About Hybrid Networking, QoS, and Path Selection : Where do I start?
  
Where do I start?
Network topology and application properties form the reusable building blocks that allow you to inspect and direct network traffic using the QoS, path selection, and web proxy features. On an SCC, you can protect network traffic by reusing these building blocks with the secure transport feature. In addition, the application statistics collector in the SCC provides visibility into the throughput data for optimized and pass-through traffic flowing in and out of the SteelHeads in your network. For details, see the SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead User Guide.
Best practices for QoS configuration
These steps provide the suggested workflow for configuring QoS:
1. Define applications. Attach a business relevancy to all traffic that goes through your network. Application definitions enable you to prioritize traffic with QoS and steer traffic down a particular path with path selection. Use the preexisting default definitions to identify applications. If the application doesn’t appear in the preexisting application list, you can define a custom application. See About application definitions
2. View or modify the default QoS profile, or configure additional QoS profiles. Optionally, modify the default profile by editing the classes, creating additional classes, or adding rules. The classes specify the traffic hierarchy, priority, and the minimum and maximum bandwidth the class uses for shaping. The rules can use application definitions and application groups. Optionally, create an entirely new QoS profile and attach rules to that profile. See Viewing and editing the default QoS classes and Adding QoS profiles.
3. Define a view of all available networks. On a SteelHead, the network definition is simply a name (for example, MPLS). See Defining a network.
4. Define sites. Sites provide the SteelHead with the IP addresses of all existing subnets (including non-SteelHead sites). It’s important to define all remote subnets in the enterprise so they can be matched with the correct QoS profile. You must define local and remote sites and local gateways. You also define the default site as a catch-all for traffic that is not assigned to another site and for backhaul traffic. See Defining a site.
5. Assign a QoS profile to sites. Select Default to use the default profile. Assign one profile per site. You can’t assign a profile to a network.
6. Enable QoS. See Enabling QoS.
Best practices for path selection configuration
These steps provide the suggested workflow for configuring path selection:
1. Define applications. Attach a business relevancy to all traffic that goes through your network. Use the preexisting default definitions to identify applications. If the application doesn’t appear in the preexisting application list, you can define a custom application. See About application definitions.
2. Define a view of all available networks. The network definition is simply a name (for example, MPLS). See Defining a network.
3. Define sites. Provides the SteelHead with the IP addresses of all subnets existing within a site (this applies to non-SteelHead sites as well). It’s important to define all remote subnets in the enterprise so they can be matched with the correct rules. You must define local and remote sites. The site definitions include a list of IP subnets that path selection will use to identify the site. Every subnet must be globally unique, although they can overlap. You also define the default site as a catch-all for traffic that is not assigned to another site. Specify the SteelHead peers to use for path monitoring. SteelHead peers are select distinct IP addresses you choose to poll, in order, to verify path availability. See Defining a site.
4. Define uplinks that join the sites to the networks. You must define the local site with the gateway IP address and the in-path interface the uplinks will use to connect to the network. On the SteelHead you are configuring, the local default gateway is the in-path interface. When you configure path selection, if the default gateway is pointing to the LAN side of the SteelHead, we recommend changing the interface to point the gateway to the WAN side of the SteelHead to avoid packet ricochet. The order of sites isn’t important because the longest prefix in the site subnet is matched first. See Defining uplinks.
5. Enable path selection. Choose Network > Network Services: Path Selection, and select Enable Path Selection.
6. Configure path selection rules. Path selection rules direct matching traffic onto specific uplinks. Traffic is matched by a combination of application and destination site. See Configuring path selection.