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Manual Chapter : Managing BIG-IQ Service Catalog Templates

Applies To:

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BIG-IQ Centralized Management

  • 7.1.0
Manual Chapter

Managing BIG-IQ Service Catalog Templates

How do service catalog templates work?

A service catalog template allows you to create and deploy the application services to individual BIG-IP devices or to the auto-scaled BIG-IP VE devices in your cloud. When you create an application service, you decide which objects to include and which settings to revise, and then identify the device, or service scaling group (SSG) to which you want it to deploy.
Both service catalog templates and AS3 templates deploy application services to managed devices. However, the work flow for using each template type is significantly different. For details about how AS3 templates work, refer to Managing BIG-IQ AS3 Templates on support.f5.com.

Create a service catalog template starting with a clone of an existing template

BIG-IQ Centralized Management comes with several default service catalog templates for standard scenarios. Using the clone option, you make a copy of a service catalog template and then add or remove only the objects that need to change to produce the service catalog template you want. This allows you to maintain a consistent environment.
This workflow shows you how to clone a service catalog template that is already defined on this BIG-IQ. For details about other ways to define objects, refer to
Create a service catalog template by importing existing objects
 or
Create a service catalog template by manually specifying objects
 on
support.f5.com
.
  1. At the top of the screen, click
    Applications
    , then, on the left, click
    APPLICATION TEMPLATES
    .
    The screen lists the AS3 and service catalog templates defined on this BIG-IQ.
  2. Select the check box to the left of any service catalog template you want to clone.
  3. Click the
    More
     button and select
    Clone
    .
  4. Type a
    Name
     that you want to use for the clone, and then click
    Clone
    .
    The system creates a clone of the service catalog template and then opens the new template so you can make changes.
  5. Add or remove configuration objects to the cloned template until it meets your requirements.
    When you finish the edits to this new template, you can use it to create a new application service that deploys to your BIG-IP devices.
  6. If you manage version 15.0.1 or later BIG-IP devices, make sure that the virtual servers that deploy with this application use an HTTP profile compatible with the BIG-IP devices in your SSG.
    The default HTTP profile included in version 15.0.1 BIG-IP devices use a value (
    Sustain
    ) for the Response Chunking and Request Chunking parameters that is not compatible with the devices that deploy in an SSG. If you manage version 15.0.1 devices, you must make sure to specify virtual servers that use an HTTP profile that is compatible with the devices in an SSG.
    If you manage some BIG-IP devices that run version 15.0.1, but you also manage some devices that run a version earlier than 15.01:
    Use a version of HTTP profile compatible with the earlier versions so you can deploy an application to the SSG.
    1. On the Edit Template screen, under LOCAL TRAFFIC, select
      HTTP Profiles
      .
    2. Click
      Import
      .
    3. From the select list about half way down the screen, select HTTP Profiles.
    4. Select the check box for an HTTP profile that is compatible with BIG-IP versions earlier than 15.0.1.
    5. Click
      Add Selected
      .
    6. Click
      Import
      .
    If you manage only BIG-IP devices running versions earlier than 15.0.1,
    You need to create an HTTP profile that is compatible with the devices that run on an SSG, and make sure you use that HTTP profile when you deploy an application to the SSG.
    1. On the Edit Template screen, under LOCAL TRAFFIC, select HTTP Profiles.
    2. Click
      Create
      .
    3. For Request Chunking, select the
      Override
       check box and then specify a value other than
      Sustain
      .
    4. For Response Chunking, select the
      Override
       check box and then specify a value other than
      Sustain
      .
    5. Click
      Save & Close
      .
  7. Click
    Save & Close
    .
  8. When you are ready to use a template to create an application, select it and click
    Publish
    .
    BIG-IQ changes this template to read-only status, so you can use it to create a new application service that deploys to your BIG-IP devices.

