Manual Chapter :
Getting Started with BIG-IQ Virtual Edition
Applies To:
Show Versions
BIG-IQ Cloud
- 4.2.0
BIG-IQ Device
- 4.2.0
BIG-IQ Security
- 4.2.0
What is BIG-IQ Virtual Edition?
BIG-IQ Virtual Edition (VE) is a version of the BIG-IQ system that runs as a guest in specifically-supported hypervisors. BIG-IQ VE emulates a hardware-based BIG-IQ system running a VE-compatible version of BIG-IQ software.
Note: The BIG-IQ VE product license determines the maximum allowed throughput rate. To
view this rate limit, you can display the BIG-IQ VE licensing page within the BIG-IQ
Configuration utility. Lab editions have no guarantee of throughput rate and are not supported
for production environments.
About BIG-IQ VE compatibility with EC2 hypervisor products
BIG-IQ VE is compatible with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2 hypervisors. This guide documents the AWS interface as it exists just prior to the version 11.3.0 BIG-IP software release.
Important: Hypervisors other than those identified in this guide are not
supported with this BIG-IQ version; any installation attempts on unsupported platforms
might not be successful.
About the hypervisor guest definition requirements
The EC2 virtual machine guest environment for the BIG-IQ Virtual Edition (VE), at minimum, must include:
- a 64 bit EC2 instance with at least 2 virtual cores (up to 16 are supported in this release)
- at least 4 GB RAM (64GB has been tested, F5 Networks recommends at least 2GB per virtual core)
- 2 x virtual network adapter cards (NICs) (up to 9 are supported)
Important: F5 Networks recommends three or more network adapters for most topologies, but the minimum requirement is two (one for management and one for traffic).Important: To support multiple NICs on an Amazon Web Services you must create a virtual private cloud (VPC).
- 1 x virtual private cloud (VPC).
Important: Not supplying at least the minimum virtual configuration limits will
produce unexpected results.
Important: There is no longer any limitation on the maximum amount of RAM supported
on the hypervisor guest.
Note: Currently, these requirements map to what Amazon
designates as an M1 Large instance. Refer to
http://docs.amazonwebservices.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/instance-types.html#AvailableIpPerENI
for their most current definition.
