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Manual Chapter : Transparent Forward Proxy Configurations

Applies To:

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BIG-IP APM

  • 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.0
Manual Chapter

Transparent Forward Proxy Configurations

Overview: Configuring transparent forward proxy

In transparent forward proxy, you configure your internal network to forward web traffic to the BIG-IP system with Access Policy Manager® (APM®) configured to act as a forward proxy. Use this configuration when your topology includes a router on which you can configure policy-based routing or Web Cache Communication Protocol (WCCP) to send any traffic for ports 80 and 443 to the BIG-IP system.
This implementation describes only the configuration required on the BIG-IP system.
APM transparent forward proxy deployment
swg
The router sends traffic to the self-ip address of a VLAN configured on the BIG-IP system. Virtual servers listen on the VLAN and process the traffic that most closely matches the virtual server address. APM identifies users without using session management cookies. A per-request policy, configured to use action items that determine the URL category and apply a URL filter, controls access.
Transparent forward proxy provides the option to use a captive portal. To use this option, you need an additional virtual server, not shown in the figure, for the captive portal primary authentication server.

Task summary

Use these procedures to configure the virtual servers, SSL profiles, access profile, and VLAN that you need to support transparent forward proxy. When you are done, you must add an access policy and a per-request policy to this configuration to process traffic as you want.

Task list

About the iApp for Secure Web Gateway configuration

When deployed as an application service, the Secure Web Gateway (SWG) iApps template can set up either an explicit or a transparent forward proxy configuration. The template is designed for use on a system provisioned and licensed with SWG. To download a zipped file of iApp templates from the F5 Downloads site at (
downloads.f5.com
), you must register for an F5 support account. In the zipped file, a README and template for F5 Secure Web Gateway are located in the RELEASE_CANDIDATE folder.

About user identification with a logon page

User identification by IP address is a method that is available for these access profile types: SWG-Explicit, SWG-Transparent, and LTM-APM.
Identify users by IP address only when IP addresses are unique and can be trusted.
To support this option, a logon page must be added to the access policy to explicitly identify users. The logon page requests user credentials and validates them to identify the users. For explicit forward proxy, a 407 response page is the appropriate logon page action. For transparent forward proxy, a 401 response page is the appropriate logon page action. For LTM-APM, the Logon Page action is appropriate.
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM®) maintains an internal mapping of IP addresses to user names.

About user identification with an SWG F5 agent

Transparent user identification
 makes a best effort to identify users without requesting credentials. It is not authentication. It should be used only when you are comfortable accepting a best effort at user identification.
Transparent user identification is supported in Secure Web Gateway (SWG) configurations for either explicit or transparent forward proxy. An agent obtains data and stores a mapping of IP addresses to user names in an IF-MAP server. An F5 DC Agent queries domain controllers. An F5 Logon Agent runs a script when a client logs in and can be configured to run a script when the client logs out.
Agents are available only on a BIG-IP system with an SWG subscription.
In an access policy, a Transparent Identity Import item obtains the IP-address-to-username-mapping from the IF-MAP server. This item can be used alone for determining whether to grant access or be paired with another query to look up the user or validate user information.
To support this option, either the Secure Web Gateway F5 DC Agent or F5 Logon Agent must be downloaded, installed, and configured.

Creating a VLAN for transparent forward proxy

You need a VLAN on which the forward proxy can listen. For increased security, the VLAN should directly face your clients.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Network
    VLANs
    .
    The VLAN List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New VLAN screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the VLAN.
  4. For the
    Interfaces
     setting,
    1. From the
      Interface
       list, select an interface number.
    2. From the
      Tagging
       list, select
      Untagged
      .
    3. Click
      Add
      .
  5. Click
    Finished
    .
    The screen refreshes, and it displays the new VLAN in the list.
The new VLAN appears in the VLAN list.

Assigning a self IP address to a VLAN

Assign a self IP address to a VLAN on which the forward proxy listens.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Network
    Self IPs
    .
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Self IP screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the self IP address.
  4. In the
    IP Address
     field, type the IP address of the VLAN.
    The system accepts IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.
  5. In the
    Netmask
     field, type the network mask for the specified IP address.
    For example, you can type
    255.255.255.0
    .
  6. From the
    VLAN/Tunnel
     list, select the VLAN.
  7. Click
    Finished
    .
    The screen refreshes, and displays the new self IP address.

