP logs are divided into 16 fields. The following table breaks down the first line from the snippet
above:

Field Format Extract from the example above

1 process_name '[' pid ']:' haproxy[30898]:

2 client_ip ':' client_port 192.168.65.194:53943

3 '[' request_date ']' [15/Jul/2022:13:31:48.658]

4 frontend_name VIP2

5 backend_name '/' server_name VIP2/RIP1

6 TR '/' Tw '/' Tc '/' Tr '/' Ta* 0/0/0/1/1

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 355

Field Format Extract from the example above

7 status_code 200

8 bytes_read* 943

9 captured_request_cookie -

10 captured_response_cookie -

11 termination_state --NI

12 actconn '/' feconn '/' beconn '/' srv_conn '/' retries* 2/2/0/0/0

13 srv_queue '/' backend_queue 0/0

14 '{' captured_request_headers* '}' n/a for this example

15 '{' captured_response_headers* '}' n/a for this example

16 '"' http_request '"' "GET /favicon.ico HTTP/1.1"

For a detailed description of each field in a log entry for an HTTP request, please refer to HTTP
Log Format.

TCP logs are similar but there are only 10 fields. For more informaiton, please refer to TCP Log
Format.

For full details of all HAProxy logging features, please refer to HAProxy Logging.

SSL Termination (Pound)

By default, Pound logging is disabled.

To enable logging for Pound:

1. Using the WebUI navigate to: Cluster Configuration > SSL - Advanced Configuration.

2. Under the Pound Glabal Settings section set Logging to Yes.

3. Click Update.

Once enabled, the log can be viewed using the WebUI menu option: Logs > SSL Termination (Pound). The log can
be searched using the search box at the top of the screen or can be downloaded for external analysis. The log can
be refreshed using the Check Status button. The log file is located here: /var/log/pound.log.

SSL Termination (STunnel)

By default, STunnel logging is set to Emergency(0).

To change the logging level for STunnel:

1. Using the WebUI navigate to: Cluster Configuration > SSL - Advanced Configuration.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 356

 2. Under the STunnel Glabal Settings section, set the Debug Level to the required value, the options are:

Value Severity Description

0 Emergency System is unusable

1 Alert Action must be taken immediately

2 Critical Critical conditions

3 Error Error conditions

4 Warning Warning conditions

5 Notice Normal but significant conditions

6 Informational Informational messages

7 Debug Debug-level messages

Log Entries for the selected level plus all the levels below will be included. For example, if
level 4 is selected, levels 0, 1, 2 and 3 will also be logged.

3. Click Update.

Once enabled, the log can be viewed using the WebUI menu option: Logs > SSL Termination (STunnel). The
log can be searched using the search box at the top of the screen or can be downloaded for external
analysis. The log can be refreshed using the Check Status button. The log file is located here:
/var/log/stunnel.log.

WAF
For information on accessing and interpreting WAF logs, please refer to WAF Gateway Error Logs.

Heartbeat
For information on diagnosing Heartbeat issues and accessing the Heartbeat log, please refer to Clustered Pair
Diagnostics.

Shuttle
The shuttle service is used to pass appliance details supplied by the Gateway service to the Portal. The log shows
all communcations that have occured between the shuttle service and the Portal.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 357

Chapter 12 - Monitoring & Reporting
SNMP Reporting
By default, SNMP is disabled on the appliance. For information on enabling SNMP and configuring basic SNMP
settings, please refer to SNMP Configuration.

MIB Files
The appliance has a number of Management Information Base files (MIBs) available for use with your monitoring
system. The appliance includes all the standard Linux MIBs and also a number of custom MIB that enable layer 4
and layer 7 services to be monitored. All MIB files are located in /usr/share/snmp/mibs on the appliance. The
custom MIBs are also available for download using the links shown below.

General - For network stats, memory usage, CPU load etc, standard Linux MIBs can be used.

Layer 4 Services - For monitoring layer 4 services, OC-MIB.txt & LVS-MIB.txt are provided.

Layer 7 Services - for monitoring layer 7 services, LBO-MIB.txt, L7STAT-EXPERIMENTAL.txt & L7INFO-
EXPERIMENTAL-MIB.txt are provided.

/etc/snmp/snmp.conf includes the directive mibs +ALL which means that all available MIBs are
loaded.

The following two sections include various examples to help demonstrate how SNMP values for Layer 4 and
Layer 7 services can be retrieved at the console or via an SSH session.

SNMP for Layer 4 Services

The root OID for Layer 4 services is: 1.3.6.1.4.1.8225.4711.

Lots of information is available, the layer 4 MIB file includes comprehensive descriptions of all
OIDs.

View information for layer 4 services starting at the root OID:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmpwalk -v 2c -c public localhost 1.3.6.1.4.1.8225.4711

LVS-MIB::lvsVersion.0 = STRING: "1.2.1"

LVS-MIB::lvsNumServices.0 = INTEGER: 0
LVS-MIB::lvsHashTableSize.0 = INTEGER: 32768
…
etc.

