Applies To:
Show VersionsBIG-IP AAM
- 11.5.6
BIG-IP APM
- 11.5.6
BIG-IP GTM
- 11.5.6
BIG-IP Link Controller
- 11.5.6
BIG-IP Analytics
- 11.5.6
BIG-IP LTM
- 11.5.6
BIG-IP AFM
- 11.5.6
BIG-IP PEM
- 11.5.6
BIG-IP ASM
- 11.5.6
Summary:
These release notes document the BIG-IP version 11.5.6 release. You can apply the software upgrade to systems running software versions 10.1.0 (or later).
BIG-IP Virtual Edition (VE) is a version of the BIG-IP system that runs as a virtual machine. Supported modules include Local Traffic Manager, Global Traffic Manager, Application Security Manager, Access Policy Manager, Application Acceleration Manager, Policy Enforcement Manager, Application Firewall Manager, and Analytics. BIG-IP VE includes all features of device-based BIG-IP modules running on standard BIG-IP TMOS, except as noted in release notes and product documentation.
Contents:
- Platform support
- Module combination and memory considerations
- Configuration utility browser support
- Compatibility of BIG-IQ products with BIG-IP releases
- Fixes, behavior changes, and known issues
- New in 11.5.6
- Installation overview
- Installation checklist
- Installing the software
- Post-installation tasks
- Installation tips
- Upgrading from earlier versions
- Upgrading earlier configurations
- Issues when upgrading from earlier ASM versions
- About changing the resource provisioning level of the Application Security Manager
- To prevent traffic from bypassing the Application Security Manager
- About working with device groups
- Synchronizing the device group
- Supported ICAP servers
- Contacting F5 Networks
- Legal notices
Platform support
- K9412: The BIG-IP release matrix: A software-hardware support matrix organized by BIG-IP release version.
- K9476: The F5 hardware/software compatibility matrix: A platform-sorted matrix BIG-IP hardware/software support.
- K4309: F5 platform lifecycle support policy: A definition of platform lifecycle stages from initial release through retirement.
Module combination and memory considerations
BIG-IP platform considerations
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 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, i11800, i15800
- PEM and CGNAT supported platforms
- VIPRION B2100, B2150, B2250, B4300, B4340N, B4450N
- BIG-IP 5x00v(s), 7x00v(s), 10x00v(s)
- PEM for BIG-IP iSeries: i5800, i7800, i10800, i11800, i15800
- CGNAT for BIG-IP iSeries: i2x00, i4x00, i5x00,i7x00,i10x00,i11x00,i15x00
- BIG-IP Virtual Edition (VE) (Not including Amazon Web Service Virtual Edition) (3 GB, 10 GB production and combination lab models)
- PEM and CGNAT may be provisioned on the VIPRION B4200, but it is not recommended for production, only for evaluation. PEM may be provisioned on the VIPRION B2100, but it is not recommended for production, only for evaluation. Use the B4300/B4340N or another blade instead.
- PEM is not supported on vCMP guests.
- PEM is not supported on 8 GB platforms.
- BIG-IP 800 and i850 platform support
- The BIG-IP 800 and i850 platforms support Local Traffic Manager (LTM) only, and no other modules.
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 and vCMP only)
The following guidelines apply 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 should not be provisioned, except as Dedicated
VIPRION and vCMP caching and deduplication requirements
Application Acceleration Manager (AAM) supports the following functionality when configuring vCMP and VIPRION platforms.
- AAM does not support disk-based caching functionality on vCMP platforms. AAM requires memory-based caching when configuring it to run on vCMP platforms.
- AAM supports disk-based caching functionality on VIPRION chassis or blades.
- AAM does not support deduplication functionality on vCMP platforms, or VIPRION chassis or blades.
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
VE considerations
This version of the software is supported in the following configurations. For a list of VE hypervisor support, see the Virtual Edition and Supported Hypervisors Matrix.
Memory: 12 GB or more
All licensable module-combinations may be run on BIG-IP Virtual Edition (VE) guests provisioned with 12 GB or more of memory.
Memory: 8 GB
The following guidelines apply to VE guests configured with 8 GB of memory.
- No more than three modules should be provisioned together.
Memory: Less than 8 GB and more than 4 GB
The following guidelines apply to VE guests provisioned with less than 8 GB and more than 4 GB of memory.
- 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.
Memory: 4 GB or less
The following guidelines apply to VE 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 should not be provisioned, except as Dedicated
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.
