Manual Chapter : F5 rSeries system initial configuration

Applies To:

  • F5OS-A

    1.8.4, 1.8.3, 1.8.0, 1.7.0, 1.5.4, 1.5.3, 1.5.2, 1.5.0, 1.3.0, 1.2.0

back-action F5 rSeries Systems: Getting Started

Updated Date: 04/27/2026

F5 rSeries system initial configuration

The Setup wizard is available to assist you in setting up basic management networking on the rSeries system. You can choose to enable DHCP and have your IP address settings configured automatically, or disable DHCP and manually configure your IP address settings.

After you have configured network settings using the Setup wizard, you can use the rSeries webUI to perform additional configuration of your system, including:

  • Running the Setup wizard
  • Logging in to the webUI
  • Licensing the system
  • Creating required VLANs
  • Importing a tenant image
  • Deploying a tenant

After the platform is physically installed and powered on in your data center, you can access the command line interface (CLI) of the system and run the Setup wizard to perform basic configuration. In this scenario, you run the Setup wizard and enable DHCP. The wizard steps you through configuration of DHCP, DNS, and NTP on the system. With DHCP enabled, management IP addresses are assigned automatically, so you do not need to configure them.

Important: Upon completion, the Setup wizard automatically puts the system into appliance mode, which disables the root account and bash access.

  1. Connect to the system using a management console or console server.

    Note: The default baud rate and serial port configuration is 19200/8-N-1.

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

    Important: The default login credentials are admin/admin. When logging in as admin for the first time, the system prompts you to change the password. This also changes the default password for the root account to match that of the admin account.

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

  3. After you change the admin password, log out as the admin user.

    exit

    Note: You run the Setup wizard using the root account, but will need the admin user credentials to commit the configuration changes that you make using the Setup wizard.

    The prompt changes back to the login prompt.

  4. Log in as the root user using the same password that you selected for the admin user.

    Note: When logging in as root for the first time, the system prompts you to change the password.

The system has completed the boot sequence when this prompt displays:

`[root@appliance-1 ~]#`

  1. Run the Setup wizard.

    appliance-setup-wizard

    Note: The interactive Setup wizard displays. As you enter IP addresses during the setup process, the wizard populates those values in the appropriate fields on the screen.

    ___APPLIANCE_SETUP_WIZARD___

DHCP: true
IPv4: [DHCP]    prefix: [DHCP]
system: [DHCP]                  gateway: [DHCP]
IPv6: [DHCP]    prefix: [DHCP]
system: [DHCP]
gateway: [DHCP]
DNS: false     server: [DNS]              port: [DNS]
NTP: false     server: [NTP]              port: [NTP]

Would you like to configure a DNS server?
Y/y: Yes    N/n: No    B/b: Back    Q/q: Quit    Enter: Submit

  2. When prompted whether you want to enable DHCP, enter n and press Enter.

    If you do want to enable DHCP, enter y, press Enter and then skip to step 10.

  3. When you are prompted to configure IPv4 management networking, enter y and press Enter.

    1. Type the floating management IPv4 address for the system controllers and press Enter.

    2. Type the management IPv4 address for controller-1 and press Enter.

    3. Type the management IPv4 address for controller-2 and press Enter.

    4. Type the IPv4 gateway address and press Enter.

    5. Type the IPv4 prefix length (0-32) and press Enter.

  4. Optionally, you can configure IPv6 management networking. If you choose to do this, when prompted to configure IPv6 management networking, enter y and press Enter. Otherwise, enter n, press Enter and then skip to step 10.

    1. Type the floating management IPv6 address for the system controllers and press Enter.

    2. Type the management IPv6 address for controller-1 and press Enter.

    3. Type the management IPv6 address for controller-2 and press Enter.

    4. Type the IPv6 gateway address and press Enter.

    5. Type the IPv6 prefix length (0-32) and press Enter.

  5. When you are prompted to configure a DNS server, enter y and press Enter.

    1. Type the IPv4 address for your DNS server and press Enter.

    2. Type the port number for your DNS server and press Enter.

      The default value is 53. To use the default, press Enter at the prompt, and the system will use the default value automatically.

