Note: The Software Rate Shaping, Hardware Rate Shaping, and Quality of Service (QoS) features are mutually exclusive; that is, you can use only one of these features at any given time.


Using the Forwarding Rule Editing page, you can create new hardware forwarding rules or change the parameters of existing hardware forwarding rules.


Note: only one forwarding policy and one QoS policy can be active at any time.


Forwarding Rules menu: Displays the existing forwarding rules for editing. Three default rules are provided: switch, forward, and cache. For descriptions of these defaults, see the Forward Option field definition below.
Options: Default rules (switch, forward, and cache) and any previously-defined rules.
Defaults: switch, forward, cache

Select button: Selects a previously-defined forwarding rule for editing. You must select a rule before you can copy, modify, or delete it. When you click the Select button, then the Apply button, the rule configuration displays.
Options: switch, forward, and cache
Default: Highlights the first rule in the list.

Copy button: Copies an existing rule to a new rule. You must use the Select button to select the appropriate rule before you can copy it. Be sure to give the copied rule a new, unique name.
Example: You can copy a rule with similar parameters and modify it as a quick way to create a new rule.
Options: All listed rules.
Default: Highlights the first rule in the list.

Create button: Creates a new rule. When you click the Create button, the New Rule Name field displays. Be sure to use a unique name.


Delete button: Deletes a selected rule. You must use the Select button to select the appropriate rule before you can delete it.
Options: All listed rules.
Default: Highlights the first rule in the list.

Forwarding Rule Parameters for forwarding rule field: Displays the current Forward Option, Encapsulation, Wait Packets, Refresh Timer, Idle Timer, and Hold Timer parameters for the specified forwarding rule.


Forward Option menu: Specifies how packets are forwarded for this rule. For the default rules, it is recommended that the default remain selected.

Switch: In addition to caching the result of the route lookup, the rule is also eligible to use the hardware accelerator to further speed up performance.

Forward: All packets are forwarded and not accelerated by caching or switching.

Cache: The first packet is processed by the IP switching equipment and a state is created in which the result of the route lookup and policy is cached in the IP Switch Processor after the packet is forwarded.
Options: switch, forward, cache.
Default: switch for the switch default rule, forward for the forward default rule, and cache for the cache default rule.


Encapsulation menu: Displays the encapsulation method, standard or extended, used to allow per-application Quality of Service.

Standard encapsulation uses the IP source, destination, and TTL parameters to classify packets.

Extended encapsulation uses the IP source, destination, TTL, ToS, IPproto, TCP/UDP source port, and TCP/UDP destination port parameters to classify packets.
Note: Use extended encapsulation only when it is necessary to apply QoS or packet filters to an individual application that uses a specified TCP/UDP port pair.
Options: standard (Type-2 rules), extended (Type-1 rules).
Default: standard

Wait Packets field: If a rule is eligible to use the hardware accelerator, this field further defines when the hardware accelerator should be used. The Wait Packets field is not used in the forward and cache default rules.
Example: If the wait packet is 10, the IP Switch Processor does not attempt to use the hardware accelerator unless at least 10 packets have been forwarded for the flow.
Range: Positive integer.
Default: 10 for gateway, 100 for controller.


Refresh Timer (+20sec) field: Specifies how often the wait packet condition is rechecked for eligibility to use the hardware accelerator.

Note: To reduce refresh messages, as well as maintain synchronized flow states across the network, it is recommended that you configure controllers with shorter refresh timer values than gateways. In addition, the controller refresh timer should be set to one-third of the average flow life. The Refresh Timer field is not used in the forward and cache default rules.
Example: If the Refresh Timer value is 20 seconds and the Wait Packets value is 10, the flow must transmit more than 10 packets in at least 20 seconds.
Range: 20-second intervals to a maximun of 2000.
Default: 20

Idle Timer (+10sec) field: Specifies the time interval between the current time and the last time a packet was forwarded. Once a flow exists longer than the Hold Timer value, the flow is not deleted until the Idle Timer value is satisfied. The idle timer should be set to the same value in both the controller and gateway. The Idle Timer field is not used in the forward default rule.
Range: 10-second intervals to a maximun of 2000.
Default: 90 for the switch default rule, 10 for the cache default rule.

Hold Timer (+10sec) field: Specifies the time interval between the arrival of a flow's first packet and the current time.

Note: Once a flow is cached, its state is not deleted until the Hold Timer value is satisfied. The Hold Timer field is not used in the forward default rule.
Range: 10-second intervals to a maximun of 2000.
Default: 10

Apply button: Applies the parameters on the current page to the running system.