Fixes, behavior changes, and known issues
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 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.
- Check all DNSSEC Key generation's 'expiration' and 'rollover' date:time fields before performing a GTM sync group upgrade. If any of the DNSSEC Key generations are set to rollover or expire during the planned upgrade window, modify the date:time of the 'expiration' and/or 'rollover' fields to extend past the anticipated upgrade window, to a date:time when all units in the sync group will again have GTM config sync enabled.
- 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 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.
- Ensure the system rebooted to the new installation location.
- Use BIG-IP iHealth to verify your configuration file. For more information, see K12878: Generating diagnostic data using the qkview utility.
- Log on to the browser-based Configuration utility.
- Run the Setup utility.
- Provision the modules.
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 or later
When you upgrade from version 11.x or later, 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 11.x
You cannot roll forward a configuration directly to this version from BIG-IP version 10.x or earlier. You must be running version 11.x (or later) software. For details about upgrading from earlier versions, see the release notes for the associated release.
Upgrading to 4th element versions from versions earlier than 11.5.0
You cannot directly update from pre-11.5.0 versions (e.g., v11.4.x, v11.2.x, etc.) to any 4th element version (e.g., v12.1.3.1, v13.1.0.1, etc.). Direct upgrade to 4th element versions is supported only from v11.5.0 and later. For pre-11.5.0 versions, you must first upgrade to v11.5.0 or later. The recommended upgrade path is from v11.4.1 to v12.1.3, and then to v12.1.3.1. 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.
Upgrading earlier configurations
When you upgrade from an earlier versions of the software, you might need to know about or take care of these configuration-specific issues.
ID Number | Description |
---|---|
588946 | You can install v11.5.4 on the 12250v platform, but are unable to license BIG-IP. This is because v11.5.4 is not supported on the 12250v platform. Install BIG-IP v11.5.4 on a 12250v platform. BIG-IP v11.5.4 is not supported on the 12250v platform. Even though installation succeeds, it is not possible to license BIG-IP system. Workaround: Install a supported version of BIG-IP on the 12250v. Supported versions are 11.6.0 HF2 or later and 12.0.0 or later. |
223704 | When you import a single configuration file (SCF file) that contain VLANs of the same name that exist in different administrative partitions, the operation fails with a unknown operation error. Upgrading configurations with VLANs of the same name in different administrative partitions. Upgrade operation fails with a unknown operation error. Workaround: Before installing an SCF file, run the command: tmsh load sys config default. This returns the system to the default configuration, so subsequent configuration import operations should succeed as expected. |
513501 | When upgrading from a version prior to 11.5.0 to 11.5.0 or newer, the configuration might fail to load with an error similar to the following: LSN pool is configured with a prefix address that overlaps with a prefix address on another LSN pool. "On versions prior to 11.5.0, tmsh allowed users to configure overlapping DNAT and NAPT pools, even though this configuration is invalid and non-functional. Version 11.5.0 and later contain validation to prohibit such configurations. However, when upgrading versions newer than 11.5.0, a configuration that contains overlapping DNAT and NAPT pools fails to load." Configuration fails to load on upgrade. Workaround: Edit bigip.conf and locate the overlapping LSN pools. Either remove one of the pools or change the mode on the DNAT pool to NAPT. |
571333 | When a VIP is configured with a fastl4 profile that enables full acceleration and offload state to embryonic, and if a flow is offloaded to be hardware accelerated, the connection idle timeout during the TCP handshake is set to the "idle timeout" value of the fastl4 profile, but it should be set to the "tcp handshake timeout" instead. "1. Configure fastl4 profile with ePVA=full, offload state=SYN, apply to network VS 2. Ensure ARP entry exists for server node (static arp, ping, etc.) to satisfy requirements for offloading initial SYN 3. Send over SYN packet from client to server via VS" The connection may remain in the half-open state longer than what is set in the TCP handshake timeout value. Workaround: Set the offload state to "established" |
436075 | Using syslog include field when the command 'syslog-ng -s' does not succeed before the upgrade. Using syslog include field. It is possible to roll forward an include field with invalid syntax. This will cause the configuration to fail to load. Workaround: When using the syslog include field, ensure that the command 'syslog-ng -s' succeeds before the upgrade. |
