ASA Cluster On Nexus v1.6.2

Quick Start Guide
ASA Cluster on Nexus

Architecture & Solutions Group
US Public Sector Advanced Services
Mark Stinnette, CCIE Data Center #39151
Date 28 August 2013
Version 1.6.2
2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
This Quick Start Guide (QSG) is a Cookbook style guide to Deploying Data Center
technologies with end-to-end configurations for several commonly deployed architectures.
This presentation will provide end-to-end configurations mapped directly to commonly

deployed data center architecture topologies. In this cookbook style; quick start guide;
configurations are broken down in an animated step by step process to a complete end-toend good clean configuration based on Cisco best practices and strong recommendations.
Each QSG will contain set the stage content, technology component definitions,
recommended best practices, and more importantly different scenario data center
topologies mapped directly to complete end-to-end configurations. This QSG is geared for
network engineers, network operators, and data center architects to allow them to quickly
and effectively deploy these technologies in their data center infrastructure based on
proven commonly deployed designs.
ASA Cluster Configuration

Commonly Deployed Firewall Designs :: Standalone with Failover
Cisco recommended
Commonly deployed & Typical firewall attachment model
ASA configured for port channels connected via vPC or vPC+
External and Internal traffic traverse same port channel to firewall
Insertion point at the Aggregation layer (Nexus 7000)
10GE interfaces
Altered ASA design topology

Physical interface isolation for external and internal traffic
External traffic traverse dedicated port channel to firewall
Internal traffic traverse dedicated port channel to firewall
10GE interfaces
Altered ASA design topology

ASA VDC (Virtual Device Context) sandwich
ASA physically inline
Physical interface isolation for external and internal traffic
External traffic traverse dedicated port channel to firewall
Internal traffic traverse dedicated port channel to firewall
External firewall port channel connected to Aggregation (VDC)
Internal firewall port channel connected to Sub-Aggregation (VDC)
Uses more 10GE interfaces; less effective firewall bandwidth usage

Commonly Deployed Firewall Designs :: Cluster Mode
Same
Same firewall
firewall
Illustrated
Illustrated
Cisco recommended :: ASA Cluster design

Scaling ASA appliances into one logical firewall within the DC architecture
Typical firewall cluster attachment model
External and Internal traffic traverse same cluster data port channel to firewall
10GE interfaces
Cluster two or more (up to 8) ASA firewalls
Greatly increase the throughput of traffic (up to 100Gbps)
True active-active model; in multi-context mode every member interface for all
contexts are capable of forwarding every traffic flow
Alternative View
Cluster up to 8 ASA firewalls

ASA 5580
ASA 5585-X

Firewall Logical Deployment Modes

Firewall Routing Considerations
Static Routing
Dynamic Routing
No dynamic routing
supported over vPC or vPC+

Firewall Logical Security Models :: Multi-Tenancy Infrastructure
Simple Tenant Container
Single Tier model
FW Context VRF VLAN mapping
High Security Use Cases

N-Tier Application Segmentation
Single FW Context instance
Multiple VRFs to VLAN mappings
Enterprise-Class Data Center

Service Provider / Cloud
Zone Based
Shared Multi-Tenant Context
Single FW Context and VRF instance
Multiple VLANs per Zone

Firewall Logical Security Models :: Multi-Tenancy Infrastructure
Tenant Containers
Private
Public
Shared Services DMZ
N-Tier Application Segmentation
Rigorous Separation
High Security Use Cases
DoD / Federal Government
Dedicated VRF per Tier
Tenants mapped to unique firewall context
Unique Tenant Based Containers

Zone Based Containers
Service Provider / Cloud
Enterprise-Class Data Center
Zone Containers
Organization
Departments
Prod, Stage, Dev, Test
Classification Types
Application Type (Ent Apps, DB, BigData, VDI)
Zones mapped to firewall context
Share the same Security Zone Container
Optionally, virtual firewalls can be applied if
additional zoning is required within the
containers (ie. VSG & ASA 1000v)

Benefits Overview
The adaptation of an enterprise-wide security framework is a crucial part of the overall enterprise network architecture.
Within the data center new application rollouts, virtualization, the adaptation of various cloud services and an increasingly
transparent perimeter are creating radical shifts in the data center security requirements. The need for stackable scalable
high capacity firewalls at the data center perimeter is becoming essential. Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) clustering
feature on the ASA family of firewalls satisfies such a requirement. The clustering feature allows for an efficient way to scale
up the throughput of a group of ASAs, by having them all work in concert to pass connections as one logical ASA device.
Using up to 8 ASA appliances, the clustering feature allows the scaling of up to 100Gbps of aggregate throughput within the
data center perimeter.
ASA Clustering provides the following benefits:

The ability to aggregate traffic to achieve higher throughput
Scaling the number of ASA appliances into one logical firewall within the Data Center architecture
True Active / Active model; when in multi-context mode every member for all contexts of the cluster are capable of
forwarding every traffic flow
Can force state-full flows to take more symmetrical path which improves predictability and session consistency
Can operate in either Layer 2 and Layer 3 modes
Supports single and multiple contexts (firewall virtualization)
(In Theory) Clustering can be implemented across different data centers over dark fibre as the means of
transport. This use case should be validated and supported in future releases
Cluster-wide statistics are provided to track resource usage
A single configuration is maintained across all units in the cluster using automatic configuration sync

Terminology & Components
CL Master
CL Slave
CL Slave
CL Slave
Po100
Po100
Po100
Po100
Po100
Po100
Po100
Po100
ASA Cluster
(n-node)
cLACP Spanned Port Channel

Nexus vPC
Same single vPC ID for all ASA

units in the Cluster
vPC
vPC 100
100
vPC Domain
(vPC or vPC+ supported)
Cluster Data Plane

Cluster Control Plane
Peer-Link
Unique vPC IDs used on the Nexus

Aggregation layer towards each
ASA unit for the CCL
Same Port Channel ID used across all

ASA units in the Cluster for the Data
Links towards the Nexus Aggregation
vPC
vPC 10
10
vPC
vPC 20
20
vPC
vPC 30
30
vPC
vPC 40
40
Po50
Po50
Po50
Po50
Po50
Po50
Po50
Po50
CL Master
CL Slave
CL Slave
CL Slave
Same Port Channel ID used across all

ASA units in the Cluster for CCL
towards the Nexus Aggregation layer
10

Additional Features, Terminology, & Components
Feature
Overview
Cluster Control Link (CCL)
The CCL provides control plane information between the different cluster members. Also the flows are
redirected within the CCL. To configure the CCL, one configures local port channels with the same
channel identifier on each firewall and connect them to separate vPCs on the corresponding
Nexus7000s. All CCL links are part of same access VLAN.
Cluster Data Link
The most important difference in implementing the cluster data plane is the configuration of a
"spanned port channel (cLACP)" on the firewall. This is necessary because only one PortChannel/vPC pair is used in the data plane. To provide channel consistency and seamless operation
between both sides, it is necessary to configure a logical port-channel construct across all the
members of the ASA cluster members. Data Link is a trunk port for all the inside and outside VLANs.
Spanned port channel

