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Manual Chapter : Integrating Portal Access and Secure Web Gateway

Applies To:

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BIG-IP APM

  • 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.0
Manual Chapter

Integrating Portal Access and Secure Web Gateway

Overview: Configuring transparent forward proxy for remote access

Access Policy Manager® (APM®) can be configured to act as a transparent forward proxy to support remote clients that connect using application access, network access, or portal access.
Using a distinct APM transparent forward proxy configuration to process traffic from remote clients separately from a forward proxy configuration used for processing traffic from internal clients provides an important measure of network security.
Transparent forward proxy for remote access
BIG-IP system with remote access and SWG transparent configurations

Prerequisites for APM transparent forward proxy for remote access

Before you start to create an Access Policy Manager (APM®) transparent forward proxy configuration to support remote access clients, you must have completed these tasks.
  • You must have a working Network Access, Portal Access, or Application Access configuration.
  • You need a per-request policy configured for forward proxy.
  • On a BIG-IP system with an SWG subscription, you must ensure that the URL database is downloaded. You can also configure any URL filters that you want to use in addition to, or instead of, the default URL filters.
  • On a BIG-IP system without an SWG subscription, if you want to designate only a few URLs for specific handling, you probably do not need to configure user-defined URL categories and filters. However, if you need to control access to many URLs, for better performance and ease-of-use you should configure user-defined URL categories and filters.

Configuration outline for APM transparent forward proxy for remote access

Tasks for integrating an Access Policy Manager (APM®) remote access configuration with a transparent forward proxy configuration for APM follow this order.
  • First, update the existing application access, network access, or portal access configuration to add a secure connectivity profile to the virtual server if one is not already specified.
  • Next, create a transparent forward proxy configuration for APM. The per-request policy is part of this configuration.
  • Finally, update the access policy in the existing application access, network access, or portal access configuration if needed. If the per-request policy uses group or class lookup items, add queries to the access policy to populate the session variables on which the lookup items rely.

Create a connectivity profile

You create a connectivity profile to configure client connections.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Access
    Connectivity / VPN
    Connectivity
    Profiles
    .
    A list of connectivity profiles displays.
  2. Click
    Add
    .
    The Create New Connectivity Profile popup screen opens and displays General Settings.
  3. Type a
    Profile Name
     for the connectivity profile.
  4. Select a
    Parent Profile
     from the list.
    APM provides a default profile,
    connectivity
    .
  5. Click
    OK
    .
    The popup screen closes, and the Connectivity Profile List displays.
The connectivity profile displays in the list.
To provide functionality with a connectivity profile, you must add the connectivity profile and an access profile to a virtual server.

Add a connectivity profile to a virtual server

Update a virtual server that is part of an Access Policy Manager application access, network access, or portal access configuration to enable a secure connectivity interface for traffic from the client.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Virtual Servers
    .
    The Virtual Server List screen opens.
  2. Click the name of the virtual server you want to modify.
  3. Scroll down to the Access Policy area.
  4. From the
    Connectivity Profile
     list, select the connectivity profile.
  5. Click
    Update
     to save the changes.

Create an access profile for transparent forward proxy

You create an access profile to supply an access policy.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Access
    Profiles / Policies
    .
    The Access Profiles (Per-Session Policies) screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Profile screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a name for the access profile.
    An access profile name must be unique among all per-session profile and per-request policy names.
  4. From the
    Profile Type
     list, select
    SWG-Transparent
    .
    Additional fields display set to default values.
  5. In the Language Settings area, add and remove accepted languages, and set the default language.
    A browser uses the highest priority accepted language. If no browser language matches the accepted languages list, the browser uses the default language.
  6. Click
    Finished
    .
    The Access Profiles list screen displays.
The access profile displays in the Access Profiles List. Default-log-setting is assigned to the access profile.
You do not need to add any actions or make any changes to the access policy.

