Manual Chapter : Setting Up an Azure Cloud Environment

Applies To:

  • BIG-IQ Centralized Management

    6.1.0

Updated Date: 07/07/2026

Setting Up an Azure Cloud Environment

BIG-IQ needs the credentials and parameters for your Azure cloud provider and cloud environment so that it can communicate with the BIG-IP devices it manages in your service scaling group. Also, if you choose to bring your own license (BYOL) for the devices in this SSG, you need to activate a pool of BYOL licenses, and then provide details about the license server when you configure the cloud environment.

You create a new Azure cloud provider to tell BIG-IQ how to connect to your Azure environment.

  1. At the top of the screen, click Applications then, on the left, click ENVIRONMENTS > Cloud Providers.

  2. Click Create.

    The New Cloud Provider screen opens.

  3. Type a Name and optional Description for the cloud provider you are creating, to help identify it when you want to use it later.

  4. From the Provider Type list, select Azure.

    The screen refreshes, and displays fields (under Provider Details) that you use to specify your Azure credentials.

  5. Type or paste in the Tenant ID, Client ID, and Service Principal Secret for your Azure environment.

  6. Click Test to confirm that the account details just provided are correct.

    The system checks with the Azure interface to confirm that the credentials and account details you provided are valid, and then fills in the Subscription ID that Azure uses to track all of the metrics for the account associated with these credentials.

  7. Click Save & Close.

The system creates the new provider, which is now ready to be used in a cloud environment.

Before you can use this provider in a service scaling group, you need to specify the cloud environment details.

Before you can activate a BYOL license, you need to purchase it from F5 Networks. Once you complete your purchase, you get your base registration key, typically in the form of an email.

Important: If you use the Azure marketplace licensing option, skip this task.

When you choose the BYOL license option, you need to activate a pool of licenses that the BIG-IQ can use for the new BIG-IP VE devices that the service scaling group (SSG) creates in the cloud. You can use this procedure to automatically contact the F5 license server for activation.

Note: You can use this BIG-IQ as your license server, or you can use another BIG-IQ as your license server, as long as it is running BIG-IQ version 5.4.0 or later.

  1. At the top of the screen, click Devices.

  2. On the left, click LICENSE MANAGEMENT > Licenses.

  3. Click the Add License button.

  4. In the License Name field, type a name to identify this license.

  5. In the Base Registration Key field, type or paste the registration key, and into the Add-on Keys field, type or paste any associated add-on keys.

  6. For the Activation Method setting, select Automatic.

  7. Click the Activate button at the bottom of the screen.

  8. Review the user legal agreement and if you agree, select the I have read and agree to the terms of this license check box.

When the activation status displays as Active, you can use this pool of licenses in the cloud environment configuration you define for your SSG.

A service scaling group (SSG) manages the resources needed to run your application by prompting the creation or deletion of BIG-IP VE virtual instances, as needed. You create a cloud environment that describes the details of the Azure virtual network in which those instances exist. You also specify details that describe the instances that the SSG creates in this environment.

  1. At the top of the screen, click Applications then, on the left, click ENVIRONMENTS > Cloud Environments.

  2. Click Create.

    The New Cloud Environment screen opens.

  3. Give this environment a Name and an optional Description.

  4. From the Device Template list, select the device template you want to use to configure new BIG-IP VE devices when scaling out.

  5. For Cloud Provider, select your Azure cloud provider.

    The Azure Properties area displays fields that you use to specify details about the Azure environment.

  6. From the Location list, select the region in which the private cloud you created for this environment resides.

  7. For License Type, select the kind of license that you want to use for the devices created in this environment.

    • Choose BYOL if you have purchased a BYOL license.
    • Choose Utility if you want Azure to bill you on an hourly basis for the licenses you consume. If you choose BYOL, additional fields are displayed in the BYOL License Information area.

  8. For BIG-IP Image Name, select the type of BIG-IP you want to use for this environment.

    Make sure you use one of the BYOL images if you plan to buy a license for this environment instead of using one of the utility offerings.

  9. For Services To Deploy, select the F5 service you want to use for this environment.

    The Local Traffic and Application Visibility Reporting modules are selected by default. This is the minimum viable configuration for an SSG.

  10. For Instance Type, select the Azure instance type that provides the resources needed for this environment.

    The Local Traffic and Application Visibility Reporting modules are selected by default. This is the minimum viable configuration for an SSG.

  11. For Source Address Restriction, using the CIDR format, specify the addresses that you want to be able to access this SSG.

    For example 12.12.0.0/16.

    Only addresses that match your entry will have access to this SSG (IP addresses that use 12.12.xxx.xxx in the example above).

  12. For the VNet Address fields, select the VNet address that you created in your Azure environment.

  13. For the Management Subnet fields, select the management address that you created in your Azure environment.

  14. If you are defining an SSG that uses a utility license, skip to the last step to save your settings.

  15. If you selected BYOL for License Type, supply the following information:

    1. For BIG-IQ IP Address, type the address of the BIG-IQ that acts as the license server for your Azure environment.

    2. For BIG-IQ User, type the user name for the admin account on the BIG-IQ Azure license server.

    3. For BIG-IQ Password, type the password for the admin account on the BIG-IQ Azure license server.

    4. For BIG-IQ License Pool Name, type the name of the purchased license pool on the BIG-IQ Azure license server.

    5. If the license you activated includes offerings, for Offering Name, type the name of the particular offering from the license pool just specified that you want to use to license devices in this SSG.

    6. For Unit of Measure, select the interval that you want F5 to use when billing you for this license.

      The hourly interval is most expensive, but the time that you are billed more closely matches your actual use. Decide on what works best for your situation.

  16. Click Save & Close.