Interfaces

The System Interfaces page includes the following sections. Click on the link to go to the corresponding section to learn more:

To go to the documentation for the previous section of System, see Information. To go to the documentation for next subsection in the System section, see Logs.

To access the Interfaces page in the WAF management interface, on the left panel, under System, click Interfaces.

To save configuration changes or edits you make to any features and options, you must click Save on the lower-right of the section or page where you are making changes. Click apply changes on the upper-left corner of the page, and then click OK. Your changes will not be stored if you do not properly save your changes.

Each detected network interface is configured in this section.

Configuration parameters are repeated for each interface allowing system administrator to configure one interface at a time. Parameters like IP, network mask, IP aliases, fail-over, etc. Short description of each detected interface is displayed in the sections.

For example, AMD 79c970 PCI and Intel PRO-1000MT.

IP configuration

IP configuration specific parameters.

IP address

Input field

System IP address configured for the interface.

Valid input

A valid IP address

Input example

192.168.0.200

Default value

None

Netmask

Input field

Network mask of the interface subnet.

Valid input

A valid network mask

Input example

255.255.255.0

Default value

None

Description

Input field

A description of the interface.

Valid input

Any string

Input example

proxy interface

Default value

None

IP aliases

Input field

IP address aliases for the interface.

Valid input

IP address separated by new-line

Input example

192.168.0.201, 192.168.0.202

Default value

None

IP aliases will not be backed up or load balanced in a Web Security Manager cluster. IP addresses which are served by a cluster are configured in Clustering .

Role

Every configured network interface can be assigned different roles. Depending on the number of network interfaces present, roles should be assigned accordingly. It is recommended to assign a dedicated interface for each possible role.

Network interfaces can be assigned the following roles:

Inbound traffic

Check box

Enable or disable inbound traffic for the interface.

If checked, the interface (and all IP addresses attached to it) will respond to inbound HTTP/HTTPS requests from clients.

If the selected network interface is exposed to clients, this role should be assigned.

Default: <unchecked>

Alert Logic Managed Web Application Firewall (WAF) will not pass any traffic from clients to back-end servers before at least one network interface is assigned this role.

Synchronization

Check box

Enable or disable Synchronization for the interface.

If checked, the Interface (only it's system IP address) is used for synchronization.

Fail-over must be active (on the same or any other network interface) before synchronization is active.

Default: <unchecked>

Management

Check box + input.

Enable or disable Management for the interface.

If checked, the Interface (only it's system IP address) is used for web-based management.

The Management port sets the port the management server answers.

Valid input

An TCP/IP port number

Input example

8080

Default value

2000

Management interface is available via HTTPS/SSL on the configured port.

Default: <checked>

DHCP

WAF supports IP assignment through DHCP. This may be desired in cloud environments where it cannot be guaranteed that IPs are persisted across reboots or shutdowns.

When installing the WAF instance, if IPs are assigned through DHCP, WAF will detect it and set the DHCP flag for the interface in question to on.

When DHCP is enabled for an interface the IP address of the interface will not appear in IP listings for listen IPs for website proxies but will instead be included in the list option All inbound/DHCP. DHCP option can also be enabled for interfaces with the management role bound.

When the DHCP assigned IP changes the WAF automatically adjust the configuration for both website proxies and management daemons accordingly so, since WAF is a server, this option should only be used where there is a system outside of WAF that keeps track of mappings from public IPs to local DHCP assigned private IPs as is the case in cloud environments that rely on DHCP.

DHCP

Check box

Enable or disable DHCP for the interface.

If checked, the interface will get its IP address via DHCP and adjust configuration of proxy and management services accordingly when the IP address changes.

Default: If IP address received from DHCP during installation this option will be enabled, otherwise it will be disabled.

Media settings

This section allows system administrator to configure network interface media settings like speed and duplex. Normally, a network interface is set to autoselect meaning that the speed and duplex settings are automatically negotiated with the uplink switch.

Media

Drop down list

Media settings.

Select the media settings from the drop down menu.

Valid input

Supported media settings for the interface is displayed in the drop down menu.

Default value

Autoselect