Manual Chapter :
Overview of the SFC controller configuration
Applies To:
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BIG-IP LTM
- 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.5, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.10, 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, 14.0.1, 14.0.0
Overview of the SFC controller configuration
In the sample SFC configuration described in this document, a BIG-IP device in
a group of BIG-IP devices operates as the lightweight SFC controller. Another BIG-IP
device operates as both a service classifier function (SCF) and a service function
forwarder (SFF), and a third BIG-IP device operates as an SFF only. Although an SFF can
generally be associated with multiple SFs, in the sample configuration described in this
document, each SFF is associated with either one or two service functions (SFs).
Figure 1 shows the basic NFV service function chaining architecture
that this document describes. Notice that in this SFC configuration, there is a single
VXLAN-GPE tunnel that connects the service nodes.
Service function chain components
Configuring a BIG-IP device as a lightweight SFC controller requires you to
perform these tasks:
- Download the iAppLX RPM file and import it to the BIG-IP system that you intend to use as the SFC controller.
- After the SFC manager iAppLX is ready, run the SFC controller to configure SFC objects. A green dot displayed next to F5 Service Function Chaining (Manager) indicates that the SFC controller is installed and ready to use.
Before configuring service chaining, you must create some
prerequisite configuration objects on various devices on the network. These objects
include VXLAN-GPE tunnels, VLANs, IP addresses, and others, as specified in the
following section.
