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  2. BIG-IP System: Initial Configuration
  3. Introduction to BIG-IP Initial Configuration
Manual Chapter : Introduction to BIG-IP Initial Configuration

Applies To:

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BIG-IP AAM

  • 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0

BIG-IP APM

  • 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0

BIG-IP Analytics

  • 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0

BIG-IP Link Controller

  • 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0

BIG-IP LTM

  • 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0

BIG-IP PEM

  • 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0

BIG-IP AFM

  • 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0

BIG-IP DNS

  • 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0

BIG-IP ASM

  • 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0
Manual Chapter

Introduction to BIG-IP Initial Configuration

About BIG-IP initial configuration

This implementation describes a new installation, and not an existing configuration. The networks described do not use dynamic routing, and have pool members that are on the directly connected network. Performing the tasks results in a standalone BIG-IP system that processes application traffic and sends it to a server pool on the BIG-IP device's internal network.
Be sure you use the platform guide that corresponds to the installation you are doing.
Before you begin, make sure you have this information:
  • BIG-IP base registration key
  • Internal self IP address, netmask, and default gateway
  • External self IP address, netmask, and default gateway
  • IP address on the management route
  • BIG-IP passwords and passwords for other devices
  • Pool member addresses
  • Virtual server destination address
  • NTP server IP address

Running the Setup utility to license and provision the BIG-IP system

Before you begin, be sure to have the BIG-IP base registration key.
Using the Setup utility, you can activate the license and provision the BIG-IP system.
  1. From a workstation attached to the network on which you configured the management interface, type the following URL syntax where
    <management_IP_address>
    is the address you configured for device management:
    https://
    <management_IP_address>
  2. At the login prompt, type the default user name
    admin
    , and password
    admin
    , and click
    Log in
    .
    The Setup utility screen opens.
  3. Click
    Next
    .
    The General Properties screen opens.
  4. Click
    Activate
    .
    The License screen opens.
  5. In the
    Base Registration Key
     field, paste the registration key.
    You receive your registration key when you purchase the BIG-IP device or module.
  6. Click
    Next
    .
  7. Provision the Local Traffic (LTM) module to
    Nominal
    .
  8. Click
    Next
    .
    The device certificate is displayed.
  9. Click
    Next
    .
    The General Properties and User Administration screen is displayed.
  10. For the
    Management Port 1 Configuration
     setting, click
    Manual
    .
  11. Verify that the
    Management Port 1
     setting shows the management IP address that you configured on the LCD panel of the hardware platform. If the field is blank, type a management IP address, netmask, and management route.
  12. If you want to specify an alternate management IP address, then for the
    Management Port 2
     setting, type a management IP address, netmask, and management route.
    If the management port 1 address is an IPv4 address, then the management port 2 address must be an IPv6 address.
  13. In the
    Host Name
     field, type the host name of this BIG-IP system.
    For example,
    www.siterequest.com
    .
    The BIG-IP system prompts you to log in again.
  14. Log in to the BIG-IP system again.
    The BIG-IP system license is now activated, and the BIG-IP Local Traffic module is provisioned. The standard network configuration screen within the Setup utility is displayed.
  15. Click
    Next
    .
    The Redundant Device Wizard Options screen opens.
  16. For the
    Config Sync
     and
    High Availability
     settings, clear the check boxes.
  17. Click
    Next
    .
    The internal VLAN screen displays.
The next step in this process is to configure the internal network.

