Lab 1 - Creating a Simple HTTPS Application using FAST - (F5 Application Services Template)

F5 Devices

F5 Device connection information for reference in the following tasks

Device	Mgmt. IP	user/pass
bigip1	10.1.1.6	admin/admin
bigip2	10.1.1.7	admin/admin

Task 1 - Getting connected

1. Open VS Code

   To connect to VS CODE, select the ACCESS dropdown from the client system, then select VS CODE

   

2. Access F5 VSCode extension

   Once connected, click on the F5 logo on the left-hand side of window.

   

3. Add F5 Host

   If BIG-IP host 10.1.1.6 is not listed under F5 HOSTS, click on ADD HOST.

   

   When prompted, enter: admin@10.1.1.6

   

4. Connect to F5 Host

   Click on the newly created host entry in the Hosts view to connect

   

   Enter the password of admin when prompted

   Note

   An alternative method to connect is to select F5 -> Connect! at the bottom of the screen

   

   When prompted choose admin@10.1.1.6 from the list of choices:

   

5. Confirming connection

   You can confirm VS CODE is connected by looking at detail on F5 -> Connect! at bottom of screen. In the status you can see the version of AS3 that is installed on the BIG-IP. In this case, it is version 3.35.0.

   

   Note

   The version of AS3 in the graphic could differ from the lab guide.

Task 2 - Access extension documentation

This task is just to highlight the quick access to documentation and examples accessible from within the extension. Explore the different options

1. Click on the vscode-f5 Documentation button in the DOCUMENTATION/EXAMPLES view.

   

2. When prompted, Select Open to continue, which will open a new browser window to the documentation.

   

Task 3 - Import devices

How to import devices for larger/automated environments

1. Open a new tab by double clicking in the main editor area, or select New file in main VS CODE window.

2. Paste the following into the editor

   [
      {
      "device": "admin@10.1.1.7",
      "password": "admin"
      }
   ]
   

1. Highlight the json object we just pasted, then right-click in editor, select Import Devices

   

2. You will see the 10.1.1.7 device added to the list of F5 HOSTS.

   

Task 4 - Verify FAST extension

How to view ATC services using the extension.

1. In VSCode, make sure you are connected to BIG-IP01 (10.1.1.6) by looking at the bottom ribbon:

   

2. Navigate to FAST under the BIG-IP menu by choosing BIG-IP >> ATC >> FAST

3. Under the FAST dropdown, you should see a list of version options for the FAST extension. There should be a colored icon next to FAST. This icon identifies the version you have installed. The Green icon indicates that the latest version of the extension has been installed. The Orange icon indicates that the extension is installed, but it is not the latest version.

   

   Note

   If your extension is showing an orange icon, you can update the version by simply selecting the latest release.

Task 5 - Deploy application via FAST template in TMUI

1. Go back to UDF deployment screen, and choose the component bigip1. Then choose the Access Method of TMUI. This will allow you to login to the BIG-IP GUI.

   

2. Login with the following credentials: username = admin , password = admin.

3. Under iApps >> Application Services : Applications LX, select F5 Application Services Templates

   Login if needed: admin/admin

   Under the examples section at the bottom, select Simple UDP Application

   Notice that the template has default parameters

   

   At the bottom of the template, expand the Debug View dropdown and click through the different outputs:

   • Template
   • Schema
   • Inputs
   • Rendered

   Now click Deploy to deploy an application using this FAST template

   This will bring you back to the History tab and provide a status the application deployment process

4. In the vscode-f5 extension refresh the FAST VIEW and AS3 menus with the refresh icon in the upper right hand corner of each view window

   Explore the windows to see the deployed FAST application/task, and how it resulted in an AS3 Tenant/Task

   

5. Delete application

   In the TMUI (F5 GUI), in the F5 Application Services Templates screen, select the Applications tab.

   We should see the application we deployed with FAST.

   On the left side of the application row item, select the checkbox followed by the Delete button to delete the application.

   

Task 6 - Deploy FAST application via API

1. In Coder (browser tab for VS CODE), paste the following into an editor

   {
   "name": "examples/simple_http",
   "parameters": {
      "tenant_name": "apiTenant",
      "application_name": "apiTenant",
      "virtual_port": 80,
      "virtual_address": "192.168.230.40",
      "server_port": 8080,
      "server_addresses": [
            "192.168.100.11",
            "192.168.100.12"
         ]
      }
   }
   

2. Highlight the object, right-click, then select Deploy Fast App

   This should produce the following output in another tab

   {
      "id": "4b06e4d9-01f1-497e-93e5-662d5eb75d1d",
      "code": 200,
      "message": "success",
      "name": "examples/simple_http",
      "parameters": {
         "tenant_name": "apiTenant",
         "application_name": "apiTenant",
         "virtual_port": 80,
         "virtual_address": "192.168.230.40",
         "server_port": 8080,
         "server_addresses": [
               "192.168.100.11",
               "192.168.100.12"
         ]
      },
      "tenant": "apiTenant",
      "application": "apiTenant",
      "operation": "create"
   }
   

   

3. Check the BIG-IP TMUI to see that the application is now in the Applications tab.

4. Check out the vscode-f5 FAST/AS3 views to see what was deployed

Delete application through the FAST API

1. In the Coder UI, right-click on the Deployed Application in the FAST view, then select Delete Fast App