Manual Chapter : Diagnostics

Applies To:

  • F5OS-A

    1.8.4

back-action F5 rSeries Systems: Administration and Configuration

Updated Date: 04/27/2026

Diagnostics

If you have configured your system with F5 iHealth credentials, the iHealth upload feature uploads QKView files, by default, directly to F5 iHealth at ihealth2.f5.com. If the host does not have internet access to reach f5.com, you can configure the system to use a web proxy to upload the QKView file to F5 iHealth.

Before you can log in to the new iHealth system, you must first generate API token credentials at ihealth2.f5.com/qkview-analyzer/settings.

The iHealth upload feature uploads QKView reports, by default, directly to F5 iHealth at ihealth2.f5.com. You can configure iHealth credentials from the webUI. If the host does not have internet access to reach f5.com, you can configure the system to upload QKView files to iHealth using a web proxy server.

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

  2. On the left, click DIAGNOSTICS > iHealth Configuration.

    The iHealth Configuration screen displays.

  3. In the Credentials area, for Client ID, enter your client identifier.

  4. For Client Secret, enter the secret associated with the client identifier.

  5. Configure a proxy server, if needed.

    Note: If you are not using a web proxy server, leave these fields blank.

    1. In the Proxy Server area, for Server URL, enter the web proxy server URL, including the port number.

    2. For Username and Password, if the web proxy server requires credentials, enter the user name and password.

      Note: If the web proxy server does not require credentials, leave these fields blank.

  6. Click Save & Close.

  7. Click OK when the Update iHealth Configuration popup displays.

Now you can generate QKView files and upload them to F5 iHealth.

The iHealth upload feature uploads QKView files, by default, directly to F5 iHealth at ihealth2.f5.com.You can configure iHealth credentials and upload QKView files from the CLI.

  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.

  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. Change to config mode.

    config

    The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

  4. Configure the iHealth server address.

    system diagnostics ihealth config server <*ihealth-url*>

    In this example, you configure the default iHealth server address:

    appliance-1(config)# system diagnostics ihealth config server
(<string>) (https://ihealth-api.f5.com/qkview-analyzer/api/qkviews?visible_in_gui=True): 
  https://ihealth-api.f5networks.net/qkview-analyzer/api/qkviews?visible_in_gui=True

  5. Configure the iHealth authentication server address.

    system diagnostics ihealth config authserver <*auth-server-url*>

    In this example, you configure the default iHealth authentication server:

    appliance-1(config)# system diagnostics ihealth config 
  authserver https://api.f5.com/auth/pub/sso/login/ihealth-api

  6. Configure your iHealth server credentials.

    system diagnostics ihealth config username <*username*> password

    In this example, you configure the username jdoe and a password:

    appliance-1(config)# system diagnostics ihealth config username jdoe password
(<AES encrypted string>): *************

  7. Commit the configuration changes.

    commit

The iHealth upload feature uploads QKView reports, by default, directly to F5 iHealth at ihealth2.f5.com.You can configure iHealth credentials from the CLI. If the host does not have internet access to reach f5.com, you can configure the system to upload QKView files to iHealth using a web proxy.

  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.

  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. Change to config mode.

    config

    The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

  4. Configure the proxy server.

    system diagnostics proxy config proxy-server <*ip-address:port*>

    In this example, you configure a proxy server using the IP address 192.0.2.20 and port 3128:

    appliance-1(config)# system diagnostics proxy config 
  proxy-server http://192.0.2.20:3128
appliance-1(config)# commit

  5. Configure the proxy server credentials, if needed.

    system diagnostics proxy config proxy-username <*username*> proxy-password <*password*>

    The proxy username and password configuration elements contain the credentials for the proxy server. If the proxy server does not require authentication, these values are ignored.

    In this example, you configure the username “myname” and a password:

    appliance-1(config)# system diagnostics proxy config 
  proxy-username myname
appliance-1(config)# system diagnostics proxy config proxy-password
(<AES encrypted string>): ******

  6. Commit the configuration changes.

    commit

Now you can generate QKView files and either upload them to F5 iHealth or manage the files locally.

If you have any concerns about your system operation, you can use the QKView utility to generate a system report to collect configuration and diagnostic information from the system.

The QKView file contains machine-readable (JSON) diagnostic data and combines the data into a single compressed tar.gz format file. You can upload the QKView file to F5 iHealth at ihealth2.f5.com, where you can get help verifying proper operation of the system, understanding and troubleshooting any issues you might be having, and ensuring that the system is operating at its maximum efficiency.

For information about generating a QKView for BIG-IP Next or other tenants, see the documentation on my.f5.com and clouddocs.f5.com.