Configuring the internal network

Using the Setup utility, you can configure the internal network by specifying self IP addresses and settings for VLAN
internal
, which is the default VLAN for the internal network.
  1. Specify the
    Self IP
     setting for the internal network:
    1. In the
      Address
       field, type a self IP address.
    2. In the
      Netmask
       field, type a network mask for the self IP address.
    3. For the
      Port Lockdown
       setting, retain the default value.
  2. For the
    VLAN Tag ID
     setting, retain the default value,
    auto
    .
    This is the recommended value.
  3. For the
    Interfaces
     setting:
    1. From the
      Interface
       list, select an interface number.
    2. From the
      Tagging
       list, select
      Tagged
       or
      Untagged
      .
      Select
      Tagged
       when you want traffic for that interface to be tagged with a VLAN ID.
    3. Click
      Add
      .
    4. Repeat these steps for each interface that you want to assign to the VLAN.
  4. Click
    Next
    .
    This completes the configuration of the internal self IP addresses and VLAN, and displays the screen for configuring the default VLAN
    external
    .

Configuring the external network

Using the Setup utility, you can configure the external network by specifying self IP addresses and settings for VLAN
external
, which is the default VLAN for the external network.
  1. Specify the
    Self IP
     setting for the external network:
    1. In the
      Address
       field, type a self IP address.
    2. In the
      Netmask
       field, type a network mask for the self IP address.
    3. For the
      Port Lockdown
       setting, retain the default value.
  2. In the
    Default Gateway
     field, type the IP address that you want to use as the default gateway to VLAN
    external
    .
  3. For the
    VLAN Tag ID
     setting, retain the default value,
    auto
    .
    This is the recommended value.
  4. For the
    Interfaces
     setting:
    1. From the
      Interface
       list, select an interface number.
    2. From the
      Tagging
       list, select
      Tagged
       or
      Untagged
      .
      Select
      Tagged
       when you want traffic for that interface to be tagged with a VLAN ID.
    3. Click
      Add
      .
    4. Repeat these steps for each interface that you want to assign to the VLAN.
  5. Click
    Finished
    .
    This causes you to leave the Setup utility.

Creating a pool

You can create pool of servers that you group together to receive and process traffic, to enable the BIG-IP system to efficiently distribute the load on servers.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Pools
    .
    The Pool List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Pool screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the pool.
  4. In the Resources area of the screen, use the
    New Members
     setting to add the pool members.
    For example, the pool members for
    http_pool
     are
    192.168.100.10:80
     and
    192.168.100.11:80
    . The pool members for
    specificport_pool
     are
    192.168.100.20:80
     and
    192.168.100.21:80
    .
  5. Click
    Finished
    .

Creating a virtual server

Before creating a virtual server, verify that you have created the pool to which you want this virtual server to send traffic. If you want to specify a range of IP addresses as the destination IP address and specify multiple service ports, confirm that an address list and port list already exist on the system.
When you create a virtual server, you specify a destination IP address and service port. All other settings on the virtual server have default values. You can change the default values of any settings to suit your needs.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Virtual Servers
    .
    The Virtual Server List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Virtual Server screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the virtual server.
  4. From the
    Type
     list, verify that
    Standard
     is selected.
  5. In the
    Destination Address/Mask
     field:
    • If you want to specify a single IP address, confirm that the
      Host
       button is selected, and type the IP address in CIDR format.
    • If you want to specify multiple IP addresses, select the
      Address List
       button, and confirm that the address list that you previously created appears in the box.
    The supported format is address/prefix, where the prefix length is in bits. For example, an IPv4 address/prefix is
    10.0.0.1
     or
    10.0.0.0/24
    , and an IPv6 address/prefix is
    ffe1::0020/64
     or
    2001:ed8:77b5:2:10:10:100:42/64
    . When you use an IPv4 address without specifying a prefix, the BIG-IP system automatically uses a
    /32
     prefix.
    The IP address or addresses for this field must be on the same subnet as the external self-IP address.
  6. In the
    Service Port
     field:
    • If you want to specify a single service port or all ports, confirm that the
      Port
       button is selected, and type or select a service port.
    • If you want to specify multiple ports other than all ports, select the
      Port List
       button, and confirm that the port list that you previously created appears in the box.
  7. Retain the default values for all other settings.
  8. From the
    Default Pool
     list, choose the pool you created.
After performing this task, you have a virtual server that listens for application traffic and acts according to the values configured within the virtual server.
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