Release Notes : BIG-IP AFM 13.0.0 Release Notes

Applies To:

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BIG-IP AFM

  • 13.0.0
Release Notes
Original Publication Date: 07/06/2017 Updated Date: 04/18/2019

Summary:

This release note documents the version 13.0.0 release of BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM).

Contents:

Platform support

This version of the software is supported on the following platforms:

Platform name Platform ID
BIG-IP 6900 FIPS D104
BIG-IP 111000000 E101
BIG-IP 11050, 11050 FEBS E102
BIG-IP 2000 Series (2000s, 2200s) C112
BIG-IP 4000 Series (4000s, 4200v) C113
BIG-IP 5000 Series (5000s, 5050s, 5200v, 5250v) C109
BIG-IP 7000 Series (7000s, 7050s, 7055, 7200v, 7250v, 7255) D110
BIG-IP 10050 Series (10150s-NEBS, 10350v (AC), 10350v-NEBS, 10350v-FIPS) D112
BIG-IP 10000 Series (10000s, 10050s, 10055, 10200v, 10250v, 10255) D113
BIG-IP 12000 Series (12250v) D111
BIG-IP i2000 Series (i2600, i2800) C117
BIG-IP i4000 Series (i4600, i4800) C115
BIG-IP i5000 Series (i5600, i5800) C119
BIG-IP i7000 Series (i7600, i7800) C118
BIG-IP i10000 Series (i10600, i10800) C116
VIPRION B210000 Blade A109
VIPRION B2150 Blade A113
VIPRION B2250 Blade A112
VIPRION B4300, B4340N Blade A108, A110
VIPRION B4450 Blade A114
VIPRION C2200 Chassis D114
VIPRION C2400 Chassis F100
VIPRION C4480, C4480N Chassis J102, J103
VIPRION C4800, C4800N Chassis S100, S101
Virtual Edition (VE) Z100
vCMP Guest Z101

These platforms support various licensable combinations of product modules. This section provides general guidelines for module support.

Most of the support guidelines relate to memory. The following list applies for all memory levels:

  • vCMP supported platforms
    • VIPRION B2100, B2150, B2250, B4200
    • VIPRION B4300 blade in the C4480(J102) and the C4800(S100)
    • VIPRION B4450 blade in the C4480(J102) and C4800(S100)
    • BIG-IP 5200v, 5250v, 7200v, 7250v, 10200v, 10250v, 10350v, 12250v
    • BIG-IP i5800, i7800, i10800

Memory: 12 GB or more 

All licensable module-combinations may be run on platforms with 12 GB or more of memory, and on VE and vCMP guests provisioned with 12 GB or more of memory. Note that this does not mean that all modules may be simultaneously provisioned on all platforms with 12 GB or more of memory. The BIG-IP license for the platform determines which combination of modules are available for provisioning.

Memory: 12 GB or more

All licensable module-combinations may be run on platforms with 12 GB or more of memory, and on VE and vCMP guests provisioned with 12 GB or more of memory. Note that this does not mean that all modules may be simultaneously provisioned on all platforms with 12 GB or more of memory. The BIG-IP license for the platform determines which combination of modules are available for provisioning.

Memory: 8 GB

The following guidelines apply to the BIG-IP 2000s, 2200s, 6900 platforms and to VE guests configured with 8 GB of memory. (A vCMP guest provisioned with 8 GB of memory has less than 8 GB of memory actually available and thus does not fit in this category.)

  • No more than three modules should be provisioned together.
  • On the 2000s and 2200s, Application Acceleration Manager (AAM) can be provisioned with only one other module.
  • To use Access Policy Manager (APM) and Secure Web Gateway (SWG) modules together on platforms with exactly 8 GB of memory, Local Traffic Manager (LTM) provisioning must be set to None.

Memory: Less than 8 GB and more than 4 GB

The following guidelines apply to platforms, and to VE and vCMP guests provisioned with less than 8 GB and more than 4 GB of memory. (A vCMP guest provisioned with 8 GB of memory has less than 8 GB of memory actually available and thus fits in this category.)

  • No more than three modules (not including AAM) should be provisioned together.
  • Application Acceleration Manager (AAM) cannot be provisioned with any other module; AAM can only be provisioned standalone.
  • Analytics (AVR) counts towards the two module-combination limit (for platforms with less than 6.25 GB of memory).

Memory: 4 GB or less (VE only)

The following guidelines apply to VE instances provisioned with 4 GB or less of memory.

  • No more than two modules may be configured together.
  • AAM should not be provisioned, except as Dedicated.
  • ASM can be provisioned with this amount of memory, but a sizing exercise should be performed to ensure that it does not hit capacity issues.

vCMP memory provisioning calculations

The amount of memory provisioned to a vCMP guest is calculated using the following formula: (platform_memory- 3 GB) x (cpus_assigned_to_guest / total_cpus).

As an example, for the B2100 with two guests, provisioned memory calculates as: (16-3) x (2/4) ~= 6.5 GB.

For certain platforms, the vCMP host can allocate a single core to a vCMP guest. However, because a single-core guest has relatively small amounts of CPU resources and allocated memory, F5 supports only the following products or product combinations for a single-core guest:
  • BIG-IP LTM standalone only
  • BIG-IP GTM standalone only
  • BIG-IP LTM and GTM combination only

Configuration utility browser support

The BIG-IP Configuration Utility supports these browsers and versions:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 11.x
  • Mozilla Firefox v40, or later
  • Google Chrome v44, or later

Compatibility of BIG-IQ products with BIG-IP releases

K14592: Compatibility of BIG-IQ products with BIG-IP releases provides a summary of version compatibility for specific features between the BIG-IQ system and BIG-IP releases.