Create a service catalog template by manually specifying objects

When you create a new service catalog template, you specify a set of objects that can be used to create an application service. Later, when you use this service catalog template to create an application service, you can specify values for the objects that are defined as editable. Properties the template defines as not editable are not visible when you create an application service, but are included using the default values specified in the service catalog template. This allows you to maintain a consistent environment. When you use this template to create a service catalog template application service, BIG-IQ deploys the objects to your managed BIG-IP devices.
  1. At the top of the screen, click
    Applications
    , then, on the left, click
    APPLICATION TEMPLATES
    .
    The screen lists the AS3 and service catalog templates defined on this BIG-IQ.
  2. Under Service Catalog Templates, click
    Create
    .
    The Create Service Template screen opens to General Properties.
  3. Type a
    Name
     and (optional)
    Description
     for the service catalog template you are creating, and then click
    Save
    .
    Once you define the name, you can define the default objects for this template. This work flow shows you how to manually define objects for this template. For details about other ways to create templates, refer to
    Create a service catalog template starting with a clone of an existing template
     or
    Create a service catalog template by importing existing objects
     on
    support.f5.com
    .
  4. If you have created any scripts that BIG-IQ should run before or after it creates this application service, or after you delete this application service, click
    PROPERTIES
    , and then select the ones you want.
    You can find the screen used to create scripts here:
    Devices
    SCRIPT MANAGEMENT
    Scripts
    .
  5. Click
    Save
    .
    BIG-IQ saves the name and your script selections. Now you can start adding the traffic management and security objects that you want to define for this application service.
  6. On the left, under
    PROPERTIES
    , expand
    LOCAL TRAFFIC
     or
    SECURITY POLICIES
     and then select any object type.
    For example, you could expand
    LOCAL TRAFFIC
    , and then click
    Virtual Servers
    .
    Until you configure at least one virtual server for this template, you cannot select any security policies to attach to the virtual servers in this template.
  7. Click
    Create
    .
    The screen you use to define the selected object type (for example, New Virtual Server) opens.
  8. In the
    Prompt
     field, type the text string that you want to display for this object when someone uses this template to create a new application service.
  9. If you want applications created with this template to be able to include more than one copy of the object you are adding, select
    Enable
     for
    Allow Multiple Instances
    .
  10. Specify all of the default parameters that you want to define for this object.
    Before you can add an object to the template, you must specify at least the required parameters for that object type. For example, to specify a virtual server, you only need to provide a name, a destination address, and a service port, even though there are another fifty or so settings you could specify.
  11. For each parameter that you specify, determine whether you want the person who deploys an application service using this template to be able to edit the default settings you are defining.
    If you check
    Editable
    When this template is used to create an application service, this parameter will be visible and the default values configurable.
    If you do not check
    Editable
    When this template is used to create an application service, this parameter will be included in the application service (with the settings that you specify here), but it will not be visible in the user interface.
    Only the parameters you select appear in the user interface when someone deploys an application service using this template.
  12. If you manage version 15.0.1 or later BIG-IP devices, make sure that the virtual servers that deploy with this application use an HTTP profile compatible with the BIG-IP devices in your SSG.
    The default HTTP profile included in version 15.0.1 BIG-IP devices use a value (
    Sustain
    ) for the Response Chunking and Request Chunking parameters that is not compatible with the devices that deploy in an SSG. If you manage version 15.0.1 devices, you must make sure to specify virtual servers that use an HTTP profile that is compatible with the devices in an SSG.
    If you manage some BIG-IP devices that run version 15.0.1, but you also manage some devices that run a version earlier than 15.01:
    Use a version of HTTP profile compatible with the earlier versions so you can deploy an application to the SSG.
    1. On the Edit Template screen, under LOCAL TRAFFIC, select
      HTTP Profiles
      .
    2. Click
      Import
      .
    3. From the select list about half way down the screen, select HTTP Profiles.
    4. Select the check box for an HTTP profile that is compatible with BIG-IP versions earlier than 15.0.1.
    5. Click
      Add Selected
      .
    6. Click
      Import
      .
    If you manage only BIG-IP devices running versions earlier than 15.0.1,
    You need to create an HTTP profile that is compatible with the devices that run on an SSG, and make sure you use that HTTP profile when you deploy an application to the SSG.
    1. On the Edit Template screen, under LOCAL TRAFFIC, select HTTP Profiles.
    2. Click
      Create
      .
    3. For Request Chunking, select the
      Override
       check box and then specify a value other than
      Sustain
      .
    4. For Response Chunking, select the
      Override
       check box and then specify a value other than
      Sustain
      .
    5. Click
      Save & Close
      .
  13. As you specify parameter values for this template object, you can click
    Preview
     in the upper right corner to see what the user interface will look like when someone uses this template to deploy an application service.
    For detailed information on the parameter settings to specify for particular use cases, refer to the documentation for that object type on
    support.F5.com
    . For example, for help understanding the parameters you specify for a client SSL profile, you would go to
    support.F5.com
    , select
    BIG-IQ Centralized Management
    , select the BIG-IP version you are using, and then select
    Managing Local Traffic Profiles
    .
  14. When you finish specifying parameters for this object, click
    Save
    .
    BIG-IQ adds the object you defined to the list of objects in this template. When you finish adding an object to a template, you can use it to create an application service.
  15. Continue this process until you have added all of the objects needed in this template.
    When you finish the edits to this new template, you can use it to create a new application service that deploys to your BIG-IP devices.
  16. Click
    Save & Close
    .
  17. When you are ready to use a template to create an application, select it and click
    Publish
    .
    BIG-IQ changes this template to read-only status, so you can use it to create a new application service that deploys to your BIG-IP devices.