The same can be achieved using the MIB object name lvs:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmpwalk -v 2c -c public localhost lvs

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 358

Monitoring Layer 4 VIPs & RIPs using SNMP
Accessing VIP Information

List all VIPs using the OID for layer 4 VIPs:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmpwalk -v 2c -c public localhost 1.3.6.1.4.1.8225.4711.17.1.4

LVS-MIB::lvsServiceAddr.1 = IpAddress: 192.168.111.223

LVS-MIB::lvsServiceAddr.2 = IpAddress: 192.168.111.222

The same can be achieved using the MIB object name lvsServiceAddr:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmpwalk -v 2c -c public localhost lvsServiceAddr

Display the lvsService table:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmptable -c public -v 2c localhost lvsService

Accessing RIP Information

List the Real Servers that are passing their health check using the OID for layer 4 RIPs:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmpwalk -v 2c -c public localhost 1.3.6.1.4.1.8225.4711.18.1.3

LVS-MIB::lvsRealServerAddr.1.1 = IpAddress: 192.168.110.240

LVS-MIB::lvsRealServerAddr.1.2 = IpAddress: 192.168.110.243
LVS-MIB::lvsRealServerAddr.2.1 = IpAddress: 192.168.110.243
LVS-MIB::lvsRealServerAddr.2.2 = IpAddress: 192.168.110.240

For layer 4 services, if the health check fails, the failed server will be omitted from the list.

The same can be achieved using the MIB object name lvsRealServerAddr:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmpwalk -v 2c -c public localhost lvsRealServerAddr

Display the lvsReal table:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmptable -c public -v 2c localhost lvsReal

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 359

SNMP for Layer 7 Services
The root OID for Layer 7 services is: 1.3.6.1.4.1.54849.

Lots of information is available, the layer 7 MIB files include comprehensive descriptions of all
OIDs.

View information for layer 7 services starting at the root OID:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmpwalk -v 2c -c public localhost 1.3.6.1.4.1.54849

L7INFO-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7InfoLastPolled.0 = Timeticks: (141790592) 16 days, 9:51:45.92

L7INFO-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7InfoUpdateInterval.0 = INTEGER: 4000
L7INFO-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7InfoLastError.0 = Gauge32: 0
L7INFO-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7InfoName.0 = STRING: HAProxy
L7INFO-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7InfoVersion.0 = STRING: 1.8.25
…
etc.

The same can be achieved using the MIB object name:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmpwalk -v 2c -c public localhost loadbalancerOrg

Display layer 7 HAProxy process information:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmpwalk -v 2c -c public localhost L7info

This gives a similar output to the familiar HAProxy "show info" command. for more information
on using the Linux socat command to run the "show info" command, please refer to Using Linux
socket commands to configure Layer 7 Services.

Monitoring Layer 7 VIPs & RIPs using SNMP

Accessing VIP Information

List all VIPs using the OID for layer 7 VIPs:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmpwalk -v 2c -c public localhost 1.3.6.1.4.1.54849.1.2.5.1.2

L7STAT-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7FePxname.4 = STRING: stats

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 360

 L7STAT-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7FePxname.493413195 = STRING: VIP4
L7STAT-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7FePxname.1593140907 = STRING: VIP3

The same can be achieved using the MIB object name ‘l7FePxname’:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmpwalk -v 2c -c public localhost l7FePxname

Display the L7Frontend table:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmptable -c public -v 2c localhost l7Frontend

Display the L7Backtend table:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmptable -c public -v 2c localhost l7Backend

Accessing RIP Information

List all RIPs using the OID for layer 7 RIPs:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmpwalk -v 2c -c public localhost 1.3.6.1.4.1.54849.1.2.7.1.4

L7STAT-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7SrvSvname.493413195.1 = STRING: backup

L7STAT-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7SrvSvname.493413195.551991902 = STRING: RDP2
L7STAT-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7SrvSvname.493413195.1899219725 = STRING: RDP1
L7STAT-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7SrvSvname.1593140907.1 = STRING: backup
L7STAT-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7SrvSvname.1593140907.1269887581 = STRING: Web2
L7STAT-EXPERIMENTAL-MIB::l7SrvSvname.1593140907.1749728569 = STRING: Web1

The same can be achieved using the MIB object name ‘l7SrvSname’:

[root@lbmaster ~]# snmpwalk -v 2c -c public localhost l7SrvSvname

Display the L7Server table:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 361

 [root@lbmaster ~]# snmptable -c public -v 2c localhost L7Server

SNMPv3
For SNMPv3, the SNMP walk command format is:

snmpwalk -v3 -u <USERNAME> -l authNoPriv -a MD5 -A <PASS-PHRASE> -m LVS-MIB localhost

1.3.6.1.4.1.8225.4711

e.g.

snmpwalk -v3 -u snmpv3user -l authNoPriv -a MD5 -A sNmPv31864zX -m LVS-MIB localhost

1.3.6.1.4.1.8225.4711

Reports
All reports can be accessed using the Reports option in the WebUI.

Layer 4 Status
This report shows the current weight and number of active & inactive connections for each Real Server. If a Real
Server has failed a health check, it will not be listed. Use the Logs > Layer 4 option to view the Ldirectord log file if
expected servers are missing.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 362

In the example above, the details for RIP3 are not displayed because it’s failing its health checks.

The Check Status button can be used to refresh the display.

