Specifications

Configuring the Equalizer Network
Equalizer Installation and Administration Guide 9
response packets to clients. This port is only used for dual network (external and internal)
configurations and single network configurations on dual-port models. It is not used for single
network configurations on multi-server port models, see “Using Equalizer in a Single Network
Environment” on page 11 for more information.
Hosts or routers on the external network can have routes to the internal network that are gatewayed
through Equalizer's external address. Equalizer’s external address is also its administration address,
the IP address used to connect to Equalizer’s browser-based administration interface.
Equalizer’s Server Port
Servers that process the incoming requests connect to the server ports: either directly or through a
network device such as a switch. These physical servers provide services on specific IP addresses
and ports and are organized into clusters. Equalizer's load-balancing subsystem translates client
request packets and then forwards them to the selected server. When a server machine sends a
response packet back to a client, Equalizer processes it and forwards it to the appropriate client
across the external network.
When using Equalizer with NAT in layer 4 or spoofing in layer 7, you must configure the servers’
routing tables so that Equalizer is the gateway for any outbound packets that leave the internal
network. If the servers do not use Equalizer’s internal address as the gateway when they send
responses to clients, the reply packets will not be translated on their way to the client, causing the
clients to reject the reply packets because they do not belong to an established connection. (From
the client side, it would look like the server was not responding.) If you are using Equalizer without
spoofing, you do not need to use Equalizer as a gateway.
When using Equalizer in single network mode, the client machines, Intranet, or Internet must
connect to one of the server ports. In this instance one of the server ports is the external port.
Note – When using dual-port Equalizers in single network mode, use the external port to connect
to the network to which the client machines, Intranet, or Internet are connected.