581932 | Upgrading to a newer version of the BIG-IP software removes the signatures that were installed using an IM signature package, and returns app signatures to the default version. "- New '.im' signature package installed manually using the BIG-IP GUI or tmsh. This adds extra applications and categories to the default signatures. - TMOS software upgraded to a newer version, for example installing a rollup hotfix or an engineering ho" "After rebooting into the new software volume, all the additional categories and applications are gone but the signature package is still showing as installed. This makes a simple re-installation of the new .im signature package impossible. The applications and categories are actually back to default settings for version 11.6.0." Workaround: "1. After rebooting into the new software volume, open the bigip.conf file with a text editor and remove all the configurations from the 'ltm classification signature-version' stanza: |
415961 | The upgrade process does not migrate unassigned HTTP Class profiles to BIG-IP 11.4.0 and later When you upgrade a BIG-IP system to BIG-IP 11.4.0 or later, the upgrade process attempts to convert all assigned HTTP Class profiles to their equivalent local traffic policies. If an HTTP Class profile is not assigned to a virtual server, the upgrade process will not perform the conversion and the unassigned HTTP Class profile will no longer exist in the configuration of the upgraded BIG-IP system. Similarly, if you restore a UCS archive that contains unassigned HTTP Class profiles in BIG-IP 11.4.0 and later, the restoration process will not convert the unassigned HTTP Class profiles and these profiles will no longer exist. This behavior is by design. You might lose unused HTTP Class profiles in the configuration. Workaround: "When upgrading to BIG-IP 11.4.0 and later or saving a UCS archive from a pre-11.4.0 system, you should consider the following factor: Prior to upgrading or saving a UCS archive, ensure that all HTTP Class profiles are assigned to a virtual server." |
401828 | The following configurations are invalid for a SIP virtual server: a) TCP virtual server with a UDP profile and a SIP profile. b) UDP virtual server with a TCP profile and a SIP profile. TCP virtual server with a UDP profile and a SIP profile, or a UDP virtual server with a TCP profile and a SIP profile. If such a configuration exists in previous versions, it loads in 11.3.x but may cause a core. Workaround: "Fix the configuration manually, as follows: a) A SIP TCP virtual server must have TCP as one of its profile type. b) A SIP UDP virtual server must have UDP as one of its profile type." |
490139 | Loading iRules from the iRules file deletes last few comment lines immediately preceding the closing bracket. This occurs when loading an iRule file from versions prior to 11.5.1. Although the comments are removed, this does not affect iRule functionality. Workaround: Put comments in places other than immediately above the closing bracket. |
496663 | iRule object in non-Common partition referenced from another partition results in upgrade/configuration load failure in 11.x/12.x. This occurs when upgrading/loading a configuration containing an iRule in one non-Common partition that references an object in another non-Common partition. A configuration of this type can be saved only using pre-11.x versions of the software. The config upgrade fails, and the UCS/configuration files cannot be loaded. The system posts an error message similar to the following: 'myucs.ucs' failed with the following error message: 'Rule [/UNCOMMONPARTITION/RULEABC] error: Unable to find rule_object (...) referenced at line xyz: [element]'. Workaround: None. |
532559 | If the client-ssl profile is /Common/clientssl, its parent profile is supposed to be /Common/clientssl. But the configuration could potentially use 'defaults-from none'. "This condition could be caused by executing the following command when generating the configuration. 'tmsh modify ltm profile client-ssl clientssl defaults-from none'" The upgrade fails after booting into the new release, during the config loading phase. This occurs because the script extracts the line 'defaults-from none' and treats 'none' as its parent profile. Workaround: Edit the configuration prior to upgrading, changing the defaults-from value on the client-ssl profile to the name of that profile. |
449617 | If a configuration file includes a passphrase for an ssl-key file object, the object may fail to validate when loading the configuration. Passphrase present in ssl-key file object Configuration fails to load Workaround: Remove passphrase line from the file object. |
586878 | "During upgrade, configuration fails to load due to invalid clientssl profile cert/key configuration. The validation to verify whether at least one valid key/cert pair exists in clientssl profiles was enforced in software versions through 11.5.0. This validation was not in effect in versions 11.5.1, 11.5.2, and 11.5.3. The lack of validation resulted in invalid clientssl profiles (those containing empty key/certs or a cert/key of 'default'). When you upgrade such a configuration to 11.5.4 or later, you will receive a validation error, and the configuration will fail to load after upgrade." "The issue occurs when all the below conditions are met. 1. You have a clientssl profile in a configuration from a version without validation (that is, 11.5.1, 11.5.2, or 11.5.3). |
