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  5. Deploying BIG-IQ Virtual Edition
Manual Chapter : Deploying BIG-IQ Virtual Edition

Applies To:

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BIG-IQ Centralized Management

  • 5.1.0, 5.0.0
Manual Chapter
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About VE vCloud Director deployment

To deploy the BIG-IQ® Virtual Edition (VE) system on vCloud Director, you perform these tasks:

  • Verify the host machine requirements.
  • Deploy a BIG-IQ® system as a virtual machine.
  • Deploy a BIG-IP® system.
  • After you have deployed the virtual machines, log in to the BIG-IQ VE system and run the Setup utility. Using the Setup utility, you perform basic network configuration tasks, such as assigning VLANs to interfaces.
  • Configure secure communication between the BIG-IQ system and the BIG-IP device.

Host machine requirements and recommendations

To successfully deploy and run the BIG-IQ® VE system, the host system must satisfy minimum requirements.

The host system must include these elements:

  • VMware vCloud Director. The BIG-IQ Virtual Edition and Supported Hypervisors Matrix, published on the AskF5™ web site, http://support.f5.com identifies the versions that are supported.
  • VMware vSphere™ client

Deploying the BIG-IQ VE virtual machine

The first step in deploying BIG-IQ® Virtual Edition (VE) is to download the compressed OVF file to your local system. Next, you can run the Deploy OVF Template wizard from within the vCloud Director vSphere client. Follow the steps in this procedure to create an instance of the BIG-IQ system that runs as a virtual machine on the host system.

Important: Do not modify the configuration of the vCloud Director guest environment with settings less powerful than the ones recommended in this document. This includes the settings for the CPU, RAM, and network adapters. Doing so might produce unexpected results.
Note: The following procedures are a suggested guideline. F5 Networks® recommends that you consult vCloud Director documentation for template creation as the steps might differ with your organization's vCloud Director deployment.
  1. In a browser, open the F5 Downloads page (https://downloads.f5.com).
  2. On the Downloads Overview page, select Find a Download.
  3. Under Product Line, select Centralized Management.
  4. Under Name, select the release you want to install.
  5. If the End User Software License is displayed, read it and then click I Accept.
  6. Determine which BIG-IQ v5.x/Virtual Edition file package to download.
    • If you are installing a BIG-IQ, download the file name that ends in .vCloud.zip
    • If you are installing a Logging Node, download the file name that ends in LARGE.vCloud.zip

    The BIG-IQ file package creates a 95GB disk footprint at installation.

    The Logging Node file package creates a 500GB disk footprint at installation.

  7. Extract the file from the Zip archive.
  8. Start the vCloud Director vSphere web-based client and log in.
  9. Click Catalogs > My Organization's Catalogs and on the vApp Templates tab, click Upload.
  10. Browse for and select the extracted .ovf file, type a name for the template, and click Upload.
  11. Type a name and optional description for the vApp template.
  12. Select a virtual data center and catalog.
  13. Click Upload.
    If you want to track the progress, you can click Launch Uploads and Downloads Progress Window.
  14. Click My Cloud > vApps .
  15. Click Add vApp from Catalog.
    The add vApp from Catalog window opens.
  16. Select My organization's catalogs or Public catalogs from the list, select a vApp template, and click Next.
    You can also enter an optional description for the vApp.
  17. Read and accept the license agreement, and click Next.
    The Name and Location pane opens.
  18. Under Configure Virtual Machines, specify the full name and computer name for the vApp, and configure the network settings.
    1. Select the network for NIC0 from the list of networks.
      This network is used to manage the VE system. The Select IP Assignment – Static settings have no effect, so you should configure IP address for management interface through the console after the VM starts. When using DHCP, you should have a DHCP server on that network.
    2. Select the networks for NIC1, NIC2, and NIC3.
    3. Click Next.
  19. Configure organizational settings, such as Fence vApp and IP persistence for example, and click Next.
  20. Verify the settings and click Finish to start deployment.

Power on the BIG-IQ VE virtual machine

Power on the virtual machine so that you can begin assigning IP addresses.
  1. In the vCloud Director web interface, click My Cloud > vApps .
  2. Select the vApp to power on.
  3. Click Start.
    The virtual machine starts.

There are two default accounts used for initial configuration and setup:

  • The root account provides access locally, or using SSH, or using the F5 Configuration utility. The root account password is default.
  • The admin account provides access through the web interface. The admin account password is admin.

You should change passwords for both accounts before bringing a system into production.

Accessing the BIG-IQ VE management user interface

If your network has DHCP, an IP address is automatically assigned to BIG-IQ® VE during deployment. You can use this address to access the BIG-IQVE user interface or tmsh command-line utility.

If no IP address was assigned, you can assign one by using the BIG-IQConfiguration utility.

Important: Do not use VMware tools to configure the IP address; the BIG-IQ system will not use these changes.
  1. In the vSphere client, click Launch Virtual Machine Console.
    The console screen opens. After a few seconds, a login prompt appears.
  2. At the password prompt, type default.
  3. Type config and press Enter.
    The F5 Management Port Setup screen opens.
  4. Click OK.
  5. If you want DHCP to automatically assign an address for the management port, select Yes. Otherwise, select No and follow the instructions for manually assigning an IP address and netmask for the management port.

You can use a hypervisor generic statement, such as tmsh list sys management-ip to confirm that the management IP address has been properly assigned.

You can now log into the BIG-IQ VE user interface, and license and provision BIG-IQ VE.
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