Configuring ISP Link Selection

Carrier Name

Name of the carrier to be created.

Address Library File

ISP address file of the carrier.

Each ISP address file will automatically generate an ISP address group after being imported. The ISP address group contains all IP addresses in the ISP address file. You can reference the address group as the source or destination address in policy-based routes.

IP Address

Specifies the IP address of the interface.

Default Gateway

Specifies the default gateway address of the interface.

When you configure ISP link selection, you must configure the default gateway of the interface.

Carrier

Select a carrier from the drop-down list. Usually, the carrier of the link connecting to the outbound interface is selected.

After you specify the ISP to which the interface belongs, you add the interface to the ISP interface group.

Carrier Route

After you enable the ISP route function, the FW will generate static routes in a batch to the ISP network. The destination address of the static routes is an IP address in the ISP address file, and the next-hop address of the static routes is the gateway address specified on the outbound interface. An ISP route is also called an operator route. In a routing table, the protocol type of an ISP route is user network route (UNR), and the priority value is 70, which is greater than that (60) of a static route.

Choose Network > Route > Routing Table. You can view the generated ISP route entries.

To configure ISP link selection, you must enable the ISP route.

Default Route

If the default route is enabled, the FW automatically generates a default route, with the next hop being that configured on the link interface. If the default route is not enabled, the FW does not automatically generate a default route.

In the configuration of PBR-based intelligent uplink selection and ISP link selection, you do not need to enable the default route.

Sticky Load Balancing

After the sticky load balancing function is enabled on the link interface, reply packets of request packets forwarded from this link interface are forwarded using the interface and next hop corresponding to this link interface, instead of those specified in the routing table.

Sticky load balancing mainly applies to a multi-ISP load balancing NAT server scenario.

(Optional) Health Check

Select an existing health check to check the health of the link.

To improve traffic forwarding reliability, ISP address library link selection can function with Health Check to ensure that traffic is not forwarded to faulty links. If the health check result indicates that a link is faulty, the FW will delete the ISP route entry. Therefore, traffic will neither match this route nor being forwarded to the faulty link. When the link recovers, the ISP route entry is created again, and traffic can be forwarded on this route.

Destination Address

Select a carrier address set from the drop-down list.

Outbound Interface

Select an outbound interface from the drop-down list.

For one ISP address set, if the NULL interface and another interface are both specified as outbound interfaces, ISP routes whose outbound interface is the NULL interface automatically become invalid.

Next Hop

Specify the next-hop IP address of the route.

The outbound interface and next hop must be both specified.

If the outbound interface is the NULL interface or a tunnel interface, the next hop can be any (except 0.0.0.0).

Priority

Set a priority of the ISP route.

You can set different priorities for ISP routes for flexible use of route management policies. For example, if you set the same priority for multiple routes to one destination, the routes implement load balancing; if you set different priorities for such routes, they back up each other.

Reliability Detection

Configure reliability detection for ISP routes. The value can be:

• No detection
• Binding to an IP-link

IP-Link Name

Enter or select the name of the IP-link to be bound.

This option is displayed following IP Link Binding under Reliability Detection.