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WANJet
- 4.2.8
Updated Date: 04/18/2019
Summary:
This release note documents the version 4.2.8 feature release of the WANJet appliance, and documents changes since the last feature release, version 4.2.5. To review the features introduced in versions 4.2.6, 4.2.7, and 4.2.8, 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 your platform).
- 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 (Internet Explorer version 7 has not been tested thoroughly at this time.)
- 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 4.2.8, 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
The WANJet Status screen opens.
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If you have not activated the license of the WANJet appliance you plan to upgrade, activate it now (before upgrading). See To activate the license later in this document for details. (If you do not know if the license has been activated, check on the WANJet Status screen, next to License. If it says Not Entered, it is not activated.)
- 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. The license remains with the appliance after the upgrade.
Performing a remote upgrade from version 3.1.1 or 3.1.2
You can perform a remote upgrade to version 4.2.8 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
Configuring the WANJet appliance as part of a trunked VLAN (CR62643)
You can now set up a WANJet appliance as part of a trunked VLAN if this is required in your networking environment (although this is not a common setup). In a trunked VLAN, all frames require VLAN tags.
To include the WANJet appliance in a trunked VLAN, you need to specify the trunked VLAN ID that you want the WANJet appliance to include in the frames. This configuration change requires a reboot of the WANJet appliance. Refer to Configuring the trunked VLAN ID setting in the Optional configuration changes section for details on how to add the trunked VLAN ID to the WANJet appliance.
Dynamic configuration of optimization policies (CR63327)
You can now change optimization policies while the WANJet appliance is optimizing traffic without having to restart the appliance or interrupt your users. Refer to Adding or reconfiguring optimization policies in the Optional configuration changes section for details on changing optimization policies.
24 spokes in hub and spoke configuration (CR69591)
For large deployments, the WANJet appliance supports hub and spoke configurations with up to 24 spokes. We have successfully tested this configuration.
Fixes in this release
This release includes the following fixes.
VLAN traffic and LAN router value configuration (CR64021)
Previously, when processing VLAN traffic, you could not configure a LAN Router to work with the local WANJet appliance. In this release, we have removed this restriction. If the WANJet appliance processes VLAN traffic, you can configure a LAN Router value in the Local WANJet link of the Web UI, as needed.
Application QoS bandwidth (CR64742)
In previous releases, when configuring an Application QoS Policy, setting the Link Bandwidth to 128 Kb/s or less might reduce FTP download speed. With this release, a low bandwidth size no longer impacts FTP download speed.
WANJet 200: NIC speed and duplex settings (CR65386)
In previous releases, if you changed the NIC speed and duplex settings on a WANJet 200, then rebooted the appliance, the setting could be lost and revert to the default settings. The WANJet 200 now correctly changes the settings and maintains the changes after being rebooted.
Connections remain in passthrough with Connection Intercept (CR66698)
In previous releases, some connections that should have been reset because of the Connection Intercept option, were set to passthough mode. When you set the Connection Intercept option now, the WANJet appliance resets any connections that were initiated before it became active on the network and optimizes appropriate connections.
Connection Intercept and one-arm configuration (CR70289)
In previous releases, you could not use the Connection Intercept option in some one-arm configurations. You can now use Connection Intercept with all configurations to reset connections that were initiated before starting the WANJet appliance.
UDP proxy disabled unless required by optimization policy (CR70549)
Previously, the UDP proxy was run automatically when the WANJet appliance started up. The UDP proxy is now run only if it is required by the optimization policy.
Error conditions cause peer WANJet appliances to block traffic (CR70550)
In previous releases, a complex set of error conditions occurring on WANJet appliances that were set up as peers could block traffic. Peer WANJet appliances no longer block traffic when this set of error conditions occurs.
Reset connections and WANJet appliance response (CR70551)
The WANJet appliance maintains a control connection between itself and its remote peer(s). Previously, it took no explicit action when this connection failed, and this led to a performance degradation in some situations. Now, as a result of a failed connection, the WANJet appliance logs a message to the diagnostic log, and disconnects, then reconnects the link to the remote WANJet appliance.
Error message about missing network interface was removed (CR71231)
In past releases, you might have seen a message that said, Can't locate module eth5-9, although the WANJet appliance did not have network interfaces on eth5 through eth9. The WANJet appliance no longer reports error messages concerning network interfaces that are not present on the appliance.
