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Manual Chapter : Working with Folders

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BIG-IP AAM

  • 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0, 14.0.1, 14.0.0, 13.1.5, 13.1.4, 13.1.3, 13.1.1, 13.1.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.0, 12.1.5, 12.1.4, 12.1.3, 12.1.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.0, 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP APM

  • 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0, 14.0.1, 14.0.0, 13.1.5, 13.1.4, 13.1.3, 13.1.1, 13.1.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.0, 12.1.6, 12.1.5, 12.1.4, 12.1.3, 12.1.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.0, 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP GTM

  • 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP Analytics

  • 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0, 14.0.1, 14.0.0, 13.1.5, 13.1.4, 13.1.3, 13.1.1, 13.1.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.0, 12.1.6, 12.1.5, 12.1.4, 12.1.3, 12.1.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.0, 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP Link Controller

  • 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0, 14.0.1, 14.0.0, 13.1.5, 13.1.4, 13.1.3, 13.1.1, 13.1.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.0, 12.1.5, 12.1.4, 12.1.3, 12.1.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.0, 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP LTM

  • 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0, 14.0.1, 14.0.0, 13.1.5, 13.1.4, 13.1.3, 13.1.1, 13.1.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.0, 12.1.6, 12.1.5, 12.1.4, 12.1.3, 12.1.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.0, 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP AFM

  • 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0, 14.0.1, 14.0.0, 13.1.5, 13.1.4, 13.1.3, 13.1.1, 13.1.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.0, 12.1.6, 12.1.5, 12.1.4, 12.1.3, 12.1.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.0, 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP PEM

  • 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0, 14.0.1, 14.0.0, 13.1.5, 13.1.4, 13.1.3, 13.1.1, 13.1.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.0, 12.1.6, 12.1.5, 12.1.4, 12.1.3, 12.1.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.0, 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1

BIG-IP DNS

  • 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0, 14.0.1, 14.0.0, 13.1.5, 13.1.4, 13.1.3, 13.1.1, 13.1.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.0, 12.1.6, 12.1.5, 12.1.4, 12.1.3, 12.1.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.0

BIG-IP ASM

  • 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0, 14.0.1, 14.0.0, 13.1.5, 13.1.4, 13.1.3, 13.1.1, 13.1.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.0, 12.1.6, 12.1.5, 12.1.4, 12.1.3, 12.1.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.0, 11.6.5, 11.6.4, 11.6.3, 11.6.2, 11.6.1
Manual Chapter
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Creating a folder

You can use the Traffic Management Shell (tmsh) to create a new folder.
  1. Access the tmsh command line prompt.
  2. Set your current folder to the folder in which you want to create the new folder.
  3. Type create sys folder folder_name For example, to create a folder within the /Common folder, set the current folder to /Common and type create sys folder my_new_folder. This creates a new folder named /Common/my_new_folder.

About moving and renaming objects

You can move certain BIG-IP objects from one folder to another, and optionally, you can rename the objects in the process. In general, the objects that you can move and rename are:

  • Most of the objects within the BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager module (virtual servers, pools, profiles, monitors, and so on)
  • Self IP addresses
  • Device names
  • Folders
Warning: Currently, the ability to move certain BIG-IP objects to other folders and to rename those objects is an experimental feature. F5 Networks recommends that you disable this feature after you have moved or renamed any BIG-IP objects. Also, use of this feature could result in a loss of statistics and a disruption in BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager GTM) service. If you plan to move or rename a virtual server, please contact your GTM administrator before doing so.

Restrictions on move operations

This table lists and describes a few restrictions to be aware of when moving BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) objects from one folder to another.

Feature Restriction
Global traffic management When you move a local traffic virtual server that is associated with a GTM configuration, GTM must re-discover the virtual server. This could affect the status of the GTM objects associated with the virtual server. To avoid any disruption in GTM service or loss of statistics, contact your GTM administrator before moving or renaming a virtual server.
iRules You cannot move an object if the object is referenced by an iRule and the iRule is in use by a virtual server. Such an attempt produces an mcpd runtime configuration error. The behavior mimics the deletion of referenced objects; that is, you can delete a pool when the pool is used by an iRule, as long as a virtual server is not referencing the iRule.
Object referencing If an object is associated with another object, you cannot move the object to a different high-level folder corresponding to a partition. The BIG-IP system disallows this type of move in order to prevent an invalid object reference. For example, if a virtual server in /Common references a profile in /Common, you cannot move the profile to folder /Partition. Doing so would result in an invalid reference. As a best practice, objects such as pools or profiles that are used by multiple objects such as virtual servers should reside in folder /Common.
Default profiles You cannot move a default profile from folder /Common to another folder. All default profiles on the system must remain in /Common.
Health monitors You cannot move multiple monitors that are associated with more than one monitor rule. The BIG-IP system terminates any attempt to perform this type of move operation.
iApps When you move an iApp application service, you must move the entire iApp folder, which includes the service object and all dependant objects. If an iApp service contains an object that does not currently support the mv command, the move operation terminates with a message indicating the object that the BIG-IP system cannot move.