435482 | "BIG-IP configuration object names that include a space may cause an upgrade or user configuration set (UCS) load to fail. As a result of this issue, you may encounter the following symptoms: Your attempts to upgrade the BIG-IP system or load a UCS fail. After loading a UCS file or upgrading from a configuration that has object names with spaces on BIG-IP 11.4.0 or a later version, the Configuration utility displays an error message similar to the following example: The configuration has not yet loaded. If this message persists, it may indicate a configuration problem. After loading a UCS file that has configuration object names that include spaces on BIG-IP 11.4.0 or a later version, a message appears similar to following example: Unexpected Error: Configuration cannot be saved unless mcpd is in the running phase. Save was canceled. See 'show sys mcp' and 'show sys service'. If 'show sys service' indicates that mcpd is in the run state, but 'show sys mcp' is not in phase running, issue the command 'load sys config' to further diagnose the problem." "This issue occurs when one of the following conditions is met: You attempt to upgrade a BIG-IP system from 11.3.0, or an earlier version, with a configuration that has configuration object names with spaces. You attempt to load a BIG-IP 11.3.0 or earlier UCS file, that has configuration object names with spaces, on BIG-IP 11.4.0 or a later version." The BIG-IP system upgrade or UCS load fails. Workaround: "To work around this issue, you can boot back to the previous BIG-IP 11.3.0 or earlier version and rename all affected configuration objects to exclude spaces before upgrading or saving a UCS file. Impact of workaround: Performing the suggested workaround should not have a negative impact on your system." |
489015 | An LTM request-log profile that references a non-existent pool can pass validation in 11.0.0 or 11.1.0, but fails in 11.2.0 or later, with an error similar to the following: 'The requested Pool (/Common/poolname) was not found.' "This issue occurs when all of the following conditions are met: The UCS file has a Request Logging profile configuration with at least one of the following conditions: A Request Logging profile references a non-existent pool. A Request Logging profile references a pool in a non-default administrative partition without specifying the path to the /<partition>/<pool>. You upgrade from 11.0.0 or 11.1.0 to 11.2.0 or later and roll forward the configuration. You attempt to load an affected UCS created on 11.0.0 or 11.1.0 to a system running 11.2.0 or later." This can cause a load failure when rolling forward the configuration. Workaround: Correct the request-log profile in the config either prior to upgrade or by editing the config after. |
Issues when upgrading from earlier ASM versions
If you upgrade from an earlier version of ASM, note the following issues.
Upgrade warnings and notes
The Application Security Manager supports .ucs files from versions 10.1.0 and later of the Application Security Manager. Additionally, you may import policies exported from versions 10.1.0 and later of the Application Security Manager.
Warning: With the introduction of the Local Traffic Policies feature in BIG-IP version 11.4.0, HTTP Class iRule events and commands are no longer available. If you plan to upgrade to 11.4.0 or later, and your configuration contains an iRule that uses an HTTP class iRule event or command, please read K14409: The HTTP Class profile is no longer available in BIG-IP 11.4.0 and later.
Warning: Local Traffic Policies do not support regular expressions for matching. While the upgrade process is able to migrate simple glob expressions, manual administrator intervention is required in order to ensure that the policies are properly configured. If you plan to upgrade to 11.4.0 or later, and your configuration contains regular expressions or glob expressions, please read K14409: The HTTP Class profile is no longer available in BIG-IP 11.4.0 and later.
Important: The system creates its internal cookie in versions 10.2.4 and later (including all versions of 11.x) differently than in versions prior to 10.2.4. As a result, while upgrading your system from a version prior to 10.2.4 to version 10.2.4 or later, the system will produce the Modified ASM Cookie violation for existing browser sessions. If the security policy has the Modified ASM Cookie violation enabled and set to block traffic when this violation occurs, after upgrading to version 10.2.4 or later, the system will block traffic to the web application. However, since the TS cookie is a session cookie, the system will block traffic only until the browser session ends (the end-user restarts the browser). To prevent the security policy from blocking traffic until the end-user’s browser is restarted, before upgrading to version 10.2.4 or later, we recommend you disable the security policy from blocking the Modified ASM Cookie violation, upgrade, and wait long enough to allow all users to restart their browsers (two weeks are expected to be enough). After enabling the violation, we recommend you monitor the logs. If the Modified ASM Cookie violation appears, consider disabling the violation again for a longer period of time, or communicate to the users to restart their browsers.
