The BIG-IQ 7000 Series Platform

About BIG-IQ 7000 Series models

The BIG-IQ^® 7000 Series management appliance platform is a powerful system capable of managing F5^® devices for any size of enterprise.

Please see the data sheet at https://f5.com/products/platforms for more information.

About the platform

Before you install this platform, review information about the controls and ports located on both the front and back of the platform.

On the front of the platform, you can reset the unit using the LCD control buttons and view the indicator LEDs for disk drive access. You can also use the front-panel LEDs to assess the condition of the platform. On the back, you can power off the unit.

Front view of the platform

Hard drive bay 1
Hard drive bay 2
Management 10/100/1000 port
USB ports
Console serial port
Serial (hard-wired) failover port
10/100/1000 interfaces
1G/10G optical ports
Indicator LEDs
LCD display
LCD control buttons

The back of the platform includes two AC power supplies and the fan tray.

Back view of the platform

Fan tray
Power input panel 1 (power switch and power receptacle)
Power input panel 2 (power switch and power receptacle)
Chassis ground lug

Hardware included with the platform

This platform should include all of the hardware components listed here.

Quantity	Hardware
2	Power cables (black), AC power only Note: The power cables included with this unit are for exclusive use with this unit and should not be used with other electrical appliances.
2	DC terminal block plug, DC power option only
1	RJ45 to RJ45 failover cable, CAT 5 crossover (blue)
1	RJ45 to DB9 console port cable (beige)
1	RJ45F to RJ45M rolled adapter (beige)
1	Quick-install rail kit (left and right rails)
2	Front-mount brackets (left and right)
10	M4 screws
4	#10-32 pan head screws
1	Front bezel
2	SFP+ transceiver modules

Peripheral hardware requirements

For each platform, you might need to provide additional peripheral hardware. If you plan to remotely administer the system, it would be helpful to have a workstation already connected to the same subnet as the management interface.

Type of hardware	Description
Network hubs, switches, or connectors to connect to the platform network interfaces	You must provide networking devices that are compatible with the network interface cards that are installed in the platform. You can use either 10/100/1000/10000-Gigabit or 40-Gigabit Ethernet switches.
External USB CD/DVD drive or USB flash drive	You can use any USB-certified CD/DVD mass storage device or a USB flash drive for installing upgrades and for system recovery. Note: External CD/DVD drives must be externally powered.
Serial console	You can remotely manage the platform by connecting to a serial console terminal server through the console port. Important: In the event that network access is impaired or not yet configured, the serial console might be the only way to access the unit. You should perform all installations and upgrades using the serial console, as these procedures require reboots, in which network connectivity is lost temporarily.
Management workstation on the same IP network as the platform	You can use the default platform configuration if you have a management workstation set up.

LCD panel

The LCD panel provides the ability to manage the unit without attaching a console or network cable.

The LCD panel and control buttons

About the LCD menus

There are three menus on the LCD panel. You can configure the display options to meet your needs.

Options menu

You can use the Options menu to adjust the display properties of the LCD panel.

Option	Description
Heartbeat	Enables (checked) or disables (unchecked) the heartbeat panel on the LCD. This heartbeat does not affect the failover mechanism of the system.
Backlight	Specifies an LCD screen backlighting option. Select from these options: ON enables the backlight. GRAY enables the software to specify when the backlight is illuminated. OFF disables the backlight.
Contrast	Sets the contrast of the LCD.
On Brightness	Adjusts LCD backlight brightness.
Off Brightness	Controls the brightness of the LCD when the backlight is off.

System menu

You can use the System menu to view options for rebooting, halting, and netbooting the hardware. This menu also provides options for configuring the management interface.

Option	Description
DHCP	Controls the use of DHCP. Select from these options: disabled (default) enabled
Management	Changes the management interface information. Select from these options: Address Type indicates whether to use an IPv4 or IPv6 address. Mgmt IP sets the management interface IP address. You can use an IPv4 or IPv6 address. Prefix Length sets the length of the routing prefix for the IPv4 or IPv6 management IP address. Mgmt Gateway sets the default route for the management interface. This route is necessary if you plan to manage the unit from a different subnetwork. Commit saves your changes.
Serial Speed	Changes the baud rate of the management serial port. Select from these options: 9600 19200 (default) 57600 115200
Reboot	Reboots the unit.
Halt	Halts the unit.
Netboot	Boots the unit over an IP network. Select this option if you are installing software from a PXE server.

