TippingPoint

NX-Platform Best Practices Guide

Version: 16.12.1
Copyright Statement

© Copyright 2016 Trend Micro.

Trend Micro Incorporated ("Trend Micro") makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material,
including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular
purpose. Trend Micro shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential
damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

This document contains proprietary information, which is protected by copyright. No part of this
document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated into another language without the prior
written consent of Trend Micro. The information is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind and is
subject to change without notice. The only warranties for Trend Micro products and services are set
forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein
should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. Trend Micro shall not be liable for technical
or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 2 of 55 Version 16.12.1

Table Of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................6
2. Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)...........................................................................................................6
2.1. Architecture and Background Information ...............................................................................................6
2.2. NX-Platform Engine Enhancements ..........................................................................................................6
Threat Digital Vaccine (ThreatDV)........................................................................................................................ 7
2.3. IPS System Architecture ............................................................................................................................7
TSE Connection Table – Blocked Streams ............................................................................................................ 8
TSE Connection Table Timeout ............................................................................................................................ 8
TSE Asymmetric/Symmetric Mode ...................................................................................................................... 8
TSE Adaptive Filtering .......................................................................................................................................... 9
TSE Adaptive Aggregation .................................................................................................................................... 9
2.4. VLAN Translation.................................................................................................................................... 10
2.5. IPS Elements ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Filtering Concepts .............................................................................................................................................. 10
Filter Precedence ............................................................................................................................................... 11
Flow Inspection Filters ....................................................................................................................................... 11
Trust as an Action Set ........................................................................................................................................ 11
2.5.4.1. Traffic Management Filters ................................................................................................................. 11
2.5.4.2. Flow Management Filters .................................................................................................................... 13
2.6. IPS Deployment Considerations ............................................................................................................. 14
Deployment Guidelines...................................................................................................................................... 14
IPS Positioning .................................................................................................................................................... 14
Physical Connections.......................................................................................................................................... 15
Cabling Requirements ........................................................................................................................................ 15
Transparent High Availability (TRHA) ................................................................................................................. 16
2.7. NX Modules ............................................................................................................................................ 17
Standard Modules .............................................................................................................................................. 17
Bypass Modules ................................................................................................................................................. 18
I/O Modules General Information ..................................................................................................................... 19
I/O Module Hot-Swapping Guidelines ............................................................................................................... 20
What happens when modules are swapped? .................................................................................................... 21
Fiber-Optic Connection ...................................................................................................................................... 22
2.8. Stacking .................................................................................................................................................. 23
2.9. Intrusion Detection System (IDS) ........................................................................................................... 25
2.10. System Administration ........................................................................................................................... 26
IPS Management port ................................................................................................................................... 26
2.10.1.1. Reports available via the Local Security Manager (LSM) ..................................................................... 27
IPS Security Levels ......................................................................................................................................... 28
How to Recover the IPS SuperUser Password? ............................................................................................. 29
How to Reset an IPS to Factory Settings? ..................................................................................................... 30
How to Turn Off SMS Management on the IPS ............................................................................................. 30
What are Inspection Bypass rules? ............................................................................................................... 31

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 3 of 55 Version 16.12.1

Table Of Contents

System Upgrades........................................................................................................................................... 32
Traces and Email Notifications ...................................................................................................................... 32
Maximum Frame Sizes .................................................................................................................................. 32
Compact Flash ............................................................................................................................................... 32
2.10.10.1. External Compact Flash Commands ................................................................................................... 32
2.10.10.2. Internal Compact Flash....................................................................................................................... 33
Performance Protection (Logging Mode) ...................................................................................................... 33
Link-Down Synchronization ........................................................................................................................... 34
Intrinsic Network High Availability (HA) ........................................................................................................ 35
IPS System Backup (Snapshot) ...................................................................................................................... 37
Scan/Sweep Filters ........................................................................................................................................ 37
Configuration Parameters ............................................................................................................................. 38
3. NX-Platform System descriptions .........................................................................................................42
3.1. Power Information ................................................................................................................................. 42
3.2. NX Platform IPS at a glance .................................................................................................................... 42
3.1. System Architecture ............................................................................................................................... 43
4. NX-Platform Troubleshooting Commands .............................................................................................46
4.1. show np tier-stats .................................................................................................................................. 46
4.2. show np rule-stats.................................................................................................................................. 50
4.3. debug np congestionx ............................................................................................................................ 51
4.4. debug information dp-ps ....................................................................................................................... 52
4.5. debug np regex show ............................................................................................................................. 53
4.6. Best Effort Mode .................................................................................................................................... 53
4.7. Troubleshooting Network Connectivity ................................................................................................. 54
debug np port diags <port#> ............................................................................................................................. 54
debug np port show ........................................................................................................................................... 55

LIST OF TABLES
Table 2-1: NX-Platform Standard Modules .............................................................................................................................. 17
Table 2-2: NX-Platform Bypass Modules .................................................................................................................................. 18
Table 2-3: NX-Platform IPS Approved Interfaces ..................................................................................................................... 22
Table 2-4: NX-Platform Security Levels and Password Requirements .................................................................................... 28
Table 2-5: Inspection-Bypass CLI Commands ........................................................................................................................... 31
Table 2-6: NX-Platform Configuration Parameters .................................................................................................................. 38
Table 3-1: NX-Platform IPS System ........................................................................................................................................... 42

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2-1: TRHA Configuration ................................................................................................................................................ 16
Figure 2-2: NX-Platform resilient stack configuration.............................................................................................................. 24

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 4 of 55 Version 16.12.1

Table Of Contents

Figure 2-2: Logging Mode Settings ........................................................................................................................................... 34

Figure 2-3: Link-Down Synchronization .................................................................................................................................... 35
Figure 2-4: Intrinsic Network HA .............................................................................................................................................. 35
Figure 2-5: Intrinsic Network HA (LSM) .................................................................................................................................... 36

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 5 of 55 Version 16.12.1

1. Introduction

This document provides guidance and background information in configuring, managing and
troubleshooting the TippingPoint Intrusion Prevention System (IPS). The information contained in this
guide is a compilation of best practices, questions and scenarios that have been encountered in the field.

2. Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)

2.1. Architecture and Background Information

The IPS functions as both a network and a security device. It must meet requirements from both
disciplines:

• Inline - All traffic passes through the IPS making blocking possible and minimizing latency.
• High availability – the IPS must be very stable and continue to perform even under increased
traffic volumes.
• Accuracy – the IPS must accurately detect attacks. It must be able to filter out just the attack
traffic and leave innocuous traffic through without issue. Conversely, the IPS cannot have
false negatives otherwise attacks will get through.
• Usability – The IPS must be simple to use and configure while providing the power and
flexibility to satisfy a wide range of customer’s security posture needs.

To meet these high level requirements, TippingPoint has implemented a very powerful architecture
consisting of both custom hardware and software elements. This section describes the architecture
and the key functions and features implemented.

2.2. NX-Platform Engine Enhancements

The following enhancements have been made to the NX-Platform architecture:

• IPv6 inspection
• Jumbo frame packet inspection for frames up to 9234 bytes. This includes 14 bytes of
Ethernet header, 9216 byes of payload data (including tunneling encapsulations if any) and 4
bytes of FCS.
• Inspection of tunneled traffic
o GRE
o Mobile IPv4 (IP-in-IP)
o IPv6 (6-in-4, 4-in-6, 6-in-6)
o Authentication Header (AH) tunnels
o Arbitrary tunnel nesting up to 10 tunnels deep (or max header size)
o GPRS
o GTP-U (v1) only – GTP-C and GTP is not supported. No ability to support TCP resets or
quarantine on GTP packets.
• Traffic Normalization filters work on all inspected traffic

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 6 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 • Inspection Bypass Rules.
Note: The NX-Platform IPS devices (2600NX, 5200NX, 6200NX, 7100NX and 7500NX)
support up to a maximum of 8 rules per device.
• Most filters will work on both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic (unless specified e.g. IPv6 only)
• Best Effort Mode
• Trust as an Action
• SYN Proxy
• VLAN Translation

Threat Digital Vaccine (ThreatDV)

Reputation Feed (formerly known as RepDV) is now part of the Threat Digital Vaccine (ThreatDV)
product, which is a premium subscription service that includes both the reputation database and
the new Malware Filter Package.

The Reputation Feed identifies and delivers suspect IPv4, IPv6 and Domain Name System (DNS)
security intelligence feeds from a multi-vendor, global reputation database so that customers
can actively enforce and manage reputation security policies using the TippingPoint Next
Generation Intrusion Prevention System (NGIPS) Platform. The addresses are tagged with
reputation, geographic, and other identifiers for ready and easy security policy creation and
management. The Reputation Feed provides the addresses and tags multiple times a day (two
hours on average) in the same manner as standard Digital Vaccines.

2.3. IPS System Architecture

The TippingPoint IPS’s main component is the Threat Suppression Engine (TSE). The TSE deconstructs
and inspects flow payloads at the application layer. As each new packet belonging to a flow arrives,
the flow is re-evaluated for malicious content. The instant a flow is deemed malicious, the current
packet and all subsequent packets pertaining to the flow are blocked. This ensures that the attack
never reaches its destination.

Each flow is tracked in the “connection table” of the IPS. A flow is uniquely identified by the port on
which it was received and its packet header information, referred to as the “flow-tuple”:
• IP protocol (ICMP, TCP, UDP, other) • Destination IP address
• Source IP address • Destination ports (TCP or UDP)
• Source ports (TCP or UDP) • VLAN ID

Once classified, each packet is inspected by the appropriate set of protocol and application filters.
The IPS filter engine combines pipelined and massively parallel processing hardware to perform
simultaneous filter checks on each packet. The parallel filter processing ensures that the packet flow
continues to move through the system with a bounded latency (on the order of microseconds) for

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 7 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 the most part, independent of the number of filters that are applied. This hardware acceleration is
critical in order to support massive amounts of filters without sacrificing performance.

