Network Settings

Network settings overview

An administrator can configure L2 network settings for the rSeries system, such as port groups, LAGs, interfaces, VLANs, LACP, LLDP, and STP. You can configure these network settings from the webUI, the CLI, or REST APIs.

Port groups overview

The front-panel ports on F5 r2000/r4000 and F5 r5000/r10000 platforms support port group functionality. Port groups enable you to configure the mode of the physical port, which controls the port speed and whether the port is bundled or unbundled. Until configured, the rSeries system uses port speeds of 100G, 25G, or 10G, depending on the port and the platform. You can change them based on what optical transceiver module type you are using.

Note: F5 r2000/r4000 platforms have pre-defined configuration modes. These port group options are 4x25GbE, 8x10GbE, and 4x10GbE+2x25GbE.

Before configuring any interfaces, VLANs, or LAGs, you can set up port groups so that physical interfaces on the platform are configured for the proper speed and bundling. Depending on the port group mode, a different FPGA version is loaded, and the speed of the port is adjusted accordingly. The system creates the port group components.

Changing the mode for a port group reboots the system, removes stale interfaces from your configuration, and removes any references to stale interfaces from your configuration. You will then need to reconfigure any previously-configured protocols to use the modified port group.

Configure port groups from the webUI

You can configure port groups to use a specific mode depending on how you are connecting your system.

Important: Changing the port group mode impacts the view of physical interfaces published by the system. The previous interfaces that corresponded to the previous port group mode are deleted, and new ones are created. All configuration associated with the deleted interfaces is also lost.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > Port Groups.

3. For a specific port group, select a Mode from the list.

   For F5 r5000/r10000, you can choose one of these modes:

   Option	Description
   100GbE	Create one interface at 100G speed.
   40GbE	Create one interface at 40G speed.
   25GbE	Create one interface at 25G speed.
   10GbE	Create one interface at 10G speed.
   4x10Gb	Creates four interfaces at 10G speed (requires use of a breakout cable)

   For F5 r2000/r4000, you can choose a pre-defined configuration as a mode:

   Option	Description
   4x25GbE	Creates four interfaces at 25G speed.
   4x10GbE+2x25GbE	Creates four interfaces at 10G speed and two interfaces at 25G speed.
   8x10GbE	Creates eight interfaces at 10G speed.

4. Click Save.

When you change the port group mode on ports for a specific group, the system resets. The previous interfaces that corresponded to the previous port group mode are deleted, and the associated (underlying) configuration is also lost.

Configure the mode of a port group from the CLI

You can configure a port group for the interfaces on the system at either 100G or 40G speeds 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. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Configure port groups for a specific interface.

   portgroups portgroup <*interface-number*> config mode { MODE\_100GB |MODE\_40GB|MODE\_4x10GB}

   In this example, you configure the port group mode on interface 2 to use the 100GB mode:

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   appliance-1(config)# portgroups portgroup 2 config mode MODE_100GB

4. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Show the state of port groups from the CLI

You can show the state for port groups on the 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. Show the current state for the port groups configuration.

   show portgroups portgroup

   A summary similar to this example displays:

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   appliance-1# show portgroups portgroup
   portgroups portgroup 1
    state vendor-name      "F5 INC."
    state vendor-oui       009065
    state vendor-partnum   "OPT-0031        "
    state vendor-revision  A0
    state vendor-serialnum "A1B2C3D40         "
    state transmitter-technology "850 nm VCSEL"
    state media            100GBASE-SR4
    state optic-state      QUALIFIED
    state ddm rx-pwr low-threshold alarm -14.0
    state ddm rx-pwr low-threshold warn -11.0
    state ddm rx-pwr instant val-lane1 -1.96
    state ddm rx-pwr instant val-lane2 -0.95
    state ddm rx-pwr instant val-lane3 -1.06
    state ddm rx-pwr instant val-lane4 -1.98
    state ddm rx-pwr high-threshold alarm 3.4
    state ddm rx-pwr high-threshold warn 2.4
    state ddm tx-pwr low-threshold alarm -10.0
    state ddm tx-pwr low-threshold warn -8.0
    state ddm tx-pwr instant val-lane1 0.07
    state ddm tx-pwr instant val-lane2 0.67
    state ddm tx-pwr instant val-lane3 0.32
    state ddm tx-pwr instant val-lane4 0.45
    state ddm tx-pwr high-threshold alarm 5.0
    state ddm tx-pwr high-threshold warn 3.0
    state ddm temp low-threshold alarm -5.0
    state ddm temp low-threshold warn 0.0
    state ddm temp instant val 40.8046
    state ddm temp high-threshold alarm 75.0
    state ddm temp high-threshold warn 70.0
    state ddm bias low-threshold alarm 0.003
    state ddm bias low-threshold warn 0.005
    state ddm bias instant val-lane1 0.00753
    state ddm bias instant val-lane2 0.007448
    state ddm bias instant val-lane3 0.007536
    state ddm bias instant val-lane4 0.007504
    state ddm bias high-threshold alarm 0.013
    state ddm bias high-threshold warn 0.011
    state ddm vcc low-threshold alarm 2.97
    state ddm vcc low-threshold warn 3.135
    state ddm vcc instant val 3.3027
    state ddm vcc high-threshold alarm 3.63
    state ddm vcc high-threshold warn 3.465
   ...

Port mappings overview

Port mappings show how the front-panel interfaces on F5 r5000/r10000 systems are configured for capacity bandwidth and allocated bandwidth using pipelines and pipeline groups.

pipeline
Corresponds to a traffic-processing pipeline. There are eight virtual ports per pipeline. Each pipeline has 100Gb of throughput.

pipeline group
Contains two pipelines and corresponds to FPGA sockets. The system FPGAs are configured in the bitstream to support the different ports. No bitstream supports all ports simultaneously.

Display port mappings from the webUI

You can view how port mappings are configured from the webUI.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > Port Mappings.

   The current configuration for port mappings displays.

Port profiles overview

The front-panel ports on F5 r2000/r4000 systems support port profile functionality. Port profiles enable you to change which mode, or port speed, that port uses. SFP28 ports operate at 25GbE by default, and SFP+ ports operate at 10GbE by default. Only these configurations are available:

8x10G
All eight 10G (SFP+) ports run at 10G speed. This is the default configuration.

​2x25G​ - 4x10G
Two 25G (SFP28) ports run at 25G speed, and four 10G (SFP+) ports run at 10G.

4​x25G​
All four 25G (SFP28) ports run at 25G speed.

Changing the mode for a port profile reboots the system, and then removes stale interfaces and any references to stale interfaces from your configuration. You must reconfigure any previously-configured protocols to use your modified port group.

Note: All tenants must be in “configured” state before you can change the port profile. You cannot change the profile while a tenant is in “deployed” state.

Configure a port profile from the CLI

You can configure port profiles for the interfaces on the 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. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Change the port profile configuration.

   port-profiles config mode [ 2x25G-4x10G | 4x25G | 8x10G }

   In this example, you configure the port profile to use the 4x25G mode:

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   appliance-1(config)# port-profiles config mode 4x25G

4. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Changing the mode for a port profile reboots the system, and then removes stale interfaces and any references to stale interfaces from your configuration. You must reconfigure any previously-configured protocols to use your modified port profile.

Interfaces overview

rSeries systems include a set number of front-panel interfaces (or ports). The number of available interfaces varies depending on hardware model.

Note: For the F5 r2000/r4000 platforms, you can now add same VLAN ID to multiple members. Adding the same VLAN ID to multiple members could result in L2 loops. Special considerations should be made to the network topology to avoid L2 loops.

Configure interfaces from the webUI

Before you begin, you must already have created the VLANs that you want to associate with the interface.

Note: If you intend to create LAGs, you should wait to associate VLANs with interfaces, because an interface cannot be used as a LAG member if it is associated with a VLAN

You can configure interfaces from the webUI.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > Interfaces.

   A table showing all interfaces displays.

3. Click an interface name.

4. For Description, enter text to describe the interface.

5. For State, select whether the interface is Enabled or Disabled.

6. These settings are informational, use set values, and cannot be changed: Operational Status, Speed, LACP State, MAC Address, and Interface Type.

7. For MTU, the maximum transmissions unit is set to the default value of 9600 (read only).

   This is the largest size that the system allows for an IP datagram passing through a physical interface.

   Note: Changing the MTU at the platform level would affect all tenants, so this is configurable at the tenant level for greater control.

8. Forward Error Correction is set to the default value of Auto (read only) and detects and corrects a limited number of errors in transmitted data.

   Note: Since this setting is enabled automatically, your upstream switch must also support Forward Error Correction (FEC).

9. For Native VLAN (Untagged), select the VLAN ID to use for untagged frames received on an interface (either a single interface or LAG).

