You can use device management to set up several BIG-IP systems running Application Security Manager (ASM) so that the systems synchronize their security policies and configurations, and fail over to one another if a system goes offline for any reason. By using application security synchronization, you can set up application security and create security policies on one system, and can propagate them to other systems in an application security device group. In BIG-IP ASM, a device group is two or more BIG-IP devices using the same configuration and providing consistent security policy enforcement.

You can set up application security synchronization, for example, behind an Application Delivery Controller where multiple BIG-IP systems running Application Security Manager are deployed as members of a pool. The options and security policies on all of the systems stay in sync regardless of where you update them.

When you set up ASM synchronization, in addition to security policies, other settings such as custom attack signatures, logging profiles, SMTP configuration, anti-virus protection, system variables, and policy templates, are synchronized with all devices in the ASM-enabled device group.

When using device management with Application Security Manager (ASM), you need to be aware of the following considerations that apply specifically to application security synchronization.

• A BIG-IP system with Application Security Manager can be a member of only one ASM-enabled device group.
• All BIG-IP systems in a device group must be running the same version (including hot fix updates) of Application Security Manager (version 11.0 or later).
• The BIG-IP systems in the ASM-enabled device group synchronize application security configuration data and security policies, providing consistent enforcement on all the devices.
• Real Traffic Policy Builder can run on only one system per security policy. For example, you can set up automatic security policy building on one system that is a member of an ASM-enabled device group, the policy is built on that system and then automatically updated on all of the systems in the device group.
• If using a VIPRION platform (with multiple blades), it is considered one device, and you need to add only the master blade to the device trust and group.

1. Install the same BIG-IP system version (including any hot fixes) on each device.
2. Provision LTM and ASM on each device (System > Resource Provisioning).
3. On each device, create one or more VLANs, depending on your networking configuration (Network > VLANs).
4. On each device, create a self IP (Network > Self IPs). When creating the self IP, set Traffic Group to traffic-group-local-only (non-floating).
5. On each device, create a default gateway, if needed (Network > Routes).
6. On each device, configure DNS (System > Configuration > Device > DNS) and NTP (System > Configuration > Device > NTP) so they are set to the same time.
7. Verify connectivity between the devices (self IP address to self IP address). For example, use this command to ensure communications: ping -I vlan_interface device_self_IP
8. On each device, specify the IP address to use when synchronizing configuration objects to the local device:
   1. Click Device Management > Devices.
   2. Click the name of the local device.
   3. From the Device Connectivity menu, choose ConfigSync.
   4. For the Local Address setting, select the self IP address.
   5. Click Update.
9. If your company requires special device certificates, install them on each device (System > Device Certificates and click Import).

1. Confirm that you are logged in to the actual device you want to configure.
2. On the Main tab, click Device Management > Devices. This displays a list of device objects discovered by the local device.
3. In the Name column, click the name of the device to which you are currently logged in.
4. From the Device Connectivity menu, choose ConfigSync.
5. For the Local Address setting, retain the displayed IP address or select another address from the list. F5 Networks recommends that you use the default value, which is the self IP address for VLAN internal. This address must be a non-floating self IP address and not a management IP address.
   Important: If the BIG-IP device you are configuring is accessed using Amazon Web Services, then the internal self IP address that you specify must be the internal private IP addresses that you configured for this EC2 instance as the Local Address.
6. Click Update.

1. On the Main tab, click Device Management > Device Trust, and then either Peer List or Subordinate List.
2. Click Add.
3. Type a device IP address, administrator user name, and administrator password for the remote BIG-IP device with which you want to establish trust. The IP address you specify depends on the type of BIG-IP device:
   • If the BIG-IP device is a non-VIPRION device, type the management IP address for the device.
   • If the BIG-IP device is a VIPRION device that is not licensed and provisioned for vCMP, type the primary cluster management IP address for the cluster.
   • If the BIG-IP device is a VIPRION device that is licensed and provisioned for vCMP, type the cluster management IP address for the guest.
   • If the BIG-IP device is an Amazon Web Services EC2 device, type one of the Private IP addresses created for this EC2 instance.
4. Click Retrieve Device Information.
5. Verify that the certificate of the remote device is correct.
6. Verify that the name of the remote device is correct.
7. Verify that the management IP address and name of the remote device are correct.
8. Click Finished.

