ACE Module Question

Hi,
I have the following configuration:
policy-map type loadbalance first-match test
class L7-URL
sticky-serverfarm test
insert-http src-ip header-value %is:%ps:%id:%pd
class class-default
serverfarm test
Does the class class-default need to be in the above configuration? The reason I as is because I see it in some examples and not in others.
Regards,
John...

class-default act as a last resort under policy configuration. If there are multiple classes to check against the traffic then policy will compare traffic against all the classes and if there is no match then actions for class-default will be used.
In your case
ACE will look for the condition in "class L7-URL" , if it matches then it will use sticky-group test (which should have a serverfarm associated to it). Serverfarm under the sticky group will be used if the client request matches the class L7-URL.
If client request doesnt match the condition in "class L7-URL" then server farm test (under class-default) will be used.
HTH
Syed iftekhar Ahmed

Similar Messages

Question in regard to management VLAN for each Context in ACE module

Dear Pros,
I know this will be a simple questions to answer, and I have searched the forum, but I am not able to find the answer I need.
1) Does the ACE module require an Management IP address for each Context? Should the same VLAN be applied to each context, with larger size subnet to supply host address?
2) If it does require that, what IP address should I used for default route in each context.
I will be utilizing "Bridge Mode" for my application to transition the current network from Foundry to ACE. I will later on apply the "Routed Mode" model.
Each ACE module will have 3 seperate Context, for a total of 4 including the Admin.
Any suggestions or if you can point me to location as always will be greatly apprecaited.
Thanks and best regards.
Raman Azizian

Hi,
you have several options to choose from.
1. Use Admin context for management
You can use the Admin context for management. Give it an IP address in your managment VLAN, default route to upstream router, and login and change to contexts from there.
+ Easy and straightforward
- snmp and syslog are using the ip from each individual context and not the management IP
2. Use a Large subnet and assign an IP address in each context for management.
You can configure 1 managment VLAN and assign an IP address to each context in this subnet. Create static routes to the management stations that need to access this management address.
+ each context has its own managment address
- static routes need to be added
3. Use your client-side ip address (or BVI) as management address.
You management traffic will be inline and use the same path as your data. Default route is already configured and also valid for the management.
+ no static routes needed
- inline management
Personally, I choose option 1. That is, if the people that need to manage the ACE is the same team.
If other teams (serverteam for context 1, other serverteam for context 2) need to manage the ACE, than I would choose option 3.
HTH,
Dario

Reuse of context in ACE module

Hi all, just have a question about som reuse of resources in a ACE module context. I don't want to make a new context, and can reuse most of the existing configuration in one of my context. The config is not complex and difficult, but I'm not sure if I can do this.
The primary goal is to loadbalance 2 webservers with a new vip, new serverfarm, stickygroup, policy-map and different nat-pool.
Since I haven't decided the ip addresses to be used, they are just xx in the config below.
The changes I want to implement are in bold. Will this work for me?
probe http WEBGUI_D2
description Probe for http mot webgui
interval 10
passdetect interval 10
passdetect count 1
request method get url /D2/auth/login.aspx
expect status 200 302
header User-Agent header-value "IDENTITY"
rserver host cwi003
description content server logon
ip address 10.163.22.27
inservice
rserver host cwi004
description content server logon
ip address 10.163.22.28
inservice
rserver host cwi503
description content server logon 2
ip address 10.163.22.23
inservice
rserver host cwi504
description content server logon 2
ip address 10.163.22.24
inservice
serverfarm host SF_LOGON_D2
probe WEBGUI_D2
rserver cwi003 80
   inservice
rserver cwi004 80
   inservice
serverfarm host SF_LOGON2_D2
probe WEBGUI_D2
rserver cwi503 80
   inservice
rserver cwi504 80
   inservice
sticky ip-netmask 255.255.255.255 address source STICKYGROUP1
timeout 20
replicate sticky
serverfarm SF_LOGON_D2
serverfarm SF_LOGON2_D2
class-map match-all VS_LOGON_D2
3 match virtual-address 10.163.22.13 any
class-map match-all VS_LOGON2_D2
3 match virtual-address 10.163.22.xx any
policy-map type loadbalance first-match PM_ONE_ARM_LB
class class-default
   sticky-serverfarm STICKYGROUP1
policy-map multi-match PM_ONE_ARM_MULTI_MATCH
class VS_LOGON_D2
   loadbalance vip inservice
   loadbalance policy PM_ONE_ARM_LB
   nat dynamic 5 vlan 1240
class VS_LOGON2_D2
   loadbalance vip inservice
   loadbalance policy PM_ONE_ARM_LB
   nat dynamic 6 vlan 1240
interface vlan 1240
description Client_server
ip address 10.163.22.11 255.255.255.0
peer ip address 10.163.22.12 255.255.255.0
access-group input INBOUND
nat-pool 5 10.163.22.14 10.163.22.17 netmask 255.255.255.192 pat
nat-pool 6 10.163.22.xx 10.163.22.xx netmask 255.255.255.192 pat
service-policy input PM_ONE_ARM_MULTI_MATCH
no shutdown
ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 10.163.22.1
BR
Geir

