Create External Connectors

Default IKE Phase 1 profiles have been pre-created to simplify the configuration process. These profiles are designed to ensure the use of secure algorithms across authentication, encryption, and key management, while still providing multiple options within each category to support negotiation of the IKE Phase 1 Security Association with a peer. You can view all available default profiles by searching for “ves-io” in the search bar located at the top left.

Figure: Default IKE Profiles

In some cases, you might want to create your own profile and not rely on the pre-created profiles. This is where you can create your own IKE Phase 1 profile.

• Log into Console.

• Select the Multi-Cloud Network Connect workspace.

Figure: Console Homepage

• Select Manage > Networking > IKE Profiles

Figure: IKE Profiles Page

• Select the Phase 1 tab.

• Select Add Phase 1 Profile.

Figure: IKE Phase 1 Profile Phase 1 Configuration

• In the Name field, enter the name for the phase 1 profile that provides some relevance to its usage. Note that you can have a single profile across multiple connections.

• Optionally add labels and enter a description.

• Select one or more encryption algorithms (the default is AES256_GCM) using the Configure Encryption Algorithms drop-down menu.

Note: This is an AEAD Algorithm (Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data) that combines encryption and authentication in one step, ensuring data confidentiality and integrity. If you select an AEAD algorithm, you shouldn't choose an authentication algorithm.

If you select a CBC (Cipher Block Chaining) encryption algorithm, you will need to select an authentication algorithm. Choosing more algorithms will help you find the Least Common Denominator (LCD) between the CE and the one or many peers it connects to.

• Select one or more authentication algorithms (the default is No Authentication) using the Authentication Algorithms drop-down menu.

Note: If you selected an AEAD algorithm, you can only choose No Authentication. Choosing more algorithms will help you find the Least Common Denominator (LCD) between the CE and the one or many peers it connects to.

• Select one or more pseudo-random functions (the default is PRFSHA512) using the PseudoRandomFunction drop-down menu.

Note: Your selection(s) will be used in IPsec to generate cryptographic keys from input data, such as a shared secret or session parameters. It ensures that the output keys are unpredictable and secure, providing the necessary keying material for encryption and authentication in the VPN. Choosing more algorithms will help you find the Least Common Denominator (LCD) between the CE and the one or many peers it connects to.

• Select one or more Diffie-Hellman groups (the default is PRFSHA512) using the Diffie Hellman Groups drop-down menu.

Note: Diffie-Hellman groups refer to predefined sets of parameters used in the Diffie-Hellman key exchange to determine the strength and security of the shared secret generated between two parties during key exchange. The default selection is Group 19. Choosing more algorithms will help you find the Least Common Denominator (LCD) between the CE and the one or many peers it connects to.

• Select a key lifetime duration from the Key LifeTime drop-down menu (the default is Default (4 Hours)). This specifies the amount of time before the IKE Security Association needs to be renegotiated. If you select Minutes or Hours, then also enter the number of minutes or hours for the duration.

• Select a timeout duration using the IKE Reauthentication drop-down menu. This is the amount of time for IKE peers to re-authenticate with one another. If you select Days or Hours, then also enter the number of days or hours for the duration.

• Select Add Phase 1 Profile.

Default IKE Phase 2 profiles have been pre-created to simplify the configuration process. These profiles are designed to ensure the use of secure algorithms across authentication, encryption, and key management, while still providing multiple options within each category to support negotiation of the IKE Phase 2 Security Association with a peer. You can view all available default profiles by searching for “ves-io” in the search bar located at the top left.

Figure: Default IKE Phase 2 Profiles

In some cases, you might want to create your own profile and not rely on the pre-created profiles. This is where you can create your own IKE Phase 2 profile.

• Select the Phase 2 tab.

• Select Add Phase 2 Profile on the IKE Profiles page.

Figure: IKE Phase 2 Profile Configuration

• In the Name field, enter the name for the phase 2 profile that provides some relevance to its usage. Note that you can have a single profile across multiple connections.

• Optionally add labels and enter a description.

• Select one or more encryption algorithms (the default is AES256_GCM) using the Configure Encryption Algorithms drop-down menu.

Note: This is an AEAD Algorithm (Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data) that combines encryption and authentication in one step, ensuring data confidentiality and integrity. If you select an AEAD algorithm, you shouldn't choose an authentication algorithm.