   Note: An interface or LAG can have only one Native VLAN assigned to it. You can use a Native VLAN with multiple LAGs or interfaces. You cannot use a VLAN, however, as both a Native and Trunk VLAN for the same interface.

10. For Trunk VLANs (Tagged), select one or more VLAN IDs, if available, and not a member of another LAG; this is used for tagged traffic.

    You can use the same VLAN ID as the Trunk VLAN across all interfaces or LAGs. You cannot use a VLAN, however, as both a Native and Trunk VLAN for the same interface.

    Note: A Trunk VLAN or a Native VLAN is required to pass traffic. If you do not select either a Native VLAN or a Trunk VLAN, the port will not carry any traffic.

11. Click Save & Close.

Display and reset interface statistics from the webUI

You can view statistics for physical interfaces configured on the system from the webUI. The table shows, for each interface, the amount of data that was input and output in multiple forms. You can also see in/out errors and frame check sequence (FCS) errors that occurred on each of the interfaces, and you can reset to clear the data.

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

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

3. In the Interface Statistics area, change the way the statistics are displayed in the Data Format by selecting Normalized or Unformatted.

   Selecting Normalized converts the byte representation to kilobytes, megabytes, or terabytes, depending on the size. This provides better data readability especially when there are massive amounts of traffic passing through the interfaces.

4. Set the Auto Refresh interval for refreshing the data displayed or click the refresh icon to update the data immediately.

5. Select one or more interfaces, then click Reset to clear the data.

Configure an interface from the CLI

You can configure front-panel interfaces 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. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Configure settings for the specified interface.

   interfaces interface <*interface*> config { disabled | enabled } description <*interface-description*> type <*interface-type*>

   In this example, you enable and configure interface 1.0 with a custom description:

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   appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface 1.0 config enabled description 
     "Interface 1.0"

   Note: Changing the MTU at the platform level would affect all tenants, so this is configurable at the tenant level for greater control.

4. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Show the state of a specific interface from the CLI

You can show the state of a specific interface on a platform 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. Display the current status of a specific interface.

   show interface interface <*interface-number*>

   When you specify a specific interface, a summary similar to this example displays:

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   `appliance-1# show interfaces interface 5.0
   interfaces interface 5.0
    state name               5.0
    state type               ethernetCsmacd
    state mtu                9600
    state enabled            true
    state ifindex            26
    state oper-status        DOWN
    state counters in-octets 0
    state counters in-unicast-pkts 0
    state counters in-broadcast-pkts 0
    state counters in-multicast-pkts 0
    state counters in-discards 0
    state counters in-errors 0
    state counters in-fcs-errors 0
    state counters out-octets 0
    state counters out-unicast-pkts 0
    state counters out-broadcast-pkts 0
    state counters out-multicast-pkts 0
    state counters out-discards 0
    state counters out-errors 0
    state forward-error-correction auto
    state lacp_state         LACP_DEFAULTED
    ethernet state port-speed SPEED_25GB
    ethernet state hw-mac-address 00:12:a1:34:56:78
    ethernet state counters in-mac-control-frames 0
    ethernet state counters in-mac-pause-frames 0
    ethernet state counters in-oversize-frames 0
    ethernet state counters in-jabber-frames 0
    ethernet state counters in-fragment-frames 0
    ethernet state counters in-8021q-frames 0
    ethernet state counters in-crc-errors 0
    ethernet state counters out-mac-control-frames 0
    ethernet state counters out-mac-pause-frames 0
    ethernet state counters out-8021q-frames 0
    ethernet state flow-control rx on`

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   appliance-1# show interfaces interface 1.0
   interfaces interface 1.0
    state name               1.0
    state type               ethernetCsmacd
    state mtu                9600
    state enabled            true
    state ifindex            19
    state oper-status        DOWN
    state counters in-octets 0
    state counters in-unicast-pkts 0
    state counters in-broadcast-pkts 0
    state counters in-multicast-pkts 0
    state counters in-discards 0
    state counters in-errors 0
    state counters in-fcs-errors 0
    state counters out-octets 0
    state counters out-unicast-pkts 0
    state counters out-broadcast-pkts 0
    state counters out-multicast-pkts 0
    state counters out-discards 0
    state counters out-errors 0
    state forward-error-correction auto
    state lacp_state         LACP_DEFAULTED
    ethernet state port-speed SPEED_100GB
    ethernet state hw-mac-address 00:98:a1:76:54:0d
    ethernet state counters in-mac-control-frames 0
    ethernet state counters in-mac-pause-frames 0
    ethernet state counters in-oversize-frames 0
    ethernet state counters in-jabber-frames 0
    ethernet state counters in-fragment-frames 0
    ethernet state counters in-8021q-frames 0
    ethernet state counters in-crc-errors 0
    ethernet state counters out-mac-control-frames 0
    ethernet state counters out-mac-pause-frames 0
    ethernet state counters out-8021q-frames 0
    ethernet state flow-control rx on

   The below tables describe various state and ethernet state counters that you may come across when viewing the status of a specific interface.

Configure Forward Error Correction for the interface from the CLI

Based on the optical interfaces, F5OS automatically sets the Forward Error Correction (FEC) mode. You can configure the Forward Error Correction (FEC) state from the CLI. By default, FEC is set to auto.

Note: The 10GB optical interfaces do not support FEC. By default, for a 10GB interface, the configuration is set to auto and the state is displayed as not supported.

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. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Configure forward error correction state:

   interfaces interface <*interface*> config forward-error-correction

   A summary of this example displays:

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   appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface 3/1.0 config forward-error-correction enabled

4. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Display the state of Forward Error Correction for the interface from the CLI

You can view the state of the Forward Error Correction for the interfaces that are configured on the system.

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. Display the current state Forward Error Correction for the interfaces.

   show interfaces interface state forward-error-correction

   A summary to this example displays:

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   show interfaces interface state forward-error-correction
          FORWARD ERROR 
   NAME   CORRECTION    
   ----------------------
   7/1.1  enabled 
   7/1.2  not_supported 
   7/1.3  not_supported 
   7/1.4  not_supported 
   7/2.1  disabled 
   7/2.2  not_supported 
   7/2.3  not_supported 
   7/2.4  not_supported

Link aggregation group (LAG) overview

A link aggregation group (LAG) is a logical group of interfaces that function as a single interface. The LAG (like a trunk on tenant systems) distributes traffic across multiple links, which increases the bandwidth by adding the bandwidth of multiple links together. For example, four fast Ethernet (100 Mbps) links, if aggregated, create a single 400 Mbps link. LAGs also enhance connection reliability by providing link failover if a member link becomes unavailable.

There are two types of LAGs:

Static

Ports in the LAG are manually configured, and the group of ports assigned to a static LAG is always made up of active members. This is the default type of LAG.

Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP)

When LACP is enabled on a LAG, the ports configure automatically into groups without manual configuration. The LACP protocol detects error conditions on member links and redistributes traffic to other member links, thus preventing any loss of traffic on a failed link.

Create LAGs from the webUI

You can create a link aggregation group (LAG) from the webUI.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > LAGs.

   The screen shows LAGs that are configured.

3. Click Add.

4. For Name, enter a name for the LAG.

5. For Description, enter text to describe the LAG.

6. For LAG Type, select one of these options:

   Option	Description
   STATIC	Manually configure the links. The link state of LAG members is not dynamically updated. This is the default value for LAGs.
   LACP	Automatically bundle links.

7. If you select LACP, configure these additional settings:

8. For Configured Members, select one or more interfaces (not members of another LAG) to assign to the LAG.

   Note: Only interfaces that are configured with the same speeds can be members of the LAG. The interfaces cannot be associated with VLANs.

   You can add up to 20 members to a LAG.

9. For Native VLAN (Untagged), select the VLAN ID to use for untagged frames received on a trunk interface.

10. For Trunk VLANs (Tagged), select one or more VLAN IDs, if available and not a member of another LAG.

    Note: A trunk VLAN or a native VLAN is required to pass traffic. If you do not select either a native VLAN or a trunk VLAN, the port will not carry any traffic.

11. Click Save & Close.

The LAG is created and shown in the list. You can add up to 256 LAGs.

Modify LAGs from the webUI

You can edit the properties of an existing a link aggregation group (LAG) from the webUI.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > LAGs.

   The screen shows LAGs that are configured.

3. Click a LAG name.

4. For LAG Type, select one of these options:

   Option	Description
   STATIC	Manually configure the links. The link state of LAG members is not dynamically updated. This is the default value for LAGs.
   LACP	Automatically bundle links.

5. If you select LACP, configure these additional settings:

6. For Configured Members, select one or more interfaces (not members of another LAG) to assign to the LAG.

   Note: Only interfaces that are configured with the same speeds can be members of the LAG. The interfaces cannot be associated with VLANs.

   You can add up to 20 members to a LAG.

