PePLink Balance Series v4.0
PePLink Balance 30/200/300/380/700
User Manual
Rev. 2.0
June 07
COPYRIGHT & TRADEMARKS
Specifications are subject to change without prior notice. Copyright © 2007 PePLink Ltd. All Rights
Reserved. PePLink and the PePLink logo are trademarks of PePLink Ltd. Other brands or products
mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 2
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE ......................................................................................................... 4
2 GLOSSARY ....................................................................................................................................... 4
3 PRODUCT FEATURES ........................................................................................................................ 5
3.1 SUPPORTED NETWORK FEATURES ................................................................................................................. 5
3.2 OTHER SUPPORTED FEATURES ...................................................................................................................... 5
4 PACKAGE CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................... 6
4.1 PEPLINK BALANCE 30 / 200 / 300 ............................................................................................................ 6
4.2 PEPLINK BALANCE 380 / 700 .................................................................................................................... 6
5 PEPLINK BALANCE OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................... 7
5.1 PEPLINK BALANCE 200 .............................................................................................................................. 7
5.2 PEPLINK BALANCE 30 / 300 ...................................................................................................................... 9
5.3 PEPLINK BALANCE 380 ............................................................................................................................ 11
5.4 PEPLINK BALANCE 700 ............................................................................................................................ 14
6 INSTALLATION ............................................................................................................................... 17
6.1 CONNECTING THE NETWORK WITH PEPLINK BALANCE ............................................................................... 17
6.2 CONFIGURING COMPUTERS ON THE LAN ................................................................................................. 18
7 BASIC CONFIGURATION .............................................................................................................. 21
7.1 CONNECTING TO WEB ADMINISTRATION INTERFACE .................................................................................. 21
7.2 CONFIGURATION WITH SETUP WIZARD ....................................................................................................... 22
7.3 ADVANCED SETUP ................................................................................................................................... 23
8 CONFIGURATION OF LAN INTERFACE(S) .................................................................................... 24
9 DROP-IN MODE ............................................................................................................................. 27
10 CONFIGURATION OF WAN INTERFACE(S) .................................................................................. 30
10.1 DHCP CONNECTION .............................................................................................................................. 30
10.2 STATIC IP CONNECTION ........................................................................................................................... 33
10.3 PPPOE CONNECTION ............................................................................................................................. 36
10.4 GRE CONNECTION ................................................................................................................................. 38
10.5 SMTP FORWARDING ............................................................................................................................... 43
10.6 DYNAMIC DNS SETTINGS ......................................................................................................................... 43
10.7 WAN HEALTH CHECK ............................................................................................................................. 44
11 FIREWALL CONFIGURATION ......................................................................................................... 47
12 MANAGEMENT OF OUTBOUND TRAFFIC TO WAN ...................................................................... 51
12.1 OUTBOUND TRAFFIC POLICY..................................................................................................................... 51
12.2 FINE TUNING LOAD DISTRIBUTION FOR INDIVIDUAL SERVICES ....................................................................... 52
13 MANAGEMENT OF INBOUND ACCESS FROM WAN ................................................................... 57
13.1 DEFINITION OF SERVERS ON LAN .............................................................................................................. 57
13.2 DEFINITION OF SERVICES ........................................................................................................................... 58
13.3 DEFINITION OF PORTING FORWARDING ..................................................................................................... 62
13.4 DEFINITION OF DNS RECORDS ................................................................................................................. 64
14 CONFIGURATION OF NAT MAPPINGS ........................................................................................ 75
15 MISCELLANEOUS SETTINGS .......................................................................................................... 77
15.1 HIGH AVAILABILITY ................................................................................................................................... 77
15.2 TRAFFIC PRIORITIZATION............................................................................................................................ 79
16 SYSTEM SETTINGS .......................................................................................................................... 79
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 3
16.1 ADMIN SECURITY ..................................................................................................................................... 79
16.2 FIRMWARE UPGRADE ............................................................................................................................... 82
16.3 TIME ........................................................................................................................................................ 83
16.4 EMAIL NOTIFICATION................................................................................................................................ 84
16.5 REMOTE SYSLOG ...................................................................................................................................... 85
16.6 SNMP .................................................................................................................................................... 85
16.7 REPORTING SERVER .................................................................................................................................. 87
16.8 SAVING AND LOADING CONFIGURATIONS ................................................................................................ 89
16.9 FLASH MANAGEMENT .............................................................................................................................. 90
16.10 REBOOT .................................................................................................................................................. 91
16.11 PING TEST ................................................................................................................................................ 91
16.12 TRACEROUTE TEST ..................................................................................................................................... 92
17 STATUS ............................................................................................................................................ 93
17.1 DEVICE ................................................................................................................................................... 93
17.2 LINK USAGE STATUS .................................................................................................................................. 94
17.3 ACTIVE SESSIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 95
17.4 DHCP CLIENTS ....................................................................................................................................... 96
17.5 LOG ........................................................................................................................................................ 96
APPENDIX A. RESTORATION OF FACTORY DEFAULTS ........................................................................... 97
APPENDIX B. ROUTING UNDER DHCP, STATIC IP, AND PPPOE ............................................................ 98
B.1 ROUTING VIA NETWORK ADDRESS TRANSLATION (NAT) ............................................................................. 98
B.2 ROUTING VIA IP FORWARDING ................................................................................................................. 98
APPENDIX C. CASE STUDIES ............................................................................................................... 99
C.1 PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION .................................................................................................................. 99
C.2 MAINTAINING THE SAME IP ADDRESS THROUGHOUT A SESSION ................................................................. 100
C.3 BYPASSING THE FIREWALL TO ACCESS HOSTS ON LAN ............................................................................. 102
C.4 INBOUND ACCESS RESTRICTION .............................................................................................................. 103
C.5 OUTBOUND ACCESS RESTRICTION ........................................................................................................... 104
APPENDIX D. TROUBLESHOOTING ....................................................................................................... 105
APPENDIX E. PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS ........................................................................................... 107
E.1 PEPLINK BALANCE 200 .......................................................................................................................... 107
E.2 PEPLINK BALANCE 30 AND PEPLINK BALANCE 300 ................................................................................ 108
E.3 PEPLINK BALANCE 380 .......................................................................................................................... 109
E.4 PEPLINK BALANCE 700 .......................................................................................................................... 110
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 4
Term
Definition
DHCP
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
DNS
Domain Name System
GRE
Generic Routing Encapsulation
HTTP
Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol
ICMP
Internet Control Message Protocol
IP
Internet Protocol
LAN
Local Area Network
MAC Address
Media Access Control Address
MTU
Maximum Transmission Unit
MSS
Maximum Segment Size
NAT
Network Address Translation
PPPoE
Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet
SNMP
Simple Network Management Protocol
TCP
Transmission Control Protocol
UDP
User Datagram Protocol
VRRP
Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol
WAN
Wide Area Network
1 Introduction and Scope
The PePLink Balance series provides link aggregation and load balancing across up to seven
WAN connections.
The PePLink Balance 30 provides a feature set that is suitable for Small Office / Home Office
(SO/HO) environments.
The PePLink Balance 200, 300, 380, and 700, with a suite of advanced enterprise-class
features, make ideal single-box solutions for medium to large-sized businesses
environments, and allow service providers to enable highly available multi-network service.
This manual applies to the following PePLink Balance products:
PePLink Balance 30 (firmware version v4.0.x)
PePLink Balance 200 (firmware version v4.0.x)
PePLink Balance 300 (firmware version v4.0.x)
PePLink Balance 380 (firmware version v4.0.x)
PePLink Balance 700 (firmware version v4.0.x)
The manual presents how to set up PePLink Balance, and provides a collection of case
studies involving advanced features of PePLink Balance.
2 Glossary
The following terms, acronyms, and abbreviations are frequently used in this manual:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 5
3 Product Features
PePLink Balance Series products enable all LAN users to share broadband Internet
connections, and provide advanced features to enhance Internet access.
The following is the list of supported features:
3.1 Supported Network Features
3.1.1 WAN
Multiple WAN Connection (DHCP, PPPoE, Static IP Address, or GRE)
10/100/1000 Mbps Connection in Full/Half Duplex
Drop-in Mode
Network Address Translation (NAT) / Port Address Translation (PAT)
Inbound and Outbound NAT mapping
PPTP packet pass through
Multiple static IP addresses per WAN Connection
MAC address clone
Customizable MTU and MSS values
WAN connection health check
Dynamic DNS (Supported service providers: changeip.com, dyndns.org, no-ip.org)
3.1.2 LAN
DHCP server on LAN
Static routing rules
Local DNS
3.1.3 Firewall
Outbound (LAN to WAN) firewall rules
Inbound (WAN to LAN) firewall rules per WAN connection
Specification of NAT mappings
3.1.4 Inbound Traffic Management
TCP/UDP traffic redirection to dedicated LAN server(s)
LAN server load distribution per DNS record
Inbound link load balancing by means of DNS (available only with PePLink
Balance 200, 300, 380, and 700)
3.1.5 Outbound Traffic Management
Link load distribution per TCP/UDP service
Persistent routing for specified source and/or destination IP addresses per TCP/UDP
service
3.2 Other Supported Features
Easy-to-use web-based administration interface
HTTP and HTTPS support for Web Administration Interface
Configurable web administration port and administrator password
Firmware upgrades, configuration backups, Ping, and Traceroute via Web
Administration Interface
Remote web based configuration (via WAN and LAN interfaces)
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 6
Remote reporting to PePLink Balance reporting server (available only with
PePLink Balance 200, 300, 380, and 700)
Hardware High Availability via VRRP (available only with PePLink Balance 200,
300, 380, and 700)