Layer 4 Traffic Rate

This report shows the current connections per second and bytes per second to each Real Server. If a Real Server
has failed a health check, it will not be listed.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 363

In the example above, the details for RIP3 are not displayed because it’s failing its health checks.

The Check Status button can be used to refresh the display.

Layer 4 traffic Counters

This report provides details of the traffic being handled by each Real Server since the counters were last re-set. If
a Real Server has failed a health check, it will not be listed.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 364

 For DR mode, since return traffic bypasses the load balancer, there will be no stats for return
packets.

In the example above, the details for RIP3 are not displayed because it’s failing its health checks.

The Check Status button can be used to refresh the display.

Layer 4 Current Connections

The current connections report is very useful for diagnosing issues with routing or ARP related problems. In the
example below, the state is shown as SYN_RECV. For layer 4 DR mode this is normally a good indication that the
"ARP Problem" has not been solved. For NAT mode, this is a good indication that the Real Server’s default
gateway has not been configured to be the load balancer and therefore return traffic is not routed correctly.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 365

 The IPVS connection entries in state NONE represent the persistence related entries for client
connections, and are not actual client connections. These only appear when persistence is
enabled.

The Check Status button can be used to refresh the display.

Layer 4 Current Connections (Resolve Hostnames)

This is the same as the current connections report but is slower as it attempts to lookup the DNS name of each IP
address.

Layer 7 Status
This report contains the current status of all configured layer 7 HAProxy Virtual Services and Real Servers.

From v8.8.1, all statistics are automatically refreshed every 30 seconds by default.

Layer 7 Stick Table

Displays the layer 7 stick tables. Stick tables are used by various persistence types to track client / Real Server
connections. All VIPs that use stick tables are listed in the dropdown.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 366

Individual stick table entries can be removed by clicking the red "X" in the remove column, the whole table can be
cleared by clicking the Clear Table button.

GSLB Reports
For details, please refer to GSLB Diagnostics.

Graphs
All graphs can be accessed using the Reports > Graphing option in the WebUI.

Resource Utilization Graphs

Network Throughput - The following graphs are provided:


Total packets/s (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly)


Total bytes/s (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly)

System Load Average - The following graphs are provided:


System Load Average (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly)

The system load average is a very useful way to determine if the appliance is overloaded. To understand how to
interpret the value, a bridge analogy can be used:


A value of 0 means there’s no traffic on the bridge at all. In fact, between 0 and 1 means there’s no
congestion, and an arriving car will just drive straight onto the bridge.


A value of 1 means the bridge is exactly at capacity. All is still good, but if traffic gets a little heavier, things
are going to build up and getting accross the bridge will slow down.


A value over 1 means there’s congestion: A value of 2 means that there are two lanes of cars - 1 lane on the
bridge and 1 lane waiting. A value of 3 means there are 3 lanes of cars - 1 lane on the bridge and two lanes
waiting, etc.

Using a single core with the load average somewhere around 0.75 - 1 is great. Using a quad core with the load
average somewhere around 3.0 - 4.0 would also be fine.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 367

Memory Usage - The following graphs are provided:


Memory Usage (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly)

Disk Usage - The following graphs are provided:


Disk Usage (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly)

By default, daily graphs for Network Throughtput (bytes/s), System Load Average and Memory Usage are
displayed in the System Overview. To drill down and view all available graphs, click on the particular graph in
question.

These graphs can be disabled/hidden if preferred using the WebUI menu option: Local
Configuration > Graphing.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 368

 The disk usage graph is not displayed in the System Overview, it can be accessed using the
WebUI option: Reports > Graphing and selecting Disk Usage in the dropdown.

Virtual Service & Real Server Graphs

The following graphs are provided for each Virtual Service and each Real Server:


Connections (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly)


Bytes/s (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly)

Graphs are automatically created when new Virtual Services / Real Servers are configured.

Graphs for the configured Virtual Services & Real Servers can be accessed either from the System Overview using
the appropriate graph icon that appears on the right side of each VIP and RIP or from the dropdown available in
the WebUI under Reports > Graphing.

Using the System Overview

The graph is displayed by clicking the relevant graph icon that’s displayed next to each VIP/RIP:

When this method is used, the daily Service Connections Graph is displayed:

Clicking anywhere within this graph opens the complete list of graphs for the VIP/RIP in question. This is the
same as selecting the VIP/RIP in the Reports > Graphing menu options as explained below.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 369

Using the WebUI menu option: Reports > Graphing

When selected, a dropdown similar to the following is displayed:

The dropdown list is kept in-sync with the available VIPs & RIPs.

For more information on using the System Overview, please refer to Chapter 8 - Real Server
Health Monitoring & Control.

When this method is used, a complete list of graphs is displayed for the Virtual Service or Real Server that is
selected.

Graphing Options
The graphing sub-system can be customized to suit your requirements.

To change the graphing options:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Graphing.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 370

 2. Set the required option for each graphing category - either enabled (default), disabled or deleted.

3. Set the data collector Interval for the data collector in seconds.

This is a global value and will effect all collectors. Do not change this value unless advised
to do so by Support. Changing this value will reset the graphing databases and all the
current data will be lost.

4. Set the data collector Timeout for the data collector in seconds.

Do not change unless advised to do so by support.

