Redirect Configuration on the CSS 11000

Document ID: 41840

Introduction
Prerequisites
Requirements
Components Used
Conventions
Configure
Configurations
Verify
Troubleshoot
Related Information

Introduction
This document describes what happens when a client connects to a Virtual IP (VIP) and the switch is
configured to send a redirect back to the client. There are two different types of redirects on the Content
Services Switch (CSS), a content rule redirect and a service redirect. These two types of redirects are different
in the way that they append information to the domain name, as well as when they are applied to the traffic
that hits the associated VIP.

Prerequisites
Requirements
There are no specific requirements for this document.

Components Used
This document is not restricted to specific software and hardware versions.

Conventions
Refer to the Cisco Technical Tips Conventions for more information on document conventions.

Configure
In this section, you are presented with the information to configure the features described in this document.
Note: Use the Command Lookup Tool ( registered customers only) to obtain more information on the commands
used in this section.

Configurations
This document uses these configurations:

Cisco Redirect Configuration on the CSS 11000

 Use a redirect in the content rule as the default action

Use a service in the content rule as the default action
Use a service in the content rule as the backup action
Use a service in the content rule to redirect from HTTP to HTTPS
Use a redirect in the content rule as the default action
!*************************** OWNER ***************************
owner CSSTeam
content defaultredirect
port 80
protocol tcp
vip address 192.168.1.20
url "/*"
redirect "//www.cisco.com/tac/"
active

Note: You can also specify the redirect field to be a different page on the same domain (for example, redirect
"/support/index.html") so that the client is redirected to the same VIP but to a different page. This requires
another content rule to accept the new page or else it becomes caught in a continuous loop to this content rule.
The redirect field can also be configured as an IP address (for example, redirect "//192.168.1.21/").
The client goes to www.cisco.com/tac/ because any request to this VIP is redirected to the redirect string that
is configured in the content rule. Notice that the /default.htm from the original request is not appended to the
redirect string.
This example makes use of the redirect command in the content rule. Refer to the Command Reference for
more information.
Use a service in the content rule as the default action
!************************** SERVICE **************************
service defaultservice
ip address 2.2.2.2
keepalive type none
type redirect
redirectstring "www.cisco.com/tac/"
active
!*************************** OWNER ***************************
owner CSSTeam
content defaultredirect
vip address 206.25.90.84
protocol tcp
port 80
url "/*"
add service defaultservice
active

This configuration has the same result as using a redirect in the content rule as the default action. The client
goes to www.cisco.com/tac/ because any request to this VIP is redirected to the redirect string that is
configured in the service. Notice that the /default.htm from the original request is still not appended to the
redirect string.

Cisco Redirect Configuration on the CSS 11000

This example makes use of the type and redirectstring commands in the service. Refer to the Command
Reference for more information.
The type is used to change the service from the default type of local to type redirect. The redirectstring
command is the actual location that the client is redirected to. The client is redirected to the exact string
quoted in the service and completely replaces the URL from the initial request.
Use a service in the content rule as the backup action
!************************** SERVICE **************************
service backup
ip address 2.2.2.2
keepalive type none
type redirect
redirectstring "www.cisco.com/tac/"
active
service regularserver1
ip address 10.2.3.4
active
service regularserver2
ip address 10.2.3.5
active
!*************************** OWNER ***************************
owner CSSTeam
content defaultredirect
vip address 206.25.90.84
protocol tcp
port 80
url "/*"
add service regularserver1
add service regularserver2
add service backup
active

In this example, there are three services in the content rule. Two of the services (regularserver1 and
regularserver2) are the default type of local. The third service (backup) is type redirect. The CSS behavior
is to send all connections to local services if possible. This means that while any local service in a content rule
is functional, the CSS does not send any traffic to the redirect service. Only in the event of all local services
going down does the CSS ever use the redirect service.
No new commands are introduced in this example, only additional configuration techniques.
Use a service in the content rule to redirect from HTTP to HTTPS
!************************** SERVICE **************************
service securetransfer
ip address 2.2.2.2
keepalive type none
type redirect
no prependhttp
domain https://www.cisco.com
active
service regularserver1
ip address 10.2.3.4

Cisco Redirect Configuration on the CSS 11000

active
service regularserver2
ip address 10.2.3.5
active
!*************************** OWNER ***************************
owner CSSTeam
content defaultredirect
vip address 206.25.90.84
protocol tcp
port 80
url "/*"
add service securetransfer
active
content sslrule
vip address 206.25.90.84
protocol tcp
port 443
add service regularserver1
add service regularserver2
active

This example demonstrates a site that is required to operate over HTTPS exclusively. If a user comes into the
site using HTTP, the CSS sends the user an HTTP redirect to come back in via HTTPS.
This example makes use of the domain and no prependhttp commands in the service.
The domain command replaces the domain portion of the original request with the domain specified in the
service. It retains any URL (path and filename) information. This is useful when you need to redirect any
request to a specific site, and need to preserve the requested filename.
By default, the CSS prepends http:// before any redirect it sends from a service. If you need to have the CSS
prepend HTTPS://, then it needs to be entered on the domain line. When this is done, it is also necessary to
turn on the default prepending string by issuing the no prependhttp command.

Verify
There is currently no verification procedure available for this configuration.

Troubleshoot
There is currently no specific troubleshooting information available for this configuration.

Related Information
Cisco Content Services Switch
CSS 11000 Series Content Services Switches
Technical Support & Documentation Cisco Systems

All contents are Copyright 20062007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Important Notices and Privacy Statement.

Cisco Redirect Configuration on the CSS 11000

Updated: May 17, 2007

Cisco Redirect Configuration on the CSS 11000

Document ID: 41840