Installing the PTF

The current PTF installs fixes from all PTFs released after 3-DNS Controller, version 4.2. (See the following section, What's fixed in this PTF.)  The latest version of the PTF note is available at http://tech.f5.com.

Note:  If you are updating the 3-DNS Controller module on a BIG-IP system, do not use the following installation instructions.  Refer to the BIG-IP, version 4.2PTF06 note for installation instructions instead.

Use the following instructions to apply the PTF to the 3-DNS Controller, version 4.2. 

Note:  If you have installed prior PTFs, this installation does not overwrite any configuration changes that you made for prior PTFs.

Apply the PTF to the 3-DNS Controller, version 4.2 using the following process.  Note that the installation script saves your current configuration.

1. Change to the /var/tmp/ directory by typing:
   
   

   cd /var/tmp/

2. Connect to the F5 Networks FTP site (ftp.f5.com).
   Use FTP in passive mode from the 3-DNS Controller to download the file.  To place FTP in passive mode, type pass at the command line before transferring the file.
   
   
3. Download the following PTF file to the /var/tmp/ directory on the target 3-DNS Controller.
   

   PTF-4.2-6-BSD_OS-4.1.im

4. To install the PTF, type the following command:
   

   im PTF-4.2-6-BSD_OS-4.1.im

   The 3-DNS Controller automatically reboots once it completes installation.
   
   

Updating the big3d agent

Important: Do not perform the following procedure if the BIG-IPs in your configuration are already running version 4.2.x.

After the PTF installation has completed, you need to install the new version of the big3d agent on all BIG-IP, EDGE-FX Cache, and GLOBAL-SITE systems known to the 3-DNS Controller, as follows:

1. Log on to the 3-DNS Controller at the command line.
   
   
2. Type 3dnsmaint to open the 3-DNS Maintenance menu.
   
   
3. Select Install and Start big3d, and press Enter.
   The 3-DNS Controller detects all BIG-IP systems, EDGE-FX Caches, and GLOBAL-SITE systems in the network, and updates their big3d agents with the appropriate version of the agent.
   
   
4. Press Enter to return to the 3-DNS Maintenance menu.
   
   
5. Type Q to quit.

For more information about the big3d agent, see the 3-DNS Reference Guide, Chapter 3, big3d Agent.

 

 

Software enhancements and fixes

What's fixed in this PTF

3-DNS Controller, version 4.2 and EDGE-FX Cache 3.0 (CR21326)
3-DNS Controller, version 4.2 now supports EDGE-FX Cache, version 3.0.

Updated big3d agents (CR21360, CR21637)
The big3d agent has been updated. To ensure that the BIG-IP, EDGE-FX Cache, and GLOBAL-SITE systems in your network are running the most recent big3d agent, be sure to follow the instructions in the Updating the big3d agent section of this PTF note.

The named daemon and memory usage (CR21420)
The named daemon no longer stops running when it uses more than 16MB of RAM.

Unexpectedly closed TCP connections with outstanding path probes (CR21530)
When the TCP connection for a large number of active iQuery path probes is unexpectedly closed or dropped, the big3d agent no longer stops running.

SNMP trap IDs and 3-DNS MIB descriptions for server status changes (CR21590)
The descriptions in the 3-DNS MIB for changes in server status (for example, RED to GREEN, or GREEN to RED) now correspond correctly to the SNMP trap IDs.

SNMP traps for server status and virtual server status have been improved (CR21591)
The SNMP traps for server status and virtual server status now properly inherit their status from threednsTraps in the 3-DNS MIB.

big3d agent SNMP probing failures and mis-configured Alteon switches (CR21638)
On an Alteon switch that is mis-configured with a group that doesn't exist in the MIB, the big3d agent no longer fails when probing for virtual server status using SNMP.

Updated version of BIND (CR21639)
BIND has been updated from version 8.2.3 to version 8.3.1.

big3d argument with missing values and server errors (CR21647)
When a big3d argument requires a value, and you do not define a value, the 3-DNS Controller no longer experiences server errors.

CERT Advisory CA-2002-17, Apache Web Server Chunk Handling Vulnerability
The security vulnerability that is outlined in CERT Advisory CA-2002-17, Apache Web Server Chunk Handling Vulnerability, has been fixed.

Enhancements and fixes released in prior PTFs

Version 4.2PTF05

There are no fixes or enhancements for 3-DNS Controller in version 4.2PTF05.

Version 4.2PTF04

SNMP versions and host probing (CR19784, CR20916)
The 3-DNS Controller now uses the correct version of SNMP (1 or 2) depending on which version is supported by the SNMP agent on the host.

Support for iControl, version 2.1 (CR19847, CR20178)
This PTF includes support for iControl, version 2.1.

New command argument for 3ndc (CR19886)
You can now monitor DNS transactions without using tcpdump by using the 3ndc querylog command.  For additional information, refer to the 3ndc man page.

Using snmpwalk and the 3-DNS MIB (CR19989, CR19994)
You no longer receive an OID error when you use snmpwalk on the 3-DNS MIB, and the following condition exists:  the string length (shorter to longer) and the lexicographic sort (a to z) of wide IP names and/or data center names in the MIB are in opposite order.

Updating the Return to DNS counter (CR20139)
The Return to DNS counter now gets updated properly when none of the specified load balancing methods for a wide IP are able to select a pool and virtual server to respond to a query.

Synchronization and viewing server status (CR20170)
When you make configuration changes on a receiver 3-DNS Controller in a sync group, and then view server and virtual server status on the principal 3-DNS Controller, the servers and virtual servers are no longer inaccurately marked as down (red ball).

