Help Center/ Virtual Private Cloud/ User Guide/ Traffic Mirroring/ Traffic Mirroring Example Scenarios/ Mirroring Inbound and Outbound TCP Traffic to a Load Balancer

Updated on 2024-12-02 GMT+08:00

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Mirroring Inbound and Outbound TCP Traffic to a Load Balancer

Solution Architecture

To mirror inbound and outbound TCP traffic between a mirror source (network interface) and a given instance to a mirror target (load balancer), you can refer to the configurations in this section. In Figure 1, to mirror the TCP traffic between ECS-source and ECS-test running in VPC VPC-A to load balancer ELB-A, one mirror session is needed. In this example, mirror session mirror-session-01 is created. You can configure it as follows:

Set the mirror source to network-interface-s of ECS-source, indicating that the inbound and outbound TCP traffic on this network interface will be mirrored.
Set the mirror target to ELB-A, indicating that the inbound and outbound TCP traffic on network-interface-s will be mirrored to ELB-A. ELB-A will distribute the mirrored traffic across backend servers ECS-target-01 and ECS-target-02 based on the routing rules.
Create a mirror filter (mirror-filter-01) and add the following rules:
- Outbound rule: accepts TCP traffic from ECS-source to ECS-test.
- Inbound rule: accepts TCP traffic from ECS-test to ECS-source.

Figure 1 Mirroring inbound and outbound TCP traffic to a load balancer

Notes and Constraints

See Notes and Constraints.

Resource Planning

In this example, the VPC, subnet, EIP, load balancer, and ECSs must be in the same region but can be in different AZs.

The following resource details are only for your reference. You can modify them if needed.

