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Manual Chapter : Device Discovery

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BIG-IQ Centralized Management

  • 4.6.0
Manual Chapter
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About device discovery and management

You use BIG-IQ® Device to centrally manage resources on BIG-IP® devices.

The first step to managing devices is making BIG-IQ Device aware of them through the discovery process. To discover a device, you provide BIG-IQ Device the device IP address, user name, and password. Alternatively, you can upload a CSV file to discover a large number of devices. When you discover a device you place it into a group. These groups help you organize devices with similar features, like those in a particular department or running a certain software version.

After you discover devices, you can view and export inventory details about those devices for easy asset management, and you can modify device configurations as required without having to log in to each device individually.

Discovering devices

Important: If the BIG-IP devices are running a version prior to 11.4, you must upgrade the legacy device.
Discovering BIG-IP devices is the first step to managing them.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with the administrator user name and password.
  2. Hover over the Devices header, click the + icon when it appears, and then select New Device.
    The Devices panel expands to show the New Device screen.
  3. In the User Name and Password fields, type the user name and password for the managed device.
  4. Click Save.
The BIG-IQ system populates the properties of the device that you added, and displays the device in the Devices panel and its configuration files display in the Configuration panel.

Discovering a device from the BIG-IQ inventory

If you have discovered a device for another BIG-IQ feature (such as ADC), you can select that device from the BIG-IQ inventory to manage it from BIG-IQ Device.
Discovering devices is the first step to managing them.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with the administrator user name and password.
  2. Hover over the Devices header, click the + icon when it appears, and then select New Device.
    The Devices panel expands to show the New Device screen.
  3. For Source, select BIG-IQ Inventory.
  4. From the Device Group, select a group to filter the available BIG-IP devices.
  5. Click the arrow next to the device you want to discover in the Available box to move it to the Include box.
  6. Click the Save button.
    The BIG-IQ system discovers the device and displays it in the Devices panel.

Discovering a large group of devices

After you license and perform the initial configuration for the BIG-IQ® system, you can discover BIG-IP® devices running version 11.4 or later. You can discover BIG-IQ devices from the management IP address or the self IP address. For proper communication, port 22 and 443 must be open on the IP address you use for discovery. If you do not specify the required network communication route between the devices, then device discovery fails. If you are logged in as a Device Manager role, you must first create a group before you can discover a device.

Before you discover a large group of devices, you must save the information in a .csv file in one of the following formats:

  • [address],[userName],[password],[automaticFrameworkUpdate?],[rootUser],[rootPassword], for example: 192.168.2.xxx,admin,password,true,root,password Use this option if you want BIG-IQ Device to automatically update the framework required to manage the devices.
  • [address],[userName],[password], for example: 192.168.2.xxx,admin,password
If you have a large number of devices to discover, discovering them in a group saves you a significant amount of time, because you are not required to provide the device identification details for each individual device. Instead, you can upload a CSV file that contains the IP address, user name, and password for the devices you want to discover.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Provisioning.
  3. Hover over the Devices header, click the + icon when it appears, and then select Import Devices.
  4. From the Group Name list select the group to which you want to add the imported devices.
  5. Click the Choose File button and select the CSV file to which you exported the device list.
    Alternatively, you can navigate to the CSV file on your computer and drag and drop it to the Import Devices screen.
  6. Click the Discover button to complete the discovery process.
    If there was a format error for the data in the .csv file, discovery fails and BIG-IQ Device returns an error.
The BIG-IQ system populates the properties of the device that you added, and displays the device in the Devices panel and its configuration files display in the Configuration panel.

Viewing and exporting device inventory details

You can view detailed data about the managed devices in your network. Information includes associated IP addresses, platform type, license details, software version, and so forth. In addition to viewing this information, you can also export it to a CSV file and edit the data as required to create reports for asset management.

  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. In the Devices panel, click the gear icon next to the device you want to view, and then select Properties.
    The panel expands to display device properties.

Modifying device configurations

You must first discover a device before you can modify its configuration.

