Applies To:
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BIG-IP AAM
- 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0, 14.0.1, 14.0.0, 13.1.5, 13.1.4, 13.1.3, 13.1.1, 13.1.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.0
Overview: Managing HTTP Traffic with the HTTP/2 profile
You can configure a virtual server with the BIG-IP® Local Traffic Manager™ (LTM®) HTTP/2 profile to provide gateway functionality for HTTP 2.0 traffic, minimizing the latency of requests by multiplexing streams and compressing headers.
You can configure the BIG-IP® Acceleration HTTP/2 profile to provide gateway functionality for HTTP 2.0 traffic, minimizing the latency of requests by multiplexing streams and compressing headers.
A client initiates an HTTP/2 request to the BIG-IP system, the HTTP/2 virtual server receives the request on port 443, and sends the request to the appropriate server. When the server provides a response, the BIG-IP system compresses and caches it, and sends the response to the client.
Summary of HTTP/2 profile functionality
By using the HTTP/2 profile, the BIG-IP system provides the following functionality for HTTP/2 requests.
- Creating concurrent streams for each connection.
- You can specify the maximum number of concurrent HTTP requests that are accepted on a HTTP/2 connection. If this maximum number is exceeded, the system closes the connection.
- Limiting the duration of idle connections.
- You can specify the maximum duration for an idle HTTP/2 connection. If this maximum duration is exceeded, the system closes the connection.
- Enabling a virtual server to process HTTP/2 requests.
- You can configure the HTTP/2 profile on the virtual server to receive HTTP and HTTP/2 traffic, or to receive only HTTP/2 traffic, based in the activation mode you select. (Note the HTTP/2 profile to receive only HTTP/2 traffic is primarily intended for troubleshooting.)
- Inserting a header into the request.
- You can insert a header with a specific name into the request. The default name for the header is X-HTTP/2.
About HTTP/2 profiles
The BIG-IP® system includes an HTTP/2 profile type that you can use to manage HTTP/2 traffic, improving the efficiency of network resources while reducing the perceived latency of requests and responses. The LTM HTTP/2 profile enables you to achieve these advantages by multiplexing streams and compressing headers with Transport Layer Security (TLS) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security.
The BIG-IP® system's Acceleration functionality includes an HTTP/2 profile type that you can use to manage HTTP/2 traffic, improving the efficiency of network resources while reducing the perceived latency of requests and responses. The Acceleration HTTP/2 profile enables you to achieve these advantages by multiplexing streams and compressing headers with Transport Layer Security (TLS) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security.
The HTTP/2 protocol uses a binary framing layer that defines a frame type and purpose in managing requests and responses. The binary framing layer determines how HTTP messages are encapsulated and transferred between the client and server, a significant benefit of HTTP 2.0 when compared to earlier versions.
All HTTP/2 communication occurs by means of a connection with bidirectional streams. Each stream includes messages, consisting of one or more frames, that can be interleaved and reassembled using the embedded stream identifier within each frame's header. The HTTP/2 profile enables you to specify a maximum frame size and write size, which controls the total size of combined data frames, to improve network utilization.
Multiplexing streams
You can use the HTTP/2 profile to multiplex streams (interleaving and reassembling the streams), by specifying a maximum number of concurrent streams permitted for a single connection.
Additionally, you can specify the way that the HTTP/2 profile controls the flow of streams. The Receive Window setting allows HTTP/2 to stall individual upload streams, as needed. For example, if the BIG-IP system is unable to process a slow stream on a connection, but is able to process other streams on the connection, it can use the Receive Window setting to specify a frame size for the slow stream, thus delaying that upload stream until the size is met and the receiver is able to process it, while concurrently proceeding to process frames for another stream.
Compressing headers
When you configure the HTTP/2 profile's Header Table Size setting, you can compress HTTP headers to conserve bandwidth. Compressing HTTP headers reduces the object size, which reduces required bandwidth. For example, you can specify a larger table value for better compression, but at the expense of using more memory.
HTTP/2 profile settings
This table provides descriptions of the HTTP/2 profile settings.
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Specifies the name of the HTTP/2 profile. | |
| Parent Profile | http2 | Specifies the profile that you want to use as the parent profile. Your new profile inherits all settings and values from the parent profile specified. |
| Concurrent Streams Per Connection | 10 | Specifies the number of concurrent requests allowed to be outstanding on a single HTTP/2 connection. |
| Connection Idle Timeout | 300 | Specifies the number of seconds an HTTP/2 connection is left open idly before it is closed. |
| Insert Header | Disabled | Specifies whether an HTTP header that indicates the use of HTTP/2 is inserted into the request sent to the origin web server. |
| Insert Header Name | X-HTTP/2 | Specifies the name of the HTTP header controlled by the Insert Header Name setting. |
| Activation Modes | Select Modes | Specifies how a connection is established as a HTTP/2 connection. |
| Selected Modes | ALPN NPN | Used only with an Activation Modes selection of Select Modes, specifies the extension used in the HTTP/2 profile. The order of the extensions in the Selected Modes Enabled list ranges from most preferred (first) to least preferred (last). Clients typically use the first supported extension. At least one HTTP/2 mode must be included in the Enabled list. The values ALPN and NPN specify that the TLS Application Layer Protocol Negotiation (ALPN) and Next Protocol Negotiation (NPN) will be used. Clients that use TLS, but only support HTTP will work as if HTTP/2 is not present. The value Always specifies that all connections function as HTTP/2 connections. Selecting Always in the Activation Mode list is primarily intended for troubleshooting. |
| Receive Window | 32 | Specifies the receive window, which is HTTP/2 protocol functionality that controls flow, in KB. The receive window allows the HTTP/2 protocol to stall individual upload streams when needed. |
| Frame Size | 2048 | Specifies the size of the data frames, in bytes, that the HTTP/2 protocol sends to the client. Larger frame sizes improve network utilization, but can affect concurrency. |
| Write Size | 16384 | Specifies the total size of combined data frames, in bytes, that the HTTP/2 protocol sends in a single write function. This setting controls the size of the TLS records when the HTTP/2 protocol is used over Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). A large write size causes the HTTP/2 protocol to buffer more data and improves network utilization. |
| Header Table Size | 4096 | Specifies the size of the header table, in KB. The HTTP/2 protocol compresses HTTP headers to save bandwidth. A larger table size allows better compression, but requires more memory. |