Quality of Service for Voice over IP and Secure Web (available only with PePLink
Balance 200, 300, 380, and 700)
Time server synchronization
SNMP
Email notification
Syslog
SIP pass through
PPTP packet pass through
Web Logging
Link Status (Active Sessions)
4 Package Contents
The contents of PePLink Balance product packages are as follows:
4.1 PePLink Balance 30 / 200 / 300
PePLink Balance 30
Power adapter
Information slip
CD containing this user manual
4.2 PePLink Balance 380 / 700
PePLink Balance 380/700
Power cord
Information slip
CD containing this user manual
Rack mount kit
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 7
Power and Status Indicators
Power
OFF – Power off
Green – Power on
Status
OFF – System initializing
Red – Booting up or busy
Orange – Power on self test
Green – Ready
LAN Indicators
Activity
OFF – Port is not connected
Green – Port is connected
Blinking – Port is transferring data
10/100
OFF – 10Mbps
Orange – 100Mbps
WAN Indicators
Activity
OFF – Port is not connected
Green – Port is connected
Blinking – Port is transferring data
10/100
OFF – 10Mbps
Orange – 100Mbps
5 PePLink Balance Overview
5.1 PePLink Balance 200
5.1.1 Front Panel Appearance
5.1.2 LED Indicators
The statuses indicated by the Front Panel LEDs are as follows:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 8
Connector Ports
RS-232 Port
Reserved for engineering use
WAN Ports
Supports up to two 10/100BaseT WAN connections, typically
connected to broadband modems
LAN Ports
Supports up to four 10/100BaseT LAN connections, typically
connected to client PCs
Power Connector
DC 9V power input from supplied power adaptor
Power Connector
LAN Ports
WAN Ports
RS-232 Port
Serial Number and
LAN MAC Address
Mounting
Points
Mounting
Points
5.1.3 Rear Panel Appearance
5.1.4 Connector Ports
The connector ports on the rear panel are as follows:
5.1.5 Unit Base Appearance
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 9
Power and Status Indicators
Power
OFF – Power off
Green – Power on
Status
OFF – System initializing
Red – Booting up or busy
Orange – Power on self test
Green – Ready state
LAN Indicators
Activity
OFF – Port is not connected
Green – Port is connected
Blinking – Port is transferring data
10/100
OFF – 10Mbps
Orange – 100Mbps
WAN Indicators
Activity
OFF – Port is not connected
Green – Port is connected
Blinking – Port is transferring data
10/100
OFF – 10Mbps
Orange – 100Mbps
5.2 PePLink Balance 30 / 300
5.2.1 Front Panel Appearance
5.2.2 LED Indicators
The statuses indicated by the Front Panel LEDs are as follows:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 10
Connector Ports
RS-232 Port
Reserved for engineering use
WAN Ports
Supports up to three 10/100BaseT WAN connections, typically
connected to broadband modems
LAN Ports
Supports up to four 10/100BaseT LAN connections, typically
connected to client PCs
Power Connector
DC 9V power input from supplied power adaptor
Power Connector
LAN Ports
WAN Ports
RS-232 Port
Serial Number and
LAN MAC Address
Mounting
Points
Mounting
Points
5.2.3 Rear Panel Appearance
5.2.4 Connector Ports
5.2.5 Unit Base Appearance
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 11
Power and Status Indicators
Power LED
OFF – Power off
Green – Power on
RS-232 Port
RS-232 Port
Reserved for Engineering Use
LAN and WAN Indicators
Green LED
ON – 100 Mbps
OFF – 10 Mbps
Yellow LED
Solid – Port is connected without traffic
Blinking – Data is transferring
OFF – Port is not connected
Note:
They are MDI ports
LCD Display
RS-232 Port
LCD Controls
LAN Port
Power LED
WAN Ports
5.3 PePLink Balance 380
5.3.1 Front Panel Appearance
5.3.2 LED Indicators
The statuses indicated by the Front Panel LEDs are as follows:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 12
5.3.3 LCD Display Menu
> System Status
> System
> Firmware ver (shows firmware version)
> Serial number (shows serial number)
> System time (shows current time)
> System up time (shows up time since server reboot)
> CPU load (shows current CPU loading, 0-100%)
> LAN
> Status (shows LAN port physical status)
> IP address (shows LAN IP address)
> Subnet mask (shows LAN subnet mask)
> Link status (shows Connected/Disconnected, IP address list)
> WAN1
> WAN2
> WAN3
> Link usage
> Throughput in (shows transfer rate in Kbps)
> WAN1
> WAN2
> WAN3
> Throughput out (shows transfer rate in Kbps)
> WAN1
> WAN2
> WAN3
> Data Transfer’d (shows volume transferred since last reboot in MB)
> WAN1
> WAN2
> WAN3
> Maintenance
> Power off > Power off? (Yes/No) (powers off unit)
> Reboot > Reboot? (Yes/No) (reboots unit)
> Factory default > Factory default? (Yes/No) (restores factory defaults)
> LAN config
> Port speed (shows port speed: Auto, 10baseT-FD,
> LAN 10baseT-HD, 100baseTx-FD,
> WAN1 100baseTx-HD)
> WAN2
> WAN3
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 13
Connector Ports
USB Ports
Reserved for engineering use
Power Connector
AC input 110/220V
Switch
Power Switch
- To hold pressing the key for 4 secs will power down the unit
- When the unit is powered off, press it will power on the unit
USB Ports
Power Connector
Serial Number and
LAN MAC Address
Power Switch
5.3.4 Rear Panel Appearance
5.3.5 Unit Label Appearance
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 14
RS-232 & USB Ports
RS-232 Port
Reserved for Engineering Use
USB Ports
Reserved for Engineering Use
LAN Port and WAN Ports 1 to 3 (Gigabit Ethernet)
Green LED
ON – 1000 Mbps
OFF – 100/10 Mbps
Yellow LED
Solid – Port is connected without traffic
Blinking – Data is transferring
OFF – Port is not connected
Note:
They are auto MDI/MDI-X ports
WAN Ports 4 to 7 (Fast Ethernet)
Green LED
ON – 100 Mbps
OFF – 10 Mbps
Yellow LED
Solid – Port is connected without traffic
Blinking – Data is transferring
OFF – Port is not connected
Note:
They are MDI ports
LED Indicator
Power LED
OFF – Power off
ON (Green) – Power on
LCD Display
RS-232 Port
LCD Controls
USB Ports
LAN Port
WAN Ports
Power LED
5.4 PePLink Balance 700
5.4.1 Front Panel Appearance
Status indicated in the Front Panel is as follows:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 15
5.4.2 LCD Display Menu
> System Status
> System
> Firmware ver (shows firmware version)
> Serial number (shows serial number)
> System time (shows current time)
> System up time (shows up time since server reboot)
> CPU load (shows current CPU loading, 0-100%)
> LAN
> Status (shows LAN port physical status)
> IP address (shows LAN IP address)
> Subnet mask (shows LAN subnet mask)
> Link status (shows Connected/Disconnected, IP address list)
> WAN1
> WAN2
> …
> WAN7
> Link usage
> Throughput in (shows transfer rate in Kbps)
> WAN1
> WAN2
> …
> WAN7
> Throughput out (shows transfer rate in Kbps)
> WAN1
> WAN2
> …
> WAN7
> Data Transfer’d (shows volume transferred since last reboot in MB)
> WAN1
> WAN2
> …
> WAN7
> Maintenance
> Power off > Power off? (Yes/No) (powers off unit)
> Reboot > Reboot? (Yes/No) (reboots unit)
> Factory default > Factory default? (Yes/No) (restores factory defaults)
> LAN config
> Port speed (shows port speed: Auto, 10baseT-FD,
> LAN 10baseT-HD, 100baseTx-FD,
> WAN1 100baseTx-HD, 1000baseTx-FD)
> WAN2
> …
> WAN7
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 16
Connector Ports
RS-232 Port
Reserved for engineering use
USB Ports
Reserved for engineering use
Power Connector
AC input 110/220V
Switches
Power Switch
- To hold pressing the key for 4 secs will power down the unit
- When the unit is powered off, press it will power on the unit
Reset Switch
Press and release once to reset the system
USB Ports
RS-232 Port
Power Connector
Serial Number and
LAN MAC Address
Power Switch
Reset Switch
5.4.3 Rear Panel Appearance
5.4.4 Unit Label Appearance
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 17
6 Installation
6.1 Connecting the Network with PePLink Balance
6.1.1 Preparation
Before installing PePLink Balance, please prepare the following:
At least one Internet/WAN access account
For each network connection, one 10/100BaseT UTP cable with RJ45 connectors, or
one 1000BaseT Cat5E UTP cable for the Gigabit ports on the Balance 700.
A computer with TCP/IP network protocol and a web browser installed (Supported
browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or above, and Firefox 1.5 or above.)
6.1.2 Constructing the Network
At a high level, construct the network according to the following steps:
1. With a network cable, connect a computer to one of the LAN ports on the PePLink
Balance. For PePLink Balance 30, 200, and 300, repeat with different cables for up to
4 computers to be connected.
2. With another network cable, connect the WAN/broadband modem and one of the
WAN ports on the PePLink Balance. Repeat using different cables to connect up to 2,
3 or 7 WAN/broadband connections with the PePLink Balance 200, 30/300/380 and
700, respectively.
3. For PePLink Balance 30, 200 and 300, connect the provided power adapter to the
power connector, and then plug in the power adapter at a power outlet. For PePLink
Balance 380 and 700, connect the provided power cord to the AC power port, and
then plug in the cord at a power outlet.
The following figure schematically illustrates the configuration that results:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 18
6.1.3 Configuring the Network Environment
To ensure that PePLink Balance works properly in the LAN environment, and can access the
Internet via the WAN connections, please refer to the following setup procedures:
PC Configuration on the LAN
Section 6.2, Configuring Computers on the LAN
LAN Configuration
For basic configuration, please refer to Section 7, Basic Configuration.
Section 8, Configuration of LAN Interface(s) covers advanced configuration.
WAN Configuration
For basic configuration, refer to Section 7, Basic Configuration.
Section 10, Configuration of WAN Interface(s) covers advanced configuration.
6.2 Configuring Computers on the LAN
The simplest way to setup the Local Area Network (LAN) is to enable the DHCP Server
functionality of PePLink Balance. With this setting, PePLink Balance will automatically
provide a suitable IP Address (and related information) to each computer connected to its
LAN interface. (Please refer to Section 8, Configuration of LAN Interface(s), for further
details on the DHCP Server Settings.)
The following steps configure a computer on the LAN to use the DHCP Server functionality
provided by PePLink Balance:
6.2.1 Windows 95/98/ME/2000 DHCP Client Configuration
4. Select Start Menu > Settings > Control Panel > Internet Options.
5. Select the Connection tab, and click the Setup button.
6. Select the option:
I want to set up my Internet connection manually, or I want to connect
through a local area network (LAN)
7. Click Next.
8. Select the option:
I connect through a local area network (LAN)
9. Click Next.
10. On the subsequent Local area network Internet Configuration screen, ensure that all
of the boxes are unchecked.
11. When prompted with the following:
Do you want to set up an Internet mail account now?
Select the option No.
12. Click Finish to close the Internet Connection Wizard.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 19
6.2.2 Windows XP DHCP Client Configuration
1. Select Start Menu > Control Panel > Network and Internet Connections.
2. Select Set up or change your Internet Connection.
3. Select the Connection tab, and click the Setup button.
4. At the Location Information pop-up menu, select Cancel.
5. At the New Connection Wizard screen, click Next.
6. Select Connect to the Internet and click Next.
7. Select Set up my connection manually and click Next.
8. Select the following checkbox:
Connect using a broadband connection that is always on
9. Click Next.
10. Click Finish to close the New Connection Wizard.
6.2.3 Windows Vista DHCP Client Configuration
1. Connect the computer and the PePLink Balance’s LAN interface with an Ethernet
cable.
2. The following screen will be displayed on
the computer screen. Choose “Work”.
3. Click “Close” to finish.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 20
6.2.4 Mac DHCP Client Configuration
1. Open TCP/IP Control Panel.
2. From the Connect via pop-up menu, select Ethernet.
3. Select Using DHCP Server from the Configure pop-up menu.
(The DHCP Client ID field can be left blank.)
4. Save the settings and close the TCP/IP Control Panel.
6.2.5 UNIX DHCP Client Configuration
Depending on the flavor of UNIX, the procedure may vary. The following steps are for Red
Hat Enterprise Linux 3:
1. Login to the system as root.
2. At the command prompt, type netconfig.
3. When prompted with the following:
Would you like to set up networking?
Respond with Yes.
4. When prompted with the following:
Please enter the IP configuration for this machine…
Select the option:
Use dynamic IP configuration (BOOTP/DHCP)
5. Select OK.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 21
Important Note
Configuration changes (e.g. WAN, LAN, Admin settings, etc.) take effect after clicking the
Apply Changes button on each page’s header. The Apply Changes button causes the
changes to be saved and applied.
7 Basic Configuration
7.1 Connecting to Web Administration Interface
1. Start a web browser on a computer connected through LAN with PePLink Balance.
2. To connect to Web Administration Interface of PePLink Balance, enter the following
LAN IP address in the address field of the web browser:
http://192.168.1.1
(The default LAN IP address for PePLink Balance is 192.168.1.1)
3. When prompted for User Name and Password to access the Web Administration
Interface, enter the following as User Name and Password to proceed.
User Name: admin
Password: admin
(The default admin password can be changed at the page System > Admin
Security of the Web Administration Interface.)
4. After successful login, the main page of Web Administration Interface is displayed:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 22
7.2 Configuration with Setup Wizard
The Setup Wizard of PePLink Balance simplifies the task of configuring WAN connection(s)
by guiding the configuration process step by step.
To begin, click Setup Wizard after connecting to Web Administration Interface.
Click on the appropriate check box(es) to select the WAN connection(s) to be configured:
Select the connection type from the following screen:
Depending on the selection of connection type, further configuration may be needed. For
example, PPPoE and Static IP require additional settings for the selected WAN port. Please
refer to Section 10, Configuration of WAN Interface(s), for details on setting up DHCP,
Static IP, PPPoE, and GRE.
After finishing the last step in the Setup Wizard, please click Apply Changes on the page
header to effect the configuration changes.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 23
Tip
Please refer to Section 10, Configuration of WAN Interface(s), for details on setting
up DHCP, Static IP, PPPoE, and GRE.
7.3 Advanced Setup
Advanced settings can be configured from the Network menu.
WAN connections can be configured by entering the corresponding WAN connection
information from Network > Interfaces > WAN:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 24
8 Configuration of LAN Interface(s)
The LAN Interface settings are located in Network > Interfaces > LAN:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 25
LAN Settings
IP Address &
Subnet Mask
The IP address of PePLink Balance on LAN
Speed
The speed of the LAN Ethernet Port.