Thanks for your reply.
Hope I understand you correct. This sould be the config I need to paste into the existing context.
rserver host cwi503
description content server logon 2
ip address 10.163.22.23
inservice
rserver host cwi504
description content server logon 2
ip address 10.163.22.24
inservice
serverfarm host SF_LOGON2_D2
probe WEBGUI_D2
rserver cwi503 80
    inservice
rserver cwi504 80
    inservice
sticky ip-netmask 255.255.255.255 address source STICKYGROUP2
   timeout 20
   replicate sticky
   serverfarm SF_LOGON2_D2
class-map match-all VS_LOGON2_D2
   3 match virtual-address 10.163.22.xx any
policy-map type loadbalance first-match PM_ONE_ARM_LB2
class class-default
    sticky-serverfarm STICKYGROUP2
policy-map multi-match PM_ONE_ARM_MULTI_MATCH
class VS_LOGON2_D2
    loadbalance vip inservice
    loadbalance policy PM_ONE_ARM_LB2
    nat dynamic 6 vlan 1240
interface vlan 1240
nat-pool 6 10.163.22.xx 10.163.22.xx netmask 255.255.255.192 pat
Br
Geir

Ace module dropping assymetric layer 2 connections

Hi we had a situation in where the ACE would randomly drop certain tcp connections, and all ICMP packets from a certain windows server. The server in question was using Transmit Load Balancing with Fault Tolerance.
The server has one Nic connected to Access switch1, and the other nic connected to Access switch2. Each access switch connects up to a pair of 6509's, which is active on Core1 on both switches.
I am guessing If the server sends on Nic 2, core1 knows it came in on the downstream trunk port to Switch2, it must reply to these packets based on the teamed mac of the layer 3 address(no idea who is arping for the destination - the ace?), and send them back out the downstream trunk port to switch1. The ace module is in transparent mode. When contacting a server on the other side of the ace, the ace drop packets that came from the second nic - and I am wondering how it "knows" that the return path is out of different downstream port. Does it share some kind of layer 2 RPF check with the 6500 ?
Please note there is no routing involved here. The destination server is just on another vlan on the same subnet, on the other side of the ace.

Bryan,
As long as the server replies back to the ACE the client should only be commmunicating with the VIP address in either of your two examples.
In your first example the flow will look like this.
client > VIP after the ACE client > rserver
the reply would be
rserver > client after the ACE VIP > rserver
In your second example using client nat it will look like this
Client > VIP After ACE Natpool > rserver.
the reply would be
rserver > Nat-pool after ACE VIP > client.
The ACE by default will always nat the vip to the server ip unless you use the command "transparent" under the serverfarm. When using this command we send the packet to the MAC address of the server leaving the destination IP of the VIP. The server would need to have the VIP address configured under the loopback interface.
Regards
Jim

HTTP Probe ACE Modules

Team,
Below is a snapshot of the HTTP Probe that I currently have confgured:
probe http http-probe
interval 10
passdetect interval 3
request method head
expect status 200 200
My question is, what if one of my reservers has a bad URL but the subsystem in IIS is responding with a 200 status? How do I protect myself from this situation and have the ACE module take this rserver out of rotation?
Thank you,
John...

