24/4/2019 How to configure QoS on the Riverbed SD-WAN solution - TechRepublic

How to configure QoS on the Riverbed SD-WAN solution

By Brandon Carroll in Networking on June 7, 2017, 1:22 PM PST

With the proliferation of SD-WAN services, certain types of traffic should be treated with
varying levels of service. Here's how to configure the Riverbed SD-WAN solution to provide
QoS to different types of traffic.

Image: iStock/cofotoisme

Riverbed SteelConnect gateways have the ability to implement a per-uplink traffic shaper for
both inbound and outbound traffic. The configuration is very simplistic as there are no classes
to configure, and you set the bandwidth with a fixed value. But let's get into the details of how
QoS works for the SteelConnect gateway and how we can verify that it's working.

How QoS works for SteelConnect gateways

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24/4/2019 How to configure QoS on the Riverbed SD-WAN solution - TechRepublic

My background has been with Cisco QoS and primarily using Class-based Weighted Fair
Queuing with a Low Latency Queue for priority traffic. The SteelConnect solution is a bit
different. It uses an advanced fair queue mechanism that distributes bandwidth across
queues. When there are multiple connections it also tracks latency on each of them, or for
each traffic flow, rather than on a class. The inner workings of the QoS functionality are based
on CAKE (https://www.bufferbloat.net/projects/codel/wiki/Cake/).

The scheduler maps traffic dynamically into non-configurable traffic classes. There are four
different classes that have DSCP values mapped to them, as seen below. These are pretty
standard classifications when all things are considered.

Latency Sensitive -
1/4 or 25% bandwidth Class Selector (CS)7, CS6, CS5, CS4, Expedited Forwarding (EF) Voice Admit (VA)

Streaming Media -
3/4 or 75% bandwidth Assured Forwarding (AF)4x, AF3x, AF2x, CS3, CS2, TOS4, TOS1

Best Effort -
15/16 bandwidth CS0, AF1x, Type of Service (TOS)2 or if the DSCP value isn't specified

Background Traffic CS1

The scheduler attempts to prevent aggressive flows from consuming all the bandwidth by
fairly distributing traffic across the link. CAKE is specifically designed for uplinks which is why
it is used for the Riverbed SD-WAN solution. Let's get into the configuration of QoS.

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Assigning DSCP Values

There are three ways to mark traffic with a DSCP value.

1. Assign them in SteelConnect Manager using traffic path rules.

2. Apply on a switch or router before traffic reaches the Riverbed device.
3. Use the SteelHead appliance QoS feature.

The following example applies a traffic path rule to a specific user. Note that you can be very
specific in the path preference, applications, and site scope. In this case we are creating as
general of a rule as possible to be able to see the QoS markings when we test.

1. Navigate to Rules>Traffic Rules

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24/4/2019 How to configure QoS on the Riverbed SD-WAN solution - TechRepublic

Image: Brandon Carroll/TechRepublic

2. Create a traffic rule to apply the desired QoS value.

Image: Brandon Carroll/TechRepublic

In our example, the traffic from the user Brandon Carroll should be marked with a priority
value that classifies it into the latency sensitive class. We know this from the graphical
interface since the QoS Priority option is set to Urgent.
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Enabling QoS on Uplinks

To enable QoS on Uplinks follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Network Design>Uplinks. QoS queuing and shaping is applied to the traffic
that leaves an uplink interface.

Image: Brandon Carroll/TechRepublic

2. Next select the uplink you want to apply QoS on. In this case we've selected the "Internet"
link but we could just as well selected an MPLS link or an LTE connection.

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24/4/2019 How to configure QoS on the Riverbed SD-WAN solution - TechRepublic

Image: Brandon Carroll/TechRepublic

3. Select the QoS tab and enable both inbound and outbound QoS. This requires a bandwidth
specification which has been set to 150 Mbits/second in the example below.

Image: Brandon Carroll/TechRepublic

Testing and Verification

Testing and verification on the Riverbed SD-WAN solution is not very easy. One possible
method would be to capture traffic that has passed through the gateway with Wireshark and
verify that it does in fact have QoS Markings. What I've found to be very limited in the solution
is the ability to view QoS statistics from the SteelConnect Manager interface. There is a traffic
timeline, however it lacks good QoS statistics. It's my understanding that this is an area that
will get some more attention in the future. In the meantime it's a "set-it and hope it works"
kinda configuration.

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By Brandon Carroll
Brandon Carroll has been in the industry since the late 90s specializing in data networking
and network security in the enterprise and data center. Brandon holds the CCIE in security
and is a published author in network security.

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