TSE Connection Table – Blocked Streams

All packets received by the IPS are identified as a member of a flow (packet stream). A flow can
consist of one or more packets. All packets received that are classified as a member of a “blocked
stream” are discarded. Packets will only be blocked if they match a filter that has an action set of
BLOCK.

TSE Connection Table Timeout

This global timer applies to all “blocked streams” in the TSE connection table, and designates the
amount of time that must elapse after a flow is marked as “blocked” before it will be “unblocked.”
While blocked, any incoming packets for that stream are discarded. After a flow is unblocked, the
next packet for that flow is allowed but may be dropped and the flow blocked again based on the
IPS filters.

For normal operations in production environments the TSE Connection Table Timer should be
left at its default value (1800 seconds). However, for lab testing, this timer can be set to its
minimum value (30 seconds) in order to make filter changes become more immediately apparent
via seeing repetitive log updates from the same source IP address. Another way to immediately
see the effects of filter changes is to “flush” the blocked stream in question from the Connection
Table.

Note: Changing a filter status in order to “unblock” a flow, must be done in combination with
“flushing” the blocked flow from the TSE Connection Table. Otherwise, the filter changes will not
take effect for the “blocked” flow until the TSE Connection Table timer expires for that flow.

TSE Asymmetric/Symmetric Mode

Asymmetric Network: An asymmetric network has multiple routes for incoming and outgoing
network traffic. As such traffic takes a different route when entering or exiting the network.

Symmetric Network: A symmetric network has a single route for incoming and outgoing network
traffic. As such traffic takes the same route when entering or the network.

It is very common for traffic to be asymmetrical in both Service Provider and larger Enterprise
networks due to the nature of routing within a large, complex environment that has multiple
entry and exit points. Since the bulk of the IPS filters are flow based (meaning state kept per flow
versus per session), attacks are detected in either send or receive directions.

By default, the IPS is shipped with Asymmetric mode enabled. This means that the IPS only sees
one side of the TCP connection. When using Advanced Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 8 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 protection filters, you must place the IPS device in a Symmetric network and you must disable
Asymmetric mode. The device must be able to see both sides of the traffic flow. This is
configured in the IPS Device Configuration (TSE Settings) tab.

DDoS filters - Infrastructure protection filters that detect DDoS attacks which flood a network
with requests, including traditional SYN floods, DNS request floods against nameservers, and
attempts to use protected systems as reflectors or amplifiers in attacks against third parties.
These filters detect direct flood attacks and attacks hidden within larger packets and requests.

Note: Of the DDoS protection filters, the NX-Platform IPS devices only support SYN Proxy. In
order to enable this function, enable and specify the Threshold in the Profiles area.

SYN Proxy - describes the detection and block of SYN flood attacks. These attacks enact a series
of requests with false SYN flags that constantly request a connection. SYN Proxy enables the use
of SYN traps to block all new TCP connection requests from a single attacker against a host.
Enabling SYN-Proxy will force all spoofed and incomplete TCP connections to be blocked. Only a
3-way handshake TCP connection will be proxied to the protected server.

TSE Adaptive Filtering

The IPS Adaptive Filtering feature is designed to protect the IPS from poorly performing filters.
When the IPS detects a poorly performing filter, it automatically disables the offending filter and
generates a system log message. A filter is determined to be poorly performing under the
following conditions:

• Filter time out. Each filter may have one or more specific inspection functions, some of which
may be implemented using regular expressions. If a regular expression times out, or exceeds
a certain level of recursion, then the IPS will initiate AFC on that filter.

• When a Filter is creating congestion and not firing. It is possible that the traffic is passing
certain filters’ early inspection functions but failing the later inspection functions. If the IPS
is experiencing continued congestion, the recommendation is to look for these filters and
consider disabling them. See the Filtering Concepts section, for more information on the
different filtering mechanisms within the IPS.

Most filters provide configuration settings for adaptive filtering. If you do not want a filter to be
subject to adaptive filtering, you can edit the filter and disable Adaptive Filtering. You can also
modify the device-wide adaptive filter configuration for a device using Device Configuration.

TSE Adaptive Aggregation

Because a single packet can trigger an alert, attacks featuring large numbers of packets could
potentially flood the alert mechanism causing system congestion. Adaptive Aggregation will limit
the action set of any selected and defined filters that fire more than x times in the last minute.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 9 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 This is not to be confused with “Alert Aggregation” which enables you to receive alert notification
at intervals to prevent alert flooding.

“Block & Notify” and “Block & Notify & Trace” action sets are reduced to “Block” when Adaptive
Aggregation triggers. Identical results will occur for the “Permit” action sets as well. System logs
will note entering and leaving this condition. Adaptive Aggregation will stop when the offending
filter fires fewer than x/3 times in a minute.

2.4. VLAN Translation

The NX-Platform IPS is capable of translating VLAN IDs per segment (assuming they follow the
industry standard of dot1q). The translation occurs after the inspection so incoming VLANs are used
for Virtual Segments.

• Support “IPS on a Stick” with Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) Switches
• 96 VLAN translations (192 bidirectional VLAN pairs)
• Increase port density options by leveraging switches as port aggregation point
• Only supports policy by VLAN as received by IPS
• All policy, security, events, etc. happen on ingress VLAN id only
o VLAN Translation will strip all VLAN tags and inspect the traffic payload, once inspection
is completed, all VLAN tags will be reinserted except the outer most VLAN tag will be
change to VLAN specified by VLAN translation.
o No concept of “dest VLAN” in virtual ports
• Typical usage involves symmetric translation
• Mappings must be unique – a given ingress VLAN must map to a single egress VLAN
o Although it is valid to apply a 1: many translation, the IPS won’t be able to translate the
return traffic
• Command Line interface
o conf t vlan-translation add <port> <ingress-vlan> <egress-vlan> [-both-directions]
o conf t vlan-translation remove <port> <ingress-vlan>

Note: VLAN Translation does not work while Zero Power High Availability (ZPHA) is active.

2.5. IPS Elements

Filtering Concepts

The IPS supports different types of filters, each of which provides protection from certain types
of attacks or is used to implement the customer’s security policies.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 10 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Filter Precedence

The IPS processes filter in the following order of precedence;

1. Inspection Bypass Rules
2. Traffic Management Filters
3. RepDV
4. Quarantine
5. Digital Vaccine filters

Flow Inspection Filters

The flow inspection filters are the most common type of filter used by the IPS. The filters are
used to determine whether a particular flow is malicious or in violation of the established security
policy. The defined filters help establish several inspection functions, all of which must succeed
in order for the filter to “fire.”

Trust as an Action Set

Trust as an Action Set allows trusts to be created and associated with a filter or set of filters. This
is useful when you want to trust a certain type of application instead of the entire flow in general.

Actions are configured under shared settings; where you can create a TRUST or
TRUST+NOTIFY action set which can then be assigned to any DV filter. If traffic matches a
filter with an action set of TRUST, a trusted stream is created, and that flow will pass through
the IPS uninspected until the trusted stream times out (default 30 minutes). Trusted streams
are also shared with the partner IPS in a TRHA configuration.

2.5.4.1. Traffic Management Filters

Traffic Management Filters (TMFs) are similar to firewall rules although not considered a
replacement for them. A TMF is configured with an action and traffic matching criteria. In
general terms the more specific TMF filters should be listed first.

As an example of this concept, is the placement of a more specific IP filter that might block
traffic with the fully qualified source and destination IP addresses along with the ports. While
more general ones, like those that apply to entire subnets, should follow.

Specific example:

Source IP of 192.168.1.12 to Destination of 10.10.3.8 on TCP Port of 8080

General example:

Source of 192.168.1.0/24 to Destination of 10.10.3.0/24

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 11 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 The configurable actions for a TMF are:

• Block – drop all traffic meeting the specified criteria

• Allow – allow traffic and continue to inspect the traffic with other filters
• Trust – allow the traffic to pass through the IPS uninspected
• Rate limit – limit the matching traffic to the throughput specified in the action set (the
traffic will still be inspected for other attacks)

The following traffic matching criteria may be specified:

• IP fragments – apply the TMF action only to IP fragments

• Traffic direction – apply the TMF to traffic flowing from port A to port B; port B to
port A; or both directions on the segment

• Protocol – IP, TCP, UDP or ICMP. For TCP and UDP, specific ports may also be
configured. For ICMP, specific Type and Code attributes may be specified

• Source and Destination IP Addresses and CIDR blocks – the scope of the TMF may be
limited to specific source and/or destination IP addresses

Note: Traffic Management filters do not generate alerts.

Traffic Management Filters, particularly those with a Trust action, should be used
carefully. They are commonly used in the following situations:

• Rate Limit - Customer wants to rate limit an entire class of traffic, as specified by the
TCP port. This may be used to preserve bandwidth for other applications.

Note: Rate Limiting is only a reservation and not a guarantee of bandwidth at all
times. It could create latency and other issues when TMFs meet rate limitations
for flows being inspected or examined.

• Block or Allow based on ports or protocols - The use of trust TMF to improve the
performance of certain applications, is possible when considered against select Filters
or Categories. This is common and recommended with certain applications, in
particular streaming media, where payloads consisting of essentially random data. It
is possible that this data will look suspicious to the IPS (i.e. match some filters’ triggers)
and cause the flow to be submitted for deeper inspection. The deeper detailed
inspection fails, however, this process can possibly create jitter and result in packets
being delivered out of order. Streaming media clients are very sensitive to these
conditions, and the overall application performance may suffer. In these cases, a TMF
using the trust action can alleviate the condition. This should be written “tightly”

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 12 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 meaning it should specify the application port(s) as well as the IP addresses of the
media servers.

• Trust - When Network File System (NFS) backups running through the IPS. They may
generate very large packets, which are fragmented at the IP layer. The IPS will
reassemble IP fragments; however, this operation is very costly in performance of the
sensor. If the NFS data is trusted, (i.e. known to be free of attacks) then a TMF trust
rule applied to IP fragments will help improve throughput of this application.

Note: As indicated above, a TMF filter set to trust will cause the IPS to forward traffic
meeting the matching criteria without inspecting it for attacks. Therefore, the matching
criteria should be written in the most restrictive manner possible.