User documentation for this release

For a comprehensive list of documentation that is relevant to this release, refer to the BIG-IP AFM / VE 13.0.0 Documentation page.

Fixes, behavior changes, and known issues

For a comprehensive list of fixes, behavior changes, and known issues for this release, refer to the BIG-IP 13.0.0 Release Information page.

New in 13.0.0

New features in AFM 13.0.0

Packet testing
AFM now includes a packet tester that you can use to test packets with specific attributes through the Firewall/DoS/IP Intelligence configuration to determine the system response.
Auto thresholding for DoS
DoS auto thresholds are now significantly expanded to apply to Device DoS and to DoS Profiles (virtual server DoS). Autho thresholds are now included in vector lists. Auto thresholds can be automatically applied to a multiple selected vectors.
DoS Enhancements
In a DoS Profile (virtual server DoS), you can now enforce, track, or disable DoS vectors in bulk. A new DoS overview page gives an instant view of the vectors that have been activated on the system, with status information.
Dynamic DoS vectors
For Device Network DoS and virtual Server Network DoS, you can now configure the system to detect and mitigate Dynamic Signatures. When configured, the system detects possible DoS threats based on traffic history, and can automatically track and mitigate such threats.
Send traffic to virtual server
The Advanced Firewall Manager now provides an action in the firewall rule to send identified traffic to a specific virtual server.

Supported high availability configurations for Advanced Firewall Manager

Advanced Firewall Manager is supported in both active-standby and active-active configurations with BIG-IP systems.

Installation overview

This document covers very basic steps for installing the software. You can find complete, step-by-step installation and upgrade instructions in BIG-IP Systems: Upgrading Software, and we strongly recommend that you reference this information to ensure successful completion of the installation process.

Installation checklist

Before you begin:

  • Use BIG-IP iHealth to verify your configuration file. For more information, see K12878: Generating BIG-IP diagnostic data using the qkview utility.
  • Update/reactivate your system or vCMP host license, if needed, to ensure that you have a valid service check date. For more information, see K7727: License activation may be required prior to a software upgrade for the BIG-IP or Enterprise Manager system.
  • Ensure that your system is running version 11.x or later.
  • Download the .iso file (if needed) from F5 Downloads to /shared/images on the source for the operation. (If you need to create this directory, use the exact name /shared/images.)
  • Configure a management port.
  • Set the console and system baud rate to 19200, if it is not already.
  • Log on as an administrator using the management port of the system you want to upgrade.
  • Boot into an installation location other than the target for the installation.
  • Save the user configuration set (UCS) in the /var/local/ucs directory on the source installation location, and copy the UCS file to a safe place on another device.
  • Log on to the standby unit, and only upgrade the active unit after the standby upgrade is satisfactory.
  • Turn off mirroring.
  • If you are running Application Acceleration Manager, set provisioning to Minimum.
  • If you are running Policy Enforcement Manager, set provisioning to Nominal.
  • If you are running Advanced Firewall Manager, set provisioning to Nominal.

Installing the software

You can install the software at the command line using the Traffic Management shell, tmsh, or in the browser-based Configuration utility using the Software Management screens, available in the System menu. Choose the installation method that best suits your environment.
Installation method Command
Install to existing volume, migrate source configuration to destination tmsh install sys software image [image name] volume [volume name]
Install from the browser-based Configuration utility Use the Software Management screens in a web browser.

Sample installation command

The following command installs version 13.0.0 to volume 3 of the main hard drive.

tmsh install sys software image BIGIP-13.0.0.0.0.1645.iso volume HD1.3

Post-installation tasks

This document covers very basic steps for installing the software. You can find complete, step-by-step installation and upgrade instructions in BIG-IP Systems: Upgrading Software, and we strongly recommend that you reference this information to ensure successful completion of the installation process.

After the installation finishes, you must complete the following steps before the system can pass traffic.
  1. Ensure the system rebooted to the new installation location.
  2. Use BIG-IP iHealth to verify your configuration file. For more information, see K12878: Generating diagnostic data using the qkview utility.
  3. Log on to the browser-based Configuration utility.
  4. Run the Setup utility.
  5. Provision the modules.
Note: You can find information about running the Setup utility and provisioning the modules in BIG-IP TMOS implementations Creating an Active-Standby Configuration Using the Setup Utility and Creating an Active-Active Configuration Using the Setup Utility.

Installation tips

  • The upgrade process installs the software on the inactive installation location that you specify. This process usually takes between three minutes and seven minutes. During the upgrade process, you see messages posted on the screen. For example, you might see a prompt asking whether to upgrade the End User Diagnostics (EUD), depending on the version you have installed. To upgrade the EUD, type yes, otherwise, type no.
  • You can check the status of an active installation operation by running the command watch tmsh show sys software, which runs the show sys software command every two seconds. Pressing Ctrl + C stops the watch feature.
  • If installation fails, you can view the log file. The system stores the installation log file as /var/log/liveinstall.log.

Contacting F5 Networks

Phone - North America: 1-888-882-7535 or (206) 272-6500
Phone - Outside North America, Universal Toll-Free: +800 11 ASK 4 F5 or (800 11275 435)
Fax: See Regional Support for your area.
Web: https://support.f5.com/csp/home
Email: support@f5.com

For additional information, please visit http://www.f5.com.

Additional resources

You can find additional support resources and technical documentation through a variety of sources.

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