Screens menu

You can use the Screens menu to specify the information that is displayed on the default screens.

Option	Description
DateScreen	Displays the date and time.
InfoScreen	Displays the information screen.
RaidScreen	Displays the RAID status screen.
VersionScreen	Displays product version information.

Using the LCD panel

Put the LCD panel into Menu mode to manage the platform using the LCD menus and control buttons.

Press the X button to activate Menu mode for the LCD.

The Left Arrow, Right Arrow, Up Arrow, and Down Arrow buttons are functional only when the LCD is in Menu mode.

Pausing on a screen

Normally, the screens cycle on the LCD panel at a constant rate, but you can pause on a specific screen.

Push the Check button to toggle the LCD screen between Hold and Rotate modes.

In Hold mode, a single screen is displayed. The Rotate mode changes the screen displayed on the LCD every four seconds.

Powering on the unit

Use the LCD control buttons to power on the unit.

Press the Check button to power on a unit that is shut down.

Halting the unit

Use the LCD control buttons to halt the unit. You should halt the unit before you power it down or reboot it using the LCD menu options.

Press the X button, then use the arrow keys to navigate to the System menu.
Press the Check button.
Navigate to the Halt menu.
Press the Check button.
Press the Check button again at the confirmation screen.
Wait 30 seconds before powering the machine off or rebooting it.

Putting the unit in standby mode

Use the LCD control buttons to put the unit into standby mode.

Hold the X button for four seconds to put the unit in standby mode and power off the host subsystem.

F5^® recommends that you halt the system before you power off the system in this manner.

Resetting the unit

Use the LCD control buttons to reset the unit.

Hold the Check button for four seconds to reset the unit.

You should only use this option after you halt the unit.

Clearing alerts

Use the LCD control buttons to clear alerts from the LCD screen.

Press the Check button to clear any alerts on the LCD screen.

You must clear any alerts on the screen before you can use the LCD panel.

Indicator LEDs

The behavior of each LED indicates the status of the system.

Status LED

The status LED indicate the operating state of the system.

State	Description
off/none	System is halted and powered down.
green solid	System is running in normal mode. Also indicates that the system is in an Active state of a device group.
yellow solid	System is running in an impaired mode. The condition is not considered to be significant enough to be considered an alarm condition.
yellow blinking (with traffic)	The system is not under host computer control. This might be due to the host being halted or in EUD mode, or due to a software or hardware problem that interferes with the host's control of the LED.

Alarm LED

The alarm LED indicate system alarm conditions and the severity of the alarm condition.

There are five levels of messages.

Note: The alarm LED might continue to display until alerts are cleared using the LCD panel.

State	Description
off/none	Informational or no alarm conditions present. System is operating properly.
yellow solid	Warning (0). System may not be operating properly, but the condition is not severe or potentially damaging.
yellow blinking	Error (1). System is not operating properly, but the condition is not severe or potentially damaging.
red solid	Alert (2) or Critical (3). System is not operating properly, and the condition is potentially damaging.
red blinking	Emergency (4). System is not operating, and the condition is potentially damaging.

Power supply LEDs

The power supply LEDs indicate the operating state of the power supplies.

Power 1 state	Power 2 state	Description
green solid	green solid	Power supply is present and operating properly. Also indicates when the system in is power standby mode.
yellow solid	yellow solid	Power supply is present, but not operating properly.
off/none	off/none	No power supply present.

Indicator LED behavior

The indicator LEDs behave in a specific manner to indicate system or component status.

Behavior	Description
off (none)	LED is not lit and does not display any color.
solid	LED is lit and does not blink.
blinking	LED turns on and off at a regular frequency.
intermittent	LED turns on and off with an irregular frequency and might sometimes appear solid.

Platform interfaces

Every platform includes multiple interfaces. The exact number of interfaces that are on the system depends on the platform type.

Each interface on the platform has a set of properties that you can configure, such as enabling or disabling the interface, setting the requested media type and duplex mode, and configuring flow control.