Enabling the feature

You can enable a feature that allows you to move certain BIG-IP configuration objects from one folder to another or to rename a BIG-IP object. By using this feature, you avoid the need to delete an object in a folder and recreate the object in another folder. Note that after enabling this feature, you must use the Traffic Management Shell (tmsh) command line interface to move or rename BIG-IP objects.

  1. Access the tmsh command line interface.
  2. At the tmsh prompt, type modify /sys db mcpd.mvenabled value true
After performing this task, you can move BIG-IP objects to other folders and rename BIG-IP objects.

Disabling the feature

After managing configuration objects or folders you might want to disable the ability to move certain BIG-IP configuration objects from one folder to another or to rename a BIG-IP object using the command line.

  1. Access the tmsh command line interface.
  2. At the tmsh prompt, type modify /sys db mcpd.mvenabled value false
After performing this task, you can no longer move BIG-IP objects to other folders and rename BIG-IP objects.

Examples

You can use this feature in several ways.

Moving a single object to another folder

You can move a single local traffic object to another folder. In this case, you use the tmsh mv command with the to-folder keyword.

  1. Access the tmsh command line prompt.
  2. Type mv ltm object_type object_name to-folder folder_name. For example, you can type mv ltm pool myPool_1 to-folder /Common/pools, or you can specify the object's full path name, such as mv ltm pool /Common/myPool_1 to-folder /Common/pools
After you perform this task, the specified local traffic object resides in another folder.

Moving multiple objects to another folder

You can move multiple objects to the new folder, as long as all objects are of the same type. For example, in a single move operation, you can move three pools to a single folder. In this case, you are not required to specify the to-folder keyword.

  1. Access the tmsh command line prompt.
  2. Type mv ltm object_type object_name object_name folder_name. For example, you can type mv /ltm pool myPool_1 myPool_2 /Common/pools, or you can specify the object's full path name, such as mv ltm pool /Common/myPool_1 /Common/myPool_2 /Common/pools
After you perform this task, the specified local traffic objects reside together in another folder.

Moving an object using a relative path name

You can move an object to another folder with a single command, using a relative path name and the to-folder keyword.

  1. Access the tmsh command line prompt.
  2. Type mv ltm object_type relative_path_nameobject_name to-folder folder_name. For example, you can type mv ltm pool ../myPool_1 to-folder /other_pools. Similarly, you can use relative path names to move an object that is one level higher into the current folder: mv ltm pool ../myPool_1 to-folder
After you perform this task, the specified local traffic object resides in another folder.

Renaming an object

You can rename an object without moving the object to another folder.

  1. Access the tmsh command line prompt.
  2. Type mv ltm object_type current_object_name new_object_name. For example, if your current folder is /Common/pools and you want to rename a pool named myPool_1 to myPool_2, you can type: mv /ltm pool myPool_1 myPool_2. Alternatively, you can rename the object using its full path name: mv /ltm pool /Common/pools/myPool_1 /Common/pools/myPool_2.
After you perform this task, the specified local traffic object has a different name and resides in the same folder.

Renaming and moving an object

You can rename an object and move the object to another folder, in a single operation.

  1. Access the tmsh command line prompt.
  2. Type mv ltm object_type current_object_name new_folder_with_new_object_name. For example, you can type: mv /ltm pool myPool_2 /Common/pools/myNewPool_2
After you perform this task, the specified local traffic object resides in another folder and has a new name.

About iApp objects

Moving an object out of an iApp folder

You can move a local traffic object out of an iApp folder into other folders or sub-folders of an application without breaking the connection to the parent iApp service, allowing for custom organization. For example, you can move pool my_pool in the iApp folder /Common/myapp.app to a non-iApp folder. The following are two examples:

mv ltm pool /Common/myapp.app/my_pool /Common/allpools/my_pool

mv ltm pool /Common/myapp.app/my_pool /Common/myapp.app/pools/my_pool

Moving an object into an iApp folder

If a local traffic object was not created as part of an iApp service, you can still move the object into an iApp folder and automatically associate it with that iApp service. For example, you can move the object my_pool into the iApp folder /myapp.app, renaming the object at the same time:

mv ltm pool /Common/pools/my_pool /Common/myapp.app/my_app_pool

Moving an object from one iApp folder to another

You can move local traffic objects directly from one iApp folder to another. You can do this in either of two ways. For example:

mv ltm pool /Common/myapp.app/app_pool_1 to-folder /Common/myapp2.app

mv ltm pool /Common/myapp.app/app_pool_1 /Common/myapp2.app/app_pool_1

Additionally, you can move multiple objects of the same type from one iApp service to another iApp service, simply by using a multi-source mv command:

cd /Common/myapp.app mv ltm pool app_pool_1 app_pool_2 app_pool_3 to-folder /Common/myapp2.app

About moving a folder to another folder

You can move an entire folder to another folder. When you move a folder to another folder, the BIG-IP system also moves all objects in the moved folder. The system disallows this type of move operation if the move breaks normal object rules, such as if the move would cause an object to reference an object in another partition.

If the moved folder inherits any attributes from its parent folder, the value of those attributes could change after the folder is moved. For example, before a move operation, a folder might inherit a device group value of my_sync_only_device_group from its parent folder. If you move the folder to a folder that inherits a device group value of my_sync_failover_device_group, the moved folder inherits that new value.

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