Manual Chapter :
Deploying BIG-IQ Virtual Edition in VMware ESXi
Applies To:
Show Versions
BIG-IQ Centralized Management
- 7.1.0
Deploying BIG-IQ Virtual Edition in VMware ESXi
VMware ESXi
How do I deploy a BIG-IQ VE in VMware ESXi?
VMware ESXi
?Before you can deploy a BIG-IQ VE in the OpenStack environment, you
must have the following environmental elements in place:
- A tenant (or admin) user account with virtual machine deployment privileges.
- Privileges to create images (that is you must be able to upload QCOW2 files). Contact your system administrator for assistance if your account lacks the requisite permissions.
- Sufficient free remaining computational (CPU, RAM) and disk storage quota for each BIG-IQ VE instance you plan to deploy.
- At least one network, to be used for management access.
- Security groups (firewall rule-sets), for control of inbound and outbound network traffic.
- Pre-defined Flavors (virtual hardware profile definitions).
In addition, you might wish to define the following optional
environmental elements:
- Key-pairs, for SSH access (recommended).
- Floating IP addresses, for each tenant network interface that will be externally accessible.
- Additional networks for internal, external, and high-availability traffic as necessary.
Before you can start the tasks to deploy the
BIG-IQ Virtual Edition (VE) system on
VMware ESXi
, you
must first: - Establish a Microsoft Azure environment that includes a virtual network to which you will deploy your BIG-IP devices and BIG-IQ Virtual Edition (VE). For details, refer tohttps://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/virtual-machines/.
- In your Microsoft Azure environment, deploy the BIG-IP Virtual Edition (VE) machines that you plan to use to manage your application traffic. For details, refer tohttps://support.f5.com/csp/knowledge-center/cloud/Public%20Cloud/Microsoft%20Azure.
- Create a resource group in your Microsoft Azure environment that enables the ports and protocols required by the applications you plan to manage on your BIG-IP VE machines. For details, refer tohttps://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/resource-group-portal.
- Create a security group in the resource group in which you plan to deploy your BIG-IQ VE. In addition to the normal inbound and outbound security rules you use in your Azure security groups, you must include an inbound security rule for port 22 (for SSH access to your VE) and port 443 (for HTTPS access).
To deploy the BIG-IQ Virtual Edition (VE) system
on
VMware ESXi
, you: - Use MS Azure PowerShell to load a sequence of PowerShell Cmdlets.
- Assemble a PowerShell script that creates a BIG-IQ VE.
- Run the script to deploy a BIG-IQ VE on Azure.
- Log in to the new VE and use TMSH to enable the root and admin passwords.
The tasks you perform to deploy the BIG-IQ Virtual Edition (VE)
system on
VMware ESXi
, depend on what you plan to do
with the VMware ESXi
:If you plan to manage BIG-IP devices with the
BIG-IQ system | If you plan to manage applications in a service
scaling group housed in the AWS cloud |
---|---|
|
|
If you plan to manage BIG-IP devices with the
BIG-IQ system | If you plan to manage applications in a service
scaling group housed in a VMware cloud |
---|---|
|
|
When you deploy a VE for managing applications in
an SSG, some parameter settings you specify are different. These settings are noted
where appropriate.
- Verify that the host machine requirements are satisfied.
- Deploy a BIG-IQ system as a virtual machine.
- Deploy the BIG-IP systems you intend to manage.
- After you have deployed the virtual machines, log in to the BIG-IQ VE system and run the Setup utility. Using the Setup utility, you perform basic network configuration tasks, such as assigning VLANs to interfaces.
- Configure secure communication between the BIG-IQ system and the BIG-IP device.
Host machine requirements and recommendations
To successfully deploy and run the
BIG-IQ
VE system, the host system must satisfy minimum
requirements.The host system must include these elements:
- VMware vCloud Director. TheBIG-IQ Virtual Edition and Supported Hypervisors Matrix, published on the AskF5 web site,support.f5.comidentifies the versions that are supported.
- VMware ESX or ESXi. TheBIG-IQ Virtual Edition and Supported Hypervisors Matrix, published on the AskF5 web site,support.f5.comidentifies the versions that are supported.
- Microsoft Windows Server with the Hyper-V role enabled. TheBIG-IQ Virtual Edition and Supported Hypervisors Matrix, published on the AskF5 web site,support.f5.comidentifies the versions that are supported.
- CentOS, Debian, Fedora, RHEL, or Ubuntu with the Xen Project package. TheBIG-IQ Virtual Edition and Supported Hypervisors Matrix, published on the AskF5 web site,support.f5.comidentifies the Linux versions that are supported.
- RHEL, Ubuntu, Debian, or CentOS with the KVM package. TheBIG-IQ Virtual Edition and Supported Hypervisors Matrix, published on the AskF5 web site,support.f5.comidentifies the Linux versions that are supported.