Create a wildcard virtual server for HTTP traffic on the connectivity interface

Before you begin, you need to know the name of the connectivity profile specified in the virtual server for the remote access configuration that you want Access Policy Manager (APM) to protect.
You configure a virtual server to process web traffic on the secure connectivity interface for a remote access client.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Virtual Servers
    .
    The Virtual Server List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    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
    0.0.0.0
     to accept any IPv4 traffic.
  5. In the
    Service Port
     field, type
    80
    , or select
    HTTP
     from the list.
  6. From the
    Configuration
     list, select
    Advanced
    .
  7. From the
    HTTP Profile (Client)
     list, select a previously-created HTTP/2 profile for client-side traffic.
  8. Scroll down to the
    VLAN and Tunnel Traffic
     setting and select
    Enabled on
    .
  9. For the
    VLANs and Tunnels
     setting, move the secure connectivity interface to the
    Selected
     list.
  10. From the
    Source Address Translation
     list, select
    Auto Map
    .
  11. Scroll down to the
    Port Translation
     setting and clear the
    Enabled
     check box.
  12. In the Access Policy area, from the
    Access Profile
     list, select the access profile that you configured earlier.
  13. In the Access Policy area, from the
    Per-Request Policy
     list, select the policy that you configured earlier.
  14. Click
    Finished
    .

Create a custom Client SSL forward proxy profile

You perform this task to create a Client SSL forward proxy profile that makes it possible for client and server authentication while still allowing the BIG-IP system to perform data optimization, such as decryption and encryption. This profile applies to client-side SSL forward proxy traffic only.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Profiles
    SSL
    Client
    .
    The Client SSL profile list screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Client SSL Profile screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the profile.
  4. From the
    Parent Profile
     list, select
    clientssl
    .
  5. From the
    SSL Forward Proxy
     list, select
    Advanced
    .
  6. Select the
    Custom
     check box for the SSL Forward Proxy area.
  7. Modify the SSL Forward Proxy settings.
    1. From the
      SSL Forward Proxy
       list, select
      Enabled
      .
    2. From the
      CA Certificate
       list, select a certificate.
      If the BIG-IP system is part of a DSC Sync-Failover group, always select a non-default certificate name, and ensure that this same certificate name is specified in every instance of this SSL profile in the device group. Taking these actions helps to ensure that SSL handshakes are successful after a failover event.
    3. From the
      CA Key
       list, select a key.
      If the BIG-IP system is part of a DSC Sync-Failover group, always select a non-default key name, and ensure that this same key name is specified in every instance of this SSL profile in the device group. Taking these actions helps to ensure that SSL handshakes are successful after a failover event.
    4. In the
      CA Passphrase
       field, type a passphrase.
    5. In the
      Confirm CA Passphrase
       field, type the passphrase again.
    6. In the
      Certificate Lifespan
       field, type a lifespan for the SSL forward proxy certificate in days.
    7. From the
      Certificate Extensions
       list, select
      Extensions List
      .
    8. For the
      Certificate Extensions List
       setting, select the extensions that you want in the
      Available extensions
       field, and move them to the
      Enabled Extensions
       field using the
      Enable
       button.
    9. Select the
      Cache Certificate by Addr-Port
       check box if you want to cache certificates by IP address and port number.
    10. From the
      SSL Forward Proxy Bypass
       list, select
      Enabled
      .
      Additional settings display.
    11. From the
      Bypass Default Action
       list, select
      Intercept
       or
      Bypass
      .
      The default action applies to addresses and hostnames that do not match any entry specified in the lists that you specify. The system matches traffic first against destination IP address lists, then source IP address lists, and lastly, hostname lists. Within these, the default action also specifies whether to search the intercept list or the bypass list first.
      If you select
      Bypass
       and do not specify any additional settings, you introduce a security risk to your system.
  8. Click
    Finished
    .

