Overview of Out-of-Path Deployment

In an out-of-path deployment, only a SteelHead primary interface is required to connect to the network. The SteelHead can be connected anywhere in the LAN. An out-of-path SteelHead deployment does not have a redirecting device. You configure fixed-target in-path rules for the client-side SteelHead. The fixed-target in-path rules point to the primary IP address of the out-of-path SteelHead. The out-of-path SteelHead uses its primary IP address when communicating to the server. The remote SteelHead must be deployed either in a physical or virtual in-path mode.

Figure 17‑1 shows an out-of-path deployment.

An out-of-path deployment is generally located on the server-side and is often described as a server-side out-of-path deployment.

You can achieve redundancy by deploying two SteelHeads out-of-path at one location, and by using both of their primary IP addresses in the remote SteelHead fixed-target rule. The fixed-target rule allows the specification of a primary and a backup SteelHead. If the primary SteelHead becomes unreachable, the remote SteelHeads use the backup SteelHead until the primary comes back online. If both out-of-path SteelHeads in a specific fixed-target rule are unavailable, the remote SteelHead passes through this traffic unoptimized. The remote SteelHead does not look for another matching in-path rule in the list.

You can use RiOS data store synchronization between the out-of-path SteelHeads for additional benefits in case of a failure. For details, see RiOS Data Store Synchronization.

You can also implement load balancing with out-of-path deployments by using multiple out-of-path SteelHeads, and configuring different remote SteelHeads to use different target out-of-path SteelHeads.

You can target an out-of-path SteelHead for a fixed-target rule. This can be done simultaneously for physical in-path and virtual in-path deployments. This is referred to as a hybrid deployment.