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Barracuda Load Balancer

Configuring the WAN IP Address

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This article refers to firmware 4.2 and higher running on the Barracuda Load Balancer model 640 that includes PORT1 through PORT10, except where noted.

You can configure the WAN IP Address on a VLAN, on the WAN Port, or as a bonded interface. By default the WAN IP is configured on the WAN Port as an untagged network.

Configure the WAN IP Address on a VLAN Network

If this is your initial deployment, you can configure the Barracuda Load Balancer in a WAN VLAN network by configuring the VLAN Network ID to the System VLAN ID while configuring the System IP through consconf. However, if you previously configured your Barracuda Load Balancer in a different deployment and wish to move the WAN IP to VLAN network from an untagged network, you must create a VLAN Interface in the VLAN Configuration section on the ADVANCED > Advanced Networking page:

  1. Log into the web interface, and in the VLAN Configuration section on the ADVANCED > Advanced Networking page, enter the VLAN NameVLAN ID, and select WAN from the Port menu.
  2. Click Add.
  3. In the WAN IP Configuration section on the BASIC > IP Configuration page, select the port value of the VLAN Name you defined in Step 1 above, and click Save Changes.

Configure the WAN IP as a Bonded Interface

This section refers to firmware 4.2 and higher running on the Barracuda Load Balancer model 640 that includes PORT1 through PORT10. 

You can configure the Barracuda Load Balancer WAN IP as a bonded interface using the following steps:

  1. Log into the web interface, and go to the ADVANCED > Advanced Networking page.
  2. In the Link Bonding section, click Add Interface Bond.
  3. Enter a name for the link bond, and select the mode.
  4. Highlight the WAN port, and click Add to move the WAN port to the Ports list. 
  5. Click Add at the top of the page to create the bond interface and automatically add the WAN IP, custom virtual interfaces, static routes, and source network address translation created on the WAN port and VLANs.

    Creation of a bonded interface from consconf is not supported, however, from consconf you can configure the WAN IP on the WAN port, and then create the bond interface by selecting the WAN port as part of the bonded interface.

Configure the WAN IP on a VLAN Network of a Bonded Interface

You can configure a WAN on a VLAN network on any Barracuda Load Balancer model running firmware 4.2 and higher, however, you can only add a WAN on a bonded interface on a model 640 that includes PORT1 through PORT10.

You can configure the Barracuda Load Balancer WAN IP on a VLAN Network of a bonded interface using the following steps:

  1. Log into the web interface, and go to the ADVANCED > Advanced Networking page.
  2. In the VLAN Configuration section, enter the name and ID in the VLAN Name and VLAN ID fields, and from the Port menu, select WAN.
  3. Click Add.
  4. In the WAN IP Configuration section on the BASIC > IP Configuration page, select the Port value to the VLAN Configuration you created in Step 2 above.
  5. Go to the ADVANCED > Advanced Networking page, and in the Link Bonding section, click Add Interface Bond.
  6. Enter a name for the link bond and select the mode.
  7. Highlight the WAN port and click Add to move the WAN port to the Ports list.
  8. Click Add at the top of the page to create the bond interface and automatically add the WAN IP, custom virtual interfaces, static routes, and source network address translation created on the WAN port and VLANs.

If you are using High Availability (HA) to cluster two Barracuda Load Balancers:

  • Ensure that the WAN IP Address and VLAN Interface are configured the same on both systems when the WAN IP is on the VLAN Interface.
  • Ensure that the WAN IP Address is configured with the same bond interface.
  • Ensure that the WAN IP Address is on the same VLAN as the bonded interface.

In HA, any link bonding configuration synchronizes to the peer system. Note that when creating an interface bond, selecting the mode 802.3ad (or LACP) does not increase the bandwidth for a single conversation and achieves high utilization only when carrying multiple simultaneous conversations as it attempts to use the same ports for the same conversation.

Failover

In Failover, the bonds are created on the peer system, and heatbeat and configuration synchronization continue on the WAN port as usual. The system can monitor one or more of the "un-bonded" ports or the bonds for the Failover on Link Down setting.

The system lists all ports as there is no bond on the system. For example, if there was a bond between PORT2 and PORT3 then you will see PORT1, BOND1, PORT4 and so on. Note that ports that are part of a bond do not display individually.

The bonding information, including the modes (round-robin, active-backup, or 802.3ad/LACP) is synced across the nodes, however, the administrator must ensure proper cabling for it to take effect on a Failover. For example, if PORT2 and PORT3 form a bond on the primary device then the system attempts to use these same ports (PORT2 and PORT3) for the bond on a Failover, therefore the administrator must verify they are connected to the same switch as the bond on the primary.

On the ADVANCED > High Availability page, you can monitor the network ports by selecting them from the Failover on Link Down values. When Enable Network Port Configuration is set to No, you can connect any of the ports to the LAN. This allows traffic to work properly by connecting any ports from device A to device B to the LAN switch. However, to monitor these ports as part of the High Availability Failover mechanism, select the same physical port on device A and device B.

 

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