F5 Distributed Cloud: Automating Build & Operations

Welcome

This lab explores F5 Distributed Cloud’s (XC) API-first framework and the automation of operational controls. The following key concepts will be covered:​

• Leveraging the Developer Portal

• Leveraging Terraform

• Standardizing and Operationalizing delivery controls

• Standardizing and Operationalizing security controls

• Audit and Standard compliance

Outcomes

• Understanding of API-first framework

• Practical use cases to automate and walk away with

• Operationalizing (day-to-day controls) configuration management

Lab & Tasks

The next page (Introduction) will cover the lab environment, access, and lab variables. The lab utilizes the Distributed Cloud SaaS Console, Visual Studio Code, and Terraform to demonstrate:

• Automated Creation of HTTP Health Checks

• Automated Creation of Cloud Origin Pools

• Automated Creation of Cloud HTTP Load Balancer

• Automated Creation and Deployment of Cloud Web Application Firewalls

• Automated Creation and Deployment of Cloud Service Policies

• Automated Audits of Deployed Configurations

During the lab exercises, we will explore different methods of protecting and exposing applications/webservers that are included in the lab.

A Git Repository of the configurations used in this lab is available at https://github.com/f5devcentral/appworld-f5xc-automation

Labs:

• Introduction: Accessing F5 Distributed Cloud Console
  • Course/Lab Invitation
  • Accessing UDF (F5 Unified Demo Framework)
  • Accessing F5 Distributed Cloud
  • Assigned Namespace
• Lab 1: API-First Console
  • Task 1: Review Developer Portal
• Lab 2: Leveraging Terraform
  • Task 1: Deploy a Web Application with Terraform
  • Task 2: Create & Attach WAF Policy
• Lab 3: Utilize Automation to Audit XC Configurations
  • Task 1: Deploy multiple HTTP load balancers with Terraform
  • Task 2: Audit your load balancer configurations
  • Task 3: Modify the MulitipleLB Terraform configuration so the load balancers are using different WAF policies
  • Task 4: Clean up the Distributed Cloud environment
• Conclusion
• Appendix