(cLACP)
ASA uses a logical link aggregation construct called the Cluster Link Aggregation Control Protocol
(cLACP). It is designed to extend standard LACP to multiple devices so that it can support spancluster. EtherChannels need to be span across the cluster. cLACP allows link aggregation between
one switch, or pair of switches, to multiple (more than two) ASAs in a cluster.
Local port channel

(LACP)
Each ASA uses only two interfaces in a local port channel; meaning its not spanned or shared across
the cluster. The local port-channel (vPC on the Nexus side) gives us local redundancy should we lose
a single cluster control link.
LACP
LACP (Link Aggregation Control Protocol) :: This is the protocol that the ASA runs to negotiate the
ether channel to the adjacent switch. For clustering, the ASAs all share one instance of LACP, such
that the adjacent switch considers the cluster of ASAs as one logical device.
Master
The ASA Cluster elects a master unit that designates which unit responds to the cluster management
address and which unit is used for configuration replication. All configuration is performed on the
master unit. Hard set the master via the priority command.
Slave
All other members in the cluster are slave units. Hard set the slaves accordingly via the priority
command.
11

Feature
Overview
Owner Role
Data path Packet Flow Through the Cluster

The unit that initially receives the connection. The owner maintains the TCP state and processes packets. A
connection has only one owner.
The first ASA to receive traffic for a connection is designated as the owner
Director Role

The unit that handles owner lookup requests from forwarders and also maintains the connection state to
serve as a backup if the owner fails. When the owner receives a new connection, it chooses a director
based on a hash of the source/destination IP address and TCP ports, and sends a message to the director
to register the new connection. If packets arrive at any unit other than the owner, the unit queries the
director about which unit is the owner so it can forward the packets. A connection has only one director.
Forwarder Role

A unit that forwards packets to the owner. If a forwarder receives a packet for a connection it does not own,
it queries the director for the owner, and then establishes a flow to the owner for any other packets it
receives for this connection. The director can also be a forwarder. Note that if a forwarder receives the
SYN-ACK packet, it can derive the owner directly from a SYN cookie in the packet, so it does not need to
query the director (if you disable TCP sequence randomization, the SYN cookie is not used; a query to the
director is required). For short-lived flows such as DNS and ICMP, instead of querying, the forwarder
immediately sends the packet to the director, which then sends them to the owner. A connection can have
multiple forwarders; the most efficient throughput is achieved by a good load-balancing method where there
are no forwarders and all packets of a connection are received by the owner.
12

Feature
Overview
Cluster Connection
(Owner Flow)
The actual connection flow that is passing the traffic. We can't know for sure which unit in the cluster
will "own" the flow since whichever ASA receives the first packet in the flow will become the owner.
Only TCP and UDP flows send logical flow updates to the stub flow (and possibly the director stub
flow).
Cluster Connection
(Forwarding Stub Flow)
If a unit receives a packet for a flow that it does not own, it will contact the director of that flow to learn
which unit owns the flow. Once it knows this, it will create and maintain a forwarder flow, which it will
then be used to forward any packets it receives on that connection directly to the owner, bypassing the
director. Forwarder flows do not receive Link Updates (LUs) (since they're just forwarding the packets
and don't care about state). Short lived flows such as DNS and ICMP will not have forwarder flows; the
unit receiving the packets for those conns will simply forward them to the director, which will forward
them to the owner, and the director will not reply back to the forwarder unit asking it to create a
forwarder flow.
Cluster Connection
(Backup Stub Flow)
Based on the flow's characteristics, all units can derive the Director unit for the flow. The director unit
typically maintains the stub (or backup) flow, which can become the full flow in the case the flow's
owner unit fails, and also be used to redirect units towards the flow's owner unit if they receive packets
for the flow. Backup flows receive conn updates to keep them up-to-date in case the owner fails and
the stub flow needs to become the full flow.
Cluster Connection
(Stub or Backup Director
Flow)
If the director chosen for the flow is also the owner (meaning the director received the first packet in
the flow) then it can't be its own backup. Therefore a 'director backup' flow will be created, and a
second hash table will be used to track this. Obviously this director backup flow will receive LUs, since
it needs to be ready to take over if the director/owner fails.
13

Feature
Overview
Cluster Group
Names the cluster and enters cluster configuration mode. The name must be an ASCII string from 1 to 38
characters. You can only configure one cluster group per unit. All members of the cluster must use the
same name.
Local Unit
Names this member of the cluster with a unique ASCII string from 1 to 38 characters. Each unit must have
a unique name. A unit with a duplicated name will be not be allowed in the cluster.
Cluster Interface
Specifies the cluster control link interface, preferably an Ether Channel. Specify an IP address; This
interface cannot have a nameif configured. For each unit, specify a different IP address on the same
network.
Console Replicate
Enables console replication from slave units to the master unit. This feature is disabled by default. The ASA
prints out some messages directly to the console for certain critical events. If you enable console
replication, slave units send the console messages to the master unit so you only need to monitor one
console port for the cluster.
Health Check
ASA unit health monitoring and interface health monitoring. When you are adding new units to the cluster,
and making topology changes on the ASA or the switch, you should disable this feature temporarily until the
cluster is complete. You can re-enable this feature after cluster and topology changes are complete.
cLACP System Mac
When using spanned Ether Channels, the ASA uses cLACP to negotiate the Ether Channel with the
neighbor switch. ASAs in a cluster collaborate in cLACP negotiation so that they appear as a single (virtual)
device to the switch. By default, the ASA uses priority 1, which is the highest priority.
Authentication Key
Sets an authentication key for control traffic on the cluster control link. The shared secret is an ASCII string
from 1 to 63 characters. The shared secret is used to generate the key. This command does not affect
datapath traffic, including connection state update and forwarded packets, which are always sent in the
clear.
Cluster Priority
Sets the priority of this unit for master unit elections, between 1 and 100, where 1 is the highest priority.
14

Quick Start Guide Assumptions
Physical View Connectivity Map
ASA Characteristics
2-wide ASA cluster
routed mode w/ static routing
multi-context
cluster spanned etherchannel mode
Nexus Characteristics
2-wide 7k Aggregation
FabricPath vPC+
Static Routing & VRFs
Each ASA has two 10GE interfaces connected to each respective Nexus 7K representing the data plane for the
cluster. This is a spanned port-channel (recommended) across the ASA cluster in a single vPC. This is called the
Cluster Data Link.
Each ASA has two 10GE interfaces in a local port channel (not spanned or shared across the cluster) called the Cluster
Control Link (CCL). The CCL is the same on each ASA and will connect to the Nexus 7k via a unique vPC; since these
are individual port channels and specific to each ASA.
15
ASA Characteristics
2-wide ASA cluster
multi-context