**Table 1** Resource details for mirroring inbound and outbound TCP traffic to a load balancer
Resource	Quantity	Description
VPC and subnet	VPC: 1 Subnet: 1	VPC name: Set it as needed. In this example, VPC-A is used. VPC IPv4 CIDR block: Set it as needed. In this example, 192.168.0.0/16 is used. Subnet name: Set it as needed. In this example, Subnet-A01 is used. Subnet IPv4 CIDR block: Set it as needed. In this example, 192.168.0.0/24 is used.
ECS	4	Configure the ECSs as follows: Name: Set it as needed. In this example, the ECSs are named ECS-source, ECS-target-01, ECS-target-02, and ECS-test. ECS type: In this example, the type of ECS-source is General computing-plus c7t. Currently, only network interfaces of ECSs of certain types can be used as mirror sources. For details, see Notes and Constraints. There are no constraints on the type of other ECSs. Image: Set it as needed. In this example, public image Huawei Cloud EulerOS 2.0 Standard 64 bit is used. System disk: In this example, a general purpose SSD disk of 40 GiB is used. Data disk: Set it as needed. In this example, no data disk is used. Network VPC: Select a VPC. In this example, VPC-A is used. Subnet: Select a subnet. In this example, Subnet-A01 is used. Security group: In this example, the four ECSs are associated with the same security group (Sg-X). Ensure that all rules in Table 2 are added. If the ECSs are associated with different security groups, you also need to add additional rules. If ECS-test is associated with Sg-X but ECS-source is associated with Sg-A, add the rules in Table 3 to Sg-A and Sg-X to allow traffic between ECS-test and ECS-source. If ECS-source is associated with Sg-A and ECS-target-01 is associated with Sg-B, add the rule in Table 4 to Sg-B to allow UDP packets encapsulated by the mirror source to access the mirror target over port 4789. The same applies to ECS-target-02. EIP: Select Not required. Private IP address: In this example, use 192.168.0.230 for ECS-source, 192.168.0.6 for ECS-target-01, 192.168.0.12 for ECS-target-02, and 192.168.0.161 for ECS-test.
EIP	1	Billing Mode: Set it as needed. In this example, Pay-per-use is used. EIP Name: Set it as needed. In this example, EIP-A is used. EIP: The EIP is randomly assigned. In this example, 124.X.X.187 is used.
Load balancer	1	Target type: Only dedicated load balancers can be used as mirror targets. Name: Set it as needed. In this example, ELB-A is used. Specifications: Select Network load balancing (TCP/UDP/TLS) to forward UDP packets. Specifications vary by region. If TLS is not supported in your region, select Network load balancing (TCP/UDP). Network Type: The encapsulated mirrored packet uses the IPv4 UDP protocol. Selected Private IPv4 network in this example. VPC: Set it as needed. In this example, select VPC-A. Frontend Subnet: Set it as needed. In this example, select Subnet-A01. IPv4 address: Set it as needed. In this example, select Automatically assign IP address. Backend Subnet: Set it as needed. In this example, select Subnet of the load balancer. IP as a Backend: Disable it. EIP: Set it as needed. In this example, select Not required.
Listener	1	Configure the listener as follows: Name: Set it as needed. In this example, name it listener-A. Frontend Protocol: Select UDP to forward encapsulated UDP packets. Frontend Port: Enter 4789, the fixed port used by the mirror target to receive traffic. Access Control: Select All IP addresses for this example. If you select Whitelist, ensure that the mirror source IP address is in the whitelist. Configure the routing policy as follows: Forwarding Mode: Set it as needed. In this example, select Load balancing. Backend Server Group Type: Set it as needed. In this example, select Hybrid. Backend Server Group Name: Set it as needed. In this example, name it serve_group-A. Backend Protocol: Select UDP to process encapsulated UDP packets. Forward to Same Port: Set it as needed. In this example, disable it. Load Balancing Algorithm: Set it as needed. In this example, select Weighted round robin. Sticky Session: Set it as needed. In this example, disable it. Add backend servers as follows: On the Backend Server tab, select ECS-target-01 and ECS-target-02 for this example. Set Backend Port to 4789 and Weight to 1. Health Check: Disable it for this example. If port 4789 is not listened to and the health check option is enabled, the health check result will be unhealthy, preventing ELB from forwarding traffic to backend servers.
Mirror filter	1	Name: Set it as needed. In this example, mirror-filter-01 is used. Inbound rule: Add an inbound rule to accept TCP traffic from ECS-test to ECS-source. Outbound rule: Add an outbound rule to accept TCP traffic from ECS-source to ECS-test. For details about the rules, see Table 5.
Mirror session	1	Basic Information Name: Set it as needed. In this example, mirror-session-01 is used. Priority: Set it as needed. In this example, 1 is used. VNI: Set it as needed. In this example, 1 is used. Packet Length: Set it as needed. In this example, 96 is used. Mirror Session: Enable it to mirror the traffic from the mirror source. Associate Mirror Filter: Set it as needed. In this example, mirror-filter-01 is used. Associate Mirror Sources: Set it as needed. In this example, the private IP address (192.168.0.230) of the network interface of ECS-source is used. Associate Mirror Target Type: Load balancer Network interface: Set it as needed. In this example, the private IP address (192.168.0.147) of the network interface of ELB-A is used.

**Table 2** Security group **Sg-X** rules
Direction	Action	Type	Protocol & Port	Source/Destination	Description
Inbound	Allow	IPv4	TCP: 22	Source: 0.0.0.0/0	Allows remote logins to Linux ECSs over SSH port 22.
Inbound	Allow	IPv4	TCP: 3389	Source: 0.0.0.0/0	Allows remote logins to Windows ECSs over RDP port 3389.
Inbound	Allow	IPv4	All	Source: current security group (Sg-X)	Allows the ECSs in this security group to communicate with each other using IPv4 addresses.
Inbound	Allow	IPv6	All	Source: current security group (Sg-X)	Allows the ECSs in this security group to communicate with each other using IPv6 addresses.
Outbound	Allow	IPv4	All	Destination: 0.0.0.0/0	Allows ECSs in this security group to access the Internet using IPv4 addresses.
Outbound	Allow	IPv6	All	Destination: ::/0	Allows ECSs in this security group to access the Internet using IPv6 addresses.

