Specifications

Configuring Filters
BIG-IP® Reference Guide 5-1
Introduction
Filters control network traffic by setting whether packets are accepted or
rejected at the external network interface. Filters apply to both incoming and
outgoing traffic. When creating a filter, you define criteria which are applied
to each packet that is processed by the BIG-IP. You can configure the
BIG-IP to accept or block each packet, based on whether or not the packet
matches the criteria.
The BIG-IP supports two types of filters, IP filters and rate filters.
Filter options are shown in Table 5.1.
Filtering should be kept to the minimum necessary, as filters may adversely
affect performance.
Rate filters that limit traffic can have an adverse effect on monitors. If you
have a large number of monitors configured, and the filters limit the monitor
traffic, the monitor will mark the service as down.
Filter Options Description
IP filter You can configure IP filters to control requests sent to the BIG-IP by other hosts in the network.
Rate filter You can configure rate filters to control the flow of traffic into the BIG-IP based on rate classes
you define. In order to create a rate filter, you must first define a rate class.
Rate class You can define a rate class for use with a rate filter. A rate class is a definition used by a rate
filter.
Table 5.1 The attributes you can configure for a filter