By default, the appropriate data speed is automatically detected by
PePLink Balance.
In the event of synchronization issues, the port speed can be manually
specified to circumvent the issues.
Drop-in Mode Settings
IP Address &
Subnet Mask
Drop-in Mode eases the installation of PePLink Balance on a live
network between the existing Firewall and Router, such that no
configuration changes are required on existing equipment.
Please refer to Section 9 Drop-in Mode for details.
DHCP Server Settings
DHCP Server
When this setting is enabled, the DHCP server of PePLink Balance
automatically assigns an IP address to each computer that is connected
via LAN and configured to obtain an IP address via DHCP.
PePLink Balance’s DHCP server prevents IP address collision on LAN.
IP Range &
Subnet Mask
This setting allocates a range of IP address that will be assigned to LAN
computers by the DHCP server of PePLink Balance.
Lease Time
This setting specifies the length of time throughout which an IP
address of a DHCP client remains valid. Upon expiration of the Lease
Time, the assigned IP address will no longer be valid and the renewal
of the IP address assignment will be required.
DNS Servers
This is to input the DNS server addresses to be offered to the DHCP
clients. If Assign DNS server automatically is selected, the PePLink
Balance’s built-in DNS server address (i.e. LAN IP address) will be
offered.
DHCP
Reservation
This setting reserves the assignment of fixed IP addresses for a list of
computers on the LAN. The computers to be assigned fixed IP
addresses on the LAN are identified by their MAC addresses.
The fixed IP address assignment is displayed as a cross-referenced list
between the computers’ Name, MAC addresses and fixed IP addresses.
The Name field (optional) is a humanized name to represent the
device. MAC addresses should be in the format of 00:AA:BB:CC:DD:EE
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 26
Static Route Settings
Static Route
This table is for defining static routing rules for the LAN segment.
A static route consists of the network address, subnet mask, and
gateway address. The address and subnet mask values are in the
format of w.x.y.z
After entering a route, click the Down Arrow button to add it to the
routing table.
To remove an existing route, select the route from the list and click the
Delete button.
DNS Proxy Settings
DNS Caching
This field is to enable DNS caching on the built-in DNS proxy. When it
is enabled, queried DNS replies will be stored for the same requests
next time. This could improve the DNS lookup time. But it cannot
return the most updated result for those often-changed DNS records.
By default, it is disabled.
Local DNS
Records
This table is for defining custom local DNS records.
A static local DNS record consists of a Host Name and an IP Address.
When looking up the Host Name from the LAN to LAN IP of PePLink
Balance, the corresponding IP Address will be returned.
After entering the corresponding values, click the Down Arrow button
to add it to the table.
To remove an existing local DNS record, select the record from the list
and click the Delete button.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 27
9 Drop-in Mode
Drop-in Mode (or transparent bridging mode) eases the installation of PePLink Balance on a
live network between the firewall and router, such that changes to the settings of existing
equipment are not required.
The following diagram illustrates:
When Drop-in Mode is enabled, the LAN ports and the WAN1 port are bridged.
When operating in Drop-in Mode, PePLink Balance forwards the traffic between the LAN
hosts and the router for WAN1 without performing any IP address translation. Hosts on the
LAN will not notice any change in the IP addresses of the hosts on WAN1, and vice-versa.
However, although the IP addresses on all of the forwarded packets remain the same,
PePLink Balance inserts its own MAC address in place of the original. As a result, MAC
address changes will be noticed by hosts on both the LAN and the WAN. Further details will
subsequently follow.
After successfully setting up PePLink Balance as part of the network via Drop-in Mode, a
PePLink Balance 200 unit will accommodate one additional WAN connection; PePLink
Balance 30, 300 and 380 will accommodate two additional WAN connections; PePLink
Balance 700 will further accommodate six additional WAN connections.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 28
To enable Drop-in mode, perform the following steps from:
Network > Interfaces > LAN:
1. Check the Enable box under Drop-in Mode. (After checking the Enable box, most
network settings for WAN1 will be hidden from Web Administration Interface.)
2. Put the IP address of the WAN1 router in the Default Gateway field. Ensure that the
PePLink Balance IP subnet is the same as the Firewall’s WAN port and the Router’s LAN
port.
3. If hosts other than the router exist on the WAN segment of PePLink Balance, check the
I have other host(s) on WAN segment box, enter the IP address(es) of the host(s),
and then click the down-arrow to add the hosts.
The following diagram illustrates:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 29
Important Note
After the installation of PePLink Balance in Drop-in Mode, the hosts on both sides of
PePLink Balance will notice a change in MAC addresses. (The installation of PePLink
Balance in Drop-in Mode will effect no change in IP addresses.)
More specifically, LAN hosts find that IP packets from WAN hosts report the MAC address
of PePLink Balance. Similarly, WAN hosts find that the MAC address of PePLink Balance is
reported by the IP packets from LAN hosts.
From a practical perspective, the mentioned change in MAC addresses is communicated,
briefly after the installation of PePLink Balance, to the WAN1 router, the firewall, and
hosts on the LAN via broadcast ARP packets.
The potential issue exists where the broadcast ARP packets do not reach some hosts
and/or routers. Under such circumstances, the ARP table entries of the affected
equipment would not be up to date and, therefore, the affected equipment would not be
able to communicate.
Flushing the ARP table of the affected equipment will likely overcome this issue.
Alternatively, it may also be practical to wait for the ARP table entries to refresh, or to
reboot the affected equipment. (ARP table entries in Windows are refreshed every 5
seconds; other types of equipment may require greater lengths of time to refresh.)
4. Flushing ARP:
After the installation of PePLink Balance in Drop-in Mode, the hosts on both sides of
PePLink Balance will see a change in MAC addresses. Thus, the WAN default gateway
and firewall need to be rebooted.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 30
10 Configuration of WAN Interface(s)
The WAN interface settings are located in Network > Interfaces > WAN.
There are four possible connection methods:
DHCP
Static IP
PPPoE
GRE
The connection method and details are determined by, and can be obtained from, the ISP.
10.1 DHCP Connection
The DHCP connection method is suitable if the ISP provides an IP address automatically by
DHCP (e.g. Cable, Metro Ethernet, etc.).
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 31
Network Settings for DHCP
Routing Mode
This field illustrates that NAT (Network Address Translation) will be
applied to the traffic routing over this WAN connection.
For further details, please refer to Appendix B, Routing under DHCP,
Static IP, and PPPoE.
Connection Type
This setting specifies the utilization of the WAN connection.
The selection of Always-on results in the WAN connection to be used
whenever it is available. If Backup Priority and a priority group is
selected, the WAN connection is treated as a backup connection and is
used only in the absence of available Always-on WAN connection(s)
and higher priority backup connection(s).
The default and recommended Connection Type is Always-on.
Upstream
Bandwidth
This setting specifies the data bandwidth in the outbound direction
from the LAN through the WAN interface.
Downstream
Bandwidth
This setting specifies the data bandwidth in the inbound direction from
the WAN interface to the LAN.
The value of this setting is also used as the default weight value for
the default outbound rule if Custom Outbound Traffic Rules in
Outbound Traffic Management. Physical Interface Settings
Speed
This setting specifies port speed and duplex configurations.
By default, Speed is set to Auto.
MTU
This setting specifies the Maximum Transmission Unit.
By default, MTU is set to 1440.
MSS
This setting should be configured based on the maximum payload size
that the local system can handle. The MSS (Maximum Segment Size)
is computed from the MTU minus 40 bytes for TCP over IPv4.
By default, MSS is set to Auto.
MAC Address
Clone
This setting allows configuring a user-specified MAC address.
Some service providers (e.g. cable providers) identify the clients’ MAC
addresses and require a client to always connect using the same MAC
address. In such cases, use the MAC Address setting to change the
PePLink Balance WAN interface MAC address to be the same as that of
the original client PC.
The default MAC Address is a unique value assigned at the factory. In
most cases, the default value suffices. Clicking the Default button
restores the MAC Address to the default value.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 32
DHCP Settings
DNS Servers
Each ISP may provide a set of DNS servers for DNS lookups. This
setting specifies the DNS (Domain Name System) Servers to be used
when a DNS lookup is routed through this connection.
Selecting Obtain DNS server address automatically results in the
DNS Servers assigned by the WAN DHCP Server to be used for
outbound DNS lookups over the connection. (The DNS Servers are
obtained along with the WAN IP address assigned from the DHCP
server.)
When Use the following DNS server address(es) is selected, you
can put custom DNS server addresses for this WAN connection into the
DNS server 1 and DNS server 2 fields.
Hostname
If your service provider's DHCP server requires you to supply a
"hostname" value upon acquiring an IP address, you can enter the
value here. If your service provider does not provide you the value,
you can safely bypass this option.
Please refer to chapter 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7 for details about SMTP Forwarding, Dynamic
DNS Settings and WAN Health Check.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 33
Connection Settings for Static IP
Routing Mode
This field illustrates that NAT (Network Address Translation) will be
applied to the traffic routing over this WAN connection.
For further details, please refer to Appendix B, Routing under DHCP,
Static IP, and PPPoE.
Connection Type
This setting specifies the utilization of the WAN connection.
The selection of Always-on results in the WAN connection to be used
whenever it is available. If Backup Priority and a priority group is
selected, the WAN connection is treated as a backup connection and is
used only in the absence of available Always-on WAN connection(s)
and higher priority backup connection(s).
The default and recommended Connection Type is Always-on.
10.2 Static IP Connection
The Static IP connection method is suitable if the ISP provides a static IP address to connect
directly.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 34
Connection Settings for Static IP
Upstream
Bandwidth
This setting specifies the data bandwidth in the outbound direction
from the LAN through the WAN interface.
Downstream
Bandwidth
This setting specifies the data bandwidth in the inbound direction from
the WAN interface to the LAN.
The value of this setting is used as the default weight control value for
outbound load balance.
Physical Interface Settings
Speed
This setting specifies port speed and duplex configurations.
By default, Speed is set to Auto.
MTU
This setting specifies the Maximum Transmission Unit.
By default, MTU is set to 1440.
MSS
This setting should be configured based on the maximum payload size
that the local system can handle. The MSS (Maximum Segment Size)
is computed from the MTU minus 40 bytes for TCP over IPv4.
By default, MSS is set to Auto.
MAC Address
This setting allows configuring a user-specified MAC address.
Some service providers (e.g. cable providers) identify the clients’ MAC
addresses and require a client to always connect using the same MAC
address. In such cases, use the MAC Address setting to change the
PePLink Balance WAN interface MAC address to be the same as that of
the original client PC.
The default MAC Address is a unique value assigned at the factory. In
most cases, the default value suffices. Clicking the Default button
restores the MAC Address to the default value.
Static IP Settings
IP Address /
Subnet Mask /
Default Gateway
These settings specify the information required in order to
communicate on the Internet via a fixed Internet IP address.
The information is typically determined by and can be obtained from
the ISP, and include the following:
DNS Servers
Each ISP may provide a set of DNS servers for DNS lookups. This field
specifies the DNS (Domain Name System) Servers to be used when a
DNS lookup is routed through this connection.
You can input the ISP provided DNS server addresses into the DNS
server 1 and DNS server 2 fields. If no address is entered here, this
link will not be used for DNS lookups.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 35
Multiple WAN IP Settings for Static IP
IP Address List
The IP Address List represents the list of fixed Internet IP addresses
assigned by the ISP, in the event that more than one Internet IP
addresses are assigned to this WAN connection.
Enter the fixed Internet IP addresses and the corresponding subnet
mask, and then click the Down Arrow button to add an entry to the IP
Address List.
Please refer to chapter 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7 for details about SMTP Forwarding, Dynamic
DNS Settings and WAN Health Check.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 36
Network Settings for PPPoE
Routing Mode
This setting selects between routing via NAT and IP Forwarding.
By default, Routing Mode is set to NAT.
For further details, please refer to Appendix B, Routing under DHCP,
Static IP, and PPPoE.
Connection Type
This setting specifies the utilization of the WAN connection.
The selection of Always-on results in the WAN connection to be used
whenever it is available. If Backup Priority and a priority group is
selected, the WAN connection is treated as a backup connection and is
used only in the absence of available Always-on WAN connection(s)
and higher priority backup connection(s).