If you select a CBC (Cipher Block Chaining) encryption algorithm, you will need to select an authentication algorithm. Choosing more algorithms will help you find a Least Common Denominator (LCD) between the CE and the one or many peers it connects to.

• Select one or more authentication algorithms (the default is No Authentication) using the Authentication Algorithms drop-down menu.

Note: If you selected an AEAD algorithm, you can only choose No Authentication. Choosing more algorithms will help you find the Least Common Denominator (LCD) between the CE and the one or many peers it connects to.

• Select Enable or Disable from the Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) drop-down menu. Enabling PFS ensures that the encryption keys used in a session are not derived from the Diffie-Hellman (DH) process that happened in phase 1. If enabled, choose the appropriate DH Group(s) (the default is DH Group 19).

Note: PFS often requires an additional Diffie-Hellman (DH) exchange during Phase 2 of the IKE process. Choosing more algorithms will help you find the Least Common Denominator (LCD) between the CE and the one or many peers it connects to.

• Select a key lifetime duration from the Key LifeTime drop-down menu (the default is Default (4 Hours)). This specifies the amount of time before the IKE Security Association needs to be renegotiated. If you select Minutes or Hours, then also enter the number of minutes or hours for the duration.

• Select Add Phase 1 Profile.

The external connector configuration instantiates the IPsec tunnel(s) towards the peer device. As noted in the Objective section, a three-node site can be configured with tunnels originating from one, two, or all three nodes toward the external router.

• Select Manage > Networking > External Connectors.

Figure: External Connectors

• Select Add External Connector.

Figure: External Connectors - Metadata

• Enter a name for the external connector that is relevant, as it describes a connection to a third party. For instance, if the remote peer device depicts branch 1 and you are connecting from ce-1, you can call it ce-1-branch-1-connection. The objective is to identify from the name the exact usage of this external connector.

• Optionally, add labels and a description for more context.

• Select a CE site from the CE Site Reference drop-down menu that is to connect to the external CE. Only one site can be selected.

• In the Connection Details section, select the type of tunnel you want to create for your external connector.

• Select IPsec from the Connection Type drop-down menu. An IPsec (Internet Protocol Security) tunnel is a secure connection between two endpoints over an untrusted network, such as the internet. IPsec is a suite of protocols designed to provide secure, encrypted communication at the network layer. It ensures that data transmitted between the endpoints remains private, authenticated, and integrity protected.

Figure: External Connectors - Details

• IKE Parameters section:

  • Select the profile you create in step 1 from the IKE Phase 1 Profile drop-down menu.

  • Select the profile you create in step 2 from the IKE Phase 2 Profile drop-down menu.

  • Select Initiator or Responder in the Mode drop-down menu. Initiator simply means that the CE will actively try to initiate connectivity to bring up the tunnel, whereas Responder means that the CE is in a waiting state and will only reply to connection attempts from the remote peer.

  • Select Enable or Disable in the Dead Peer Detection (DPD) drop-down menu. DPD is a method to determine if the IPsec peer is still active and responsive. If you enable DPD, then enter a value in the Keepalive Timer field. The keepalive timer specifies the frequency of the keep alive messages being sent (the default is 3 seconds).

  • Local IKE ID: By default, this will be set to IP address of the interface that is used to source the tunnel, and this should suffice for most cases. There are some corner scenarios that involve NAT where using the default option will not work, and it will be best to resort to a hostname. The only requirement for Local IKE ID is that the peer should set the remote IKE ID to be identical to it.

  • Remote IKE ID: By default, this will be set to IP address provided under the Remote Gateway IP address, and this should suffice for most cases. There are some corner scenarios that involve NAT where using the default option will not work, and it will be best to resort to a hostname. The only requirement for the remote IKE ID is that the peer should set its local IKE ID to be identical to it.

• Tunnel Parameters section:

Figure: External Connectors - Tunnel Parameters

• In the Remote Gateway IP Address section, enter the reachable IP address for the remote gateway. For instance, if the remote gateway is reachable over the public internet with a public address, then the remote Gateway IP Address would be the public address.

• In the Tunnel Endpoint section, configure the participating CE nodes that will be part of this connection:

  • Select Add Item.

    

    Figure: External Connectors - Tunnel Parameters

  • Select a Node for this endpoint that will be part of this external connection.

  • Select an Interface for the node selected above.