About managing interfaces

You can use the Traffic Management Shell (tmsh) or the BIG-IP^® Configuration utility to manage platform interfaces.

Viewing the status of a specific interface using tmsh

You can use tmsh to view the status of a specific interface on a platform.

Open the Traffic Management Shell (tmsh).
tmsh
Change to the network module.
net

The system prompt updates with the module name: user@bigiq01(Active)(/Common)(tmos.net)#

Display the current status of a specific interface.

show interface <interface_key>

This is an example of the output that you might see when you run this command on interface 1.1:

                                 
-------------------------------------------------------------
Net::Interface
Name  Status  Bits  Bits  Pkts  Pkts  Drops  Errs       Media
                In   Out    In   Out
-------------------------------------------------------------
1.1       up  5.9T     0  7.3G     0   7.3G     0  10000SR-FD

Viewing the status of all interfaces using tmsh

You can use tmsh to view the status of all interfaces on the platform.

Open the Traffic Management Shell (tmsh).
tmsh
Change to the network module.
net

The system prompt updates with the module name: user@bigiq01(Active)(/Common)(tmos.net)#

Display the current status of all interfaces.

show interface

This is an example of the output that you might see when you run this command:

                                 
----------------------------------------------------------------
Net::Interface
Name  Status    Bits  Bits   Pkts  Pkts  Drops  Errs       Media
                  In   Out     In   Out
----------------------------------------------------------------
1.1       up    5.9T     0   7.3G     0   7.3G     0  10000SR-FD
1.2     miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.3     miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.4     miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.5     miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.6     miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.7     miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.8     miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.9     miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.10    miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.11    miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.12    miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.13    miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.14    miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.15    miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.16    miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.17  uninit       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.18  uninit       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.19  uninit       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.20  uninit       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.21  uninit       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.22  uninit       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.23  uninit       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
1.24  uninit       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
2.1   uninit       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
2.2   uninit       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
2.3   uninit       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
2.4   uninit       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
2.5     miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
2.6     miss       0     0      0     0      0     0        none
mgmt      up  182.1G  6.8G  41.2M  6.0M      0     0    1000T-FD

Viewing the status of all interfaces using the Configuration utility

You can use the BIG-IP^® Configuration utility to view the status of all interfaces on the platform.

On the Main tab, click Network > Interfaces > Interface List .
This displays the list of available interfaces.
On the menu bar, click Statistics.
The Statistics screen for all interfaces opens.

About interface media type and duplex mode

All interfaces on the system default to auto-negotiate speed and full duplex settings. We recommend that you also configure any network equipment that you plan to use with the system to auto-negotiate speed and duplex settings. If you connect the system to network devices with forced speed and duplex settings, you must force the speed and duplex settings of the system to match the settings of the other network device.

Important: If the system is attempting to auto-negotiate interface settings with an interface that has the speed and duplex settings forced (that is, auto-negotiation is disabled), you will experience severe performance degradation. This applies to 10GbE and 40GbE interfaces.

By default, the media type on interfaces is set to automatically detect speed and duplex settings, but you can specify a media type as well. Use the following syntax to set the media type:

                        
tmsh modify net interface <interface_key> media <media_type> | auto

If the media type does not accept the duplex mode setting, a message appears. If media type is set to auto, or if the interface does not accept the duplex mode setting, the duplex setting is not saved to the /config/bigip_base.conf file.

Important: Auto-MDI/MDIX functionality is retained when you manually configure an interface to use specific speed and duplex settings. You can use either a straight-through cable or a crossover cable when media settings are forced, and you will be able to successfully link to either DTE or DCE devices.

Valid media types

This table lists the valid media types for the tmsh interface command.

Note: This platform might not support all of the media type options that are available in the Traffic Management Shell (tmsh).

10BaseT half	100BaseTX full
10BaseT full	1000BaseLX full
10GBaseER full	1000BaseCX full
10GBaseLR full	1000BaseT half
10GBaseSR full	1000BaseT full
10GBaseT full	1000BaseSX full
10SFP+Cu full	auto
40GBaseSR4 full	none
40GBaseLR4 full	no-phy
100BaseTX half

Viewing valid media types for an interface

You can use tmsh to view the valid media types for an interface.

