Manual Chapter : Install or Upgrade Software

Applies To:

  • F5OS-C

    1.3.2, 1.3.1, 1.3.0, 1.2.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.0

Updated Date: 07/07/2026

Install or Upgrade Software

There are several types of installation and upgrade options for F5OS software:

  • Rolling upgrade
  • Out-of-service system upgrade
  • Clean (or bare metal) installation

A rolling upgrade installs new F5OS version 1.2.0 or later software on one system controller or blade in a chassis partition at a time, without an interruption to system controller availability.

Important: If your VELOS system is running F5OS-C software version 1.2.0, F5 strongly recommends that you upgrade to F5OS-C version 1.2.1 or later.

Important: If your VELOS system is running F5OS-C software version 1.1.3 or earlier, you must first upgrade to F5OS-C version 1.1.4 before you can install version 1.2.1 or later.

This method preserves old image and configuration data, and includes these three sub-types:

ISO upgrade
Upgrades both the operating system (os) and services for system controllers or chassis partitions.
Partial upgrade
Upgrades os or services for system controllers or partitions only. The partial update os file has a .os extension and service file has a .img extension. You import partial upgrade files by using either the file import command or by logging in as a root user and using SCP to copy files to the active system controller at the images/import/os or images/import/services directories respectively.
Patch upgrade
Upgrades or patches a subset of system controller or partition services. The patch file has a .patch extension. You import patch upgrade files by using either the file import command or by using SCP to copy files to the active system controller at the images/import/services directory.

An out-of-service system upgrade installs new software on both system controllers or all blades in a chassis partition and results in a service outage.

This was the default upgrade method for software versions prior to F5OS version 1.2.0. It preserves old image and configuration data, and includes these three sub-types:

ISO upgrade
Upgrades both the operating system (os) and services for system controllers or chassis partitions.
Partial upgrade
Upgrades os or services for system controllers or partitions only. The partial update os file has a .os extension and service file has a .img extension. You import partial upgrade files by using either the system import command or by logging in as a root user and using SCP to copy files to the active system controller at the images/import/os or images/import/services directories respectively.
Patch upgrade
Upgrades or patches a subset of system controller or partition services. The patch file has a .patch extension. You import patch upgrade files by using either the file import command or by logging in as a root user and using SCP to copy files to the active system controller at the images/import/services directory.

A clean installation reformats the disk of specific components (system controller or blade) and restores the system to factory defaults.

Warning: Formatting erases all data on your system.

For information on configuring your VELOS system after you complete a software installation or upgrade, see VELOS Systems: Administration and Configuration in the F5OS Knowledge Center at support.f5.com.

You perform a rolling upgrade of F5OS software when you want to upgrade the software on one system controller or chassis partition software at a time with a point release or engineering hot fix. This installation method completes without a system controller outage, however, F5 recommends that you perform the update during a maintenance window. After the installation completes, the system reboots the system controllers or blades automatically.

Important: During a rolling upgrade, you might lose access to tenant management interfaces for up to two minutes.

You can use the CLI to perform a rolling upgrade of F5OS software.

Verify that you have downloaded and imported the F5OS image files from F5 before you attempt to upgrade.

You can upgrade F5OS software on a system controller from the CLI. This method upgrades only one system controller at a time. When the installation succeeds, the second system controller updates.

  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 controller using an account with admin access.

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

  3. Verify that the image you want to install is listed, and the status is ready.

    show image

    This verifies that the ISO is imported properly to the image server on the system controllers, and the system controllers can access these images when the blade reboots.

    A summary similar to this excerpt displays:

    syscon-1-active# show image
VERSION OS                                  IN
CONTROLLER  CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE
--------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  true

VERSION
SERVICE                                     IN
CONTROLLER  CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE
--------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  true

VERSION
ISO                                         IN
CONTROLLER  CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE
---------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  false

VERSION OS                                  IN
CONTROLLER  CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE
--------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  2           ready   2021-05-19  true

VERSION
SERVICE                                     IN
CONTROLLER  CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE
--------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  2           ready   2021-05-19  true

VERSION
ISO                                         IN
CONTROLLER  CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE
---------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  2           ready   2021-05-19  false

VERSION OS                                  IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE   NAME     ID
---------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  true  default  1
                                                  second   2
                                                  third    3
...