2.5.4.2. Flow Management Filters

Flow Management Filters are a special set of policy based DV filters which "trigger" once a
certain amount of traffic has passed and matches the defined filter. These filters are to be
used in conjunction with TRUST as an "Action Set".

It is commonly assumed that most attacks occur within the first few bytes of a flow; using
these filters you can trust a flow after the flow has been determined to be clean for either
the first 5, 10, 100 or 500MB of transferred data. When a filter match occurs, the stream is
added to the Trusted Streams table and all traffic afterwards will follow the TMF
recommendations for trust.

Flow Management Filters are available on the N-Platform (660N, 1400N, 2500N, 5100N,
6100N), the NX-Platform (2600NX, 5200NX, 6200NX, 7100NX, 7500NX) and the S-Series (S10,
S110, S330; running TOS v3.2.2+) IPS devices. Only one TCP and/or one UDP filter should be
enabled

Flow Management Filters

7620: TCP Flow Management (5MB) 7624: UDP Flow Management (5MB)
7621: TCP Flow Management (10MB) 7625: UDP Flow Management (10MB)
7622: TCP Flow Management (100MB) 7626: UDP Flow Management (100MB)
7623: TCP Flow Management (500MB) 7627: UDP Flow Management (500MB)

Implementation and Management

Best practice calls for the Traffic Management Filter to be set to a TRUST action, however
during the initial configuration and observation period the filter should be set to an action of
TRUST+NOTIFY. After the system has been verified to be working properly, the filter should
be set to TRUST.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 13 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Note: Setting the filter to PERMIT+NOTIFY is not the recommended action for these filters
as it will send all flows to deeper inspections.

You may view the TRUSTED streams table at the following locations:

1. SMS: via TRUSTED STREAMS table via the Devices->"IPS"->Events->Trusted Streams tab
2. LSM: via Events->Managed Streams->Trusted Streams

2.6. IPS Deployment Considerations

Deployment Guidelines

The TippingPoint IPS and the Security Management System (SMS) server are very easy to deploy.
The initial configuration is performed using the Out-of-Box Experience (OBE) wizard; this script
prompts the user for the needed and essential configuration values. Typically, baseline
configuration of an SMS or IPS will require less than 10 minutes.

However, as with any in-line network device, the deployment should be carefully planned. The
following section provides guidance on planning and executing the initial deployment of the
TippingPoint solution. The following section will summarize key IPS configuration parameters.

IPS Positioning

The most common IPS deployment is at the customer network perimeter, which is those links
connecting the customer network to the Internet. Although the IPS may be deployed in front of
the firewall, most customers will deploy it behind the firewall. In this way the firewall will drop
traffic per its Access Control Lists (ACLs), thereby reducing the load on the IPS. With the
introduction of the NX-Platform devices not only can these devices be installed at the perimeter
but they can also be installed at the Core.

In today’s network environments, the “network perimeter” is becoming blurred. This is due to
employees entering the network using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or mobile users -
employees and guests connecting to the network while at the customer site, particularly using
wireless access points.

This drives the need to consider a “defense-in-depth” strategy. In addition to the network border,
the internal network is subdivided into separate “attack domains” (also known as “security
broadcast domains”); this not only contains outbreaks within the LAN, but also allows continued
IPS protection if one unit is bypassed for maintenance. In most cases user traffic can pass through
as many as three IPS’s before any cumulative latency is noticed.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 14 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Physical Connections

The IPS is placed in-line between two network elements (i.e. between 2 routers or switches) or
can be placed on a switch where it can translate VLANs.

The IPS doesn’t act as a network element in the sense that it does not route traffic – it simply
inspects the traffic. Because the IPS is an in-line device, the physical interfaces must match the
segment in which it will be placed. Individual segments and are not shared.

Cabling Requirements

The IPS ships with the following cables:

• Two (2) AC power cables for the redundant power supplies
• Serial cable (RJ45, DB-9 FM) for (COM) port

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 15 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Transparent High Availability (TRHA)

TRHA is a redundancy option for two IPS devices installed on parallel network paths. TRHA
requires configuring two IPS devices with the same TRHA settings. Enabling this option configures
the IPSs to share information, allowing for asymmetric routing and/or failover. Synchronization
works with both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic.

Transparent HA keeps the devices in sync so that if one experiences a system failure, the network
flow can be routed to the other with no interruption in intrusion prevention services. The also
provides protection in the event that a network failure, outside of the IPS, causes network traffic
to be routed to the IPS on the redundant path.

Note: Both IPS devices must be from the same product family and running the same TOS version.

What is shared between TRHA pairs?

• Blocked flows
• Rate limited flows
• Quarantined flows
• SYN proxy sequence number

What isn’t shared?

• TCP state
• TCP reassembly information
• Information about flows that aren’t being blocked or rate limited.

Figure 2-1: TRHA Configuration

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 16 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 2.7. NX Modules

Standard Modules

The NX-Platform IPS support up to four I/O modules, which enable the user to customize the device
to suit the needs of the network. Each NX module occupies a slot, and each slot can contain up to 12
physical ports or 6 segments, depending on the module that is installed.

Table 2-1: NX-Platform Standard Modules

Description

6-Segment Gig-T NX (Gig-T)

Ports: 12 Fixed RJ-45 copper ports
Port speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps
Part Number: JC768A / TPNN0059

6-Segment GbE SFP NX (SFP)

Ports: 12 SFP ports
Port speed: 1 Gbps
Part Number: JC769A / TPNN0068

4-Segment 10GbE SFP+ NX (SFP+)

Ports: 8 Fiber SFP+ ports
Port speed: 10 Gbps
Part Number: JC770A / TPNN0060

1-Segment 40 GbE QSFP+ NX (QSFP+)

Ports: 2 Fiber QSFP+ ports
Port speed: 40 Gbps
Part Number: JC771A / TPNN0069

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 17 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Bypass Modules

The NX-Platform IPS support a range of Bypass I/O Modules (BIOMs), which combine the IPS segment
interfaces with mechanical bypass switches for high-availability purposes. The BIOMs offered for the
NX-Platform support various interface speed and connectivity types, including copper or fiber
(1Gbps) or fiber (10Gbps). Fiber modules are available with either long range or short range
transceivers.

The BIOMs can route traffic within the module when the IPS loses power or when the module is
removed from the IPS. Using the LSM, CLI, or SMS, you can also configure the BIOMs to bypass traffic
on a per-module basis

Table 2-2: NX-Platform Bypass Modules

Description
NX IPS 4-Segment Gig-T Bypass Module
Ports: 8 copper ports
Port speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps
Part Number: JC877A / TPNN0070
NX IPS 2-Segment 1G Fiber SR
Ports: 4 Multi-Mode (LC type)
Port speed: 1 Gbps
Part Number: JC878 / TPNN0071
NX IPS 2-Segment 1G Fiber LR Bypass Module
Ports: 4 Single-Mode Fiber (LC type)
Port speed: 1 Gbps
Part Number: JC879A / TPNN0072
NX IPS 2-Segment 10G Fiber SR
Ports: 4 Multi-Mode Fiber (LC type)
Port speed: 1/10 Gbps
Part Number: JC880A / TPNN0073
NX IPS 2-Segment 10G Fiber LR Bypass Module
Ports: 4 Multi-Mode Single-Mode Fiber (LC type)
Port speed: 1/10 Gbps
Part Number: JC881A / TPNN0074

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 18 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 I/O Modules General Information

• Running “show-mfg” from the NX Command Line Interface (CLI) will display the model
number of the modules (bypass or otherwise) that are installed into the appliance. In
addition, the model number and description can also be found on the sticker on the bottom
of the module itself.

• Hot-swapping I/O modules on the NX-Platform devices is only supported with TOS v3.6.0 or
higher. Hot-swapping modules without adverse reactions, only works by swapping like-for-
like I/O modules in the same slot.

• Hot-swapping I/O modules on the NX-Platform running TOS v3.5.x is not supported. If you
must remove and replace an NX I/O module, shut down the system, replace the module and
re-start the system.

• Bypass modules are only compatible with the NX-Platform IPS devices running TOS v3.6.0 and
higher.

• A bypass module that is installed while the system is powered on remains in bypass mode.
This way the network can continue to pass traffic while users configure the number of
network ports and their speeds to meet specific requirements. The BIOM must be taken out
of bypass mode either administratively (using the CLI or the LSM) or through a reboot.

• Bypass modules should continue to pass traffic even while not connected to the NX-Platform
device, or while the device is powered off or administratively placed in bypass mode. If the
module does not pass traffic under these conditions, ensure that you have the appropriate
cable for your network. In many cases, replacing a straight-through cable with a cross-over
cable will resolve link issues.

• Bypass modules contain electro mechanical switches that are very sensitive to handling when
not installed in the system. Network disruption can occur if handled improperly.

• Best practice calls for network connectivity to be tested in all available modes (inspection,
bypass and transitions) between devices. This should be done in order to ensure that no
cabling mistakes have occurred.

• For more information about deploying NX I/O modules, refer to the TippingPoint NX-Platform
Hardware Installation and Safety Guide.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 19 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 I/O Module Hot-Swapping Guidelines

When hot-swapping I/O modules, note the following administrative guidelines:

• If a slot has always been empty, all possible ports and segments on the slot are absent
and unavailable.

• If a slot’s configuration is erased by the user, configuration of that slot’s ports and
segments is deleted and all possible ports and segments on the slot become absent and
unavailable. However, any policy-related configuration for these ports does not change
when the bay configuration is erased and must be manually cleaned up by the user.

• When a module is inserted into a slot or restarted, the system software performs the
following evaluation. When the IPS boots up, the evaluation is performed for every
module installed in a slot:
 The module is validated.
 The status of the module (whether there is a module in the slot, what type of
module it is, whether it is being used or is in error) is determined.
 The physical state (Present or Absent) and availability state (Available or
Unavailable) for each possible port and segment on this slot is determined.
 The configuration is changed and applied as necessary.
 A syslog message is added (depending on whether the module passed validation
and the module status check).