Creating an access profile for transparent forward proxy

You create an access profile to provide the access policy configuration for a virtual server that establishes a secured session.
  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
    .
    After you complete this step, the
    User Identification Method
     is set to
    IP Address
     and cannot be changed.
    Additional settings display.
  5. To use NTLM authentication before a session starts, from the
    NTLM Auth Configuration
     list select a configuration.
    For NTLM authentication to work, you must also enable the
    Captive Portals
     setting and specify an IP address in the
    Primary Authentication URI
     field for the virtual server that you configure for the captive portal.
    In the case of a shared machine, an IP address might already be associated with a user or a session. Using NTLM authentication ensures that the system can associate the IP address with the correct session (new or existing) or with a new user each time a user logs on to the shared machine.
  6. To direct users to a captive portal, for
    Captive Portal
     select
    Enabled
     and, in the
    Primary Authentication URI
     field, type the URI.
    You might specify the URI of your primary authentication server if you use single sign-on across multiple domains. Users can then access multiple back-end applications from multiple domains and hosts without needing to re-enter their credentials, because the user session is stored on the primary domain.
    For example, you might type
    https://logon.siterequest.com
     in the field.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.

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
    .

Creating a virtual server for forward proxy SSL traffic

You configure a virtual server to processthe SSL web traffic in a transparent forward proxy configuration.
  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. If you plan to use this virtual server for proxy chaining from APM, from the
    HTTP Proxy Connect Profile
     list, select a profile that you configured previously or select
    http-proxy-connect
    .
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. For the
    VLAN and Tunnel Traffic
     setting, retain the default value
    All VLANs and Tunnels
     list.
  12. From the
    Source Address Translation
     list, select
    Auto Map
    .
  13. For the
    Address Translation
     setting, clear the
    Enabled
     check box.
  14. Click
    Finished
    .
The virtual server now appears in the Virtual Server List screen.
After you configure an access policy and a per-request policy, specify them in the Access Profile settings area of this virtual server.

Creating a virtual server for forward proxy traffic

You configure a virtual server to process web traffic going to port 80 in a transparent forward proxy configuration.
  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. For the
    HTTP Connect Profile
     setting, be sure to retain the default value
    None
    .
  9. For the
    VLAN and Tunnel Traffic
     setting, retain the default value
    All VLANs and Tunnels
     list.
  10. From the
    Source Address Translation
     list, select
    Auto Map
    .
  11. For the
    Address Translation
     setting, clear the
    Enabled
     check box.
  12. Click
    Finished
    .
The virtual server now appears in the Virtual Server List screen.
After you configure an access policy and a per-request policy, specify them in the Access Profile settings area of this virtual server.

Creating a Client SSL profile for a captive portal

You create a Client SSL profile when you want the BIG-IP system to authenticate and decrypt/encrypt client-side application traffic. You create this profile if you enabled Captive Portals in the access profile and if you want to use client-side SSL.
  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. For the
    Parent Profile
     list, retain the default value,
    clientssl
    .
  5. Select the
    Custom
     check box.
  6. In the Certificate Key Chain area, select a certificate and key combination to use for SSL encryption for the captive portal.
    This certificate should match the FQDN configured in the access profile
    SWG-Transparent
     type to avoid security warnings, and should be generated by a certificate authority that your browser clients trust.
    If the key is encrypted, type a passphrase. Otherwise, leave the
    Passphrase
     field blank.
  7. Click
    Finished
    .
After creating the Client SSL profile and assigning the profile to a virtual server, the BIG-IP system can apply SSL security to the type of application traffic for which the virtual server is configured to listen.

Creating a virtual server for a captive portal

You configure a virtual server to use as a captive portal if you enabled the
Captive Portals
setting in the access profile.
  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 the IP address for a host virtual server.
    This field accepts an address in CIDR format (IP address/prefix). However, when you type the complete IP address for a host, you do not need to type a prefix after the address.
    Type a destination address in this format:
    162.160.15.20
    .
  5. Specify a port in the
    Service Port
     field.
    If you plan to use client-side SSL, type
    443
     or select
    HTTPS
     from the list.
  6. From the
    HTTP Profile
     list, be sure to retain the default value
    http
    .
  7. For the
    HTTP Connect Profile
     setting, be sure to retain the default value
    None
    .
    Whether or not you plan to use client-side SSL, for a captive portal the value for this setting should be
    None
    .
  8. If you plan to use client-side SSL, for the
    SSL Profile (Client)
     setting, move the profile you configured previously from the
    Available
     list to the
    Selected
     list.
  9. Click
    Finished
    .
The virtual server appears in the Virtual Server List screen.
After you configure an access policy, specify it in the Access Profile settings area of this virtual server.

Implementation result

You now have the profiles, virtual servers, and other configuration objects that you need for transparent forward proxy.
Before you send traffic to this configuration, you need to configure an access policy and a per-request policy and specify them in the virtual servers.
Access policy and per-request policy configuration depends on what you are trying to do. To locate examples, look for configurations that categorize and filter traffic, intercept or bypass SSL traffic, forward traffic to a third party proxy server, and so on.