  6. When you are prompted to configure an NTP server, enter y and press Enter.

    1. Type the IP address for your NTP server and press Enter.

    2. Type the port number for your NTP server and press Enter.

      The default value is 123. To use the default, press Enter at the prompt, and the system will use the default value automatically.

  7. When you are prompted to commit the configuration, enter y and press Enter.

  8. When you are prompted for a login username, enter your admin username and press Enter.

  9. When you are prompted for a login password, enter your admin password and press Enter.

    When the configuration commits successfully, these messages display in sequence:

    DHCP...Committed

NTP server IPv4 address...Committed

Enabling appliance mode...Committed

Configuration committed. Appliance mode enabled. Press Enter to exit.

  10. Verify that all networking settings are configured correctly.

    1. Log in using the admin account.

      su admin

    2. Verify that DHCP is enabled.

      In this example, DHCP is confirmed as being enabled:

      appliance-1# show running-config system mgmt-ip config dhcp-enabled
system mgmt-ip config dhcp-enabled true

    3. Verify that the management port IP addresses are configured.

      In this example, IPv4 addresses are confirmed as being configured:

      appliance-1# show system mgmt-ip
system mgmt-ip state ipv4 system address 192.0.2.10
system mgmt-ip state ipv4 prefix-length 24
system mgmt-ip state ipv4 gateway 192.0.2.254
system mgmt-ip state ipv6 system address ::
system mgmt-ip state ipv6 prefix-length 0
system mgmt-ip state ipv6 gateway ::

    4. Verify that a DNS server is configured.

      In this example, two DNS servers are confirmed as being configured:

      appliance-1# show system dns
ADDRESS       ADDRESS  PORT
-----------------------------
192.0.2.100   -        53
192.0.2.101   -        53

    5. Verify that an NTP server is configured.

      In this example, an NTP server is confirmed as being configured:

      
appliance-1# show system ntp
system ntp state enabled
ASSOCIATION                           ROOT   ROOT                POLL
ADDRESS       ADDRESS       PORT  VERSION  TYPE         IBURST  PREFER  STRATUM  DELAY  DISPERSION  OFFSET  INTERVAL
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
pool.ntp.org  pool.ntp.org  123   4        POOL         false   true    -        -      -           -       -

The system is now set up. The Setup wizard automatically puts the system into appliance mode, which disables the root account and bash access. You can disable appliance mode from the CLI or webUI by using an admin account. For more information, see F5 rSeries Systems: Administration and Configuration at techdocs.f5.com. Next, you will continue configuring the system by accessing the webUI using the management IP address and applying a license.

Next, you will continue configuring the system by accessing the webUI using the floating management IP address and applying a license.

Before you can log in to the system, you must have completed initial configuration using the Setup wizard from a management console or console server. In this task, you use the management IP address that you specified during initial configuration.

You can now begin to administer the rSeries system by logging in to the webUI. Here you can adjust settings and view system status.

  1. From a web browser, log in to the system using the management IP address (for example, https://192.0.2.10) and the admin account.

    The Dashboard displays a graphical view of the appliance interfaces (ports) and high-level information about vCPUs, memory utilization, CPU thread counts, active alarms, and tenants.

  2. To get contextual online Help, click the button in the upper right.

    Online Help for that particular screen displays.

  3. To get an idea of the available menu items on the left, click on them.

    Different sections in the menu let you manage networking, system settings, and user authentication and accounts.

When you are done exploring the webUI, continue with initial configuration tasks.

You can license the system automatically from the webUI, as long as the system has internet access.

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

  2. On the left, click SYSTEM SETTINGS > Licensing.

  3. For the Base Registration Key field, the registration key is auto-populated.

    You can choose to overwrite this field with a new registration key.

  4. For the Add-On Keys field, the associated add-on keys are auto-populated.

    You can click + or x to add or remove additional add-on keys.

    Note: To add add-on keys to a licensed system, enter the keys in the Add-On Keys field and click Reactivate.