7. For Native VLAN (Untagged), select the VLAN ID to use for untagged frames received on a trunk interface.

8. For Trunk VLANs (Tagged), select one or more VLAN IDs, if available and not a member of another LAG.

   Note: A trunk VLAN or a native VLAN is required to pass traffic. If you do not select either a native VLAN or a trunk VLAN, the port will not carry any traffic.

9. Click Save & Close.

Display LACP details from the webUI

You can view the LACP details on the webUI to troubleshoot. For example, you can determine why an interface member of an LACP LAG on the system is not working as expected.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > LACP Details.

   The screen shows state information about whether LACP is Up, Down, or Defaulted for LACP interfaces. The lower portion of the screen shows details that can be used for troubleshooting LACP issues.

3. Set the Auto Refresh interval for refreshing the data displayed or click the refresh icon to update the data immediately.

Static LAG configuration from the CLI

To configure a static LAG, you first configure the status LAG interface, then add interfaces to LAG members, and then associate VLANs with the LAG interfaces.

Configure a static LAG interface from the CLI

You can configure a LAG interface type as static 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. Create a LAG interface.

   interfaces interface <*lag-name*> config type ieee8023adLag description <*lag-description*>

   This example creates a LAG named lag-test with a description:

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   appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface lag-test config type ieee8023adLag 
     description "HA LAG"

   The system prompt updates to show that you are in configuration mode for the interface:

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   appliance-1(config-interface-lag-test)#

5. Set the type of LAG interface to STATIC (this is the default setting).

   aggregation config lag-type STATIC

   This example shows the interface named lag-test in configuration mode and configures it as a static LAG:

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   appliance-1(config-interface-lag-test)# aggregation config lag-type STATIC

6. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Add interfaces to LAG members from the CLI

You can add interfaces, or member ports, to a LAG interface 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. Add interfaces to a LAG.

   interfaces interface <*interface*> ethernet config aggregate-id <*lag-name*>

   This example adds interface 1.0 to a LAG named lag-test:

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   appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface 1.0 ethernet config aggregate-id lag-test

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Associate VLANs with LAG interfaces from the CLI

Before you can pass user traffic, you need to associate VLANs with LAG interfaces 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. Associate VLANs with the LAG interface.

   interfaces interface <*lag-name*> aggregation switched-vlan config trunk-vlans { <*vlan-IDs*> }

   This example associates VLANs 1037 and 1038 with a LAG named lag-test:

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   appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface lag-test aggregation switched-vlan 
     config trunk-vlans [ 1037 1038 ]

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

LACP configuration from the CLI

Create a LAG interface from the CLI

You can create a LAG interface 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. Create a LAG interface.

   interfaces interface <*lag-name*> config type ieee8023adLag

   This example creates a LAG named lag-test:

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   appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface lag-test config type ieee8023adLag

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Create an LACP interface from the CLI

Before LACP can manage a LAG interface, you need to create a LAG interface of type LACP 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. Create a LAG interface of type LACP.

   interfaces interface <*lag-name*> aggregation config lag-type LACP

   This example creates a LAG of type LACP named lag-test:

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   appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface lag-test aggregation config lag-type LACP

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

6. Return to user (operational) mode.

   end

7. Verify that LACP is enabled on the interface.

   show interfaces interface lag-test

   A summary similar to this example displays:

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   appliance-1# show interfaces interface lag-test
   interfaces interface lag-test
    state type               ieee8023adLag
    state mtu                9600
    state oper-status        UP
    state forward-error-correction auto
    ethernet state flow-control rx on
    aggregation state lag-type LACP
    aggregation state lag-speed 100
    aggregation state distribution-hash src-dst-ipport
    aggregation state mac-address 00:94:a1:69:61:14
    aggregation state lagid 1

Enable LACP on a LAG interface from the CLI

By default, a LAG interface is in a static mode, which means that the member links do not initiate or process any of the LACP packets received. You can enable LACP on the LAG interface 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. Enable LACP on a LAG interface.

   interfaces interface <*lag-name*> aggregation config lag-type LACP

   This example enables LACP on a LAG interface named lag-test:

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   appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface lag-test aggregation config lag-type LACP

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

6. Return to user (operational) mode.

   end

7. Verify that LACP is enabled on a specified LAG interface.

   A summary similar to this example displays:

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   appliance-1# show interfaces interface lag-test
    state name               lag-test
    state type               ieee8023adLag
    state mtu                9600
    state oper-status        UP
    state forward-error-correction auto
    ethernet state flow-control rx on
    aggregation state lag-type LACP
    aggregation state lag-speed 100
    aggregation state distribution-hash src-dst-ipport
    aggregation state mac-address 00:94:a1:69:61:14
    aggregation state lagid 1

Display LACP state from the CLI

You can check the LACP state 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. Display the LACP state.

   show lacp

   A summary similar to this example displays:

   Copy

   appliance-1# show lacp
   lacp state system-id-mac 00:94:a1:69:34:23
   lacp interfaces interface lag-test
    state name    lag-test
    state interval SLOW
    state lacp-mode ACTIVE
    state system-id-mac 00:94:a1:69:34:23
    members member 1.0
     state interface  1.0
     state activity   ACTIVE
     state timeout    LONG
     state synchronization IN_SYNC
     state aggregatable true
     state collecting true
     state distributing true
     state system-id  00:94:a1:69:34:23
     state oper-key   2
     state partner-id 2c:dd:e9:41:87:61
     state partner-key 4
     state port-num   1024
     state partner-port-num 266
     state counters lacp-in-pkts 2456
     state counters lacp-out-pkts 2458
     state counters lacp-rx-errors 0

Display LACP interface state from the CLI

You can view the state of LACP interfaces 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. Display the state of LACP interfaces.

   show interfaces interface state lacp_state

   A summary similar to this example displays:

   Copy

   appliance-1# show interfaces interface state lacp_state
   NAME  LACP STATE
   ----------------------
   1.0   LACP_UP
   2.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
   3.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
   4.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
   5.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
   6.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
   7.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
   8.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
   9.0   LACP_DEFAULTED
   10.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
   11.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
   12.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
   13.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
   14.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
   15.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
   16.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
   17.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
   18.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
   19.0  LACP_DEFAULTED
   20.0  LACP_DEFAULTED

   These are the available LACP states:

   |Option|Description| |——|———–| |LACP_DEFAULTED|Initial lacp_state value.| |LACP_UP|LACPD has determined that this interface is a working member of an LACP LAG.| |LACP_DOWN|LACPD has determined that this interface is not a working member of an LACP LAG, and it should not receive or transmit user traffic.|

Configure LACP logging level from the CLI

LACP errors are collected into the standard /var/F5/system/log/platform.log file. LACP errors run at the log level INFORMATIONAL by default. If you want to change the severity level for logged information, you can enable a different log level 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 logging level for LACP.

   system logging sw-components sw-component lacpd config severity { ALERT | CRITICAL | DEBUG | EMERGENCY | ERROR | INFORMATIONAL | NOTICE | WARNING }

   This example enables DEBUG level logging for LACP:

   Copy

   `appliance-1(config)# system logging sw-components sw-component lacpd config 
     severity DEBUG`

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Display configuration members from the CLI

Configured members are interfaces in an LACP LAG that listen for and/or send LACPDUs that are attempting to establish that the peer is configured. You can check each physical interface’s aggregated ID 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. Show the configuration members.

   show running-config interfaces interface ethernet config aggregate-id <*lag-name*>

   This example shows information about three members for a LAG named lag-test:

   Copy

   appliance-1# show running-config interfaces interface ethernet config aggregate-id lag-test
   interfaces interface 1.0
    config type ethernetCsmacd
    config enabled
    ethernet config aggregate-id lag-test
   !

Display working members from the CLI

Working members are a subset of configuration members. These members are added and removed dynamically by LACPD. You can see information about working members in a LAG 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. Show the working members, including port statistics.

   show lacp interfaces interface members member state counters

   A summary similar to this example displays:

   Copy

   appliance-1# show lacp interfaces interface members member state counters
                       LACP  LACP  LACP    LACP    LACP
                       IN    OUT   RX      TX      UNKNOWN  LACP
   NAME     INTERFACE  PKTS  PKTS  ERRORS  ERRORS  ERRORS   ERRORS
   -----------------------------------------------------------------
   lag-test 1.0        952   384   0       -       -        -
            2.0        844   384   0       -       -        -

VLAN overview

A VLAN is a logical subset of hosts on a local area network (LAN) that operates in the same IP address space. Grouping hosts together in a VLAN has distinct advantages. For example, with VLANs, you can:

• Reduce the size of broadcast domains, thereby enhancing overall network performance.
• Reduce system and network maintenance tasks substantially. Functionally related hosts do not need to physically reside together to achieve optimal network performance.
• Enhance security on your network by segmenting hosts that must transmit sensitive data.

