# about create wide ip,

**URL:** <https://community.f5.com/t/about-create-wide-ip/77137>\
**Category:** Technical Forums\
**Tags:** big-ip, gslb, health, gtm-dns, gtm\
**Created:** [May 21, 2026, 7:54am UTC](https://community.f5.com/t/about-create-wide-ip/77137 "2026-05-21T07:54:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![nvhoanhai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@nvhoanhai](https://community.f5.com/u/nvhoanhai)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 7:54am UTC](https://community.f5.com/t/about-create-wide-ip/77137/1 "2026-05-21T07:54:12Z")

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i create generic host (Firewall) server and virtual server for wide ip,  
i use health monitor is gateway\_icmp but server and virtual server It keeps flapping between up and down, and the status is unstable.  
i was cli device F5 ping test to device generic host ok, its ok, its dont have lost or packet loss  
can you help me check issue

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![F5\_Design\_Engineer](https://d1p9zq3aats0t8.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/community.f5.com/f5_design_engineer/32/2479_2.png) [@F5\_Design\_Engineer](https://community.f5.com/u/F5_Design_Engineer)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 12:36pm UTC](https://community.f5.com/t/about-create-wide-ip/77137/2 "2026-05-22T12:36:28Z")

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The flapping you’re seeing with GTM Wide IP using a _ **gateway\_icmp** _ monitor is usually because GTM health checks behave differently from manual ping—factors like aggressive default intervals, multiple GTM devices probing inconsistently, firewall ICMP rate-limiting, or source IP differences can cause intermittent failures even when basic connectivity looks fine; since ICMP only checks reachability (not service health), it’s often unstable for this use case, so tuning the monitor or switching to a more reliable protocol-based check is the recommended approach.

few other Solutions to explore further:

1. Tune ICMP monitor: Increase interval/timeout to reduce sensitivity and avoid false downs.

2. Use TCP monitor: Check a port (e.g., 443) for more stable and meaningful health status.

3. Use HTTP/HTTPS monitor: Validate actual application response instead of just reachability.

4. Adjust quorum (multi-GTM): Prevent a single failing probe from flipping overall status.

5. Check firewall policy: Ensure ICMP from GTM is not rate-limited or blocked intermittently.

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Is there any possibility of using TCP monitor instead of ICMP, as TCP is minimum best for firewalls

If behind firewall:

Use HTTP/HTTPS monitor (if applicable)

Can you check and tell:

Is ICMP rate-limited?

Is GTM self-IP allowed?

Any IPS/DoS protection?

Avoid **gateway\_icmp** for Wide IP health checks

its better to use

TCP monitor **(minimum)**

HTTP/HTTPS monitor **(ideal)**

If you want, share:

Your GTM topology (single / HA / multi-site)

Monitor config output (tmsh list ltm monitor)

tmsh show gtm server

I can dig further and will try to pinpoint the exact root cause in your setup.