Manual Chapter : Download and Import Software

Applies To:

  • F5OS-A

    1.5.4, 1.5.3

back-action F5 rSeries Systems: Installation and Upgrade

Updated Date: 04/27/2026

Download and Import Software

Before you upgrade or install your system, you need to download the latest F5OS software image files from my.f5.com F5 Downloads. The rSeries systems run F5OS-A software packages, and the file names reference the model number (for example, R5R10 for r5000 or r10000 Series platforms).

After you have downloaded the software files, you can use either the CLI or webUI to import the files onto your rSeries system.

F5 recommends that you have a web server in your infrastructure that supports HTTPS, has PUT/POST enabled, and has a valid CA signed certificate.

F5 recommends that you download the latest F5OS software for F5OS software for F5 rSeries files from F5 Downloads.

  1. On your management workstation, log in to my.f5.com/manage/s/downloads.

  2. Read the End User License Agreement and Program Terms and select the check box.

    You must accept the license agreement and program terms before you can proceed.

  3. Click Next.

  4. Under Select a product family, select F5OS.

  5. Under Tell us more about your product, for Product Line, select **F5OS Platform Software for F5OS Appliance Software.

  6. For Product Version, select the version to download.

  7. Under Select a product container, select the software that you want to download.

  8. Under Select a download file, select a file name.

    The file-name consists of the platform family (-A indicates appliance-based F5 rSeries systems),the model number (for example, R5R10), and the build number. The extension depends on the file type (for example, .iso, .os, .img).

  9. For Download locations, select a download location.

  10. Click Download.

  11. Download the corresponding checksum file.

    The corresponding checksum file has the same name, except that .md5 is the file extension. After the download completes, verify the integrity of the file by checking the MD5 checksum.

  12. Transfer the files to a web server in your infrastructure that supports HTTPS.

    Note: If you download a .tar file containing multiple files, you need to extract the images before you can import them onto the system.

F5 recommends that you have a web server in your infrastructure that supports HTTPS, has PUT/POST enabled, and has a valid CA-signed certificate.

F5 recommends that you download the latest tenant software image files from F5 Downloads.

Important: You can use only image files that support F5OS to install or upgrade a tenant on the system.

  1. On your management workstation, log in to my.f5.com/manage/s/downloads.

  2. Read the End User License Agreement and Program Terms and select the check box.

    You must accept the license agreement and program terms before you can proceed.

  3. Click Next.

  4. Under Select a product family, select the F5 tenant software to download.

For BIG-IP tenant software

Select BIG-IP.

For BIG-IP tenant software

Select BIG-IP.

For BIG-IP Nexttenant software

Download the beta version of BIG-IP Next from the F5 beta portal.

  1. Under Tell us more about your product, for Product Line, select an F5 product line.

    For example, BIG-IP v15.x / Virtual Edition with Traffic Management Operating System (TMOS).

    Note: For information on compatibility between F5OS and tenant software versions, see K9476: The F5 hardware/software compatibility matrix.

  2. For Product Version, select the product version to download.

    For example, 15.1.8.

  3. Under Select a product container, select the F5 tenant software that you want to download.

    For example, 15.1.8_Tenant_F5OS.

  4. Under Select a download file, select a file name.

    The file name consists of the platform family, build number, and disk size tag (ALL, T1, T2, T3, or T4).

  5. For Download locations, select a download location.

  6. Click Download.

  7. Download the corresponding checksum file.

    The corresponding checksum file has the same name, except that .md5 is the file extension. After the download completes, verify the integrity of the file by checking the MD5 checksum.

  8. Transfer the files to a web server in your infrastructure that supports HTTPS.

    Note: If you download a .tar file containing multiple files, you need to extract the images before you can import them onto the system.

You can import a file from an external server into the system controller or chassis partitionfrom the CLI. HTTPS is the supported protocol. The remote host should be an HTTPS server with PUT/POST enabled, and a valid CA-signed certificate is recommended.

Note: If you want to import the contents of a .tar file, you need to extract the contents first before you can import them onto the rSeries system.

You can import files into these directories on the systemcontroller:

  • images/staging
  • images/import
  • diags/shared
  • configs

You can import files into these directories on a chassis partition:

  • diags/shared
  • configs
  • images

You can import F5OS image files onto your system from the CLI.

  1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.

    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

  2. Import a file.

    file import remote-url <*ip-address-and-file-path*> local-file <*local-file-path*> username <*user*> password [ remote-port <*port-number*> ] [ protocol [ https | scp | sftp ]] [insecure]

    Note: The insecure option ignores certificate warnings during the transfer.

    This example shows how to import a Base OS ISO file to the system:

    appliance-1# file import remote-url https://files.company.com/images/F5OS-A-1.1.x-xxxxx.R5R10.iso 
  local-file images/staging username admin password
Enter the password at the prompt:
	Value for 'password' (<string>): ******** 
result File transfer is initiated.(images/staging/F5OS-A-1.1.x-xxxxx.R5R10.iso)

    Note: If the file import doesn’t work, you can alternatively use secure copy (SCP) to copy the tenant image file to the images/staging directory of the system. See K175: Transferring files to or from an F5 system for more information.