- OpenStack on Linux distribution with the native KVM package as its compute (hypervisor) node.The BIG-IQ Virtual Edition and Supported Hypervisors Matrix, published onsupport.f5.comidentifies the Linux versions currently supported.
- VMware vSphere client
- Virtual Machine Manager
- The OpenStack Horizon DashboardPower users might prefer to use the OpenStack command line or APIs to deploy and configure the BIG-IQ VE. Consult the OpenStack API documentation for your distribution for details on how to use these APIs.
- Connection to a common NTP source (this is especially important for each host in a redundant system configuration).
The hypervisor CPU must meet the following requirements:
- Use a 64-bit architecture.
- Have support for virtualization (AMD-V or Intel VT-x) enabled.
- Support a one-to-one thread-to-defined virtual CPU ratio, or (on single-threading architectures) support at least one core per defined virtual CPU.
- Intel processors must be from the Core (or newer) workstation or server family of CPUs.
Deploy a VMware ESXi BIG-IQ VE virtual machine
The first step in deploying BIG-IQ Virtual Edition (VE) is to
download the OVA file to your local system. Next, you can run the Deploy OVF Template
wizard from within the ESXi vSphere client or vCenter vSphere Web client. Follow the
steps in this procedure to create an instance of the BIG-IQ system that runs as a
virtual machine on the host system.
Do not modify the configuration of the BIG-IQ
VE guest environment with settings less powerful than the ones recommended in this
document. This includes the settings for the CPU, RAM, and network adapters. Doing so
might produce unexpected results.
- In a browser, open the F5 Downloads page (://downloads.f5.com).
- On the Downloads Overview page, selectFind a Download.
- Under Product Line, selectCentralized Management.
- Under Name, select the release you want to install.
- If the End User Software License is displayed, read it and then clickI Accept.
- Determine which BIG-IQ Virtual Edition file package to download.
- If you are installing a BIG-IQ, download the file name that ends inide.ovaor-scsi.ova.
- If you are installing a Data Collection Device, download the file name that ends inLARGE-ide.ovaorLARGE-scsi.ova.
The BIG-IQ file package creates a 120Gb disk footprint at installation.The Data Collection Device file package creates a 500Gb disk footprint at installation. - Start your vSphere Client and log in.If the ESXi host is being managed by vCenter Server, you should complete the deployment from the vCenter vSphere Web Client instead.
- From the vSphere Client File menu, choose Deploy OVF Template.The Deploy OVF Template wizard starts.
- In the Source pane, clickDeploy from file or URL, and, using theBrowsebutton, locate the OVF file, open it, and then clickNext.For example:\MyDocuments\Work\Virtualization\<BIG-IQ_OVF_filename>The OVF Template Details pane opens.
- Verify that the OVF template details are correct, and clickNext.This displays the End-User License Agreement (EULA).
- Read and accept the license agreement, and clickNext.The Name and Location pane opens.
- In theNamefield, type a name for the F5 VE virtual machine, such as:smith_f5_ve.
- In the Inventory Location area, select a folder name and clickNext.
- From theConfigurationlist, select the number of CPUs and disks required for your system, and then clickNext.The Configuration pane appears only when you use the SCSI version of the OVA packages: it is absent when you deploy with one of the IDE packages. The IDE packages will deploy their VE with 4 CPUs and 16 Gb RAM.For production use, CPU, RAM, and disk space requirements for deploying a BIG-IQ are determined by a number of factors. For details about the ideal settings for your use, refer toWhen do I need extra resources?onsupport.f5.com. You can adjust the CPU and memory settings after you complete the initial deployment and power off the virtual machine.
- If the host system is controlled by VMware vCenter Server, the Host Cluster screen opens. Choose the preferred host and clickNext. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.
- In theDatastorefield, type the name of data source your system will use, in theAvailable spacefield, type in the amount of space your system needs (in Gigabytes), and then clickNext.The Network Mapping dialog box opens.
- Map the Source Networks to the Destination Networks in your inventory.
- Map the source networkManagementto the name of the appropriate management network in your inventory.The network used for this interface is usually the same subnet as the vCenter Server, ESXi Host and NSX Manager.
- If you choose to manage the BIG-IP devices using an interface other than management, you can map the source networkInternalto that non-management network.An example of a destination internal network isPrivate Access.
- Leave the source networkExternalat its default setting. This network is not used in most configurations.An example of a destination external network isPublic Access.
- When you have the destination networks correctly mapped, clickNext.The Ready to Complete screen opens.
- Verify that all deployment settings are correct, and clickFinish.
Power on the BIG-IQ VE virtual machine for the first time
You power on the virtual machine so that you
can make the BIG-IQ Virtual Edition (VE) accessible from the console.
- In the vCloud Director web interface, click.