• Removing a module from a slot does not change or reapply the configuration. It also does
not change the availability state of ports and segments. It will, however, change the
physical state to Absent. An error-level syslog message indicates that the module was
removed. In addition, users are shown the physical state when viewing configuration and
status related to that slot. These changes also occur when the IPS boots up for every
empty slot.

• The following conditions are displayed when the corresponding ports and segments are
available, and are hidden when they are unavailable:
 Segment configuration
 Network port configuration
 Network port health
 Network port throughput performance
 Traffic profile by network port

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 20 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 What happens when modules are swapped?

1. Swapping like-for-like
• All configuration is preserved including:
 Port & Segment configuration (port state, speed / duplex settings, Link Down
Sync & L2FB behavior)
 Inspection Bypass, VLAN translation rules & Filter policy

2. Swapping with a different module type

• Port & Segment configuration is reset to defaults
• Inspection Bypass rules & Filter Policy is preserved
• VLAN translation rules are preserved, but ports are administratively disabled

3. Upgrading from 1G to 10G

• Swapping 6 segments to 4 segments (standard) or 4 segments to 1 segment
(bypass)
• Behavior is as Example-2, but you will may have Filter Policy applied to segments
which are no longer physically present
• Customers will have to manually remove the Filter Policy on the unused
segments

4. Hot-inserting a Bypass I/O modules

• The newly hot-inserted bypass module will remain in bypass until an
administrator removes it from bypass or reboots the device

5. Swapping to/from a 40G module or inserting new 40G module

• Hot-swapping 40G module will require a reboot –full to be placed into service
• One exception is when you are swapping like for like, which does not require a
reboot

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 21 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Fiber-Optic Connection

The IPS uses fiber-optic connectors with the connector type being a Small Form-Factor Pluggable
(SFP) fiber optic connector that is LC-Duplex compatible. The following modules are approved for
use in the NX-Platform devices:

Table 2-3: NX-Platform IPS Approved Interfaces

NX-Platform IPS Approved Interfaces
NX I/O Module Transceiver
HP Trend Micro HP Trend Micro Description
P/N P/N P/N P/N

JC009A TPNN0054 TippingPoint X126 1G SFP RJ45 T (Copper SFP)

TippingPoint X126 1G SFP LC LX 10Km 1310nm XCVR

JC769A TPNN0068 JC875A TPNN0056
(1G SFP Long Range / Single Mode)
TippingPoint X126 1G SFP LC SX 550m 850nm XCVR
JC876A TPNN0055
(1G SFP Short Range / Multi Mode)
TippingPoint S146 40G QSFP+ SR4 850nm
JC771A TPNN0069 JC858A TPNN0071
(40G SFP Short Range / Multi Mode)
TippingPoint S136 10G SFP+ LC SR
JC859A TPNN0057
(10G SFP Short Range / Multi Mode)
JC770A TPNN0060
TippingPoint S136 10G SFP+ LC LR
JC860A TPNN0058
(10G SFP Long Range / Single Mode)

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 22 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 2.8. Stacking

The TOS v3.9.0, has introduced a new feature for the NX-Platform 7100NX or 7500NX IPS devices
called stacking. Stacking enables you to increase the overall inspection capacity of your TippingPoint
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) by grouping multiple NX-Platform devices and pooling their
resources. You can configure up to five NX-Platform devices in a stack. The stack operates as a single
device that you manage on the TippingPoint Security Management System (SMS). In-line inspection
capacity increases with each device that you add to the stack. Stacking support allows for a higher
inspection throughput.

• Increased inspection capacity for 7100NX (30Gb-75Gb)

• Increased inspection capacity for 7500NX (40Gb-100Gb)

Stacking requirements

• TippingPoint 7100NX or 7500NX device (each member of the stack must be the same model).
• One TippingPoint 40 GbE QSFP+ I/O module for each device (installed in slot 4).
• One TippingPoint 40G QSFP+ Active Optical Cable (AOC) for each device. Note: If the devices
are more than 3 meters apart you will need to use standard multimode fiber with the two
TippingPoint S146 40G QSFP+ SR4 850nm for each 40Gbe module.
• TOS v3.9.0, or later installed on all devices.
• SMS v4.5.0, or later.

Important Notes
• Prior to installing TOS v3.9.0 for the purpose of stacking, you must perform a factory reset.
• The same Digital Vaccine must be distributed to all devices in the stack, failure to do this will
result in errors from the stack.
• The I/O modules should be installed in the stacking device that you plan to use as the network
segment device. A network segment device operates in-line in the network and distributes
network traffic to each stack member for inspection. The other stack members do not need
network I/O modules. If you do install additional I/O modules on the other devices in the
stack, they must match the I/O modules in the network segment device and they can only be
used for the same network (redundancy).

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 23 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Figure 2-2: NX-Platform resilient stack configuration

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 24 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 2.9. Intrusion Detection System (IDS)

When Intrusion Detection System (IDS) mode is enabled, it adjusts the IPS device configuration such
that the IPS operates in a manner suitable for intrusion detection scenarios and filter configurations.
When in IDS mode the following areas are modified;

• Performance protection is disabled

• Adaptive Filtering is set to manual
• Queue length is increased
• Filters currently set to Block are not switched to Permit, and Block filters can still be set

Procedure:

1. Configure the network device for port mirroring/SPAN mode

2. Connect IPS device "Segment A" to network device

3. Enable IDS mode;

a. On the LSM; IDS mode is enabled on the IPS Preferences page (IPS Preferences) under
the Configure Threat Suppression Engine section. When IDS Mode settings are changed,
the device must be rebooted for the change to take effect.

b. On the SMS; Go to Devices and then choose your device from the list on the left or the
window on the right. Once selected choose Device Configuration. Another windows will
pop-up and in this window choose TSE Settings on the left. On the right side click the IDS
Mode check box and press OK to continue. Once again this will require a reboot.

Note 1: Using the IPS device in a mixed configuration is not supported. If the IPS device will be
used in an IDS configuration, then it is an IDS device. Use the IPS as either IDS or IPS device but
not both. Attempting to run in mixed mode will lead to performance issues.

Note 2: Connect the mirrored/span port only to Segment A, leave Segment B open

Definitions:

Port Mirror / SPAN Mode - A port mirror is active packet duplication, meaning that a network
device (switch/router) has to physically copy packets onto the mirrored port. This means that the
device has to carry on this task by using some resources (e.g. CPU) and that both traffic directions
will be copied into the same port.

Network TAP - This entails either electrically or optically copying packets from the tap port.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 25 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 2.10. System Administration

IPS Management port

TippingPoint recommends configuring the management port on the IPS to use a non-routed IP
address from the RFC-1918 Private Address space. This helps to prevent direct attack on the
management port from the Internet. Additionally, the management port IP Address filter feature
should be used to limit access to the management port. Only addresses defined by the command
will be allowed to access the IPS. Host IP filters are essentially ACLs on the management port of
the IPS.
When the IPS is initially configured, the default security policy is set to permit any. Once you
establish a host IP filter, whether it is a permit or deny, then the default IP filter becomes deny
any, the old legal idea of the inclusion of one is to the exclusion of all others). If you are doing
this via SSH (not the console), the first thing you must do is a permit rule for the IP address you
are on or you will deny your IP access to the management port inadvertently.

“Management interface under attack” This message appears when too much of the traffic sent
to the management port wasn't meant for the management IP address - too much broadcast
traffic for instance.

Note: The IPS must not be under SMS control when doing this. If the device is currently managed,
you may use the CLI command conf t no sms to temporarily unmanage the IPS. To resume SMS
management, use the CLI command conf t sms.

You can use the following CLI commands to configure the management port:

conf t host ip-filter (permit | deny) ip

For example, issue the following command to limit management port access to one host:

conf t host ip-filter permit ip 192.168.10.45/24

If you require more than one address, then create a host ip-filter for all IP addresses or the
subnet that is allowed to access the device. For example, if the legal machines are on the
192.168.10.X subnet, enter the following CLI command:

conf t host ip-filter permit ip 192.168.10.0/24

To reverse the effect of the previous command, issue the following command:

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 26 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 conf t host no ip-filter permit ip 192.168.10.0/24

To change the default action back to "permit any" enter the following command:

conf t host ip-filter permit any ip

To view current ip-filters, use the show host -details CLI command:

#show host -details

IP Address Action # Hits

==================== ======
192.168.10.45 permit 38

2.10.1.1. Reports available via the Local Security Manager (LSM)

The IPS itself has basic reporting capabilities via the LSM interface. Apart from the top level
display that shows the number of attacks by severity, there are several useful displays for
indicating general information such as relative amounts of TCP/UDP/ICMP as well as specific
security reports.

The following are the types of reports available via the LSM.
• Filter Matches
 Top 10 Filters, Severity, Action, Protocol, Virtual Segments: All, Virtual
Segments: Permit, Virtual Segments: Block.
• Rate Limits
• Traffic
 Transmission Type (Unicast, Broadcast, Multicast, etc.)
♦ Traffic Profile by Transmission Type (Unicast, Multicast, Broadcast)
This report can be very useful when troubleshooting – if you see a
disproportionate amount of multicast and broadcast traffic, you may find
that you are just seeing router control traffic, such as OSPF or EIGRP
multicast HELLO traffic, RIP updates or Cisco discovery protocol (CDP).
 Protocol (ICMP, UDP, TCP, etc.)
 Frame Size
♦ Traffic Profile by Frame Size - According to CAIDA
(http://www.caida.org/) the average packet size on the Internet is very
small, in part due to the dominance of TCP traffic, which generates a

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 27 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 large number of very small packets (e.g. SYN and SYN+ACK for the
connection establishment). In a real network with a reasonable amount
of HTTP and FTP, the number of large packets will be substantial. If only
small packets are present, there is usually something wrong. The NX-
Platform tracks jumbo packets as well.
 Port (traffic by segment)
• DDoS
• Quarantine
• Adaptive Filter
• Technical Support Report (System->Tech Support Report)
 Use the Technical Support Report page to arrange for the LSM to send you a
status report in an email based on the email server settings you configured.