Prep for ASA Attachment :: vPC (Option)
feature
feature
feature
feature
lacp
lacp
vpc
vpc
feature
feature
feature
feature
lacp
lacp
vpc
vpc
vlan
vlan 10-20,
10-20, 2000
2000 2999
2999
vlan
vlan 10-20,
10-20, 2000
2000 2999
2999
spanning-tree
spanning-tree pathcost
pathcost method
method long
long
spanning-tree
port
type
spanning-tree port type edge
edge bpduguard
bpduguard
default
default
spanning-tree
spanning-tree port
port type
type edge
edge bpdufilter
bpdufilter
default
default
no
no spanning-tree
spanning-tree loopguard
loopguard default
default
spanning-tree
spanning-tree pathcost
pathcost method
method long
long
spanning-tree
port
type
edge bpduguard
bpduguard
default
default
spanning-tree
spanning-tree port
port type
type edge
edge bpdufilter
bpdufilter
default
default
no
no spanning-tree
spanning-tree loopguard
loopguard default
default
spanning-tree
spanning-tree vlan
vlan 10-20,2000-2999
10-20,2000-2999
priority
0
priority 0
spanning-tree
spanning-tree pseudo-information
pseudo-information
vlan
vlan 10-20,2000-2999
10-20,2000-2999 root
root priority
priority 4096
4096
vlan
10-15,2000-2499
designated
vlan 10-15,2000-2499 designated priority
priority
8192
8192
vlan
vlan 16-20,2500-2999
16-20,2500-2999 designated
designated priority
priority
16384
16384
spanning-tree
spanning-tree vlan
vlan 10-20,
10-20, 2000-2999
2000-2999
priority
0
priority 0
spanning-tree
pseudo-information
vlan
vlan 10-20,2000-2999
10-20,2000-2999 root
root priority
priority 4096
4096
vlan
10-15,2000-2499
designated
vlan 10-15,2000-2499 designated priority
priority
16384
16384
vlan
vlan 16-20,2500-2999
16-20,2500-2999 designated
designated priority
priority
8192
8192
vpc
vpc domain
domain 1
1
role
role priority
priority 1
1
system-priority
system-priority 4096
4096
peer-keepalive
peer-keepalive destination
destination [.]
[.] source
source [.]
[.]
vrf
vrf
management
management
peer-switch
peer-switch
peer-gateway
peer-gateway
auto-recovery
auto-recovery
auto-recovery
auto-recovery reload-delay
reload-delay
delay
delay restore
restore 30
30
ip
ip arp
arp synchronize
synchronize
vpc
vpc domain
domain 1
1
role
role priority
priority 2
2
system-priority
4096
peer-keepalive
destination [.]
[.] source
source [.]
[.]
vrf
vrf
management
management
peer-switch
peer-switch
peer-gateway
peer-gateway
auto-recovery
auto-recovery
auto-recovery
reload-delay
delay
delay restore
restore 30
30
ip
ip arp
arp synchronize
synchronize
interface
interface port-channel
port-channel 2
2
switchport
switchport
switchport
switchport mode
mode trunk
trunk
switchport
switchport trunk
trunk allowed
allowed vlan
vlan 10-20,200010-20,20002999
2999
spanning-tree
port type
network
spanning-tree
type
network
2013 Cisco and/or itsport
affiliates.
All rights
reserved.
vpc
peer-link
vpc peer-link
interface
port-channel 2
2
switchport
switchport
switchport
switchport mode
mode trunk
trunk
switchport
switchport trunk
trunk allowed
allowed vlan
vlan 10-20,200010-20,20002999
2999
spanning-tree
spanning-tree port
port type
type network
network
vpc
peer-link
vpc peer-link
See QSG :: vPC for more details
16
ASA Characteristics
2-wide ASA cluster
multi-context
Prep for ASA Attachment :: FabricPath vPC+ (Option)

feature
feature lacp
lacp
feature
feature vpc
vpc
install
install feature-set
feature-set fabricpath
fabricpath
feature-set
fabricpath
feature
feature lacp
lacp
feature
feature vpc
vpc
install
install feature-set
fabricpath
feature-set
fabricpath
vlan
vlan 10-20,
10-20, 2000
2000 2999
2999
mode
fabricpath
mode fabricpath
vlan
vlan 10-20,
10-20, 2000
2000 2999
2999
mode
fabricpath
mode fabricpath
fabricpath
fabricpath switch-id
switch-id 10
10
fabricpath
switch-id 11
11
fabricpath
fabricpath domain
domain default
default
root-priority
root-priority 255
255
fabricpath
fabricpath domain
domain default
default
root-priority
root-priority 254
254
spanning-tree
pseudo-information
vlan
vlan 10-20,2000-2999
10-20,2000-2999 root
root priority
priority 0
0
spanning-tree
pseudo-information
vlan
vlan 10-20,2000-2999
10-20,2000-2999 root
root priority
priority 0
0
vpc
vpc domain
domain 1
1
role
role priority
priority 1
1
system-priority
4096
peer-keepalive
destination [.]
[.] source
source [.]
[.]
vrf
vrf
management
management
peer-gateway
peer-gateway
auto-recovery
auto-recovery
auto-recovery
reload-delay
delay
delay restore
restore 30
30
ip
ip arp
arp synchronize
synchronize
fabricpath
switch-id 1000
1000
vpc
vpc domain
domain 1
1
role
role priority
priority 2
2
system-priority
4096
peer-keepalive
destination [.]
[.] source
source [.]
[.]
vrf
vrf
management
management
peer-gateway
peer-gateway
auto-recovery
auto-recovery
auto-recovery
reload-delay
delay
delay restore
restore 30
30
ip
ip arp
arp synchronize
synchronize
fabricpath
switch-id 1000
1000
interface
port-channel 2
2
switchport
switchport mode
mode fabricpath
fabricpath
vpc
vpc peer-link
peer-link
interface
port-channel 2
2
switchport
switchport mode
mode fabricpath
fabricpath
vpc
vpc peer-link
peer-link
interface
interface e3/1
e3/1 ,, e4/1
e4/1
channel-group
channel-group 2
2 force
force mode
mode active
active
See QSG :: FabricPath for more details
interface
interface e3/1
e3/1 ,, e4/1
e4/1
channel-group
channel-group 2
2 force
force mode
mode active
active
17
ASA Characteristics
2-wide ASA cluster
multi-context

