A few weeks back, I got the idea in my head to setup an F5 BIG-IP for my home lab. In a previous position, I had been utilizing the F5 Rest API to manage a bunch of BIG-IP devices. I thought it was time to take another look at the API to see what it could do. Locating a copy of the BIP-IP virtual edition wasn’t that hard. I created an account on the F5 website and filled out a request for a 90-day trial license. With that out of the way, I downloaded a copy of the OVA. The install process went relatively smooth. Feel free to continue reading if you would like to learn how to setup a BIG-IP lab environment.
BIG-IP VE -- Trial Link
BIG-IP VE Install Steps:
After downloading the OVA, log into vSphere and follow the steps listed below.
- Deploy OVF template.
- Accept the F5 EULA.
- Name the VM.
- Choose from 4 different deployment configuration options. The options range from 2 to 16 GB of RAM. The amount of RAM given to the VM will impact the number of modules that can be run. In my case, since I’m only interested in running LTM, I choose the 4 GB option.
- Configure storage.
- The template will then prompt you to map networks to 4 different NICs.
- Management
- This interface will be used to manage the device.
- Internal
- The BIG-IP uses this network to access pool members that sit behind the F5. This network will map to interface 1.1 on the F5.
- External
- The external network will be used by clients to connect to any virtual servers on the BIG-IP. This network will map to interface 1.2 on the F5.
- High Availability (HA)
- This network is only needed if you plan on configuring HA.
Management IP:
Once the OVF template has been deployed, it is time to start up the VM. If DHCP is running in the management network, it’s time to login to the BIG-IP Configuration Utility with the username admin password admin. Otherwise, follow the steps below to configure a static IP address.
- Go to vSphere and bring up the console for the VM.
- From the CLI, login and issue the config command.
- Follow the prompts to setup the management IP address.
Setup Utility:
After logging into the BIG-IP Configuration Utility, you will be prompted to go through the setup utility.
- Activate and install a license on the BIG-IP.
- At this point a license file will need to be installed on the device.
- If the device does not have internet access you will need to manually generate a license file.
- Provision licensed modules.
- Select the modules that you would like to run on the F5. For my setup, I provisioned the LTM module.
- Manage device certificates.
- For my lab environment, I didn't make any changes.
- Configure general system properties.
- Configure the host name and root/admin credentials.
- After the credentials have been updated, the BIG-IP will force you to log back in.
- Login to the device.
Network Setup:
The final part of the setup deals with configuring how traffic will flow through the device.
- Configure HA settings.
- This section can be skipped unless you are planning on testing HA in your lab.
- Configure the internal and external networks.
- For my lab setup, I chose a very simple network configuration with no VLAN tagging. I assigned 1.1 to internal with a self IP of 172.16.1.254 and 1.2 to external with a self IP of 10.255.255.10.
Mission Accomplished:
After completing the setup utility, the only thing left to do was add a test VIP and call it a day. Below is a diagram of my lab environment. The VIPs on the BIP-IP are accessible from the external network. Pool members reside on the internal network 172.16.1.0/24.