  • Enter both the local and remote tunnel IP addresses with their prefixes.

  • Select Apply to save this node to the list of tunnel endpoints.

  • If you want the tunnel to be sourced from multiple nodes, then select Add Item in the Tunnel Endpoint section and repeat this process for each of the remaining nodes.

• Enter your Pre-Shared Key (PSK) in the Pre-Shared Key field. This PSK must match across the CE and the third-party device for proper establishment of the IPsec tunnel.

• In the MTU (B) field, enter the maximum size (in bytes) of the packet that can be sent through the tunnel without the need to be fragmented.

• Use the Segment/Network drop-down menu to select Site Local Network (Outside), Site Local Network (Inside), or Segment. If you select Segment, then also select a segment from the Segment drop-down menu.

Note: A tunnel interface can be assigned to one of the local networks: Site Local Outside, Site Local Inside, or it can be part of the configured segments. However, for configured segments, the underlying interface used as the tunnel source cannot be a segment.

• Select Add External Connector to save your external connector.

• Log into Console and select the Multi-Cloud Network Connect workspace.

• Navigate to Manage > Networking > External Connectors to see a list of your external connectors.

• Select the name of an external connector in the list to open up a side panel showing the status of the connection per node.

Figure: Monitor an External Connector

Note: A site can have three nodes, and one, two, or all three nodes can be tunnel endpoints i.e. participating in the connection towards the remote device. Assuming that the tunnels are sourced from all three nodes, the side panel will show the individual status of the individual connections from each of the nodes within the site to the third-party device, and each of those can be Up/Down.

In addition, if you are using BGP, the second tab on the side panel will show the BGP peering status in the same manner from each of the three nodes.

• Log into Console and select the Multi-Cloud Network Connect workspace.

• Navigate to Overview > Infrastructure > Sites to see a dashboard for all your sites.

• In the Sites table at the bottom, select the name of your site (optionally, enter a portion of the site name in the Search field to help find your site in the table). This will bring up the dashboard for your site.

• Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the Connectivity table and select the External tab to see all the external connections from the particular CE.

Figure: Monitor an External Connector

• The Connection status can be one of three values: Up, Down, or Partially Up, where some but not all the connections from the nodes are up. Clicking on the connection status will show the state of the tunnels from each node.

• Select the connection name to display the metrics of the connection in terms of the In throughput, Out Throughput, In Drop Rate and Out Drop Rate.

Running a packet capture is a straightforward two-step process. First, identify the full interface name of the external connector you want to capture traffic on. Second, run the packet capture using that interface.

Get the full interface name:

• Select Manage > Networking > External Connectors.

Figure: External Connectors - Get Local Status

• In the Actions column of the external connector of interest, select ... > Show Local Status. This displays the local status.

Figure: External Connectors - Local Status

• Copy the full name of the external connector and then select Close to close the Local Status view.

Run the packet capture:

• Next, select the site in the CE Site column to bring up the site page showing the Infrastructure tab.

Figure: Site Infrastructure

• Select the Tools tab.

• Choose the Tcpdump tool from the Select Tool drop-down menu.

• Select New tcpdump.

Figure: New Tcpdump

• Select Interface from the Target drop-down menu.

• Paste the full name of your external connector into the Interface field.

• Select Start tcpdump.

• The Status column will show Running followed by Completed.

• Once completed, select on ... > Fetch in the Action column which will download the pcap file that can be opened using Wireshark.

Figure: Fetch Tcpdump

• Log into Console and select the Multi-Cloud Network Connect workspace.

Figure: Console Homepage

• Select Manage > Networking > External Connectors.

• Check the checkbox next to all external connectors you want to delete. Then, select Delete Selected above the list.

Figure: Delete an External Connector

• Alternatively, select ... > Delete in the Actions column for the External Connector you want to delete.

Figure: Delete an External Connector

• Select Delete in the confirmation pop-up window.

• Log into Console.

• Click Multi-Cloud Network Connect.

Figure: Console Homepage

• Select Manage > Networking > IKE Profiles

Figure: IKE Profiles Page

• Select the Phase 1 or Phase 2 tab.

• Check the checkbox for the profile you wish to delete. You may select more than one profile to delete.

Note: You can narrow your search for profiles by entering a string in the Search field at the top right of the table. The table will then only show lines that include what you entered.

Figure: Delete IKE Profiles

• Select Delete selected.