You configure connection forwarding for a network with multiple paths from the server in the Editing Appliance Configuration: <hostname>, Connection Forwarding page.

You enable connection forwarding only in asymmetric networks; that is, networks in that a client request traverses a different network path than the server response. The default port for connection forwarding is 7850.

This feature applies to SteelHead.

For detailed information about connection forwarding, see the SteelHead User Guide.

To configure connection forwarding, choose Manage > Topology: Appliances. Select the name of the appliance you want to edit to display the Edit Appliance tab. Select the Appliance Pages tab to display the Appliance Configuration Pages list.

Under Appliance Configuration Pages, click Connection Forwarding to display the Editing Appliance Configuration: <hostname>, Connection Forwarding page. These configuration options are available under Connection Forwarding Settings:

Enables connection forwarding by default on all neighbors added to the peer list. The default value is 7850.

Specifies the port number to use as the default for the neighbor SteelHead in-path port. The default value is 7850.

Specifies the number of seconds to use as the default interval for ping commands between neighbor SteelHeads. The default value is 1 second.

Specifies the number of tries to use as the default number of failed ping attempts before an appliance terminates a connection with a neighbor. The default value is 3.

Uses the neighbor appliance to optimize new connections if the appliance fails.

For in-path deployments that use connection forwarding with WCCP, enabling this option ensures that if one appliance fails, the neighbor appliance continues to optimize new connections.

For in-path deployments that use connection forwarding without WCCP, enabling this option ensures that a SteelHead attempts to optimize new connections that are symmetrically routed, even after all of the neighbor SteelHeads on another network path failed. New asymmetrically routed connections aren’t optimized but passed through.

Enables high availability on SteelHeads configured with multiple in-path interfaces and using connection forwarding with another multiport SteelHead. This option makes all neighbor in-path interface IP addresses visible to each peer to ensure proper neighbor communication if the in-path0_0 interface fails.

RiOS 6.5 and later require connection forwarding in a WCCP cluster. You must enable multiple interface support for a connection-forwarding neighbor to work with IPv6.

Enables IPv6 connection forwarding mode. Enabling this option disallows IPv4 addresses for neighbors.

These configuration options are available under Neighbor Table:

Displays the controls to add a new neighbor.

Specifies a hostname.

Specifies the in-path IP address for the neighbor SteelHead. When you define a neighbor, you must specify the appliance in-path IP address, not the primary IP address. Either IPv4 or both IPv4 and IPv6 can be specified. To use connection forwarding with IPv6, both SteelHeads must be running RiOS 8.5 or later and you must enable multiple interface support.

Specifies the in-path port for the neighbor SteelHead. The default port is 7850.

Adds a neighbor SteelHead to the neighbor list.

Adds a new neighbor.