For the most basic rSeries system configurations, you might create multiple VLANs. That is, you create a VLAN for each of the internal and external networks, as well as a VLAN for high availability communications. You then associate each VLAN with the relevant interfaces or LAGs.

Create VLANs from the webUI

You can create a VLAN and associate physical interfaces or LAGs with that VLAN. In this way, any host that sends traffic to an interface is logically a member of the VLAN or VLANs to which that interface or LAG belongs.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > VLANs.

   The screen shows VLANs that are configured for the system.

3. Click Add.

4. For Name, enter a name for the VLAN.

   Note: VLAN names must follow these rules:

   • Start with an alphabetic character (Aa-Zz).
   • Can be up to 56 characters in length.
   • After the first character, can contain alphanumeric characters, periods (.), hyphens (-) and underscores (_).
   • VLAN names must be unique.

5. For VLAN ID, enter a number between 1-4094 for the VLAN.

   The VLAN ID identifies the traffic from hosts in the associated VLAN for an associated interface or LAG.

6. Click Add VLAN to create the VLAN.

The VLAN is created and displayed in the VLAN list. You can use the VLANs when configuring interfaces, creating LAGs, and deploying tenants (one VLAN can be shared by more than one tenant).

VLAN listeners overview

VLAN listeners are created and deleted by the system at runtime. They are used to program the destination for broadcast packets and L2 destination lookup failures (DLFs).

The system creates a listener when you configure a VLAN for a tenant.

VLAN Listener (listener)

Created when a VLAN is used by a single tenant or when a VLAN is not shared among tenants. VLAN listeners that are created for tenant VLANs that do not include any members are indicated with the value 0.host for interface.

Rebroadcast Listener (rbcast-listener)

Created when a VLAN is used by multiple tenants, that is, when tenants share VLANsin a chassis partition.

Display VLAN listeners from the webUI

You can view VLAN listeners when you need to troubleshoot data path issues and check whether the correct VLANs are assigned to the tenants from the webUI.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > VLAN Listeners.

   The screen shows VLAN listeners that are active on the system.

3. Set the Auto Refresh interval for refreshing the data displayed or click the refresh icon to update the data immediately.

You can see the VLAN listeners that are associated with specific interfaces, VLANs, and other related information. If something does not look correct, review the configuration for that object.

Display VLAN listeners from the CLI

Viewing the VLAN listeners is primarily used for troubleshooting data path issues. You can check whether the correct VLANs are assigned to the tenants 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. View configured VLAN listeners.

   show vlan-listeners

   A summary similar to this example displays:

   Copy

   appliance-1# show vlan-listeners
     NDI                                                                      
     INTERFACE  VLAN  ENTRY TYPE       OWNER    ID    SVC  VTC  SEP  DMS  DID  CMDS  MIRRORING  SERVICE IDS              
     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     0.host     100   RBCAST-LISTENER  rbcast   4095  5    32   15   -    -    -     disabled   [ 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 ]  
     0.host     101   VLAN-LISTENER    t101100  4095  19   -    15   -    -    -     disabled   -

You can see the VLAN listeners that are associated with specific interfaces, VLANs, and other related information. If something does not look correct, review the configuration for that object.

IP tunnels overview

When you configure rSeries systems for network virtualization, the system represents the connection as a tunnel, which provides a Layer 2 interface on the virtual network. You can use the tunnel interface in both layer 2 and layer 3 configurations. After you create the network virtualization tunnels, you can use the tunnels like you use VLANs.

F5 r5000/r10000 systems support these tunneling protocols:

• GENEVE
• GTP
• GRE
• IP in IP
• EtherIP
• NVGRE
• VXLAN

By configuring IP tunneling protocols on rSeries systems, you provide tenants with custom configuration details needed to even out traffic load balancing across Traffic Management Microkernels (TMMs) inside the tenant.

You can configure these tunneling protocols on the rSeries system:

GENEVE (Generic Network Virtualization Encapsulation)

Uses a compact tunnel header encapsulated in UDP over IP.

GTP (GPRS tunneling protocol)

Uses a new disaggregation (DAG) mode for GTP-U traffic that assigns a unique tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) to each GTP control connection to the peers. This enables a BIG-IP tenant to redistribute the GTP-U traffic among all TMMs.

NVGRE (Network Virtualization using Generic Routing Encapsulation)

Uses Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) to tunnel layer 2 packets over layer 3 networks.

VXLAN (Virtual Extensible Local Area Network)

Uses IP plus UDP to encapsulate layer 2 Ethernet frames within layer 4 UDP datagrams, using 4789 as the default UDP port number.

For information on configuring tunneling protocols on BIG-IP tenants, see BIG-IP TMOS: ​Tunneling and IPsec.

IP tunnel configuration from the CLI

Configure GTP tunnels from the CLI

You can enable or disable GTP tunnels from the CLI. This enables the use of TEID (tunnel endpoint identifier) instead of the default L4 port mode for DAG hashing.

Important: This setting applies to all tenants running on the system.

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 a GPE tunnel.

   Set to enabled to indicate that TEID is extracted and L4 ports are overloaded with TEID values instead of L4 port values, or disabled to indicate that there is no change to packet parsing. The default value is disabled.

   system settings dag config gtp-u teid-hash { enabled | disabled }

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

6. Return to user (operational) mode.

   end

7. Verify the DAG hashing configuration.

   Copy

   appliance-1# show system settings dag
   system settings dag state gtp-u teid-hash enabled

Configure GENEVE tunnels from the CLI

You can configure GENEVE (Generic Network Virtualization Encapsulation) tunnels 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. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Create a GENEVE tunnel.

   iptunnels iptunnel geneve config { disabled | enabled } dport <*port*>

   Allowed values for dport (destination port) are in the range of 0 to 65535. The default value is 6081.

   In this example, you create a tunnel that is enabled with the destination port of 6081:

   Copy

   appliance-1(config)# iptunnels iptunnel geneve config enabled dport 6081

4. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Configure NVGRE tunnels from the CLI

You can configure NVGRE (Network Virtualization using Generic Routing Encapsulation) tunnels 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. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Create an NVGRE tunnel.

   iptunnels iptunnel nvgre config ethertype <*hex-value*>

   Allowed values for ethertype are a hexadecimal value, with a leading “0x” followed by 4 digits.

   In this example, you create an NVGRE tunnel:

   Copy

   appliance-1(config)# iptunnels iptunnel nvgre config ethertype 0x1234

4. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Configure VXLAN tunnels from the CLI

You can configure VXLAN (Virtual Extensible LAN) tunnels 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. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Create a VXLAN tunnel.

   iptunnels iptunnel vxlan dport <*port*> gpe { disabled | enabled } dport <*port*> nsh { disabled | enabled }

   Allowed values for dport (destination port) are in the range of 0 to 65535. The default value for the VXLAN destination port is 4789, and the default value for the GPE destination port is 4790.

   In this example, you create a tunnel with GPE enabled and NSH disabled:

   Copy

   appliance-1(config)# iptunnels iptunnel vxlan dport 4789 gpe enabled dport 4790 nsh disabled

4. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

IP tunnel configuration from the webUI

Configure GTP tunnels from the webUI

You can enable the GTP (GPRS Tunnelling Protocol) TEID (tunnel endpoint identifier) hash from the webUI. This enables the system to use the TEID instead of the default L4 port mode for DAG hashing.

Important: This setting applies to all tenants running on the system.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > IP Tunnels.

3. Set GTP-U TEID Hash to Enabled to indicate that TEID is extracted and L4 Ports are overloaded with TEID values instead of L4 port values, or Disabled to indicate that there is no change to packet parsing.

   The default value is Disabled.

4. Click Save.

All tenants running on the system now use GTP tunnels.

Configure GENEVE tunnels from the webUI

You can configure the default settings for GENEVE (Generic Network Virtualization Encapsulation) tunnels from the webUI.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > IP Tunnels.

3. Under Type, select GENEVE.

4. Click GENEVE to edit the settings.

5. For Enabled, select True to enable GENEVE tunnels on the system or False to disable them.

6. For Destination Port, edit the port number.

   The range is from 0 to 65535. The default value is 6081.

7. Click Save.

Configure NVGRE tunnels from the webUI

You can configure the default settings for NVGRE (Network Virtualization using Generic Routing Encapsulation) tunnels from the webUI.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > IP Tunnels.

3. Under Type, select NVGRE.

4. Click NVGRE to edit the settings.

5. For EtherType, edit the EtherType for NVGRE tunnel traffic.

   Allowed values are a hexadecimal value, with a leading “0x” followed by 4 digits. The default value is 0x6558 (Transparent Ethernet Bridging).

6. Click Save.

Configure VXLAN tunnels from the webUI

You can configure the default settings for VXLAN (Virtual Extensible LAN) tunnels from the webUI.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > IP Tunnels.