Initial Firewall Configuration & Verification Checks
mode
mode multiple
multiple
mode
mode multiple
multiple
no
no firewall
firewall transparent
transparent
no
no firewall
firewall transparent
transparent
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
show
show activation-key
activation-key
show
show activation-key
activation-key
Serial
Serial Number:
Number: JMX1232L11M
JMX1232L11M
...
...
Security
Security Contexts
Contexts :: 10
10 perpetual
perpetual
Cluster
:
Disabled
perpetual
Cluster : Disabled perpetual
Serial
Serial Number:
Number: JMX1232L11M
JMX1232L11M
...
...
Security
Security Contexts
Contexts :: 10
10 perpetual
perpetual
Cluster
:
Disabled
perpetual
Cluster : Disabled perpetual
activation-key
activation-key ab42d738
ab42d738 a03b23fc
a03b23fc
1bd3c87e
1bd3c87e d4d4c6d4
d4d4c6d4 4e99ecbb
4e99ecbb
activation-key
activation-key ab42d738
ab42d738 a03b23fc
a03b23fc
1bd3c87e
1bd3c87e d4d4c6d4
d4d4c6d4 4e99ecbb
4e99ecbb
show
show activation-key
activation-key
show
show activation-key
activation-key
Serial
Serial Number:
Number: JMX1232L11M
JMX1232L11M
...
...
Security
Security Contexts
Contexts :: 10
10 perpetual
perpetual
Cluster
Cluster :: Enabled
Enabled perpetual
perpetual
Serial
Serial Number:
Number: JMX1232L11M
JMX1232L11M
...
...
Security
Security Contexts
Contexts :: 10
10 perpetual
perpetual
Cluster
Cluster :: Enabled
Enabled perpetual
perpetual
port-channel
port-channel load-balance
load-balance src-dst
src-dst ipipl4port
l4port
Verify the firewall status as routed. If not routed,
execute the no firewall transparent command.
ciscoasa (config)# show firewall
Firewall mode: Router
Enabling multi-context mode will force a reload;
perform this on all the ASAs.
Step 1 :: enable multi-context mode

Step 2 :: validate firewall status is routed
Step 3 :: install | validate Cluster license
Step 4 :: configure ECLB
Perform the configuration steps on
the console port of each ASA.
Traffic being load-balanced through ECLB :: it is important

to choose a hash algorithm that is "symmetric," meaning
that packets from both directions will have the same hash,
and will be sent to the same ASA in the spanned Ether
Channel. The hashing value selected should match
between the aggregation switches and ASA, if possible.
port-channel
src-dst ipipl4port
l4port
The clustering feature requires a specific license
and code version 9.0.1 or greater. If you dont have
the proper license installed, refer to the Managing
Feature Licenses for Cisco ASA version 9.0 guide.
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/asa/asa9
0/license/license_management/license.html
18
ASA Characteristics
2-wide ASA cluster
multi-context

Cluster Control Link
[system
[system context]
context]
cluster
cluster interface-mode
interface-mode spanned
spanned

master
master
[system
[system context]
context]
cluster
spanned
interface
interface Port-channel
Port-channel 40
40
description
description Clustering
Clustering Interface
Interface
port-channel
src-dst ip-l4port
ip-l4port
interface
Port-channel 40
40
description
Interface
port-channel
src-dst ip-l4port
ip-l4port
interface
interface TenGigabitEthernet
TenGigabitEthernet 0/8,
0/8, 0/9
0/9
channel-group
40
mode
active
channel-group 40 mode active
no
no nameif
nameif
no
no security-level
security-level
interface
TenGigabitEthernet 0/8,
0/8, 0/9
0/9
channel-group
40
mode
active
channel-group 40 mode active
no
no nameif
nameif
no
no security-level
security-level
vPC
vPC 41
41
vPC
vPC 42
42
cluster
cluster group
group ASA-CLUSTER
ASA-CLUSTER
key
Cisc0!
key Cisc0!
local-unit
local-unit ASA-1
ASA-1
cluster-interface
cluster-interface Port-channel40
Port-channel40 ip
ip
192.168.1.1
192.168.1.1
255.255.255.0
255.255.255.0
priority
priority 1
1
console-replicate
console-replicate
health-check
health-check holdtime
holdtime 3
3
clacp
clacp system-mac
system-mac auto
auto system-priority
system-priority
Step 1 :: configure cluster interface type
1
1
Step 2 :: configure CCL local port channels
enable
interface
enable port-channel
interface
port-channel 41
41
Step 3 :: enable clustering
switchport
switchport
switchport
switchport access
access vlan
vlan 10
10
spanning-tree
port
spanning-tree port type
type edge
edge
no
interface
interface
no lacp
lacp graceful-convergence
graceful-convergence
interface e1/1
e1/1
interface e1/1
e1/1
vpc
channel-group
41
force
mode
channel-group
vpc 41
41
channel-group 41 force mode
channel-group 41
41 force
force
active
active
active
active
interface
port-channel
42
interface port-channel 42
switchport
interface
interface
switchport
interface e1/2
e1/2
interface e1/2
e1/2
switchport
channel-group
42
force
mode
channel-group
switchport access
access vlan
vlan 10
10
channel-group
42
force
mode
channel-group 42
42 force
force
spanning-tree
port
type
edge
active
active
active
active
no
no lacp
vpc
vlan
vlan
vpc 42
42
vlan 10
10
vlan 10
10
mode
fabricpath
mode
mode fabricpath
mode fabricpath
fabricpath
name
name
name CLUSTER-CLL
CLUSTER-CLL
name CLUSTER-CLL
CLUSTER-CLL
cluster
cluster group
group ASA-CLUSTER
ASA-CLUSTER
key
Cisc0!
key Cisc0!
local-unit
local-unit ASA-2
ASA-2
cluster-interface
Port-channel40 ip
ip
192.168.1.2
192.168.1.2
255.255.255.0
255.255.255.0
priority
priority 2
2
enable
enable
interface
port-channel 41
41
switchport
switchport
switchport
switchport access
access vlan
vlan 10
10
spanning-tree
port
type edge
edge
no
no lacp
vpc
mode
vpc 41
41
mode
mode
mode
interface
port-channel 42
42
switchport
switchport
switchport
switchport access
access vlan
vlan 10
10
spanning-tree
spanning-tree port
port type
type edge
edge
no
no lacp
vpc
vpc 42
42
19
NOTES
Cluster Control Link

