
Chapter 4: Configuring the High-Level Network
4-44
Quality of Service (QoS) level
Another attribute of a pool is the Quality of Service (QoS) level. The QoS
level is a means by which network equipment can identify and treat traffic
differently based on an identifier. As traffic enters the site, the BIG-IP can
set the QoS level on a packet, based on the QoS level defined in the pool to
which the packet is sent. The BIG-IP can also apply a rule that sends the
traffic to different pools of servers based on the Quality of Service level.
The BIG-IP can tag outbound traffic (the return packets based on an HTTP
GET) based on the QoS value set in the pool. That value is then inspected
by upstream devices and given appropriate priority. Based on a rule, the
BIG-IP can examine incoming traffic to see if it has a particular QoS or ToS
tag in the header. The BIG-IP can then make a rule-based load balancing
decision based on that tag.
Figure 4.13 shows how to configure a pool so that a QoS level is set for a
packet sent to that pool. In this example, the QoS tag, represented by the
link_qos variable, is set to 3 when sending packets to the client, and set to 4
when packets are sent to the server.
Figure 4.13 Example of a pool that sets the QoS level on a packet
In addition to configuring a pool to set the QoS level on a packet, you can
configure a rule that selects a pool based on the existing QoS value within
the packet. For more information, see Quality of Service (QoS) level, on
page 4-53.
Type of Service (ToS) level
Another attribute of a pool is the Type of Service (ToS) level. The ToS
level, also known as the DiffServ value, is a means by which network
equipment can identify and treat traffic differently based on an identifier. As
traffic enters the site, the BIG-IP can set the ToS level on a packet, based on
the ToS level defined in the pool to which the packet is sent. The BIG-IP
can also apply a rule and send the traffic to different pools of servers based
on the ToS level.
The BIG-IP can tag outbound traffic (the return packets based on an HTTP
GET) based on the ToS value set in the pool. That value is then inspected
by upstream devices and given appropriate priority. Based on a rule, the
BIG-IP can examine incoming traffic to see if it has a particular ToS tag in
the header. The BIG-IP can then make a rule-based load balancing decision
based on that tag.
pool http_pool {
link_qos to client 3
link_qos to server 4
}
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