3. Under Type, select VXLAN.

4. Click VXLAN to edit the settings.

5. For Destination Port, edit the port number.

   The range is from 0 to 65535. The default value is 4789.

6. For GPE Enabled, select True to enable support for the VXLAN GPE tunnel type on the system or False to disable it.

7. For GPE Destination Port, edit the port number.

   The default value is 4790.

8. For NSH Enabled, select True to enable the VXLAN GPE NSH tunnel type on the system or False to disable it.

9. Click Save.

Reset IP tunnels to default values from the webUI

You can reset IP tunnels to their default values from the webUI.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > IP Tunnels.

3. Under Type, select the check box next to the tunnel type.

4. Click Reset.

Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) overview

The rSeries system supports Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP), which is a Layer 2 industry-standard protocol (IEEE 802.1AB) that enables a network device to advertise its identity and capabilities to multi-vendor neighbor devices on a network. The protocol also enables a network device to receive information from neighbor devices. LLDP transmits device information in LLDP frames using the TLV (Type-Length-Value) format.

In general, this protocol:

• Advertises connectivity and management information about the local rSeries device to neighbor devices on the same IEEE 802 LAN.
• Receives network management information from neighbor devices on the same IEEE 802 LAN.
• Operates with all IEEE 802 access protocols and network media.

Configure LLDP from the webUI

Before you can configure LLDP, make sure that the interfaces you will use are up and running with VLANs configured.

You can configure LLDP from the webUI.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > LLDP Configuration.

3. Set Enable LLDP to Enabled.

4. Type a System Name and optionally, a System Description.

5. For TX Interval, enter a number (0-65535) for the interval (in seconds) at which LLDP packets are sent to neighbors. The default value is 30 seconds.

6. For TX Hold, enter a number (0-65535).

   The default value is 4 seconds.

7. For Reinitiate Delay, enter a number (0-65535) to specify the minimum time interval, in seconds, an LLDP port waits before re-initializing an LLDP transmission.

   The default value is 2 seconds.

8. For TX Delay, enter a number (0-65535) to specify the minimum time delay, in seconds, between successive LLDP frame transmissions.

   The default value is 2 seconds.

9. For Max Neighbors Per Port, enter a number to specify the maximum number of LLDP neighbors for which LLDP data is retained.

   The default value is 10.

10. In the Interfaces table, select the interface and LAG (if any) for which you want to enable LLDP. Interfaces must be configured one at a time. For each one selected:

    1. Select Enabled.

    2. For TLV Advertisement State, select TX (Transmit only), RX (Receive only), or TXRX (Transmit and Receive).

    3. For TLV Map, select the TLV device information that you want to transmit and/or receive, such as MAC Phy configuration, management address, MFS (maximum frame size), port description, port ID, and power MDI.

11. Click Save.

12. To remove an interface that has been enabled for LLDP:

    1. In the Interfaces table, select the interface you want to remove.

    2. Click Remove.

    3. Click Save.

LLDP is configured on the system for the specified interfaces and LAGs.

Remove LLDP interfaces from the webUI

You can remove LLDP interfaces from the webUI.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > LLDP Configuration.

3. In the Interfaces table, select the interfaces you want to remove.

   For each interface selected:

   1. Click Remove.

4. Click Save.

The LLDP interfaces are removed.

Display LLDP details from the webUI

LLDP enables a network device to advertise information about itself to other devices on the network and enables network devices to receive information from neighboring devices. If using LLDP, you can display state information for the LLDP-enabled interfaces and LAGs on the system. When LLDP is enabled to receive data in a working network, any device information received from neighbors is included in a table.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > LLDP Details.

   The screen shows LLDP state information for interfaces in the system (similar to information shown at the CLI using show lldp).

3. In the Neighbors table, examine the identification, configuration, and capabilities of neighboring devices.

   This information provides details useful for troubleshooting many configuration problems.

4. Set the Auto Refresh interval for refreshing the data displayed or click the refresh icon to update the data immediately.

Spanning tree protocol (STP) overview

The rSeries system supports a set of industry-standard, Layer 2 protocols known as spanning tree protocols. A spanning tree is a logical tree-like depiction of the bridges on a network and the paths that connect them. Spanning tree protocols block redundant paths on a network, preventing bridging loops. If a blocked, redundant path is needed later because another path has failed, the spanning tree protocols clear the path again for traffic.

Note: Spanning tree protocols are supported only on F5 r5000/r10000 platforms.

The spanning tree protocols that the rSeries system supports are:

• Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - 802.1d
• Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) - 802.1w
• Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) - 802.1s
• PassThrough

You can configure spanning tree protocols on a chassis partitionthe system from the webUI, CLI, or REST API. Only one spanning tree protocol can be configured on a chassis partitionat a time.

Central to the way that spanning tree protocols work is the use of bridge protocol data units (BPDUs). When you enable spanning tree protocols on Layer 2 devices on a network, the devices send BPDUs to each other, for the purpose of learning the redundant paths and updating their L2 forwarding tables accordingly, electing a root bridge, building a spanning tree, and notifying each other about changes in interface status.

Note: The term bridge refers to a Layer 2 device such as a switch, bridge, or hub.

When you configure spanning tree on the rSeries system, you must first decide which protocol, or mode, you want to enable. Because MSTP recognizes VLANs, using MSTP is preferable. All bridges in a network environment that you want to use spanning tree must run the same spanning tree protocol. If a legacy bridge running RSTP or STP is added to the network, the rSeries system must switch and also use that same protocol.

Note: You cannot enable STP on individual LAG members. Live upgrades will not work if STP is not configured correctly; resolve any configuration issues before upgrading.

Note: You cannot enable STP on interfaces that are configured as virtual networks. For more information on configuring virtual wire and virtual networks, see Virtual wire overview.

STP/RSTP/MSTP configuration from the webUI

You can configure Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), and Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) from the webUI by selecting the desired protocol from the STP Configuration page under Network Settings. You can also disable STP functionality by selecting Disabled.

Configure STP from the webUI

You can configure Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) from the webUI. To disable the use of STP Modes, select Disabled.

Note: Spanning tree protocols are only supported on F5 r5000/r10000 platforms.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > STP Configuration.

3. For STP Mode, select:STP (single instance, best on networks with legacy systems).

   A message warns you that changing modes deletes any existing STP configuration settings. When you click OK, the selected mode is enabled, and additional options for that mode display (with default values set).

4. For Hello Time, specify the time interval, in seconds, that the system transmits spanning tree information (through BPDUs) to adjacent bridges in the network.

   The default value is 2.

5. For Max Age, specify the length of time, in seconds, that spanning tree information received from other bridges is considered valid.

   The default value is 20, and the valid range is from 6 to 40.

6. For Forwarding Delay, specify the amount of time, in seconds, that the system blocks an interface from forwarding network traffic when the spanning tree algorithm reconfigures a spanning tree.

   The default value is 15, and the valid range is from 4 to 30. This has no effect when running in RSTP or MSTP unless using an added legacy STP bridge.

7. For Hold Count, specify the maximum number of spanning tree frames (BPDUs) that the system can transmit on a port within the Hello Time interval.

   This ensures that spanning tree frames do not overload the network. The default value is 6, and the valid range is from 1 to 10.

8. For Bridge Priority, specify the bridge in the spanning tree with the lowest relative priority becomes the root bridge, which is responsible for managing loop resolution on the network.

   Configure this setting so that the system never becomes the root bridge. The default value is 32768. The valid range is from 0 to 61440 in multiples of 4096.

9. For Interfaces, select (one at a time) the interfaces and LAGs, if any, for which you want to configure STP and specify these fields:

**Note:** For more information on the available interfaces and LAGs, see the **NETWORK SETTINGS** > **Interfaces** or **LAGs** screens.

10. Click Save.

    The system displays a confirmation dialog confirming whether to change the STP mode.

STP is now set up for use on the system.

Configure RSTP from the webUI

You can configure Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) from the webUI. To disable the use of STP Modes, select Disabled.

Note: Spanning tree protocols are only supported on F5 r5000/r10000 platforms.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > STP Configuration.

3. For STP Mode, select RSTP (single instance, fast convergence).

   A message warns you that changing modes deletes any existing STP configuration settings. When you click OK, the selected mode is enabled, and additional options for that mode are displayed (with default values set).

4. For Hello Time, specify the time interval, in seconds, that the rSeries system transmits spanning tree information (through BPDUs) to adjacent bridges in the network.

   The default value is 2. For RSTP, maintain this relationship between the Maximum Age and Hello Time options:

   Max Age >= 2 * (Hello Time + 1)

5. For Max Age, specify the length of time, in seconds, that spanning tree information received from other bridges is considered valid.

   The default value is 20, and the valid range is from 6 to 40. For RSTP, maintain these relationships between the Maximum Age and the Hello Time and Forward Delay options:

   Max Age >= 2 * (Hello Time + 1)

   Max Age <= 2 * (Forward Delay - 1)

6. For Forwarding Delay, specify the amount of time, in seconds, that the system blocks an interface from forwarding network traffic when the spanning tree algorithm reconfigures a spanning tree.