  4. Change to config mode.

    config

    The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

  5. Set the ISO version to the new version.

    system image set-version iso-version <*version*> proceed [ yes | no ]

    Note: By default, you will be prompted to confirm the upgrade. To bypass the confirmation prompt, include proceed yes at the end of the command sequence.

    This example shows upgrading the ISO version:

    syscon-1-active(config)# system image set-version iso-version 1.2.0-3456

    These examples show upgrading os-version and service-version:

    Upgrade OS version:

    syscon-1-active(config)# system image set-version os-version 1.2.0-3456

    Upgrade service version:

    syscon-1-active(config)# system image set-version service-version 1.2.0-3456

  6. When the compatibility check succeeds, type yes to proceed with the installation process.

    A summary similar to this excerpt displays:

    syscon-1-active(config)# system image set-version iso-version 1.2.0-3456
response Controller iso version has been set

Controller will reboot here, wait for reboot to complete and services to come up. Check controller networking, cluster status, partition status

The upgrade installs on the standby system controller, while the active system controller maintains production functionality of the chassis. After a successful upgrade, the active system controller reboots and switches to standby. Traffic is interrupted briefly during the failover from one system controller to the other, and you will have to log in again after failover occurs. The upgrade then installs on the second system controller. If, for any reason, the update is not successful, the system reverts to the last working software version on both system controllers.

After you complete an upgrade of the system controller software, you upgrade the chassis partition software.

Verify that you have downloaded and imported the F5OS image files from F5 before you attempt to upgrade.

You can upgrade F5OS software on a chassis partition from the CLI. This method upgrades only one blade in a chassis partition at a time and might cause an outage on any running tenants. When the installation succeeds, the remaining chassis partitions update.

  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 controller using an account with admin access.

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

  3. Verify that the image you want to install is listed, and the status is ready.

    show image partition state

    This verifies that the ISO is imported properly to the image server on the system controllers, and the system controllers can access these images when the blade reboots. The imported file replicates automatically to the standby controller.

    A summary similar to this excerpt displays:

    syscon-1-active# show image partition state
VERSION OS                                  IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE   NAME     ID
---------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  true  default  1
                                                  px26     2

VERSION
SERVICE                                     IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE   NAME     ID
---------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  true  default  1
                                                  px26     2

VERSION
ISO                                         IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE    NAME  ID
-------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  false

VERSION OS                                  IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE   NAME     ID
---------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  2           ready   2021-05-19  true  default  1
                                                  px26     2

VERSION
SERVICE                                     IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE   NAME     ID
---------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  2           ready   2021-05-19  true  default  1
                                                  px26     2

VERSION
ISO                                         IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE    NAME  ID
-------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  2           ready   2021-05-19  false

  4. Change to config mode.

    config

    The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

  5. Set the ISO version for the chassis partition so that its member blades are upgraded.

    partitions partition <*name*> set-version iso-version <*version*> proceed [ yes | no ]

    By default, you will be prompted to confirm the upgrade. Type yes to proceed with the upgrade.

    To bypass the confirmation prompt, include proceed yes at the end of the command sequence.

    This example shows upgrading the ISO version on the default chassis partition:

    syscon-1-active(config)# partitions partition default set-version iso-version 1.2.0-3456

    These examples show upgrading os-version and service-version:

    Upgrade OS version on a chassis partition named PartitionA:

    syscon-1-active(config)# partitions partition PartitionA set-version os-version 1.2.0-3456

    Upgrade service version on a chassis partition named PartitionB:

    syscon-1-active(config)# partitions partition PartitionB set-version service-version 1.2.0-3456

  6. When the compatibility check succeeds, type yes to proceed with the installation process.

    A summary similar to this excerpt displays:

    syscon-1-active(config)# partitions partition default set-version iso-version 1.2.0-3456
Partition database compatibility check succeeded.
Changing running partition software version will interrupt tenant operation. Proceed? [yes/no]: yes
result Version update successful.