If the source of an inbound rule is set to 0.0.0.0/0, all external IP addresses are allowed to remotely log in to your cloud server. Exposing port 22 or 3389 to the public network will leave your instances vulnerable to network risks. To address this issue, set the source to a known IP address, for example, the IP address of your local PC.

**Table 3** Rules of security groups **Sg-A** and **Sg-X** (allowing traffic between ECSs)
Security Group	Direction	Action	Type	Protocol & Port	Source	Description
Sg-A	Inbound	Allow	IPv4	TCP: 1234	The security group with which ECS-test is associated: Sg-X	Allows TCP packets from ECS-test to ECS-source over port 1234.
Sg-X	Inbound	Allow	IPv4	TCP: All ports	The security group with which ECS-source is associated: Sg-A	Allows TCP packets from ECS-source to ECS-test over all ports.

**Table 4** Security group **Sg-B** rule
Direction	Action	Type	Protocol & Port	Source	Description
Inbound	Allow	IPv4	UDP: 4789	The private IP address of mirror source ECS-source: 192.168.0.230/32	Allows UDP packets encapsulated by ECS-source to access ECS-target-01 over port 4789.

**Table 5** Inbound and outbound rules of the mirror filter
Direction	Priority	Protocol	Action	Type	Source	Source Port Range	Destination	Destination Port Range
Inbound	1	TCP	Accept	IPv4	The private IP address of ECS-test: 192.168.0.161/32	All	The private IP address of ECS-source: 192.168.0.230/32	Port of ECS-source: 1234-1234
Outbound	1	TCP	Accept	IPv4	The private IP address of ECS-source: 192.168.0.230/32	Port of ECS-source: 1234-1234	The private IP address of ECS-test: 192.168.0.161/32	All

Procedure

Figure 2 shows the procedure required to mirror the inbound and outbound TCP traffic between a mirror source (network interface) and a given instance to a mirror target (load balancer).

Figure 2 Mirroring inbound and outbound TCP traffic to a load balancer

Step 1: Create Cloud Resources

Create a VPC and subnet.
For details, see Creating a VPC and Subnet.
Create four ECSs.
For details, see Purchasing a Custom ECS.
Assign an EIP.
For details, see Assigning an EIP.

Step 2: Create a Load Balancer

Create a dedicated load balancer.
For details, see Creating a Dedicated Load Balancer.
Add a UDP listener to the load balancer and add backend servers.
For details, see Adding a UDP Listener.

Step 3: Create a Mirror Filter and a Mirror Session

Create a mirror filter.
For details, see Creating a Mirror Filter.
Create a mirror session, and associate the mirror filter, mirror source, and mirror target with this mirror session.
For details, see Creating a Mirror Session.

Step 4: Install Netcat (nc) to Simulate Traffic

The nc utility reads and writes data across network connections using TCP or UDP. It is usually used to test ports for accessibility. You need to install nc on both ECS-source and ECS-test.

Install nc on ECS-source.

Bind the EIP to ECS-source to connect to the Internet for downloading the nc utility.
For details, see Binding an EIP to an ECS.
Remotely log in to ECS-source.
For details, see How Do I Log In to My ECS?

Run the following commands in sequence to install nc:

sudo yum update

Information similar to the following is displayed:

[root@ecs-source ~]# sudo yum update
HCE 2.0 base                                                                                                                                                 55 MB/s | 6.1 MB     00:00    
HCE 2.0 updates                                                                                                                                              98 MB/s |  14 MB     00:00    
Last metadata expiration check: 0:00:01 ago on Tue 10 Sep 2024 05:54:28 PM CST.
Dependencies resolved.
Nothing to do.
Complete!

sudo yum install nc

If information similar to the following is displayed, enter y as prompted and press Enter:

