How to Configure Link Balancing and Failover for Multiple WAN Connections

If you are using two or more ISP connections, you can use outbound link and load balancing to balance the traffic between the different Internet connections. If one ISP goes down, the traffic will be routed over the remaining connection. Basic link failover functionality can be achieved by using different route metrics. A better solution is to use custom connection objects to distribute the load and/or configure failover for different links. Using custom connection objects allows you to decide on link balancing on a per-access rule basis. For this example we are using one static and one dynamic Internet connection.

Step 1. Configure the WAN Connections

Configure your WAN connections:

• For information on setting up an ISP with static IP address assignment, see How to Configure an ISP with Static IP Addresses.
• For information on setting up an ISP with dynamic DHCP IP address assignment, see How to Configure an ISP with Dynamic IP Addresses (DHCP).

This configuration uses the following example settings for both WAN connections:

For WAN connections with dynamic address assignment (e.g. ,DHCP), verify that you enable the settings Own Routing Table, Use Assigned IP, and Clone Routes in the configuration. Disable Create Default Route.

Step 2. Add a Source Based Route

Configure the source routes for both connections to avoid IP packets from being sent via the wrong ISP line. For DHCP connections, the routes are already introduced automatically by the DHCP client. For ISP connections with static IP addresses, configure a source-based route.

1. Go to CONFIGURATION > Configuration Tree > Box > Network.
2. In the left menu, select Routing.
3. Click Lock.
4. In the Source Based Routing section, click + to add a new route.
5. Enter a Name for the route and click OK.
6. In the Source Networks table, add the network for which the routing table is consulted., e.g., 62.99.0.0/24
7. In the Routing Table Contents section, click + to configure the route.
8. In the Target Network Address field, enter 0.0.0.0/0.

9. Select unicast as the Route Type.
10. Enter the Gateway IP address, e.g., 62.99.0.254
11. Click OK.
12. Select postmain as the Table Placement option.
13. Click OK.
14. Click Send Changes and Activate.

Step 3. Configure Link Monitoring

Configure link monitoring for the static Internet connection. This is important for cases where e.g., the ISP router in front of the firewall does not go down but the uplink beyond does.

1. Go to CONFIGURATION > Configuration Tree > Network > IP Configuration.
2. Scroll down to the section Shared Networks and IPs.
3. In the Configuration Mode menu, select Switch to Advanced View.
4. Click Lock.
5. Edit the entry for the ISP in the Shared Network and IPs section.
6. In the Reachable IPs table, add one or more target IP addresses of hosts that should be reachable for probing. 
7. Enter commands to be run when gateway or none of the reachable IP addresses is reachable.
8. Click OK.
9. Click Send Changes and Activate.

For the dynamic Internet connection, configure link monitoring for both routes (default and source based) to monitor IP addresses beyond the ISP gateway.

1. Go to CONFIGURATION > Configuration Tree > Box > Network.
2. In the left menu, select xDSL/DHCP.
3. In the Configuration Mode menu, select Switch to Advanced View.
4. Click Lock.
5. Edit the DHCP link.
6. In the Connection Monitoring section, select ICMP as the Monitoring Method. The Barracuda CloudGen Firewall probes the Reachable IPs and, if there is no response, the gateway.
7. Enter one or more target IP addresses to be used for monitoring into the Reachable IPs table. These addresses must be reachable only via the DHCP connection.
8. Click OK.
9. Click Send Changes and Activate.

After you configure your routes, you must activate your new network configurations.

1. Go to CONTROL > Box.
2. In the left menu, expand Network and click Activate new network configuration.
3. Select Failsafe. A Network Configuration Reconfigured message will appear.

Step 4. Create a Custom Connection Object for Link Balancing with Failover (Fallback)

Create a custom connection object for link balancing and failover. For more information, see Connection Objects and How to Configure Failover and Load Balancing in Custom Connection Objects.

1. Go to CONFIGURATION > Configuration Tree  > Box > Assigned Services > Firewall > Forwarding Rules.
2. Click Lock.
3. In the left menu, click on Connections. 
4. Right-click and select New. The Edit/Create a Connection Object window opens.
5. Enter a Name for the connection object. E.g., LBFailover


6. Select From Interface as the NAT Address.

7. In the Interface Name field, enter the port the ISP 1 is connected to. E.g. , port3 or dhcp

8. In the Failover and Load Balancing section, select one load balancing/failover Policy. For more information, see Connection Objects.
   
   • Failover
   • Weighted Round Robin 
   • Weighted Random
   • Source IP Hash

   • Provider Optimization

9. Click  OK.
10. Click Send Changes and Activate.

Step 5. Apply the Connection Object

Use the object for all access rules handling outgoing traffic.

1. Go to CONFIGURATION > Configuration Tree  > Box > Assigned Services > Firewall > Forwarding Rules.
2. Click Lock.
3. Edit an access rule handling outgoing traffic. E.g., LAN-2-INTERNET
4. Select the custom connection object created in Step 4 from the Connection Method list.
5. Click OK.
6. Click Send Changes and Activate.

Step 6. (optional) Configure Notifications

You can configure the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall to send SNMP traps or email notifications in case one of the ISP connections fails. Depending on what kind of notification you want to send, change the notification ID for:

• 62 (Route Changed)
• 64 (Route Disabled)

For more information, see Events.

You are now load balancing and/or using failover for all outgoing connections, which are handled by access rules using the custom connection object. If needed, you can define multiple custom connection objects and use them to control which ISP connections are used by a specific network or IP address.