HTTP protocol compliance failed sub-violations
If you upgrade or import a security policy from a version prior to 11.6.0, the system automatically enables the following HTTP protocol compliance-failed sub-violations, even if they were previously disabled:
- Bad HTTP version
- Null in request
- Unparsable request content
You can manually disable these violations after the upgrade or import.
Layer 7
In version 11.4.0, local traffic policies replace HTTP Classes. When you create an ASM security policy, the system automatically creates a default Layer 7 local traffic policy. Note the following changes that occur to your system after upgrading from a version prior to 11.4.0:
- A Layer 7 local traffic policy is created and the HTTP class is removed. If the HTTP Class name is different than the name of the security policy, upon upgrade, the system changes the name of the security policy to the name of the HTTP Class.
- Security policies are now in folders (partitioned) like pools and virtual servers. Upon upgrade, the system places security policies in the folder to which the HTTP Class belonged. The system places security policies that were inactive in the /Common folder.
- iRules that use HTTP Class do not work here. Users must manually change the HTTP Class part of the iRule to Policy after the upgrade.
ASM cookie security
As a result of changes made to the signing of ASM cookies, performing a clean upgrade may result in cookie violations and blocked traffic. To prevent these, F5 recommends that you perform the following actions before upgrading:
- Disable the modified domain cookie violation, and re-enable it only after at least 24 hours have passed.
- If you do not have a wildcard cookie, before the upgrade add an ASM allowed cookie to the security policy, with the name TS*.
- Have all clients restart their browsers.
After upgrading, users must synchronize their Cookie Protection settings in the following cases:
- Systems that share traffic but are NOT in the same device group
- Systems from different versions that share traffic, even if they are in the same device group
Cookie signature validation
After upgrading, the system performs the following:
- Turns on staging for all Allowed cookies
- Applies signature checks on existing Allowed cookies
- Adds a * wildcard Allowed cookie even if the user did not have on previously Upgrading to version 11.3.0 or later
Web scraping
There was a check box for enabling web scraping that was removed in version 11.3.0.
- When you upgrade from versions 11.0.0 through 11.2.x, if the check box is enabled, the new Bot Detection setting has the option Alarm and Block enabled. If the check box is not enabled, the value is Off.
- When you upgrade from versions prior to 11.0.0 (where there was no enable flag), the Bot Detection setting is based on the blocking check boxes for web scraping:
- If the global Block check box is enabled, the value is Alarm and Block.
- If the global Block check box is disabled, and the global Alarm check box is enabled, the value is Alarm.
- If both Alarm and Block check boxes are disabled, the value is Off.
Brute Force
In versions prior to 11.3.0, if the Dynamic Brute Force Protection Operation Mode was Blocking, and the security policy’s Enforcement Mode was Transparent, the system blocked brute force attacks. In order to keep functionality after upgrading, the system continues to block brute force attacks if you upgrade to versions 11.3.0 or later, under these circumstances. However, in versions 11.3.0 and later, the functionality changed so that if the security policy’s Enforcement Mode is Transparent, so the system does not block brute force attacks even if the Dynamic Brute Force Protection Operation Mode setting is Alarm and Block (previously Blocking).
DoS profiles
In versions 11.3.0 and later, DoS profiles are assigned to virtual servers. Previously, they were assigned to security policies.
- Upon upgrading DoS Profiles from versions prior to 11.3.0, all active security policies have their DoS settings migrated and assigned to the virtual server associated with the HTTP Class. If a virtual server had more than one HTTP Class assigned to it, it inherits the settings of the last in the list.
- If you have a disabled DoS profile in a version prior to 11.3.0, and upgrade, after the upgrade the system automatically assigns the DoS profile to a virtual server. As a result, even though the system does not perform DoS protection, it still collects statistics, which impacts the system’s performance. To work around this issue, if you have a disabled DoS profile assigned to a virtual server, to improve system performance you should remove its association from the virtual server. (ID 405211)
- We do not support exporting and importing DoS profiles.
Logging Profiles
In versions 11.3.0 and later, logging profiles are assigned to virtual servers. Previously, they were assigned to security policies. Upon upgrading logging profiles from versions prior to 11.3.0, all active security policies have their logging profile settings migrated and assigned to the virtual server associated with the HTTP Class. If a virtual server had more than one HTTP Class assigned to it, it inherits the settings of the last in the list.
