This document describes how to build an IPsec tunnel-based Site2Cloud
connection between Aviatrix Gateway and Check Point Firewall. To
simulate an on-prem Check Point Firewall, we use a Check Point
CloudGuard IaaS firewall VM at AWS VPC.
If you do not have access to AWS, you can simulate an on-prem Firewall
by deploying the Palo Alto Firewall in any other cloud (such as
Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, or Oracle Cloud Infrastructure).
The network setup is as follows:
VPC1 (with Aviatrix Gateway)
VPC1 CIDR: 10.0.0.0/16
VPC1 Public Subnet CIDR: 10.0.1.0/24
VPC1 Private Subnet CIDR: 10.0.2.0/24
VPC2 (with Check Point Security Gateway)
VPC2 CIDR: 10.10.0.0/16
VPC2 Public Subnet CIDR: 10.10.0.0/24
VPC2 Private Subnet CIDR: 10.10.1.0/24
Launching Check Point Security Gateway VM
Refer to the
Check Point vSEC for AWS Lab Setup Guide to launch a
CheckPoint VM with at least two network interfaces. One interface serves
as a WAN port and is in VPC2’s public subnet. The other interface serves
as a LAN port and is in VPC2’s private subnet. Collect the public IP
address of the WAN port.
Creating an External Connection
- In Aviatrix CoPilot, launch an Aviatrix Transit Gateway in VPC1’s public subnet. Collect both the public and
private IP address of the Gateway.
- Navigate to Networking > Connectivity > External Connections (S2C) and click Add New to create a Site2Cloud connection (selecting Pre-Shared Key) using the values for one of the below options:
Substitute the following values:
- Remote Device Type: Generic
- Algorithms: turn Off
- Remote Device IP: Public IP of the Check Point VM WAN port
- Remote Subnet CIDR(s): 10.10.1.0/24 (VPC2 private subnet)
- Local Subnet CIDR(s): 10.0.2.0/24 (VPC1 private subnet)
- After the connection is created, select the vertical ellipsis
menu for that connection and select Download Configuration.
- Select Generic from the Vendor dropdown list and click
the Download to download the external (S2C)
configuration. Use this configuration file to configure the tunnels and interfaces in your Check Point VM firewall.
Downloading and Installing SmartConsole
- Using a browser, connect to the Gaia Portal of the CheckPoint-VM at
https:/CheckPoint-VM_Public-IP:
-
Click Overview at the left navigation bar, and then click Download
Now! to download SmartConsole.
-
Install SmartConsole at your local machine and launch SmartDashboard.
Creating Network Objects at SmartConsole
- At the Check Point SmartDashboard window, select the Desktop tab.
Right click the Networks folder at the left navigation bar and select
Network.
- Create one network for private subnet of VPC2 (Check Point VPC).
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Name | Arbitrary (e.g. CP-Private-Subnet) |
| IPv4 Network Address | VPC2 private subnet CIDR |
| IPv4 Net mask | VPC2 private subnet mask |
- Create one network for private subnet of VPC1 (Aviatrix Gateway VPC).
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Name | Arbitrary (e.g. AVX-Private-Subnet) |
| IPv4 Network Address | VPC1 private subnet CIDR |
| IPv4 Net mask | VPC1 private subnet mask |
Configuring Check Point Security Gateway with VPN
- At the SmartDashboard window, select the Desktop tab and expand the
Check Point folder at the left navigation bar. Note that your gateway
VM with the name format “gw-xxxxxx” is automatically created.
- Right-click the gateway name and select Edit from the menu.
- At the Check Point Gateway > General Properties window:
| Field | Value |
|---|
| IPv4 Address | Private IP of CheckPoint VM WAN port |
| Test SIC Status | Make sure the status is “communicating” |
| Network Security | Select IPsec VPN |
- At Check Point Gateway - Topology window, select Manually defined
for VPN Domain. Select the network created when you created a network
for private subnet of VPC2 (Check Point VPC).
- At Check Point Gateway - Topology window, double-click “eth0” (Check
Point WAN port). Select External (leads out to the Internet).
- At Check Point Gateway - Topology window, double click “eth1” (Check
Point LAN port). Select Internal (leads to the local network).
- At the Check Point Gateway - IPsec VPN - Link Selection window,
configure the parameters as follows:
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Statically NATed IP | Public IP of Check Point WAN port |
| Selected address from topology table | Private IP of Check Point WAN port |
- At the Check Point Gateway - IPsec VPN - VPN Advanced window,
configure the parameters as follows:
Configuring an Interoperable Device to Represent Aviatrix Gateway
- At Check Point SmartDashboard window, select the Desktop tab.
Right-click the Networks folder at the left navigation bar to create a
new interoperable device.
- At the Interoperable Device - General Properties window:
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Name | Arbitrary (e.g. AVX-GW) |
| IPv4 Address | Public IP of Aviatrix Gateway |
- At the Interopable Device - Topology window, select Manually
defined for VPN Domain. Select the network private subnet of VPC1
(Aviatrix Gateway VPC) you created above.
- At the Interopable Device - IPsec VPN - Link Selection window,
select Always use this IP address > Main Address.
- At the Interopable Device - IPsec VPN - VPN Advanced window, select
Use the community settings.
- At SmartDashboard IPsec VPN tab, select Overview from left
navigation bar. Click New to create a Meshed Community.
- At Meshed Community Properties - General window, create one
community with a name (e.g. Site2Cloud-avx).
- At Meshed Community Properties - Participating Gateways window, add
both Check Point Security Gateway (e.g. gw-fe024c) and the interopable
device created when you configured an interoperable device to represent
the Aviatrix Gateway (e.g. AVX-GW) to this community.
- At Meshed Community Properties - Encryption window, select the
options according to the Site2Cloud configuration for configuring
CheckPoint-VM you saved and downloaded above.
- At Meshed Community Properties - Tunnel Management window, select
One VPN tunnel per Gateway pair for VPN Tunnel Sharing.
- At the Meshed Community Properties - Advanced Settings - Shared
Secret window, enter Shared Secret by copying the Pre-Shared Key
from the Site2Cloud configuration downloaded above.
- At the Meshed Community Properties - Advanced Settings - Advanced VPN
Properties window, enter the Phase1 and Phase2 parameters according to
the Site2Cloud configuration downloaded above.
Creating Firewall Rule for VPN Traffic
- At SmartDashboard window, select the Firewall tab.
- Select Policy to add a new rule.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| VPN | Select the Meshed VPN Community created above |
| Install On | Select Check Point Security Gateway |
- Click Install Policy to push the firewall policy to the Check
Point Security Gateway.
Troubleshooting and Verifying at Check Point Security Gateway
- At SmartDashboard window, from SmartConsole dropdown list, select
SmartView Monitor.
- At the SmartView Monitor window, select VPNs from Gateway Status
and verify Encrypted Traffic.
Verifying the Connection Status
In CoPilot, go to the Diagnostics > Cloud Routes > External Connections tab to confirm the Status and Tunnel Status of the external connection.
Troubleshooting
You can use the Diagnostic Tools (under Diagnostics in the left navigation menu) to troubleshoot any connection issues.
For support, please open a support ticket at
Aviatrix Support Portal.