For example instead of root url you can probe a specific url pointing to the app like
probe http http-probe
interval 10
passdetect interval 3
request method head
request method get url /testpage.html
expect status 200 200
Where tespage.html is the app specific page.
There could also be situations where requirement would be to keep track of the backend server along with the front end/Web server and mark the Web server down if a backend server (like application /database server is down).
This can be achieved by if APP can be tweaked by developers such that it make calls to backend servers (like DB server) and populate a page with some value from the database. In http probe you can look for that value and if that value doesnt exist then you can mark the server down.
for e.g in following example if ACE will mark the server down if it gets 200 ok but doesnt get "DBISUP" in response
probe http http-probe
interval 10
passdetect interval 3
request method head
request method get url /checkdbpage.html
expect status 200 200
expect regex DBISUP
HTH
Syed Iftekhar Ahmed

Design ? about SNMP operation in ACE module ... Traps sent to different Mgmt Stations

Good Day everyone,
I searched the site, and I could not find the answer I was looking for, so If anyone happens to know or point me to a link I would greatly appreciate it.
Topic:
Can ACE module sent different Traps (oid) to different management station? Split decision processing to send specific traffic to specific stations, based on the alert it has detected.
Scenario:
Our network equipments have a demarc point on what devices are managed via SNMP (Traps, syslog, EMS, etc...); Routers, Switches, ACE modules, and so forth.
However, we are not responsible for the App Servers assigned to various broadcast domains.
Customer would like to receive Notification from the ACE module when a Real Server is taken out of rotation , when specific probes have failed.
My team manages the ACE module, so any alerts from the ACE will be sent to the management station configured in our network.
Unfortunately I do not have a Test Lab to test my theory, so any help would be greatly appreciated before I submit my Production configs.
Design Requirements:
Customer would like the following traps generated and sent to their management station:
1) Real Server host name
2) TCP port
3) Real Server IP address
4) If capable, percentage threshold for each real server, based on the prediction configured for each Server Farm
5) Can a NetIQ agent be download on the ACE module to communicate with the NetIQ management station?
As always thank you for any help you can provide, and if you happen to be around Huntsville Alabama/USA.. you got a cold beer waiting for you!!!!
Cheers,
-raman

Gilles,
Thank you for your prompt answer.
When you have time please look over the following question and let me know if it is possible to implement, if the Proxy server is not an option?
Can a Custom TCL script be executed to sent an notification via SMPT if a health probe fails?
The SMTP message will contain the server info (IP address, Host name, TCP port).
The script procedure will execute certain actions based on the returned result.
Thanks,
raman
P.S
Sorry about not being up to speed on TCL. I am reading up on the TCL capability, and trying to provide some options to my customer.

ACE Module SNMP limits

I am monitoring an ACE module using snmp. The values returned from certain OIDs are graphed using Cacti. I found the 64 bit counters on interfaces for the ACE wrap at 10,000,000,000 instead of 2^64. Now that I have configured cacti to expect the wrap at 10 billion, I am concerned about the 32 bit counters. I am querying this snmp oid to get L7 connection counter
cslbxStatsL7PolicyConns
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.254.1.1.1.1.8
Should I expect this counter to wrap at 2^32 or a lower value?

The maximum value for a 32bit OID should be 4294967296, I do have a value in my lab that is above 1 billion for that counter, so I wouldn't think there is an issue immediately. One common issue - when you clear stats manually, the counter will reset to 0. As well, I found an internal bug that that suggested some pocket case within the code could have cleared stats incorrectly, but it has never been seen since. There is a guess that someone logged into the test bed and cleared it without permission, but it was not able to be verified. Hence the bug was created to investigate the code, turned up nothing, and was junked accordingly.
What you might want to do is keep a sharp eye on the counter. When it looks like it rolls, login to the context you are polling and take a look at the accounting log. If you find that someone cleared the logging, that answers the question. If not - log a TAC case and we can replicate your exact configuration/code version in our lab to see if there what the deviation is that causes it to clear. A bug would be logged and fixed.
Regards,
Chris Higgins

ACE Module Cookie Parsing causes Reset Connection

I am trying to upgrade my ACE Modules from A2(1.3) to A2(3.2) . Unfortunately, the cookie parsing breaks when there are illegal characters and causes a connection reset (RST) when there is an invalid cookie, but only on code later than A2(1.3).
The cookie in question is being passed by a third party so making them change the cookie is not necessarily do-able. The cookie has the following value:
Cookie: CurrentUser={"UserKey":{"Key":"anonymous"},"LastUpdated":"10/13/2010 1:35:52 PM"}
We are using the following parameter map:
parameter-map type http CASE_PARAM
case-insensitive
persistence-rebalance
set header-maxparse-length 20480
length-exceed continue
On the older code, the request is passed on to the server.
Is there a setting similar to "length-exceed continue" that I can give the ACE to tell it to ignore cookies it cannot parse?

