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  3. Configuring Bandwidth Load Balancing
Manual Chapter : Configuring Bandwidth Load Balancing

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BIG-IP Link Controller

  • 13.1.1, 13.1.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.0, 12.1.6, 12.1.5, 12.1.4, 12.1.3, 12.1.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.0, 12.0.0, 11.6.5, 11.6.4
Manual Chapter

Configuring Bandwidth Load Balancing

Overview: Configuring bandwidth load balancing

This functionality is not currently available in the U.S.
You can configure BIG-IP®Link Controller™ to use bandwidth load balancing to manage the traffic flowing in and out of a network. In bandwidth load balancing, Link Controller uses a specific link until a traffic threshold has been met. After that threshold is met, the Link Controller shifts traffic to another link. When the traffic falls below the threshold, the Link Controller shifts traffic back to the first link.
The following illustration shows a network for configuring a bandwidth load balancing configuration.
Example of a network for configuring bandwidth load balancing
As the illustration shows, the most cost-efficient configuration is to have the Primary Link handle traffic until it reaches a certain level (for example, 50 Mbps), then send any traffic over a certain level (for example: 50 Mbps) to the Secondary Link. When the traffic decreases, the Link Controller must switch back to using only the Primary Link again.

Task summary for configuring link bandwidth load balancing

This functionality is not currently available in the U.S.
Use the tasks in this implementation to create a bandwidth load balancing configuration to manage the traffic flowing in and out of a network.

Task list

Creating the first bandwidth link for load balancing

Gather the IP address of the router associated with the ISP and IP address that corresponds with the external Internet connections. For the link, determine the total bandwidth threshold you want to use.
Create and configure the first link on Link Controller™, which determines how traffic enters and leaves your network.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Link Controller
    Links
    .
    The Links List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Link screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a name for the link.
    Link names are limited to
    63
     characters.
  4. In the
    Router Address
     field, type the IP address of the router.
  5. In the
    Uplink Address
     field, type the IP address that corresponds with the external Internet connection.
  6. For the
    Service Provider
     field, type the name of the ISP provider.
  7. From the
    Configuration
     list, select
    Advanced
    .
    Additional controls display on the screen.
  8. From the
    Traffic Limits
     field, set the total bandwidth thresholds for the link.
  9. Click
    Create
    .

Creating the second bandwidth link for load balancing

Gather the IP address of the router associated with the ISP and IP address that corresponds with the external Internet connection. For the link, determine the total bandwidth threshold you want to use.
Create and configure the second link on Link Controller™, which determines how traffic enters and leaves your network.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Link Controller
    Links
    .
    The Links List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Link screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a name for the link.
    Link names are limited to
    63
     characters.
  4. In the
    Router Address
     field, type the IP address of the router.
  5. In the
    Uplink Address
     field, type the IP address that corresponds with the external Internet connection.
  6. For the
    Service Provider
     field, type the name of the ISP provider.
  7. From the
    Configuration
     list, select
    Advanced
    .
    Additional controls display on the screen.
  8. From the
    Traffic Limits
     field, set the total bandwidth thresholds for the link.
  9. Click
    Create
    .

Creating a default gateway pool

Gather the IP addresses associated with each link.
Create a default gateway pool to load balance the outbound traffic across the links.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Pools
    .
    The Pools list screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Pool screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a name for the pool.
    Names must begin with a letter, and can contain only letters, numbers, and the underscore (_) character.
    The pool name is limited to 63 characters.
  4. In the New Members area, add the IP addresses associated with each link.
    1. In the
      Address
       field, type the IP address.
    2. Click
      Add
      .
  5. Click
    Finished
    .

Creating a default route to the internet

Configure Link Controller to use the pool as the default gateway connection between the internal network and the internet.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Network
    Routes
    .
  2. Click
    Add
    .
    The New Route screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name.
  4. From the
    Resource
     list, select
    Use Pool
    .
  5. From the
    Pool
     list, select
    default_gateway_pool
    .
  6. Click
    Finished
    .

Creating virtual servers to load balance connections across servers

Gather the IP addresses you want to use for creating the virtual servers.
Create two virtual servers, one for each link, to load balance inbound connections across the servers on the network.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Virtual Servers
    .
    The Virtual Server List screen opens.
  2. Click the
    Create
     button.
    The New Virtual Server screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the virtual server.
  4. In the
    Destination Address/Mask
     field, type the IP address you want to use for the virtual server.
  5. In the
    Service Port
     field, type
    80
    , or select
    HTTP
     from the list.
  6. Click
    Finished
    .
  7. Repeat these steps to create the second virtual server.

Creating a wildcard virtual server

Create a wildcard server to load balance outbound connections across the routers.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Virtual Servers
    .
    The Virtual Server List screen opens.
  2. Click the
    Create
     button.
    The New Virtual Server screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the virtual server.
  4. For the
    Destination Address/Mask
     setting, select
    Host
    , and type
    0.0.0.0
     in the address field.
  5. In the
    Service Port
     field, type
    0
    .
    Port
    0
     defines a wildcard virtual server that handles all types of services. If you specify a port number, you create a port-specific wildcard virtual server. In that case, the wildcard virtual server handles traffic only for the specified port.
  6. Click
    Finished
    .

Creating a wide IP

Before you can create a wide IP, you need IP addresses from two previously created virtual servers.
Create a wide IP to which Link Controller™ load balances incoming DNS requests.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Link Controller
    Inbound Wide IPs
    .
    The Wide IP List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Wide IP screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a name for the wide IP.
  4. From the
    Type
     list, select a record type for the wide IP.
  5. From the
    Load Balancing Method
     list, make selections from the
    Preferred
    ,
    Alternate
    , and
    Fallback
     lists.
  6. For the
    Member List
     field, add the address of the appropriate virtual server.
    1. From the
      Virtual Server
       list, select a virtual server.
    2. Click
      Add
      .
  7. Click
    Create
    .

Implementation result for bandwidth load balancing

You now have Link Controller™ configured to use bandwidth load balancing to manage DNS traffic.
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