Note: The BIG-IQ Device REST proxy is enabled by default to allow you to edit configurations. If you have disabled the REST proxy, re-enable it by clicking the gear icon for the Device, clicking Permissions, and selecting the Enable REST Proxy check box.
With BIG-IQ® Device, you can easily view and modify configuration details for a device from one central location. For example, after you discover several devices, you might want to review the network settings for those devices to ensure that they are correctly configured. To do this, you start by filtering objects. Filtering network objects by their associated devices helps you refine the view to show only those you want to see. You can then select the particular properties you want to modify. This centralized configuration management saves time, because you are not required to physically interface with individual devices in your network.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. To display only items associated with a specific object, hover over the object, click the gear icon, and then select Show Only Related Items.
    The screen refreshes to display only associated objects in each panel.
  3. To search for a specific object, in the Filter field at the top of the screen, type all or part of an object's name.
  4. Click the Apply button.
    The screen refreshes to display only the objects associated with the term you typed in the Filter field.
  5. To further refine the filter, type another term into the Filter field, and click the Apply button again.
  6. To remove a filter term, click the X icon next to it.
  7. Once you have located items associated for a particular configuration, click the gear icon next to the object you want to modify, and then click Properties.
  8. Modify the editable fields as required.
  9. Click the Save and Deploy button.
    Valid changes you make to this object become effective on the managed device immediately after you click the Save and Deploy button.
    If the changes you make are invalid, BIG-IQ Device displays an error and allows you to re-edit the property.
  10. To add a new object:
    1. Hover on the panel header and click the + sign when it appears.
      The + sign appears only if you are permitted to add that object.
    2. Specify the properties of the new object.
    3. Click the Add and Deploy button.

      Settings you specify for this object become effective on the managed device immediately after you click the Add and Deploy button.

  11. Click the Save button.

About managing BIG-IP devices in a device service clustering

Device service clustering, or DSC®, is an underlying architecture within BIG-IP® Traffic Management Operation System (TMOS®). DSC provides synchronization and failover of BIG-IP system configuration data at user-defined levels of granularity, among multiple BIG-IP devices on a network. When your network includes BIG-IP devices running version 11.4 and later that are configured in a DSC, BIG-IQ® Device populates the DSC Groups panel with the device's details when you discover those devices.

Note: For specific information about BIG-IP DSC groups, refer to the BIG-IP® Device Service Clustering: Administration guide.

Viewing properties and state of BIG-IP in a device service clustering

You must discover BIG-IP devices configured in a DSC before you can manage them from BIG-IQ Device. If you add a BIG-IP device to a DSC group after you discover it, you must hover on the Clusters header and click the refresh button when it appears. After you refresh the panel, BIG-IQ Device populates the panel with the BIG-IP devices you added to the DSC group.

BIG-IQ Device provides you a way to centrally view properties about BIG-IP devices configured in a cluster. These properties include sync and fail over settings and status, trust domain details, participating BIG-IP devices, and associated traffic groups. Viewing these properties from BIG-IQ Device eliminates the need for you to log on to each BIG-IP device in the cluster.

Important: BIG-IQ Device can discover only BIG-IP devices running version 11.5 or later when configured in a cluster.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Cluster Management.
  3. On the Clusters header, click the refresh button.
    Refreshing this panel ensures you have the most recent configuration for the devices in the DSC group.
  4. Click the gear icon next to the DSC group you want to view, and then click Properties.
    The panel expands to display the properties for this DSC.
  5. To validate the trust certificate associated with this DSC group, click the View Details button.
    A window opens to display the trust domain details.
  6. To view the devices included in this DSC, click Devices.
  7. To view the traffic groups associated with this DSC, click Traffic Groups.
  8. To close the panel, click the Close button.

Viewing and synchronizing configurations for BIG-IP devices in a DSC

You must discover BIG-IP devices configured in a DSC before you can manage them from BIG-IQ Device. If you add a BIG-IP device to a DSC group after you discover it, you must hover on the Clusters header and click the refresh button when it appears. After you refresh the panel, BIG-IQ Device populates the panel with the BIG-IP devices you added to the DSC group.

