Manual Chapter : Creating a virtual server for LDAP or LDAPS

Applies To:

  • BIG-IP APM

    21.0.0, 17.5.1, 17.5.0, 17.1.3, 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.6, 16.1.5, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0

Updated Date: 07/07/2026

Creating a virtual server for LDAP or LDAPS

You should have an LDAP Authentication and an access profile configured.

You create a virtual server to handle LDAP or LDAPS traffic and to encrypt authentication messages between Access Policy Manager and the LDAP server.

Note: An AAA server does not load-balance. Do not select a local traffic pool for this virtual server.

  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, such as ldap_proxy or ea-ldap-vip.

  4. For Source Address, select Host and type the address, for example 0.0.0.0/0.

  5. For the Destination Address/Mask setting, confirm that the Host button is selected, and type the IP address in CIDR format (address/prefix).

    Note: The various virtual servers being used for ephemeral authentication, LDAP, LDAPS, and/or RADIUS) can all have the same Destination Address as long as they use different service ports.

  6. In the Service Port field, select the port number for the LDAP or LDAPS server.

    Port 389 is the virtual port used for LDAP, and port 636 is used for LDAPS.

  7. For Protocol Profile (Client), select a protocol profile (such as f5-tcp-lan).

  8. LDAPS Only: For SSL Profile (Client), select a client SSL profile such as clientssl.

  9. For SSL Profile (Server), select a server SSL profile such as serverssl. (Required only for LDAPS but recommended for LDAP as well)

  10. For Source Address Translation, select Auto Map.

  11. In the Ephemeral Authentication section, for Access Configuration, select the Access Configuration you created.

  12. For LDAP Authentication Configuration, select the Ephemeral Authentication > LDAP Authentication Configuration you created.

    Note: The LDAP Authentication Configuration connects to the backend LDAP server for ephemeral authentication. F5 recommends using a secure connection to the LDAP server and configuring an SSL Profile (Server).

  13. Under Resources, for Default Pool, select the LDAP server pool you created when configuring the Authentication > LDAP Authentication.

  14. Click Finished.

The virtual server is created with the Ephemeral Access Configuration and the LDAP Authentication Configuration associated with it.