About redirects after access denied by captive portal

A tool that captures HTTP traffic can reveal what appears to be an extra redirect after a user attempts to gain access using a captive portal but fails. Instead of immediately redirecting the user to the logout page, the user is first redirected to the landing URI, and then a request to the landing URI is redirected to the logout page.
This sample output shows both redirects: the 302 to the landing page
http://berkeley.edu/index.html
 and the 302 to the logout page
http://berkeley.edu/vdesk/hangup.php3
. 
POST  
https://bigip-master.com/my.policy?ORIG_URI=http://berkeley.edu/index.html

302   
http://berkeley.edu/index.html


GET   
http://berkeley.edu/index.html

302   
http://berkeley.edu/vdesk/hangup.php3
Although the 302 to the landing page might seem to be an extra redirect, it is not. When a request is made, a subordinate virtual server transfers the request to the dominant virtual server to complete the access policy. When the dominant virtual server completes the access policy, it transfers the user back to the subordinate virtual server, on the same original request. The subordinate virtual server then enforces the result of the access policy.

Overview: Configuring transparent forward proxy in inline mode

In a configuration where Access Policy Manager® (APM®) acts as a transparent forward proxy, you configure your internal network to forward web traffic to the BIG-IP system. This implementation describes an
inline deployment
. You place the BIG-IP system directly in the path of traffic, or inline, as the next hop after the gateway.
Transparent forward proxy inline deployment
swg
The gateway sends traffic to the self IP address of a VLAN configured on the BIG-IP system.
Wildcard
 virtual servers listen on the VLAN and process the traffic that most closely matches the virtual server address. A wildcard virtual server is a special type of network virtual server designed to manage network traffic that is targeted to transparent network devices.
Transparent forward proxy provides the option to use a captive portal. To use this option, you need an additional virtual server, not shown in the figure, for the captive portal primary authentication server.

Task summary

Use these procedures to configure the virtual servers, SSL profiles, access profile, VLAN, and self-IP that you need to support inline transparent forward proxy. When you are done, you must add an access policy and a per-request policy to this configuration to process traffic as you want.

Task list

About the iApp for Secure Web Gateway configuration

When deployed as an application service, the Secure Web Gateway (SWG) iApps template can set up either an explicit or a transparent forward proxy configuration. The template is designed for use on a system provisioned and licensed with SWG. To download a zipped file of iApp templates from the F5 Downloads site at (
downloads.f5.com
), you must register for an F5 support account. In the zipped file, a README and template for F5 Secure Web Gateway are located in the RELEASE_CANDIDATE folder.

Creating a VLAN for transparent forward proxy

You need a VLAN on which the forward proxy can listen. For increased security, the VLAN should directly face your clients.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Network
    VLANs
    .
    The VLAN List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New VLAN screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the VLAN.
  4. For the
    Interfaces
     setting,
    1. From the
      Interface
       list, select an interface number.
    2. From the
      Tagging
       list, select
      Untagged
      .
    3. Click
      Add
      .
  5. Click
    Finished
    .
    The screen refreshes, and it displays the new VLAN in the list.
The new VLAN appears in the VLAN list.

Assigning a self IP address to a VLAN

Assign a self IP address to a VLAN on which the forward proxy listens.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Network
    Self IPs
    .
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Self IP screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the self IP address.
  4. In the
    IP Address
     field, type the IP address of the VLAN.
    The system accepts IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.
  5. In the
    Netmask
     field, type the network mask for the specified IP address.
    For example, you can type
    255.255.255.0
    .
  6. From the
    VLAN/Tunnel
     list, select the VLAN.
  7. Click
    Finished
    .
    The screen refreshes, and displays the new self IP address.

Creating an access profile for transparent forward proxy

You create an access profile to provide the access policy configuration for a virtual server that establishes a secured session.
  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
    .
    After you complete this step, the
    User Identification Method
     is set to
    IP Address
     and cannot be changed.
    Additional settings display.
  5. To use NTLM authentication before a session starts, from the
    NTLM Auth Configuration
     list select a configuration.
    For NTLM authentication to work, you must also enable the
    Captive Portals
     setting and specify an IP address in the
    Primary Authentication URI
     field for the virtual server that you configure for the captive portal.
    In the case of a shared machine, an IP address might already be associated with a user or a session. Using NTLM authentication ensures that the system can associate the IP address with the correct session (new or existing) or with a new user each time a user logs on to the shared machine.
  6. To direct users to a captive portal, for
    Captive Portal
     select
    Enabled
     and, in the
    Primary Authentication URI
     field, type the URI.
    You might specify the URI of your primary authentication server if you use single sign-on across multiple domains. Users can then access multiple back-end applications from multiple domains and hosts without needing to re-enter their credentials, because the user session is stored on the primary domain.
    For example, you might type
    https://logon.siterequest.com
     in the field.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.

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
    .