5. Set the number of Threads for the data collector process.

Do not change unless advised to do so by support.

6. Configure data collector logging for collectd.

This is incredibly verbose and should only be enabled for debugging purposes.

Layer 7 (HAProxy) Prometheus Exporter

The Prometheus Exporter consumes the HAProxy stats page and converts the data to the Prometheus time
series.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 371

To enable the Prometheus exporter:

1. Using the WebUI navigate to: Cluster Configuration > Layer 7 - Advanced Configuration.

2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and enable (check) the Enable Prometheus Exporter checkbox.

3. Reload HAProxy using the button in the "Commit changes" message box at the top of the screen.

Once enabled, the Prometheus endpoint will be available here:

https://<appliance-ip-address>:9443/lbadmin/stats/l7prometheus/

If the WebUI has been configured to listen on a different port, modify the URL accordingly. For
more details on setting the port, please refer to Service Socket Addresses.

You can authenticate using the credentials of any valid WebUI user account.

For more information, please refer to our Prometheus Blog.

Grafana
Grafana is a tool that allows you to visualise data from sources such as Prometheus. For information on installing
and configuraing Grafana and setting up a Prometheus data source on the appliance, please refer to our Grafana
Blog.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 372

Chapter 13 - Useful Tools & Utilities
Useful Diagnostics Tools
Full root access to the appliance is supported which enables many useful commands to be run directly at the
console or via an SSH session. Many commands can also be run using the WebUI menu option: Local
Configuration > Execute Shell Command. Several commonly used examples are listed below.

The "Execute Shell Command" menu option is disabled by default. This can be enabled using the
WebUI option: Local Configuration > Security. Set Appliance Security Mode to Custom then click
Update.

"root" user console and SSH password access are disabled by default. These options can be
enabled using the WebUI option: Local Configuration > Security. You’ll need to Set Appliance
Security Mode to Custom, enable the required option(s) and click Update.

Netstat
Print network connections, routing tables, interface statistics, masquerade connections, and multicast
memberships. Useful to check that services are listening on the correct IP/port.

e.g. netstat -anp

Command Output:

Active Internet connections (servers and established)

Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address Foreign Address State PID/Program name
tcp 0 0 127.0.0.1:7778 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 7218/haproxy
tcp 0 0 192.168.100.238:80 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 7218/haproxy
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:22 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 9638/sshd
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:9081 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 5136/nginx
tcp 0 336 192.168.100.237:22 10.10.0.26:61430 ESTABLISHED 9801/sshd
tcp 0 0 :::9443 :::* LISTEN 732/httpd
tcp 0 0 :::22 :::* LISTEN 9638/sshd
tcp 0 0 :::9080 :::* LISTEN 732/httpd
udp 0 0 192.168.100.238:123 0.0.0.0:* 1650/ntpd
udp 0 0 192.168.100.237:123 0.0.0.0:* 1650/ntpd
udp 0 0 127.0.0.1:123 0.0.0.0:* 1650/ntpd
udp 0 0 0.0.0.0:123 0.0.0.0:* 1650/ntpd
udp 0 0 0.0.0.0:161 0.0.0.0:* 10089/snmpd
etc.

Telnet
The telnet command is used to communicate with another host using the TELNET protocol. It’s very useful for
testing that a connection to a specific port can be made. Note that this command should be run from the console
or a terminal session rather than via the WebUI.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 373

 e.g. telnet 192.168.100.10 80

In this example, 192.168.100.10 is a Real Server, the command is useful to ensure that the load balancer is able
to successfully connect to this server on port 80.

[root@lbmaster ~]# telnet 192.168.100.10 80

Trying 192.168.100.10...
Connected to 192.168.100.10.
Escape character is '^]'.

Tcpdump
Tcpdump enables network traffic to be dumped to a file for analysis. Filters can also be applied if required to
select which traffic is captured. Very useful tool when diagnosing network issues. Note that this command should
be run from the console or a terminal session rather than via the WebUI.

e.g. tcpdump -i any -s 0 -w tcpdump-file.pcap

This command captures all network traffic on all interfaces using the maximum packet size of 65535 bytes and
dumps it to a file called tcpdump-file.pcap. To end the capture use CTRL+C.

Our support department may ask you to run this command and send the resulting output file to help them
diagnose certain network issues.

Ethtool
Ethtool is used for querying settings of an Ethernet device and changing them.

e.g. ethtool eth0

Command output:

Settings for eth0:

Supported ports: [ TP ]
Supported link modes: 1000baseT/Full
10000baseT/Full
Supports auto-negotiation: No
Advertised link modes: Not reported
Advertised pause frame use: No
Advertised auto-negotiation: No
Speed: 10000Mb/s
Duplex: Full
Port: Twisted Pair
PHYAD: 0
Transceiver: internal
Auto-negotiation: off
MDI-X: Unknown
Supports Wake-on: uag
Wake-on: d

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 374

 Link detected: yes

Nmap
Nmap (Network Mapper) can be used to scan a range of hosts or a single host to determine which ports are open
and which services are listening on those ports.

e.g. nmap 192.168.110.241

Command output:

Starting Nmap 5.51 ( http://nmap.org ) at 2022-03-15 14:54 UTC

Nmap scan report for 192.168.110.241
Host is up (0.0010s latency).
Not shown: 996 filtered ports
PORT STATE SERVICE
80/tcp open http
135/tcp open msrpc
443/tcp open https
3389/tcp open ms-term-serv
MAC Address: 00:50:56:82:0B:D3 (VMware)

Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 4.53 seconds

Iptraf
Iptraf (Interactive Colorful IP LAN Monitor) is an ncurses-based IP LAN monitor that generates various network
statistics including TCP info, UDP counts, ICMP and OSPF information, Ethernet load info, node stats, IP
checksum errors, and others. If the command is issued without any command-line options, the program comes
up in interactive mode, with the various facilities accessed through the main menu as shown below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 375

Wireshark
Wireshark is an open source application that can be used to analyze tcpdump output files. It can be downloaded
from here.

Windows Specific Tools

Microsoft Network Monitor
Network Monitor is a simpler alternative to Wireshark that has some nice features. It can be downloaded from
here.

WinSCP
WinSCP is an open source application that allows files to be uploaded/downloaded to/from the load balancer
using Windows. It can be downloaded from here.

PuTTy
PuTTy is an open source SSH client for Windows. It can be downloaded from here.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 376

Chapter 14 - Backup & Restore and Disaster Recovery
Backup & Restore
Backup
When a backup is performed, a zipped archive is created that includes the following:


XML Configuration File


SSL Certificates


Manual Configurations


SSH Keys


Firewall Scripts


PBR Rules


Authentication Settings


LBCLI Password File


Fallback Page


User Names and Passwords


License Key

To perform a backup:

1. Using the WebUI navigate to: Maintenance > Backup & Restore.

2. Under the Backup tab, enter a password to encrypt sensitive files.

SSL certificates and SSH keys are only backed up if a password is set. If the password is
not set, the backup will exclude these files.

3. Click Backup.

4. The zip file will be created and downloaded to your browser’s default location or you’ll be prompted to select
a location depending on the settings configured.

Restore
The restore option allows the following filetypes to be restored:


Backup archives (*.zip) created using the backup feature


Certificate archives (*.tar.gz) created using v8.6.3 and earlier (included for backward compatibility)


XML backup (*.xml) created using v8.6.3 and earlier (included for backward compatibility)

To perform a restore:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 377

 1. Using the WebUI navigate to: Maintenance > Backup & Restore.

2. Select the Restore Tab.

3. Click Choose File and browse to and select the relevant backup file.

4. If you want the floating IPs not to be brought up when the file is restored, enable (check) the Disable Floating
IPs on restore checkbox.

5. If the file being restored is a backup archive (zip file), enter the password (if applicable).

If a password was entered when the backup was created, but the password is ommitted
when performing the restore, you can continue with the restore but sensitive files
(certificates and SSH keys) will be ommitted.

If a pasword was not entered when the backup was created, you’ll be notified that the
backup does not contain the sensitive files and asked if you’d like continue.

6. Click Upload & Restore.

7. Click OK to confirm that you’d like to continue. The restore will now start.

Once complete, heartbeat and possibly other services (depending on the configuration) will need to be either
restarted or reloaded. You’ll be prompted accordingly in the "Commit changes" message box at the top of
the screen. If the box does not appear, click on System Overview or any other menu option - the box will then
be displayed. Don’t use F5 as this will cause the restore to run again.

Restore System Defaults

This option can be used to reset all settings to their factory defaults.

To restore the appliance to factory defaults:

1. Using the WebUI navigate to: Maintenance > Backup & Restore.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 378

 2. In the Restore to system defaults section under the Backup tab, click Restore.

3. Click OK to confirm you’d like to continue.

Checkpoints
Checkpoints are very similar to backups and include the same items. In addition, each checkpoint also includes a
reference to which software release was installed on the appliance when the checkpoint was created. If the
appliance’s software is updated, all new checkpoints created include a reference to the updated release. If the
appliance is reverted to a checkpoint that refers to a release that is different to the current release, the checkpoint
sub system automatically reverts the appliance’s software to that release. This enables rollback and roll forward
between appliance software versions.

To access Checkpoints:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Backup & Restore.

2. Select the Checkpoints tab.

In the above example, Release-8.11.1-1.lb is the software release that’s currently installed on the appliance. This
is indicated under the Status column. Two checkpoints have been created that reference this release. Each time
the appliance’s software is updated, an additional release entry is added and becomes the current release.

To create a Checkpoint:

1. Click Create, a random 6 charater name will be assigned to the new checkpoint and the date, time and size
will be logged.

For a clustered pair, create corresponding checkpoints on both appliances.

To lock a Checkpoint:

1. Select the checkpoint(s) to lock using the appropriate checkbox(es) and click Lock. Once locked, the
checkpoint(s) cannot be deleted.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 379

To revert to a Checkpoint:

1. Select the checkpoint to revert to and click Revert.

For a clustered pair, if the checkpoint being reverted does not change the software version,
the "Synchronise Configuration with Peer" feature can be used on the Primry appliance
after the checkpoint has been reverted to ensure that the Secondary is synchronised. This
can be accessed using the WebUI menu option: Maintenance > Backup & Restore and
selecting the Synchronisation tab. If the checkpoint changes the software version, you’ll
also need to revert to a corresponding checkpoint on the Secondary appliance to ensure
that the appliances are synchronised.