  3. Return to user (operational) mode.

    end

  4. Optionally, you can check the file transfer status with this command.

    appliance-1# file transfer-status

    When the file transfer completes, the Status displays Complete.

Before you can import a tenant image file, be sure to download the tenant image file to a web server in your infrastructure that supports HTTPS, has PUT/POST enabled, and has a valid CA-signed certificate.

You can import tenant image files onto your rSeries system from the CLI.

  1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition using an account with admin access.

    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

  2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system using an account with admin access.

    When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

  3. Import the tenant image file.

    Important: The remote host should be an HTTPS server with PUT/POST enabled and have a valid CA-signed certificate. To ignore the certificate warnings, you can use the insecure option.

    file import remote-url <*ip-address-and-file-path*> local-file <*local-file-path*> username <*user*> password [ remote-port <*port-number*> ] [ protocol [ https | scp | sftp ]] [insecure]

    This example shows how to import a tenant ISO to the system:

    appliance-1# file import remote-url https://files.company.com/images/BIGIP-15.x.x-x.x.x.ALL-F5OS.qcow2.zip.bundle 
  local-file images/staging username admin password
Enter the password at the prompt:
	Value for 'password' (<string>): ******** 
result File transfer is initiated.(images/staging)
    syscon-1-active# file import remote-url https://files.company.com/images/BIGIP-15.x.x-x.x.x.ALL-F5OS.qcow2.zip.bundle 
  local-file images/staging username admin password
Enter the password at the prompt:
    Value for 'password' (<string>): ******** 
result File transfer is initiated.(images/staging)

    You can use the downloaded image file when deploying a tenant.

    Note: If the file import doesn’t work, you can alternatively log in as a root user and use secure copy (SCP) to copy the tenant image file to the images/staging directory of the system.

  4. Return to user (operational) mode.

    end

  5. Optionally, you can check the status of the file import with this command.

    appliance-1# file transfer-status
    syscon-1-active# file transfer-status

    When the file transfer completes, the Status displays Complete.

You can import a file from an external server into the system controller or chassis partition from the webUI. The remote host should be an HTTPS server with PUT/POST enabled, and a valid CA-signed certificate is recommended.

Note: If you want to import the contents of a .tar file, you need to extract the contents first before you can import them onto the system.

You can import files into these directories on a systemcontroller:

  • images/staging
  • images/import
  • diags/shared/
  • configs/

You can import files into these directories on a chassis partition:

  • diags/shared
  • configs
  • images

You can manage software images from the webUI.

  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.

  2. On the left, click SYSTEM SETTINGS > Software Management.

  3. To import a Base OS image:

    1. Click Import.

      A popup opens.

    2. For URL, enter the URL of the remote image server.

      F5 recommends that the remote host be an HTTPS server with PUT/POST enabled and have a valid CA-signed certificate. You can opt to select the Ignore Certificate Warnings check box if you want to skip the certificate check.

    3. For Username, type the user name for an account on the remote image server, if required.

    4. For Password, type the password for the account, if required.

    5. Select Ignore Certificate Warnings to skip the certificate check.

    6. Click Add Image.

    Note: Depending on the image file size and network availability, the import might take a few minutes. When the import is successful, the software image is listed in the webUI.

  4. To upload a Base OS image that you have downloaded to your local workstation:

    1. Click Upload.

    2. Navigate to the image file and select it.

    3. Click Open.

  5. To delete a Base OS image, select the image and click Delete.

    Software images that are in use cannot be deleted.

View the status of image imports under Image Import Status, which shows information about Remote Host, File, Status, and Time.

You can add or delete tenant images from the webUI. You must use HTTPS image import or export. Note that tenant images are specific to the rSeries system, and the software version must be compatible with it.

  1. Log in to the webUI using an account with admin access.

  2. On the left, click TENANT MANAGEMENT > Tenant Images.

  3. To upload an image, click Upload and browse to the image location.

  4. To import an image:

    1. Click Import.

      A popup opens.

    2. For URL, enter the URL of the remote image server.

      F5 recommends that the remote host be an HTTPS server with PUT/POST enabled and have a valid CA-signed certificate. You can opt to select the Ignore Certificate Warnings check box if you want to skip the certificate check.

    3. For Username, type the user name for an account on the remote image server, if required.

    4. For Password, type the password for the account, if required.

    5. Select Ignore Certificate Warnings to skip the certificate check.

    6. Click Import Image.

    Note: Depending on the image file size and network availability, the import might take a few minutes. When the import is successful, the software image is listed in the webUI.

  5. To delete a tenant image, select the image and click Delete.

After you have added the tenant images that you want to use to the system, you can create and deploy tenants that will use that software image. The tenant image must be one that is listed as compatible with the rSeries system.