Manual Chapter : Download and Import Software

Applies To:

  • F5OS-C

    1.5.1, 1.5.0

Updated Date: 07/07/2026

Download and Import Software

Before you upgrade or install your system, you need to download the latest F5OS software image files from the F5 downloads site at my.f5.com. VELOS systems run F5OS-C software packages.

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.

After you have downloaded the software files, you can use either the CLI or webUI to import the files onto your VELOS system.

F5 recommends that you have a web server in your infrastructure that supports HTTPS, has PUT/POST enabled, and has a valid CA signed certificate.

F5 recommends that you download the latest F5OS software for VELOS files from the F5 downloads site (downloads.f5.com).

  1. On your management workstation, log in to downloads.f5.com and click Find a Download.

  2. In the F5OS area, click F5OS Platform Software for VELOS.

  3. Select a software version from the list.

  4. Click the name of the release with the most recent date.

    You must accept the software terms and conditions before you can proceed.

  5. Click the file name <file-name>.<extension> to start the download.

    The file-name consists of the platform family (-C indicates chassis-based VELOS systems), and the build number. The extension depends on the file type (for example, .iso, .os, .img).

  6. Transfer the files to a web server in your infrastructure that supports HTTPS.

    Note: If you download a .tar file containing multiple files, you need to extract the images before you can import them onto the system.

F5 recommends that you have a web server in your infrastructure that supports HTTPS, has PUT/POST enabled, and has a valid CA-signed certificate.

F5 recommends that you download the latest tenant software image files from the F5 downloads site (downloads.f5.com).

Important: You can use only image files that support F5OS to install or upgrade a tenant on the system.

  1. On your management workstation, log in to downloads.f5.com and click Find a Download.

  2. Select the F5 tenant software that you want to download.

For BIG-IP

In the BIG-IP area, click BIG-IP v15.1.x TMOS F5OS

For BIG-IP Next

Download the beta version of BIG-IP Next from the F5 beta portal.

  1. From the version list, select the version of the product you would like to install, and the product container that includes VELOS tenant images.

    Note: For information on compatibility between F5OS and tenant software versions, see K9476: The F5 hardware/software compatibility matrix.

  2. Click the name of the release you would like to download.

    You must accept the software terms and conditions before you can proceed.

  3. Click the file name BIGIP-*1x.x.x-x.x.x*.<*disk-size-tag*>-<*hardware*>.qcow2.zip.bundle to start the download.

    The file name consists of the platform family, build number, and disk size tag (ALL, T1, T2, T3, or T4).

  4. Transfer the image file to a web server that supports HTTPS.

You can import a file from an external server into the system controller or chassis partitionfrom the CLI. HTTPS is the supported protocol. The remote host should be an HTTPS server with PUT/POST enabled, and 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.

You can import files into these directories on the systemcontroller:

  • images/staging
  • images/import
  • diags/shared
  • configs

You can import files into these directories on a chassis partition:

  • diags/shared
  • configs
  • images

You can import files onto your system from either the system controller or chassis partition CLI.

  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 a file.

    file import [ remote-port <*port-number*> } username <*user*> password <*password*> remote-host <*ip-address-or-fqdn*> remote-file <*remote-file-path*> remote-url <*full-remote-url*> local-file <*local-file-path*> [insecure]

    Note: The insecure option ignores certificate warnings during the transfer.

    This example shows how to import a file to the system controller:

    file import username admin password remote-url 
  https://files.company.com/images/BIGIP-1x.x.x.x-x.x.xxx.ALL-F5OS.qcow2.zip
  local-file images/staging

    This example shows how to import a file to the chassis partition:

    file import username admin password remote-url 
  https://files.company.com/images/BIGIP-1x.x.x.x-x.x.xxx.ALL-F5OS.qcow2.zip
  local-file images

  3. Return to user (operational) mode.

    end

  4. Optionally, you can check the file transfer status.

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

Before you can import a tenant image file, be sure to download the tenant image file to a web server in your infrastructure that supports HTTPS, has PUT/POST enabled, and has a valid CA-signed certificate.

You can import tenant image files onto your VELOS system 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. Import the tenant image file.

    Important: The remote host should be an HTTPS server with PUT/POST enabled and have a valid CA-signed certificate. To ignore the certificate warnings, you can use the insecure option.

    file import remote-url <*ip-address-and-file-path*> local-file <*local-file-path*> username <*user*> password [ remote-port <*port-number*> ] [ protocol [ https | scp | sftp ]] [insecure]

    This example shows how to import a tenant ISO to the system:

    syscon-1-active# file import remote-url https://files.company.com/images/BIGIP-15.x.x-x.x.x.ALL-F5OS.qcow2.zip.bundle 
  local-file images/staging username admin password
Enter the password at the prompt:
    Value for 'password' (<string>): ******** 
result File transfer is initiated.(images/staging)

    You can use the downloaded image file when deploying a tenant.

    Note: If the file import doesn’t work, you can alternatively log in as a root user and use secure copy (SCP) to copy the tenant image file to the images/staging directory of the system.

  3. Return to user (operational) mode.

    end

  4. Optionally, you can check the status of the file import with this command.

    syscon-1-active# file transfer-status

    When the file transfer completes, the Status displays Complete.

You can import a file from an external server into the system controller or chassis partition from the webUI. The remote host should be an HTTPS server with PUT/POST enabled, and 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 system.

You can import files into these directories on a systemcontroller:

  • images/staging
  • images/import
  • diags/shared/
  • configs/

You can import files into these directories on a chassis partition:

  • diags/shared
  • configs
  • images

You can manage system controller software images from the system controller webUI.

Note: You must use HTTPS for image import.

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

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

  3. To upload an image, click Upload and browse to the image location.

  4. To import an image:

    1. Click Import.

      A popup opens.

    2. 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.

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

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

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

    6. 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: A runtime error is displayed in the File Transfer status area, if an invalid operation is performed.

You can manage chassis partition image files from the system controller webUI.

Note: You must use HTTPS for image import.

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

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

  3. To upload an image, click Upload and browse to the image location.

  4. To import an image:

    1. Click Import.

      A popup opens.

    2. 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.

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

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

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

    6. 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 an invalid operation is performed, a runtime error displays in the File Transfer status area, .

Note: In the case of DNS errors or other more critical errors, a pop-up might appear with options to Dismiss or Retry.

You can add or delete tenant images within a chassis partition from the chassis partition webUI. You must use HTTPS image import or export. Note that tenant images are specific to the VELOS system, and the software version must be compatible with it.

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

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

  3. To upload an image, click Upload and browse to the image location.

  4. To import an image:

    1. Click Import.

      A popup opens.

    2. 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.

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

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

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

    6. 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.

  5. To delete a tenant image, select the image and click Delete. It is recommended that you wait 5-10 minutes after deleting a tenant before deploying another tenant.

After you have added the tenant images that you want to use to the chassis partition, you can create and deploy tenants that will use that software image. The tenant image must be one that is listed as compatible with the VELOS system.