   The default value is 15, and the valid range is from 4 to 30. This has no effect when running in RSTP or MSTP unless using an added legacy STP bridge. For RSTP, maintain these relationships between the Maximum Age and Forward Delay options:

   Max Age <= 2 * (Forward Delay - 1)

7. For Hold Count, specify the maximum number of spanning tree frames (BPDUs) that the system can transmit on a port within the Hello Time interval.

   This ensures that spanning tree frames do not overload the network. The default value is 6, and the valid range is from 1 to 10.

8. For Bridge Priority, specify the bridge in the spanning tree with the lowest relative priority becomes the root bridge, which is responsible for managing loop resolution on the network.

   Configure this setting so that the system never becomes the root bridge. The default value is 32768. The valid range is from 0 to 61440 in multiples of 4096.

9. For Interfaces, select (one at a time) the interfaces and LAGs, if any, for which you want to configure RSTP and specify these fields:

**Note:** For more information on the available interfaces and LAGs, see the **NETWORK SETTINGS** > **Interfaces** or **LAGs** screens.

10. Click Save.

    The system displays a confirmation dialog confirming whether to change the STP mode.

RSTP is now set up for use on the system.

Configure MSTP from the webUI

If you want to use Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) to define a region, you can configure it from the webUI. To disable the use of STP Modes, select Disabled.

Note: Spanning tree protocols are only supported on F5 r5000/r10000 platforms.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > STP Configuration.

3. For STP Mode, select MSTP (multiple instances, fast convergence).

4. For Region Name, enter a name (string with 1 to 32 characters) that you assign to all bridges in a spanning tree region.

   A spanning tree region is a group of bridges with identical region names and MSTP revision numbers, as well as identical assignment of VLANs to spanning tree instances. The default value is the bridge MAC address. A region can have multiple members with the same MSTP configuration.

5. For Revision, specify a global revision number that you assign to all bridges in a spanning tree region.

   The default value is 0, and the valid range is 0 to 65535. All bridges in the same region must have this same configuration revision number.

6. For Max Hop, specify The maximum number of hops that a spanning tree frame (BPDU) can traverse before it is discarded.

   The default value is 20, and the valid range is from 1 to 255.

7. For Hello Time, specify the time interval, in seconds, that the system transmits spanning tree information (through BPDUs) to adjacent bridges in the network.

   The default value is 2.

8. For Max Age, specify the length of time, in seconds, that spanning tree information received from other bridges is considered valid.

   The default value is 20, and the valid range is from 1 to 255.

9. For Forwarding Delay, specify the amount of time, in seconds, that the system blocks an interface from forwarding network traffic when the spanning tree algorithm reconfigures a spanning tree.

   The default value is 15, and the valid range is from 4 to 30. This has no effect when running in RSTP or MSTP unless using an added legacy STP bridge.

10. For Hold Count, specify the maximum number of spanning tree frames (BPDUs) that the system can transmit on a port within the Hello Time interval.

    This ensures that spanning tree frames do not overload the network. The default value is 6, and the valid range is from 1 to 10.

11. To configure multiple instances for a region, adjust these settings for MSTP Instances:

    1. Under Instances, click +.

    2. In the Add MSTP Instance popup, for Instance ID, enter a positive integer and click Add.

    3. Under Instances, select one of the instances.

       Available interfaces are listed below.

    4. Under VLANs, select the VLANs to map to this instance.

    5. For Bridge Priority, configure this setting so that the rSeries system never becomes the root bridge.

       The default value is 32768, and the valid range is from 0 to 61440 in multiples of 4096. Each MSTP instance can have its own bridge priority.

    6. For Interfaces, select the interfaces (one at a time) that traffic for this instance can use and specify these fields:

12. Continue to configure any other instances that you might need.

13. Click Save.

    The system displays a confirmation dialog confirming whether to change the STP mode.

MSTP is set up for use on the system.

Configure Passthrough from the webUI

You can configure Passthrough mode from the webUI. To disable the use of STP Modes, select Disabled from the STP Mode dropdown.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > STP Configuration.

3. For STP Mode, select:PASSTHROUGH.

   A message warns you that changing modes deletes any existing STP configuration settings. When you click OK, the selected mode is enabled, and additional options for that mode display (with default values set).

4. For Interfaces, select (one at a time) the interfaces and LAGs, if any, for which you want to configure STP and specify these fields:

   Important: In the STP Passthrough mode, all Bridge Protocol Data Units (BPDUs) are forwarded without undergoing any processing. Although the following parameters are configurable, they do not affect the functionality of the passthrough mode.

   • For global level configurations, Hello Time, Max Age, Forwarding Delay, Hold Count, andBridge Priority.
   • For interface-level configurations, Cost, Port Priority, Edge Port, and Link Type.

5. Click Save.

   The system displays a confirmation dialog confirming whether to change the STP mode.

STP Passthrough is now set up for use on the system.

STP/RSTP/MSTP configuration from the CLI

Change STP modes from the CLI

If you want to change STP modes, you must first remove the existing STP configuration by deleting the existing mode and configuration 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. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Disable the current STP mode

   no stp global config enabled-protocol STP

4. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

5. Remove the existing interface configuration for STP mode.

   no stp stp interfaces interface

6. Remove the edge port and link type configuration.

   no stp interfaces interface

7. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

8. Enable another STP mode.

   stp global config enabled-protocol { PASSTHROUGH | MSTP | RSTP | STP }

   In this example, you enable RSTP:

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   appliance-1(config)# stp global config enabled-protocol RSTP

9. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Configure STP from the CLI

STP is the original spanning tree protocol, but it is not recommended in VLAN-rich environments due to poor performance unless required by your configuration. STP can create only one spanning tree (instance 0) for the entire network, and therefore cannot take VLANs into account when managing redundant paths. You can configure STP 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. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Enable STP.

   stp global config enabled-protocol { PASSTHROUGH | MSTP | RSTP | STP }

   In this example, you enable STP mode:

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   appliance-1(config)# stp global config enabled-protocol STP

4. Configure the bridge-priority so that it is not selected as the root bridge.

   stp stp config bridge-priority <*priority*>

   The priority is used together with the address as a bridge identifier. The range is from 0 (highest) to 61440 (lowest), in increments of 4096. The default value is 32768.

   In this example, you set the bridge priority to 32768:

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   appliance-1(config)# stp stp config bridge-priority 32768

5. Configure interface cost and port priority.

   stp { global | PASSTHROUGH | interfaces | mstp | rstp | stp } interfaces interface <*interface*> config cost <*cost*> port-priority <*priority*>

   Note: You must configure all interfaces that will be included in STP.

   The priority is used as the port identifier together with the port number. The port priority range is from 0 (highest) to 240 (lowest) in increments of 16. The default value is 128. The port path cost range is from 0 (lowest) to 20,000,000,000 in increments of 1. The default port path cost is assigned dynamically (cost = 20,000,000,000 / port speed in kbits).

   In this example, you configure the RSTP to use port 1.0, with an interface cost of 200 and a port priority of 128:

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   appliance-1(config)# stp stp interfaces interface 1.0 config cost 200 
     port-priority 128

6. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Configure RSTP from the CLI

RSTP is an enhancement to STP that improves spanning tree performance. RSTP can create only one spanning tree (instance 0) for the entire network, and therefore cannot take VLANs into account when managing redundant paths. You can configure RSTP 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. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Enable RSTP.

   stp global config enabled-protocol { PASSTHROUGH | MSTP | RSTP | STP ]

   The bridge-priority, forwarding-delay, hello-time, hold-count, and max-age have default values, which are recommended for use.

   In this example, you enable RSTP mode:

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   appliance-1(config)# stp global config enabled-protocol RSTP

4. Configure the bridge-priority so that it is not selected as the root bridge.

   stp { global | PASSTHROUGH | interfaces | mstp | rstp | stp } config bridge-priority <*priority*>

   The priority is used together with the address as a bridge identifier. The range is from 0 (highest) to 61440 (lowest), in increments of 4096. The default value is 32768.

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   appliance-1(config)# stp rstp config bridge-priority 32768

5. Configure interface cost and port priority.

   stp { global | interfaces | mstp | rstp | stp } interfaces interface <*interface*> config cost <*cost*> port-priority <*priority*>

   Note: You must configure all interfaces that will be included in STP.

   The priority is used as the port identifier together with the port number. The port priority range is from 0 (highest) to 240 (lowest) in increments of 16. The default value is 128. The port path cost range is from 0 (lowest) to 20,000,000,000 in increments of 1. The default port path cost is assigned dynamically (cost = 20,000,000,000 / port speed in kbits).

