Applies To:
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WANJet
- 4.2.5
Updated Date: 04/18/2019
Summary:
This release note documents the version 4.2.5 feature release of the WANJet appliance. To review the features introduced in this release, see New features and fixes in this release. For new customers, the software is preinstalled on the WANJet appliance. For existing customers, you can apply the software upgrade to 3.1.1 and later. For information about installing the software upgrade, please refer to Upgrading the software. For additional information, please refer to the WANJet Appliance Administrator Guide.
Note: F5 now offers both feature releases and maintenance releases. For more information on our new release policies, please see Description of the F5 Networks software version number format.
Contents:
User documentation for this release
In addition to these release notes, the following user documentation is relevant to this release (depending on which platform WANJet appliances you are running).
- WANJet Appliance Administrator Guide
- F5 WANJet 200 Appliance Quick Start Card
- F5 WANJet 400 Appliance Quick Start Card
- F5 WANJet 500 Appliance Quick Start Card
- Platform Guide: WANJet 500
- AskF5 solutions database
You can find the product documentation and the solutions database on the AskF5 Technical Support web site, http://login.f5.com.
Supported browsers
The supported browsers for the Web UI are:
- Microsoft ® Internet Explorer ™, version 6.x and later
- Firefox ™
- Mozilla ™
Supported platforms
This release supports the following platforms:
- WANJet 200
- WANJet 400
- WANJet 500
If you are unsure which platform you have, click the About link from any screen in the WANJet appliance's Web UI.
Backing up your current configuration
To back up your current configuration before installing the software upgrade, complete the following steps.
- Log on to the WANJet Web UI, by typing the following address into a browser's Address line.
https://<WANJet IP address>:10000
- In the navigation pane, expand System, and click Backup & Restore.
The WANJet Configuration Backup screen opens. - Click the word, here.
The browser opens a File Download screen for you to save the backup file to your local computer. This default backup file name is Settings-<ServerName>.NTCL. - Save the backup file to your local hard disk.
- Rename the backup file to identify the specific WANJet appliance that you are backing up, and the current date.
Upgrading the software
To upgrade the WANJet appliance to version 4.2.5, complete these tasks:
- Upgrade the WANJet appliance
- Activate the license (only required if not previously activated)
- Save the WANJet appliance chassis serial number (if not previously saved)
Important: For the WANJet appliance to function properly, TCP ports 3703, 3702, 3701, 10000, and 10001 must all be open on a firewall. Any firewalls separating the WANJet appliances must have these ports open. For specific information about configuring ports, refer to the WANJet Appliance Administrator Guide.
Important: Version 4.0 introduced a new licensing procedure. If you are upgrading from version 3.1.x, you must first obtain a Base Registration Key. Do not proceed with the upgrade until you have the Base Registration Key. If you did not receive an email with a Base Registration Key, contact F5 Networks Technical Support (and be sure to have the WANJet appliance serial number) before attempting to install the software upgrade.
To upgrade the WANJet appliance
- Log on to the WANJet Web UI, by typing the following address into a browser's Address line.
https://<WANJet IP address>:10000
- Verify that a disk image of the new version of the WANJet software is accessible from the local computer on which you are viewing the WANJet Web UI (on CD-ROM, for example).
- In the navigation pane, expand System and click Upgrade & Boot Menu.
The WANJet Boot Menu screen opens. - Click the Upgrade button.
A confirmation message displays. - Click the OK button to continue.
- Click the Browse button and locate the upgrade file on your computer.
- Upload the upgrade file to the WANJet appliance.
- Click Upgrade WANJet.
The WANJet appliance restarts automatically when the upgrade process is complete.
Performing a remote upgrade from version 3.1.1 or 3.1.2
You can perform a remote upgrade to version 4.2.5 from version 3.1.1 or later. If you are upgrading remotely from version 3.1.1 or 3.1.2, you must also complete the following tasks.
- Switch the operational mode of all WANJet appliances to Inactive.
- Upgrade all of the WANJet appliances.
- One at a time, change the operational mode of each WANJet appliance to Active.
To activate the license
Note: You need to perform this procedure only if you have not previously activated the WANJet appliance license.
- In a web browser, access the Web UI using HTTPS and port 10000.
For example, if the IP address of the appliance is 192.168.168.102, type https://192.168.168.102:10000 in the web browser.
The welcome screen opens. - Type the user name and password.
The default user name is admin and the default password is admin. - Click the Log On button.
The WANJet Status screen opens. - Click the Not Entered link, next to License.
The WANJet License Details screen displays. - Into the Base Registration Key box, type or paste your Base Registration key. For new installations, you should see your Base Registration key (filled in at the factory).
- Next to Activation Method, make sure that Automatic (the default) is selected.
- Click Next.
The EULA (End User License Agreement) screen opens. - Read the EULA, and then click Accept if you agree to the conditions.
When license activation is complete, the WANJet License Details screen opens and shows the current license date.
Note: If automatic license activation does not work, you can use manual activation instead. On the WANJet License Details screen, next to Activation Method, select Manual and follow the directions on the screen. - In the navigation pane, expand Reports and click Status.
The license should now display as OK.
To save the WANJet appliance chassis serial number
Note: You need to perform this procedure only if you have not previously saved the chassis serial number in the About box.
- At the top right of the Web UI, click the About link.
The About box opens. - In the Chassis serial number box, type the serial number as it appears on the F5 serial number sticker, located on the front of the WANJet appliance (on older units, the serial number is on the back).
- Click the Save button.
New features and fixes in this release
This release includes the following new features and fixes.
New features
Factory defaults option (CR62409)
You can now restore the factory default values on the WANJet appliance.
