Operating modes for Engine Cluster interfaces

There are several operating modes for the physical interfaces of a Engine Cluster. Packet dispatch mode is recommended for new installations.

The other modes are provided for backward compatibility. See the Forcepoint FlexEdge Secure SD-WAN Product Guide for more information about the other operating modes.

In packet dispatch mode:
  • There is only one contact MAC address for each physical interface. The dispatcher node controls this MAC address.
  • The dispatcher node forwards the packets to the other nodes for processing. Any node in the cluster can process the traffic.
  • The dispatcher node is chosen separately for each physical interface.
    Note: Different nodes might be selected as dispatcher nodes for different physical interfaces.
The packet dispatcher for the physical interface changes automatically if the dispatcher goes offline. When the dispatcher changes:
  • The packet dispatcher MAC address is moved to another engine node.
  • The engine sends an ARP message to the external switch or router.
  • The switch or router updates its address table.
    Note: This process is a standard network addressing operation where the switch or router learns that the MAC address is located behind a different port.
  • The switch or router forwards traffic destined to the physical interface to this new packet dispatcher.