These commands upgrade the selected chassis partition to the specified version. The blades might reboot, depending on the changes in the install. After a successful upgrade, the upgrade installs on the remaining chassis partitions.

You can use the system controller webUI to perform a rolling upgrade of F5OS software.

Verify that you have downloaded and imported the F5OS image files from F5 before you attempt to upgrade.

You can upgrade F5OS software on a system controller using the system controller webUI. This method upgrades only one system controller at a time. When the installation succeeds, the second system controller updates.

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

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

  3. In the Update Software section, for Update System Controller Software:

    • To install a full F5OS-C version release, select Bundled.
    • To install F5OS-C and service version releases independently, select Unbundled.

  4. For ISO Image, select the full version release ISO image.

    This field is available when Bundled is selected.

  5. For Base OS Version, select the F5OS version.

    This field is available when Unbundled is selected.

  6. For Service Version, select the service version release.

    This field is available when Unbundled is selected.

  7. Click OK to continue with the update.

The upgrade installs on the standby system controller, while the active system controller maintains production functionality of the chassis. After a successful upgrade, the active system controller reboots and switches to standby. Traffic is interrupted briefly during the failover from one system controller to the other, and you will have to log in again after failover occurs. The upgrade then installs on the second system controller. If, for any reason, the update is not successful, the system reverts to the last working software version on both system controllers.

After you complete an upgrade of the system controller software, you upgrade the chassis partition software.

Verify that you have downloaded and imported the F5OS image files from F5 before you attempt to upgrade.

You can upgrade F5OS software on a chassis partition from the system controller webUI. This method upgrades only one blade in a chassis partition at a time and might cause an outage on any running tenants. When the installation succeeds, the remaining blades in the chassis partition update.

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

  2. On the left, click CHASSIS PARTITIONS.

    The Chassis Partitions screen opens.

  3. In the Partition list, select the chassis partition that you want to upgrade.

  4. Select an installation type:

    • Choose Bundled to install an ISO image.
    • Choose Unbundled to install a base OS version and service version independently.

  5. Select the software image version (or versions if performing an unbundled upgrade).

  6. Click Save.

The upgrade installs on the blades in the chassis partition. If, for any reason, the update is not successful, the system reverts to the last working software version on the chassis partition.

You perform a system upgrade of F5OS software when you want to upgrade the software on both system controllers or on a chassis partition with a point release or engineering hot fix. This installation method results in a service outage and reboots the blade automatically when installation completes.

Verify that you have downloaded and imported the F5OS-C image files from F5 before you attempt to upgrade.

You can use the out-of-service option to upgrade F5OS software on a system controller from the CLI. This method upgrades the software on both system controllers and results in a service outage.

Important: You must use this method if you are upgrading to a software version earlier than F5OS version 1.2.0.

  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 controller using an account with admin access.

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

  3. Verify that the image you want to install is listed, and the status is ready.

    show image

    This verifies that the ISO is imported properly to the image server on the system controllers, and the system controllers can access these images when the blade reboots.

    A summary similar to this excerpt displays:

    syscon-1-active# show image
VERSION OS                                  IN
CONTROLLER  CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE
--------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  true

VERSION
SERVICE                                     IN
CONTROLLER  CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE
--------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  true

VERSION
ISO                                         IN
CONTROLLER  CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE
---------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  false

VERSION OS                                  IN
CONTROLLER  CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE
--------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  2           ready   2021-05-19  true

VERSION
SERVICE                                     IN
CONTROLLER  CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE
--------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  2           ready   2021-05-19  true

VERSION
ISO                                         IN
CONTROLLER  CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE
---------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  2           ready   2021-05-19  false

VERSION OS                                  IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE   NAME     ID
---------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  true  default  1
second   2
third    3
...