IPS Security Levels

Restrictions on username and password values for user accounts are determined by the Security
Level preference setting configured on the Preferences page. Username and password
requirements are the same for local users and TOS users. There are three possible security levels
available on the IPS:

Table 2-4: NX-Platform Security Levels and Password Requirements

Option Description
• A password does NOT have to be defined. If
you choose to define a password, any length
Level 0 – Low/No Security
and format is allowed. A password can NOT
contain spaces.
• Passwords must contain at least 8 characters
Level 1 - Medium Security
without spaces.
• Passwords must contain at least 8 characters
without spaces.
• Must contain at least two alphabetic
characters
Level 2 - High Security (default) • Must contain at least one numeric character
• Must contain at least one non-alphanumeric
character. A non-alphanumeric character
includes any character that is not a digit or a
letter. Do not use spaces in the password.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 28 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 How to Recover the IPS SuperUser Password?

Q: Can you recover a SuperUser lost password?

A: You cannot recover the SuperUser password of an IPS, but you can reset it to a new value or
create a new login with SuperUser privileges.

Note: This procedure requires a reboot operation which will disrupt traffic!

1. Connect to the IPS via the console port. The serial port connection settings are as follows:
Speed: 115200 - Databits: 8 - Parity: None – Stop bits: 1

2. Reboot the IPS.

3. After the IPS completes its initial startup screens the TippingPoint splash screen is displayed
in ASCII characters. You should see something similar to the following:

Initialize Audit log....................[OK]

Initialize Block Log....................[OK]
Initialize Alert Log....................[OK]
Initialize SNMP.........................[OK]
Initialize Email........................[OK]
Initialize Remote Syslog................[OK]
Validating Certificate..................[OK]
_____ ____ _
|_ _|_ _ __ _ __ _ _ __ __ _| _ \ ___ _ _ __ | |_
| | | | '_ \| '_ \| | '_ \ / _` | |_) / _ \| | '_ \| __|
| | | | |_) | |_) | | | | | (_| | __/ (_) | | | | | |_
|_| |_| .__/| .__/|_|_| |_|\__, |_| \___/|_|_| |_|\__|
|_| |_| |___/ Technologies, Inc.

TippingPoint - Austin, Texas, USA - www.tippingpoint.com

TOS Version : X.X.X.XXXX Build : XXX XX XXXX, XX:XX:XX
Digital Vaccine : X.X.X.XXXX Serial : X-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
Hardware Rev : X

Loading . . .

4. Type the word mkey (lower case) within 3 seconds of seeing the word "Loading."

Note: If you don't type mkey before the three dots "..." appear after the word “Loading” you
will have to restart and try again.

5. If you were successful, then you will be prompted to specify the security level for the initial
“SuperUser” account and password creation.

6. Enter the desired username for the SuperUser account.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 29 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Note: If you use the existing SuperUser account user name, you will be resetting the
previous password for that user. If you use a different user name you will be creating a
new super-user account.

7. Enter your new password. Once the new username and password has been accepted, the IPS
will complete the boot process and you will be able to login to the IPS with the new
credentials.

How to Reset an IPS to Factory Settings?

WARNING: The IPS will reboot during this procedure and will interrupt traffic flow through the
IPS. When the IPS finishes the process of resetting to factory defaults, the IPS will need to be
reconfigured using the Out-of-Box-Experience at the serial console.

Be aware that the IPS will revert to the original TOS shipped with the device and that the Digital
Vaccines (DVs) will be deleted. System logs, snapshots, and other system data will not be deleted
but they will not be visible until you restore the TOS version that created them.

In order to factory reset your IPS enter the following command at the CLI interface;

debug factory-reset

How to Turn Off SMS Management on the IPS

Issue the following command at the command line:

configure terminal no sms

To re-enable SMS management issue the following CLI command:

configure terminal sms

You can also turn SMS management on or off by using the LSM via Configure  NMS
Management.

After the IPS is managed by an SMS, you can view the SMS information from the CLI of the IPS.
Type in the following to get information on which SMS is managing your device:

show sms

This will display the SMS Serial number, the SMS version, SMS IP address, as well as the SMS Port.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 30 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 What are Inspection Bypass rules?

An Inspection Bypass rule is a feature available in the NX-Platform (2600NX, 5200NX, 6200NX,
7100NX and 7500NX) IPS devices. This feature enables administrators to configure rules that in
effect will allow traffic to bypass the IPS inspection engine. Any traffic that matches an inspection
bypass rule is directed through the IPS without further inspection. In addition, traffic that is
passed with an inspection bypass rules do not count against the maximum traffic capacity of the
device. Inspection bypass rules can be created to take into account any of the following criteria:

• CIDR
• VLAN
• Source IP Address
• Destination IP Address
• IPS Port Number
• Protocol Port Number
• Tunneling Traffic

The NX-Platform IPS devices support up to a maximum of 8 inspection bypass rules per device.

The conf t inspection-bypass CLI command is used to manage inspection bypass rules. The rules
are identified by an ID number that is generated by the IPS when the rule is created with the conf
t inspection-bypass add command. You can view a list of current inspection bypass rules with the
show inspection-bypass command.

Note: It is a recommended best practice to utilize inspection bypass rules to bypass encrypted
traffic. This is recommended because the IPS cannot inspect encrypted traffic and attempting to
do so can impact performance and cause unnecessary CPU processing load.

Parameters: The conf t inspection-bypass command uses the following parameters:

Table 2-5: Inspection-Bypass CLI Commands

Subcommand Description Usage
Add Adds an inspection bypass rule. conf t inspection-bypass add
Clears statistics associated with an inspection bypass
clear-stats conf t inspection-bypass clearstats <rule_ID>
rule.
Enable Enables an inspection bypass rule. conf t inspection-bypass enable <rule_ID>
disable Disables an inspection bypass rule. conf t inspection-bypass disable <rule_ID>
remove Removes an inspection bypass rule. conf t inspection-bypass remove <rule_ID>
Note: Inspection Bypass rules can also be configured via the Security Management System (SMS)

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 31 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 System Upgrades

Hitless upgrades are available for the NX-Platform (2600NX, 5200NX, 6200NX, 7100NX and
7500NX). To completely reboot or do a full reboot, non-hitless, type the following at the CLI:

IPS# reboot –full

Note: If possible, connect to the console port during a TOS upgrade so that you can watch the
status and catch any errors. Always update the DV after a TOS upgrade since the TOS will include
a DV from the time period in which the TOS file was generated.

Traces and Email Notifications

When troubleshooting, use packet traces and email notifications sparingly and remember to
revert back to normal after your “forensics” analysis is finished.

Maximum Frame Sizes

NX-Platform devices (2600NX, 5200NX, 6200NX, 7100NX and 7500NX) support 1548 bytes’ frame
inspection with jumbo frame inspection (up to 9234 bytes).

Compact Flash

The NX-Platform ships with a pre-formatted external variant of a compact flash (Cfast) and an
internal compact flash. The external compact flash is inserted in the front of the NX-Platform IPS.
Only approved Compact Flash cards are supported by TippingPoint.

The compact flash card is used to store system logs, snapshots, packet traces, and other system
data. The user can remove and insert the compact flash card while the device is running;
however, the user must ensure to issue the appropriate command from the Command Line
Interface (CLI). The device will continue to perform correctly if the compact flash card is not
available.

2.10.10.1. External Compact Flash Commands

Remove media command: compact-flash unmount

Format new (blank) media command: compact-flash format

The IPS will automatically mount the newly formatted media

Authenticate mode

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 32 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Enable command:

conf t compact-flash operation-mode authenticate

Must be super-user in order to mount compact flash media

Mount new media command:

compact-flash mount

If no external compact flash is present, the IPS can still capture packet traces by storing them
on the internal compact flash by issuing the following command:

debug mod ini-cfg user Flogger PACKET_CAPTURE_DRIVE SYSTEM

2.10.10.2. Internal Compact Flash

To maximize reliability no periodic data will be written to the internal compact flash. The
following are the only writes that are allowed:
• TOS and DV updates
• Configuration settings (INI and filter)

Performance Protection (Logging Mode)

During high traffic inspection timeframes, the IPS will send notifications to the SMS. These
notifications take up valuable CPU cycles which should be used for traffic inspection. System
notifications can be suspended automatically if the system is experiencing congestion

Performance Protection settings:

– Logging Mode: Always log / Disable if congested
– Congestion Percentage: Default:1.0% – Range: 0.1% to 99.9%
– Disable Time: How long to suppress notifications, 600 seconds by default

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 33 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Figure 2-3: Logging Mode Settings

Link-Down Synchronization

Industry standard routing protocols like, Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Virtual Router
Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) and Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) utilize “path down”
detection technology to detect when a network path is down and thus initiate a switch to a
redundant default path. Link-Down Synchronization, also called Sympathetic HA, allows you to
configure the device to force both ports down on a segment when the device detects a link state
of down on one of the ports. When Link-Down Synchronization is enabled, the device monitors
the link state for both ports on a segment.

If the link goes down on either port, both ports on the segment are disabled. This functionality
propagates the link state across the device. In the case of Router, A and Router B, if the link to
Router A goes down, then both ports are disabled, resulting in the link to Router B also going
down, which Router B then detects. With Link-Down Synchronization, ports respond according
to the configured setting. The settings include the following:

• Hub - When a port goes down, the system ensures the partner port remains up.
• Breaker - When a port goes down, the system disables the partner port until both ports
are manually restarted. The breaker option requires manually restarting both ports.
• Wire - When a port goes down, the system disables the partner port, automatically
restarting both ports when the link is re-established.

In addition to the ability to enable Link-Down Synchronization for each segment, you can change
the amount of time after detecting a link is down before forcing both ports down on a segment.
The default is one second. You can configure the setting to any number of seconds ranging from
zero to 240.