[system
[system context]
context]
cluster
spanned
interface
Port-channel 40
40
description
Interface
port-channel
src-dst ip-l4port
ip-l4port
interface
interface TE
TE 0/8,
0/8, 0/9
0/9
channel-group
channel-group 40
40 mode
mode active
active
no
nameif
no nameif
no
no security-level
security-level
Recommend you use a Ten Gigabit Ethernet interface for the cluster control link.
The recommended method is to use a spanned Ether Channel. When configured, if it detects any
incompatibilities, it will clear them from the configuration and force a reload. This needs to be executed on each
unit.
Each ASA communicates with each other across this common Vlan to form the cluster, update state information
and pass data (when necessary).
The port channel configurations for 41, 42 on aggregation switch N7k-1 map to port-channel 40 on each ASA. The
aggregation switch N7k-2 is configured the same with the only difference is that it physically connects to a
different port (0/8) on each ASA. It is recommended to configure spanning-tree port type edge for the portchannels.
cluster
cluster group
group ASA-CLUSTER
ASA-CLUSTER
key
Cisc0!
key Cisc0!
local-unit
Port channel 40 is configured on each ASA and maps to 41, 42 on each N7k. The CCL interface configuration is
local-unit ASA-1
ASA-1
cluster-interface
not replicated from the master unit to slave units; however, you must use the same configuration on each unit.
Port-channel40 ip
ip
192.168.1.1
Ports te0/8 and te0/9 will be used for the CCL port-channel on each unit.
192.168.1.1
255.255.255.0
255.255.255.0
priority
The ASA is actively negotiating LACP on the channel. This is another best practice; make sure all interfaces
priority 1
1
console-replicate
participating in channeling are actively using LACP. Also note there is no nameif or security-level configuration on
console-replicate
health-check
holdtime
3
the physical interfaces or the logical interface since this is being used for clustering control plane only.
health-check holdtime 3
clacp
clacp system-mac
system-mac auto
auto system-priority
system-priority
1
All members of the cluster must share the same cluster group name and key if configured. The local-unit name,
1
enable
cluster-interface IP address and priority value needs to be unique for each unit in the cluster. The cluster master
interface
port-channel
41
enable port-channel 41
interface
unit is determined by the priority setting, between 1 and 100, where 1 is the highest priority.
switchport
switchport
switchport
access
vlan
10
Console-replicate is an optional command that allows slave units to replicate console messages
switchport access vlan 10
Enable command at the end of cluster configuration will start the cluster mode.
spanning-tree
to the master. Since we spend most of our time on the master for configuration and
spanning-tree port
port type
type edge
edge
no
interface
troubleshooting purposes.
no lacp
interface e1/1
e1/1
vpc
channel-group
vpc 41
41
channel-group 41
41 force
force mode
mode
active
active
interface
port-channel 42
42
switchport
interface
Step 1 :: configure cluster interface type
switchport
interface e1/2
e1/2
switchport
access
vlan
10
channel-group
switchport access vlan 10
channel-group 42
42 force
force mode
mode
Step 2 :: configure CCL local port channels
spanning-tree
active
spanning-tree port
port type
type edge
edge
active
Step 3 :: enable clustering
no
no lacp
vpc
vlan
vpc 42
42
vlan 10
10
mode
mode fabricpath
fabricpath
name
name CLUSTER-CLL
CLUSTER-CLL
20
ASA Characteristics
2-wide ASA cluster
multi-context

Cluster Control Link & MTU
[system
[system context]
context]

[system
[system context]
context]
mtu
mtu cluster
cluster 9216
9216
mtu
mtu cluster
cluster 9216
9216
jumbo-frame
jumbo-frame reservation
reservation
jumbo-frame
jumbo-frame reservation
reservation
vlan
vlan 10
10
mode
mode fabricpath
fabricpath
name
name CLUSTER-CLL
CLUSTER-CLL
vlan
vlan 10
10
mode
mode fabricpath
fabricpath
name
name CLUSTER-CLL
CLUSTER-CLL
interface
port-channel 41
41
switchport
switchport
switchport
switchport access
access vlan
vlan 10
10
spanning-tree
port
type edge
edge
mtu
mtu 9216
9216
no
no lacp
vpc
vpc 41
41
interface
port-channel 41
41
switchport
switchport
switchport
switchport access
access vlan
vlan 10
10
spanning-tree
port
type edge
edge
mtu
mtu 9216
9216
no
no lacp
vpc
vpc 41
41
interface
port-channel 42
42
switchport
switchport
switchport
switchport access
access vlan
vlan 10
10
spanning-tree
spanning-tree port
port type
type edge
edge
mtu
mtu 9216
9216
no
no lacp
vpc
vpc 42
42
interface
port-channel 42
42
switchport
switchport
switchport
switchport access
access vlan
vlan 10
10
spanning-tree
spanning-tree port
port type
type edge
edge
mtu
mtu 9216
9216
no
no lacp
vpc
vpc 42
42
interface
interface e1/1
e1/1
channel-group
channel-group 41
41 force
force mode
mode active
active
mtu
9216
mtu 9216
interface
interface e1/2
e1/2
channel-group
channel-group 42
42 force
force mode
mode active
active
mtu
9216
mtu 9216
Step 1 :: enable mtu cluster [system context]

Step 2 :: enable jumbo frame reservation [system context]
Step 2 :: enable jumbo frame on the Nexus aggregation
It is recommended to enable jumbo frame reservation and mtu cluster
at least to1600 for the use with the cluster control link. When a packet
is forwarded over cluster control link an additional trailer will be added,
which could cause fragmentation. Set this to 9216 to match the
system jumbo frame size configured on the N7k. Configure this on the
master system context, save the config and then reboot the cluster.
A reboot is required to enable jumbo frames on the ASA.
interface
interface e1/1
e1/1
channel-group
channel-group 41
41 force
force mode
mode active
active
mtu
9216
mtu 9216
interface
interface e1/2
e1/2
channel-group
channel-group 42
42 force
force mode
mode active
active
mtu
9216
mtu 9216
21
ASA Characteristics
2-wide ASA cluster
multi-context

Cluster Control Link & Management Access
[system
[system context]
context]
interface
interface Management0/0
Management0/0
master
master

admin-context
admin-context admin
admin
context
context admin
admin
allocate-interface
allocate-interface Management0/0
Management0/0
config-url
config-url disk0:/admin.cfg
disk0:/admin.cfg
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[admin
[admin context]
context]
ip
ip local
local pool
pool mgmt
mgmt 10.0.0.201-10.0.0.207
10.0.0.201-10.0.0.207 mask
mask
255.255.255.0
255.255.255.0
interface
interface Management0/0
Management0/0
management-only
management-only
nameif
nameif mgmt
mgmt
security-level
security-level 100
100
ip
ip address
address 10.0.0.200
10.0.0.200 255.255.255.0
255.255.255.0 clusterclusterpool
mgmt
pool mgmt
route
route mgmt
mgmt 0.0.0.0
0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0
0.0.0.0 10.0.0.1
10.0.0.1 1
1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 1 :: allocate management interface [system context]

Step 2 :: configure cluster management [admin context]
Step 3 :: configure cluster host name prompt (optional) [system context]
[system
[system context]
context]
prompt
prompt hostname
hostname context
context cluster-unit
cluster-unit
In the system context allocate the management interface(0/0) to the admin context.
The management interface is configured with a primary IP address, along with a pool of addresses.
Display the pool IP addresses :: show ip local pool mgmt
The primary management IP address always belongs to the current master unit, while the pool addresses
are used to connect to each unit individually. Each unit, including the master gets a pool address assigned.
You can connect to the master through either address, but if a failover should occur, the primary address
will move to the new master. In the admin context configure the management IP addresses.
22
ASA Characteristics
2-wide ASA cluster
multi-context

