Manual Chapter : Software Management

Applies To:

  • F5OS-C

    1.1.4, 1.1.3, 1.1.2, 1.1.1, 1.1.0

Updated Date: 07/07/2026

Software Management

Software management enables an administrator to upload ISO images to the active system controller and perform software updates on the system controllers and chassis partitions. The ISO images include the following:

  • Bundled BaseOS ISO for the system controllers.
  • Individual or unbundled service level package for the system controllers that can be leveraged in conjunction with the controller BaseOS ISO.
  • Bundled BaseOS ISO for the partitions.
  • Individual or unbundled service level package for the partitions that can be leveraged in conjunction with the partition BaseOS ISO.

Use Tenant Management in the chassis partition GUI to manage tenant software images.

You can download software images and files from F5 Downloads, save the downloads to a remote server available on your network and upload them to the VELOS system.

Use the following procedure to add or delete system controller software images. Note that you must use HTTPS for image import.

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

  2. On the left, click SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT > Controller Images.

  3. To add a system controller image, click Add.

    The Add Controller Image pop-up displays.

  4. Add the image:

    1. URL: Type the URL of the remote image server.

      It is recommended that the remote host be an HTTPS server with PUT/POST enabled and have a valid CA signed certificate. However, you can select the Ignore Certificate Warnings check box to skip the certificate check.

    2. Username: Type the user name for an account on the remote image server, if required.

    3. Password: Type the password for the account, if required.

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

    5. Click Add Image.

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

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

    Software images that are in use cannot be deleted.

Use the following procedure to add or delete chassis partition software images. Note that you must use HTTPS for image import.

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

  2. On the left, click SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT > Partition Images.

  3. To add a chassis partition image, click Add.

    The Add Partition Image pop-up displays.

  4. Add the image:

    1. URL: Type the URL of the remote image server.

      It is recommended that the remote host be an HTTPS server with PUT/POST enabled and have a valid CA signed certificate. However, you can select the Ignore Certificate Warnings check box to skip the certificate check.

    2. Username: Type the user name for an account on the remote image server, if required.

    3. Password: Type the password for the account, if required.

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

    5. Click Add Image.

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

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

    Software images that are in use cannot be deleted.

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

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

Folders into which you can import files on the system controller:

  • /var/import/staging/
  • /var/export/chassis/import/
  • /var/shared/
  • /mnt/var/confd/configs

Folders into which you can import files on the chassis partition:

  • /var/F5/partition/shared/
  • /var/F5/partition/configs
  • /var/F5/partition/IMAGES

You can also import files from the webUI using System Settings > File Utilities.

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

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

  2. Import the file using this command:

    file import \[port *port-number*\] username*user* password*password* remote-host*IP-address or FQDN* remote-file*remote-file-path* local-file*local-file-path* \[insecure\]

    The insecure option ignores certificate warnings during the transfer.

    For example, to import to the system controller:

    file import username admin password xxxxxxxx remote-host artifactory.company.com remote-file /tmp/BIGIP-bigip14.1.x-miro-14.1.x.xx.x.xxx.ALL-VELOS.qcow2.zip local-file /var/import/staging/

    For example, to import to the chassis partition:

    file import username admin password Vx#28439 remote-host artifactory.company.com remote-file /tmp/BIGIP-bigip14.1.x-miro-14.1.x.x-x.x.xxx.ALL-VELOS.qcow2.zip local-file /var/F5/partition/IMAGES

  3. To check the file transfer status:

    file transfer-status file-name *local-file-path*

You can export a file from the system controller or chassis partition to an external server using the CLI. HTTPS is the supported protocol. The remote host has to be an HTTPS server with PUT/POST enabled and have a valid CA signed certificate

Folders from which you can export files on the system controller:

  • /var/log/
  • /var/log_controller/
  • /var/confd/log
  • /var/crash
  • /var/core
  • /var/import/staging/
  • /var/export/chassis/import/
  • /var/shared/
  • /mnt/var/confd/configs

Folders from which you can export files on the chassis partition:

  • /var/F5/partition/log/
  • /var/F5/partition/core/
  • /var/F5/partition/shared/
  • /var/F5/partition/configs
  • /var/F5/partition/IMAGES

You can also export files from the webUI using System Settings > File Utilities.

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

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

  2. Export the file using this command:

    file export \[port *port-number*\] username*user* password*password* remote-host*IP-address or FQDN* remote-file*remote-file-path* local-file*local-file-path*

You can delete files (to which you have file permissions) from specific folders on the VELOS system.

Folder from which you can delete files on the system controller:

  • /var/shared/

Folder from which you can delete files on the chassis partition:

  • /var/F5/partition/shared/

You can also delete files from the webUI using System Settings > File Utilities.

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

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

  2. Delete the file using this command:

    file delete file-name *local-file-path*