Configuring real servers

Real servers are physical servers that are used to form real server pools. These dedicated servers provide clients with services such as HTTP or XML content, streaming audio or video, TFTP/FTP uploads and downloads, etc. You can start configuring a real server by giving it a unique configuration name, setting its status, and specifying its IP address.

After you have created your real server configuration objects, you can select them as members to form real server pools. At that stage, further configurations are needed as discussed in Using real server pools.

To configure a real server configuration object:

Go to Server Load Balance > Real Server Pool.
Click the Real Server tab.
Click Create New to display the configuration editor.

Configure the following settings:

Settings	Guidelines
Name	Configuration name. Valid characters are `A`-`Z`, `a`-`z`, `0`-`9`, `_`, and `-`. No spaces. You reference this name in the virtual server configuration. Note: After you initially save the configuration, you cannot edit the name.
Server Type	Select the real server type: Static Dynamic Manual Dynamic Auto* *Note: The Dynamic Auto server type is not a selectable option. The Dynamic Auto server type is used to mark real servers that have been dynamically populated using the IP addresses from the FortiADC instances deployed on public cloud platforms.
Status	Select one of the options: Enable — The server can receive new sessions. Disable — The server does not receive new sessions and closes any current sessions as soon as possible. Maintain — The server does not receive new sessions but maintains any current connections.
Type	The Type option is available if the Server Type is Static. Select the static server type to use for DNS resolution: IP — Use the specified IPv4 Address or IPv6 Address. FQDN — Use the specified FQDN of the Real Server for DNS resolution. The address will be resolved by the DNS query. Only one IPv4 or IPv6 address will be used to form the real server. FQDN Populate More — Use the specified FQDN of the Real Server for DNS resolution. The address will be resolved by the DNS query. Multiple IPv4 or IPv6 addresses will be used to form the real server. A maximum of 16 IPv4 or IPv6 addresses is supported for one domain. If the DNS query gets more than 1 IP or IPv6 address for the Real Server FQDN, then the system will automatically generate real servers based on the specified FQDN. Only select the FQDN Populate More option when creating a new Real Server configuration. If an existing real server configuration set to IP or FQDN type is changed to FQDN Populate More, the auto-population function will fail to populate pool members.
Address	The Address option is available if the Server Type is Static and the Type is IP. For IPv4 real server, enter the real server's IP address in IPv4 address format.
Address6	The Address6 option is available if the Server Type is Static and the Type is IP. For IPv6 real server, enter the real server's IP address in IPv6 address format.
FQDN	The FQDN option is available if the Server Type is Static and the Type is FQDN or FQDN Populate More. Specify a fully qualified domain name, such as "www.example.com". This is required.
Auto Populate	The Auto Populate field appears if the Server Type is Static and the Type is FQDN Populate More. Auto Populate is a read-only status that indicates whether or not a real server was auto-generated through FQDN Populate More. Disabled — By default, Auto Populate is disabled. This indicates that the current real server configuration is not auto-generated. Enabled — This indicates that the current real server configuration was automatically generated by the system based on the "parent" real server's FQDN. If the DNS query gets more than 1 IP or IPv6 address for the Real Server FQDN of the parent" real server, then the system will automatically populate real servers based on the specified FQDN, with the "child" real server name based on the "parent" real server name as specified in the Auto Populate From field (read-only). The auto-generated real servers will be read-only and cannot be cloned or edited.
SDN Connector	The SDN Connector is available if the Server Type is Dynamic Manual. Specify a previously configured SDN Connector. For details, see External connectors.
Instance	The Instance is available if the Server Type is Dynamic Manual. Specify the instance of your SDN Connector.

Click Save.
The new real server configuration appears on the Real Server page.
For real servers with the type FQDN Populate More, real servers will automatically generate if there are more than 1 IP/IPv6 addresses associated with the specified FQDN. The auto-generated real servers will be read-only and cannot be cloned or edited.
Auto-generated real servers will be named after the "parent" real server and a combination of sequential numbers and random numbers, in the following format:
Real Server Name_\d\d_random number
For example:
If the parent Real Server Name is "xxx", then the name of the auto-generated real server can be "xxx_01_69104274032".

The Auto Populate and Auto Populate From fields are read-only information to indicate the origin of the auto-generated real server.

The FQDN Populate More real server type is only applicable to newly created real server configurations. Do not edit an existing real server configuration set to IP or FQDN type to FQDN Populate More as the auto-population will not function and pool members will not auto-populate.