The default and recommended Connection Type is Always-on.
Upstream
Bandwidth
This setting specifies the data bandwidth in the outbound direction
from the LAN through the WAN interface.
10.3 PPPoE Connection
The PPPoE connection method is suitable if the ISP provides a PPPoE account and password
to connect via PPPoE.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 37
Network Settings for PPPoE
Downstream
Bandwidth
This setting specifies the data bandwidth in the inbound direction from
the WAN interface to the LAN.
The value of this setting is used as the default weight control value for
outbound load balance.
Physical Interface Settings
Speed
This setting specifies port speed and duplex configurations.
By default, Speed is set to Auto.
MTU
This setting specifies the Maximum Transmission Unit.
By default, MTU is set to 1440.
MSS
This setting should be configured based on the maximum payload size
that the local system can handle. The MSS (Maximum Segment Size)
is computed from the MTU minus 40 bytes for TCP over IPv4.
By default, MSS is set to Auto.
MAC Address
This setting allows configuring a user-specified MAC address.
Some service providers (e.g. cable providers) identify the clients’ MAC
addresses and require a client to always connect using the same MAC
address. In such cases, use the MAC Address setting to change the
PePLink Balance WAN interface MAC address to be the same as that of
the original client PC.
The default MAC Address is a unique value assigned at the factory. In
most cases, the default value suffices. Clicking the Default button
restores the MAC Address to the default value.
PPPoE Settings
Login ID and
Password
These settings specify the information required in order to connect via
PPPoE to the ISP.
The information is typically determined by and can be obtained from
the ISP, and include the following:
Login ID
Password
Service Name
(Optional)
Service Name is a PPPoE parameter which is provided by the ISP.
Note: Leave this field empty if you are not sure.
DNS Servers
Each ISP may provide a set of DNS servers for DNS lookups. This
setting specifies the DNS (Domain Name System) Servers to be used
when a DNS lookup is routed through this connection.
Selecting Obtain DNS server address automatically results in the
DNS Servers assigned by the PPPoE server to be used for outbound
DNS lookups over the WAN connection. (The DNS Servers are
obtained along with the WAN IP address assigned from the PPPoE
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 38
server.)
When Use the following DNS server address(es) is selected, you
can put custom DNS server addresses for this WAN connection into the
DNS server 1 and DNS server 2 fields.
Please refer to chapter 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7 for details about SMTP Forwarding, Dynamic
DNS Settings and WAN Health Check.
10.4 GRE Connection
The GRE connection method is suitable if the ISP provides GRE tunnel access through a
private network to the Internet.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 39
Network Settings for GRE
Routing Mode
This field illustrates that NAT (Network Address Translation) will be
applied to the traffic routing over this WAN connection.
For further details, please refer to the following sections:
Section 10.4.1, Routing under GRE via Network Address
Translation (NAT)
Section 10.4.2, Routing under GRE via IP Forwarding
Connection Type
This setting specifies the utilization of the WAN connection.
The selection of Always-on results in the WAN connection to be used
whenever it is available. If Backup Priority and a priority group is
selected, the WAN connection is treated as a backup connection and is
used only in the absence of available Always-on WAN connection(s)
and higher priority backup connection(s).
The default and recommended Connection Type is Always-on.
Upstream
Bandwidth
This setting specifies the data bandwidth in the outbound direction
from the LAN through the WAN interface.
Downstream
Bandwidth
This setting specifies the data bandwidth in the inbound direction from
the WAN interface to the LAN.
The value of this setting is used as the default weight control value for
outbound load balance.
Physical Interface Settings
Speed
This setting specifies port speed and duplex configurations.
By default, Speed is set to Auto.
MTU
This setting specifies the Maximum Transmission Unit.
By default, MTU is set to 1440.
MSS
This setting should be configured based on the maximum payload size
that the local system can handle. The MSS (Maximum Segment Size)
is computed from the MTU minus 40 bytes for TCP over IPv4.
By default, MSS is set to Auto.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 40
Physical Interface Settings
MAC Address
This setting allows configuring a user-specified MAC address.
Some service providers (e.g. cable providers) identify the clients’ MAC
addresses and require a client to always connect using the same MAC
address. In such cases, use the MAC Address setting to change the
PePLink Balance WAN interface MAC address to be the same as that of
the original client PC.
The default MAC Address is a unique value assigned at the factory. In
most cases, the default value suffices. Clicking the Default button
restores the MAC Address to the default value.
GRE Settings
GRE Settings
Please refer to the following sections for further details:
Section 10.4.1, Routing under GRE via Network Address
Translation (NAT)
Section 10.4.2, Routing under GRE via IP Forwarding
The values for DNS server 1 and DNS server 2 are typically
determined by, and can be obtained from, the ISP.
DNS Servers
Each ISP may provide a set of DNS servers for DNS lookups. This field
specifies the DNS (Domain Name System) Servers to be used when a
DNS lookup is routed through this connection.
You can input the ISP provided DNS server addresses into the DNS
server 1 and DNS server 2 fields. If no address is entered here, this
link will not be used for DNS lookups.
Multiple WAN IP Settings for GRE
IP Address List
The IP Address List represents the list of fixed Internet IP addresses
assigned by the ISP to the GRE tunnel, in the event that more than
one Internet IP addresses are assigned to this WAN connection.
Enter the fixed Internet IP addresses and the corresponding subnet
mask, and then click the Down Arrow button to add an entry to the
IP Address List.
Please refer to chapter 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7 for details about SMTP Forwarding, Dynamic
DNS Settings and WAN Health Check.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 41
RouterPePLink Balance
GRE Router
WAN IP Address
172.23.2.123
WAN Default
Gateway
172.23.2.122
Remote GRE
Host
172.23.254.87
Tunnel Local IP
Address
192.168.128.222
Tunnel Remote IP
Address
192.168.128.223
192.168.1.1
PePLink
Balance
Outgoing NAT IP
Address
210.103.22.1
Private
IP Network
10.4.1 Routing under GRE via Network Address Translation (NAT)
The following figure shows a typical scenario with PePLink Balance under the GRE
connection mode and NAT routing mode:
In this scenario, the IP address settings are as follows:
WAN IP Address: 172.23.2.123
Default Gateway: 172.23.2.122
Remote GRE IP address: 172.23.254.87 (GRE router or host’s IP address)
Tunnel IP remote address: 192.168.128.223 (IP address of remote end of tunnel)
Tunnel IP local address: 192.168.128.222 (IP address of local end of tunnel)
Outgoing NAT IP address: 210.103.22.1 (This field is used for NAT routing mode
only. For all outgoing traffic, the IP datagram will be sent via this IP address
through the tunnel; as a result, the Outgoing NAT IP address is the public address
that is seen by all external hosts on the WAN.)
The following figure shows the packet flow for PePLink Balance under GRE connection mode
and NAT routing mode:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 42
RouterPePLink Balance
GRE Router
WAN IP Address
172.23.2.123
WAN Default
Gateway
172.23.2.122
Remote GRE
Host
172.23.254.87
Tunnel Local IP
Address
192.168.128.222
Tunnel Remote IP
Address
192.168.128.223
210.103.22.0/24
PePLink
Balance
LAN IP Address
210.103.22.1
Private
IP Network
10.4.2 Routing under GRE via IP Forwarding
The following figure shows a typical scenario with PePLink Balance under the GRE
connection mode and IP Forwarding routing mode:
In this scenario, the IP address settings are as follows:
WAN IP Address: 172.23.2.123
Default Gateway: 172.23.2.122
Remote GRE IP address: 172.23.254.87 (the GRE router or host’s IP address)
Tunnel IP remote address: 192.168.128.223 (IP address of remote end of tunnel)
Tunnel IP local address: 192.168.128.222 (IP address of local end of tunnel)
LAN IP Address: 210.103.22.1
The following figure shows the packet flow for PePLink Balance under GRE connection mode
and IP Forwarding routing mode:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 43
Dynamic DNS Settings
Service Provider
This setting specifies the dynamic DNS service provider to be used for
the WAN based on supported dynamic DNS service providers:
changeip.com
dyndns.org
no-ip.org
Select Disabled to disable this feature.
Account Name
This setting specifies the dynamic DNS service account name.
10.5 SMTP Forwarding
Some ISPs requires their users to send e-mails via the ISP’s SMTP server. All outgoing
SMTP connections are blocked except those connecting to the ISP’s. The PePLink Balance
supports to intercept and redirect all outgoing SMTP connections routing through a WAN
connection to the ISP’s SMTP server.
To enable the feature, select “Redirect outgoing SMTP connections to this host”. Enter the
ISP’s e-mail server address and TCP port number into the text boxes.
10.6 Dynamic DNS Settings
PePLink Balance provides the functionality to register the domain name relationships to
dynamic DNS service providers. Through registration with dynamic DNS service provider(s),
the default public Internet IP address of each WAN connection can be associated with a host
name.
Either upon a change in IP address or every 23 days without link reconnection, PePLink
Balance will connect to the dynamic DNS service provider to perform an IP address update
within the provider’s records.
The settings for dynamic DNS service provider(s) and the association of hostname(s) are
configured via Network > Interfaces > WAN Setup:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 44
Password
This setting specifies the password for the dynamic DNS service.
Hosts
This setting specifies a list of hostnames to be associated with the
public Internet IP address of the WAN connection.
Important Note
In order to use dynamic DNS services, appropriate hostname registration(s), as well as a
valid account with a supported dynamic DNS service provider are required.
Due to the policy of dynamic DNS service providers, the dynamic DNS host may be
expired automatically because it has not been updated for a period. In order to prevent
this expiration, PePLink Balance will perform a force update every 23 days if a WAN’s IP
address did not changed.
Health Check Settings
Method
This setting specifies the health check method for the WAN connection.
The value of Method can be configured as Disabled, Ping or DNS
Lookup. The default method is DNS Lookup.
Health Check Disabled
When Disabled is chosen in the Method field, the WAN connection will always be
considered “up”. The connection will not be treated as down in the event of IP routing
errors.
10.7 WAN Health Check
To ensure traffic is only routed to health WAN connections only, PePLink Balance provides
the functionality to periodically check the health of each WAN connection.
The Health Check settings for each WAN connection can be independently configured via
Network > Interfaces > WAN Setup:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 45
Health Check Method: Ping
The ICMP Ping packets will be issued to test the connectivity with a configurable target IP
address or hostname. A WAN connection is considered “up” if ping responses are
received from either one or both of the ping hosts.
Ping Hosts
This setting specifies IP addresses or host names with which
connectivity is to be tested via ICMP Ping.
If Use first two DNS servers as Ping Hosts is checked, the target
ping host will be the first DNS server for the corresponding WAN
connection.
Reliable ping hosts with a high up-time should be considered.
By default, the first two DNS servers of the WAN connection are used
as the Ping Hosts.
Health Check Method: DNS Lookup
DNS lookups will be issued to test the connectivity with target DNS servers. The
connection will be treated as up if DNS responses are received from either one or both of
the servers, regardless of whether the result was positive or negative.
Health Check
DNS Servers
This field specifies two DNS hosts’ IP address with which connectivity
is to be tested via DNS Lookup
If Use first two DNS servers as Health Check DNS Servers is
checked, the target DNS hosts will be the first two DNS servers
assigned to this WAN connection.
Reliable targets with a high up-time should be considered.
By default, the first two DNS servers of the WAN connection are used
as the Health Check DNS Servers.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 46
Other Health Check Settings
Timeout
This setting specifies the timeout, in seconds, for ping/DNS lookup
requests. Default Timeout is set to 5 second.
Health Check
Interval
This setting specifies the time interval, in seconds, between ping or
DNS lookup requests. Default Health Check Interval is 5 seconds.
Health Retries
This setting specifies the number of consecutive ping/DNS lookup
timeouts after which PePLink is to treat the corresponding WAN
connection as “down”. Default Health Retries is set to 3.
For example, with the default Health Retries setting of 3, after
consecutive 3 timeouts, the corresponding WAN connection will be
treated as “down”.
Recovery Retries
This setting specifies the number of consecutive successful ping/DNS
lookup responses that must be received before the PePLink treats a
previously “down” WAN connection to be “up” again.
By default, Recover Times is set to 3.
