Configuring Global Settings

Configuring Global Settings

Once you have installed and performed initial configuration, you can configure a number of connection parameters, customizing your NetScaler to match the needs of your network and managed servers.

Configuring HTTP Traffic Ports

This option identifies Web server HTTP ports used by your managed servers and allows the NetScaler to perform request switching for any client request that has a destination port matching a configured port.

The following procedure includes HTTP port 8080 as an example of a port that can be added on the NetScaler. If your managed servers accept HTTP connections on port 8080, clients need to send requests to this port

To configure HTTP traffic ports

1. In the left pane, expand System and click Settings. The Settings page appears in the right pane.

2. Under Settings, click Change HTTP Parameters. The Configure HTTP Parameters dialog box appears.

3. In HTTP Port Information, in the HTTP Port text box, type the port number, for example, 8080.

4. Click Add and Click OK. The Configure HTTP Parameters dialog box appears.

Setting the Maximum Connections to Each Server

You can specify a maximum number of connections that a NetScaler is allowed to make to each managed server. For example, if you enter 500 and there are three servers managed by the NetScaler, it will open a maximum of 500 connections to each of these three servers. By default, the NetScaler can create an unlimited number of connections to any of the servers it manages.

To set maximum connections to each server

1. In the left pane, expand System, and click Settings. The Settings page appears in the right pane.

2. Under Settings, click Change HTTP Parameters. The Configure HTTP Parameters dialog box appears.

3. Under Limits, in the Max Connections text box, type the maximum number of connections, for example, 500.

4. Click OK.

Setting the Maximum Requests per Connection

You can set a maximum number of requests that a NetScaler is allowed to send to a managed server over each connection. To specify an unlimited number of requests, set this value to 0.

To set the maximum requests per connection

1. In the left pane, expand System, and click Settings. The Settings page appears in the right pane.

2. Under Settings, click Change HTTP Parameters. The Configure HTTP Parameters dialog box appears.

3. Under Limits, in Max Requests text box, type the maximum number of requests, for example, 500.

4. Click OK.

Configuring Client IP Address Insertion

When a Web server managed by a NetScaler receives a mapped IP address, the server identifies this mapped IP address as the client’s IP address. Some applications need the client’s IP address for logging purposes or to dynamically determine the content to be served by the web server.

You can enable insertion of the actual client IP address into the HTTP header request sent from the client to one, some, or all servers attached to a NetScaler. You can then access the inserted address through a minor modification to the server (using an Apache module, ISAPI interface, or NSAPI interface).

To enable client IP Address insertion

1. In the left pane, expand System, then click Settings. The Settings page appears in the right pane.

2. Under Global Settings click HTTP Parameters. The Configure HTTP Parameters dialog box appears.

3. Under Client IP Insertion, select Client IP.

4. Click OK.

Setting HTTP Cookie Version

A NetScaler sends its own cookie when COOKIEINSERT persistence is configured on a virtual server. The NetScaler can send either a version 0 or a version 1 HTTP cookie. By default, it uses HTTP cookie version 0, which is the most common type on the Internet. In the following example, you set the HTTP cookie to version 1.

To set HTTP cookie version 1

1. In the left pane, expand System, then click Settings. The Settings page appears in the right pane.

2. Under Settings, click Change HTTP Parameters. The Configure HTTP

Parameters dialog box appears.

3. Under Cookie Version, select Version 1.

4. Click OK.

Setting FTP Port Range

A NetScaler can be configured to open FTP connections on a controlled range of ports instead of ephemeral ports for data connections. This improves security, because opening all ports on the firewall is insecure. You can set the range anywhere from 1024 to 64000.

To set FTP port range

1. In the left pane, expand System, and click Settings. The Settings page appears in the right pane.

2. Under Settings, click Change HTTP Parameters. The Configure Global Settings dialog box appears.

3. Under FTP Port Range, in Start Port and End Port text box, type the lowest and highest port number, respectively, in the range you are specifying, for example, 5000 and 6000.

4. Click OK.