: Configure an SD-WAN Interface Profile
Focus
Focus

Configure an SD-WAN Interface Profile

Table of Contents

Configure an SD-WAN Interface Profile

Configure an SD-WAN interface profile to group physical links by link tag and control link speeds.
Create an SD-WAN interface profile to define the characteristics of ISP connections and to specify the speed of links and how frequently the firewall monitors the link, and specify a Link Tag for the link. When you specify the same Link Tag on multiple links, you are grouping (bundling) those physical links into a link bundle or fat pipe. You must configure an SD-WAN interface profile and specify it for an Ethernet interface enabled with SD-WAN before you can save the Ethernet interface.
Group links based on a common criterion. For example, group links by path preference from most preferred to least preferred, or group links by cost.
  1. Select
    Network
    Network Profiles
    SD-WAN Interface Profile
    and select the appropriate template from the
    Template
    context drop-down.
  2. Add
    an SD-WAN interface profile.
  3. Enter a user-friendly
    Name
    for the SD-WAN interface profile, which you’ll see in reporting, troubleshooting, and statistics.
  4. Select the vsys
    Location
    if you have a multi-vsys Panorama™ management server. By default, vsys1 is selected.
  5. Select the
    Link Tag
    that this profile will assign to the interface.
  6. Add a
    Description
    for the profile.
  7. Select the physical
    Link Type
    from the predefined list (
    ADSL/DSL
    ,
    Cable modem
    ,
    Ethernet
    ,
    Fiber
    ,
    LTE/3G/4G/5G
    ,
    MPLS
    ,
    Microwave/Radio
    ,
    Satellite
    ,
    WiFi
    , or
    Other
    ).
    The firewall can support any CPE device that terminates and hands off as an Ethernet connection to the firewall; for example, WiFi access points, LTE modems, laser/microwave CPEs all can terminate with an Ethernet handoff.
    The following link types will form tunnels with only the same link type:
    • Public (or
      Other
      ) link types—
      Ethernet
      ,
      ASDL/DSL
      ,
      Cable modem
      ,
      Fiber
      ,
      LTE/3G/4G/5G
      ,
      WiFi
      , and
      Other
      .
      Any public link type to any other public link type will create a tunnel successfully. For example, Ethernet-to-Other and Other-to-Other link types will create the tunnels successfully.
    • Private and Point-to-Point link types—
      MPLS
      ,
      Satellite
      , and
      Microwave/Radio
      .
      A private link type can create the tunnel only with the same private link type. For example, MPLS-to-MPLS and satellite-to-satellite link types are valid and therefore the tunnels will be created successfully, but MPLS-to-satellite won't create the tunnel.
    For existing PAN-OS deployments that have zones defined on the interfaces that will be used to support SD-WAN, Panorama may automatically configure the interface’s zone name to one of the predefined SD-WAN zones under the following conditions:
    1. The SD-WAN interface is configured as a point-to-point private Link Type (
      MPLS
      ,
      Satellite
      , or
      Microwave
      ) in its Interface Profile.
    2. The
      VPN Data Tunnel Support
      checkbox is disabled (unchecked) on the SD-WAN Interface Profile. This instructs PAN-OS to forward traffic in clear text outside of the SD-WAN VPN tunnel.
    On the Hub firewall, the zone name is configured as “
    zone-to-branch
    ” when condition a) is met. On the Branch firewall, the zone name is configured as “
    zone-to-hub
    ” when both condition a) and condition b) are met. Panorama automates this step to simplify configuration to ensure proper communication between the hub and branch firewalls. If you have preexisting firewall policies that reference the old zone name, you must update the policies to reflect the new predefined SD-WAN zone name.
  8. Specify the
    Maximum Download (Mbps)
    speed from the ISP in megabits per second (range is 0 to 100,000; there is no default). You can enter a range using up to three decimal places, for example, 10.456. Ask your ISP for the link speed or sample the link’s maximum speeds with a tool such as speedtest.net and take an average of the maximums over a good length of time.
  9. Specify the
    Maximum Upload (Mbps)
    speed to the ISP in megabits per second (range is 0 to 100,000; there is no default). You can enter a range using up to three decimal places, for example, 10.456. Ask your ISP for the link speed or sample the link’s maximum speeds with a tool such as speedtest.net and take an average of the maximums over a good length of time.