Template Deployment
This feature enables Virtual Services, Real Servers, HAProxy SSL terminations, GSLB configuration settings and
health check scripts to be exported/imported to/from a JSON configuration file. When importing, new IP
addresses can be assigned to each Virtual Service and multiple associated Backend (Real) Servers can be
configured.

To access template deployment:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Maintenance > Backup & Restore.

2. Select the Template Deployment tab.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 380

To generate a template deployment file:

1. Select the required features to include in the deployment file. Use the CTRL key to select multiple items or
use the Select All button.

2. If you don’t want to include the IP address for each Virtual Service, enable the Do not write default values for
exported Floating IPs checkbox.

3. Click Export Selected.

To upload a template deployment file:

1. Click Choose File and browse to and select the required JSON file.

2. Click Upload Deployment File.

3. If the template includes HAProxy SSL terminiations, use the Choose File button to select the required SSL
certificates to use.

4. For each Virtual Service to be created:


Ensure that the IP address is correct.


Decide if you’d like the IP address to be brought up on import, if not enable (check) the appropriate
Disable new IP address checkbox.


Specify the associated Backend (Real) Servers. For layer 7 Real Servers, set the Re-encrypt checkbox as
needed and if required configure the Cert and CACert for mTLS. Use the appropriate + Add Row button
to specify additional Real Servers.

5. Click Apply Configuration.

Disaster Recovery
To recover a single appliance, you’ll need to restore from backup as described in the section above. For virtual
and cloud based appliances, other hypervisor / cloud recovery methods can also be used.

To recover from a hardware failure that requires the firmware to be re-installed, please refer to Firmware
Recovery using a USB Memory Stick.

To recover a failed member of a HA pair the Peer Recovery method can be used, please refer to Disaster Recovery
After Node (Primary or Secondary) Failure.

Being Prepared - Creating Backups

To be able to quickly recover your appliance, it’s important that you create regular configuration backups and
keep them stored in a secure location. Ideally, you should keep a backup of both the Primary and Secondary
appliances.

Firmware Recovery using a USB Memory Stick

If a hardware appliance has suffered a hardware failure that once resolved requires the firmware to be re-
installed, follow steps 1 to 4 below.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 381

Step 1 - Download the latest Appliance Disk Image

The latest disk image can be downloaded from our website - please contact support for more information.

Step 2 - Extract the Image from the Compressed Archive

Extract the image using tar under Linux or something like WinRar or 7-Zip under Windows (not the built-in
Windows extractor).

Step 3 - Prepare the USB Stick

Using Linux

After formatting the USB stick run the following command:

dd if=/imagefilename.img of=/dev/name-of-usb-disk

e.g.

dd if=/tmp/v7.5.0_r3368.img of=/dev/sda

Do not use /dev/sdax where "x" is a number, for example - /dev/sda1 as this will install to a
partition on your usb stick. Use the whole disk /dev/sda Instead.

Be careful - make sure you specify the correct disk!

Using Windows

For Windows, a third party image writer must be used. Several free options are available, the example below uses
Rufus which can be downloaded here. The download is an executable file.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 382

Start Rufus, select the relevant USB device and the source image and click START.

Be careful - make sure you specify the correct disk!

Step 4 - Restore the Appliance Using the USB Stick

1. Boot the appliance into System Setup.

2. Ensure that UEFI boot is enabled and that the USB device is first in the boot order.

From v8.7.2 all ISO images require UEFI to boot.

3. Boot the appliance, after the initial boot messages the following prompt will appear:

DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE?

Please enter yes or no
Type "yes" and press <ENTER>

Once complete, the following message will be displayed:

Installation Finished

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 383

 4. As directed, press any key to shutdown the appliance.

5. Once shutdown, remove the USB stick.

6. Power up the appliance.

7. Run through the Network Setup Wiard - this will enable a password for the "root" user to be set.

8. Login at the console:

Username: root
Password: <configured-during-network-setup-wizard>

9. Run the model specific command to ensure that the hardware is configured correctly.

Please contact support for the command for your specific model.

10. Now run the following additional commands:

# lbrestore <ENTER>
# lbcleanboot <ENTER>

11. Reboot the appliance.

12. Run the Network Setup Wiard once again to configure the management IP address, other network settings
and passwords for the "root" Linux account and the "loadbalancer" WebUI account.

13. Now re-apply your license key file to ensure the newly restored appliance is correctly licensed. Please
contact support if you have any issues.

Disaster Recovery After Node (Primary or Secondary) Failure

For a clustered pair of load balancers, recovery of a failed node is quick and simple. The procedure is the same
whether the Primary has failed or the Secondary has failed.

Using the Peer Recovery feature means that the HA pair is re-established without disrupting any
of the services that are currently running on the working appliance.

Make sure that SSH Password access is enabled on the remaining operational node. This can
be configured using the WebUI menu option: Local Configuration > Security, clearing the Disable
SSH Password Access checkbox and clicking Update.

1. If the failed node is still on, power it down.

2. For a hardware appliance:


Disconnect all cables.


