Header Stripping

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

Furthermore, the presence of protocols like GTP, ISL, ERSPAN, MPLS, MPLS+VLAN, VLAN, VN-tag, VXLAN, GENEVE, 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 striping:

  • GTP
  • ISL
  • ESPRAN
  • MPLS
  • MPLS+VLAN
  • VLAN
  • VN-tag
  • VXLAN
  • FM6000Ts
  • GENEVE
  • Generic

Note:

Header Stripping for the GENEVE protocol is currently supported for the following platforms:

  • VMware vCenter
  • VMware NSX-T
  • Nutanix

Limitation

The GENEVE protocols currently supported for header stripping are the Transparent Ethernet Bridge (0x6558), IPv4 (0x0800), and IPv6 (0x86DD).

Configure Header Stripping Application

To configure the Header Stripping application in GigaVUE-FM, 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 or select the required information as described in the following table:
    FieldDescription
    AliasEnter the alias name for the application.
    ProtocolSelect the type of protocol.
    VLAN: Use this option to strip the VLAN header from the packets. You can either strip 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 time stamping. 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 strip. The only supported format for the time stamp is None.
    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 between 0 to 1023. A flow ID of zero is a wildcard value that matches all flow IDs.

    GENEVE: Use this option to strip the GENEVE header from the packets. The default L4 Destination Port value is 6081. To change the default L4 destination port value, follow the steps given below:

    1. Expand the Custom Port section.
    2. You can either select an existing template with the port details or provide them directly in the pop-up window.
    o Using Template - If you wish to use an existing template, select the template from the Template drop-down menu. To create a new template, refer to Create Custom Port Template.

    Note:  You cannot modify an existing template by editing the values directly in the Monitoring Session. However, you can modify the values in the Monitoring Session and save it as a new template.

    o Without Template - You can directly enter your port details in the L4 Destination Port field.

    Click the Save as New Template button to save this existing configuration as a template. You can view the newly created template in the Custom Port Template page.

    Generic: Using this option to strip any header without worrying about the header level. When choosing generic as your protocol for stripping, enter the following details:
    Ah1The anchor header (AH1), after which the header to be stripped occurs.
    Offset

    Based on the selected Offset, enter the following details:

    ● Offset Range: If you wish to use offset range as your offset, then enter the following details:
    1. Offset Range Value: Specify the offset of the header occurrence from the above anchor header. The minimum supported value is one, and the maximum supported value is 1500.
    2. Header Count: Specify the number of headers the application should remove from the offset. The minimum supported value is one, 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.
    ● Start / End: If you wish to use start or end as your offset, then enter the following details:
    1. Header Count: Specify the number of headers that the application should remove from the offset.. The minimum supported value is one, and the maximum is 32.
    2. Custom Len: The length (in bytes) of the header that should be stripped. The minimum supported value is one, and the maximum supported value is 1500.
    3. Ah2: The next possible standard header that occurs immediately after the header.
  4. Click Save.

What's Next

You can configure the traffic health monitoring for this application in the THRESHOLDS tab. You can select an existing template from the Threshold Templates drop-down menu or provide the threshold values. For more details on traffic health monitoring and how to create a threshold template, refer to Traffic Health Monitoring section in the respective GigaVUE Cloud Suite deployment guides.

You can view the configuration health status and the traffic health status of the application in the HEALTH STATUS tab. For more details on configuration health and traffic health, refer to Monitor Cloud Health section in the respective GigaVUE Cloud Suite deployment guides.

You can view the application statistics in the STATISTICS tab.