Manual Chapter : Static Routes

Applies To:

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BIG-IP AAM

  • 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP APM

  • 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP GTM

  • 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP Analytics

  • 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP Link Controller

  • 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP LTM

  • 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP PEM

  • 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP AFM

  • 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP ASM

  • 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1
Manual Chapter

Static route management on the BIG-IP system

Part of managing routing on a BIG-IP system is to add static routes for destinations that are not located on the directly-connected network. If you are using the route domains feature, you can specify a route domain ID as part of each IP address that you include in a static route entry.

Adding a static route

Before adding a route, if the IP addresses in the route pertain to any route domains, verify that the relevant route domains are present on the system.

Perform this task when you want to explicitly add a route for a destination that is not on the directly-connected network. Depending on the settings you choose, the BIG-IP system can forward packets to a specified network device (such as a next-hop router or a destination server), or the system can drop packets altogether.

  1. On the Main tab, click Network > Routes.
  2. Click Add. The New Route screen opens.
  3. In the Name field, type a unique user name. This name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters, including an IP address.
  4. In the Description field, type a description for this route entry. This setting is optional.
  5. In the Destination field, type either the destination IP address for the route, or IP address 0.0.0.0 for the default route. This address can represent either a host or a network. Also, if you are using the route domains and the relevant route domain is the partition default route domain, you do not need to append a route domain ID to this address.
  6. In the Netmask field, type the network mask for the destination IP address.
  7. From the Resource list, specify the method through which the system forwards packets:
    Option Description
    Use Gateway Select this option when you want the next hop in the route to be a network IP address. This choice works well when the destination is a pool member on the same internal network as this gateway address.
    Use Pool Select this option when you want the next hop in the route to be a pool of routers instead of a single next-hop router. If you select this option, verify that you have created a pool on the BIG-IP system, with the routers as pool members.
    Use VLAN/Tunnel Select this option when you want the next hop in the route to be a VLAN or tunnel. This option works well when the destination address you specify in the routing entry is a network address. Selecting a VLAN/tunnel name as the resource implies that the specified network is directly connected to the BIG-IP system. In this case, the BIG-IP system can find the destination host simply by sending an ARP request to the hosts in the specified VLAN, thereby obtaining the destination host’s MAC address.
    Reject Select this option when you want the BIG-IP system to reject packets sent to the specified destination.
  8. In the MTU field, specify in bytes a maximum transmission unit (MTU) for this route.
  9. Click Finished.
After you perform this task, a static route is defined on the BIG-IP system with IP addresses that can pertain to one or more route domains.
You should define a default route for each route domain on the system. Otherwise, certain types of administrative traffic that would normally use a TMM interface might instead use the management interface.