Network Interfaces Disappear on ISG Platforms When SSLV Application is Running

Products

• ISG SSLV

Issue/Introduction

On the Integrated Secure Gateway (ISG) platform running on Symantec S410 hardware, network interfaces assigned to a virtual application will disappear from the host's show hardware-configuration output once that application is started. This behavior is completely intentional and is an inherent architectural design of the platform's PCI Passthrough hypervisor layer. No corrective hardware or software action is required.

• Before starting SSLV: Running show hardware-configuration lists all physical interfaces (0:0, 1:0, 1:1, 2:0, 2:1).
• Start the application: The administrator runs start sslv, and the application status changes to Running.
• After starting SSLV: Re-running show hardware-configuration shows that the assigned data interfaces have disappeared from the list. Only the host management interface (0:0) remains visible.

Environment

ISG 2.x,

SSLV 6.x

Cause

Because the host operating system no longer owns or manages those physical PCI pathways while the application is active, they can no longer be listed by the host's local show hardware-configuration utility.

Resolution

1. View Interface Status in the Web UI

• Log in to the SSL Visibility Web UI.
• Navigate to Monitor > Dashboard or System Status.
• The dashboard displays a graphic representation of the appliance's front and back panels, showing the active/inactive status of physical ports, disks, and segments.
  or
• Navigate to Monitor > System Log to review the interface log lines

2. Check Interface Status in the CLI

Step 1: Access the Application Console
From the ISG host CLI, enter the running application:

• ISG#
• ISG# configure
• ISG(config)# applications
• ISG(config-applications)# attach-console sslv

Step 2: Query the Interface Status
Once inside the SSLV application environment, execute the following diagnostic command to view physical interface data:

• sslv# cld
• admin> counters npstats_if

If the segment is configured, the following commands can view the active segments:

• admin> segment active
• admin> show segments

 

Additional Information

Note: If the virtual application is stopped or removed in the future, the ISG host automatically reclaims the physical hardware pathways. The data interfaces will immediately reappear in the host's show hardware-configuration menu output.