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Manual Chapter : Managing Rules and Rule Lists

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BIG-IQ Security

  • 4.2.0
Manual Chapter
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About rules and rule lists

With the BIG-IQ Security system, you can manage rules and rule lists from the Rule Lists panel. You import and manage rules (and/or rule lists) from BIG-IP devices. You can also define rules and rule lists within BIG-IQ Security and deploy back to the BIG-IP device.

Network firewalls use rules (and rule lists) to specify traffic-handling actions.

Rules are not independent objects and can exist only within rule lists or policies. You can define a list of rules for a specific firewall and/or refer to one or more shared rule lists (by name from other firewalls).

The network software compares IP packets to the criteria specified in rules. If a packet matches the criteria, then the system takes the action specified by the rule. If a packet does not match any rule from the list, the software accepts the packet or passes it to the next rule or rule list. For example, the system compares the packet to self IP rules if the packet is destined for a network associated with a self IP address that has firewall rules defined.

A packet must pass all tests to match successfully. For example, to match against a source subnet and several destination ports, a packet must originate from the given subnet and must also have one of the specified destination ports.

Rule lists are containers for rules. A rule list can contain thousands of ordered rules but cannot be nested inside another rule list. It is an ordered list of rules, which means that rules are run in the order they appear. However, you can reorder rules at any time.

Rules and rule lists can be applied to all firewall types:

  • Global
  • Route domain
  • Virtual server
  • Self IP
  • Management (rules only)

You can reuse a rule list across multiple firewalls, such as the firewalls for self IPs, route domains, and the global firewall. To reuse rule lists, drag-and-drop them to firewalls and policies as you choose.

Creating rules

You can create specific rules for a specific firewall or policy, gather those rules in a rule list, and assign the rule list to the firewall or policy.
  1. Hover in the Rule Lists banner and click the + icon to display the Properties tab and the Rules tab.
  2. In the Properties tab, edit the Rule List Properties as required.
    Option Description
    Name Enter a name for the rule list.
    Description Enter an optional description.
  3. In the Rules tab, click Create Rule. A new row appears in the table. The row contains a rule template, including defaults, for the new rule.
  4. Edit as appropriate. Click Tab to advance from field to field. You can also add rules by right-clicking under the bottom row in the Rules table. The rule template is added to the bottom of the table. Once entered, you can reorder rules by dragging-and-dropping them until they are in the correct order.
  5. When finished, click Save.
  6. To remove a rule, hover over the rule name and right-click. From the drop-down menu, select Delete Rule. This drop-down menu also provides options to Add rule before and Add rule after (the rule you are hovering over).
The new rule list appears at the bottom of the Rule Lists panel.

Adding rule lists

To add rule lists, expand the Rule Lists panel to display the Properties tab and the Rules tab.
  1. Hover in the Rule Lists banner and click the + icon to display the Properties tab and the Rules tab.
  2. In the Properties tab, edit the fields as required.
    Option Description
    Name Enter a name for the rule list.
    Description Enter an optional description.
  3. In the Rules tab, click Create Rule. A new row appears in the table. This row contains a template, including defaults.
  4. Edit as appropriate. Click Tab to advance from field to field. You can also add rules by right-clicking under the bottom row in the Rules table. The rule is added to the bottom of the table. You can then reorder rules by dragging and dropping them until they are in the correct order.
  5. When finished, click Save.
The new rule list appears at the bottom of the Rule Lists panel.

Managing rule lists

You can manage the content of rule lists from the Rule Lists panel, including the order of rules in rule lists. You must lock a rule list before editing it.
  1. Hover in the header for the rule list that you want to edit, and click the gear icon to display the Properties tab and the Rules tab.
  2. In the Properties tab, edit the content you want to change.
    Option Description
    Name Change the name of the rule list.
    Description Enter or change an optional description.
  3. In the Rules tab if the rule list is not already locked, click Edit to establish a lock.
  4. Click the row of the rule you want to edit.
  5. Edit as appropriate. Click Tab to advance from field to field. To reorder rules, simply drag-and-drop the rules until they are in the correct order.
  6. When finished, click Save.
Changes made to the rule list are reflected the next time the Firewalls or Policies panels are refreshed.

