Header Stripping

Header Stripping application efficiently examines the packets for specified headers like GTP, ISL, ERSPAN, MPLS, MPLS+VLAN, VLAN, VN-Tag, VXLAN, FM6000Ts, and generic and removes them before sending the packet to the appropriate security and analysis tools. Each packet is examined for the packet forwarding addition and it also ensured that the headers are removed from the packet before sending the packet to the tools. This application is useful when working with tools that either cannot recognize these headers or have to engage in additional processing to adjust for them.

Furthermore, the presence of the protocols like GTP, ISL, ERSPAN, MPLS, MPLS+VLAN, VLAN, VN-Tag, VXLAN, and FM6000Ts in the packet can restrict or limit the ability to apply filtering and flow-based load balancing to the traffic as it is forwarded to specific tools. To address each of these challenges, header stripping of these protocols is required.

List of Protocols that are supported for stripping:

  • GTP
  • ISL
  • ESPRAN
  • MPLS
  • MPLS+VLAN
  • VLAN
  • VN-Tag
  • VXLAN
  • FM6000Ts,
  • Generic

Configure Header Stripping Application

To configure the header stripping application, follow the steps given below:

  1. Drag and drop Header Stripping from APPLICATIONS to the graphical workspace.
  2. Click the Header Stripping application and select Details. The Application quick view appears.
  3. In the application quick view enter the following details:
    FieldDescription
    AliasEnter the alias name for the application
    ProtocolSelect the type protocol
    VLAN: Use this option to strip VLAN header form the packets. You can strip only the outer VLAN header or the entire VLAN header. When choosing VLAN as your protocol for stripping, enter the following details
    VLAN HeaderThe VLAN Header that should be stripped. The supported minimum value is 0 and the maximum value is 16777215. The default value is 0.
    VXLAN: Use this option to strip VXLAN (Virtual eXtensible Local Area Network) headers. You can strip either matching VXLAN headers or all VXLAN headers. When choosing VXLAN as your protocol for stripping, enter the following details
    VXLAN IDThe VXLAN ID that should be stripped. the default value is outer.
    FM6000Ts: Use this option to strip FM6000Ts time stamp headers. Packets entering the application from other devices may contain FM6000 timestamps. FM6000 is an Intel chip used for timestamping. FM6000 has a hardware timestamp in the packet. When choosing FM6000Ts as your protocol for stripping, enter the following details.
    Time Stamp FormatThe format of the time stamp you wish to be strip. Only the None format is supported.
    ESPRAN: Use this option to strip ERSPAN Type II and Type III headers. When choosing ESPRAN as your protocol for stripping, enter the following details
    ESPRAN FlowIDSpecify an ERSPAN flow ID, from 0 to 1023. A flow ID of zero is a wildcard value that matches all flow IDs.
    Generic: Using this option to strip any header without having to worry about at which level header would occur. When choosing generic as your protocol for stripping, enter the following details
    Ah1The anchor header (AH1) after which the header to be stripped is occurred.
    Offset

    Based on the offset value selected the enter the following details:

    1. Offset Range: If you wish to use offset range as your offset then enter the following details:

    1. Offset Range Value: Offset of the header occurrence from the above anchor header. The minimum supported value is 1 and the maximum supported value is 1500.
    2. Header Count: Specifies how many headers from the offset, the application should remove. The minimum supported value is 1 and the maximum is 32.
    3. Custom Len: The length (in bytes) of the header that should be stripped.
    4. Ah2: The next possible standard header that occurs immediately after the header

    2. Start / End: If you wish to use start or end as your offset then enter the following details:

    1. Header Count: Specifies how many headers from the offset, the application should remove. The minimum supported value is 1 and the maximum is 32.
    2. Custom Len: The length (in bytes) of the header that should be stripped. The minimum supported value is 1 and the maximum supported value is 1500.
    3. Ah2: The next possible standard header that occurs immediately after the header