IP Application Switch platform and probing hosts using TCP (CR20244)
Host probing no longer fails when you are running the 3-DNS Controller module on the IP Application Switch platform, and the big3d agent’s probe protocol is set to TCP.

Configuring default settings for SNMP (CR20258)
You can now reset the SNMP timeouts and retries to their default values.

Compilation errors in 3-DNS MIB (CR20466)
The 3-DNS MIB no longer causes compilation errors with some SNMP management tools.

Netmask on the public IP address when the 3-DNS Controller is behind a firewall (CR20792)
When the 3-DNS Controller is behind a firewall, and the public IP address is defined on the external VLAN, the netmask is now applied correctly; the public IP address is no longer improperly associated with the loopback device.

Removing virtual servers (CR20814)
Removing a virtual server that belongs to a pool that uses the Round Robin load balancing mode no longer causes server errors.

Getting up or down status for 3-DNS, GLOBAL-SITE, and EDGE-FX Cache systems from SNMP (CR21041)
You can now get the proper up or down status from the 3-DNS MIB for 3-DNS, BIG-IP, GLOBAL-SITE, and EDGE-FX Cache systems.

iQuery and backward compatibility for encryption (CR21270)
iQuery encryption between 3-DNS Controller, version 4.2 and 3-DNS Controller, version 4.0.1 now works properly.

Version 4.2PTF03

There are no fixes or enhancements for 3-DNS Controller in version 4.2PTF03.

Version 4.2PTF02

There are no fixes or enhancements for 3-DNS Controller in version 4.2PTF02.

Version 4.2PTF01

There are no fixes or enhancements for 3-DNS Controller in version 4.2PTF01.

Required configuration changes

There are no required configuration changes in this PTF.

Known Issues

The following items are known issues in the current release.

CPU usage statistics for EDGE-FX Caches (CR21325)
On the EDGE-FX Cache Statistics screen, in the Configuration utility, the 3-DNS Controller incorrectly reports the CPU usage statistic for the EDGE-FX Cache.

The dig command and time-to-live (TTL) values for wide IPs and pools (CR22025)
If you set the pool TTL to a value that is different than the wide IP TTL, the dig command displays the wide IP TTL rather than the pool TTL in the answer packet. This occurs only when all the virtual servers in the pool are unavailable.

Statistics reporting for the EDGE-FX Cache, version 3.0 (CR22033)
If you have any EDGE-FX Cache, version 3.0 systems in your configuration, the 3-DNS Controller reports inaccurate statistics for those systems on the EDGE-FX Cache Statistics screen in the Configuration utility.

Using the 3-DNS Controller in router mode and NameSurfer errors in the Configuration utility (CR22038)
When you modify a wide IP using the Configuration utility, you may see error 331845. The error is benign, and occurs only if the NameSurfer application is not enabled. Note that this known issue is not applicable to the 3-DNS Controller module on a BIG-IP system.

Syntax errors on the big3d man page (CR22071)
The syntax is incorrect for the following arguments on the command line version of the big3d man page:

• -max-active-scanners
• -max-active-probers
• -max-active-hops
• -max-active-snmp

The correct syntax for these arguments is as follows:

• -max_active_scanners
• -max_active_probers
• -max_active_hops
• -max_active_snmp

Note that the HTML version of the big3d man page contains the correct syntax, and is available from the home screen of the 3-DNS Configuration utility.

 

BIND versions and 3-DNS Controller, version 4.2 PTF06 (CR22075)
This PTF installs a customized version of BIND 8.3.1. As a result, we strongly recommend that you do not install another version of BIND on the 3-DNS Controller, version 4.2 PTF06. If you install another version of BIND onto the 3-DNS Controller, BIND will experience fatal errors.

Version numbering for the big3d agent matrix and the EDGE-FX Cache, version 3.0 (CR22080)
The matrix for the big3d agent, on the 3-DNS Maintenance menu, contains inaccurate version numbering for the EDGE-FX Cache, version 3.0. This is a file naming issue only, and does not affect the performance of the big3d agent itself.

Setting the Quality of Service load balancing mode and the QOS coefficients (CR22131)
In the Configuration utility, when you change the load balancing mode within a pool to Quality of Service, occasionally the Configuration utility may not properly update the QOS coefficients. Instead, you may see very large values for some of the coefficients, or you may see new values for coefficients that you did not change. To work around this issue, see the Setting the Quality of Service load balancing mode section of this PTF note.

Setting the Quality of Service load balancing mode

In the Configuration utility, if you change the load balancing mode in a pool to Quality of Service and the values for the QOS coefficients do not maintain your settings, use the following instructions.

1. In the navigation pane, click Wide IPs.
   The Wide IP List screen opens.
   
   
2. In the Wide IP Name column, select the wide IP that contains the pool that you want to modify.
   The Modify Wide IP screen opens.
   
   
3. From the toolbar, click Modify Pool.
   The Modify Wide IP Pools screen opens.
   
   
4. In the Pool Name column, click the pool that you want to modify.
   The Modify Load Balancing for [pool name] screen opens.
   
   
5. In the Load Balancing Modes, Preferred box, select Quality of Service.
   
   
6. Click Update.
   Note: Do not change the values of the QOS coefficients at this time.

    

7. In the Quality of Service coefficients section of the screen, type the values that you want to set for the QOS coefficients.
   
   
8. Click Update.
   The QOS coefficients should remain at the values that you typed.