User's Manual

Pepwave MAX and Surf User Manual

http://www.pepwave.com

14.2.2 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, for security reasons,

many e-banking and other secure websites 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.

Pepwave routers can be configured to distribute data traffic across multiple WAN

connections. Also, the Internet IP depends on the WAN connections over which

communication actually takes place. As a result, a LAN client computer behind the

Pepwave router may communicate using multiple Internet IP addresses. For example, a

LAN client computer behind a Pepwave router with three WAN connections may

communicate on the Internet using three different IP addresses.

With the persistence feature, 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, eliminating the

issues mentioned above.

There are two persistent modes: By Source and By Destination.

By Source:

The same WAN connection will be used for traffic matching the rule and originating

from the same machine, regardless of its destination. This option will provide the

highest level of application compatibility.

By Destination:

The same WAN connection will be used for traffic matching the rule, originating from

the same machine, and going to the same destination. This option can better distribute

loads to WAN connections when there are only a few client machines.

The default 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 Load

Distribution, the weights will be automatically adjusted according to each WAN’s

Downstream Bandwidth which is specified in the WAN settings page). If you choose

Custom, you can customize the weight of each WAN manually by using the sliders.