Manual Chapter :
SNATs for client-initiated (inbound) connections
Applies To:
Show Versions
BIG-IP AAM
- 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0
BIG-IP APM
- 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.5, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0
BIG-IP Analytics
- 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.5, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0
BIG-IP Link Controller
- 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.5, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0
BIG-IP LTM
- 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.5, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0
BIG-IP PEM
- 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.5, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0
BIG-IP AFM
- 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.5, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0
BIG-IP DNS
- 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.5, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0
BIG-IP ASM
- 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.5, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0
SNATs for client-initiated (inbound) connections
In the most common client-server network configuration, the Local Traffic Manager standard address translation mechanism ensures that server responses return to the
client through the BIG-IP® system, thereby reversing the original
destination IP address translation. This typical network configuration is as follows:
- The server nodes are on the same subnet as the BIG-IP system.
- The client nodes are on a different subnet from the server nodes.
- The BIG-IP system is the default gateway for the server subnet.
However, there are atypical network configurations in which the standard BIG-IP system address translation sequence by itself does not ensure that server responses use the required return path. Examples of these atypical configurations are:
- When clients and servers are on the same network
- If you want to load balance requests to server nodes that are on the same network as the client nodes, you can create a SNAT so that server responses are sent back through the virtual server, rather than directly from the server node to the client node. Otherwise, problems can occur such as the client rejecting the response because the source of the response does not match the destination of the request. Known asvirtual server bounceback, this SNAT configuration causes the source of the response to match the destination of the request, thus ensuring that the client node accepts the response. You can use this kind of configuration when you want to load balance requests from web servers to application servers on the same network.
- When the default gateway of the server node is not the BIG-IP system
- For various reasons, the server node’s default route cannot always be defined to be a route back through the BIG-IP system. Again, this can cause problems such as the client rejecting the response because the source of the response does not match the destination of the request. The solution is to create a SNAT. When Local Traffic Manager then translates the client node’s source IP address in the request to the SNAT address, this causes the server node to use that SNAT address as its destination address when sending the response. This, in turn, forces the response to return to the client node through the BIG-IP system rather than through the server node’s default gateway.
- When using the OneConnect feature
- Local Traffic Manager OneConnect™ feature allows client requests to re-use idle server-side connections. Without a SNAT, the source IP address in the server-side connection remains the address of the client node that initially established the connection, regardless of which other client nodes re-use the connection. Although this is not an issue for traffic routing, you might find it confusing when examining various types of system output. A SNAT solves this problem.
Using a SNAT for inbound connections can impact the availability of ephemeral ports. This can lead to the SNAT being unable to process additional connections until some source ports become available.
This image shows a typical problem for client-initiated connections when Local Traffic Manager is not defined as the server’s default gateway, and you have not configured a SNAT for inbound traffic.
Client rejects response due to non-matching destination and source IP addresses
To prevent these problems, you can configure an inbound SNAT. An
inbound SNAT
translates the original client source IP address in a request to a BIG-IP system virtual server
or BIG-IP system self IP address, forcing subsequent server response to return directly to Local
Traffic Manager. When an inbound SNAT is configured on the system, Local Traffic Manager
translates not only the destination IP address in the request (using the standard address
translation mechanism), but also the source IP address in the request (using a SNAT).The figure below shows that by configuring a SNAT, you ensure that the response returns through
the BIG-IP system instead of through the default gateway, thus ensuring that the client can
accept the server response.
Client accepts response due to matching destination and source IP addresses