Cluster Data Link
[system
[system context]
context]
interface
interface Port-channel26
Port-channel26
description
description Data
Data Spanned
Spanned Port-channel
Port-channel
port-channel
load-balance
port-channel load-balance src-dst
src-dst ipipl4port
l4port
port-channel
port-channel span-cluster
span-cluster vss-loadvss-loadbalance
balance
interface
TenGigabitEthernet 0/6
0/6
description
description Data
Data Link
Link to
to N7k-2
N7k-2
channel-group
channel-group 26
26 mode
mode active
active vss-id
vss-id 1
1
master
master
The N7k aggregation pair data port-channel is

configured as a single vPC for all ASA units in the
cluster. The vPC is configured as a trunk on the
N7ks and as sub-interfaces on the ASA units.
vPC
vPC 26
26
interface
0/7
description
description Data
Data Link
Link to
to N7k-1
N7k-1
channel-group
channel-group 26
26 mode
mode active
active vss-id
vss-id 2
2
The spanned data port-channel is configured in the

system context. These port channels are shared
across all ASA units and act as a single bundle. The
N7k aggregation switches see this as a single portchannel, each having 4 interfaces configured.
The vss-id x command is used to identify the
specific switch in the aggregation pair it connects to
The port-channel span-cluster vss-load-balance
enables spanning.
Together these commands form the spanned Ether
Channel. A spanned Ether Channel requires active
LACP negotiation to be configured.
feature
feature
feature
feature
lacp
lacp
vpc
vpc
interface
port-channel 26
26
switchport
switchport
switchport
switchport mode
mode trunk
trunk
switchport
switchport trunk
trunk allowed
allowed vlan
vlan 51,
51, 201120112012
2012
spanning-tree
spanning-tree port
port type
type edge
edge trunk
trunk
no
no lacp
vpc
vpc 26
26
interface
interface e1/4,
e1/4, e1/5
e1/5
lacp
rate
lacp rate fast
fast
channel-group
channel-group 26
26 force
force mode
mode active
active
feature
feature
feature
feature
It is recommended to configure the following for
the best link aggregation and convergence ::
lacp rate fast
no lacp graceful-convergence
spanning-tree port type edge trunk
Step 1 :: configure Nexus aggregation port channels

Step 2 :: configure spanned data port channel
lacp
lacp
vpc
vpc
interface
port-channel 26
26
switchport
switchport
switchport
switchport mode
mode trunk
trunk
switchport
switchport trunk
trunk allowed
allowed vlan
vlan 51,
51,
2012
2012
spanning-tree
spanning-tree port
port type
type edge
edge
no
no lacp
vpc
vpc 26
26
20112011trunk
trunk
interface
interface e1/4,
e1/4, e1/5
e1/5
lacp
rate
lacp rate fast
fast
channel-group
channel-group 26
26 force
force mode
mode active
active
23

Logical Firewall Security Model
Now we have the network infrastructure built; lets configure a simple but yet flexible tenant
container. Route summarization and static redistribution is used to advertise tenancy subnets
into the Core or WAN Edge layer using OSPF. This will allow flexibility when adding additional
server VLANs in any tenant without making any changes to static routes and routing at the
aggregation layer. Since gateways for all VLANs within the VRF are at the aggregation layer,
all interfaces are directly connected. No routing protocol is required to distribute routes
within a given VRF.
Security Container
ASA Context Characteristics
Single Tiered Private Zone
1 outside VLAN
1 inside VLAN
Nexus Characteristics
1 VRF [internal private zone]
3 VLANs
3 HSRP Groups
[Outside, Inside, Server]
24

master
master
Logical Firewall
Security Model
[system
[system context]
context]
[Tenant_Zone_1 context]
interface
interface Port-channel26
Port-channel26
description
description Data
Data Spanned
Spanned Port-channel
Port-channel
port-channel
load-balance
port-channel load-balance src-dst
src-dst ipipl4port
l4port
port-channel
port-channel span-cluster
span-cluster vss-loadvss-loadbalance
balance
Hostname Tenant_Zone_1
interface
0/6
channel-group
channel-group 26
26 mode
mode active
active vss-id
vss-id 1
1
interface
0/7
channel-group
channel-group 26
26 mode
mode active
active vss-id
vss-id 2
2
interface
interface Port-channel26.51
Port-channel26.51
vlan
vlan 51
51
interface
Port-channel26.2011
vlan
vlan 2011
2011
interface
Port-channel26.2012
vlan
vlan 2012
2012
context
context Tenant_Zone_1
Tenant_Zone_1
description
description Tenant
Tenant Zone
Zone 1
1 FW
FW Context
Context
allocate-interface
allocate-interface Port-channel26.51
Port-channel26.51
allocate-interface
Port-channel26.2011
allocate-interface
Port-channel26.2012
config-url
config-url disk0:/Tenant_Zone_1.cfg
disk0:/Tenant_Zone_1.cfg
Step 1 :: create sub-interfaces

Step 2 :: create virtual firewall context
Step 3 :: allocate sub-interfaces to context
Step 4 :: configure context interfaces
Step 5 :: configure context default route
Step 6 :: configure context static route(s) to servers vlans
The data port-channel is configured as sub-interfaces and allocated to
the proper Tenant Zone context as required.
The context has a default route to the outside interface (N7k
aggregation), while more specific routes are used to reach servers
through the inside interface; those routes use the HSRP address
as the gateway IP (N7k aggregation).
Followed by the security information which is configured for each
context (sub-set shown here).
Port-channel26.51 is used for inband management (in this example)
description Mgmt Vlan
management-only
nameif mgmt
security-level 0
ip address 200.1.51.2 255.255.255.0
description Tenant Zone 1 OUTSIDE Vlan
nameif outside
security-level 10
ip address 200.1.1.11 255.255.255.0
description Tenant Zone 1 INSIDE Vlan
nameif inside
security-level 100
ip address 200.1.2.11 255.255.255.0
route outside 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 200.1.1.253
1
route inside
200.1.3.0
255.255.255.0
access-list
inside-in
extended
permit ip any any
200.1.2.253
1
access-list
outside-in
extended permit ip any
any
access-group outside-in in interface outside
access-group inside-in in interface inside
25

Logical Firewall
Security Model
[N7k-1]
[N7k-1]
[N7k-2]
ip
ip route
route 200.1.3.0/24
200.1.3.0/24 200.1.1.11
200.1.1.11
ip route 200.1.3.0/24 200.1.1.11
interface
interface Vlan2011
Vlan2011
description
description Tenant
Tenant Zone
Zone 1
1 OUTSIDE
OUTSIDE Vlan
Vlan
mtu
9216
mtu 9216
no
no ip
ip redirects
redirects
ip
address
ip address 200.1.1.251/24
200.1.1.251/24
hsrp
hsrp 1
1
ip
ip 200.1.1.253
200.1.1.253
interface Vlan2011
description Tenant Zone 1 OUTSIDE Vlan
mtu 9216
no ip redirects
ip address 200.1.1.252/24
hsrp 1
ip 200.1.1.253
ip
ip 24
prefix-list static2ospfPfx seq 10 permit
ip prefix-list
prefix-list static2ospfPfx
static2ospfPfx seq
seq 10
10 permit
permit 200.0.0.0/10
200.0.0.0/10 le
le
24
200.0.0.0/10 le 24
route-map
route-map direct2ospf
direct2ospf permit
permit 10
10
match
ip
address
prefix-list
route-map direct2ospf permit 10
match ip address prefix-list static2ospfPfx
static2ospfPfx
match ip address prefix-list static2ospfPfx
router
router ospf
ospf 1
1
router-id
router ospf 1
router-id [x.x.x.x]
[x.x.x.x]
redistribute
static
route-map
direct2ospf
router-id [x.x.x.x]
redistribute static route-map direct2ospf
redistribute static route-map direct2ospf
Note, the outside SVIs belong to the default global

