Lab 1: The Basics (Networking, Pools and Virtual Servers)

In this lab we will access the Management Graphical User Interface (GUI). We will then create the VLANs, and assign self IP addresses to our VLAN. As mentioned during our lecture portion, BIG-IPs may be put in-line or one-armed depending on your customer’s requirements and topology.

Log on to the bigip01 TMUI (GUI) Interface:

• UDF - Under Components, select the Access drop-down and then TMUI

Navigate the BIG-IP Configuration Utility (GUI)

The BIG-IP Configuration Utility (GUI) is a web-based interface that provides a point-and-click interface for managing the BIG-IP system.

You can perform various tasks such as:

• Building and managing traffic objects (e.g., virtual servers, pools, nodes).

• Configuring modules (LTM, DNS/GTM, Advanced WAF/ASM, APM, AFM).

• Managing system/network settings (e.g., VLANs, routes).

• Viewing statistics, health checks, and logs.

The following sections are important to guide you through the process of creating VLANs, Self IPs, pools, and virtual servers using the BIG-IP GUI.

• Main/Help/About

• Local Traffic >> Virtual servers, Profiles, Pools, Monitors

• Device Management >> Devices, Device Trust, Traffic Groups

• Network >> Interfaces, Self IPs, VLANs

• System >> Configuration, Disk Management, Software Management, License, Resource Provisioning, Platform, High Availability

Creating VLANs

First, you will need to log into bigip01. You will need create two untagged VLANs, one client-side VLAN (client_vlan) and one server-side VLAN (server_vlan) for the devices in your network.

1. From the sidebar select Network >> VLANs then select Create

   

1. Under General Properties:

   1. Name: client_vlan

2. The name is for management purposes only, you could name them after your children or pets

   1. Tag: <leave blank>

      1. Entering a tag is only required for “Tagged” (802.1q) interfaces, “Untagged” interfaces will automatically get a tag which is used for internal L2 segmentation of traffic.

3. Under Resources in the Interfaces section:

   1. Interface: 1.1

   2. Tagging: Untagged

   3. Select the Add button. Leave all other items at the default setting.

   

4. When you have completed your VLAN configuration, hit the Finished button

   Important

   Now create another untagged VLAN named server_vlan on interface 1.2, following the same steps as above.

   When you are done, you should have two untagged VLANs, one on interface 1.1 and one on interface 1.2.

   

Creating Self IPs

1. Go to Network >> Self IPs, select Create.

   

   1. Create a new Self IP, for the server_vlan and client_vlan VLANs. In Network >> Self IPs >> New Self IP, under Configuration enter:

      Option	Server-side	Client-side
      Name	server_ip	client_ip
      IP Address	10.1.20.245	10.1.10.245
      Netmask	255.255.255.0	255.255.255.0
      VLAN	server_vlan	client_vlan
      Port Lockdown	Allow None	Allow None

      Caution

      A common mistake is to forget to change the VLAN/Tunnel selection to the appropriate VLAN. Make sure your Self IPs are in the appropriate VLAN.

   • The default Port Lockdown setting of Allow None means the Self IP only responds to ICMP requests.

   • The Allow Defaults selection opens the following on the Self IP of the VLAN.

     • TCP: ssh, domain, snmp, https

     • TCP: 4353, 6699 (for F5 protocols, such as HA and iQuery)

     • UDP: 520, cap, domain, f5-iquery, snmp

     • PROTOCOL: ospf

   2. When you have completed your Self IP configuration, hit the Finished button. You should have something similar to the following:

      

Assigning the Default Gateway

1. Go to Network >> Routes and then Add.

   1. Here is where we assign our default gateway (and other static routes as desired)

      

   2. Under Properties

      1. Name: def_gw

      2. Destination: 0.0.0.0

      3. Netmask: 0.0.0.0

      4. Resource: Use Gateway…

      5. Gateway Address: 10.1.10.1

      6. When you have completed defining your default gateway, hit the Finished button

2. Verify your network configuration

   1. Use SSH or WebShell (UDF Only) to access your BIG-IP.

      1. Ping your default gateway, 10.1.10.1

      2. Ping a web server at 10.1.20.11.

Creating Pools

In this lab we will build a pool and virtual server to support our web site and verify our configurations by accessing our web servers through the BIG-IP. Verification will be performed visually and through various statistical interfaces.