[root@ecs-source ~]# sudo yum install nc
Last metadata expiration check: 0:00:12 ago on Tue 10 Sep 2024 05:54:28 PM CST.
Dependencies resolved.
...
Install  2 Packages

Total download size: 6.1 M
Installed size: 25 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
...    
Importing GPG key 0xA8DEF926:
 Userid     : "HCE <support@huaweicloud.com>"
 Fingerprint: C1BA 9CD4 9D03 A206 E241 F176 28DA 5B77 A8DE F926
 From       : http://repo.huaweicloud.com/hce/2.0/updates/RPM-GPG-KEY-HCE-2
Is this ok [y/N]: y
...
Installed:
  libssh2-1.10.0-2.r10.hce2.x86_64                                                               nmap-2:7.92-2.r4.hce2.x86_64                                                              

Complete!

Unbind the EIP from ECS-source after nc is installed.
For details, see Unbinding an EIP.

Repeat 1.a to 1.d on ECS-test.
Release the EIP.
For details, see Unbinding an EIP. If you do not release the EIP, the EIP will continue to be billed.

Step 5: Check Whether the Mirror Session Works

Establish a TCP connection between ECS-source and ECS-test.
Use ECS-source to send TCP packets to ECS-test and check whether ECS-test can receive the packets.
1. Run the following command on ECS-source to listen to its port 1234:
  nc -l <listening-port-of-mirror-source-ECS-source>
  
  Example command:
  
  nc -l 1234
  
  If the command output is empty, the port is opened for listening.
2. Run the following command on ECS-test to establish a TCP connection between ECS-source and ECS-test:
  nc <private-IP-address-of-mirror-source-ECS-source> <listening-port-of-mirror-source-ECS-source>
  
  Example command:
  
  nc 192.168.0.230 1234
  
  If the command output is empty, the TCP connection has been established.
3. Enter any information (for example, hello) on ECS-source and press Enter to check whether requests can be sent over the TCP connection.
```
[root@ecs-source ~]# nc -l 1234
hello
```
4. Check whether ECS-test can receive hello from ECS-source.
  If information similar to the following is displayed, ECS-test can receive hello from ECS-source.
```
[root@ecs-test ~]# nc 192.168.0.230 1234
hello
```

Check whether the outbound TCP packets from ECS-source to ECS-test can be mirrored to backend servers ECS-target-01 and ECS-target-02 of ELB-A.

When ECS-source sends a TCP packet to ECS-test, run tcpdump to check whether ECS-target-01 and ECS-target-02 can receive the packet. If they do, the mirror session accepts the outbound TCP traffic.

Remotely log in to ECS-target-01.
For details, see How Do I Log In to My ECS?

Run the following command on ECS-target-01 to view its network interface name:

ifconfig

Information similar to the following is displayed. In this example, the network interface of ECS-target-01 is eth0.

[root@ecs-target-01 ~]# ifconfig
eth0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.0.6  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.0.255
        inet6 fe80::f816:3eff:fe7e:d6dc  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether fa:16:3e:7e:d6:dc  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 87498  bytes 114570302 (109.2 MiB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 18337  bytes 6613541 (6.3 MiB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0
...

Run the following command on ECS-target-01 to check whether it can receive packets:
tcpdump -i <network-interface-name-of-the-mirror-target> udp port 4789 -nne

Example command:

tcpdump -i eth0 udp port 4789 -nne
Information similar to the following is displayed:
```
[root@ecs-target-01 ~]# tcpdump -i eth0 udp port 4789 -nne
dropped privs to tcpdump
tcpdump: verbose output suppressed, use -v[v]... for full protocol decode
listening on eth0, link-type EN10MB (Ethernet), snapshot length 262144 bytes
```
Remotely log in to ECS-target-02.
For details, see How Do I Log In to My ECS?

Run the following command on ECS-target-02 to view its network interface name:

ifconfig

Information similar to the following is displayed. In this example, the network interface of ECS-target-02 is eth0.

