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Manual Chapter : Custom URL Categorization

Applies To:

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BIG-IP APM

  • 12.1.6, 12.1.5, 12.1.4, 12.1.3, 12.1.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.0
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Custom URL Categorization

Overview: Configuring user-defined URL categories and filters

If you want to categorize and filter URL requests from your users, you need to use URL categories and URL filters. If URL categories and filters do not exist on a BIG-IP® system, you can create them.

Complete these tasks before you create a per-request policy that includes items to categorize (URL Category) and filter (URL Filter Assign) URL requests.

Task summary

Creating user-defined URL categories

Create a URL category to specify a group of URLs over which you want to control access.
  1. On the Main tab, click Access Policy > Secure Web Gateway > URL Categories .
    The URL Categories table displays. If you have not created any categories, the table is empty.
  2. Click Create.
    The Category Properties screen displays.
  3. In the Name field, type a unique name for the URL category.
  4. From the Default Action list, retain the default value Block; or, select Allow.
    Note: A Confirm Box action in a per-request policy subroutine serves the purpose of enabling appropriate choices in a forward proxy (outbound) configuration. Currently, Access Policy Manager® does not support a similar action for reverse proxy.
  5. Add, edit, or delete the URLs that are associated with the category by updating the Associated URLs list.
  6. To add URLs to the Associated URLs list:
    1. In the URL field, type a URL.
      You can type a well-formed URL that the system must match exactly or type a URL that includes globbing patterns (wildcards) for the system to match URLs.
    2. Select the Glob Pattern Match check box if you typed any globbing patterns in the URL field.
    3. Click Add.
      The URL displays in the Associated URLs list.
    These are well-formed URLs:
    • https://www.siterequest.com/
    • http://www.siterequest.com:8080/
    • http://www.sitequest.com/docs/siterequest.pdf/
    • http://www.sitequest.com/products/application-guides/
    This URL *siterequest.[!comru] includes globbing patterns that match any URL that includes siterequest, except for siterequest.com or siterequest.ru.
    This URL *://siterequest.com/education/* includes globbing patterns that match any HTTP URL that includes siterequest.com/education, but that do not match any HTTPS URLs if Category Lookup specifies that the input is SNI or CN.Subject.
    Important: For SNI or CN.Subject input, Category Lookup uses scheme:://host for matching, instead of matching the whole URL.
  7. Click Finished.
    The URL Categories screen displays.
  8. To view the newly created URL category, expand Custom Categories.
    The custom URL category displays in the Sub-Category column.
Add or edit a URL filter to specify an action (allow or block) for the custom category.

Configuring URL filters

You configure a URL filter to specify whether to allow or block requests for URLs in URL categories. You can configure multiple URL filters.
  1. On the Main tab, click Access Policy > Secure Web Gateway > URL Filters .
    You can click the name of any filter to view its settings.
    Note: On a BIG-IP® system with an SWG subscription, default URL filters, such as block-all and basic-security, are available. You cannot delete default URL filters.
    The URL Filters screen displays.
  2. To configure a new URL filter, click one of these options.
    • Create button: Click to start with a URL filter that allows all categories.
    • Copy link: Click for an existing URL filter in the table to start with its settings.
  3. In the Name field, type a unique name for the URL filter.
  4. Click Finished.
    Note: User-defined categories are subcategories of Custom Category.
    The screen redisplays. An Associated Categories table displays. It includes each URL category and the filtering action that is currently assigned to it. The table includes a Sub-Category column.
  5. Select the actions to take:
    1. To block access to particular categories or subcategories, select them and click Block.
      Important: When you select a category, you also select the related subcategories. You can expand the category and clear any subcategory selections.
    2. To allow access to particular categories or subcategories, select them and click Allow.
    The confirm action is not fully supported in a reverse proxy configuration.
    Note: A Confirm Box action in a per-request policy subroutine serves the purpose of enabling appropriate choices in a forward proxy (outbound) configuration. Currently, Access Policy Manager® does not support a similar action for reverse proxy.
To put a URL filter into effect, you must assign it in a per-request policy. A per-request policy runs each time a URL request is made.
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