Create a custom Server SSL profile

Create a custom server SSL profile to support SSL forward proxy.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Profiles
    SSL
    Server
    .
    The Server SSL profile list screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Server SSL Profile screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the profile.
  4. For
    Parent Profile
    , retain the default selection,
    serverssl
    .
  5. Select the
    Proxy SSL
     check box (the rest of the UI will collapse following this setting).
  6. Optionally, select the
    Proxy SSL Passthrough
     check box.
    This option is often not needed. Review the Knowledge Center article K13385: Overview of the Proxy SSL feature for guidelines on when to enable this setting and its implications.
  7. Configure the
    Certificate
     and
    Key
     using the identical Certificate and Key details configured on the server.
    Import the details to the BIG-IP system prior to configuring
    Proxy SSL
    .
  8. Click
    Finished
    .

Create a wildcard virtual server for SSL traffic on the connectivity interface

Before you begin, you need to know the name of the connectivity profile specified in the virtual server for the remote access configuration that you want Secure Web Gateway (SWG) to protect. Also, if you do not have existing client SSL and server SSL profiles that you want to use, configure them before you start.
You configure a virtual server to process SSL web traffic coming in on the secure connectivity interface for a remote access client.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Virtual Servers
    .
    The Virtual Server List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    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
    0.0.0.0
     to accept any IPv4 traffic.
  5. In the
    Service Port
     field, type
    443
     or select
    HTTPS
     from the list.
  6. From the
    Configuration
     list, select
    Advanced
    .
  7. From the
    HTTP Profile (Client)
     list, select a previously-created HTTP/2 profile for client-side traffic.
  8. For the
    SSL Profile (Client)
     setting, from the
    Available
     list, select the name of the Client SSL forward proxy profile you previously created, and using the Move button, move the name to the
    Selected
     list.
    To enable SSL forward proxy functionality, you can either:
    • Disassociate existing Client SSL and Server SSL profiles from a virtual server and configure the SSL Forward Proxy settings.
    • Create new Client SSL and Server SSL profiles and configure the SSL Forward Proxy settings.
    Then with either option, select the Client SSL and Server SSL profiles on a virtual server. You cannot modify existing Client SSL and Server SSL profiles while they are selected on a virtual server to enable SSL forward proxy functionality.
  9. For the
    SSL Profile (Server)
     setting, from the
    Available
     list, select the name of the Server SSL forward proxy profile you previously created, and using the Move button, move the name to the
    Selected
     list.
    To enable SSL forward proxy functionality, you can either:
    • Disassociate existing Client SSL and Server SSL profiles from a virtual server and configure the SSL Forward Proxy settings.
    • Create new Client SSL and Server SSL profiles and configure the SSL Forward Proxy settings.
    Then with either option, select the Client SSL and Server SSL profiles on a virtual server. You cannot modify existing Client SSL and Server SSL profiles while they are selected on a virtual server to enable SSL forward proxy functionality.
  10. Scroll down to the
    VLAN and Tunnel Traffic
     setting and select
    Enabled on
    .
  11. For the
    VLANs and Tunnels
     setting, move the secure connectivity interface to the
    Selected
     list.
  12. From the
    Source Address Translation
     list, select
    Auto Map
    .
  13. Scroll down to the
    Port Translation
     setting and clear the
    Enabled
     check box.
  14. For the
    Address Translation
     setting, clear the
    Enabled
     check box.
  15. In the Access Policy area, from the
    Access Profile
     list, select the access profile that you configured earlier.
  16. In the Access Policy area, from the
    Per-Request Policy
     list, select the policy that you configured earlier.
  17. Click
    Finished
    .

