Install BIG-IQ Data Collection Devices

Prepare to install a data collection device cluster

To manage the data generated by BIG-IP devices from BIG-IQ, you deploy a network of BIG-IQ systems called a Data Collection Device (DCD) cluster to collect that data.

When you set up a data collection device, you:

1. Prepare your network environment and architecture (refer to Before you deploy a BIG-IQ solution in Planning a BIG-IQ Centralized Management & Visibility Deployment on support.f5.com for details).

2. Install and configure the platform you plan to install your software on. The platform can either be a physical device or a virtual device. To use a physical device, you need a BIG-IQ 7000 series device. To use a virtual device, the solution you choose depends on the environment you use. Supported platforms for this release are listed below. Use the guide appropriate for your platform to complete the installation. These guides are posted on support.f5.com.

   If you choose this platform:	Refer to this guide for installation details:
   BIG-IQ 7000 Series	Platform Guide: BIG-IQ 7000 Series
   Amazon Web Services	F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management and Amazon Web Services: Setup
   Citrix XenServer:	F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management and Citrix XenServer: Setup
   KVM	F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management and Linux KVM: Setup
   Microsoft Azure	F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management and Microsoft Azure: Setup
   Microsoft Hyper-V	F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management and Microsoft Hyper-V: Setup
   VMware NSX-V	F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management and VMware ESXi: Setup
   Xen Project	F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management and Linux Xen Project: Setup

3. Deploy and configure the number of DCDs you need to manage the data generated by your BIG-IQ solution. For requirements. For help determining the optimal number of DCD devices for your solution, refer to the BIG-IQ Centralized Management DCD Sizing Guide on support.askf5.com.

Install a Data Collection Device

Before you can deploy a Data Collection Device (DCD), you must have installed the BIG-IQ VE or 7000 Series platform on which you plan to deploy the DCD.

Configure a Data Collection Device (DCD) to get it ready to start collecting data from your managed BIG-IP devices.

The DCD initial setup process guides you through a series of screens. When you set up a data collection device, you:

• Change the administrator’s default admin and root passwords.
• Specify a passphrase to generate a Master Key.
• Specify a host name and management port address for the system.
• Specify your DNS server and the name of the DNS search domain.
• Specify your Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers and select a time zone.

1. Use a browser to log in to BIG-IQ by typing https://*<management\_IP\_address>*, where <management_IP_address> is the address you specified for device management.

   The first time you log in to the BIG-IQ, you use admin for the Username and Password; but then you must change the admin password.

2. Change the default admin password.

   1. For Current Password, type admin.

   2. Type a new password in the New Password and Re-type New Password fields.

   3. Click Save. BIG-IQ changes the admin password and then displays the initial log in page.

   4. Login to the BIG-IQ user interface using your new password.

   Important: When you change the admin password as part of an initial login, BIG-IQ also resets the root password to match it. During initial setup, you can change them both again.

3. Select Skip License and click the Next button.

4. Type a Passphrase that satisfies the requirements specified on screen, and then type the same phrase for Confirm Passphrase.

   Important: The DCD uses the passphrase to generate a master key. This passphrase must be the same on all of the devices in the DCD cluster or they won’t be able to communicate with each other. Make sure you keep track of the passphrase, because it cannot be recovered if you lose it.

   • Make sure you keep track of the passphrase, because it cannot be recovered if you lose it. To protect the security of this device, you must have the passphrase used to generate the master key before you can change the master key.
   • To add a BIG-IQ to an HA or DCD configuration, its master key must match the key for the other devices in the BIG-IQ HA or DCD configuration. So if the passphrase is different and you do not know what it is, the only way to add that BIG-IQ to a cluster is to reset it to its factory defaults; However, that reset destroys any data on that BIG-IQ.
   • Finally, when you backup and restore a BIG-IQ, the master key is backed up with the rest of the data, and you cannot restore that data onto a BIG-IQ that has a different master key, so without that key you will be unable to have this BIG-IQ and it’s data in an HA or DCD configuration. Important: If you are setting up a Microsoft Azure VE, and you type an entry in any of the fields, you will not be able to continue successfully. The only way to proceed is to leave all of the fields empty and click the Next button at the bottom of the screen. This allows the system to use the first-time access credentials you specified previously.

5. Specify an (optional) admin and root password and click the Next button.

6. For System Personality, select BIG-IQ Data Collection Device and click the Next button.

   Important: You cannot undo this choice. Once you license a device as a BIG-IQ Data Collection, you can’t change your mind and license it as a BIG-IQ Data Collection Device.

7. In the Hostname box, type a fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) for the system.

   The FQDN can consist of letters and numbers, as well as the characters underscore ( _ ), dash ( - ), or period ( . ).

8. Type the Management Port Route.

   Note: The management port IP address must be in Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) format. For example: 10.10.10.10/24.

9. Specify what you want the DCD to use for the Discovery Address.

   The DCD uses this address to communicate with the BIG-IQ. Best practice is to use the same option (management or self-ip) for all of the BIG-IQ systems and DCDs you set up.

   Important: When choosing whether to use the management port or a self IP address, consider the long-term ramifications. Changing the discovery address is a lengthy process that includes resetting and rebuilding the entire cluster to change the discovery address for this DCD.

   • To use the management IP address, select Use Management Address.

   • To use the internal self IP address, select Self IP Address, and type the IP address.

     Note: The self IP address must be in Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) format. For example: 10.10.10.10/24.

10. If you want to create a self IP address, click the Create button in the Self IPs section.

11. If you want to associate a VLAN with the new self IP address, click Create button in the VLANs section.

12. Click the Next button at the bottom of the screen.

13. In the DNS Lookup Servers field, type the IP address of your DNS server.

    You can click the Test Connection button to verify that BIG-IQ can reach that IP address.

14. In the DNS Search Domains field, type the name of your search domain.

    The DNS search domain list allows the BIG-IQ system to search for local domain lookups to resolve local host names.

15. In the Time Servers field, type the IP addresses of your Network Time Protocol (NTP) server.

    You can click the Test Connection button to verify that BIG-IQ can reach the IP address.

16. From the Time Zone list, select your local time zone, then click Next.

17. Click the Next button at the bottom of the screen.

18. After you review the details, click Launch and then click Restart to confirm.

Repeat this task for the remaining DCDs needed for your solution.