  10. Select
    Eligible for Error Correction Profile interface selection
    to enable Forward Error Correction (FEC) or packet duplication for interfaces. You must enable this on both the encoding and decoding firewalls; you must also create an Error Correction profile to apply to the SD-WAN policy rule for specific applications.
  11. VPN Data Tunnel Support
    determines whether the branch-to-hub traffic and return traffic flows through a VPN tunnel for added security (the default method) or flows outside of the VPN tunnel to avoid encryption overhead.
    • Leave
      VPN Data Tunnel Support
      enabled for public link types that have direct internet connections or internet breakout capability, such as cable modem, ADSL, and other internet connections.
    • You can disable
      VPN Data Tunnel Support
      for private link types such as MPLS, satellite, or microwave that do not have internet breakout capability . However, you must first ensure the traffic cannot be intercepted because it will be sent outside of the VPN tunnel.
    • The branch may have DIA traffic that needs to fail over to the private MPLS link connecting to the hub, and reach the internet from the hub. The
      VPN Data Tunnel Support
      setting determines whether the private data flows through the VPN tunnel or flows outside the tunnel, and the failed over traffic uses the other connection (that the private data flow doesn’t use). The firewall uses zones to segment DIA failover traffic from private MPLS traffic.
  12. If you Configure DIA AnyPath, a principal virtual interface can have multiple hub virtual interfaces, so you must prioritize the order in which a particular hub is selected for failover. Specify such priority by setting the
    VPN Failover Metric
    for the VPN tunnels bundled in the hub virtual interface where this profile is applied. The lower the metric, the higher the priority of the interface to be selected during failover. If multiple hub virtual interfaces have the same metric value, SD-WAN sends new session traffic to them in round-robin fashion.
  13. (
    Optional
    ) Select the
    Path Monitoring
    mode in which the firewall monitors the interfaces where you apply this SD-WAN Interface Profile.
    The firewall selects what it considers the best monitoring method based on
    Link Type
    . Retain the default setting for the link type unless an interface (where you apply this profile) has issues that require more aggressive or more relaxed path monitoring.
    • Aggressive
      —(Default for all link types except LTE and Satellite) Firewall sends probe packets to the opposite end of the SD-WAN link at a constant frequency. Use this mode if you need fast detection and failover for brownout and blackout conditions.
    • Relaxed
      —(Default for LTE and Satellite link types) Firewall waits for a number of seconds (the
      Probe Idle Time
      ) between sending sets of probe packets, making path monitoring less frequent. When the probe idle time expires, firewall sends probes for seven seconds at the
      Probe Frequency
      configured. Use this mode when you have low bandwidth links, links that charge by usage (such as LTE), or when fast detection isn’t as important as preserving cost and bandwidth.
  14. Set the
    Probe Frequency (per second)
    , which is the number of times per second that the firewall sends a probe packet to the opposite end of the SD-WAN link (range is 1 to 5; default is 5). The default setting provides subsecond detection of brownout and blackout conditions.
    If you change the Probe Frequency for a Panorama template, you should also adjust the
    Packet Loss
    percentage threshold in a Path Quality profile for a Panorama device group.
  15. If you select
    Relaxed
    path monitoring, you can set the
    Probe Idle Time (seconds)
    that the firewall waits between sets of probe packets (range is 1 to 60; default is 60).
  16. Enter the
    Failback Hold Time (seconds)
    that the firewall waits for a recovered link to remain qualified before the firewall reinstates that link as the preferred link after it has failed over (range is 20 to 120; default is 120).
  17. Click
    OK
    to save the profile.
  18. Commit
    and
    Commit and Push
    your configuration changes.
  19. Monitor your application and link path health metrics, and generate reports of your application and link health performance. For more information, see Monitoring and Reporting.

Recommended For You