Create a service catalog template by importing existing objects

Before you can import objects to an application template, you must have either created or imported the LTM objects from one of your managed BIG-IP devices.
When you create a new service catalog template, you specify a set of objects that can be used to create an application service. Later, when you use this service catalog template to create an application service, you can specify values for the objects that are defined as editable. Properties the template defines as not editable are not visible when you create an application service, but are included using the default values specified in the service catalog template. This allows you to maintain a consistent environment. When you use this template to create a service catalog template application service, BIG-IQ deploys the objects to your managed BIG-IP devices.
Specifying the objects by importing existing objects saves time and ensures that you get precisely the settings you are looking for.
  1. At the top of the screen, click
    Applications
    , then, on the left, click
    APPLICATION TEMPLATES
    .
    The screen lists the AS3 and service catalog templates defined on this BIG-IQ.
  2. Under Service Catalog Templates, click
    Create
    .
    The Create Service Template screen opens to General Properties.
  3. Type a
    Name
     and (optional)
    Description
     for the service catalog template you are creating, and then click
    Save
    .
    Once you define the name and save the template, you need to define the default objects for this template. This work flow shows you how to import objects that already exist on devices managed by this BIG-IQ. For details about other ways to define objects, refer to
    Create a service catalog template starting with a clone of an existing template
     or
    Create a service catalog template by manually specifying objects
     on
    support.f5.com
    .
  4. On the left, under
    PROPERTIES
    , expand
    LOCAL TRAFFIC
     or
    SECURITY POLICIES
     and then select any object type.
    For example, you could expand
    LOCAL TRAFFIC
    , and then click
    Virtual Servers
    .
    Until you configure at least one virtual server for this template, you cannot select any security policies to attach to the virtual servers in this template.
  5. Click
    Import
    .
    The Import Resources screen opens. The top half of the screen displays resources selected for importing. The bottom half provides controls for selecting objects to import to this template.
  6. From the select list about half way down the screen, select one of the object types you want to import.
    Objects of the type you selected that are currently defined on this BIG-IQ display just below the Select list.
  7. Select the check box for each object that you want to import.
    The lower right part of the screen displays preview information for the selected object. If you select multiple objects, the most recently selected item is previewed.
  8. When you have selected all of the objects that you want for a particular type, click
    Add Selected
    .
    The selected objects show in the list of objects to be imported.
  9. Repeat the previous three steps for each of the default object types that you want to import to this template.
  10. When you have assembled all of the objects that you want to import to this template, click
    Import
    .
    When you import an object created outside of the service catalog template user interface into a service catalog template, only the object name is set to be editable (and visible when someone uses this template to create a new application service ). For example, if a virtual server named
    SeattleServer
     is created on one of the BIG-IP devices that a BIG-IQ manages, that virtual server is imported to the BIG-IQ when you discover and import that device. You can then import
    SeattleServer
     into a service catalog template, but only the name (
    SeattleServer
    ) appears when that template is used to create an application service. You can edit the visibility setting on the Edit Template screen for the imported object.
    BIG-IQ adds the imported objects to the service catalog template. Objects that are set to be editable display when someone uses this template to create a new application service.
  11. If you want to edit any of the settings for the objects you imported, click the name of the object to access the edit screen for that object.
    When you save the changes for an object, the revisions you made become part of the template, and you can use it to create a new application service that deploys to your BIG-IP devices.
  12. Click
    Save & Close
    .
  13. When you are ready to use a template to create an application, select it and click
    Publish
    .
    BIG-IQ changes this template to read-only status, so you can use it to create a new application service that deploys to your BIG-IP devices.

Edit a service catalog template

A service catalog template specifies a set of objects and parameter settings that can be used to create an application that can be deployed to your BIG-IP devices. Editing a service catalog template is similar to creating one; you can either add individual objects manually, or import them.
Before you can use a service template to create an application, it must be published. Publishing makes a service template read-only. To make changes to a published service template, you have two options.
  • Make a clone of the template, then make your changes to the clone.
  • Unpublish the template, and make changes to the original. However, you cannot unpublish a template that is being used by a deployed application. In this case, it's better to make a clone. For details on this workflow, refer to
    Create a service template starting with a clone of an existing template
     on
    support.f5.com
    .
  1. Find the service catalog template that you want to edit and note whether or not is published. If it is published, select that service template and click
    Unpublish
    .
    • If the template is not being used by any deployed applications, BIG-IQ makes the template writeable.
    • If the template is in use, an error message displays, identifying the application that uses it. When this occurs, you can either delete the application (consider whether it is passing traffic first), or make a clone of the template. For details on this workflow, refer to
      Create a service template starting with a clone of an existing template
       on
      support.f5.com
      .
  2. Click the name of the service catalog template that you want to edit.
    The properties tab displays the name and description for the selected template.
  3. On the left, under
    Properties
    , expand
    Local Traffic
     or
    Security
     and then select the object type you want to edit.
    For example, you could expand
    Local Traffic
    , and then click
    Virtual Servers
    .
    You can edit the settings for this template either manually or by importing existing objects.
  4. Make the revisions you want to make for this template. You can edit the settings for this template either manually or by importing existing objects.
    • For details on making manual revisions, refer to
      Create a service catalog template by manually specifying objects
      .
    • For details on importing template objects, refer to
      Create a service catalog template by importing existing objects
      .
  5. When your edits are complete:
    To save your work but keep the template writeable:
    In the lower right corner, click
    Save & Close
    .
    To save your work and make the template read-only:
    In the upper right corner, click
    Publish & Close
    .
    To make a writeable copy so you can make changes:
    In the upper right corner, click
    Clone
    .
    The system updates the template with the settings you specified.
To create the objects in this template and deploy them to a device, you must use the template to create an application.
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