Removing rule lists

To remove rule lists, expand the Rule Lists panel to display the Properties tab and the Rules tab.
  1. Hover in the header of a rule list you want to remove and when the gear icon appears, click it to display the Properties tab and the Rules tab.
  2. At the top of the expanded area, click Remove.
  3. If safe to remove the rule list, a confirmation dialog box appears. Click Remove to confirm. If the rule list is in use, you cannot complete the removal. A popup appears informing you that you cannot remove the rule list because it is in use. Click Close to acknowledge this message and then click Cancel in the Remove popup screen. To see where a rule list is used, click the rule list and the name appears in the search field. Then click Apply. The GUI displays only those objects related to the search. To clear the search, click the x icon to the right of the search string.
The rule list disappears from the Rule Lists panel.

Rule and rule list properties

You can configure network firewalls after import into the BIG-IQ Security system through the Firewalls panel. Or, you can edit imported rules, rule lists, or policies through the Rule Lists panel or the Policies panel. However, you must edit shared objects through the Shared Objects panel. Shared objects cannot be edited inside rules. The following table lists and describes the properties required when configuring network firewall rules and rule lists.

Property Description
Name Unique, user-provided name for the rule or rule list. If the name is a rule list name, it is preceded by referenceTo_ when dragged-and-dropped to a firewall or policy. For example: referenceTo_sys_sef_allow_all.
Address (Source) There are many ways an IPv4 or IPv6 address or address range can be constructed. The following methods and examples are not meant to be exhaustive.

IPv4 format: a.b.c.d[/prefix]. For example: 60.63.10.10

IPv6 format: a:b:c:d:e:f:g:h[/prefix]. For example: 2001:db7:3f4a:9dd:ca90:ff00:42:8329

You can specify subnets using forward slash (/) notation; for example: 60.63.10.0/24. An example of an IPv6 subnet is as follows: 2001:db8:a::/64.

You can append a route domain to an address using the format %RouteDomainID/Mask. For example, 12.2.0.0%44/16.

From the drop-down list, select:

Address
Enter the address in the Addresses field. You can also enter an address range in the address field by entering a range in the format: n.n.n.n-n.n.n.n.
Address range
The Addresses field becomes two fields. Enter the beginning address and ending addresses in these fields as appropriate.

To the right, options are provided to add additional addresses or ranges (+) and to delete addresses or ranges (x).

When finished, click Save.
Port Ports or port ranges.

From the drop-down list, select:

Port
Enter the port in the Ports field. You can also enter a port range in the port field by entering a range in the format: n-n.
Port range
The Ports field becomes two fields. Enter the beginning port and ending port in these fields as appropriate.

To the right, options are provided to add additional ports or ranges (+) and to delete ports or ranges (x).

When finished, click Save.
VLAN Name of the VLAN physically present on the device (Internal, External, or Any). The VLAN must be configured on the device or the deploy fails. When finished, click Save.
Address (Destination) There are many ways an IPv4 or IPv6 address or address range can be constructed. The following methods and examples are not meant to be exhaustive.

IPv4 format: a.b.c.d[/prefix]. For example: 60.63.10.10

IPv6 format: a:b:c:d:e:f:g:h[/prefix]. For example: 2001:db7:3f4a:9dd:ca90:ff00:42:8329

You can specify subnets using forward slash (/) notation; for example: 60.63.10.0/24. An example of an IPv6 subnet is as follows: 2001:db8:a::/64.

You can append a route domain to an address using the format %RouteDomainID/Mask. For example, 12.2.0.0%44/16.

From the drop-down list, select:

Address
Enter the address in the Addresses field. You can also enter an address range in the address field by entering a range in the format: n.n.n.n-n.n.n.n.
Address range
The Addresses field becomes two fields. Enter the beginning address and ending addresses in these fields as appropriate.

To the right, options are provided to add additional addresses or ranges (+) and to delete addresses or ranges (x).

When finished, click Save.
Port Ports or port ranges.

From the drop-down, select:

Port
Enter the port in the Ports field. You can also enter a port range in the port field by entering a range in the format: n-n.
Port range
The Ports field becomes two fields. Enter the beginning port and ending port in these fields as appropriate.