You can generate a QKView file from the webUI. The report contains diagnostic information, such as configuration data, log files, and platform information.

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

  2. On the left, click DIAGNOSTICS > System Reports.

    The System Reports screen displays. A list of QKView files that were previously generated are shown with any reports that were uploaded to iHealth.

  3. To generate a system report, click Generate QKView in the upper right corner of the screen.

    The Generate QKView box displays these additional options:

Option

Description

Filename

Specify a name for the file to which QKView file data is written. The default filename is <*system-name*>.qkview.

Timeout Value

Specify the time in seconds after which to stop QKView file data collection. The default value is 0, which indicates no timeout.

Max File Size

Exclude all files greater than the specified size (in MB). The range is from 2 MB to 1000 MB. The default value for maximum file size is 500 MB.

Max Core Size

Exclude core files greater than this size (in MB). The range is from 2 MB to 1000 MB. The default value for maximum core size is 25 MB.

Exclude Cores

Specify whether core files should be excluded from the QKView file. The default is to include core files.

 
**Note:** The system runs many commands to collect the diagnostic information, so generating the report might affect its performance.

It takes a few minutes for the system to finish creating the report and list it on the screen. The QKView Status changes to `File generated successfully` when it is done.

  1. To upload the report to the F5 iHealth server:

    1. Select the check box next to the QKView to be uploaded.

    2. Click Upload to iHealth.

    3. In the Upload to iHealth popup, enter your iHealth credentials.

      Optionally, you can include your F5 Support case number and a brief description.

    To do the upload, the system must have DNS configured, and have Internet access to these services using the HTTPS/443 remote service/port:

    • api.f5.com
    • ihealth-api.f5.com The QKView tar file uploads to iHealth, where you can get help to diagnose the health and proper operation of the system.

  2. To delete a QKView file, select it and click Delete.

You can generate a QKView file from the CLI. The report contains diagnostic information, such as configuration data, log files, and platform information.

  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. List existing QKView files.

    show system diagnostics qkview

  3. Generate a QKView file.

    system diagnostics qkview capture exclude-cores { false | true } filename <*filename*> maxcoresize <*size*> maxfilesize <*size*> timeout <*time*>

    These options are available:

Option

Description

exclude-cores

Specify whether core files should be excluded from the QKView file. The default is to include core files.

filename

Specify a name for the file to which QKView file data is written. The default filename is <*system-name*>.qkview.

maxcoresize

Exclude core files greater than this size (in MB). The range is from 2 MB to 1000 MB. The default value for maximum core size is 25 MB.

maxfilesize

Exclude all files greater than the specified size (in MB). The range is from 2 MB to 1000 MB. The default value for maximum file size is 500 MB.

timeout

Specify the time in seconds after which to stop QKView file data collection. The default value is 0, which indicates no timeout.

 
In this example, you generate a QKView file named `client-qkview.tar` that excludes core files, sets the maximum core size to 500 MB, sets the maximum file size to 500 MB, and sets a timeout value of 0 \(zero\), which indicates no timeout:

```
appliance-1# system diagnostics qkview capture filename client-qkview exclude-cores true maxcoresize 500 maxfilesize 500 timeout 0
result  Qkview file client-qkview is being collected
return code 200				
```

  1. Check the status of the QKView generation process.

    system diagnostics qkview status

    A summary similar to this example displays:

    appliance-1# system diagnostics qkview status
result  {"Busy":true,"Percent":12,"Status":"collecting","Message":"Collecting Data","Filename":"client-qkview"}


resultint 0

  2. Delete a QKView file.

    system diagnostics qkview delete filename <*filename*>

    In this example, you delete a QKView file named “c3-test.tar.canceled” on the local system:

    syscon-1-active # system diagnostics qkview delete filename c3-test.tar.canceled

Before you can upload QKView files to F5 iHealth, you must already have configured the system with iHealth credentials.

You can upload a QKView file from the CLI. The report contains diagnostic information, such as configuration data, log files, and platform information.

  1. Connect using SSH to the management IP address.

  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. Change to config mode.

    config

    The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

  4. Upload a QKView file to iHealth.

    system diagnostics ihealth upload qkview-file <*filename*> description <*qkview-file-description*> service-request-number <*sr-number*>

    In this example, you upload a QKView file named client-qkview.tar to iHealth using configured iHealth credentials:

    appliance-1(config)# system diagnostics ihealth upload qkview-file 
  diags/shared/qkview/client-qkview.tar description testing service-request-number C523232
message HTTP/1.1 202 Accepted
Location: /support/ihealth/status/iuw53AYW
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2022 12:09:08 GMT
Content-Length: 00

Finally, you view the uploaded report on F5 iHealth at ihealth2.f5.com.