   In this example, you configure the RSTP to use port 1.0, with an interface cost of 200 and a port priority of 128:

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   appliance-1(config)# stp rstp interfaces interface 1.0 config cost 200 
     port-priority 128

6. Configure interface edge-port and link-type.

   stp interfaces interface <*interface*> config edge-port { EDGE\_AUTO | EDGE\_DISABLE | EDGE\_ENABLE } link-type { P2P | SHARED }

   Note: You must configure all interfaces that will be included in STP.

   In this example, you configure port 2.0 to set the interface as an EDGE_AUTO port that uses point-to-point spanning tree links:

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   appliance-1(config)# stp interfaces interface 2.0 config 
     edge-port EDGE_AUTO link-type P2P

7. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Configure MSTP from the CLI

MSTP is an enhancement to RSTP and is the preferred spanning tree protocol (STP) for the rSeries system. MSTP is specifically designed to understand VLANs and VLAN tagging (specified in IEEE 802.1q). MSTP allows for multiple spanning tree instances. Each instance corresponds to a spanning tree and can control one or more VLANs that you specify when you create the instance. Thus, for any rSeries system interface that you assigned to multiple VLANs, MSTP can block a path on one VLAN, while still keeping a path in another VLAN open for traffic.

You can configure MSTP from the CLI. The spanning tree algorithm automatically groups bridges into regions, based on the values you assign to the MSTP configuration name, revision number, instance numbers, and instance members.

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. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Enable MSTP.

   stp mstp config name <*region-name*> revision <*revision*>

   The name option is a string <= 32 characters, and the default value is the bridge MAC address. The revision option is a range from 0 to 65535, and the default value is 0. The forwarding-delay, hello-time, hold-count, max-age, and max-hop options have default values, which are recommended for use.

   Important: The name and revision options together form the common identifier of the BPDUs within the region. They must be identical on all bridges in the region.

4. Create an MSTP instance.

   stp mstp mst-instances mst-instance <*integer*> config mst-id <*integer*>

   In this example, you create an instance named test with the default revision level (0):

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   appliance-1(config)# stp mstp config name test revision 0

5. Configure VLANs for the MSTP instance.

   vlans vlan <*vlan-id*>

   The VLANs must already exist.

   In this example, you create VLANs 300 and 301:

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   appliance-1(config)# vlans vlan 300
   appliance-1(config-vlan-300)# vlans vlan 301

   In this example, you assign VLANs 300 and 301 to MSTP instance 1:

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   appliance-1(config)# stp mstp mst-instances mst-instance 1 
     config vlan [ 300 301 ]

6. Exit to the top level of the configuration hierarchy.

   top

7. Configure bridge priority for the MSTP instance.

   stp mstp mst-instances mst-instance <*instance*> config bridge-priority <*priority*>

   Each MSTP instance can have its own priority. The priority is used together with the address as a bridge identifier. The default value is 32768, and the range is from 0 (highest) to 61440 (lowest) in multiples of 4096.

   In this example, you configure MTSP instance 1 with a bridge priority of 32768:

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   appliance-1(config)# stp mstp mst-instances mst-instance 1 config 
     bridge-priority 32768

8. Exit to the top level of the configuration hierarchy.

   top

9. Configure interface cost and port priority.

   stp mstp mst-instances mst-instance <*instance*> interface interface <*interface*> config cost <*cost*> port-priority <*priority*>

   Note: You must configure all interfaces that will be included in STP.

   The priority is used as the port identifier together with the port number. The port priority range is from 0 (highest) to 240 (lowest) in increments of 16. The default value is 128. The port path cost range is from 0 (lowest) to 20,000,000,000 in increments of 1. The default port path cost is assigned dynamically (cost = 20,000,000,000 / port speed in kbits).

   In this example, you configure MSTP instance 1 to use port 1.0, with an interface cost of 200 and a port priority of 128:

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   appliance-1(config)# stp mstp mst-instances mst-instance 1 interfaces 
     interface 1.0 config cost 200 port-priority 128

10. Exit to the top level of the configuration hierarchy.

    top

11. Configure interface edge-port and link-type.

    stp interfaces interface <*interface*> config edge-port { EDGE\_AUTO | EDGE\_DISABLE | EDGE\_ENABLE } link-type { P2P | SHARED }

    Note: You must configure all interfaces that will be included in STP.

    In this example, you configure port 2.0 to set the interface as an EDGE_AUTO port that uses point-to-point spanning tree links:

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    appliance-1(config)# stp interfaces interface 2.0 config   
      edge-port EDGE_AUTO link-type P2P

    These settings speed up convergence time by eliminating the learning state on ports that do not receive BPDUs. This configuration is cancelled automatically upon reception of a BPDU.

12. Commit the configuration changes.

    commit

Configure Passthrough from the CLI

The STP passthrough mode forwards spanning tree bridge protocol data units (BPDUs) received pass through enabled interfaces to other pass through enabled interfaces. In the STP Passthrough mode, all Bridge Protocol Data Units (BPDUs) are forwarded without undergoing any processing. You can configure PASSTHROUGH 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. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Enable PASSTHROUGH.

   stp global config enabled-protocol { MSTP | PASSTHROUGH | RSTP | STP ]

   In this example, you enable PASSTHROUGH mode:

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   appliance-1(config)# stp global config enabled-protocol
   Possible completions:
     MSTP  PASSTHROUGH  RSTP  STP  
   appliance-1(config)# stp global config enabled-protocol PASSTHROUGH

   Note: In the STP Passthrough mode, all Bridge Protocol Data Units (BPDUs) are seamlessly forwarded without undergoing any processing. Although the global and interface level parameters are configurable, they do not impact the functionality of the passthrough mode.

4. Configure Interfaces for which you want to set the Passthrough mode

   stp passthrough interfaces interface <*interface number*> config name <*instance*>

   In this example, you configure passthorugh instance 1.0 to use interface 1.0:

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   appliance-1(config)# stp stp interfaces interface 1.0 config name 1.0

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

Virtual wire overview

A virtual wire (also known as L2 inline service) logically connects either two interfaces/physical ports or two LAGs, to each other. This enables the system to forward traffic from one interface to another, in either direction. Packets received on a virtual-wire interface are forwarded to the other endpoint of the virtual wire.

Important: The endpoints of a virtual wire must be of the same type. For example, you cannot mix an interface and a LAG in a virtual wire.

A virtual network forms an internal virtual L2/L3 network in the system. Each virtual network has its own set of external network endpoints and can be configured using one of two modes: default and virtual-wire.

After you create a virtual wire, you can attach it to a tenant. A single tenant can use multiple virtual networks.

Note: Virtual wire is supported only on F5 r5000/r10000 platforms.

Note: You cannot enable spanning tree protocol (STP) on interfaces that are configured as virtual networks. For more information on configuring STP, see Spanning tree protocol (STP) overview.

Virtual wire configuration from the CLI

Configure virtual networks from the CLI

You can configure virtual networks with a specified mode from the CLI.

Note: Only STATIC LAGs (not LACP) support virtual networks.

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. Create a virtual network.

   Important: You cannot create a virtual wire using this virtual network if you specify default for the mode option.

   virtual-networks virtual-network <*name*> config mode { default | virtual-wire }

   This example creates a virtual network named vn1:

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   appliance-1(config)# virtual-networks virtual-network vn1 config mode 
     virtual-wire

5. Exit to the top level of the configuration hierarchy.

   top

6. Create a second virtual network if you plan to configure a virtual wire (a virtual wire must include exactly two virtual networks).

   Important: You cannot create a virtual wire using this virtual network if you specify default for the mode option.

   virtual-networks virtual-network <*name*> config mode { default | virtual-wire }

   This example creates a virtual network named vn2:

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   appliance-1(config)# virtual-networks virtual-network vn2 config mode 
     virtual-wire

7. Exit to the top level of the configuration hierarchy.

   top

8. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

After you have configured two virtual networks, you can associate these networks with an interface or STATIC LAG.

Configure the interface/LAG for virtual networks from the CLI

You can configure the interface or STATIC LAG to associate with two previously-configured virtual networks 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. Associate an interface or STATIC LAG with a virtual network.

   interfaces interface <*interface-or-lag-name*> { ethernet | aggregation } config virtual-networks <*virtual-network*>

   This example associates interface 1.0 with a virtual network named vn1:

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   appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface 1.0 ethernet config 
     virtual-networks vn1

   This example associates LAG-11 with a virtual network named vn1:

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   appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface LAG-11 aggregation config 
     virtual-networks vn1

5. Exit to the top level of the configuration hierarchy.

   top

6. Associate a different interface or STATIC LAG with the other virtual network.

   interfaces interface <*interface-or-lag*> ethernet config virtual-networks <*virtual-network*>

   This example associates interface 2.0 with a virtual network named vn2:

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   appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface 2.0 ethernet config 
     virtual-networks vn2

   This example associates LAG-12 with a virtual network named vn12:

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   appliance-1(config)# interfaces interface LAG-12 aggregation config 
     virtual-networks vn2

7. Exit to the top level of the configuration hierarchy.

   top

8. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

After you have associated the virtual networks with an interface or LAG, you can create a virtual wire that uses these virtual networks.