HTTP inspection is not enabled.
Did you mean adding a class-default to the policy-map?
Adding it to the policy-map does make it match the class-default. Unfortunately, cookie parse errors result in the inability to parse both the cookie and the host header as well. It seems that rather than just failing to parse the cookie and being unable to do sticky matching - it completely fails the entire header parsing.
Here's our setup:
rserver host test1
ip address 192.168.1.101
inservice
rserver host test2
   ip address 192.168.1.102
   inservice
rserver host test3
   ip address 192.168.1.103
   inservice
rserver host test4
   ip address 192.168.1.104
   inservice
serverfarm host auto
probe HTTP-diagnostic
rserver test1
    inservice
rserver test2
    inservice
serverfarm host news
probe HTTP-diagnostic
rserver test3
    inservice
rserver test4
    inservice
sticky http-cookie autoCookie auto-cookie
cookie insert browser-expire
replicate sticky
serverfarm auto
sticky http-cookie newsCookie news-cookie
cookie insert browser-expire
replicate sticky
serverfarm news
class-map type http loadbalance match-any auto
2 match http header Host header-value "www.auto.local"
3 match http header Host header-value "auto.local"
class-map type http loadbalance match-any news
   2 match http header Host header-value "www.news.local"
   3 match http header Host header-value "news.local"
class-map match-all prod_VIP
2 match virtual-address XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX tcp eq www
policy-map type loadbalance first-match prod_POLICY
class auto
    sticky-serverfarm auto-cookie
class news
    sticky-serverfarm news-cookie
class class-default
    sticky-serverfarm auto-cookie
policy-map multi-match aggregate-slb-apps
class prod_VIP
    loadbalance vip inservice
    loadbalance policy prod_POLICY
    loadbalance vip icmp-reply active
    loadbalance vip advertise
    appl-parameter http advanced-options CASE_PARAM

Ace 6500 question

new to ace just purchased a new blade, could somebody advise on deployment in routed and single arm mode. if a client connects to the vip can the traffic route back out the vip interface to the servers. we have a dmz were we want to deploy a vip, once the packet enters the dmz and hits the vip can the servers be located on the same subnet as the vip and also a backup server on another dmz or even the inside of the firewall.

I am also fairly new to the ACE modules, but I think I can answer your question. Yes the servers can be located on the same subnet as the VIP. As for the backup servers, as long as the ACE can reach the servers via IP you can load balance servers even if they are if different VLANs or DMZ's.
I have a context in one arm mode and would suggest against it unless you do not have a choice. Even though one arm mode is easy to set up, it can be a little hard to troubleshoot if you have source NAT enabled, if you do not have Source NAT enabled on the ACE, you will have to configure PBR on the MFSC of the 6500 and specify what you want to go to the ACE(what needs to be load balanced).
If you configure the ACE in routed mode, be sure that you configure it so that you do not run into an assymetrical routing issues.
Like I said; I am fairly new to these load balancers, but we have very talented folks on this site that can assist you with almost any ACE related question that you may have.
Good luck,
John...

