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BIG-IP Support For The WebSocket Protocol

The document discusses BIG-IP support for the WebSocket protocol. It recommends using a WebSocket virtual server profile and TCP profiles for load balancing WebSocket traffic. It also recommends using an HTTP profile if HTTP inspection is required in addition to WebSocket load balancing.

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Elaouni Abdessamad
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117 views2 pages

BIG-IP Support For The WebSocket Protocol

The document discusses BIG-IP support for the WebSocket protocol. It recommends using a WebSocket virtual server profile and TCP profiles for load balancing WebSocket traffic. It also recommends using an HTTP profile if HTTP inspection is required in addition to WebSocket load balancing.

Uploaded by

Elaouni Abdessamad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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31/05/2022 15:10 BIG-IP support for the WebSocket protocol

AskF5 Home / K14754

K14754: BIG-IP support for the WebSocket protocol

Non-Diagnostic

Original Publication Date: Jun 16, 2015


Updated Date: Jan 22, 2021

Topic
The WebSocket protocol provides two-way communication for browser-based applications without requiring
the opening of multiple HTTP connections.

Description
The WebSocket protocol uses a single TCP connection to enable two-way communication between a client
and server. The initial handshake occurs over HTTP, while subsequent WebSocket message frames layer over
TCP. Before you configure the BIG-IP system to load balance WebSocket traffic, refer to
the Recommendations section.

Recommendations
When you configure the BIG-IP system to load balance WebSocket traffic, you should consider the following
factors:

Starting in BIG-IP 12.1.0, F5 introduced a WebSocket virtual server profile with the following WebSocket
settings available:

Preserve: Preserves the mask of the packet received, and makes no change.
Note: BIG-IP ASM and other modules receive masked frames.

Unmask: Removes the mask from the packet and remasks it using the same mask when sending
the traffic to the server.
Remask: Removes the mask received from the client. The system generates a new, random
mask when sending the traffic to the server.
Selective: Preserves the mask of the packet received, and makes no changes (the default
setting).
Note: When the virtual server is configured with a BIG-IP ASM Application Security
Policy, packets are unmasked to allow BIG-IP ASM to examine the WebSocket payload, and the
packets are remasked when sending the traffic to the destination server. Starting in BIG-IP 12.1.0,
Local Traffic policies support WebSocket traffic. For more information, refer to K07359270:
Succeeding with application security.

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31/05/2022 15:10 BIG-IP support for the WebSocket protocol

Although the initial WebSocket handshake occurs over HTTP, the subsequent WebSocket messages do
not conform to the HTTP protocol.
If your application requires WebSocket traffic load balancing, consider using a virtual server with an
applicable TCP profile.
If your application requires HTTP inspection and WebSocket traffic load balancing:
Note: The FastHTTP profile is not compatible with the WebSocket protocol.

For BIG-IP 11.4.0 and later, you can use a single virtual server with an HTTP profile.
For BIG-IP versions earlier than 11.4.0, consider using a separate virtual server with the
applicable profile for each protocol.

If the BIG-IP system terminates encryption for WebSocket traffic secured with Transport Layer Security
(TLS), you must configure the virtual server with an appropriate Client SSL profile.

Supplemental Information
K7166: Changing the idle timeout for a protocol profile
K15357: WebSocket connections to virtual servers may fail when using OneConnect
K14814: The BIG-IP system may drop WebSocket traffic
K07359270: Succeeding with application security
K29377715: Overview of the TCP profile (14.x)
K10711911: Overview of the TCP profile (13.x)
K70025261: Overview of the TCP profile (12.x)
K13924148: Overview of the TCP profile (11.x)
K7559: Overview of the TCP profile (9.x - 10.x)
The Profiles for Managing HTTP Traffic chapter of the BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager: Concepts
manual
The Profile Concepts chapter of the BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager: Concepts manual
Note: For information about how to locate F5 product manuals, refer to K12453464: Finding product
documentation on AskF5.

Internet Engineering Task Force (RFC 6455)


Note: The previous link takes you to a resource outside of AskF5. The third party could remove the
document without our knowledge.

Applies to:

Product: BIG-IP, BIG-IP AAM, BIG-IP AFM, BIG-IP APM, BIG-IP ASM, BIG-IP GTM, BIG-IP Link Controller,
BIG-IP LTM, BIG-IP PEM
14.1.0, 14.0.0, 13.1.X, 13.0.X, 12.1.X, 12.0.X, 11.6.X, 11.5.X, 11.4.X, 11.3.X, 11.2.X, 11.1.X, 11.0.X, 10.2.X,
10.1.X, 10.0.X, 9.6.X, 9.4.X, 9.3.X, 9.2.X, 9.1.X

Product: Legacy Products, BIG-IP WebAccelerator, BIG-IP WOM, BIG-IP PSM, BIG-IP Edge Gateway
14.1.0, 14.0.0, 13.1.X, 13.0.X, 12.1.X, 12.0.X, 11.6.X, 11.5.X, 11.4.X, 11.3.X, 11.2.X, 11.1.X, 11.0.X, 10.2.X,
10.1.X, 10.0.X, 9.6.X, 9.4.X, 9.3.X, 9.2.X, 9.1.X

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