6.1. About SSL Orchestrator Configuration Automation

Automation support adds an exciting new perspective to the F5 BIG-IP SSL Orchestrator that was not previously available in the BIG-IP "Classic" version.

There are two main drivers for programmability:

1. Configuration: Where an API is used (instead of a GUI/CLI) to deploy the general configuration of the product. While this is typically less important in typical data center appliance use cases, it is highly desirable in cloud and other "orchestrated" deployments, where you might need to programmatically spin up entire security and application architectures quickly. For example, deploying applications "on-demand" through a multi-cloud networking (MCN) workflow generally demands programmability.
2. Policy Manipulation: The SSL Orchestrator policy represents a "tunable" control surface to address changing traffic behaviors and various events. Administrators can programmatically adjust the policy to reflect real-time traffic conditions.

This module explores some basic programmability aspects of the BIG-IP Next SSL Orchestrator to control configuration. Policy manipulation content may be added in the future.

Note

The following instructions assume basic connectivity to the lab environment, and administrative access to the lab's network and virtual machine configurations.