Warning: You should restore the factory defaults only in extreme cases when you want to discard all configuration changes that you have made, and start configuration all over again.
When you use this option, the values in all fields on all screens are reset to the default values and all configuration changes are lost. The WANJet appliance retains the licensing information, so you do not have to revalidate the license. You do have to reconfigure the rest of the settings and policies.
To restore factory default values
- In the navigation pane, expand System, and click Backup & Restore.
The WANJet Configuration Backup & Restore screen opens. - Click the Factory Defaults button.
A message warns you that you are about to reset the WANJet appliance configuration to the factory default values and asks if you want to continue. - Click the OK button.
The WANJet appliance stops and reboots automatically using the default values.
Silicom ® network interface driver update (CR64902)
The WANJet appliance 4.2.5 upgrade includes an update to the Silicom driver from version 7.4.12 to 8.3.9 for bypass and LAN (eth0) and WAN (eth2) functionality on the WANJet 400 appliance. This update does not affect the Web UI.
Enhancements to system snapshot (CR68723)
The system snapshot feature now includes more information for troubleshooting. In addition to WANJet appliance status information, the snapshot now includes information that you can use to diagnose connectivity.
Diagnostics log message for code 1219 (CR68806)
Server Message Block (SMB) signing is an optional security mechanism that uses digital certificates to protect SMB network packets. The diagnostics log now includes a message for code 1219, which occurs when a connection was not optimized because it requires SMB signing. For example:
Connection (<server_IP><-> <client IP>) not optimized: SMB signing required (code 1219)
Diagnostic log message for error 1216 (CR68808)
Diagnostics reporting an error 1216 in the log now includes the initiator IP address. For example:
Error 1216: Error connecting to remote client <client_IP> (from <initiator_IP:port#>)
Fixes in this release
This release includes the following fixes.
NIC speed and duplex settings on the WANJet 200 appliance(CR65386)
In previous releases, changes to network interface card (NIC) speed and duplex settings could be lost when a WANJet 200 appliance was powered off, then turned on again. The WANJet 200 appliance now retains the NIC settings after the power is turned off.
Application QoS settings (CR67728)
The Manage the Application QoS Settings of a Remote WANJet screen now includes a note that explains how to deallocate bandwidth. This allows you to remove an Application QoS policy that was previously set up for a remote WANJet appliance.
To remove an Application QoS policy for a remote WANJet appliance
- In the navigation pane, expand Optimization and click Application QoS.
The Application QoS screen opens. - In the table, click the IP address of the remote WANJet appliance for which you want to deallocate bandwidth.
The Manage the Application QoS Settings of a Remote WANJet appliance popup screen opens. - In the Link Bandwidth box, type 0 or leave it blank.
- Click the OK button.
On the Application QoS screen, the bandwidth for that remote WANJet appliance shows N/A. - Click the Save button.
The Application QoS screen refreshes.
When you save the 0 or blank setting, the bandwidth is set to N/A, effectively turning off Application QoS for that WAN link or remote WANJet appliance.
End-user diagnostics boot menu option (CR68894, CR68895, CR68896)
The WANJet appliance includes a boot menu option, EUD (end-user diagnostics), as of version 4.2.4. You see this option on the serial console (if one is connected) when starting any WANJet appliance. The EUD option works only on WANJet 500 appliances, and is not supported on WANJet 200 and 400 appliances. In version 4.2.4, the diagnostics information included three inaccuracies (the number of hard drives, processors, and the platform ID). The diagnostics information reported when you run the command on the WANJet 500 is now correct.
Adding remote WANJet appliances (CR68927)
The WANJet appliance supports the configuration of up to 16 remote WANJet appliances. Previously, when you added 14 or more remote WANJet appliances, not all of them would be listed on the Remote WANJets screen. Now the screen lists all remote WANJet appliances that you have added.
Performance for low bandwidth-delay products (CR69274)
In previous releases, when the Bandwidth and RTT (Round Trip Time) tuning options for the WAN link were set to low values (for low bandwidth-delay products), the WANJet appliance was misconfigured for poor TCP performance. The configuration for low bandwidth-delay products now results in greater TCP performance and faster file transfers than earlier releases.
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Known issues
The following items are known issues in the current release.
Passthrough sessions (CR60178)
After a high volume of traffic passes through the WANJet appliance, the dashboard may temporarily display more passthrough sessions than are actually occurring.
Real Time Traffic report (CR61437)
The amount of network traffic shown in the Real Time Traffic report appears to repeatedly spike to twice the actual amount, in 30-second intervals.
SSL encryption implementation (CR64020)
SSL encryption is currently implemented only for optimized TCP traffic. In future releases, we plan to support TCP and UDP protocols for SSL encryption.
VLAN traffic and LAN router value configuration (CR64021)
If you want to process VLAN traffic, do not configure a LAN router value in the Local WANJet link of the Web UI.
GRE packets captured by tcpdump (CR64731)
When the tcpdump diagnostic tool captures Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) packets on the WANJet appliance, it does not decode the packets correctly.
Application QoS bandwidth (CR64742)
For an Application QoS Policy, setting the Link Bandwidth to 128 Kb/s or less may reduce FTP download speed.
TDR-2 efficiency impacted by slow servers (CR65171)
TDR-2 efficiency is degraded when transmitting data from low-performance servers.
WANJet 200 crossover cable (CR65989)
The WANJet 200 previously included an orange CAT6 crossover cable to connect the WANJet 200 to the WAN. We have replaced the orange crossover cable with a new yellow crossover cable that is RoHS compliant. The WANJet 200 Appliance Quick Start Card packed in the shipping box may still refer to the cable as an orange cable. Refer to the updated document posted on AskF5.