If the SSD/HD has failed and has been replaced and needs to be re-imaged, follow these steps to
restore the appliance firmware.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 384

3. Power up the new/repaired/re-imaged appliance.

4. Login to the console as:

username: setup
password: setup

5. The Configure Management IP screen will be displayed:

6. Select Yes and hit <ENTER> to continue.

7. On the Peer Recovery screen you’ll be asked if you’re recovering from node failure:

8. Select Yes and hit <ENTER> to continue.

9. Now continue through the Network Setup Wizard to configure the initial network settings - ensure these are
the same as the failed appliance. Continue until you reach the Peer Recovery screen.

For more information about configuring network settings, Configuring Initial Network
Settings.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 385

10. Enter the IP address of the active appliance, select Done and hit <ENTER> to continue.

11. Enter the WebUI port of the active appliance, select Done and hit <ENTER> to continue.

12. Enter the WebUI password for the "loadbalancer" user on the active appliance, select Done and hit <ENTER>
to continue.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 386

13. A summary of the local settings is displayed, hit <ENTER> to continue. The settings from the peer appliance
will then be applied. Once the restore completes, the Configuration Complete message will be displayed:

14. To complete the restore and re-pairing process, reboot the newly restored appliance as mentioned in the on-
screen message. Once rebooted, the HA pair will be re-synchronized and fully recovered.

The Primary’s WebUI should now display:

The Secondary’s WebUI should now display:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 387

Chapter 15 - Technical Support
Introduction
Loadbalancer.org have a team of very experienced support engineers who are available to assist with your load
balancer deployment.

Unlimited support is available as follows:


During the cover period of any active support agreement

(to purchase a support package, please contact: sales@loadbalancer.org)


During the 30 day Virtual Appliance trial period

(to download the trial please go to: https://www.loadbalancer.org/get-started/)

WebUI Support Options

The WebUI’s Support menu option includes 3 sub-options that are provided to assist when help is required.

Contact Us
This option provides details on how to contact the support team, the information we need to help us resolve the
issue as quickly as possible and guidance on how to generate a technical support download which should also be
included with your initial email.

Sending an email to support@loadbalancer.org creates a ticket in our help desk system and enables all technical
support staff to view the case. This is the most efficient way to contact support and guarantees that any reported
issues will be acted upon and addressed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Technical Support Download

This option enables the Support Download to be created. The download is a compressed archive containing all
log files and configuration files from the appliance and should be attached to your email.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 388

 
To minimize the size of the support download, GZ files (archived logs) are excluded by default. If these must
be included in the archive, clear the checkbox shown above


To generate the archive, click the Generate Archive button

Once downloaded, attach the file to your email when contacting support.

If the file is large, it can be uploaded using our upload server once a support ticket has been opened.

Useful Links
This option presents a number of self explanatory web links.

Remote Support
Where necessary, our support team may arrange a remote session to assist with trouble shooting. Zoom is the
preferred tool and is used where possible.

Live Chat
Online chat can be invoked directly from the WebUI.

To enable online chat:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Local Configuration > Live Chat.

2. Ensure that Enable Live Chat is enabled (checked).

3. Click Update.

To invoke online chat:

1. Using the WebUI, navigate to: Live Chat.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 389

2. Enter the question you have.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 390

Appendix
Front & Rear Panel Layouts
Enterprise Prime

Enterprise Flex

Enterprise Max

IPMI Configuration
The Enterprise Prime includes Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) which provides remote
management and control.

IPMI Network Settings

IPMI can be accessed via the dedicated IPMI Ethernet interface or via one of the standard Ethernet interfaces in
shared/bridged mode.

To use the dedicated IPMI interface, ensure that a network cable is plugged into the interface before powering up
the appliance.

By default, the appliance attempts to use DHCP to obtain an IP address for IPMI. If a DHCP server is not available,
the IP address must be set manually.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 391

A static IP address can be assigned using the boot mode Setup Utility or by using the IPMI Web Interface.

Using the Setup Utility

To access the IPMI configuration menu via the Setup Utility, hit <DEL> at boot time, then select the IPMI menu:

Select the BMC Network Configuration option and change Update IPMI LAN Configuration to Yes, all network
settings can then be configured:

Depending on the particular IPMI version, the option to change the IPMI LAN interface may be

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 392

 greyed out as shown above. In this case, use the IPMI Web Interface (see below) to configure
this setting.

To configure the IP address and other network settings:

1. Set Configuration Address Source to Static.

2. Configure the IP address, Subnet Mask and other network settings as required.

To exit the IPMI configuration menu, hit <ESC>.

To save any changes, select the Save & Exit menu, then select Save Changes and Reset to save and apply the new
settings.

Using the IPMI Web Interface

Once the network is configured, the IPMI Web Interface can be accessed using a web browser:

https://<IPMI IP address>

The default user credentials to access the IPMI Web Interface are:

Username : ADMIN
Password : refer to the label on the appliance / packaging

For older appliances, the password was set to "ADMIN".

Once logged in, the IPMI Web Interface can be used to monitor and configure the system, configure all IPMI
settings and access the Remote Console.

Technical Support / More Information

If you have any questions, please contact support@loadbalancer.org.