- In the main vSphere client window, click the Administration menu.
- In the XenCenter client window, select the Server View.
- Open the Hyper-V Manager client.
- Select the virtual machine that you want to power on.
- Open Virtual Machine Manager.
- From the OpenStack dashboard, clickto display the Instances page, and then clickStart Instance.
- Right click the virtual machine that you want to power on, and then from the popup menu, selectOpen.The virtual machine opens, but in a powered-off state.
- From the toolbar, selectPower on the virtual machine(right-arrow).The virtual machine boots and then displays a login prompt.
- Select the vApp you want to power on.
- Click the Summary tab, and in the Commands area, clickPower On.The status icon changes to indicate that the virtual machine is on. Note that the system will not process traffic until you configure the virtual machine from its command line or through its web interface.
- Click theStarticon.If you do not see theStarticon, look at the tool bar under the View menu.The status icon changes to indicate that the virtual machine is on. The virtual machine boots and becomes ready for configuration.
- From the Action menu, choose Start.The status icon changes to indicate that the virtual machine is on. The virtual machine boots and becomes ready for configuration.
- ClickStart.The virtual machine starts.
- Please consult the Xen Project documentation for the specific steps required for powering on the virtual machine.
After the system completes the initialization process, two
built-in user accounts are enabled that provide you with the access you need to
complete initial configuration and setup:
- The root account provides initial user access to command shells. You can use a local console connection, or you can use SSH. This account also provides access to the F5 Configuration utility. The initial root account password isdefault.
- The admin account provides initial user access through the web interface. The initial admin account password isadmin.
You should change passwords for both
accounts before bringing a system into production.
Before you can access
this BIG-IQ VE instance, you must set up the management interface.
You might also need to modify this instance's MTU settings before you can connect
to it.
- To configure external access to the Web interface using a floating IP address, you must modify this instance's MTU settings. Refer toSet BIG-IQ VE MTU values to pass traffic between tenant and external networksonsupport.f5.comfor details.
- To configure a connection using a direct uplink between the external network and the BIG-IQ VE management interface, it might not be necessary to change the MTU settings. With a direct uplink, traffic does not pass through an Open-vSwitch router.
Set up the management network on the BIG-IQ virtual
machine
If your
network has DHCP, an IP address is automatically assigned to BIG-IQ VE during
deployment.
You
can use this address to access the BIG-IQ VE user interface or
tmsh
command-line utility. If no IP
address was assigned, you can assign one by using the Configuration utility.
Do not use VMware
tools to configure the IP address: the BIG-IQ system will not use these changes.
How you set up the BIG-IQ Virtual Edition
(VE) management user interface depends on how the network interfaces are attached.
- If the interfaces attach to a tenant network subnet that allocates IP addresses from a pre-defined static IP pool, an IP address is automatically assigned to the interface during deployment. In this case, you must use this address to access the BIG-IQ VE user interface ortmshcommand-line utility.
- If the interfaces (whether attached to tenant or external networks) are allocated their IP addresses using a DHCP server, then an IP address is automatically assigned to the BIG-IQ VE interface during deployment. You can use this address to access the BIG-IQ VE user interface ortmshcommand-line utility.
- If the interfaces attach to a tenant or external network without a mechanism for allocating IP addresses, you must manually assign an unused address to the network interface that complies with the required subnet criteria.
- In the vSphere client, clickLaunch Virtual Machine Console.The console screen opens. After a few seconds, a login prompt appears.
- At the <username> login prompt, typeroot.
- In the XenCenter client screen, select the Server View.
- In the Resources pane, select the virtual machine.
- Click the Console tab.You might need to click the console area and press Enter to activate the console.
- At the local host login prompt, typeroot.
- From the OpenStack dashboard, clickto display the Instances page, and then select the check box for the instance you want to access.
- On the right side of the screen, from the Actions list, selectConsoleto open a console session for this BIG-IQ VE instance.
- In the Hyper-V Manager, locate and highlight the virtual machine to which you want to assign the management IP address.
- In the Actions pane, selectConnect.The console screen opens. After a few seconds, a login prompt appears.
- At the login prompt, typeroot.
- At the password prompt, typedefault.
- Typeconfigand press Enter.The F5 Management Port Setup screen opens.
- ClickOK.
- Determine how to assign the management port:
- If you want DHCP to automatically assign an address for the management port, selectYes.
- To manually assign an IP address and netmask for the management port, selectNoand follow the instructions to set the IPv4 address, network mask, and management route (gateway address).
When assigned, the management IP address appears
in the Summary tab of the vSphere client. Alternatively, you can use a hypervisor
generic statement, such as
tmsh list sys
management-ip
. You can use the shell command
tmsh list sys management-ip
to confirm
that the management IP address has been properly assigned. You can now log in to the BIG-IQ VE user
interface, and license and provision the VE.