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SnowmenF5_86266's avatar
SnowmenF5_86266
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Nov 26, 2012

LTM WebSockets routing

Hi

 

 

I'm far from sure this is the right place to ask this question, so feel free to redirect me. I'm quite lost.

 

 

My question then.

 

 

Our developers are building something using what they call HTML5 WebSockets. For that I need to be able to route incoming traffic to and from these sockets. Is there some support for that in the LTM, and what version do I need of the F5 software? I'd be very glad if someone could point me to some documentation about it. I did find out that there is support for the SPDY protocol, so I had some hope that this WebSocket thing also was supported, but I found nothing.

 

 

Thanks for any help and/or pointers.

 

5 Replies

  • I can't find anything on WebSockets on ask.f5.com so, unless an F5 employee says otherwise, assume there is no specific protocol support (yet).

     

     

    I'd not heard of the protocol myself until you posted and it looks very interesting. Despite the lack of specific protocol support I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work with LTM. I'd recommend you don't apply a HTTP or WebAccelerator profile and use a FastL4 profile/Performance (Layer 4) Virtual Server. You won't be able to use compression or SSL/TLS offload but otherwise everything else should work as usual.

     

    You may also want to consider making a Request for Enhancement with F5 support.

     

  • Thanks a lot Steve. Always useful when someone who knows where to look takes a peek. I might have to look into making a Request for Enhancement like you suggests.
  • You're welcome. You might find this list of resources useful;

     

     

    AskF5

     

    Available at: http://support.f5.com/ (previously http://ask.f5.com/ which still works too) AskF5 is the F5 Networks technical knowledge base and self-service online support site – no account is required.

     

    AskF5 provides knowledge base articles related to; support, known issues, solutions, best practises and security advisories. You can also obtain release notes, manuals and guides.

     

     

    Downloads

     

    F5 Networks product updates and software downloads are available here: https://downloads.f5.com/ - an account is required.

     

     

    Documentation

     

    Well over 20 manuals and guides for BIG-IP, TMOS and LTM can be found here: http://support.f5.com/kb/en-us/products/big-ip_ltm/versions.11_2_0.html

     

     

    Security Alert Mailing List

     

    Subscribe to the F5 security alert mailing list by sending an email with the subject: Subscribe to security-subscribe@lists.f5.com.

     

     

    AskF5 TechNews Weekly Mailing List

     

    Subscribe to the weekly HTML TechNews general information mailing list by filling in the online form here: http://interact.f5.com/TechNews2012Q2_TechNewsSubscriptionPage.html.

     

     

    AskF5 TechNews Periodic Mailing List

     

    Subscribe to the periodic plain text TechNews product and hotfix release mailing list by sending an email with the subject: Subscribe to technews-subscribe@lists.f5.com.

     

     

    F5 University

     

    Free, self-paced web-based training related to basic technologies and concepts, changes in new software versions and basic LTM configuration are available via the F5 University available here: https://university.f5.com/. An account is required to access the university site.
  • Thanks as always for replying Steve :). You're right that we don't have native support for sockets currently.

     

     

    SnowmenF5, I suggest opening a 'request for enhancement' case with F5 Support to document your use case and request support for it in LTM. You could also contact your F5 or partner account team to escalate the RFE.

     

     

    Aaron