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Optional configuration changes
Once you have installed the software, you can use any of the following new configuration options to update your configuration.
Adding or reconfiguring optimization policies (CR63327)
You can change optimization policies while the WANJet appliance is optimizing traffic without having to restart the appliance or interrupt your users.
To add or reconfigure optimization policies
- In the navigation pane of the Web UI, expand Optimization and click Optimization Policy.
The WANJet Optimization Policy screen opens. - Modify subnet settings or add subnets to be optimized.
- Modify subnet settings, as needed.
- To add subnets, click the Add button, located beneath the local or remote subnets table.
When the Add Local (or Remote) Subnet screen opens, you can specify the IP address and details about the subnet. - To edit subnets, click the IP address of the local or remote subnet.
When the Edit Local (or Remote) Subnet screen opens, you can modify the subnet settings.
- Modify subnet settings, as needed.
- To add policies for specific ports or services, click the Add button, located beneath the Protocol Optimization Policies table.
The Add Port/Service Name screen opens where you can specify the details about the protocol optimization policy. - To reconfigure existing policies, click the existing service name in the Protocol Optimization Policies table.
The Edit Port/Service Name screen opens where you can edit the policy. - When you are done adding or reconfiguring subnets and optimization policies, click OK.
You return to the WANJet Optimization Policy screen. - Click the Save button.
The new or changed optimization policies take effect immediately for all new connections.
Refer to Chapter 7 of the WANJet Appliance Administrator Guide for more information about optimization policies.
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Configuring the trunked VLAN ID setting (CR62643)
You can configure the WANJet appliance as part of a trunked VLAN if this is required in your networking environment (although this is not a common setup). In this configuration, the WAN port on the WANJet appliance connects to a VLAN trunk, and you want the WANJet to optimize traffic that originates from one of the VLANs on the trunk. The VLAN trunk connects to a switch that supports VLAN trunking, such as the Cisco Catalyst. F5 Networks supports 802.1q.
To add a trunked VLAN ID
- In the navigation pane of the Web UI, expand Configuration and click Local WANJet.
The Local WANJet appliance screen opens. - Click the VLAN Settings link beneath the Local WANJet table.
The WANJet VLAN Settings screen opens. - In the Trunked VLAN ID box, type the ID that you want to add to all packets passing through the WANJet appliance. Valid values are 0 (for no trunk ID) and 2 through 4094.
- Click the Save button.
A popup screen states that you have changed the VLAN trunk ID and prompts if it is OK to reboot. - Click OK.
The WANJet appliance saves the trunk ID and reboots.Refer to Chapter 7 of the WANJet Appliance Administrator Guide for more information about configuring VLANs.
Restoring factory defaults (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.
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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.
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.
TDR-2 efficiency impacted by slow servers (CR65171)
TDR-2 efficiency may be degraded when transmitting data from low-performance servers.
UDP port optimization may cause problems on port 53 (CR70172)
When all UDP ports are optimized, DNS services over port 53 may fail. The workaround is to put all UDP ports into passthrough mode and to specifically open those UDP ports you want to optimize.
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Implementing specific WANJet appliance configuration changes (CR71549)
When you perform the following changes on the WANJet appliance, the configuration changes do not take effect immediately:
-
Adding or removing a remote WANJet appliance
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Changing the properties of a remote WANJet appliance
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Adding or changing an Application QoS policy
- Adding or changing an IT Service policy
The workaround is to perform the following steps to implement the changes.
- In the navigation pane, expand Optimization, and click Operational Mode.
The Operational Mode screen opens.
- Set Mode to Inactive and click Save.
The WANJet appliance status changes to Inactive.
- Set Mode to Active, and click Save again.
The WANJet appliance status changes to Active, and the remote appliance configuration changes take effect.
Daylight Saving Time implementation (CR71811)
Due to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, in 2007, Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November. Version 4.2.8 is not compliant with the Energy Policy Act. We expect to bring the WANJet appliance into compliance in a future release.
If you are using version 4.2.8 in March of 2007, you will need to make the Daylight Saving Time change manually, since the system will not change the time on the correct date. Then on the first Sunday in April, when the system does make its automatic change, the change will be redundant, and you need to correct the time again by reversing out the additional hour change. Refer to Configuring time settings in the WANJet Appliance Administrator Guide for details on adjusting time.
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