You can create an application template in BIG-IQ^® Centralized Management and then use that template to deploy applications to your managed devices.

An application template is a collection of objects and default parameter settings that you define. After you define the objects and default values for an application template, you use that template to create an application. When you create the application you decide which objects to include and which settings to revise. Finally, you can deploy the collection of objects in that template to any devices you manage.

You can think of the objects in an application template as a baseline for creating a new application. For example, if you create a template with a virtual server, two pools, and 5 nodes, then when you create a new application using that template each of those objects (with the default values you specified in the template) are included. When you define the application, you can omit or include these objects. Parameters you define as not visible are included using the default values specified in the application template. This allows you to maintain a consistent environment. Parameters that you define as editable are visible and can be revised.

Consider the following example. You want to standardize your HTTPS application to use a virtual server, a client SSL profile, a pool and a node. There are default values that you always want to use for some of these objects and there are values that will change from one application to the next. You create an application template that includes each of these objects. You define the parameters that have fixed default values as not editable, and the parameters that can change for each application as editable. Then when someone uses your template to create an application, all they need to do is provide the editable values (virtual server address, number of nodes and their addresses, and so forth) and then deploy the application. When you deploy the application, it will create just the right objects and settings. The workflow is illustrated in the following diagram:

Application template workflow

1. At the top of the screen, click Application and then, on the left, click Service Catalog .
   The screen displays the list of service catalog templates defined on this device.
2. Click Create.
   The Create Template screen opens.
3. In the Name field, type a name for the application template you are creating.
4. In the Description field, type a brief description for the application template you are creating to help identify it when you want to use it later.
   After you define the name and (optional) description, you can define the default objects for this template immediately, or you can save the template and define the default objects later. In this workflow, we will continue on, defining the values now. You can either create these objects manually, or you can import objects that already exist on this BIG-IQ system.
5. On the left, under Properties, expand Local Traffic and then select the object type you want to define.
   For example, to add a default virtual server, you would expand Local Traffic, and then click Virtual Servers.
6. Click Create.
   The screen you use to define the selected object type (for example New Virtual Server) displays.
7. In the Prompt box, type the text string that you want to display for this object when someone uses this template to create a new application.
8. If you want applications created with this template to be able to include more than one copy of the object you adding, select Enabled for Allow Multiple Instances.
9. Specify all of the default parameters that you want to define for this object.
   Before you can add an object to the template, you must specify at least the required parameters for that object type. For example, to add a virtual server, you must provide a name, a destination address, and a service port; all other settings are optional.
10. For each parameter that you specify, determine whether you want the person who deploys an application using this template to be able to edit the default settings you are defining. For parameters that you want to allow to be changed, select Editable. Other parameters will be present (with the settings that you specify here), but they will not be visible in the user interface.
    Only the parameters you select will appear in the user interface when someone deploys an application using this template.
11. As you specify parameter values for this template object, you can click Preview in the upper right corner to see what the user interface will look like when someone uses this template to deploy an application.
    Note: For detailed information on which parameter settings to specify for particular use cases, refer to the BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager: Implementations on support.F5.com.
12. When you finish specifying parameters for this object, click Save & Close.
    BIG-IQ adds the object you defined to the list of objects in this template. When you finish adding an object to a template, you can use it to create an application.
13. If you want to add additional objects to this template, repeat the last eight steps for each of the objects that you want to add to this template.
    Once you specify the name and description BIG-IQ creates the template. So when you specify additional objects, you are actually editing the newly created template.

1. At the top of the screen, click Application and then, on the left, click Service Catalog .
   The screen displays the list of service catalog templates defined on this device.
2. Click Create.
   The Create Template screen opens.
3. In the Name field, type a name for the application template you are creating.
4. In the Description field, type a brief description for the application template you are creating to help identify it when you want to use it later.
   After you define the name and (optional) description, you can define the default objects for this template immediately, or you can save the template and define the default objects later. In this workflow, we will continue on, defining the values now. You can either create these objects manually, or you can import objects that already exist on this BIG-IQ system.
5. On the left, under Properties, expand Local Traffic and then select the first object type you want to define.
   For example, to import a default virtual server, you would expand Local Traffic, and then click Virtual Servers.
6. Click Import.
   The Import Resources screen displays. The top half of the screen displays resources selected for import. The bottom half provides controls for selecting objects to import to this template.
7. From the Select Object Type box, select the type of object you want to import.
   Objects of the type you selected that are currently defined on this BIG-IQ display just below the select box.
8. Select the check box for each object that you want to import.
   The lower right part of the screen displays preview information for the selected object. If you select multiple objects, the most recently selected item is previewed.
9. When you have selected all of the objects that you want for a particular type, click Add Selected.
   The selected objects are added to the list of objects to be imported.
10. Repeat the last three steps for each of the default object types that you want to import to this template.
11. When you have assembled all of the objects you want to import to this template, click Import.
    Note: When you import an object created outside of the service template user interface into a service template, only the object name is set to be editable (and visible when someone uses this template to create a new application). For example, if a virtual server named SeattleServer is created on one of the BIG-IP devices a BIG-IQ manages, that virtual server is imported to the BIG-IQ when you discover and import that device. You can then import SeattleServer into a service template, but only the name (SeattleServer) appears when that template is used to create an application. You can edit the visibility setting on the Edit Template screen for the imported object.
    BIG-IQ adds the imported objects to the application template. Objects that are set to be editable will display when someone uses this template to create a new application.
12. If you want to edit any of the parameters for the objects you imported, click the name of the object to access the edit screen for that object.
    When you save the changes for an object, the revisions you made become part of the template and you can use it to create a new application that deploys to your BIG-IP devices.

1. At the top of the screen, click Application and then, on the left, click Service Catalog .
   The screen displays the list of service catalog templates defined on this device.
2. Click the name of the application template that you want to edit.
   The properties tab displays the name and description for the selected template.
3. On the left, under Properties, expand Local Traffic and then select the object type you want to edit.
   For example, to edit the list of virtual servers, you would expand Local Traffic, and then click Virtual Servers.
   The list of objects of the selected type defined for this application template displays. You can now either edit the settings for this template either manually or by importing existing objects.
4. Make the revisions you want to make for this template. You can edit the settings for this template either manually or by importing existing objects.
   • For details on making manual revisions, refer to Create an application template by manually specifying LTM objects
   • For details on importing template objects, refer to Create an application template by importing existing LTM objects
5. When your edits are complete, click Save & Close.
   The system updates the template with the settings you specified.