VRF. Nexus is already VRF aware and by default
everything belongs to the default VRF.
Route summarization is used to advertise tenancy
subnets into the Core / WAN Edge layer using
OSPF. This allows adding of server VLANs in any
tenancy without making any changes to static
routes and routing at the aggregation layer.
Step 1 :: create firewall outside vlan SVI & HSRP

Step 2 :: add static route for server vlan towards firewall context outside IP
Step 3 :: redistribute server vlan into OSPF
26

Logical Firewall
Security Model
The AGG pair uses a default route in the VRF to route through the ASA
cluster for outbound traffic.
The SVIs are configured to use HSRP. VLANs 2011 and 2012
represent the outside and inside interfaces of the ASA units for context
Tenant_Zone_1. VLAN 2013 is used as a server VLAN. The inside
VLANs are contained in a VRF to isolate the traffic and routing.
Step 1 :: create tenant zone VRF

Step 2 :: add default route to firewall context inside IP
Step 3 :: create firewall inside vlan SVI & HSRP
Step 4 :: create server vlan SVI & HSRP
[N7k-1]
[N7k-1]
[N7k-2]
vrf
vrf context
Tenant_Zone_1
ip
ip route
route 0.0.0.0/0
0.0.0.0/0 200.1.2.11
200.1.2.11
vrf context Tenant_Zone_1

ip route 0.0.0.0/0 200.1.2.11
interface
interface Vlan2012
Vlan2012
description
description Tenant
Tenant Zone
Zone 1
1 INSIDE
INSIDE Vlan
Vlan
mtu
mtu 9216
9216
vrf
vrf member
member Tenant_Zone_1
Tenant_Zone_1
no
ip
no ip redirects
redirects
ip
ip address
address 200.1.2.251/24
200.1.2.251/24
hsrp
hsrp 1
1
ip
ip 200.1.2.253
200.1.2.253
interface Vlan2012
description Tenant Zone 1 INSIDE
Vlan
mtu 9216
vrf member Tenant_Zone_1
no ip redirects
ip address 200.1.2.252/24
hsrp 1
ip 200.1.2.253
interface
interface Vlan2013
Vlan2013
description
description Tenant
Tenant Zone
Zone 1
1 SERVER
SERVER Vlan
Vlan
mtu
9216
mtu 9216
vrf
vrf member
member Tenant_Zone_1
Tenant_Zone_1
no
ip
no ip redirects
redirects
ip
ip address
address 200.1.3.251/24
200.1.3.251/24
hsrp
hsrp 1
1
ip
ip 200.1.3.253
200.1.3.253
interface Vlan2013
description Tenant Zone 1 SERVER
Vlan
mtu 9216
vrf member Tenant_Zone_1
no ip redirects
ip address 200.1.3.252/24
hsrp 1
ip 200.1.3.253
27

Logical Firewall
Security Model
[Tenant_Zone_1
[Tenant_Zone_1 context]
context]
route
route outside
outside 0.0.0.0
0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0
0.0.0.0 200.1.1.253
200.1.1.253 1
1
route
route inside
inside 200.1.3.0
200.1.3.0 255.255.0.0
255.255.0.0
200.1.2.253
200.1.2.253 1
1
route
route inside
inside 200.1.111.0
200.1.111.0
255.255.255.0
255.255.255.0 200.1.2.253
200.1.2.253 1
1
[Load
[Load Balancer
Balancer virtual
virtual
context]
context]
interface
interface [floating]
[floating]
ip
ip address
address 200.1.2.50
200.1.2.50 /24
/24
ip
ip route
route 0.0.0.0/0
0.0.0.0/0
200.1.2.11
200.1.2.11
Ip
Ip route
route 200.1.3.0/24
200.1.3.0/24
200.1.2.253
200.1.2.253
[N7k-1]
[N7k-1]
[N7k-2]
vrf context Tenant_Zone_1

vrf
vrf context
Tenant_Zone_1
ip route 0.0.0.0/0 200.1.2.11
ip
route
0.0.0.0/0
200.1.2.11
ip route 0.0.0.0/0 200.1.2.11
ip route 200.1.112.0/24
ip
route
200.1.112.0/24
200.1.2.50
ip route 200.1.112.0/24 200.1.2.50
200.1.2.50
Step 1 :: add firewall route to load balancer VIP [firewall context]

Step 2 :: add route to load balancer SNAT address pool [Nexus aggregation]
Step 3 :: add routes on load balancer
On the firewall context, add a specific route to reach the load-balancer

through the inside interface; towards Nexus aggregation HSRP
address. The route will use the alias IP address or floating IP address
(similar to HSRP) on the load balancer.
On the Nexus aggregation, add a specific route to reach the loadbalancer SNAT pool in the one-arm configuration; LB is the next hop.
Load Balancer vendor selection or configuration is outside scope of this

document
On the load balancer add the default route towards the firewalls inside
interface and add a more specific route to the servers, towards the
Nexus aggregation HSRP address.
28

Show Commands
Here are some helpful commands executed in the system context on the master unit:
Shows the cluster status :: show cluster info
Shows cluster wide connection distribution :: show cluster info conn-distribution
Shows cluster wide packet distribution :: show cluster info packet-distribution
Clear asp counters :: cluster exec clear asp drop

Show asp counters. Helpful to isolate drops :: cluster exec show asp drop
Shows the port channel summary on all units in the cluster :: cluster exec show port-channel summary
Shows all connections across the cluster. This command can show how traffic for a single flow arrives at different ASAs in
the cluster :: cluster exec show conn
Shows connection detail for a particular flow across all units in the cluster. Note, this needs to be executed in a context
that is handling the flow :: cluster exec show conn detail address [x.x.x.x]
Show the unique MAC for the entire cluster that will be used for the LACP partner :: show lacp cluster system-id
Show the cluster system MAC (automatically generated) :: show lacp cluster system-mac
Commands executed in the admin context on the master unit:

Display the pool IP addresses :: show ip local pool mgmt
29

Strong Recommendations and Key Notes
Clustering is best enabled in a specific, phased manner. To reduce the potential for errors, enable the CCL first and bring
up the cluster before adding the remaining configuration. At a minimum, an active cluster control link network is required
before you configure the units to join the cluster; this includes the upstream and downstream equipment port channels.
When configuring clustering you need to select the cluster interface-mode first, as it will clear the existing configuration
and force a reboot. It is recommended to use spanned Ether Channel.
A console connection is always required to enable or disable clustering.
Cluster control link bandwidth should match or exceed the highest available bandwidth of data interfaces on a single
cluster unit.
Recommend that you use Ten Gigabit Ethernet interfaces for the cluster control link, especially if there is high amount of
centralized traffic or asymmetric traffic. If most traffic is centralized or asymmetric (undesirable) the cluster control link
should have a higher bandwidth than data interface on each unit, because this traffic will have to be forwarded over
cluster control link.
Recommend that you use a port-channel for the CCL for additional resiliency. The port-channel configuration should use
LACP mode active.
The cluster control link should be in an isolated network and must not be a spanned Ether Channel. It needs to be
configured on the aggregation switches as a unique port-channel for each unit in the cluster.
switchport access vlan [x]
30

