Variable Address Overview
A variable is useful when you want to apply similar rules across devices where only the address might differ. Instead of using static values, you can use variables to create fewer rules and use them more widely. You can achieve this by creating and configuring a variable address for all devices to which you are applying a group policy.
For example:
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Group firewall policy FW-G1 has two devices, Dev-1 and Dev-2. Each device has its own unique address. Dev-1 has address A1. Dev-2 has address A2.
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You want to apply the same rule to both devices, but you do not want to configure two rules with all the same criteria except for the address. It is more efficient to configure one rule with a variable default address and apply it to both devices.
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You can achieve this by creating an address variable with a default address A3, and making A3 common to Dev-1 and Dev-2 in your rule. When you configure default address A3, you map it to the real address of each device, A1 for Dev-1 and A2 for Dev-2.
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When group firewall policy FW-G1 is applied, these mappings are used to replace the default address with the real address for each device.
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Note:
Variable addresses are used in group policies only. Variable addresses are not applicable to device policies.