To the right, options are provided to add additional ports or ranges (+) and to delete ports or ranges (x).

When finished, click Save.
Action From the drop-down list, options include:
accept
Allows packets with the specified source, destination, and protocol to pass through the firewall. Packets that match the rule, and are accepted, traverse the system as if the firewall is not present.
accept decisively
Allows packets with the specified source, destination, and protocol to pass through the firewall, and does not require any further processing by any of the further firewalls. Packets that match the rule, and are accepted, traverse the system as if the firewall is not present. If the Rule List is applied to a virtual server, management IP, or self IP firewall rule, then Accept Decisively is equivalent to Accept.
drop
Drops packets with the specified source, destination, and protocol. Dropping a packet is a silent action with no notification to the source or destination systems. Dropping the packet causes the connection to be retried until the retry threshold is reached.
reject
Rejects packets with the specified source, destination, and protocol. When a packet is rejected the firewall sends a destination unreachable message to the sender.

When finished, click Save.
Description Optional description for the current rule. To add a description, click in the column, enter text, and click Save.
Protocol IP protocol to compare against the packet. Select the appropriate protocol from the drop-down list and click Save.

If you select ICMP or IPv6-ICMP, a gear icon appears. Click the gear icon to display the screen where you can change the Type code combinations for the ICMP and ICMPv6 protocols. The gear icon also appears if you select Other to enter the numeric value of the protocol.

The default Type is Any. The default Code is Any.

For ICMP
Choose from a list of control messages, such as Echo Reply (0) and Destination Unreachable (3), or you can select Any to indicate that the system applies the rule for all ICMP messages. You can also select Other to specify an ICMP message not listed. The ICMP protocol contains definitions for the existing message type and number pairs.
For ICMPv6
Choose from a list of control messages, such as Packet Too Big (2) and Time Exceeded (3), or you can select Any to indicate that the system applies the rule for all ICMPv6 messages. You can also select Other to specify an ICMPv6 message not listed. The ICMPv6 protocol contains definitions for the existing message type and number pairs.

If the value selected for Type is Any, the selected Code must be Any.

If the value selected for Type is Other, the number entered must be in the range of 0 and 255.

For ICMP
This field specifies the code returned in response to the specified ICMP message type. You can choose from a list of codes, each set appropriate to the associated type, such as No Code (0) (associated with Echo Reply (0)) and Host Unreachable (1) (associated with Destination Unreachable (3)), or you can select Any to indicate that the system applies the rule for all codes in response to that specific ICMP message. You can also select Other to specify a code not listed. The ICMP protocol contains definitions for the existing message code and number pairs.
For ICMPv6
This field specifies the code returned in response to the specified ICMPv6 message type. You can choose from a list of codes, each set appropriate to the associated type, such as No Code (0) (associated with Packet Too Big (2)) and fragment reassembly time exceeded (1) (associated with Time Exceeded (3)), or you can select Any to indicate that the system applies the rule for all codes in response to that specific ICMPv6 message. You can also select Other to specify a code not listed. The ICMPv6 protocol contains definitions for the existing message code and number pairs.

If the value selected for Type is Any, the selected Code must be Any.

If the value selected for Code is Other, the number entered must be in the range of 0 and 255.
State Specifies whether the rule is enabled, disabled, or scheduled. Click in the column and select an option from the drop-down list. The field is updated. Click Save when you are ready to save your changes.

If you select scheduled from the drop-down list, the Select Schedule drop-down is displayed in the screen. Select a schedule from this drop-down and click OK.

If you have assigned a schedule, then a gear icon appears to the right of the State setting in the State column. To make changes to the State setting, click the gear icon to invoke the Select Schedule popup screen.

If you have no pre-defined schedules, you cannot assign the scheduled state to the rule.
Log Specifies whether or not the firewall software should write a log entry for any packets that match this rule. From the drop-down list, select true (log an entry) or false (do not log an entry). When finished, click Save.

To set or edit this setting, the discovered device must be at version 11.3 HF6 or later. The setting is not editable earlier than version 11.3 HF6.

When a new rule is added to a firewall through the BIG-IQ Security GUI, editing is enabled for the Log setting even for devices with versions earlier than 11.3 HF6.

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