Note: Best practice recommendation is to set the time between two and four seconds

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 34 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Once you enable Link-Down Synchronization for a segment, monitoring of that segment begins
only after link up is detected on both ports. When Link-Down Synchronization disables the ports
on a segment, two audit log messages are generated. The first message in the audit log
corresponds to the port with the link down. The second message corresponds to the segment
partner. Additionally, an error message is added to the system log indicating which port was
detected with the link down, activating Link-Down Synchronization for that segment.

Figure 2-4: Link-Down Synchronization

Recommendation: We recommend in most network environments to set the link down

synchronization to wire mode to prevent routing issues.

Note: Testing has shown that it can take up to 4 seconds for the partner link to shut
down even if the timer is set to less than 4 seconds.

Intrinsic Network High Availability (HA)

Intrinsic HA, also known as “Layer 2 Fallback” (L2FB), is a mode wherein the IPS will pass traffic
from one interface to its partner without inspecting the traffic. If an internal failure is detected,
the device goes into L2FB mode and either permits or blocks all traffic on each segment,
depending on the preference of the network administrator (see below).

Figure 2-5: Intrinsic Network HA

Some of the checks, thresholds, and resulting actions can be customized based on each
customer's HA and security requirements. For example, L2FB can be configured to fail open
(Permit All) or closed (Block All) on a per segment basis. L2FB can also be enabled manually (see
below). Traffic flowing through each segment on the device will be either blocked or permitted
based on the segment configuration. Any permitted traffic will not be inspected. Setting the IPS

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 35 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 manually in L2FB is a useful tool for troubleshooting by ruling out the IPS as the device causing
the issue (or not).

Figure 2-6: Intrinsic Network HA (LSM)

Note: L2FB only functions as long as the IPS device has power. If you lose power to the device,
you will lose connectivity unless the device has a Zero Power High Availability (ZPHA) module.

In order to do this from the Command Line Interface (CLI) it will be necessary to take the IPS
out of SMS control. Otherwise this can be controlled through the SMS. The command to
initiate L2FB is:

IPS# high-availability force fallback

Typing in:

IPS# show high

This will display the current HA state of the box.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 36 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 IPS System Backup (Snapshot)
Best practice calls for snapshots to be created each time the IPS device is modified. Whether you
distribute a new DV or upgrade the TOS or modify any system configuration you should perform
a snapshot. Snapshots are stored on the external compact flash, so ensure that your flash card is
installed.

If you have an SMS: Through the SMS System Snapshot section, you can manage the snapshots
taken of device filters and settings. You can create these snapshots through the Device
Configuration screen for a specific device. Creating a new snapshot places, a copy on the IPS
device. Archiving a snapshot places, a copy on the SMS. Deleting a snapshot removes the system
snapshot from the device and, if present, the snapshot on the SMS. Snapshots for NX-Platform
devices have the option to include LSM created Reputation Entries as well as Reputation DV and
SMS created Entries.

Note: If you perform a TOS upgrade on the IPS, any snapshots taken on a previous version of the
TOS will not be visible after the upgrade. However, the snapshots are still saved, and if/or when
you perform a rollback, the snapshot will be visible again.

Scan/Sweep Filters

The NX-Platform support filters to detect and/or block port scans and host sweeps and can be
found in the Reconnaissance filter category under Application Protection. The following filters
are referred to as the scan/sweep filters:
• 7000: TCP: Port Scan • 7003: UDP: Host Sweep

• 7001: UDP: Port Scan • 7004: ICMP: Host Sweep

• 7002: TCP: Host Sweep • 7016: ICMPv6: Host Sweep

The scan and sweep filters track the number of port scans and host sweeps attempts from a single
source IP address. These filters have threshold values that can be configured per Security Profile
and per filter. The filter becomes active when the number of connection attempts from a source
IP address exceeds the threshold. Host scans and port sweeps are blocked through the
Quarantine feature. Scan and sweep filters only look at connections from traffic that undergoes
IPS inspection. These filters ignore the following types of traffic:

• Blocked or trusted by a Traffic Management filter

• Trusted flow due to Trust as an Action
• Blocked or trusted by IP Reputation
• Matches an inspection-bypass rule

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 37 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Best Practice: Prior to enabling the scan sweep filters in a block+notify action set, you should
test these filters in a permit+notify or trust+notify action set. This should be done as a precaution
as a number of servers will actually trigger these filters (e.g. Proxy, DNS, Mail). In this fashion a
determination can be made as to what servers will require filter exceptions once these filters are
enabled. Once you have added the exceptions, you can then enable the filters as block+notify.

Configuration Parameters

Table 2-6: NX-Platform Configuration Parameters

Configuration Item Default Comments
General
Use names consistent with customer network naming standards
Name
and practices.
Use this to identify where the IPS is located. For large
Location
deployments, this may identify the rack and position
Serial Number Assigned by TippingPoint
Model Ensure model supports required throughput
If the management network is not isolated from the general user
Management
population, consider using “host ip filters” to restrict access.
Interface
These are described in a later section.
IP address of the IPS’s management port. Must be reachable by
IP Address
the SMS. Can either be IPv6, IPv4 address or both.
Subnet mask Mask for the IPS’s management port IP address
Gateway IP address of the default gateway for the IPS management port.
DNS 1 IP address of a DNS server.
DNS 2 IP address of a DNS server.
DNS Domain Required when using DNS (according to SMS)
Time Zone Time zone in which the IPS is located
Time server IP address. If the IPS is managed by an SMS, then the
SNTP Primary
SMS will serve as the IPS’s time server.
SNTP Secondary IP address of a secondary time server
The IPS may be configured to send its audit log to a remote
Audit Log Syslog
Syslog server. Be sure to configure the remote Syslog server
Server
appropriately.
The IPS may be configured to send its system log to a remote
System Log Syslog
Syslog server. Be sure to configure the remote Syslog server
Server
appropriately.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 38 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Table 2-6: NX-Platform Configuration Parameters
Configuration Item Default Comments
Network
The IPS may be configured to send SNMP traps to a network
Management
management system.
System
Community String
Trap IP Address
Trap Port
The IPS may be configured to send email notification that a filter
Email Server
has fired. This feature should be used sparingly.
Default "To" address
From email address
From email domain
SMTP server IP
address
Transparent HA This is the IPS address of the IPS that will be used in the
partner IP Address transparent HA configuration.
Segment
Segment 1, Name segments in accordance with site practices. Segment
Name Segment 2, names are propagated to the SMS and are used in Reporting,
… Events and other features.
Media (Copper /
Determined by the IPS model but can include both types.
Fiber)
Speed / Duplex
Auto-negotiate / Physical interface settings should be consistent with the site
Auto
MDI/MDX settings standard practices.
If the IPS is being managed by an SMS, each segment will be
Segment Group
Default assigned to a Segment Group. The Segment Groups are used in
(SMS)
Profile distribution and Reporting functions.
An IPS will go into Layer-2 fallback if it detects an internal error
or there is excessive congestion. Each segment may be
configured to pass traffic (permit), uninspected or to block traffic
Layer-2 Fallback under this condition.
Permit
Setting If a segment is part of an iLink group (in a Core Controller
configuration), the segments should be set to Block. This way the
Core Controller heartbeats will fail and the CC will take that
segment out of the group and not forward traffic to it.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 39 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Table 2-6: NX-Platform Configuration Parameters
Configuration Item Default Comments
Each segment consists of two Ethernet links. The Link Down
Synchronization parameter specifies what the IPS is to do with
the second link in the event the first link goes down. Under Hub
mode, the second link remains up.
Under Wire and Breaker modes, the second link is taken down.
Link Down If the IPS is in a HA configuration, Wire mode is commonly used.
Synchronization Hub The network infrastructure will determine the link is down
Mode (remember the IPS is a “bump in the wire” and the network has
no knowledge of its existence) and route traffic around the failed
link.
When the failed link is restored, under Wire mode the IPS will
restore the second link automatically. Under Breaker mode,
both links must be manually restored from the SMS or LSM.
Threat Suppression
Engine
A blocked flow (6-tuple) is automatically released from the
connection table after 1800 seconds on inactivity. This
Connection Table 1800 parameter is rarely modified.
Timeout seconds In demonstrations, this parameter is frequently set to 30
seconds so that the connection table does not have to be
manually cleared for the next scenario.
Asymmetric “Asymmetric” must be used if the IPS will not see both sides of
Asymmetric
Network the TCP connection.
If the IPS experiences congestion exceeding the Congestion %
Logging Mode Disable parameter, it will suspend logging activities. This feature may be
enabled by the user.
Congestion % 1.00% Congestion percentage to disable logging.
600
Time Time which the logging is disabled
seconds
If the IPS determines that a filter is performing poorly, it will
AFC Mode Auto disable the filter. This feature may be disabled at the global level
here, or disabled on a filter by filter basis in the profile.
If a filter is disabled using AFC, a system log entry is generated
Log severity WARN
with this severity.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 40 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Table 2-6: NX-Platform Configuration Parameters
Configuration Item Default Comments
These are parameters that govern when system log messages
are generated if resource consumption becomes too high. These
are typically left in their default values. Health monitor has been
Health Monitoring
greatly expanded compared to previous hardware releases. You
can now monitor fan speed, voltage, and more detailed disk
usage to name a few.
If the IPS is not managed by an SMS, it may be configured to
contact the TMC periodically and download an updated Digital
Vaccine. This, of course, requires that the management port
have access to the Internet.
Auto DV If this feature is used, care should be taken to ensure the
management port is not exposed and subject to attacks.
TippingPoint does have an IPS whose management port is
exposed to the Internet for demonstration purposes. This port is
constantly under brute force attacks.
Auto DV configured Disabled
Frequency
TOS User These parameters affect the LSM users. These should be set
Preferences consistently with the customer’s security posture.
Web Idle Timeout 60 minutes Time after which an idle LSM session will be terminated.
Page Refresh 30 seconds Certain LSM pages have automatic refreshes.
2- The security level specifies the length and general format of IPS
Security level
Maximum user id’s and passwords.
Password Expiration 90 Days
Force user
Password Expiration
to change
Action
password
Max Login Attempts 5
Lockout
Failed Login Action account for
5 minutes

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 41 of 55 Version 16.12.1

3. NX-Platform System descriptions
3.1. Power Information

The NX-Platform unit contains two 750W power supplies equipped with two AC input modules, with
either capable of supplying full power (2n redundancy) giving the unit a total of 2560 BTU/hr.