Configure a virtual wire from the CLI

You can configure a virtual wire 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. Create a virtual wire.

   virtual-wires virtual-wire <*name*> config virtual-networks [ <*virtual-networks*> ] vwire-propagate-linkstatus { false | true }

   This example creates a virtual wire named vwire that includes virtual networks named vn1 and vn2. It also specifies that link status is propagated, which means that if one interface in the virtual wire loses its connection (link down), that state propagates to the other interface in the virtual wire.

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   appliance-1(config)# virtual-wires virtual-wire vwire config 
     virtual-networks [ vn1 vn2 ] vwire-propagate-linkstatus true

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

After you have created virtual networks and a virtual wire, you can add a virtual wire to a tenant.

Add a virtual wire to a tenant from the CLI

You can add a virtual wire to a configured tenant 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. Add a virtual wire to a tenant.

   tenants tenant <*tenant-name*> config virtual-wires <*virtual-wire-name*>

   This example adds a virtual wire named vwire to a tenant named bigip:

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   appliance-1(config)# tenants tenant bigip config virtual-wires vwire

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

6. Return to user (operational) mode.

   end

7. Verify the tenant configuration.

   A summary similar to this excerpt displays:

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   appliance-1# show tenants tenant bigip
   tenants tenant bigip
    state unit-key-hash ab3yFvh6S/23DuLw6JQ1jaw72rZllkn734sgLOCAyU3ffr2JL9Y798E+AJdY8wTmV+auiNQ9amIy60KC/DALww==
    state type          BIG-IP
    state image         BIGIP-bigip15.1.x-europa-15.1.8-0.0.371.ALL-F5OS.qcow2.zip.bundle
    state mgmt-ip       192.0.2.75
    state prefix-length 24
    state gateway       192.0.2.254
    state vlans         [ 100 ]
    state cryptos       enabled
    state vcpu-cores-per-node 4
    state memory        14848
    state storage size 77
    state running-state deployed
    state appliance-mode disabled
    state status        Running
    state primary-slot  1
    state image-version "BIG-IP 15.1.8 0.0.371"
    state virtual-wires [ vwire ]
    state mac-data base-mac 00:94:a1:69:61:14
    state mac-data mac-pool-size 1
   ...

Virtual wire configuration from the webUI

Configure virtual networks from the webUI

You can create a virtual network with a specified mode and interface members or link aggregation groups (LAGs).

Note: Only STATIC LAGs (not LACP) support virtual networks.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > Virtual Wire.

3. In the Virtual Networks area, click Add.

4. For Name, enter a name for the virtual network.

5. For Mode, select virtual-wire.

   Important: You cannot create a virtual wire using this virtual network if you select default.

6. For Member, select from available interface members and STATIC LAGs.

7. Click Save & Close.

After you have configured virtual networks, you can create virtual wires that use these virtual networks.

Configure virtual wires from the webUI

You can create a virtual wire that includes exactly two virtual networks.

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > Virtual Wire.

3. In the Virtual Wires area, click Add.

4. For Name, enter a name for the virtual network.

5. For Propagate Link Status, select either whether to specify that if one interface in the virtual wire loses its connection (link is own), that state propagates to the other interface in the virtual wire.

   The default value is False.

6. For Virtual Networks, select exactly two existing virtual networks to add to this virtual wire.

   The virtual wire networks must have the same member type (either interface or LAG). Mixing types is not supported. Also, each virtual network must have the same number of configured members.

7. Click Save & Close.

After you have configured virtual networks and virtual wires, you can assign virtual wires to a tenant.

Add a virtual wire to a tenant from the webUI

You can add a virtual wire to a configured tenant from the webUI.

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

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

   The Tenant Deployment screen displays showing the existing tenant deployments and associated details.

3. Click the name of the tenant deployment you want to modify.

   The Tenant Deployment screen displays.

4. For Virtual Wires, select configured virtual wires to be used by the tenant.

   Note: This field displays only when virtual wires are configured on the system.

5. Click Save & Close.

The tenant is reconfigured to use the selected virtual wires.

Network utilization and diagnostics

You can monitor the amount of data being transmitted across a network over a given period. These statistics are crucial for maintaining optical performance, preventing congestion, and ensuring fair usage.

The network diagnostics help in troubleshooting by providing a range of network utilities to detect and solve network-related problems.

Display network utilization from the webUI

To see the network utilization, follow the steps below:

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

2. On the left, click NETWORK SETTINGS > Network Details.

   You can now see the following network details.

   • Network Utilization: Displays the amount of data being transmitted across an interface currently by default. However, if multiple interfaces are available, you can select an interface, data type and change the time series to view the historical data and analyze the data transmission.
   • Interface Counters: To view data unformatted/formatted, use Data Format dropdown. To auto-refresh data at specific intervals, use the Auto Refresh dropdown. Selecting an interface and clicking on Reset will reset the counters and restart the current graph for that interface.

Run network diagnostics from the CLI

To diagnose various network utilities, follow the steps below:

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. Run the network diagnostic command.

   system diagnostics net-utils <*command*>

   Below are the list of possible diagnostic commands for the network functionalities:

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       dig           Run dig
       ping          Run ping
       ping6         Run ping6
       shell         Run the diagnostic shell tool
       tracepath     Run tracepath
       tracepath6    Run tracepath6
       traceroute    Run traceroute
       traceroute6   Run traceroute6

   This example shows running the network diagnostics for ping:

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   appliance-1# system diagnostics net-utils ping -
   
   
   Possible completions:
     -C: Stop after sending count ECHO_REQUEST packets.
     -i: Wait interval seconds between sending each packet.
     -n: Numeric output only. No attempt will be made to lookup symbolic names for host addresses.
   appliance-1# system diagnostics net-utils ping -c 4 www.google.com
   
   
   PING www.google.com (142.250.217.681 56(84) bytes of data.
   
   
   64 bytes from sea09s29-in-f4.1e100.net (142.250.217.68) : icmp_seq=1 tt1=54 time=73.4 ms
   
   
   64 bytes from sea09s29-in-f4.1100.net (142.250.217.68) : icmp_seq=2 tt1=54 time=74.3 ms
   
   
   64 bytes from sea09s29-in-f4.14100.net (142.250.217.68) : icmp_seq=3 tt1=54 time=72.1 ms
   
   
   64 bytes from sea09s29-in-£4.1100.net (142.250.217.68): icmp seq-4 tt1=54 time=72.6 ms
   
   
   --- www.google.com ping statistics ---
   
   
   4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3002ms
   
   
   rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 72.167/73.169/74.388/0.877 ms

Run network diagnostics commands using shell

The ‘shell’ option allows you to execute network diagnostics commands from the shell without going back to the original prompt. It provides an interactive interface to execute multiple commands.

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. Access shell to run the network diagnostic commands.

   system diagnostics net-utils shell

   This example shows accessing shell to run the network diagnostic commands:

   appliance-1# system diagnostics net-utils shell

3. Enter command.

   Enter command: ping

   Below are the list of possible commands that can be executed from shell:

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       dig           
       ping          
       ping6         
       tracepath     
       tracepath6    
       traceroute    
       traceroute6 

   This example shows running a command from shell:

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   appliance-1# system diagnostics net-utils shell
   
   
   Please use any of listed commands : ['ping', 'ping6', 'traceroute', 'traceroute6', 'tracepath', 'tracepath6', 'dig'].
   
   
   Enter exit to return to CLI.
   
   
   For detailed help enter command -h. Example: ping -h
   
   
   Enter command: ping -c 4 www.google.com
   
   
   PING www.google.com (142.250.217.681 56(84) bytes of data.
   
   
   64 bytes from sea09s29-in-f4.1e100.net (142.250.217.68): icmp_seq=1 tt1=54 time=72.6 ms
   
   
   64 bytes from sea09s29-in-£4.1100.net (142.250.217.68) : icmp_seq=2 tt1=54 time=72.7 ms
   
   
   64 bytes from sea09s29-in-f4.1100.net (142.250.217.68) : icmp_seq=3 tt1=54 time=72.3 ms
   
   
   64 bytes from sea09s29-in-f4.1e100.net (142.250.217.68): icmp_seq=4 tt1=54 time=72.1 ms
   
   
   --- www.google.com ping statistics ---
   
   
   4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3002ms
   
   
   rtt min/ava/max/mdev = 72.116/72.467/72.733/0.361 ms

   Note: Enter ‘ctrl+c’ to exit the shell after executing the command in “system diagnostics net-utils shell”. This ensures you go back to the CLI instead of canceling the executing command.