Creating a virtual server for forward proxy SSL traffic

You configure a virtual server to processthe SSL web traffic in a transparent forward proxy configuration.
  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. If you plan to use this virtual server for proxy chaining from APM, from the
    HTTP Proxy Connect Profile
     list, select a profile that you configured previously or select
    http-proxy-connect
    .
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. For the
    VLAN and Tunnel Traffic
     setting, retain the default value
    All VLANs and Tunnels
     list.
  12. From the
    Source Address Translation
     list, select
    Auto Map
    .
  13. For the
    Address Translation
     setting, clear the
    Enabled
     check box.
  14. Click
    Finished
    .
The virtual server now appears in the Virtual Server List screen.
After you configure an access policy and a per-request policy, specify them in the Access Profile settings area of this virtual server.

Creating a virtual server for forward proxy traffic

You configure a virtual server to process web traffic going to port 80 in a transparent forward proxy configuration.
  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. For the
    HTTP Connect Profile
     setting, be sure to retain the default value
    None
    .
  9. For the
    VLAN and Tunnel Traffic
     setting, retain the default value
    All VLANs and Tunnels
     list.
  10. From the
    Source Address Translation
     list, select
    Auto Map
    .
  11. For the
    Address Translation
     setting, clear the
    Enabled
     check box.
  12. Click
    Finished
    .
The virtual server now appears in the Virtual Server List screen.
After you configure an access policy and a per-request policy, specify them in the Access Profile settings area of this virtual server.

Creating a forwarding virtual server

For Secure Web Gateway transparent forward proxy in inline mode, you create a forwarding virtual server to intercept IP traffic that is not going to ports 80 or 443.
  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. From the
    Type
     list, select
    Forwarding (IP)
    .
  5. In the
    Source Address
     field, type
    0.0.0.0/0
    .
  6. In the
    Destination Address/Mask
     field, type
    0.0.0.0
     to accept any IPv4 traffic.
  7. In the
    Service Port
     field, type
    *
     or select
    * All Ports
     from the list.
  8. From the
    Protocol
     list, select
    * All Protocols
    .
  9. From the
    VLAN and Tunnel Traffic
     list, retain the default selection,
    All VLANs and Tunnels
    .
  10. From the
    Source Address Translation
     list, select
    Auto Map
    .
  11. Click
    Finished
    .

Creating a Client SSL profile for a captive portal

You create a Client SSL profile when you want the BIG-IP system to authenticate and decrypt/encrypt client-side application traffic. You create this profile if you enabled Captive Portals in the access profile and if you want to use client-side SSL.
  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. For the
    Parent Profile
     list, retain the default value,
    clientssl
    .
  5. Select the
    Custom
     check box.
  6. In the Certificate Key Chain area, select a certificate and key combination to use for SSL encryption for the captive portal.
    This certificate should match the FQDN configured in the access profile
    SWG-Transparent
     type to avoid security warnings, and should be generated by a certificate authority that your browser clients trust.
    If the key is encrypted, type a passphrase. Otherwise, leave the
    Passphrase
     field blank.
  7. Click
    Finished
    .
After creating the Client SSL profile and assigning the profile to a virtual server, the BIG-IP system can apply SSL security to the type of application traffic for which the virtual server is configured to listen.

Creating a virtual server for a captive portal

You configure a virtual server to use as a captive portal if you enabled the
Captive Portals
setting in the access profile.
  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 the IP address for a host virtual server.
    This field accepts an address in CIDR format (IP address/prefix). However, when you type the complete IP address for a host, you do not need to type a prefix after the address.
    Type a destination address in this format:
    162.160.15.20
    .
  5. Specify a port in the
    Service Port
     field.
    If you plan to use client-side SSL, type
    443
     or select
    HTTPS
     from the list.
  6. From the
    HTTP Profile
     list, be sure to retain the default value
    http
    .
  7. For the
    HTTP Connect Profile
     setting, be sure to retain the default value
    None
    .
    Whether or not you plan to use client-side SSL, for a captive portal the value for this setting should be
    None
    .
  8. If you plan to use client-side SSL, for the
    SSL Profile (Client)
     setting, move the profile you configured previously from the
    Available
     list to the
    Selected
     list.
  9. Click
    Finished
    .
The virtual server appears in the Virtual Server List screen.
After you configure an access policy, specify it in the Access Profile settings area of this virtual server.

Implementation result

You now have the profiles, virtual servers, and other configuration objects that you need for transparent forward proxy.
Before you send traffic to this configuration, you need to configure an access policy and a per-request policy and specify them in the virtual servers.
Access policy and per-request policy configuration depends on what you are trying to do. To locate examples, look for configurations that categorize and filter traffic, intercept or bypass SSL traffic, forward traffic to a third party proxy server, and so on.
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