ACE checkpoint question

I have a ACE checkpoint question. when u create a checkpoint to save the config on the ACE module where does the file get stored

HI,,
To display checkpoint information, use the show checkpoint command in Exec mode. The syntax of this command is:
show checkpoint {all | detail name}
The options and arguments are:
â¢all-Displays a list of all existing checkpoints
â¢detail name-Displays the running configuration of the specified checkpoint
For example, to display the running configuration for a specific checkpoint, enter:
host1/Admin# show checkpoint detail MYCHECKPOINT
Sachin

Want to know about ACE module in 6509 : load-balancing concept

Hi,
I am quite new in this field , where i need to configure and understand the concept of load-balancing through ACE.
In my existing network set-up , i have some application servers as well as some other servers where i am looking for load-balancing.
I have gone through some of the site and cisco site as well and i came across ACE module which can be installed in 6509 switch.
I have 6509 switch as well but before going for installing the ACE module I am keen to understand below things:
1) what is difference between CSM or any other product load-balancer and ACE module :
Gone through site as well , but not getting proper answer or comparison.
1) I have some of the server configured with clustering and getting one virtual IP, In this case , will ACE work ?
2) If suppose i go for configuring different IP address with all server IP :
How do i achieve it ?
3) what is Virtual IP concept in ACE because i do not have and other ACE module then why do i need virtual IP ?
4) will the load-balancing happens based on destination based or session based ?
Please share the knowledge. It would be great help for me to go ahead with ACE and configure it and understand all the application ?

Hello,
1) what is difference between CSM or any other product load-balancer and ACE module :
There are several differences but to say simply, you get higher performance and more features with ACE module/appliance comparing others.
One big difference is that with ACE seriese, you can configure multiple contexts on one box (virtual load-balancers on one box) that makes us possible to provide a virtual load-balancer to a customer. In that way, the customer can access and makes changes on only the virtual box. You can split management domain for each customers. Also using contexts, you can assign certain resources available on the hardware for each contexts according to their service contract.
ACE serise has specific hardware chip for supporting SSL termination but some others do not.
For instance, you need a CSM-S, or a CSM and a SSL module to terminate SSL.
The other thing I should mention is that our most recent product is ACE serise that means it has longer product roadmap.
Let me try clarifying your other questions.
3) what is Virtual IP concept in ACE because i do not have and other ACE module then why do i need virtual IP ?
4) will the load-balancing happens based on destination based or session based ?
I think I'd better to put 3) and 4) first.
Virtual ip address (VIP) is the address to which client accesses.
VIP is tied with a serverfarm or serverfarms, in a serverfarm one or multiple rservers can be configured.
"serverfarm" is a group of "rservers".
"rserver" means real-server that has an ip address and processes transactions.
When a client accesses to the VIP, ACE picks up a rserver according to algorithm.
If you configure a VIP that is tied with a serverfarm where only one rsever is configured, client accesses to the virtual ip address are
all forwarded to the rserver.
If you configure a VIP that is tied with a serverfarm where multiple rsevers are configured, client accesses to the virtual ip address are
balanced among those rservers.
If you configure multiple VIPs, client accesses to those VIPs are forwareded to corresponding rservers according to configuration.
1) I have some of the server configured with clustering and getting one virtual IP, In this case , will ACE work ?
ACE load-balances connections to configured rservers.
If the clustered servers are sharing one virtual ip address and you configure the virtual ip address as a rserver, all connections are
sent to the virtual ip address. That is not "load-balancing" on ACE... You need multiple rservers to which ACE load-balances connections.
2) If suppose i go for configuring different IP address with all server IP :
How do i achieve it ?
You can configure those ip addresses as rserver ip address.
Multiple rservers are tied into a group, "serverfarm".
I'm not certain about your culstered servers but I guess you can configure each ip addresses in the culster as rservers.
Then put those rservers in a serverfarm.Client accesses to a virtual ip address configured on ACE for the serverfarm.
This way connections are load-balanced among those rservers depending on load-balancing algorithm you choose.
Above is just an overveiw. ACE gives you granular control not mentioned above.
I can provide more specific information if you tell me details of what you are trying to archive with ACE.
Regards,
Kimihito.

