Applies To:
Show VersionsBIG-IP Link Controller
- 12.1.2
BIG-IP DNS
- 12.1.2
Summary:
This release note documents the version 12.1.2 release of BIG-IP DNS (formerly Global Traffic Manager) and BIG-IP Link Controller. You can apply the software upgrade to systems running software versions 11.x/12.x.
Note: To upgrade 10.x GTM installations to BIG-IP DNS 12.x, you must first upgrade to software version 11.x. For more information, see SOL17158: Upgrading directly from BIG-IP 10.x to 12.x is not supported when the GTM module is provisioned.
Contents:
- Platform support
- Configuration utility browser support
- Compatibility of BIG-IQ products with BIG-IP releases
- User documentation for this release
- Maintenance release fixes, behavior changes, and known issues
- New in 12.1.2
- Installation overview
- Upgrading from earlier versions
- Contacting F5 Networks
- Legal notices
Platform support
This version of the software is supported on the following platforms:
Platform name | Platform ID |
---|---|
BIG-IP 1600 | C102 |
BIG-IP 3600 | C103 |
BIG-IP 3900 | C106 |
BIG-IP 6900 | D104 |
BIG-IP 8900 | D106 |
BIG-IP 8950 | D107 |
BIG-IP 11000 | E101 |
BIG-IP 11050 | E102 |
BIG-IP 2000 Series (2000s, BIG-IP 2200s) | C112 |
BIG-IP 4000 Series (4000s, BIG-IP 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 (requires 12.0.0 HF1), 10350v-FIPS) | D112 |
BIG-IP 10000 Series (10000s, 10050s, 10055, 10200v, 10250v, 10255) | D113 |
BIG-IP 12000 Series (12250v) | D111 |
BIG-IP i2000 Series (i2800) (requires 12.1.1 HF2) | C117 |
BIG-IP i4000 Series (i4800) (requires 12.1.1 HF2) | C115 |
BIG-IP i5000 Series (i5600/i5800) | C119 |
BIG-IP i7000 Series (i7600/i7800) | C118 |
BIG-IP i10000 Series (i10600/i10800) | C116 |
VIPRION B2100 Blade | A109 |
VIPRION B2150 Blade | A113 |
VIPRION B2250 Blade | A112 |
VIPRION B4200, B4200N Blade | A107, A111 |
VIPRION B4300, B4340N Blade | A108, A110 |
VIPRION B4450 Blade | A114 |
VIPRION C2200 Chassis | D114 |
VIPRION C2400 Chassis | F100 |
VIPRION C4400, C4400N Chassis | J100, J101 |
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 4400(J100)/4480(J102) and the 4800(S100)
- BIG-IP 5200v, 5250v, 7200v, 7250v, 10200v, 10250v, 10350v, 12250v
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, 3900, 6900 platforms, to the VIPRION B4100 and B4100N 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
The following guidelines apply to the BIG-IP 1600 and 3600 platforms, and to VE and vCMP guests 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.
- 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 27.x
- Google Chrome 32.x
Compatibility of BIG-IQ products with BIG-IP releases
SOL14592: Compatibility between BIG-IQ and 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 DNS / VE 12.1.2 Documentation page.
Maintenance release 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 12.1.2 Release Information page.
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 SOL12878: 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 SOL7727 - 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 10.1.0 or later and is using the volumes formatting scheme.
- 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
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 11.2.0 to volume 3 of the main hard drive.
tmsh install sys software image BIGIP-11.2.0.2446.0.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.
- Ensure the system rebooted to the new installation location.
- Use BIG-IP iHealth to verify your configuration file. For more information, see SOL12878: Generating BIG-IP diagnostic data using the qkview utility.
- Log on to the browser-based Configuration utility.
- Run the Setup utility.
- Provision the modules.
- Convert any bigpipe scripts to tmsh. (Versions later than 10.x do not support the bigpipe 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.
Upgrading from earlier versions
Your upgrade process differs depending on the version of software you are currently running.
Upgrading from version 11.x
When you upgrade from version 11.x software, you use the Software Management screens in the Configuration utility to complete these steps. To open the Software Management screens, in the navigation pane of the Configuration utility, expand System, and click Software Management. For information about using the Software Management screens, see the online help.
Upgrading from versions earlier than
You cannot roll forward a configuration directly to this version from BIG-IP version 4.x, or from BIG-IP versions 9.0.x through 9.6.x, and any version 10.x software. You must be running version 11.x software. For details about upgrading to those versions, see the release notes for the associated release.
Automatic firmware upgrades
If this version includes new firmware for your specific hardware platform, after you install and activate this version, the system might reboot additional times to perform all necessary firmware upgrades.
Contacting F5 Networks
Phone: | (206) 272-6888 |
Fax: | (206) 272-6802 |
Web: | http://support.f5.com |
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.
- The F5 Networks Technical Support web site: http://www.f5.com/support/
- The AskF5 web site: http://support.f5.com/kb/en-us.html
- The F5 DevCentral web site: http://devcentral.f5.com/
- AskF5 TechNews
F5 Networks Technical Support
Free self-service tools give you 24x7 access to a wealth of knowledge and technical support. Whether it is providing quick answers to questions, training your staff, or handling entire implementations from design to deployment, F5 services teams are ready to ensure that you get the most from your F5 technology.
AskF5
AskF5 is your storehouse for thousands of solutions to help you manage your F5 products more effectively. Whether you want to search the knowledge base periodically to research a solution, or you need the most recent news about your F5 products, AskF5 is your source.
F5 DevCentral
The F5 DevCentral community helps you get more from F5 products and technologies. You can connect with user groups, learn about the latest F5 tools, and discuss F5 products and technology.
AskF5 TechNews
- Weekly HTML TechNews
- The weekly TechNews HTML email includes timely information about known issues, product releases, hotfix releases, updated and new solutions, and new feature notices. To subscribe, click TechNews Subscription, complete the required fields, and click the Subscribe button. You will receive a confirmation. Unsubscribe at any time by clicking the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the TechNews email.
- Periodic plain text TechNews
- F5 Networks sends a timely TechNews email any time a product or hotfix is released. (This information is always included in the next weekly HTML TechNews email.) To subscribe, send a blank email to technews-subscribe@lists.f5.com from the email address you are using to subscribe. Unsubscribe by sending a blank email to technews-unsubscribe@lists.f5.com.