1. From the sidebar select Local Traffic >> Pools then select Create. Here we will create our new pool

   

   1. Under Configuration:

      1. Name: www_pool (The name is for management purposes only, no spaces can be used)

      2. Description: <optional>

      3. Health Monitor: http

   2. Under Resources

      1. Load Balancing Method: <leave at the default Round Robin>

      2. Priority Group Activation: <leave at default>

      3. New Members:

      Address	Service Port
      10.1.20.11	80
      10.1.20.12	80
      10.1.20.13	80

2. As you enter each IP address and port combination hit Add button

   1. When you have completed your pool configuration, hit the Finished button

      

Creating Virtual Servers

1. Under Local Traffic select Virtual Servers then select Create.

   

2. Under General Properties

   1. Name: www_vs

   2. Description: <optional>

   3. Type: Standard

   4. Source/Address: <leave blank>

      Note

      The default is 0.0.0.0/0, all source IP address are allowed

   5. Destination Address/Mask: 10.1.10.100

      Note

      The default mask is /32

   6. Service Port: 80 or HTTP

3. Under Configurations

   1. The web servers do not use the BIG-IP LTM as the default gateway. This means return traffic will route around the BIG-IP LTM and the TCP handshake will fail. To prevent this we can configure SNAT Automap on the Virtual Server. This will translate the client IP to the Self IP of the egress VLAN and ensure the response returns to the BIG-IP.

   2. Source Address Translation: Auto Map

   

4. Under Resources

   1. iRules: none

   2. Policies: none

   3. Default Pool: From the drop down menu, select the pool (www_pool) which you created earlier

   4. Default Persistence Profile: None

   5. Fallback Persistence Profile: None

5. When you have completed your virtual server configuration, hit the Finished button

6. You have now created a Virtual Server

   

Note

Items in the GUI that are blue are links i.e., shortcuts

Now let’s see if our virtual server works!

1. UDF - log into your Ubuntu Jumpbox via xRDP access method using the credentials provided in Documentation section

2. Open the browser from the bottom of the screen, go to the Virtual Server you just created http://10.1.10.100

3. Refresh the browser screen several times (use “<ctrl>” F5)

   

4. Go to your BIG-IP and view the statistics for the www_vs virtual server and the www_pool pool and its associated members

5. Go to Statistics >> Module Statistics >> Local Traffic

6. Choose Virtual Servers from "Statistics Type" drop-down menu

   

7. or, Go to Local Traffic >> Virtual Servers >> Statistics

8. Go to Local Traffic >> Pools >> Statistics to see pool member statistics

   • Did each pool member receive the same number of connections?

   • Did each pool member receive approximately the same number of bytes?

   • Note the Source and Destination address when you go to directly and through the virtual server

9. Let’s archive our configuration in case we have to fall back later.

   1. Go to System >> Archives and select Create.

   2. Name your archive lab1_the_basics_net_pool_vs

Extra Credit!

You can also review statistics via the CLI, simply SSH to the management IP of your BIG-IP. Refer to your Student Information page and Network Diagram for the IP address.

1. Check out the Linux CLI and TMSH

   1. Review the information of the following command:

      1. export TERM=vt100; bigtop –n

      2. Type q to quit.

   2. Take a look at the TMOS CLI, type “tmsh” to enter the Traffic Management Shell

      1. (tmos)# show ltm pool

      2. (tmos)# show ltm pool detail

         1. show statistics from all pools

      3. (tmos)# show ltm virtual

      4. (tmos)# show ltm virtual detail

         1. Show statistics of all virtual servers

2. Check out the Dashboard!

   1. Go to Statistics >> Dashboard

      

   2. This will take you to the BIG-IP Dashboard page. The F5 BIG-IP Dashboard in the Configuration utility provides real-time, customizable graphical views of system performance, including CPU usage, memory, network traffic (PPS, Mbps), and connection statistics. It allows users to create custom "view sets" combining data from various modules (LTM, DNS, AFM) to monitor application health and traffic flow.

      

   Feel free to explore the dashboard and create your own view sets to monitor the performance of your virtual server and pool!