For more information, refer to the IPMI User Guide.

iDRAC Configuration
All Dell based hardware appliances shipped since January 2024 include an integrated Dell Remote Access
Controller (iDRAC) Enterprise license which enables remote monitoring and remote control of the appliance.
Details of all supported iDRAC features are available here.

iDRAC Network Settings

iDRAC can be accessed via the dedicated iDRAC interface on the rear panel or by sharing one of the built in LAN
On Motherboard (LOM) interfaces. Using the dedicated port ensures that iDRAC management traffic is separated
from production workload.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 393

By default, the appliance attempts to use DHCP to obtain an IP address. If a DHCP server is not available, the IP
address is set to 192.168.0.120/255.255.255.0.

A static IP address can be assigned using System Setup or by using the iDRAC Web Interface.

Using System Setup

To access the iDRAC configuration menu via System Setup, hit <F2> at boot time, then select iDRAC Settings:

Select the Network option:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 394

The iDRAC network can be enabled/disabled and the interface to use can be configured in the NETWORK
SETTINGS section:

Scroll down to the IPV4 SETTINGS & IPV6 SETTINGS section to configure the IP address, subnet mask and other
network settings:

For additional information, see this Dell article.

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 395

To exit the iDRAC configuration menu, click Back and click Finish. Click Finish again to exit System Setup.

If changes were made, you’ll be prompted to save them:

Click Yes to save the changes.

Using the iDRAC Web Interface

Once an iDRAC IP address is assigned, the iDRAC Web Interface can be accessed using a web browser:

https://<iDRAC IP address>

The default user credentials to access the iDRAC Web Interface are:

Username : root
Password : refer to the pull-out tab in the front of the appliance

Once logged in, the iDRAC Web Interface can be used to monitor and configure the system, configure all iDRAC
settings and access the Virtual Console.

Technical Support / More Information

If you have any questions, please contact support@loadbalancer.org.

For more information, refer to the iDRAC User Guide.

Appliance IPv4 Address Format (CIDR notation)

When specifying IP addresses on the appliance, CIDR format is used. The following table shows the various
masks and the corresponding IPv4 IP/CIDR equivalents:

Mask IP/CIDR Prefix

255.255.255.255 a.b.c.d/32

255.255.255.254 a.b.c.d/31

255.255.255.252 a.b.c.d/30

255.255.255.248 a.b.c.d/29

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 396

Mask IP/CIDR Prefix

255.255.255.240 a.b.c.d/28

255.255.255.224 a.b.c.d/27

255.255.255.192 a.b.c.d/26

255.255.255.128 a.b.c.d/25

255.255.255.000 a.b.c.d/24

255.255.254.000 a.b.c.d/23

255.255.252.000 a.b.c.d/22

255.255.248.000 a.b.c.d/21

255.255.240.000 a.b.c.d/20

255.255.224.000 a.b.c.d/19

255.255.192.000 a.b.c.d/18

255.255.128.000 a.b.c.d/17

255.255.000.000 a.b.c.d/16

255.254.000.000 a.b.c.d/15

255.252.000.000 a.b.c.d/14

255.248.000.000 a.b.c.d/13

255.240.000.000 a.b.c.d/12

255.224.000.000 a.b.c.d/11

255.192.000.000 a.b.c.d/10

255.128.000.000 a.b.c.d/9

255.000.000.000 a.b.c.d/8

254.000.000.000 a.b.c.d/7

252.000.000.000 a.b.c.d/6

248.000.000.000 a.b.c.d/5

240.000.000.000 a.b.c.d/4

224.000.000.000 a.b.c.d/3

192.000.000.000 a.b.c.d/2

128.000.000.000 a.b.c.d/1

Appliance Configuration Files & Locations

The various configuration files used by the appliance are listed in the table below:

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 397

Configuration File & Location

Network /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth*

Firewall /etc/rc.d/rc.firewall

Firewall Lockdown Wizard /etc/rc.d/rc.lockdownwizard.conf

System XML File /etc/loadbalancer.org/lb_config.xml

Layer 4 /etc/ha.d/conf/loadbalancer.cf

Layer 7 /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg

Layer 7 (manual) /etc/haproxy/haproxy_manual.cfg

Pound SSL /etc/pound/pound.cfg

STunnel SSL /etc/stunnel/stunnel.conf

SSL Certificates /etc/loadbalancer.org/certs

Heartbeat /etc/ha.d/ha.cf

Heartbeat Resources /etc/ha.d/haresources

GSLB /opt/polaris/etc/polaris-lb.yaml

GSLB Topology /opt/polaris/etc/polaris-topology.yaml

WAF /etc/httpd/waf.conf.d/90-wafs.conf

SNMP /etc/snmp/snmpd.conf

© Copyright Loadbalancer.org • Documentation • Appliance Administration Manual 398

 Visit us: www.loadbalancer.org
Phone us: +44 (0)330 380 1064
Phone us: +1 833 274 2566
Email us: info@loadbalancer.org
Follow us: @loadbalancer.org

About Loadbalancer.org

Loadbalancer.org’s mission is to ensure that its clients’

businesses are never interrupted. The load balancer
experts ask the right questions to get to the heart of
what matters, bringing a depth of understanding to
each deployment. Experience enables Loadbalancer.org
engineers to design less complex, unbreakable solutions -
and to provide exceptional personalized support.