For example, with the default Recover Retries setting of 3, a WAN
connection that was treated as “down” will be considered to be “up”
again upon receiving 3 consecutive successful ping/DNS lookup
responses.
Note
In case a WAN connection goes down, all of the WAN connections with non-Always-on
Connection Type will also be brought up until any one of higher priority WAN connections
is up and found to be healthy. This design could increase the overall network availability.
For example, if WAN1, WAN2 and WAN3 have the connection types of Always-on, Backup
Priority Group 1 and Backup Priority Group 2 respectively, when WAN1 goes down, WAN2
and WAN3 will also try to connect. If WAN3 is connected first, WAN2 will still be kept
connecting. If WAN2 is connected, WAN3 will disconnect or abort making connection.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 47
11 Firewall Configuration
A firewall is a mechanism that selectively filters data traffic between the WAN side (the
Internet) and the LAN side of the network. It can protect the local network from potential
hacker attacks, offensive Web sites, and/or other inappropriate uses.
The firewall functionality of PePLink Balance supports the selective filtering of data traffic in
both directions:
Outbound (LAN to WAN)
Inbound (WAN to LAN)
The outbound firewall settings are located in Network > Firewall > Outbound:
Upon clicking Add Rule, the following screen appears:
The inbound firewall settings are located in Network > Firewall > Inbound:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 48
Inbound / Outbound Firewall Settings
Rule Name
This setting specifies a name for the firewall rule.
Enable
This setting specifies whether the firewall rule should take effect.
With an Enable value of Yes, the firewall rule takes effect: traffic is
matched, and actions are taken, by PePLink Balance based on the
other parameters of the rule.
With an Enable value of No, the firewall rule does not take effect:
PePLink Balance disregards the other parameters of the rule.
WAN Connection
This setting specifies the WAN connection(s) on which the rule applies:
Any
WAN1
WAN2
WAN3 (applicable only to PePLink Balance 30, 300, 380 and 700)
WAN4 to WAN7 (applicable only to PePLink Balance 700)
A value of Any, WAN1, WAN2, … and WAN7 specifies that the rule
applies to all WAN connections, WAN1, WAN2, … and WAN7,
respectively.
Protocol
This setting specifies the protocol to be matched.
Via a drop-down menu, the following protocols can be specified:
TCP
UDP
ICMP
IP
Alternatively, the Common Services drop-down menu can be used to
automatically fill in the Protocol and Port number of common Internet
services (e.g. HTTP, HTTPS, etc.)
After selecting an item from the Common Services drop-down menu,
the Protocol and Port number remains manually modifiable.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 49
Inbound / Outbound Firewall Settings
Event Logging
This setting specifies whether or not to log matched firewall events.
The logged messages are shown on the page Status > Logs:
A sample message is as follows:
Aug 13 23:47:44 Denied CONN=WAN1 SRC=20.3.2.1
DST=192.168.1.20 LEN=48 PROTO=TCP SPT=2260 DPT=80
CONN: The connection to which the log entry refers.
Possible values are LAN and WANx, where x is the WAN number.
SRC: Source IP address
DST: Destination IP address
LEN: Packet length
PROTO: Protocol
SPT: Source port
DPT: Destination port
Source IP & Port
This specifies the source IP address(es) and port number(s) to be
matched for a firewall rule.
A single address, or a network, can be specified as the Source IP &
Port setting, as indicated with the following screenshots:
In addition, a single port, or a range of ports, can be specified for the
Source IP & Port setting, as the following indicates:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 50
Inbound / Outbound Firewall Settings
Destination IP &
Port
This specifies the destination IP address(es) and port number(s) to be
matched for a firewall rule.
A single address, or a network, can be specified as the Source IP &
Port setting, as indicated with the following screenshots:
In addition, a single port, or a range of ports, can be specified for the
Source IP & Port setting, as the following indicates:
Action
This setting specifies the action to be taken by PePLink Balance upon
encountering traffic that matches the both of the following:
Source IP & Port
Destination IP & Port
With the value of Allow for the Action setting, the matching traffic
passes through PePLink Balance (to be routed to the destination).
If the value of the Action setting is set to Deny, the matching traffic
does not pass through PePLink Balance (and is discarded).
Upon clicking Save after entering required information, the following screen appears.
To create an additional firewall rule, click Add Rule and the above steps.
The “Default” rule specifies the default behavior when none of the rules above match. The
default rule is Allow.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 51
Outbound Traffic Policy Settings
High Application
Compatibility
With the selection of this policy, outbound traffic from a source LAN
device is routed through the same WAN connection regardless of the
destination Internet IP address and protocol.
This provides the highest application compatibility.
Normal
Application
Compatibility
With the selection of this policy, outbound traffic from a source LAN
device to the same destination Internet IP address will persistently be
routed through the same WAN connection regardless of protocol.
This provides high compatibility to most applications, and users still
benefit from WAN link load balancing when multiple Internet servers
are accessed.
Custom
Outbound Traffic
Rules
With the selection of this policy, outbound traffic behavior can be
managed by defining custom rules.
The rules can control matched traffic to be routed persistently through
one WAN connection, or load balanced among multiple WAN
connections with a specified ratio.
Unmatched traffic is distributed among all of the active WAN
connections, based on the respective downstream bandwidth values.
12 Management of Outbound Traffic to WAN
PePLink Balance provides the functionality to flexibly manage and load balance outbound
traffic among the WAN connections.
The settings for managing and load balancing outbound traffic are located in
Network > Outbound Traffic Management:
12.1 Outbound Traffic Policy
There are three main selections for the Outbound Traffic Policy of PePLink Balance:
High Application Compatibility
Normal Application Compatibility
Custom Outbound Traffic Rules
The selections are explained as follows:
The default policy is Normal Application Compatibility.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 52
12.2 Fine Tuning Load Distribution for Individual Services
By selecting the Outbound Traffic Management of Custom Outbound Traffic Rules from
the drop-down menu and pressing the “Save” button, the following table is then displayed.
The bottom most rule is “Default”. Click on it to change the device’s default way to control
outbound traffic for all connections that does not match any rules above. Click the service
“Default” to change its setting.
By default, the Default Rule “Auto” is chosen. You can change a custom algorithm to be
used. Please refer to the coming chapters for the details of the available algorithms.
To create a custom outbound traffic rule, click Add Rule at the bottom of the table, upon
which the following screen is displayed:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 53
Load Distribution Settings
Service Name
This setting specifies the name of the outbound traffic rule.
Enable
This setting specifies whether the outbound traffic rule takes effect.
With an Enable value of Yes, the rule takes effect: traffic is matched,
and actions are taken, by PePLink Balance based on the other
parameters of the rule.
With an Enable value of No, the rule does not take effect: PePLink
Balance disregards the other parameters of the rule.
Source
This setting specifies the source IP Address, IP Network or MAC
Address for the traffic to be matched for the rule.
Destination
This setting specifies the destination IP Address or IP Network for the
traffic to be matched for this rule.
Protocol and
Port
This setting specifies the IP Protocol and Port of the traffic to be
matched for this rule. You can select some common protocol from the
Protocol Selection Tool drop-down menu.
Algorithm
This setting specifies the behavior of PePLink Balance for the outbound
traffic rule.
One of the following valid values can be specified:
Weighted Balance
Persistence
Enforced
Priority
The next chapters present the details of the above Algorithms
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 54
Load Distribution Settings
Terminate
Sessions on Link
Recovery
This setting specifies whether to terminate existing IP sessions on a
less preferred WAN connection in the event that a more preferred WAN
connection is recovered from the Down health state. This setting is
applicable to the Algorithms: Weighted, Persistence and Priority.
By default, this is disabled. It means, all existing IP sessions will not
be terminated or affected when any other WAN connection is
recovered. If it is set to enabled, existing IP sessions may be
terminated when another WAN connection is recovered such that only
preferred healthy WAN connection(s) are used at any point in time.
12.2.1 Algorithm: Weighted Balance
This setting specifies the ratio of WAN connection usage to be applied on the specified IP
Protocol & Port, and is applicable only when Algorithm is set to Weighted Balance.
The amount of matching traffic that is distributed to a WAN connection is proportional to the
weight of WAN connection relative to the total weight.
Example: With the following weight settings on a PePLink Balance 300:
WAN1: 10
WAN2: 10
WAN3: 5
Total weight is 25 = (10 + 10 + 5)
Matching traffic distributed to WAN1 is 40% = (10 / 25) x 100%
Matching traffic distributed to WAN2 is 40% = (10 / 25) x 100%
Matching traffic distributed to WAN3 is 20% = (5 / 25) x 100%
12.2.2 Algorithm: Persistence
The configuration of Persistent Services is the solution to the few situations where link load
distribution for Internet services is undesirable.
For example, many e-banking and other secure websites, for security reasons, terminate
the session when the client computer’s Internet IP address changes mid-session.
In general, different Internet IP addresses represent different computers. The security
concern is that an IP address change during a session may be the result of an unauthorized
intrusion attempt. Therefore, to prevent damages from the potential intrusion, the session
is terminated upon the detection of an IP address change.
PePLink Balance can be configured to distribute data traffic across multiple WAN connections.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 55
By source:
The traffic matching this rule will be persistently routed through the
same WAN connection for the traffic from the same machine to the
same destination. It provides higher application compatibility but a less
even distribution of load to the WAN connections for the type of traffic.
By destination:
The traffic matching this rule will be persistently routed through the
same WAN connection for the traffic from any machine to the same
destination. It provides a more even distribution of load to the WAN
connections but also lower application compatibility.
Also, the Internet IP depends on the WAN connections over which communication actually
takes place. As a result, a LAN client computer behind PePLink Balance may communicate
using multiple Internet IP addresses. For example, a LAN client computer behind a PePLink
Balance 300 with three WAN connections may communicate on the Internet using three
different IP addresses.
With the Persistency feature of PePLink balance, rules can be configured to enable client
computers to persistently utilize the same WAN connections for e-banking and other secure
websites. As a result, a client computer will communicate using one IP address and
eliminate the issues.
There are two Persistent Modes. One is by source and the other by destination.
The default Persistence Mode is by source.
When there are multiple client requests, they can be distributed (persistently) to WAN
connections with a weight. If you choose “Auto” in the field “Load Distribution”, the weights
will be each WAN’s inbound throughput. If you choose “Custom”, you can customize the
weight manually.
12.2.3 Algorithm: Enforced
This setting specifies the WAN connection usage to be applied on the specified IP Protocol &
Port, and is applicable only when the Algorithm is set to Enforced.
Matching traffic will be routed through the specified WAN connection regardless of health
check status of the WAN connection.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 56
Tip
Configure multiple distribution rules to accommodate different kinds of services.
12.2.4 Algorithm: Priority
This setting specifies the priority of the WAN connections to route the specified network
service. The highest priority available WAN connections will always be used for routing the
specified type of traffic. A lower priority WAN connection will be used only when all higher
priority connections are unavailable.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 57
Important Note
Inbound access management applies only to WAN connections that operate under NAT
mode. For WAN connections that operate under drop-in mode or IP forwarding, inbound
traffic is forwarded to the LAN by default.
13 Management of Inbound Access from WAN
When operating under NAT mode, PePLink Balance acts as a firewall that blocks, by default,
all inbound access from the Internet.
By the custom definition of servers and services for inbound access, Internet users can
access the servers behind PePLink Balance. Advanced configurations allow inbound access
to be distributed among multiple servers on the LAN.
13.1 Definition of Servers on LAN
(This section applies only to PePLink Balance 200, 300, 380 and 700.)
The settings to configure servers on the LAN are located at the following location: Network
> Inbound Access > Servers:
To define a new server, click Add Server, upon which the following screen appears:
Enter a valid server name (consisting only of alphanumeric and the underscore “_”
characters), and the corresponding LAN IP address.
Upon clicking Save after entering required information, the following screen appears.
To define additional servers, click Add Server and repeat the above steps.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 58
Tip
At least one server must be defined before services can be added.
Please refer to Section 13.1, Definition of Servers on LAN, as necessary.
13.2 Definition of Services
(This section applies only to PePLink Balance 200, 300, 380 and 700.)
Services are defined at Network > Inbound Access > Services:
To define a new service, click the Add Service button, upon which the following appears:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 59
Services Settings
Enable
This setting specifies whether the Inbound Service takes effect.
