Course Outline
BIG-IP Architecture & Platform Management
- Foundational networking concepts — OSI model (L2–L7), load balancers at L4/L7; IP addressing and subnetting aligned with BIG-IP self IPs and VLAN configurations for government infrastructure.
- TMM traffic-processing architecture; traffic flow from client to virtual server to pool member; device modes, administrative partitions, and role-based access control (supporting segregation-of-duties mandates); licensing and module provisioning (LTM, AVR).
- TMUI navigation and efficient GUI workflows; tmsh essentials; configuration backup and restore using UCS archives; overview of hardware versus virtual editions and their application in secure data centers.
- Lab: Establish Traffic Flowing — initial setup (VLANs, self IPs, routes), creation of nodes, pools, and health monitors, construction of the first virtual server, verification of traffic to backend application servers, and execution of a UCS backup.
Core Load Balancing & SSL/TLS
- Foundational networking concepts — TCP/UDP handshake and port management; HTTP methods, headers, status codes, and keep-alive mechanisms.
- Virtual server types; pools, nodes, and monitor design; load-balancing algorithms; TCP/HTTP profiles and connection reuse; application of these concepts to secure web services and API traffic patterns.
- SSL/TLS offload and certificate management (key/cert import, chains, cipher policy — aligned with standard security baselines); persistence methods (cookie, source-address) and appropriate usage scenarios; introduction to iRules with simple read-only examples (redirects, header insertion).
- Lab: Configure an HTTPS virtual server with SSL offload for a simulated secure portal, configure cookie persistence, validate the certificate chain in the browser, apply a simple redirect iRule, and observe monitor-driven pool member failover.
High Availability & Operations
- Foundational networking concepts — VLANs, routing, and ARP essentials; DNS resolution flow and record types; TLS handshake recap.
- Device Service Clustering: device trust, sync-failover groups, configuration synchronization, traffic groups, and floating IPs; failover behavior and client impact; high-availability design considerations (dual-data-center patterns, zero-downtime maintenance).
- Operations for regulated environments: local and remote logging (syslog, SNMP), AVR traffic analytics, audit logging of administrative changes, upgrade and maintenance procedures, backup strategy, and disaster-recovery fundamentals; brief outlook on automation (iControl REST) and WAF (ASM/Advanced WAF) as follow-on topics.
- Lab: Establish an active/standby high-availability pair using two dedicated BIG-IP virtual instances per participant, establish device trust and configuration synchronization, execute forced failover during live traffic, configure remote syslog, review audit logs, and perform a final backup; course recap and Q&A.
Lab Environment
Each participant receives a dedicated, isolated lab environment: two BIG-IP Virtual Edition instances (enabling the Day 3 high-availability exercise) plus shared backend web servers simulating application tiers. Access is entirely browser-based via a secured Guacamole gateway — participants need only a web browser, with no VPN client or local software installation required, simplifying participation from restricted workstations. The environment is pre-built and validated before Day 1; every participant concludes Day 1 with functional traffic through their own BIG-IP instance.
Requirements
No prior F5 experience required.
Basic TCP/IP knowledge is beneficial but not assumed. Each day begins with short networking primers (OSI model, TCP/HTTP, DNS/TLS) contextualized to the day's F5 content, bringing mixed-experience teams to a common baseline.
Audience: Network engineers, security engineers, application support, and operations staff in banking and financial institutions
Testimonials (1)
communication, knowledge from experience, solve problems,