ACE module, TLS and smtp

Hello,
On a ACE module running software version ACE2(1.0), I have defined a virtual smtp server that is load-balanced to a serverfarm containing 2 SMTP servers. Normal SMTP connexions on port 25 work fine. SMTPS connexions to port 465 of a second vserver also work fine: SSL termination occurs at the ACE module and SMTP connexions to the real servers are in clear text on port 25. But I am having problems with TLS.
If a client connecting to port 25 of the first vserver tries to negotiate TLS, it works but it's the real server that handles TLS encryption. This is normal behavior - but the certificate has to be installed on each of the real servers. I would like the ACE module to handle TLS (it's supported according to the documentation). That way the certificate would only have to be installed on the ACE module.
So I tried to setup a third vserver on port 587 with the same "proxy-service" as the second vserver used for SSL. If a client connects to port 587 of the vserver via TLS, we only see the 3-way handshake between the client and the vserver, then a pause of a few seconds, then a FIN from the client and finally an ACK and a RESET from the vserver.
There are absolutely no lines in the log that could help me find out what's happening.
I found the "debug ssl" command in the documentation but I don't know how to use it - I entered the command and nothing happened; I don't know where the debugging information goes. This is probably why there's a warning that says that "The ACE debug commands are intended for use by trained Cisco personnel only."...
So my questions are: why is TLS not working? How can I find out why it's not working? Where does the "debug" information go when we use the "debug" commands?
Thanks a lot for any help you can give me!
Regards,
Marc.

SMTP over TLS is not supported in ACE currently.
SMTP doesnt use SSL/TLS simply as a secure transport like LDAP, IMAP, POP, HTTP.
In case of SMTP client needs to open a new conn.
So ACE or for that matter any other SMTP relay device needs to terminate conn, look in to the SMTP pkts and punch hole according to the new client conns.
You can get more details at
http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2487
Syed

A problem with ACL in the class-map on the ACE module

Hi all,
I configured the following on the ACE module:
object-group network test
host 192.168.1.21
host 192.168.1.22
host 192.168.1.23
object-group service port
tcp eq www
tcp eq 8080
access-list T line 8 extended permit object-group port object-group test any
I tried to configure a class-map for matching this ACL:
ACE-4710-2/Lab-OPT-11(config)# class-map match-any TEST_C
ACE-4710-2/Lab-OPT-11(config-cmap)# match access-list T
Error: Cannot associate acl having object-group ACEs in class-map.
So couldn't I configure the class-map by using ACL with object-groups involved? Is it the bug or the normal behaviour? Because the customer uses object-groups in ACLs and he has to configure ACL without object-groups for the traffic classification. It is horrible.
Thank you
Roman

Hi Roman,
I'm afraid it's the expected behavior. You cannot use an ACL with object-groups inside a class-map.
Regards
Daniel

How to Virtual IP configuration in ACE module?

Hi,
I am in the process of configuring load balancing on ACE module but struggling to configure virtual IP address for ACE module.
I'm working on ACE30 module and using software version A5 (1.2). ACE module is in slot of Catalyst 6504 switch.
Can anybody please post the steps/commands to perform this activity? An early response would be appreciated.
Regards,
Rachit.

Hi Rachit,
Here is a basic configuration example:
access-list Allow_Access line 10 extended permit ip any any
rserver host test
ip address 10.198.16.98
inservice
rserver host test2
ip address 10.198.16.93
inservice
serverfarm host test
rserver test 80
    inservice
rserver test2 80
    inservice
sticky http-cookie test group2
cookie insert
serverfarm test
class-map match-all VIP
2 match virtual-address 10.198.16.122 tcp eq www
policy-map type loadbalance first-match test
class class-default
    sticky-serverfarm group1
policy-map multi-match clients
class VIP
    loadbalance vip inservice
    loadbalance policy test
    loadbalance vip icmp-reply active
    nat dynamic 1 vlan 112
interface vlan 112
ip address 10.198.16.91 255.255.255.192
access-group input Allow_Access
nat-pool 1 10.198.16.122 10.198.16.122 netmask 255.255.255.192 pat
service-policy input NSS_MGMT
service-policy input clients
no shutdown
ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 10.198.16.65
Here is the configuration guide:
http://tools.cisco.com/squish/101AD
Cesar R

Load Balancing on ACE Modules

hi,
Is it possible to load balance VIP hits on two ACE Modules in an active/active configuration. Or is it that only per FT group only single context could be active.
Regards.

You can have 1 context active on one ACE and the other context active on the other ACE.
If you have 2 Vip, you can have 1 vip belonging to one context and the other vip belonging to the other context.
Like this, you split the traffic between the 2 devices which allows you to handle more traffic than what 1 device could normally do.
If one device can handle all your traffic, I prefer to only have 1 active unit and 1 standby.
Easier to implement and troubleshoot.
Gilles.

ACE Module Question

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for