Manual Chapter :
Getting Started with BIG-IP Virtual Edition in ESXi
Applies To:
Show Versions
BIG-IP AAM
- 13.1.1, 13.1.0
BIG-IP APM
- 13.1.1, 13.1.0
BIG-IP Analytics
- 13.1.1, 13.1.0
BIG-IP LTM
- 13.1.1, 13.1.0
BIG-IP AFM
- 13.1.1, 13.1.0
BIG-IP PEM
- 13.1.1, 13.1.0
BIG-IP DNS
- 13.1.1, 13.1.0
BIG-IP ASM
- 13.1.1, 13.1.0
About single NIC and multi-NIC configurations
A typical BIG-IP VE configuration might include four NICs: one for management, one for internal, one for external, and one for high availability.
However, if you want to create a VM for a quick test, you can create a configuration with just one NIC. In this case, BIG-IP VE creates basic networking objects for you.
When BIG-IP VE first boots, it determines the number of active NICs. If BIG-IP VE detects one
NIC, then:
- Networking objects (vNIC 1.0, a VLAN named Internal, and an associated self IP address) are created automatically for you.
- The port for the Configuration utility is moved from 443 to 8443.
- High availability (failover) is not supported, but config sync is.
- VLANs must have untagged interfaces.
If BIG-IP VE detects multiple NICs, then you create the networking objects. The port for the Configuration utility remains 443.
You can change the number of NICs after first boot and move from single to multi-NIC and vice versa.
Note: If there is no DHCP server in your environment and no IP address automatically assigned,
then the networking objects will not be created and the port will not be moved.
Steps to deploy BIG-IP VE
To deploy the BIG-IP® Virtual
Edition (VE) system on ESXi, you will perform these
tasks.
| Step | Details |
|---|---|
| 1 | Choose the license you want to buy, the BIG-IP VE modules you want, and the throughput you need. See K14810: Overview of BIG-IP® VE license and throughput limits on the AskF5™ Knowledge Base (http://support.f5.com) for details. |
| 2 | Confirm that you are running a hypervisor version that is compatible with a BIG-IP VE release. See Virtual Edition and Supported Hypervisors Matrix on http://support.f5.com for details. |
| 3 | Verify that the host hardware meets the recommended requirements. |
| 4 | If you plan to use SR-IOV, enable it on the hypervisor. |
| 5 | Download a BIG-IP VE image and deploy it. |
| 6 | For a single NIC configuration, remove the internal, external, and HA NICs and power on the VM. |
| 7 | If you are running a multi-NIC configuration without DHCP, manually assign an IP address for the BIG-IP Config Utility. |
After you complete these tasks, you
can log in to the BIG-IP VE system and run the Setup utility to perform basic network
configuration.