  4. Change to config mode.

    config

    The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

  5. Set the ISO version to the new version and use the out-of-service option to update the software on both system controllers.

    system image set-version iso-version <*version*> out-of-service [ true | false ] proceed [ yes | no ]

    Note: By default, you will be prompted to confirm the upgrade. To bypass the confirmation prompt, include proceed yes at the end of the command sequence.

    This example shows upgrading the ISO version:

    syscon-1-active(config)# system image set-version iso-version 1.2.0-3456 out-of-service true

    These examples show upgrading os-version and service-version, using the out-of-service option:

    Upgrade OS version:

    syscon-1-active(config)# system image set-version os-version 1.2.0-3456 out-of-service true

    Upgrade service version:

    syscon-1-active(config)# system image set-version service-version 1.2.0-3456 out-of-service true

  6. When the compatibility check succeeds, type yes to proceed with the installation process.

    A summary similar to this excerpt displays:

    syscon-1-active(config)# system image set-version iso-version 1.2.0-3456 out-of-service true
response Controller iso version has been set

Controller will reboot here, wait for reboot to complete and services to come up. Check controller networking, cluster status, partition status

Both system controllers install the upgrade and reboot to the new version. This might result in a temporary service outage. After you complete an upgrade of the system controller software, you upgrade the chassis partition software.

Verify that you have downloaded and imported the F5OS-C image files from F5 before you attempt to upgrade.

You can use the out-of-service option to upgrade F5OS software on a chassis partition from the CLI. This method upgrades the software on both system controllers and results in a service outage.

Important: You must use this method if you are upgrading to a software version earlier than F5OS version 1.2.0.

  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 controller using an account with admin access.

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

  3. Verify that the image you want to install is listed, and the status is ready.

    show image partition state

    This verifies that the ISO is imported properly to the image server on the system controllers, and the system controllers can access these images when the blade reboots. The imported file replicates automatically to the standby controller.

    A summary similar to this excerpt displays:

    syscon-1-active# show image partition state
VERSION OS                                  IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE   NAME     ID
---------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  true  default  1
                                                  px26     2

VERSION
SERVICE                                     IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE   NAME     ID
---------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  true  default  1
                                                  px26     2

VERSION
ISO                                         IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE    NAME  ID
-------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  1           ready   2021-05-19  false

VERSION OS                                  IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE   NAME     ID
---------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  2           ready   2021-05-19  true  default  1
                                                  px26     2

VERSION
SERVICE                                     IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE   NAME     ID
---------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  2           ready   2021-05-19  true  default  1
                                                  px26     2

VERSION
ISO                                         IN
PARTITION   CONTROLLER  STATUS  DATE        USE    NAME  ID
-------------------------------------------------------------
1.2.0-3456  2           ready   2021-05-19  false

  4. Change to config mode.

    config

    The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

  5. Set the ISO version for the chassis partition so that its member blades are upgraded.

    partitions partition <*name*> set-version iso-version <*version*> proceed [ yes | no ]

    By default, you will be prompted to confirm the upgrade. Type yes to proceed with the upgrade.

    To bypass the confirmation prompt, include proceed yes at the end of the command sequence.

    This example shows upgrading the ISO version on the default chassis partition:

    syscon-1-active(config)# partitions partition default set-version iso-version 1.2.0-3456

    These examples show upgrading os-version and service-version:

    Upgrade OS version on a chassis partition named PartitionA:

    syscon-1-active(config)# partitions partition PartitionA set-version os-version 1.2.0-3456

    Upgrade service version on a chassis partition named PartitionB:

    syscon-1-active(config)# partitions partition PartitionB set-version service-version 1.2.0-3456

  6. When the compatibility check succeeds, type yes to proceed with the installation process.

    A summary similar to this excerpt displays:

    syscon-1-active(config)# partitions partition default set-version iso-version 1.2.0-3456
Partition database compatibility check succeeded.
Changing running partition software version will interrupt tenant operation. Proceed? [yes/no]: yes
result Version update successful.

