WatchGuard Technologies SOHO 6.1 manual Configure OPT Port Upgrades

Configure OPT Port Upgrades

The SOHO 6 uses two methods to determine if the external port connection is down:

•The link to the nearest router

•A ping to a specified location.

The SOHO pings the default gateway or other location designated by the administrator. If there is no response, fail-over takes place.

When this feature is activated, these actions automatically occur:

•If the external port (EXT) connection fails, the optional port (OPT) connection is initiated and used

•If the optional port (OPT) connection fails the external port (EXT) connection is opened and used

•If both connections fail the SOHO 6 repeatedly tries both external and optional ports until a connection is made

There is no automatic return to the external port (EXT) if this port comes back online unless you use PPPoE to assign IP addresses. Once the fail-over has switched to the optional port (OPT), the administrator has to change the configuration back to the external port (EXT) when it comes back online.

If you use PPPoE, you can set an inactivity timeout, which disables any inactive TCP connections until traffic resumes. For information on setting up PPPoE, see “Configure the SOHO 6 External Network for PPPoE” on page 34. If your external port (EXT) connection fails, the optional port (OPT) connection is initiated and used. The optional port (OPT) stays connected until the TCP connection is not active (timeout). When traffic resumes, the SOHO attempts to connect with the external port (EXT) first. If this connection is active, the external port (EXT) becomes the active port again. If the external port (EXT) is still unavailable, the SOHO attempts to connect with the optional port (OPT).

User Guide 45