  5. For the Activation Method, select Automatic.

  6. Click Activate.

    The End User License Agreement (EULA) displays.

  7. Click Agree to accept the EULA, .

The system is now licensed. If a base registration key or add-on key fails to activate, try re-activating the license or contact support.f5.com.

You can use the webUI to create VLANs. You can also associate physical interfaces or link aggregation groups (LAGs) with VLANs. If you do this, any host that sends traffic to an interface is logically a member of the VLAN or VLANs to which that interface or LAG belongs. You need to create required VLANs before you can deploy a tenant.

  1. From a web browser, log in to the webUI using the IP address that you configured and the admin account.

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

    The screen shows VLANs that are configured for the system.

  3. Click Add.

  4. In the 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.

  5. In the Name field, enter a name for the VLAN.

  6. Click Save & Close.

A VLAN is created and displayed in the VLAN list. You can create additional VLANs, as required. You can use the VLANs when configuring interfaces and creating LAGs.

You can use Software Management to add or delete software images from the webUI.

You must use HTTPS for image import.

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

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

  3. To add a Base OS image, click Add. The Add Base OS Image pop-up displays.

  4. To import an image:

    a. Click Import.

     A popup opens.

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

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

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

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

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

    f. Click Import Image.

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

The Image Import Status area of the screen shows the progress of the image import and enables you to confirm when the image import is successful. If an operation fails, hover over the warning icon to see the error that occurred.

Note: If you perform an invalid operation, a runtime error displays in the File Transfer status area.

Before you get started, you must have created a VLAN and have a tenant image imported onto the system.

You can deploy a tenant on the system 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. To add a tenant deployment, click Add.

    The Add Tenant Deployment screen displays.

  4. For Name, enter a name for the tenant deployment (up to 49 characters).

    Note: The first character in the name cannot be a number. After that, only lowercase alphanumeric characters and hyphens are allowed.

  5. For Type, select the tenant type: BIG-IP or BIG-IP Next.

    If you select BIG-IP Next, the Deployment File field displays. Select the deployment file.

  6. For Image, select a software image.

    Note: If no tenant software images are listed, you must import one onto the system. To do this, go to TENANT MANAGEMENT > Tenant Images.

  7. For IP Address, enter the IPv4 address, IPv6 address, or Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) for the tenant.

  8. For Prefix Length, enter a number for the length of the prefix.

    The maximum prefix length is 32 for IPv4 and 128 for IPv6.

  9. For Gateway, enter the IPv4 address or IPv6 address of the gateway.

  10. For VLANs, select the VLANs you want this tenant to have access to.

  11. For Resource Provisioning, select Recommended.

    This specifies recommended values for vCPUs and memory for the tenant.

  12. For vCPUs Per Slot, select the desired number of vCPUs for this tenant, up to the maximum number of vCPUs allowed on your system. When deploying a BIG-IP Next tenant, select 10, 12, or 22.

    When you create multiple tenants, each gets dedicated vCPU resources.

  13. For Memory Per Slot, accept the default values.

  14. For Virtual Disk Size, select the disk size in gigabytes.

  15. For State, choose Deployed.

    This changes the tenant to the Deployed state. The tenant is set up, resources are allocated to the tenant, the image is moved onto the system, the software is installed, and after those tasks are complete, the tenant is fully deployed and running. If you choose this option, it takes a few minutes to complete the deployment and bring up the system.

  16. For Crypto/Compression Acceleration, select Enabled.

    When this option is enabled, the tenant receives crypto devices proportional to the number of vCPU cores. Crypto processing and compression are off-loaded to the hardware. This option is not supported on BIG-IP Next tenants.

  17. For Appliance Mode, accept the default value (Disabled).

  18. Click Save & Close.

The tenant is now configured and in the Deployed state. When the status says Running, the tenant administrator can use the management IP address to connect to the tenant’s web-based user interface or connect using SSH to the CLI, and then continue configuring the tenant system.

Note: If the Status is Pending instead of Running, this might mean that there are not enough resources (vCPUs, memory, or other resources) for the tenant to be deployed. See the Tenant Details screen in the webUI for more information about the specific tenant.