Note: This platform might not support all of the media type options that are available in tmsh.

Open the Traffic Management Shell (tmsh).
tmsh
Change to the network module.
net

The system prompt updates with the module name: user@bigiq01(Active)(/Common)(tmos.net)#
Display the valid media types for a specific interface.
list interface <interface_key> media-capabilities

Important: In all Gigabit Ethernet modes, the only valid duplex mode is full duplex.
This is an example of the output that you might see when you run this command on interface 1.3:
```
net interface 1.3 {
    media-capabilities {
        none
        auto
        10T-FD
        10T-HD
        100TX-FD
        100TX-HD
        1000T-FD
        1000T-HD
    }
}
```

Network interface LED behavior

The appearance and behavior of the network interface LEDs on the platform indicate network traffic activity, interface speed, and interface duplexity.

RJ45 Copper interface LED behavior

The appearance and behavior of the RJ45 network interface LEDs indicate network traffic activity, interface speed, and interface duplexity.

Link	Speed LED	Activity LED
No Link/Idle	Not lit	Not lit
10Mbit/s, half duplex	Yellow blinking (with traffic)	Yellow blinking (with traffic)
10Mbit/s, full duplex	Yellow blinking (with traffic)	Green blinking (with traffic)
100Mbit/s, half duplex	Yellow solid	Yellow blinking (with traffic)
100Mbit/s, full duplex	Yellow solid	Green blinking (with traffic)
1Gbit/s, half duplex	Green solid	Yellow blinking (with traffic)
1Gbit/s, full duplex	Green solid	Green blinking (with traffic)

SFP+ port LED behavior

The appearance and behavior of the SFP+ optic interface LEDs indicate network traffic activity, interface speed, and interface duplexity.

Link	Speed LED	Activity LED
No link/Idle	Not lit	Not lit
1 Gbit/s, full duplex	Yellow solid	Green blinking (with traffic)
10 Gbit/s, full duplex	Green solid	Green blinking (with traffic)
40 Gbit/s, full duplex Note: Applies only to bundled 10GbE interfaces.	Green solid	Green blinking (with traffic)

Transceiver module specifications

For current specification information for optical transceivers that are supported by this platform, see F5^® Platforms: Accessories.

Cable pinout specifications

For current pinout information for this platform, see F5^® Platforms: Accessories.

Always-On Management

The Always-On Management (AOM) subsystem enables you to manage the system remotely using serial console or SSH, even if the host is powered down. The AOM Command Menu operates independently of the Traffic Management Operating System^® (TMOS^®).

You can use the command menu to reset the unit if TMOS has locked up, or get access to TMOS directly, so that you can configure it from the command-line interface.

Note: The available functionality and options in AOM vary depending on the platform type.

AOM Command Menu options

The AOM Command Menu provides the AOM options for the platform. You can access the AOM Command Menu using either a serial console or SSH.

Note: The availability of menu options varies depending on the platform type.

Letter	Option	Description
B	Set console baud rate	Configures the baud speed for connecting to AOM using the serial console. Select from these options: 9600 19200 (default) 38400 57600 115200
I	Display platform information	Displays information about the AOM firmware and bootloader, chassis serial and part numbers, blade serial number, MAC address, and power status for the active console.
P	Power on/off host subsystem	Powers the host subsystem on or off.
R	Reset host subsystem	Resets the host subsystem with a hardware reset. Important: F5 Networks does not recommend using this option under typical circumstances. It does not allow for graceful shutdown of the system.
N	Configure AOM network	Runs the AOM network configuration utility. This utility enables you to reconfigure the IP address, netmask, and default gateway used by AOM. If you use this option while connected using SSH, your session will be disconnected as a part of the network configuration operation. Note: This option is not available when you are connected using SSH.
S	Configure SSH Server	Sets a session idle timeout (in seconds) for the AOM SSH server. Available values are 0 (no timeout; default value), or between 30 and 86400 (one day).
A	Reset AOM	Resets the AOM subsystem. In this case, the system is reset with a hardware reset. Important: We do not recommend using this option under normal circumstances. It does not allow for graceful shutdown of the system.
H	Host Console Capture Buffer	Buffers the last 4K bytes of console output from the host and saves it to a non-volatile storage location. Important: This option is hidden and disabled by default. It is intended to be used as a diagnostic tool by F5 technical support. When this option is enabled, then disabled, the buffer is cleared.
E	Display error report	Displays a list of latched events/errors or out-of-range sensors.
Q	Quit menu and return to console	Exits the AOM Command Menu and returns to terminal emulation mode.