With an Enable value of Yes, the inbound service takes effect: traffic
is matched, and actions are taken, by PePLink Balance based on the
other parameters of the rule.
With an Enable value of No, the inbound service does not take effect:
PePLink Balance disregards the other parameters of the rule.
Service Name
This setting identifies the service to the System Administrator.
Valid values for this setting consist only of alphanumeric and the
underscore “_” characters.
IP Protocol
The IP Protocol setting, along with the Port setting, specify the
protocol of the service as one of the following valid values:
TCP
UDP
ICMP
IP
Traffic that is received by PePLink Balance via the specified protocol at
the specified port(s) is forwarded to the LAN hosts specified by the
Servers setting.
(Please refer below for details on the Port and Servers settings.)
Alternatively, the Common Services drop-down menu can be used to
automatically fill in the Protocol and a single Port number of common
Internet services (e.g. HTTP, HTTPS, etc.)
After selecting an item from the Common Services drop-down menu,
the Protocol and Port number remains manually modifiable.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 60
Services Settings
Port
The Port setting specifies the port(s) that correspond to the service,
and can be configured to behave in one of the following manners:
Any Port
Single Port
Port Range
Port Map
Any Port: all traffic that is received by PePLink Balance via the
specified protocol is forwarded to the servers specified by the Servers
setting.
For example, with IP Protocol set to TCP, and Port set to Any Port, all
TCP traffic is forwarded to the configured servers.
Single Port: traffic that is received by PePLink Balance via the
specified protocol at the specified port is forwarded via the same port
to the servers specified by the Servers setting.
For example, with IP Protocol set to TCP, and Port set to Single Port
and Service Port 80, TCP traffic received on Port 80 is forwarded to
the configured servers via Port 80.
Port Range: traffic that is received by PePLink Balance via the
specified protocol at the specified port range is forwarded via the same
respective ports to the LAN hosts specified by the Servers setting.
For example, with IP Protocol set to TCP, and Port set to Single Port
and Service Port 80-88, TCP traffic received on ports 80 through 88
is forwarded to the configured servers via the respective ports.
Port Map: traffic that is received by PePLink Balance via the specified
protocol at the specified port is forwarded via a different port to the
servers specified by the Servers setting.
For example, with IP Protocol set to TCP, and Port set to Port Map,
Service Port 80, and Map to Port 88, TCP traffic on Port 80 is
forwarded to the configured servers via Port 88.
(Please refer below for details on the Servers setting.)
Inbound IP
Address(es)
This setting specifies the WAN connections and Internet IP address(es)
from which the service can be accessed.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 61
Services Settings
Included
Server(s)
This setting specifies the LAN servers that handle requests for the
service, and the relative weight values.
The amount of traffic that is distributed to a server is proportional to
the weight value assigned to the server relative to the total weight.
Example:
With the following weight settings on a PePLink Balance:
demo_server_1: 10
demo_server_2: 5
The total weight is 15 = (10 + 5)
Matching traffic distributed to demo_server_1:
67% = (10 / 15) x 100%
Matching traffic distributed to demo_server_2:
33% = (5 / 15) x 100%
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 62
Port Forwarding Settings
Enable
This setting specifies whether the Inbound Service takes effect.
With an Enable value of Yes, the inbound service takes effect: traffic
is matched, and actions are taken, by PePLink Balance based on the
other parameters of the rule.
With an Enable value of No, the inbound service does not take effect:
PePLink Balance disregards the other parameters of the rule.
Service Name
This setting identifies the service to the System Administrator.
Valid values for this setting consist only of alphanumeric and the
underscore “_” characters.
13.3 Definition of Porting Forwarding
(This section applies only to PePLink Balance 30.)
Inbound Port Forwarding rules are defined at:
Network > Inbound Access > Port Forwarding:
To define a new service, click the Add Service button, upon which the following appears:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 63
Port Forwarding Settings
IP Protocol
The IP Protocol setting, along with the Port setting, specify the
protocol of the service as TCP, UDP, ICMP or IP.
Traffic that is received by PePLink Balance via the specified protocol at
the specified port(s) is forwarded to the LAN hosts specified by the
Servers setting.
(Please refer below for details on the Port and Servers settings.)
Alternatively, the Common Services drop-down menu can be used to
automatically fill in the Protocol and a single Port number of common
Internet services (e.g. HTTP, HTTPS, etc.)
After selecting an item from the Common Services drop-down menu,
the Protocol and Port number remains manually modifiable.
Port
The Port setting specifies the port(s) that correspond to the service,
and can be configured to behave in one of the following manners:
Any Port, Single Port, Port Range and Port Map
Any Port: all traffic that is received by PePLink Balance via the
specified protocol is forwarded to the servers specified by the Servers
setting.
For example, with IP Protocol set to TCP, and Port set to Any Port, all
TCP traffic is forwarded to the configured servers.
Single Port: traffic that is received by PePLink Balance via the
specified protocol at the specified port is forwarded via the same port
to the servers specified by the Servers setting.
For example, with IP Protocol set to TCP, and Port set to Single Port
and Service Port 80, TCP traffic received on Port 80 is forwarded to
the configured servers via Port 80.
Port Range: traffic that is received by PePLink Balance via the
specified protocol at the specified port range is forwarded via the same
respective ports to the LAN hosts specified by the Servers setting.
For example, with IP Protocol set to TCP, and Port set to Single Port
and Service Port 80-88, TCP traffic received on ports 80 through 88
is forwarded to the configured servers via the respective ports.
Port Map: traffic that is received by PePLink Balance via the specified
protocol at the specified port is forwarded via a different port to the
servers specified by the Servers setting.
For example, with IP Protocol set to TCP, and Port set to Port Map,
Service Port 80, and Map to Port 88, TCP traffic on Port 80 is
forwarded to the configured servers via Port 88.
(Please refer below for details on the Servers setting.)
Inbound IP
Address(es)
This setting specifies the WAN connections and Internet IP address(es)
from which the service can be accessed.
Server IP
Address
This setting specifies the LAN IP address of the server that handles the
requests for the service.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 64
13.4 Definition of DNS Records
(This section applies only to PePLink Balance 200, 300, 380 and 700.)
The built-in DNS Server functionality of PePLink Balance facilitates inbound load balancing.
With the presence of the functionality, NS/SOA DNS records for a domain name can be
delegated to Internet IP address(es) of PePLink Balance. Upon receiving a DNS query,
PePLink Balance supports returning, as an “A” record, the corresponding IP address for the
domain name on the most appropriate healthy WAN connection. It also supports acting as a
generic DNS server for hosting “A”, “CNAME”, “MX”, “TXT” and “NS” records.
For example:
(This example is for illustration only; the actual resolution that takes place in
implementation will likely be different.)
The DNS resolution of the domain name www.mycompany.com is delegated to the
WAN2 Internet IP addresses of PePLink Balance.
Upon receiving the DNS query, PePLink Balance returns, as an “A” record, the IP
address for www.mycompany.com on WAN1 because WAN1 is the most appropriate
healthy link.
The settings for defining the DNS records to be hosted by PePLink Balance are located at
Network > Inbound Access > DNS Settings:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 65
DNS Settings
DNS Server
This setting specifies the WAN IP addresses on which the DNS server
of PePLink Balance should listen.
If no addresses are selected, the Inbound Link Load Balancing feature
will be disabled; PePLink Balance will not respond to DNS requests.
To specify and/or modify the IP addresses on which the DNS Server
should listen, click the Edit button that corresponds to DNS Server
Listens on, and the following screen is displayed:
To specify the Internet IP addresses on which the DNS Server should
listen, select the WAN connection by checking the appropriate boxes
and the IP addresses associated with the WAN connections by
highlighting the appropriate items in the list. (Multiple items in the list
can be selected by holding CTRL and clicking on the items.)
Click Save to save the settings when configuration is complete.
Zone Transfer
This setting specifies the IP address(es) of secondary DNS server(s)
that are to be allowed to retrieve zone records from the DNS server of
PePLink Balance.
The zone transfer server of PePLink Balance listens on TCP Port 53.
PePLink Balance serves both the clients that are accessing from the
specified IP addresses, and the clients that are accessing from the LAN
Interface (of the PePLink Balance unit).
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 66
DNS Settings
Default
Connection
Priority
Default Connection Priority defines the default priority group of each
WAN connection in resolving A records. It applies to A records which
have the Connection Priority set to "Default". Please refer to chapter
13.4.5 for the details.
The WAN connection(s) with the highest priority (smallest number) will
be chosen. Those with lower priorities will not be chosen in resolving A
records unless the higher priority ones become unavailable.
To specify the Primary and Backup connections, click the Edit button
that corresponds to Default Connection Priority. The screen should
assemble the one below.
Each WAN connection is associated with a priority number. Click Save
to save the settings when configuration is complete.
Domain name
This section shows a list of domain names to be hosted by the PePLink
Balance. Each domain can have its “NS”, “MX” and “TXT” records, and
its or its sub-domains’ “A” and “CNAME” records.
Input the domain name into the “Domain Name” field and click the
Add Domain button to add a new one. Click on a domain name to
edit. Click the Delete button on the right of a domain name to delete.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 67
13.4.1 Creating DNS Records
To create new DNS records for a domain, perform the following steps:
From Network -> Inbound Access -> DNS Settings, enter a domain name in the
Domain Name field, click the Add Domain button. Then click on the newly created domain
name and the following screen is displayed:
This page is for defining the domain’s NS, MX, CNAME, A and TXT records. Five tables are
presented in this page for defining the five types of records.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 68
13.4.2 NS / SOA Record
The NS / SOA Record table shows the NS servers, A records, TTL, Refresh Time, Retry Time,
Expire Time, Minimum Time, and E-mail contact address, that correspond to the domain.
To add or edit an NS record, click the upper Edit button in the NS Record box. Then the
table will expand to look like the following:
The first two rows are the settings of TTL, Refresh Time, Retry Time, Expiry Time, Minimum
Time and E-mail:
TTL (Time-to-Live): Defines the duration in seconds that the record may be cached
Refresh: Indicates the time when the slave will try to refresh the zone from the
master.
Retry: Defines the time between retries if the slave (secondary) fails to contact the
master when refresh (above) has expired.
Expire: Indicates when the zone data is no longer authoritative.
Min Time: Negative caching time – the time an error record is cached
E-mail: Defines the E-mail address of the person responsible for this zone. Note:
the “@” sign in the E-mail address field will be converted into a dot (“.”) in returning
the SOA record.
You can enter a name server host name and its IP address into the two newly created text
boxes. The host name can be a non-FQDN (fully qualified domain name). Click the Add
button on the right to finish and to add the other one. After finished adding NS records,
click the Save button. (Before clicking the Save button, all NS record changes are not yet
saved to the PePLink Balance.)
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 69
13.4.3 MX Record
The MX Record table shows the domain’s MX records. Each MX record contains the priority
and mail exchange server host name.
For each record, Priority and Host name must be entered. Priority typically ranges from
10 to 100. Smaller numbers have a higher a priority. After finishing adding MX records,
click the Save button.
13.4.4 CNAME Record
The CNAME Record table shows the domain’s CNAME records. Here is how you use CNAME
Records - If you want a sub-domain “secure” to have the same A record value(s) as “www”,
then you can create a CNAME record for “secure” and reference it to “www”.
The TTL field tells the time to live of the record in external DNS caches.
13.4.5 A Record
This table shows the A records of the domain name.
To add an A record, click the Add A Record button. The screen resembles the one below:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 70
A Record Editing
Host Name
This field specifies the A record of this sub-domain to be served by the
PePLink Balance.
TTL
This setting specifies the time to live of this record in external DNS
caches.
In order to reflect any dynamic changes on the IP addresses in case of
link failure and recovery, this value should be set to a smaller value.
E.g. 5 secs, 60 secs, etc.
IP Mapping
This setting specifies lists of WAN-specific Internet IP addresses that
are candidates to be returned when PePLink Balance responds to DNS
queries for the domain name specified by Host Name.
The IP addresses listed in each box as Default are the Internet IP
addresses associated with each of the WAN connections.
For WAN connections that operate under Drop-in mode, there may be
other routable IP addresses in addition to the Default IP address.