1. On the Main tab, click Device Management > Device Groups.
2. On the Device Groups list screen, click Create. The New Device Group screen opens.
3. Type a name for the device group, select the device group type Sync-Failover, and type a description for the device group.
4. From the Configuration list, select Advanced.
5. In the Configuration area of the screen, select a host name from the Available list for each BIG-IP device that you want to include in the device group, including the local device. Use the Move button to move the host name to the Includes list. The Available list shows any devices that are members of the device's local trust domain but not currently members of a Sync-Failover device group. A device can be a member of one Sync-Failover group only.
6. For the Network Failover setting, select or clear the check box:
   • Select the check box if you want device group members to handle failover communications by way of network connectivity. This choice is required for active-active configurations.
   • Clear the check box if you want device group members to handle failover communications by way of serial cable (hard-wired) connectivity.
   For active-active configurations, you must select network failover, as opposed to serial-cable (hard-wired) connectivity.
7. For the Automatic Sync setting, select or clear the check box:
   • Select the check box when you want the BIG-IP system to automatically sync the BIG-IP configuration data whenever a config sync operation is required. In this case, the BIG-IP system syncs the configuration data whenever the data changes on any device in the device group.
   • Clear the check box when you want to manually initiate each config sync operation. In this case, F5 networks recommends that you perform a config sync operation whenever configuration data changes on one of the devices in the device group.
8. For the Full Sync setting, select or clear the check box:
   • Select the check box when you want all sync operations to be full syncs. In this case, the BIG-IP system syncs the entire set of BIG-IP configuration data whenever a config sync operation is required.
   • Clear the check box when you want all sync operations to be incremental (the default setting). In this case, the BIG-IP system syncs only the changes that are more recent than those on the target device. When you select this option, the BIG-IP system compares the configuration data on each target device with the configuration data on the source device and then syncs the delta of each target-source pair.
   If you enable incremental synchronization, the BIG-IP system might occasionally perform a full sync for internal reasons. This is a rare occurrence and no user intervention is required.
9. In the Maximum Incremental Sync Size (KB) field, retain the default value of 1024, or type a different value. This value specifies the total size of configuration changes that can reside in the incremental sync cache. If the total size of the configuration changes in the cache exceeds the specified value, the BIG-IP system performs a full sync whenever the next config sync operation occurs.
10. Click Finished.

1. On the Main tab, click Device Management > Overview.
2. In the Device Groups area of the screen, in the Name column, select the name of the relevant device group. The screen expands to show a summary and details of the sync status of the selected device group, as well as a list of the individual devices within the device group.
3. In the Devices area of the screen, in the Sync Status column, select the device that shows a sync status of Changes Pending.
4. In the Sync Options area of the screen, select Sync Device to Group.
5. Click Sync. The BIG-IP system syncs the configuration data of the selected device in the Device area of the screen to the other members of the device group.

1. Confirm that you are logged in to the actual device you want to configure.
2. On the Main tab, click Device Management > Devices. This displays a list of device objects discovered by the local device.
3. In the Name column, click the name of the device to which you are currently logged in.
4. From the Device Connectivity menu, choose Failover.
5. For the Failover Unicast Configuration settings, click Add for each IP address on this device that other devices in the device group can use to exchange failover messages with this device. The unicast IP addresses you specify depend on the type of device:

   Platform	Action
   Non-VIPRION	Type a self IP address associated with an internal VLAN (preferably VLAN HA) and the management IP address for the device.
   VIPRION without vCMP	Type the self IP address for an internal VLAN (preferably VLAN HA) and the management IP addresses for all slots in the VIPRION cluster. Note that if you also configure a multicast address (using the Use Failover Multicast Address setting), then these management IP addresses are not required.
   VIPRION with vCMP	Type a self IP address that is defined on the guest and associated with an internal VLAN on the host (preferably VLAN HA). You must also specify the management IP addresses for all of the slots configured for the guest. Note that if you also configure a multicast address (using the Use Failover Multicast Address setting), then these management IP addresses are not required.