These commands upgrade the selected chassis partition to the specified version. The blades might reboot, depending on the changes in the install. This might result in a service outage.

You perform a clean installation of F5OS software when you want to start from scratch or when the system is not recoverable. This installation method requires you to use either the built-in VELOS PXE server or a USB flash drive.

Warning: Performing a clean installation destroys all information on your system.

Before performing a clean installation of F5OS software on your VELOS system, you must meet these prerequisites:

  • Be able to access the system from a management console or console server
  • Have root account access

When you perform a clean installation of F5OS software on your system, the installation uses an built-in PXE server on the system controllers.

Important: This method requires that at least one system controller in your chassis is fully functioning.

Before you install using the built-in PXE server on the system controllers, be sure to use the file import command to import the F5OS software image files to the images/staging directory on your system controllers.

You can use the built-in PXE server on the system controllers to perform a clean installation of F5OS software onto the system controllers from the CLI. For PXE installs of system controllers, you can boot one system controller off the peer controller for recovery purposes.

  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 as the root user.

    Note: The default login credentials are root/default. When logging in as root for the first time, the system prompts you to change the password.

  3. Reboot the system controller.

    reboot

  4. Intercept the boot by typing b at the BIOS setup screen.

  5. Select a PXE server and press Enter.

    The installation proceeds automatically.

When the installation completes, the system restarts automatically and synchronizes the standby system controller with the active one.

Before you install using the built-in PXE server on the system controllers, be sure to use the file import command to import the F5OS software image files to the images/staging directory on your system controllers.

You use the built-in PXE server on the system controllers to perform a clean installation of F5OS software onto a blade from the CLI.

  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 chassis partition using an account with admin access.

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

  3. Verify that the default chassis partition is running.

    show partitions partition default

  4. Reboot the blade.

    reboot

  5. Connect to the blade console.

    In this example, x is the blade number from 1-8: ssh admin@localhost -p 700*x*

  6. Intercept the boot by typing b at the BIOS setup screen, and then select one of the listed PXE servers (there is one each system controller.

    The installation proceeds automatically.

When the installation completes, the system restarts automatically.

After you have completed the installation, you can upgrade the image version that is running on your chassis partitions.

When you perform a clean installation of F5OS software on your system using a USB flash drive, you must first enable the front panel USB port on your system controller.

For security purposes, the USB port on the system controller is disabled by default. You can use Always-On Management (AOM) to enable the front panel USB port. For more information, see Platform Guide: VELOS CX Series at techdocs.f5.com/en-us/hardware/platform-guide-velos-cx-series.html.

The USB port on VELOS system controllers is disabled by default, but you can use Always-On Management (AOM) to enable the USB port on your system controller

  1. Connect to the system using the serial console.

  2. Open the AOM Command Menu.

    Esc (

    The system displays the AOM Command Menu, the active console, and physically-connected console:

    [root@controller-1 ~]# 
Active console               : system controller 1
Physically connected console : system controller 1 serial port
AOM Command Menu:
B --- Set baud rate
C --- Capture blade console
CC -- Capture system controller console
I --- Display chassis information
P --- Power on/off blade
PC -- Power on/off system controller
R --- Reset blade CPU
RC -- Reset system controller CPU
U --- Front panel USB port
Q --- Quit menu and return to console
Enter Command:

  3. Type U to configure the USB port on the system controller.

    The system displays the current status of the USB port:

    Front panel USB next boot setting: enabled
0 -- Disable front panel USB port
1 -- Enable front panel USB port
Note: Reboot is necessary for change to take effect.
Select Option:

  4. Type 1 to enable the USB port.

    The AOM Command Menu displays.

  5. Type R to reboot the blade.

Before you create a bootable USB flash drive, be sure that you have used Always-On Management (AOM) to enable the USB port on your system controller, as the USB port is disabled by default. Also, be sure that you have copied the ISO images to images/staging/ on your system controller.