Accessing the AOM Command Menu from the serial console

You can access the AOM Command Menu using the front panel serial console.

Connect to the system using the serial console.
Open the AOM Command Menu.
Esc (

Configuring the management network

You can assign a management IP address, netmask, and gateway to access AOM either manually or with DHCP.

Connect to the system using the serial console.
Open the AOM Command Menu.
Esc (
Type n to open the AOM management network configurator.
Assign a management IP address, netmask, and gateway:
- To use DHCP to assign the addresses, type y when prompted about using DHCP.
- To manually assign the addresses, type n when prompted about using DHCP. At the prompts, type values for IP address (required), netmask (required), and gateway (optional).
A confirmation message displays the configured management IP address, netmask, and gateway.
Optional: Type i to verify the assigned addresses.

Accessing the AOM Command Menu using SSH

Before you access the AOM Command Menu using SSH, you must assign a management IP address, netmask, and gateway for AOM. You can assign the addresses manually or with DHCP.

You can access the AOM Command Menu remotely using SSH from a management workstation that is connected to the same subnet as the platform's management (MGMT) interface.

Note: On this platform, AOM allows only one SSH connection at a time.

Open an SSH session, where <ip addr> is the IP address that you configured for AOM.
ssh root@<ip addr>
Type the root password.
Open the AOM Command Menu.
Esc (

Setting an SSH idle session timeout

You can specify a timeout value (in seconds) for idle AOM SSH sessions. You can access the AOM Command Menu using either a serial console or SSH.

Connect to the system using the serial console.
Open the AOM Command Menu.
Esc (
Type s to configure a timeout value for idle SSH sessions.
Type a timeout value.
The default value is 0 (no timeout). Available values are 0, or between 30 and 86400 (one day).

Disabling network configuration

You can connect to the system's serial console to disable SSH access to AOM over the network. This does not affect console access to AOM.

Connect to the system using the serial console.
Open the AOM Command Menu.
Esc (
Type n to open the AOM management network configurator.
Type n when prompted about using DHCP.
Type 0.0.0.0 at the IP address prompt.
A confirmation message displays the configured management IP address, netmask, and gateway.
Optional: Type i to verify that network configuration is disabled.

About the host console capture buffer

When enabled, the host console capture buffer (H) option in the AOM Command Menu buffers the last 4K bytes of console output from the host and saves it to a non-volatile storage location.

Important: This option is intended to be used as a diagnostic tool by F5^® Technical Support.

Enabling the host console capture buffer

Connect to the system using the serial console or by opening an SSH session to the AOM management IP address.
Open the AOM Command Menu.
Esc (
Enable the host console capture buffer (H) option.
Esc h
When prompted to confirm, type y.
This message displays: Host console capture buffer enabled.

The host console capture buffer (H) option now displays in the AOM Command Menu.

Showing the host console capture buffer

Connect to the system using the serial console or by opening an SSH session to the AOM management IP address.
Open the AOM Command Menu.
Esc (
Type h to select the host console capture buffer option.
This message displays: The host console capture buffer is actively capturing.
Type s to show the contents of the buffer.

Disabling the host console capture buffer

When you no longer require use of the host console capture buffer, you can disable it.

Connect to the system using the serial console or by opening an SSH session to the AOM management IP address.
Open the AOM Command Menu.
Esc (
Type h to select the host console capture buffer option.
This message displays: The host console capture buffer is actively capturing.
Type d to disable the host console capture buffer.
When prompted to confirm, type y.
This message displays: Host console capture buffer disabled.

The buffer is cleared, and the host console capture buffer (H) option no longer displays in the AOM Command Menu.

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Applies To:

BIG-IQ ADC

BIG-IQ Cloud

BIG-IQ Device

BIG-IQ Security

BIG-IQ Centralized Management