Microsoft Azure Stack: Single NIC F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition

Version notice:

This content applies to F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition (VE) 13.1.0.2 and later

The way you deploy F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition (VE) in Azure Stack depends on whether you have an existing Azure subscription and access to an Azure Marketplace.

Deploy BIG-IP VE in Azure Stack (Azure subscription users)

If you have an Azure subscription and access to an Azure Marketplace, complete these tasks to deploy F5 BIG-IP VE in a single NIC configuration in Azure Stack.

1. Log in to Azure Stack.
2. Choose Marketplace management -> Add from Azure.
3. Search for F5.
4. Follow the wizard to complete the deployment.

See this doc for more details.

Deploy BIG-IP VE in Azure Stack (non-Azure subscription users)

If you do not have an Azure subscription or access to an Azure Marketplace, complete the these tasks to deploy BIG-IP VE in a single NIC configuration in Azure Stack.

Step 1: Download the VHD image file

The first step is to download the VHD image file to your local machine.

1. Open a web browser and navigate to F5 downloads.
2. If prompted, log in.
3. Click Find a Download.
4. Click BIG-IP v13.x / Virtual Edition.
5. Click 13.1.0.2_Virtual-Edition.
6. Accept the agreement.
7. Click the VHD file for Hyper-V, for example BIGIP-13.1.0.2.0.0.6.ALL.vhd.zip.
8. By the closest download location, click the down arrow.
9. Unzip the .tar.gz file to a local drive. If you’re using Windows, you can use 7-Zip to do this.

Step 2: Copy the image to Azure Stack

Next, you will add the image to Azure Stack.

1. Install PowerShell for Azure Stack.

2. Install PowerShell tools for Azure Stack.

3. Follow the instructions here.

   1. Import the Connect and ComputeAdmin modules.

   2. Sign in to your Azure Stack environment.

   3. Invoke the Add-AzsVMImage cmdlet to add the image to Azure Stack. For example:

      Add-AzsVMImage `
       -publisher "f5-networks" `
       -offer "f5-big-ip" `
       -sku "f5-bigip-virtual-edition-25m-better-hourly" `
       -version "13.1.02008" `
       -osType Linux `
       -osDiskLocalPath 'C:\Users\AzureStackAdmin\Desktop\BIGIP-13.1.0.2.0.0.8.vhd' `
      

      Here are examples of the values you should use.

      Publisher	Offer	SKU	Version
      f5-networks	f5-big-ip	f5-big-all-1slot-byol or f5-big-all-2slot-byol	13.1.02006
      f5-networks	f5-big-ip	f5-big-ltm-1slot-byol or f5-big-ltm-2slot-byol	13.1.02006
      f5-networks	f5-big-ip-hourly	f5-bigip-virtual-edition-25m-better-hourly	13.1.02006

      
      
      • The SKU for hourly instances includes the throughput as part of the string.
      • The version number must be two decimal places. Use the first two numbers in the VHD file name exactly (for example, 13.1), and then concatenate the numbers after that (for example, .02006).
      
      

      For details on each parameter, see this page.

Step 3: Deploy BIG-IP VE

Finally, you can deploy BIG-IP VE in Azure Stack.

1. In the Azure Stack portal, click New -> Compute.

   The F5 image is in the list of available images.

2. Click the image and follow the steps to deploy.

Tip

For launching a single-NIC deployment of BIG-IP VE in Azure Stack, consult the experimental F5 BIG-IP Cloud Formation Template on F5 GitHub.

For more information about how to create a single-NIC deployment in Azure, see this doc.