Update the access policy in the remote access configuration

Add queries to the access policy to populate any session variables that are required for successful execution of the per-request policy.
Class lookup or group lookup items in a per-request policy rely on session variables that can only be populated in this access policy.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Access
    Profiles / Policies
    .
    The Access Profiles (Per-Session Policies) screen opens.
  2. Click the name of the access profile that you want to edit.
    The properties screen opens.
  3. In the General Properties area, click the
    Edit Access Policy for Profile
    profile_name
     link.
    The visual policy editor opens the access policy in a separate screen.
  4. Click the
    (+)
     icon anywhere in the access policy to add a new item.
    Only an applicable subset of access policy items is available for selection in the visual policy editor for any access profile type.
    A popup screen opens, listing predefined actions on tabs such as General Purpose, Authentication, and so on.
  5. To supply LDAP group information for use in the per-request policy, add an LDAP Query item anywhere in the policy and configure its properties:
    1. From the
      Server
       list, select an AAA LDAP server.
      An LDAP Query uses SSL connections when you select an LDAP AAA server that is configured for LDAPS.
    2. Specify the
      SearchDN
      , and
      SearchFilter
       settings.
      SearchDN is the base DN from which the search is done.
    3. Click
      Save
      .
    This item populates the
    session.ldap.last.attr.memberOf
     session variable.
  6. To supply Active Directory groups for use in the per-request policy, add an AD Query item anywhere in the policy and configure its properties:
    1. From the
      Server
       list, select an AAA AD server.
    2. Select the
      Fetch Primary Group
       check box.
      The value of the primary user group populates the
      session.ad.last.attr.primaryGroupID
       session variable.
    3. Click
      Save
      .
  7. To supply RADIUS class attributes for use in the per-request policy, add a RADIUS Auth item anywhere in the policy and configure its properties:
    1. From the
      Server
       list, select an AAA RADIUS server.
    2. Click
      Save
      .
    This item populates the
    session.radius.last.attr.class
     session variable.
  8. To supply local database groups for use in the per-request policy, add a Local Database item anywhere in the policy and configure its properties:
    1. From the
      LocalDB Instance
       list, select a local user database.
    2. In the
      User Name
       field, retain the default session variable.
    3. Click
      Add new entry
      A new line is added to the list of entries with the Action set to
      Read
       and other default settings.
    4. In the Destination column
      Session Variable
       field, type
      session.localdb.groups
      .
      If you type a name other than
      session.localdb.groups
      , note it. You will need it when you configure the per-request access policy.
    5. In the Source column from the
      DB Property
       list, select
      groups
      .
    6. Click
      Save
      .
    This item populates the
    session.localdb.groups
     session variable.
The access policy is configured to support the per-request policy.
Click the
Apply Access Policy
 link to apply and activate your changes to this access policy.
To ensure that logging is configured to meet your requirements, verify the log settings for the access profile.

About configuration elements for transparent forward proxy (remote access)

When you configure the BIG-IP system so that Access Policy Manager (APM) can act as a transparent forward proxy for use by remote access clients, you might want to understand how these objects fit into the overall configuration.
Secure connectivity interface
In a remote access configuration, a connectivity profile is required on the virtual server to specify a secure connectivity interface for traffic from the client. In the APM configuration, wildcard virtual servers must listen on the secure connectivity interface for traffic from remote access clients.
Per-request policy
In any APM forward proxy configuration, the determination of whether a user can access a URL must be made in a per-request access policy. A per-request access policy determines whether to block or allow access to a request based on time or date or group membership or other criteria that you configure.
Access policies
The access policy in the remote access configuration continues to authenticate users, assign resources, and evaluate ACLs, if any. In addition, this access policy must populate any session variables used in the per-request policy. An access profile of the
SWG-Transparent
 type is required; however, it is not necessary to include any items in the access policy.

Per-request policy items that read session variables

This table lists some of the many per-request policy items that read session variables.
Per-request policy item
Session variable
Access policy item
AD Group Lookup
session.ad.last.attr.primaryGroupID
AD Query
LDAP Group Lookup
session.ldap.last.attr.memberOf
LDAP Query
LocalDB Group Lookup
session.localdb.groups
This session variable is a default in the expression for LocalDB Group Lookup; any session variable in the expression must match the session variable used in the Local Database action in the access policy.
Local Database
RADIUS Class Lookup
session.radius.last.attr.class
RADIUS Auth
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