6. To enable the use of a failover multicast address on a VIPRION platform (recommended), then for the Use Failover Multicast Address setting, select the Enabled check box.
7. If you enabled Use Failover Multicast Address, either accept the default Address and Port values, or specify values appropriate for the device. If you revise the default Address and Port values, but then decide to revert to the default values, click Reset Defaults.
8. Click Update.

1. On the Main tab, click Device Management > Device Groups.
2. On the Device Groups list screen, click Create. The New Device Group screen opens.
3. Type a name for the device group, select the device group type Sync-Only, and type a description for the device group.
4. From the Configuration list, select Advanced.
5. For the Members setting, select an IP address and host name from the Available list for each BIG-IP device that you want to include in the device group. Use the Move button to move the host name to the Includes list. The list shows any devices that are members of the device's local trust domain.
6. For the Automatic Sync setting, select or clear the check box:
   • Select the check box when you want the BIG-IP system to automatically sync the BIG-IP configuration data whenever a config sync operation is required. In this case, the BIG-IP system syncs the configuration data whenever the data changes on any device in the device group.
   • Clear the check box when you want to manually initiate each config sync operation. In this case, F5 networks recommends that you perform a config sync operation whenever configuration data changes on one of the devices in the device group.
7. For the Full Sync setting, select or clear the check box:
   • Select the check box when you want all sync operations to be full syncs. In this case, the BIG-IP system syncs the entire set of BIG-IP configuration data whenever a config sync operation is required.
   • Clear the check box when you want all sync operations to be incremental (the default setting). In this case, the BIG-IP system syncs only the changes that are more recent than those on the target device. When you select this option, the BIG-IP system compares the configuration data on each target device with the configuration data on the source device and then syncs the delta of each target-source pair.
   If you enable incremental synchronization, the BIG-IP system might occasionally perform a full sync for internal reasons. This is a rare occurrence and no user intervention is required.
8. In the Maximum Incremental Sync Size (KB) field, retain the default value of 1024, or type a different value. This value specifies the total size of configuration changes that can reside in the incremental sync cache. If the total size of the configuration changes in the cache exceeds the specified value, the BIG-IP system performs a full sync whenever the next config sync operation occurs.
9. Click Finished.

1. On the Main tab, click Security > Application Security > Synchronization. The system displays a list of device groups of which this device is a member.
2. For Device Group, select the Sync-Only device group you created.
3. Click Save.

1. On one system in the ASM-enabled failover device group, create an application security policy. Because the two systems are not in sync, you see a Changes Pending status message on the screen.
2. Click the Changes Pending message.
   Tip: You can also click Device Management > Overview.
   The Overview screen opens.
3. In the Device Groups area of the screen, in the Name column, select the name of the relevant device group. The screen expands to show a summary and details of the sync status of the selected device group, as well as a list of the individual devices within the device group.
4. In the Devices area of the screen, in the Sync Status column, select the device that shows a sync status of Changes Pending.
5. In the Sync Options area of the screen, select Sync Device to Group.
6. Click Sync. The BIG-IP system syncs the configuration data of the selected device in the Device area of the screen to the other members of the device group.
7. Verify that the devices are synchronized. For example, log in to another device in the device group and verify that the security policy you created also resides on that system. Click Security > Application Security > Security Policies and see if the policy is listed.