[root@ecs-target-02 ~]# ifconfig
eth0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.0.12  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.0.255
        inet6 fe80::f816:3eff:fe7e:d6e2  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether fa:16:3e:7e:d6:e2  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 87009  bytes 114283412 (108.9 MiB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 17015  bytes 6492086 (6.1 MiB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0
...

Run the following command on ECS-target-02 to check whether it can receive packets:
tcpdump -i <network-interface-name-of-the-mirror-target> udp port 4789 -nne

Example command:

tcpdump -i eth0 udp port 4789 -nne
Information similar to the following is displayed:
```
[root@ecs-target-02 ~]# tcpdump -i eth0 udp port 4789 -nne
dropped privs to tcpdump
tcpdump: verbose output suppressed, use -v[v]... for full protocol decode
listening on eth0, link-type EN10MB (Ethernet), snapshot length 262144 bytes
```
Enter any information (for example, source to test) on ECS-source and press Enter to send TCP packets to ECS-test.
Information similar to the following is displayed:
```
[root@source ~]# nc -l 1234
hello
source to test
```
Check whether ECS-test can receive source to test from ECS-source.
If information similar to the following is displayed, ECS-test can receive source to test from ECS-source.
```
[root@ecs-test ~]# nc 192.168.0.230 1234
hello
source to test
```

Check whether ECS-target-01 and ECS-target-02 can receive TCP packets.

ECS-target-01

Information similar to the following is displayed. You can view the packet of source to test (time: 19:09:21.273376) from ECS-source to ECS-test after running tcpdump. This means the accept rule works and packet source to test is mirrored to ECS-target-01. vni 1 is the identifier of mirror-session-01, indicating that ECS-target-01 can receive the packet through this mirror session. The packet content has two parts: a VXLAN packet encapsulated by traffic mirroring and the original packet. For details, see Table 6.

[root@ecs-target-01 ~]# tcpdump -i eth0 udp port 4789 -nne
dropped privs to tcpdump
tcpdump: verbose output suppressed, use -v[v]... for full protocol decode
listening on eth0, link-type EN10MB (Ethernet), snapshot length 262144 bytes
19:09:21.273376 fa:16:3e:d1:6b:5d > fa:16:3e:7e:d6:dc, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 131: 192.168.0.230.32816 > 192.168.0.6.4789: VXLAN, flags [I] (0x08), vni 1
fa:16:3e:7e:d6:bc > fa:16:3e:7e:d6:77, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 81: 192.168.0.230.1234 > 192.168.0.161.57032: Flags [P.], seq 4181467553:4181467568, ack 3509843935, win 510, options [nop,nop,TS val 476501697 ecr 998055381], length 15

ECS-target-02

Information similar to the following is displayed. You can view the response packet (time: 19:09:21.273429) from ECS-test to ECS-source after running tcpdump.

[root@ecs-target-02 ~]# tcpdump -i eth0 udp port 4789 -nne
dropped privs to tcpdump
tcpdump: verbose output suppressed, use -v[v]... for full protocol decode
listening on eth0, link-type EN10MB (Ethernet), snapshot length 262144 bytes
19:09:21.273429 fa:16:3e:d1:6b:5d > fa:16:3e:7e:d6:e2, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 116: 192.168.0.230.32805 > 192.168.0.12.4789: VXLAN, flags [I] (0x08), vni 1
fa:16:3e:7e:d6:77 > fa:16:3e:7e:d6:bc, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 66: 192.168.0.161.57032 > 192.168.0.230.1234: Flags [.], ack 4181467568, win 502, options [nop,nop,TS val 998154498 ecr 476501697], length 0

Check whether the inbound TCP packets from ECS-test to ECS-source can be mirrored to backend servers ECS-target-01 and ECS-target-02 of ELB-A.

When ECS-test sends a TCP packet to ECS-source, use tcpdump to check whether ECS-target-01 and ECS-target-02 can receive the packet. If they do, the mirror session accepts the inbound TCP traffic.