BIG-IQ Device provides you a way to view and synchronize configuration changes for BIG-IP devices in a DSC active-standby or active-active configuration. Synchronizing configurations from BIG-IQ Device eliminates the need for you to log on to each BIG-IP device in the DSC.

  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Cluster Management.
  3. On the Clusters header, click the refresh button.
    Refreshing this panel ensures you have the most recent configuration for the devices in the DSC group.
  4. Click the device for which you want to perform synchronization.
  5. For the Sync Option setting, select one of the following options:
    • Device to Group - Select this option to prompt BIG-IQ Device to push this device's configuration out to every other device in this DSC group. When you select this option, BIG-IQ Device warns you if the configuration on this device is not as current as the configuration on the rest of the DSC group devices.
    • Group to Device - Select this option you add a new BIG-IP device to the DSC group and you want BIG-IQ Device to pull the group's configuration and load it onto that new DSC group member. When you select this option, BIG-IQ Device warns you if the configuration on this device is more current than the configuration on the rest of the DSC group devices.
  6. Click the Sync button.
    If a BIG-IP device in a DSC configuration was detected in your network, but not discovered from BIG-IQ Device, it displays with the Sync button unavailable. You must discover BIG-IP devices in a DSC configuration from BIG-IQ Device before you can synchronize configurations.
  7. To close the panel, click the Close button.

About static and dynamic device groups

To help you manage a large number of BIG-IP® devices, you can organize them into groups. You can create two different types of device groups:

  • Static group
  • Dynamic group

A static group contains a specific set of devices. You may want to create a static group for devices hosting certain applications, in a certain geographical location, or running specific version of BIG-IP software. In contrast, a dynamic group is essentially a saved query on against a static group. For example, if you create a static group that contained all of your managed BIG-IP devices and you wanted to view only those devices running a specific version of software, you would create a dynamic group with that parameter.

If you delete a managed BIG-IP device from the static group, that change reflects in the dynamic group when you view it.

Creating static group of managed devices

You must license and discover BIG-IP® devices before you can place them into a group.

To help you manage a large number of devices, you can organize them into groups. For example, you could group devices by applications, geographical location, or department.

  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Configuration.
  3. Hover over the Devices header, click the + icon when it appears, and then select New Group.
  4. In the Display Name field, type the name you want to use to identify this group.
    This name is displayed in the Devices panel. You can change this name at any time, after you save this group.
  5. In the Description field, type a description for this group.
    For example, BIG-IP devices located in Seattle.
    You can change this name at any time, after you save this group.
  6. For the Group Type setting, select Static Group.
  7. From the Parent Group list, select the source for the group you are creating.
  8. Click Save.
The associated managed devices now display in the Device panel, within the group you created.
If you want to further filter specific devices from within this group, you can create a dynamic group.

Creating a dynamic group of managed devices

You must license, discover devices, and create a static group before you can create a dynamic group.

To filter a static group on specific parameters, you can create a dynamic group. For example, if you have a static group for all devices located in a particular city, you might want to view only those running a specific version of software.

  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Configuration.
  3. Hover over the Devices header, click the + icon when it appears, and then select New Group.
  4. In the Display Name field, type the name you want to use to identify this group.
    This name is displayed in the Devices panel. You can change this name at any time, after you save this group.
  5. In the Description field, type a description for this group.
    For example, BIG-IP devices located in Seattle.
    You can change this name at any time, after you save this group.
  6. For the Group Type setting, select Dynamic Group.
  7. For the Source Group setting, select the static group on which you want to query for results.
  8. In the Search Filter field, type a term on which you want to filter the group.
    You can filter on a single term or, if you want to filter on more than one parameter, use the standard Open Data Protocol (OData) format.
  9. Click Save.
This dynamic group displays in the Device panel as a child of the associated static group.
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