3.2. NX Platform IPS at a glance

Table 3-1: NX-Platform IPS System

Model Throughput Segments
2600NX 3.0Gbps
5200NX 5.0Gbps Every NX chassis supports up to 4 hot-swappable NX I/O modules
With the NX chassis populated with 4 of the SFP+ NX I/O
6200NX 10.0Gbps
modules, you can achieve inspection of up to 16 segments of
7100NX 15.0Gbps 10GbE, or a combination of 1GbE, 10GbE, and 40GbE segments.
7500NX 20.0Gbps

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 42 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 3.1. System Architecture

Control Plane
• Dedicated Management / Control Plane CPU

CFAST
• Internal: 32GB, TOS, DV, running configuration
• External: 32GB, user logs, snapshots, traces
• Hot swappable
• Device can operate without it

Broadcom Switch ASIC

• Used as a MUX not a switch
• L2FB, Hitless Reboot / Upgrade
• Inspection Bypass
• VLAN translation

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 43 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 ZEUS - FPGA
• Load balance flows to XLR’s
• Hardware acceleration
o Header parsing
o Trigger searching
• Inspection Bypass (when Broadcom can’t support)
• Hardware watchdog
o Loops back traffic (L2FB) if MGMT CPU dies

MERCURY – FPGA
• Multiplexer
• ZEUS still makes Load Balancing decision

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 44 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 XLR
• Heart of the data-plane (IPS engine runs here)
• 3rd XLR gives 50% improvement over N-Platform
• 8 Cores per XLR, 4 hw Threads per Core
• 24 Cores / 96 hw Threads per system

Tier 1:
• Inspection Bypass and L2FB prevent traffic proceeding to
next tier
Tier 2:
• Load balances flows to KS Threads
• Traffic Management Trust and Block Filters prevent traffic
proceeding to next tier
Tier 3:
• IP Reassembly, TCP State Tracking, Blocked / Rate-limited
streams, Trigger Matching
• Traffic going to next tier is a function of Trigger hits & out of
order packets
Tier 4:
• TCP Reassembly & Threat Verification

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 45 of 55 Version 16.12.1

4. NX-Platform Troubleshooting Commands

Certain performance related issues can be diagnosed from the CLI. The following commands are useful
in determining this:

4.1. show np tier-stats

– Displays throughput and efficiency across the different inspection tiers

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stack : Segment Ports
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment Rx Mbps = 2.0 (25.4)
Segment Tx Mbps = 2.0 (25.4)
Stack Balance (A/B) = 22.3% (25.4)
7500NX-1 Rx Mbps = 0.1 [0.9%]
7500NX-2 Rx Mbps = 1.5 [6.7%]
Segment ratio to tier 1 = 11.1% [0.4%]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stack : Stack Ports
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stack Rx Mbps = 1.9 (6.7)
Stack Tx Mbps = 1.5 (15.8)
Stack Rx > Stack Tx Mbps = 0.0 (0.0)
Stack Rx > Seg Tx Mbps = 1.9 (6.7)
Stack Rx > Tier 1 = 0.0 (0.0)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: The stacking information is only displayed for devices that have stacking enabled

Stack: Segment Ports:

This inspection tier presents the total I/O module throughput for the network segment device as
well as the receive rates from the I/O module to each stack member. When stacking is enabled,
the following information is displayed:

• Segment Rx Mbps displays the aggregate received traffic from all network segments on this
device.

• Segment Tx Mbps displays the aggregate traffic transmitted from all network segments on
this device.

• Stack Balance (A/B/C) displays the load balance percentage, in which 100% equates to perfect
balance across the number of devices in the stack. For devices that are in Intrinsic HA L2FB,
the Rx rate is zero, and this zero value is included in the load balance calculation. This statistic
is similar to the A/B/C Balance percentage in Tier 1.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 46 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 • <host n> Rx Mbps displays the traffic balanced from this device's network segments to the
other devices in the stack. Note that the number of packets going through each host is flow
based, so it is not uncommon to see a slight difference between them.

• Segment ratio to tier 1 displays the percentage of traffic being inspected by this device as a
ratio of the segment Rx traffic.

Stack: Stack Ports:

This inspection tier presents stacking port throughput, including through traffic and return traffic
rates. When stacking is enabled, the following information is displayed:

• Stack Rx Mbps displays the aggregate received traffic from both stacking ports.

• Stack Tx Mbps displays the aggregate traffic that is transmitted from both stacking ports.

• Stack Rx > Stack Tx displays the total amount of transit or through traffic on the stacking ports,
for example, traffic received on Stack port 1 which is forwarded by the switch to stack port 2.

• Stack Rx > Seg Tx displays the amount of return traffic coming in on a stacking port that is
returning to the outbound network segment.

• Stack ratio to tier 1 displays the percentage of traffic being inspected by this device as a ratio
of the stack Rx traffic.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tier 1:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rx Mbps = 979.6 (1,972.8)
Tx Mbps = 462.4 (1,956.9)
Rx packets/sec = 133,496.0 (277,733.0)
Tx packets/sec = 77,514.0 (266,671.0)
Bypass Mbps = 0.0%
A/B/C Balance = 0.9% (A: 240,992.0 B: 236,863.0 C: 61,308.0)
Utilization = 6.2% ( 12.6%)
Ratio to next tier = 100.0% [ 81.2%]
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tier 1: This inspection tier is responsible for inspection bypass rules and Intrinsic HA L2FB, which
prevents network traffic from going to the next tier. This tier is also responsible for the rate
limiter, inspection bypass rules, jumbo packet shunting, and the hardware watchdog timer.

• This section shows how much traffic is entering the inspection engine from all the segments.
The numbers in the brackets represent the high-level water mark since the IPS was powered

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 47 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 on or “tier stats” was reset (Note: The clear np tier-stats CLI command is used to clear out
these statistics).

• Bypass Mbps shows the current and max throughput matching an Inspection Bypass rule.
Traffic matching an Inspection Bypass rule does not count towards the IPS inspection limits.

• A/B/C Balance displays how well the flows are being balanced between the XLRs. 100%
indicates even balance 33/33/33 split, which is ideal. 0% means that all traffic is going to a
single XLR. Note that the number of packets going thru the each XLR is flow based, so it is not
uncommon to see a slight difference between them.

• Utilization is shown as a percentage of rated system throughput and of traffic to next tier

• Inspection bypass rules reduces the value of both “Utilization” and “Ratio to next tier”

----------------------------------------------------------
Tier 2:
----------------------------------------------------------
Tx trust packets/sec = 0.0 (0.0)
Utilization = 45.7% ( 69.1%)
Ratio to next tier = 66.5% [ 52.2%]
----------------------------------------------------------

Tier 2: Load balances flows through the KS threads and handles traffic management trusts and
block filters will prevent traffic from proceeding to the next tier.

• Tier 2 “ratio to next tier” accounts for Traffic Management Trust and Block rules and Traffic
normalization filters. TCP ACKs are trusted by default, and reduces Tier 2 ratio to next tier.

----------------------------------------------------------
Tier 3:
----------------------------------------------------------
Rx Mbps = 1,440.7 (2,167.3)
Rx packets/sec = 130,766.0 (198,777.0)
Tx trust packets/sec = 0.0 (0.0)
Utilization = 44.9% ( 67.6%)
Ratio to next tier = 1.6% ( 22.1%)
----------------------------------------------------------

Tier 3: This tier is designed to search for suspicious traffic that needs to undergo deep
inspection. This section handles IPv6 + GRE and Mobile IPv4 tunnels. IP reassembly, maintaining
connection table, and TCP state tracking is handled here. If triggers are found it determines what
filters need to be checked against the packet or flow than it turns on soft-reroute for the flow,
and, if necessary, sends it for deep packet inspection.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 48 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 • Shows how much traffic KS threads and IP reassembly will inspect. Ratio to next tier shows
what percentage of traffic needs TCP reassembly or is suspicious (matched a trigger).

----------------------------------------------------------
Tier 4:
----------------------------------------------------------
Rx Mbps = 23.7 (62.9)
Rx packets/sec = 2,124.0 (26,115.0)
Rx due to:
Trigger match = 0.2% (50.0%)
Reroute = 99.7% (100.0%)
TCP sequence = 0.0% (50.0%)
Tx trust packets/sec = 0.0 (0.0)
Ratio to next tier = 0.6% (9.4%)

Tier 4: It performs TCP Reassembly, Threat verification (Header based checks, protocol decoders,
content search, and regular expression matching). Also action handling occurs here whether the
packet is dropped, rate limited, or rate limited in the connection table.

• This section shows why traffic is going deep. Rx due to TCP sequence - If traffic cannot be
reordered by K threads using loopy packet; it must go to Tier 4 for reordering. Trigger
match - The percentage shows what traffic has matched a trigger. Rx due to Reroute –
when a packet matches a trigger the following packets which belong to the same flow are
required for threat verification.

• The “ratio to next tier” is the percentage of traffic which matched a filter irrespective of
Action Set.

Tuning is required if congestion is occurring or if an IPS is being operated close to its maximum
rated throughput. The deeper a flow is inspected the more processing is required, so the most
performance gains can be attained by optimizing the KS threads at this level (Tiers 3 & 4). The
three most process intensive operations are:

1. IP Reassembly
2. Threat verification
3. TCP Packet reordering

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 49 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 4.2. show np rule-stats

– Shows top 20 triggering filters, and whether they are successful

# sh np rule
Filter Flows Success % Total % Success
4810 7722 0 13 0.00
2802 7722 0 13 0.00
2753 7722 0 13 0.00
2443 7722 0 13 0.00
2441 7722 0 13 0.00
2419 7722 0 13 0.00
2445 7722 0 13 0.00
1130 249 0 0 0.00
1129 249 249 0 100.00
1279 249 0 0 0.00
1287 249 0 0 0.00
1733 249 249 0 100.00
1117 249 0 0 0.00
2435 249 249 0 100.00
1109 249 0 0 0.00
1335 249 249 0 100.00
1079 249 0 0 0.00
2538 249 249 0 100.00
495 249 0 0 0.00
234 249 249 0 100.00
Total of 57540 flows

Pay close attention to filters that have a high percentage total but not percentage success. These
filters are possible candidates to be disabled if optimization is required.