You can use an existing VELOS system to create a bootable USB flash drive that contains an F5OS software ISO image.

  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 as the root user.

    Note: The default login credentials are root/default. When logging in as root for the first time, the system prompts you to change the password.

  3. Create a bootable drive.

    dd if=<*iso-image*> of=/dev/sda bs=1M oflag=sync status=progress

    This example writes a specified software ISO to the flash drive:

    [root@controller-1 ~]# dd if=/var/import/staging/F5OS-C-1.2.0 of=/dev/sda bs=1M
  oflag=sync status=progress

    This command sequence writes the ISO image to the flash drive. The flash drive creation process might take several minutes.

You can now use this USB flash drive to boot VELOS systems, as needed.

You can use a USB flash drive to perform a clean installation of F5OS software onto the system controllers from the CLI.

  1. Plug the USB flash drive into the USB port for the system controller that you are installing onto.

  2. 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.

  3. Log in as the root user.

    Note: The default login credentials are root/default. When logging in as root for the first time, the system prompts you to change the password.

  4. Reboot the system controller.

    reboot

  5. Intercept the boot by typing b at the BIOS setup screen, and then select the USB flash drive that you created.

  6. From the Installer menu, select Install Velocity.

    The installation proceeds automatically.

When the installation completes, you can remove the USB flash drive and reboot into the Host OS.

You can use a USB flash drive to perform a clean installation of F5OS software onto a blade from the CLI.

  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 blade using an account with root access.

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

  3. Reboot the blade.

    reboot

  4. Intercept the boot by typing b at the BIOS setup screen, and then select the USB flash drive that you created.

  5. From the Installer menu, select Install Velocity.

    The installation proceeds automatically. When the installation completes, you are prompted to confirm a reboot of the system.

After you have completed the installation, you can upgrade the image version that is running on your chassis partitions.

When you install a tenant from the VELOS system chassis partition webUI or CLI, you are deploying a new tenant installation.

Important: If you want to upgrade the software for an existing tenant, you must log in to the tenant using the tenant’s web-based management interface or command line interface (CLI), upload the updated software version, and then perform the upgrade inside the tenant.

VELOS Series systems support running these tenants, for which the installation files are available as .bundle images:

  • BIG-IP software

For information on F5OS software compatibility with F5 hardware, see K9476: The F5 hardware/software compatibility matrix.

For documentation about installing and configuring BIG-IP software, see the BIG-IP LTM Knowledge Center for your specific BIG-IP software version.

These BIG-IP tenant images are available to deploy on VELOS systems:

  • ALL-VELOS
  • T4-VELOS
  • T2-VELOS
  • T1-VELOS

Note: T1-VELOS has limitations so using the other images is recommended. Other images must be downloaded from the downloads site.

Each image type has different uses so you need to be sure to use the correct type for your tenant needs. For additional information about tenant image types, see K45191957: Overview of the BIG-IP tenant image types.

Before you get started, be sure that you have already imported the tenant images that you want to use for the tenant deployments into the chassis partition. You need to know into which slots you want to deploy the tenant. You must also have previously created any required VLANs in the chassis partition. Before you can create and deploy tenants, you also need to estimate resource requirements so you know how many vCPUs, memory, and other options to assign to the tenant.

You can create and deploy tenants in a chassis partition from the CLI.

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

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

  2. Change to config mode.

    config

    The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

  3. Create and deploy the tenant.

    tenants tenant <*tenant-name*> config <*options*>

    These options are available:

    Option Description
    appliance-mode Enable or disable root and Bash access for the tenant.
    cryptos Enable or disable crypto device support for the tenant.
    gateway User-specified gateway for the tenant management IP address.
    image User-specified image for tenant.
    memory User-specified memory in MBs for the tenant.
    mgmt-ip User-specified management IP address for tenant management access.
    name User-specified name for the tenant.
    nodes User-specified node numbers in the chassis partition to schedule the tenant.
    prefix-length User-specified prefix length for the tenant management IP address.
    running-state User-specified state for the tenant: configured, provisioned, or deployed.
    storage Storage quota for the tenant.
    type Tenant type. The default value is BIG-IP.
    vcpu-cores-per-node User-specified number of logical CPU cores for the tenant.
    vlans User-specified vlan-id from chassis partition VLAN table for the tenant.