Therefore, PePLink Balance allows custom Internet IP addresses to be
added manually via filling the text box on the right-hand side and
clicking the Left Arrow button.
Only the highlighted IP addresses in the lists are candidates to be
returned when responding to a DNS query. (Multiple items in a list
can be selected by holding CTRL and clicking on the items.)
In case of a WAN connection is down, the corresponding set of IP
addresses will not be returned. However, the IP addresses in the
Custom IP field will always be returned.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 71
13.4.6 TXT Record
This table shows the TXT record of the domain name.
Click the Edit button to edit the record. The time-to-live value and the TXT record’s value
can be entered. Click the Save button to finish.
After completing editing the five types of record, you can click the link DNS Settings to
leave the page.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 72
DNS Registration and Hosting
Domain Delegation
These are the steps to be used when you host your domain at your ISP or a domain
registrar and want to delegate a sub-domain to be resolved and managed at PePLink
Balance.
1. Create a domain, e.g. “www.mycompany.com”
2. Create NS records named “ns1”, “ns2”, etc. The IP addresses are the Balance’s
DNS server addresses.
3. Then create an A record with an empty host name:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 73
If ISC BIND 8 or 9 is being utilized in the zone file mycompany.com, then the addition of
the following lines suffice:
www IN NS balancewan1
www IN NS balancewan2
balancewan1 IN A 202.153.122.108
balancewan2 IN A 67.38.212.18
202.153.122.108 and 67.38.212.18 represent the WAN1 and WAN2 Internet IP addresses
of PePLink Balance, respectively. The values of the IP addresses are fictitious and for
illustration only; the actual IP addresses in implementation will likely be different.
Hosting the complete domain at PePLink Balance
To host your own DNS server, contact the DNS registrar to have the NS records of the
domain (e.g. “mycompany.com”) point to your Balance’s WAN IP addresses. Then follow
these instructions:
1. Under Network > Inbound Access > DNS Settings, create a new domain, for
example “mycompany.com”.
2. Create NS records named “ns1”, “ns2”, etc. The IP addresses are the Balance’s
DNS server addresses (same as above).
3. Create the corresponding A, CNAME, MX and TXT records as you wish. The A
record resembles the one below:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 74
Testing the DNS Configuration
The following steps can be used to test the DNS configuration:
From a host on the Internet, use an IP address of PePLink Balance and nslookup to lookup
the corresponding hostname.
Check the information that is returned for the expected results.
An example with nslookup in Windows follows:
C:\Documents and Settings\User Name>nslookup
Default Server: ns1.myisp.com
Address: 147.22.11.2
> server 202.153.122.108 (This is PePLink Balance’s WAN IP address.)
Default Server: balance.mycompany.com
Address: 202.153.122.108
> www.mycompany.com (This is the hostname to look up.)
Default Server: balance.mycompany.com
Address: 202.153.122.108
Name: www.mycompany.com
Address: 202.153.122.109, 67.38.212.19
The values of the IP addresses are fictitious and for illustration only; the actual IP
addresses in implementation will likely be different.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 75
NAT Mapping Settings
LAN Host
This is the IP address of the host on the LAN that the system should
map the selected connection IP address correspondences.
Inbound
Mappings
This setting specifies the WAN connections and corresponding WANspecific Internet IP addresses on which the system should bind on.
Any access to the specified WAN connection(s) and IP address(es) will
be forwarded to the LAN Host.
Note 1: Inbound Mapping is not needed for WAN connections in dropin or IP forwarding mode.
Note 2: Each WAN IP address can be associated to one NAT Mapping
only.
14 Configuration of NAT Mappings
This configuration replaces “DMZ” in firmware versions prior to 3.8. The configuration of
NAT Mappings allows the IP address mapping of all inbound and outbound NAT’ed traffic to
and from an internal client IP address.
The settings to configure NAT Mappings are located at Network > NAT Mappings:
To add a NAT Mapping, click Add NAT Rule, upon which the following screen is displayed:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 76
Outbound
Mappings
This setting specifies the IP address of each WAN connection to be
used for any outgoing traffic originating from the LAN Host.
Note 1: If you do not want to use a specific WAN for outgoing
accesses, you should still choose “default” here, then customize the
outbound access rule in the “Outbound Traffic Management” section.
Note 2: WAN connections in drop-in or IP forwarding mode are not
shown here.
Important Note
Inbound firewall rules override Inbound Mapping settings.
Click Save to save the settings when configuration is complete.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 77
15 Miscellaneous Settings
(This section applies only to PePLink Balance 200, 300, 380 and 700.)
The miscellaneous settings include configuration for high availability, quality of service, time
server, SNMP, email notification, and remote system log.
15.1 High Availability
PePLink Balance supports High Availability (HA) configurations via an open standard Virtual
Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP, RFC 3768).
In an HA configuration, two same-model PePLink Balance units (i.e. a pair of PePLink
Balance 200 units, or a pair of PePLink Balance 300 units) provide redundancy and failover
in a master-slave arrangement. From a high level, in the event that the Master Unit is
down, the Slave Unit becomes active.
The following diagram illustrates an HA configuration with two PePLink Balance 200 units,
and two Internet connections:
In the diagram, the WAN ports on each PePLink Balance unit connect to the router and
modem; and PePLink Balance unit connects to the same LAN switch via a LAN port.
An elaboration on the technical details of the implementation, by PePLink Balance, of Virtual
Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP, RFC 3768) follows:
In an HA configuration, the two PePLink Balance units communicate with each other
using VRRP over the LAN.
The two PePLink Balance units broadcast heartbeat signals to the LAN at a frequency
of one heartbeat signal per second.
In the event that no heartbeat signal from the Master PePLink Balance unit is
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 78
High Availability Settings
High Availability
Checking this box specifies that the PePLink Balance unit is part of a
High Availability configuration.
Group Number
This setting specifies a number that identifies a pair of PePLink Balance
units that operate in a High Availability configuration.
The two PePLink Balance units in the pair must have the same Group
Number value.
Preferred Role
This setting specifies whether the PePLink Balance unit operates in
Master or Slave mode.
Click the corresponding radio button to set the role of the unit.
One of the units in the pair must be configured as the Master and the
other unit must be configured as the Slave
Virtual IP
The setting specifies the LAN IP address on which the active PePLink
Balance listens.
The value of Virtual IP represents a LAN IP address that is shared
among the Master and Slave units; however, at any time, only one of
the two units will listen on the IP address.
The Default Gateway of the clients on the LAN should be set to the
virtual IP value.
LAN
Administration
IP
This setting specifies a LAN IP address to be used for accessing
administration functionality.
This address should be unique within the LAN.
Subnet Mask
This setting specifies the subnet mask of the LAN.
received in 3 seconds (or longer) since the last heartbeat signal, the Slave PePLink
Balance unit becomes active.
The Slave PePLink Balance unit initiates the WAN connections, and binds to a
previously configured LAN IP address.
At a subsequent point when the Master PePLink Balance unit recovers, it will once
again become active.
The settings to configure High Availability are located at the following location: Network >
Misc. Settings > High Availability:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 79
Important Note
Under HA mode, Dynamic DNS is not supported. During a fail-over or fail-back, the
active PePLink Balance does not perform Dynamic DNS updates. As a result, the resolved
addresses may not be the IP address of the active PePLink Balance unit.
15.2 Traffic Prioritization
PePLink Balance provides the functionality to prioritize Voice over IP, VPN, video streaming,
Secure Web over the other Internet traffic.
The settings for configuring Quality of Service are located at the following location:
Network > Misc. Settings > Traffic Prioritization:
Please note that the PePLink Balance prioritizes only outbound packets. E.g. for secure web
prioritization, the system will prioritize uploading traffic for outgoing connections and
downloading traffic for incoming connections.
16 System Settings
16.1 Admin Security
For security reasons, after logging in to the administration interface at the first time,
changing the administrator password is recommended.
Configuring the administration interface to be accessible only from the LAN can further
improve system security.
Administrative Settings configuration is located at System > Admin Security:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 80
Admin Settings
Change Admin
Password
This setting specifies a new administrator password.
Confirm Admin
Password
This setting verifies and confirms the new administrator password.
Security
This setting specifies the protocol(s) through which the Web
Administration Interface is accessible:
HTTP
HTTPS
HTTP/HTTPS
Web Admin Port
This setting specifies the port number at which the Web Administration
Interface is accessible.
Web Admin
Access
This setting specifies the network interfaces through which the Web
Administration Interface can be accessed:
LAN only
LAN and WAN
If LAN and WAN is chosen, a WAN Connection Access Settings
form will be displayed.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 81
WAN Connection Access Settings
Allowed Source
IP
Allowed Source IP Subnets(s): To restrict web admin access only from
defined IP subnets.
Any
Allow web admin accesses to be from anywhere, without IP address
restriction.
Allow access from the following IP subnets only
Restrict web admin access only from the defined IP subnets. When
this is chosen, a text input area will be displayed beneath:
The allowed IP subnet addresses should be entered into this text area.
Each IP subnet must be in form of n.n.n.n/m,
where n.n.n.n is an IP address (e.g. 192.168.0.0), and
m is the subnet mask in CIDR format, which is between 0 and 32
inclusively. For example: 192.168.0.0/24
To define multiple subnets, separate each IP subnet one in a line. For
example:
192.168.0.0/24
10.8.0.0/16
Allowed WAN IP
Addresses
This is to choose which WAN IP address(es) the web server should
listen on.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 82
Firmware Upgrade Status for PePLink Balance 30, 200 and 300
Status LED Information during firmware upgrade:
OFF – Firmware upgrade in progress (DO NOT disconnect power.)
Red – Unit is rebooting
Green – Firmware upgrade successfully completed
Important Note
The firmware upgrade process may not necessarily preserve the previous configuration,
and the behavior varies on a case-by-case basis. Consult the Release Notes for the
particular firmware version.
Do not disconnect the power during firmware upgrade process.
Do not attempt to upload a non-firmware file, or a firmware file that is not qualified, or
not supported, by PePLink Ltd.
Upgrading a PePLink Balance unit with an invalid firmware file will damage the unit, and
may void the warranty.
16.2 Firmware Upgrade
The firmware of PePLink Balance is upgradeable through Web Administration Interface.
Firmware upgrade functionality is located at System > Firmware:
There are two ways to upgrade the unit. The first method is online firmware upgrade. The
system can check, download and upgrade over the Internet. The second method is to
upload a firmware file manually.
Click on the Check for firmware button to use online upgrade. With online upgrade,
PePLink Balance checks online for new firmware; if new firmware is available, the firmware
is automatically downloaded by PePLink Balance. The upgrade process will subsequently be
automatically initiated.
You may also download a firmware image from the PePLink web site
(http://www.peplink.com) and update the unit manually. Click Browse to select the
firmware file from the local computer, then click Upload to send the firmware to PePLink
Balance. PePLink Balance will then automatically initiate the firmware upgrade process.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 83
Time Server Settings
Time Zone
This specifies the time zone (along with the corresponding Daylight
Savings Time scheme) in which PePLink Balance operates.
The Time Zone value affects the time stamps in the system logs of
PePLink Balance and E-mail notifications.
Time Server
This setting specifies the NTP network time server to be utilized by
PePLink Balance.
16.3 Time
The Time Server functionality enables the system clock of PePLink Balance to be
synchronized with a specified Time Server.
The settings for Time Server configuration are located at the following location: System >
Time:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 84
Email Notification Settings
Email
Notification
This setting specifies whether or not to enable Email Notification.
If Email Notification is set to enable, PePLink Balance sends email
messages to a System Administrator when the WAN status changes, or
when new firmware is available.
If disable is set, PePLink Balance does not send email messages.
SMTP Server
This setting specifies the SMTP server to be used for sending email. If
the Server requires authentication, check the “Require authentication”
check box.
SMTP User
Name /
Password
This setting specifies the SMTP username and password while sending
email. These options are shown only if the “Require authentication”
check box is checked in SMTP Server setting.
Sender’s Email
Address
This setting specifies the sender email address reported by the email
messages sent by PePLink Balance.
Recipient’s Email
Address
This setting specifies the email address to which PePLink Balance
should send the email messages.
16.4 Email Notification
The Email Notification functionality of PePLink Balance provides a System Administrator with
up-to-date information on network status.