XFF configuration (ID 405312)
In versions prior to 11.3.0, DoS profiles used the Trust XFF setting that was a security policy setting. The Trust XFF setting was renamed Accept XFF, and moved from a security policy property to a property of the HTTP profile. If you upgrade a DoS profile and a security policy with the Trust XFF setting enabled, after the upgrade, the new XFF configuration setting is disabled. If you want the DoS profile to continue trusting XFF, navigate to screen, and enable the Accept XFF setting.
IP address whitelist
In version 11.2 we unified various whitelists for Policy Builder trusted IP addresses, and anomaly whitelists (DoS Attack Prevention, Brute Force Attack Prevention, and Web Scraping Detection) into a single list. When you upgrade, these separate lists are unified to a single whitelist (called the IP Address Exceptions List).
Security policy status after UCS installation
After you install a .ucs (user configuration set) file that was exported from version 10.1.0 or later, the system does not automatically apply changes that you made, but did not apply, to the security policies. The system enforces the web application according to the settings of the last set active security policy. However, the system preserves any changes to the current edited security policy, and marks the security policy as modified [M] if the changes have not been applied.
Running Application Security Manager on a vCMP system
If you are running Application Security Manager on a vCMP system: For best performance, F5 recommends configuring remote logging to store ASM logs remotely on Syslog servers rather than locally.
About changing the resource provisioning level of the Application Security Manager
After upgrading or installing a new version, before you can use the Application Security Manager, you must set the Application Security Manager resource provisioning level to Nominal. You can do this from the command line, or using the Configuration utility.
Setting the Application Security Manager resource provisioning level to Nominal from the command line
- Open the command-line interface utility.
- Type the command: tmsh modify sys provision asm level nominal
- Type the command: tmsh save sys config.
Setting the Application Security Manager resource provisioning level to Nominal using the Configuration utility
To prevent traffic from bypassing the Application Security Manager
Please read Solution 8018 (SOL8018) and Solution 12268 (SOL12268) on the AskF5 web site. These solutions contain important configuration information needed to prevent traffic from bypassing the Application Security Manager.
About working with device groups
When Application Security Manager (ASM) is provisioned, the datasync-global-dg device-group is automatically created (even if there are no device-groups on the unit) in any of the following scenarios:
- First provisioning of ASM on a device that has version 11.6.0, or later, installed.
- Adding a device (with version 11.6.0 or later) to a trust-domain that has another device which already has the datasync-global-dg device-group.
- Upgrading to version 11.6.0, or later, when ASM is already provisioned.
- Upgrading to version 11.6.0, or later, when the device is joined in a trust-domain that has another device which already has the datasync-global-dg device-group.
This device group is used to synchronize client-side scripts and cryptographic keys across all of the devices in the trust-domain.
Note the following:
- The synchronization is performed across the entire trust-domain, regardless of the configured device groups.
- The datasync-global-dg device group must not be removed; it is essential for consistency of client-side scripts and keys across the devices.
- This device group is created upon provisioning, even if the BIG-IP system is working as a standalone.
- All of the devices in the trust-domain are automatically added to this device group.
- This device group is manually synchronized. Therefore, when working with device groups (multiple devices in a trust-domain), customers must choose which device will hold the master scripts and keys. The rest of the devices receive these scripts and keys from the chosen device.
- This device group is also created on units that do not have ASM provisioned, but are in a trust-domain with other units which do have ASM provisioned.
Synchronizing the device group
Supported ICAP servers
For BIG-IP version 11.6.0, F5 Networks tested the anti-virus feature on the following ICAP servers: McAfee®, Trend Micro™, Symantec™, and Kaspersky. The following table displays which version of each anti-virus vendor was tested, and the value of the virus_header_name variable that needs to be adjusted in ASM for each tool. (You can set the virus_header_name variable: .)
Anti-Virus Vendor | Anti-Virus Version | Value of virus_header_name |
---|---|---|
McAfee® VirusScan Enterprise | 7.0 | X-Infection-Found, X-Virus-Name |
Trend Micro™ InterScan™ Web Security | 5.0.1013 | X-Virus-ID |
Symantec™ Protection Engine | 7.0.2.4 | X-Violations-Found |
Kaspersky Anti-Virus | 5.5 | X-Virus-ID |
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.
- The F5 Networks Technical Support web site: https://f5.com/support
- The AskF5 web site: https://support.f5.com/csp/home
- The F5 DevCentral web site: https://devcentral.f5.com/
- AskF5 Publication Preference Center: https://interact.f5.com/AskF5-SubscriptionCenter.html
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