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iruleyourulewerule's avatar
iruleyourulewerule
Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
Apr 29, 2025

Sending an HTTP request from iRule without delaying client requests

Hi,

I am trying to find a solution that can meet my needs:

I need to extract information from every HTTP request and response arriving on my virtual server, then send the extracted info to an external service's HTTPS endpoint.

The challenge I've run into is decoupling the client connection from the external call. I wrote an iRule that uses a sideband connection with a helper virtual server for the external calls (similar to how the "HTTP Super SIDEBAND Requestor" works) but it seems like the sideband connection delays the response to the client.

Is there any way to achieve what I've described without delaying the response?

iRules

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  • Melissa_C's avatar
    Melissa_C
    Icon for Admin rankAdmin
    May 05, 2025

    Hello, 

    Thank you for posting your question. I see it has been up for some time with no response and that you have a second question that does not appear to be solved revolving around the HTTP request as well. If you have found a solution to either, I would like to encourage you to add your solution and update your posts. However, if you have not found a resolution outside of your post and you have support for your F5 device I would like to suggest creating a support case to speak with an engineer regarding your questions. Cases can be created directly through myf5.com or by calling our support line North America Toll-Free : 1-888-882-7535 or International: +800 11-275435 or +1-206-272-6888. 

     

    -Melissa 

  • Juraj's avatar
    Juraj
    Icon for Cirrus rankCirrus
    May 24, 2025

    If you just need to send the data and don’t care about the response, you might be able to bend High-Speed Logging (HSL) to fit your needs.

    I haven’t personally tried this, so take it with a grain of salt, but here’s what I would try:

    1. Use an iRule to extract the data and send it via HSL (non-blocking).
    2. Set up a lightweight external service (something simple in Python, Go, or Node) to receive the HSL logs.
    3. Have that service forward the data to your HTTPS endpoint.

    This keeps the iRule fast and non-blocking since the F5/iRule doesn’t have to wait on external HTTPS calls.