Any filter that has success rate greater than 0% is matching against a filter. A success rate of 100%
means each time a filter is triggered a threat is found. These filters should not be disabled in this
case. If you have an excessive amount of notifications changing this filter to block only will alleviate
this issue. Note: In order to reset these counters, issue the clear np rule-stats command at the CLI.

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 50 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 4.3. debug np congestionx

This command shows where and how many packets dropped due to congestion since you last ran
the command. Very useful for troubleshooting latency as it tells you where exactly in hardware is the
congestion is occurring.

Device Shunted Dropped Out Of

---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
BCOM 0 0 3689827523
XAUI1 0 0 3689828804
Spi4A 0 0 1724841692
Spi4B 0 0 1964987119
System RL 0 0 3689163038
XlrA F 0 0 1964987377
XlrA KS 0 0 1259101896
XlrA L 0 0 60933135
XlrB F 0 0 1724842442
XlrB KS 0 0 1101670370
XlrB L 0 0 58726968

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 51 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 4.4. debug information dp-ps

This command shows all threads for XLR-A & XLR-B. Pay close attention to the Q lengths, look for
evenly distributed depth. The Max LLQ length is 64 packets and the maximum Q is 1511 packets. This
command output includes the eight L queues. The L queue was designed to focus on traffic that takes
more time to process, thus allowing clean traffic to flow through the IPS with less latency. Below are
the output results from issuing this command:

DP Processor A
NAME TIME(tics) DATA Q MAX CONTROL Q MAX CPU
STATUS
D0 0 - - - 0 0 0 0% IDL
I0 1516314 - - - 126278736 0 3 0% IDL
R0 12740 - - - 518070 0 1 0% IDL
X0 2061043 - - - 63180118 0 7 0%
RUN(T1)
X1 116661 - - - 2590351 0 1 0% IDL
f0 659018 - - - 0 0 0 2% IDL
f1 657669 - - - 0 0 0 2% IDL
f2 625581 - - - 0 0 0 2% IDL
f3 654374 - - - 0 0 0 2% IDL
f4 624097 - - - 0 0 0 2% IDL
f5 659287 - - - 0 0 0 2% IDL
f6 615336 - - - 0 0 0 2% IDL
f7 669098 - - - 0 0 0 2% IDL
k0 221788 19475846 0 12 8289123 0 3 0% IDL
k1 214283 19255942 0 10 8289123 0 3 0% IDL
k2 211924 19089179 0 9 8289122 0 3 0% IDL
k3 215170 19285301 0 10 8289124 0 3 0% IDL
k4 215621 19430623 0 9 8289123 0 3 0% IDL
k5 215095 19430704 0 9 8289122 0 3 0% IDL
k6 213783 19362142 0 11 8289123 0 3 0% IDL
k7 216109 19452018 0 10 8289123 0 3 0% IDL
k8 213464 19201821 0 9 8289123 0 3 0% IDL
l0 564904 6834973 0 5 3108420 0 3 3% IDL
l1 563358 6827187 0 6 3108420 0 3 4% IDL
l2 563364 6831457 0 6 3108420 0 3 3% IDL
l3 562005 6826049 0 6 3108420 0 3 3% IDL
l4 562593 6834450 0 6 3108420 0 3 4% IDL
l5 562556 6828993 0 6 3108420 0 3 3% IDL
l6 562861 6828682 0 6 3108420 0 3 4% IDL
l7 560500 6822526 0 6 3108420 0 3 2% IDL
r0 44083 - - - 53128 0 1 0% IDL
r1 0 - - - 1 0 1 0% IDL
w0 7 0 0 0 157 0 1 0% IDL

Totals: DATA CONTROL DROPPED

Other: 0 192620561 0
F: 0 0 0
K: 1932586902 828912285 0
L: 54634317 24867360 0

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 52 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 4.5. debug np regex show

Debug np regex show CLI command outputs the maximum, average and total microseconds of
processing time required to perform threat verification by filter number. The output highlights the
filters with the highest amount of time spent processing, and therefore shows the filters that when
disabled, would provide the greatest performance improvement to the inspection engine. For
tuning, the focus of this output would be on filters with the highest values for Max and Avg. times.

“Evals” is a count of the number of times a filter triggered (initial, rough inspection) on tier 3 and
“Matches” is a count of the number of those flows that matched the filter’s full inspection on tier 4.
A filter with “Matches” could be left enabled since it has successfully provided network protection
(in the case of a block action).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Filter CRC Flag Max(us) Avg(us) Evals Matches Total (us)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1109 0x18b5a170 R 30 18 17775 17775 313244
234 0xea960ed1 R 21 12 17775 17775 214347
1279 0x6671dd10 R 13 8 17775 17775 136034
1279 0xfd292919 R 12 7 17775 17775 120524
495 0x043cb005 R 6 2 17775 17775 43382
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: To reset these counters issue the command:

debug np regex clear at the CLI

4.6. Best Effort Mode

Best Effort mode is a feature, which can be enabled in NX-Platform appliances, that allows the
appliance to favor network latency performance (voice, video). The NX-Platform is architected as a
collection of parallel network processor threads. Each of these threads implements the security
protection that is configured by the user. When processing traffic, the network flows are load
balanced among all of the available threads in the system.

In infrequent cases, the traffic directed to a single processor thread can exceed the level that thread
can manage, causing the appliance to drop the overflow traffic. If Best Effort mode is enabled, then
the appliance simply forwards the overflow packets, instead of dropping them. The forwarded traffic
is only related to the specific processing thread; all other threads would be unaffected. This feature
was designed to protect latency sensitive applications.

Best Effort mode is enabled using a CLI command, allowing the user to specify the amount of latency
that can be allowed, before deciding to forward a packet. If latency exceeds a configured threshold
the packet will be shunted. By default, this command is not enabled. The following is the syntax used
in order to implement this configuration. It can only be executed from the IPS CLI.

IPS# debug np best-effort enable –queue-latency –recover-percent

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 53 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 Queue latency (microseconds) defines when the Best Effort will start working. Percent of queue
latency defines when Best Effort mode will exit. Note: Setting the queue latency to 100µs or lower
will probably enable this feature too often and it’s not recommended. Use of the default is highly
recommended.

4.7. Troubleshooting Network Connectivity

debug np port diags <port#>

This command is useful in diagnosing issues with network connectivity to the IPS’ connected
ports/segments. (Note: the syntax of this command has changed. You will now have to specify
by port e.g. 1A, 1B, etc. Slots are no longer used e.g. 3 1). Incorrect duplex settings will be
displayed here.

When a port is down you will get the following output:

Port number: 9
PHY address: 9
PHY: FIBER interface
Auto Negotiation: Supported
Auto-Negotiation: Enabled
Link: DOWN
Advertised Capabilities:
1000BASE-X full-duplex capable
1000BASE-X half-duplex capable

When a port is enabled and plugged in you will get the following
output:
Port number: 11
PHY address: 11
PHY: COPPER interface
Auto Negotiation: Supported
Auto-Negotiation: Enabled
Link: UP
Auto-Negotiation: Completed
Duplex mode: FULL
Speed: 1Gbps
Advertised Capabilities:
1000BASE-T full-duplex capable
1000BASE-T half-duplex capable
100BASE-T half-duplex capable
100BASE-T full-duplex capable
10BASE-T half-duplex capable
10BASE-T full-duplex capable
Link Partner Capabilities:
Remote receiver OK

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 54 of 55 Version 16.12.1

 1000BASE-T half-duplex capable
1000BASE-T full-duplex capable
10BASE-T half-duplex capable
10BASE-T full-duplex capable
100BASE-T half-duplex capable
100BASE-T full-duplex capable
Pause operation capable
Received link code word
Next Page ability supported
Auto-Negotiation Capable

debug np port show

This command is useful in diagnosing issues with network connectivity to the IPS’ connected
ports/segments.

Admin Status Negotiate Type MTU

Port 0: Enabled DOWN auto incomp Fiber 9234
Port 1: Disabled DOWN auto incomp Fiber 9234
Port 2: Enabled DOWN auto incomp Fiber 9234
Port 3: Disabled DOWN auto incomp Fiber 9234
Port 4: Enabled DOWN auto incomp Fiber 9234
Port 5: Disabled DOWN auto incomp Fiber 9234
Port 6: Enabled DOWN auto incomp Fiber 9234
Port 7: Disabled DOWN auto incomp Fiber 9234
Port 8: Enabled DOWN auto incomp Fiber 9234
Port 9: Disabled DOWN auto incomp Fiber 9234
Port 10: Enabled DOWN auto incomp Copper 9234
Port 11: Disabled DOWN auto incomp Copper 9234
Port 12: Enabled DOWN auto incomp Copper 9234
Port 13: Disabled DOWN auto incomp Copper 9234
Port 14: Enabled DOWN auto incomp Copper 9234
Port 15: Disabled DOWN auto incomp Copper 9234
Port 16: Enabled DOWN auto incomp Copper 9234
Port 17: Disabled DOWN auto incomp Copper 9234
Port 18: Disabled DOWN auto incomp Copper 9234
Port 19: Disabled DOWN auto incomp Copper 9234
Port 24: Disabled DOWN none Fiber 9234
Port 25: Disabled DOWN none Fiber 9234
HG 26: Enabled DOWN none XAUI 9254
HG 27: Enabled UP 10Gbps full none XAUI 9254
MGMT : Enabled UP 100Mbps full auto Copper 1536

TippingPoint NX-Platform BPG Page 55 of 55 Version 16.12.1