Enter any information (for example, test to source) on ECS-test and press Enter to send TCP packets to ECS-source.
Information similar to the following is displayed:
```
[root@ecs-test ~]# nc 192.168.0.230 1234
hello
source to test
test to source
```
Check whether ECS-source can receive information from ECS-test.
If information similar to the following is displayed, ECS-source can receive test to source from ECS-test.
```
[root@ecs-source ~]# nc -l 1234
hello
source to test
test to source
```

Check whether ECS-target-01 and ECS-target-02 can receive TCP packets.

ECS-target-01

Information similar to the following is displayed. You can view the packet of test to source (time: 19:10:04.772581) from ECS-test to ECS-source after running tcpdump. This means the accept rule works and packet test to source is mirrored to ECS-target-01. vni 1 is the identifier of mirror-session-01, indicating that ECS-target-01 can receive the packet through this mirror session. The packet content has two parts: a VXLAN packet encapsulated by traffic mirroring and the original packet. For details, see Table 6.

[root@ecs-target-01 ~]# tcpdump -i eth0 udp port 4789 -nne
dropped privs to tcpdump
tcpdump: verbose output suppressed, use -v[v]... for full protocol decode
listening on eth0, link-type EN10MB (Ethernet), snapshot length 262144 bytes
19:09:21.273376 fa:16:3e:d1:6b:5d > fa:16:3e:7e:d6:dc, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 131: 192.168.0.230.32816 > 192.168.0.6.4789: VXLAN, flags [I] (0x08), vni 1
fa:16:3e:7e:d6:bc > fa:16:3e:7e:d6:77, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 81: 192.168.0.230.1234 > 192.168.0.161.57032: Flags [P.], seq 4181467553:4181467568, ack 3509843935, win 510, options [nop,nop,TS val 476501697 ecr 998055381], length 15
19:10:04.772581 fa:16:3e:d1:6b:5d > fa:16:3e:7e:d6:dc, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 131: 192.168.0.230.32805 > 192.168.0.6.4789: VXLAN, flags [I] (0x08), vni 1
fa:16:3e:7e:d6:77 > fa:16:3e:7e:d6:bc, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 81: 192.168.0.161.57032 > 192.168.0.230.1234: Flags [P.], seq 1:16, ack 15, win 502, options [nop,nop,TS val 998197997 ecr 476501697], length 15

ECS-target-02

Information similar to the following is displayed. You can view the response packet (time: 19:10:04.772601) from ECS-test to ECS-source after running tcpdump.

[root@ecs-target-02 ~]# tcpdump -i eth0 udp port 4789 -nne
dropped privs to tcpdump
tcpdump: verbose output suppressed, use -v[v]... for full protocol decode
listening on eth0, link-type EN10MB (Ethernet), snapshot length 262144 bytes
19:09:21.273429 fa:16:3e:d1:6b:5d > fa:16:3e:7e:d6:e2, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 116: 192.168.0.230.32805 > 192.168.0.12.4789: VXLAN, flags [I] (0x08), vni 1
fa:16:3e:7e:d6:77 > fa:16:3e:7e:d6:bc, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 66: 192.168.0.161.57032 > 192.168.0.230.1234: Flags [.], ack 4181467568, win 502, options [nop,nop,TS val 998154498 ecr 476501697], length 0
19:10:04.772601 fa:16:3e:d1:6b:5d > fa:16:3e:7e:d6:e2, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 116: 192.168.0.230.32816 > 192.168.0.12.4789: VXLAN, flags [I] (0x08), vni 1
fa:16:3e:7e:d6:bc > fa:16:3e:7e:d6:77, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 66: 192.168.0.230.1234 > 192.168.0.161.57032: Flags [.], ack 15, win 510, options [nop,nop,TS val 476545196 ecr 998197997], length 0

Parent Topic: Traffic Mirroring Example Scenarios

Previous topic: Mirroring Inbound and Outbound TCP Traffic to a Network Interface in a Different VPC

Next topic: Monitoring and Auditing

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