Manual Chapter : Configuring the BIG-IP System as an HNV Gateway

Applies To:

  • BIG-IP APM

    21.0.0, 17.5.1, 17.5.0, 17.1.3, 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0

  • BIG-IP Link Controller

    21.0.0, 17.5.1, 17.5.0, 17.1.3, 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0

  • BIG-IP LTM

    21.0.0, 17.5.1, 17.5.0, 17.1.3, 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0

  • BIG-IP AFM

    21.0.0, 17.5.1, 17.5.0, 17.1.3, 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0

  • BIG-IP ASM

    21.0.0, 17.5.1, 17.5.0, 17.1.3, 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0

back-action BIG-IP TMOS: Tunneling and IPsec

Updated Date: 05/07/2026

Configuring the BIG-IP System as an HNV Gateway

You can set up the BIG-IP® system to be an NVGRE gateway from a Microsoft Hyper-V virtualized network to external networks, and to provide services within the virtualized network. Each Hyper-V Network Virtualization (HNV) routing domain requires a number of per-subnet (VSID) NVGRE tunnels. For each HNV routing domain, you need to create a single, inbound-only tunnel with special inbound packet processing. Inbound NVGRE tunnels process traffic that was forwarded by HNV distributed routers, which use a special VSID to forward all routed packets to a gateway. Packets received from the inbound tunnel are internally remapped to the correct per-subnet tunnel. Thus, all decapsulated packets appear to be arriving only from the correct per-subnet tunnel.

You can configure an NVGRE inbound-only tunnel when you are using the BIG-IP system as a gateway between Microsoft Hyper-V Network Virtualization networks and external networks.

  1. On the Main tab, click Network > Tunnels > Tunnel List > Create or Carrier Grade NAT > Tunnels > Create.

    The New Tunnel screen opens.

  2. In the Name field, type a unique name for the tunnel.

  3. From the Profile list, select nvgre.

    This setting tells the system which tunnel profile to use. The system-supplied NVGRE profile is adequate. To change the settings, you can create a new NVGRE profile, which then appears in this list.

  4. In the Key field, type the special Virtual Subnet Identifier (VSID) that is used by Hyper-V Network Virtualization distributed routers to forward all routed packets to a gateway.

    This field appears above the Profile field when you select a profile that requires this setting.

  5. In the Local Address field, type the local endpoint IP address.

    This should be a floating self IP address.

  6. In the Secondary Address field, select Specify, and type the non-floating local IP address of the tunnel.

  7. For the Remote Address list, retain the default selection, Any.

  8. From the Mode list, select Inbound.

  9. From the Traffic Group list, select the traffic group that includes the local IP address for the tunnel.

  10. Click Finished.

If you are using the BIG-IP system as a gateway, the preferred method is to install the F5 Networks HNV Gateway PowerShell Module in the System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) for integration into a Microsoft Hyper-V environment.