    This example creates a BIG-IP tenant named mercury-vm that spans four nodes and is in the Configured running state, by default:

    tenants tenant mercury-vm config type BIG-IP image BIGIP-bigip15.1.x-miro-15.1.5.0-0.0.455.ALL-VELOS.qcow2.zip.bundle mgmt-ip 192.0.2.200 prefix-length 24 gateway 192.0.2.254 nodes [ 1 2 3 4 ]

  4. Commit the configuration changes.

    commit

  5. Monitor the operational state of the tenant and move the tenant into the provisioned state.

    tenants tenant <*tenant-name*> config running-state provisioned

    This causes the system to assign the tenant to nodes and create virtual disks for the tenant on those nodes.

  6. Show the current status for the tenant:

    show tenants tenant <*tenant-name*>

    When the system is creating the virtual disk and installing the image on a disk, the operational state of the tenant shows this information:

    • PHASE – Allocating resources to the tenant is in progress
    • status – Provisioning A summary similar to this example displays:
    default-1# show tenants tenant mercury-vm
tenants tenant mercury-vm
 state name          mercury-vm
 state type          BIG-IP
 state mgmt-ip       192.0.2.200
 state prefix-length 24
 state gateway       192.0.2.254
 state cryptos       disabled
 state vcpu-cores-per-node 2
 state memory        7680
 state running-state deployed
 state mac-data mgmt-mac 00:0a:49:ff:20:0c
 state mac-data base-mac 00:0a:49:ff:20:0d
 state mac-data mac-pool-size 1
 state appliance-mode disabled
 state status        Provisioning
      INSTANCE                                                    
NODE  ID        PHASE                                          
1     1         Allocating resources to tenant is in progress ...                        
2     2         Allocating resources to tenant is in progress ...                   
3     3         Allocating resources to tenant is in progress ... 
4     4         Allocating resources to tenant is in progress ...

    When the system completes the virtual disk creation, the operational state shows this information:

    • PHASE – Ready to deploy
    • status – Provisioned A summary similar to this example displays:
    tenants tenant mercury-vm
 state name          mercury-vm
 state type          BIG-IP
 state mgmt-ip       192.0.2.200
 state prefix-length 24
 state gateway       192.0.2.254
 state cryptos       disabled
 state vcpu-cores-per-node 2
 state memory        7680
 state running-state deployed
 state mac-data mgmt-mac 00:0a:49:ff:20:0c
 state mac-data base-mac 00:0a:49:ff:20:0d
 state mac-data mac-pool-size 1
 state appliance-mode disabled
 state status        Provisioned

      INSTANCE               
NODE  ID        PHASE             
---------------------------------
1     1         Ready to deploy  ...
2     2         Ready to deploy  ...
3     3         Ready to deploy  ...
4     4         Ready to deploy  ...

  7. You can then deploy the tenant.

    tenants tenant mercury-vm config running-state deployed

    This example moves the tenant into the deployed state, which causes the system to start and maintain VMs on each node to which the tenant is assigned.

  8. Commit the configuration changes.

    commit

  9. You can check the status of the tenant.

    show tenants tenant mercury-vm state instances

    A summary similar to this example displays:

          INSTANCE 
NODE  ID        PHASE    IMAGE NAME      ... STATUS 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1     1         Running  BIGIP-bigip15.1.... Started tenant instance
2     2         Running  BIGIP-bigip15.1.... Started tenant instance

After you configure and deploy the tenant, and the Status is updated to Running, then you can use the management IP address to access the tenant system using SSH, the web-based interface, or TMOS Shell (tmsh).

Note: Once a tenant is Deployed (and is up and running), changing its state back to Configured or Provisioned stops the tenant. You will receive a warning message before this occurs.