It is recommended that spanning-tree port type edge or edge trunk is configured on the aggregation switch interfaces
connecting to the cluster control and data interfaces. If this is not enabled, initial synchronization communication between
ASA units in the cluster could fail and connections might be dropped.
Using the same port channel load balancing hash algorithm between the ASA and Nexus 7000 (src-dst ip-l4port). Do not
use the vlan keyword in the load-balance algorithm because it can cause unevenly distributed traffic to the ASAs in a
cluster.
Recommend that you do not specify the maximum and minimum links for a port-channel (The lacp max-bundle and portchannel min-bundle commands) on either the ASA or the switch.
It is recommended that the spanned data port-channel is configured on the switch with no lacp graceful-convergence and
lacp rate fast to achieve fast link aggregation and convergence.
Recommend to use spanned Ether Channels (cluster interface-mode spanned) instead of individual interfaces because
individual interfaces rely on routing protocols to load-balance traffic, and routing protocols often have slow convergence
during a link failure.
An IGP routing protocol peered with the ASA cluster does not provide the best convergence at the moment, static routes
and Ether Channel Load Balancing (ECLB) is recommended to route and hash traffic to and from the ASA cluster. Note:
dynamic routing is not supported over vPC or vPC+
It is recommended to enable jumbo frame reservation and mtu cluster 1600 for use with the cluster control link (CCL).
When a packet is forwarded over cluster control link an additional trailer will be added, which could cause fragmentation.
31

For the management interface, we recommend using one of the dedicated management interfaces (m0/0 or m0/1). This
should be configured to use an isolated network apart from the CCL or data interface configuration.
In spanned Ether Channel mode, if you configure the management interface as an individual interface, you cannot enable
dynamic routing for the management interface. You must use a static route.
Recommend that you manually force an ASA unit to be the designated master and the other units as slaves via the priority
command under the cluster group configuration.
In single context mode, it is strongly recommended to configure static MAC addresses for a spanned Ether Channel, so
that the MAC address does not change when the current master unit leaves the cluster. Manually configured MAC
addresses will always stay with the master unit.
In multiple context mode, if you share an interface between contexts, auto-generation of MAC addresses is enabled by
default. You should verify this to avoid any potential issues. The following command mac-address auto prefix 1 in the
configuration is used to auto-generate MAC addresses
Note :: In spanned Ether Channel mode, if you configure the management interface as an individual interface, you cannot
enable dynamic routing for the management interface. You must use a static route.
Note :: you enable clustering when you enter the enable command under the cluster group configuration. If you disable
clustering, all data interfaces are shut down, and only the management interface is active.
A Cluster license is required on each unit. For other feature licenses, cluster units do not require the same license on each
unit. If you have feature licenses on multiple units, they combine into a single running ASA cluster license. Note, each unit
must have the same encryption license when in cluster mode.
32

Recommended in principle to first maximize the number of active ports in the channel, and secondly keep the number of
active primary ports and the number of active secondary ports in balance. Having an even number of ASA units in the
clusters will allow traffic to balance evenly.
Note that when an odd number unit joins the cluster, traffic is not balanced evenly between all units. Link or device failure
is handled with the same principle; you may end up with a less-than-perfect load balancing situation.
Recommend to use the health check feature; which is configured under the cluster group configuration and the default
holdtime is 3 seconds. After you add all the slave units, and the cluster topology is stable, re-enable the cluster health
check feature, which includes unit health monitoring and interface health monitoring. Keepalive messages between
members determine member health. If a unit does not receive any keepalive messages from a peer unit within the
holdtime period, the peer unit is considered unresponsive or dead.
When any topology changes occur (such as adding or removing a data interface, enabling or disabling an interface on the
ASA or the switch, or adding an additional switch to form a vPC) you should disable the health check feature. When the
topology change is complete, and the configuration change is synced to all units, you can re-enable the health check
feature.
When the firewall is deployed in transparent mode (vlan translation between inside and outside vlans that belong to same
bridge-group with associated BVI interface) all cluster configuration recommendations remain the same; but an additional
strong recommendation is to filter STP BPDU forwarding using an access-list on the inside and outside interfaces when
the ASA Cluster is connected to a vPC or vPC+ domain on the Nexus platform.
access-list 1 ethertype deny bpdu
access-group 1 in interface inside
access-group 1 in interface outside
33

Additional Resources & Further Reading
External (public)
Great External
Resources
ASA Clustering within VMDC Architecture

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Data_Center/VMDC/ASA_Cluster/ASA_Cluster.html
VMDC (Virtual Multi-Service Data Center) 3.0.1 Implementation Guide
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Data_Center/VMDC/3.0.1/IG/VMDC301_IG1.html
ASA 5500 Configuration Guides
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/products/ps6120/products_installation_and_configuration_guides_list.html
Configure a Cluster of ASAs (version 9.1 code)
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/docs/security/asa/asa91/configuration/general/ha_cluster.html
Nexus 7000 Configuration Guides
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps9402/products_installation_and_configuration_guides_list.html
34

Additional Resources & Further Reading
Quick Start Guide :: Virtual Port Channel (vPC)

https://communities.cisco.com/docs/DOC-35728
Quick Start Guide :: FabricPath

https://communities.cisco.com/docs/DOC-35725l
35
36

ASA Cluster On Nexus v1.6.2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

ASA Cluster On Nexus v1.6.2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

ASA Cluster On Nexus v1.6.2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Quick Start Guide

ASA Cluster on Nexus

This presentation will provide end-to-end configurations mapped directly to commonly

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

ASA Cluster Configuration

Altered ASA design topology

Altered ASA design topology

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

ASA Cluster Configuration

Cisco recommended :: ASA Cluster design

Cluster up to 8 ASA firewalls

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

ASA Cluster Configuration

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

ASA Cluster Configuration

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

ASA Cluster Configuration

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

High Security Use Cases

Enterprise-Class Data Center

ASA Cluster Configuration

Unique Tenant Based Containers

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

ASA Cluster Configuration

ASA Clustering provides the following benefits:

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

ASA Cluster Configuration

cLACP Spanned Port Channel

Same single vPC ID for all ASA

Cluster Data Plane

Unique vPC IDs used on the Nexus

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Same Port Channel ID used across all

Same Port Channel ID used across all

ASA Cluster Configuration

Cluster Control Link (CCL)

Cluster Data Link

Spanned port channel

Local port channel

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

ASA Cluster Configuration

Data path Packet Flow Through the Cluster

Data path Packet Flow Through the Cluster

Data path Packet Flow Through the Cluster

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

ASA Cluster Configuration

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

ASA Cluster Configuration

cLACP System Mac

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

ASA Cluster Configuration

Physical View Connectivity Map

ASA Cluster Configuration

See QSG :: vPC for more details

ASA Cluster Configuration

Prep for ASA Attachment :: FabricPath vPC+ (Option)

2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

See QSG :: FabricPath for more details