The settings for configuring Email Notification are found at the following location:
Network > Misc. Settings > Email Notification:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 85
Remote Syslog Settings
Remote Syslog
This setting specifies whether or not to log events at the specified
remote Syslog server.
Remote Syslog
Host
This setting specifies the IP address or hostname of the remote Syslog
server.
Port
This setting specifies the port number of the remote Syslog service.
By default, the Port setting has value is 514.
16.5 Remote Syslog
The Remote Syslog functionality of PePLink Balance enables event logging at a specified
remote Syslog server.
The settings for configuring Remote System Log are found at the following location:
System > Remote Syslog:
16.6 SNMP
SNMP, or Simple Network Management Protocol, is an open standard that can be used to
collect information about the PePLink Balance unit.
SNMP configuration is located at Network > Misc. Settings > SNMP Setup:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 86
SNMP Settings
SNMP Server
Name
This setting specifies the SNMP server name.
SNMPv1
This setting specifies that SNMP version 1 is to be enabled.
SNMPv2c
This setting specifies that SNMP version 2 is to be enabled.
SNMPv3
This setting specifies that SNMP version 3 is to be enabled.
SNMP Community Settings
Community
Name
This setting specifies the SNMP Community Name.
Allowed Source
Subnet Address
This setting specifies a subnet from which access to the SNMP server is
allowed.
Enter subnet address here (e.g. 192.168.1.0).
Source Subnet
Mask
This setting specifies the subnet mask that corresponds to the subnet
specified via Allowed Source Subnet Address (e.g. 255.255.255.0).
To add a community for either SNMPv1 or SNMPv2c, click the Add SNMP Community
button in the Community Name table, upon which the following screen is displayed:
To define a user name for SNMPv3, click Add SNMP User in the SNMPv3 User Name
table, upon which the following screen is displayed:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 87
SNMPv3 User Settings
User Name
This setting specifies a user name to be used in SNMPv3.
Authentication
Protocol
This setting specifies via a drop-down menu the one of the following
valid authentication protocols:
NONE
MD5
SHA
Authentication
Password
This setting specifies the authentication password, and is applicable
only if the MD5 or SHA authentication protocol is selected.
Privacy Protocol
This setting specifies via a drop-down menu the one of the following
valid privacy protocols:
NONE
DES
Privacy
Password
This setting specifies the privacy password, and is applicable only if the
DES privacy protocol is selected.
Remote Reporting Settings
Post Data to
Server
This setting specifies whether or not PePLink Balance should
periodically and automatically post traffic data to reporting server.
Reporting
Server
This setting specifies the Internet IP address or hostname of the
reporting server.
By default, the Reporting Server value is report.peplink.com.
16.7 Reporting Server
The Reporting functionality enables PePLink Balance to post traffic data and other
information periodically to a PePLink’s Reporting Server for generating detailed historical
usage reports of the device.
The settings for configuring Reporting Server functionality are found at the following
location: System > Reporting Server:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 88
“create a login”
Click the link to register a login ID on PePLink’s Reporting Server.
Each login ID can associate with multiple PePLink Balance devices.
If you already have a login ID on the server, you can skip this step.
“Specify”
Click on the link and the following window will pop up:
Fill in the “User Account” field to specify the login ID on the Reporting
Server to be allowed to access the report of this PePLink Balance
device.
“view reports”
Click the link to view link usage reports from the Reporting Server. A
login screen should be shown:
Important Note
The registration process will contact the reporting server to associate the PePLink Balance
unit with the specified user account on the server.
Please ensure prior to registration that the user account that is entered is valid.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 89
16.8 Saving and Loading Configurations
Backing up the PePLink Balance settings immediately after the successful completion of the
initial setup is strongly recommended.
The functionality to download and upload PePLink Balance settings is found at the following
location: System > Configuration:
16.8.1 Restore Configuration to Factory Settings
The Restore Factory Settings button is to reset the configuration to the factory default
settings. You have to click the Apply Changes button to make the settings effective.
16.8.2 Downloading Active Configurations
The Download button is to backup the current active settings. Click Download and save
the configuration file.
16.8.3 Uploading Configurations
To restore or change settings based on a configuration file, click Browse to locate the
configuration file on the local computer, and then click Upload.
The new settings can then be applied by clicking the Apply Changes button on the page
header, or discard at the Main page of Web Administration Interface.
16.8.4 Uploading Configuration from High Availability Pair
(This section applies only to PePLink Balance 200, 300, 380 and 700.)
In a High Availability (HA) configuration, to quickly load onto the PePLink Balance unit the
configuration of its HA counterpart, click the Upload button.
After loading the settings, configure the LAN IP address of the PePLink Balance unit to be
different from the HA counterpart.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 90
Flash Management
Firmware
Version
This displays the firmware version on each flash module/partition
(i.e. Flash 1 or Flash 2)
Flash Status
This shows the status of the flash module.
Boot from…
The star indicates the flash module/partition from which PePLink
Balance will perform its next boot.
Next Firmware
Upgrade Target
The star indicates the flash module that is the target of the next
firmware upgrade.
By default, the target of the next firmware upgrade is the flash module
that is NOT designated for the next boot.
16.9 Flash Management
The PePLink Balance 30, 200 and 300 is equipped with dual flash memory modules. The
PePLink Balance 380 and 700 has single module but with two partitions. Each flash memory
or partition stores one firmware image. It not only allows improved flexibility but also
facilitates more effective management of the flash contents. It is possible to upgrade the
firmware on the module/partition that is not designated for booting, so that the boot flash is
unaffected by firmware upgrade process or any potential power failures throughout.
Flash module management is located at System > Flash Management:
For PePLink Balance 30, 200 and 300
For PePLink Balance 380 and 700:
For PePLink Balance 30, 200 and 300, by clicking Load config from Flash X, the
configuration parameters on the corresponding flash module is loaded, but not applied. (X
corresponds to the flash module that is NOT designated for the next boot.) For example,
clicking Load config from Flash 1 loads the configuration from Flash 1, but does not apply
the corresponding settings.
The configuration parameters are applied upon clicking Apply Changes on the page header
of Web Administration Interface.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 91
Tip
A System Administrator can use the Ping utility to manually check the connectivity of a
particular LAN/WAN connection.
16.10 Reboot
This page provides a Reboot button for restarting the system.
16.11 Ping Test
The Ping Test tool in PePLink Balance performs Pings through a specified Ethernet interface.
The Ping utility is located at System > Tools > Ping. The Ping utility is displayed as a
pop-up window, illustrated as follows:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 92
Tip
A System Administrator can use the Traceroute utility to analyze the connection path of a
LAN/WAN connection.
16.12 Traceroute Test
The Traceroute Test tool in PePLink Balance traces the routing path to the destination
through a particular Ethernet interface.
The Traceroute Test utility is located at System > Tools > Traceroute. The Traceroute
Test utility is displayed as a pop-up window, illustrated as follows:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 93
System Information
System Time
This shows the current system time.
Serial Number
This shows the serial number of the PePLink Balance unit.
Current
Firmware
Version
This shows the firmware version on which the PePLink Balance unit is
currently running.
17 Status
The information section displays the information of PePLink Balance on the device, link
usage, active sessions, DHCP clients and log.
17.1 Device
System information is located at Status > Device:
The second table shows the MAC address of each Ethernet interface.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 94
17.2 Link Usage Status
Link usage status information is located at Status > Link Usage:
The Link Usage Status section displays the cumulative amounts of data that have been
transferred through each WAN connection, as well as the inbound and outbound rate of data
transferred via various protocols.
If you click on the “Add Trip Counter” link, a new transfer volume table will be shown where
the values are reset to zero. This will enable you to count the transferred volume from a
specific time instead of from the system up time.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 95
17.3 Active Sessions
Information on Active Sessions is at Status > Active Sessions:
This Active Sessions section displays the active inbound and outbound, UDP and TCP
sessions of each WAN connection on PePLink Balance.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 96
17.4 DHCP Clients
The DHCP Clients table is at Status > DHC Clients. It lists DHCP client IP addresses and
MAC addresses that the PePLink Balance has offered IP addresses to since it is powered up.
17.5 Log
Log information is located at Status > Logs:
The log section displays a list of events that has taken place on the PePLink Balance unit.
Click the Refresh button to retrieve log entries again. Click the Clear Log button to clear
log.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 97
Important Note
All user settings will be lost after restoring the factory default settings.
Regular backup of configuration parameters are strongly recommended.
Appendix A. Restoration of Factory Defaults
To restore the factory default settings on a PePLink Balance unit, perform the following:
For Balance 30/200/300:
1. Locate the reset button at the back of the PePLink Balance unit.
2. With a paper clip, press and keep the reset button pressed for at least 10 seconds,
until the unit reboots itself.
For Balance 380/700:
Use the buttons to control the LCD menu to go to “Maintenance” “Factory Default”.
Then choose “Yes” to confirm.
Afterwards, the factory default settings will be restored.
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 98
Appendix B. Routing under DHCP, Static IP, and PPPoE
The information in this appendix applies only to situations where PePLink Balance operates
with to a WAN connection under DHCP, Static IP, and PPPoE.
For information that applies to GRE, please refer to:
Section 10.4.1, Routing under GRE via Network Address Translation (NAT)
Section 10.4.2, Routing under GRE via IP Forwarding
B.1 Routing via Network Address Translation (NAT)
When PePLink Balance is operating under NAT mode, the source IP addresses of outgoing IP
packets are translated to the WAN IP address of PePLink Balance. Therefore, with NAT, all
LAN devices share the same WAN IP address to access the Internet (i.e. the WAN IP
address of PePLink Balance).
Operating PePLink Balance in NAT mode requires only one WAN (Internet) IP address. In
addition, operating in NAT mode also has security advantages because LAN devices are
hidden behind PePLink Balance, not directly accessible from the Internet, and, hence, less
vulnerable to attacks.
The following figure shows the packet flow in NAT mode:
B.2 Routing via IP Forwarding
When PePLink Balance is operating under IP Forwarding mode, the IP addresses of IP
packets are unchanged; PePLink Balance forwards both inbound and outbound IP packets
without changing their IP addresses.
The following figure shows the packet flow in IP Forwarding mode:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 99
Click on Add Rule
to add a new load
distribution rule.
Select Custom Outbound
Traffic Rules
Appendix C. Case Studies
C.1 Performance Optimization
C.1.1 Scenario
In this scenario, email and web browsing are the two main Internet services used by the
LAN users.
The mail server is external to the network.
The connections are ADSL (with slow uplink and fast downlink) and Metro Ethernet
(symmetric).
C.1.2 Solution
The solution is to individually set the WAN loading balance according to the service.
Web browsing mainly downloads data; sending e-mails mainly consumes upload
bandwidth.
Both connections offer good download speeds; WAN2 offers good upload speeds.
Define WAN1 and WAN2's inbound and outbound bandwidths to be 3M/512k and
4M/4M respectively.
For HTTP, set the weight to 3 : 4.
For SMTP, set the weight to 1 : 8, such that users will have a greater chance to be
routed via WAN2 when sending e-mail.
C.1.3 Settings
1. Add a new load distribution rule for HTTP.
2. Add a new load distribution rule for SMTP.
In general, to add a new load distributions rule:
PePLink Balance Series v4.0 User Manual
Page 100
Set the weight of
WAN1 and WAN2 for
HTTP to 3 and 4,
respectively
Set the weight of
WAN1 and WAN2
for SMTP to 1 and
8, respectively
Settings for HTTP:
Settings for SMTP:
C.2 Maintaining the Same IP Address throughout a Session
C.2.1 Scenario
Some client IP address sensitive web sites (for example, Internet banking) use both client
IP address and cookies matching for session identification. Since different IP addresses are
used during the load balancing, the session is dropped when a mismatching IP is detected.
C.2.2 Solution
Make use of the Persistency functionality of PePLink Balance.
With Persistency configured and the option “By destination” selected, PePLink Balance uses
a consistent WAN connection for source-destination pairs of IP addresses, and prevents
sessions from being dropped.
With Persistency configured and the option “By source” selected, PePLink Balance uses a
consistent WAN connection for same source IP addresses. This option offers even higher
application compatibility but the outbound traffic load will be distributed more evenly only if
more users use the Internet.
Loading...