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Release Notes : F5 DDoS Hybrid Defender 13.1.0.3-3.1

Applies To:

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F5 DDoS Hybrid Defender

  • 13.1.0
Release Notes
Original Publication Date: 09/11/2018 Updated Date: 12/09/2021

Summary:

This release note documents the 13.1.0.3 v3.1.334 release of F5 DDoS Hybrid Defender.

Contents:

Platform support

This version of F5 DDoS Hybrid Defender runs on the following platforms.

Platform name Platform ID
VIPRION 4000 Series
  • F5-VPR-DDOS-B4450N
  • F5-VPR-DDOS-C4800-DCN
  • F5-VPR-DDOS-C4800-AC
  • F5-VPR-DDOS-C4480-DCN
  • F5-VPR-DDOS-C4480-AC
 J102*
  • A114
  • S101
  • C115
  • J103
  • J102
High-performance VE – F5-BIG-DDOS-VE-0-8-V16 Z100
Tip: * Includes virtual wire configuration.

DDoS Hybrid Defender requires the appropriate DDoS license. It enables one module flag mod_dos. That is the only module that can be active on the system.

Browser support

DDoS Hybrid Defender supports these browsers and versions:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 11.x
  • Mozilla Firefox v40, or later
  • Google Chrome v44, or later

User documentation for this release

For installation and setup instructions, refer to F5 DDoS Hybrid Defender: Setup. You can find this, and additional documentation that is relevant to this release, in the F5 DDoS Hybrid Defender 13.1.0 Knowledge Center.

New in 13.1.0

F5 DDoS Hybrid Defender

This release introduces a new version of DDoS Hybrid Defender, a hybrid DDoS solution that offers comprehensive protection, high availability, and is easy to deploy and manage. It guards against aggressive volumetric and targeted DDoS attacks, includes hardware-assisted DDoS mitigation, and optionally, connects with Silverline, a cloud-based scrubbing service. DDoS Hybrid Defender defends the application infrastructure with a multi-layered defense that combines DDoS protection for Layer 3 and Layer 7, hardware-accelerated DDoS attack mitigation (with TurboFlex features), and SSL decryption capabilities.

Additional Platform Support

The 13.1.0.3 release includes support for several new platforms, listed in the Platform support section.

DoS Protection Enhancements

Several enhancements improve DoS protection in DDoS Hybrid Defender. More vectors can be configured so that the system automatically determines appropriate threshold values (Fully Automatic). A partially automatic setting also lets you manually set threshold values, yet let the system perform mitigation as needed (Manual Detection/Auto Mitigation). You can disable DoS vectors globally if they are not relevant for your network configuration. Additional internal enhancements improve the effectiveness of DoS protection in both hardware and software.

Virtual Wire Deployment

You can install DDoS Hybrid Defender is using a simple virtual wire deployment, where minimal configuration is needed. The virtual wire allows seamless integration into the network yet still provides full DoS protection.

DNS Behavioral

You can set up the system to use behavioral analysis and machine learning of traffic flows to automatically discover and mitigate DoS attacks on DNS servers and ICMP protocol.

VLANs and Scrubbing

You can now specify which VLANs to include or exclude for scrubbing.

Fixed in 13.1.0-3.1.334

ID Number Description
738324 In the past, the Network Configuration screen became unresponsive in certain situations when updating the network configuration. F5 has resolved the issue that caused the problem.

Known issues

The following known issues apply to the current release of DDoS Hybrid Defender.

ID number Description
599520 If the Help tab in the left pane is open when you edit a protected object, the help does not display.

Workaround: Click the Main tab, then return to the Help tab to display the help.
600028 When configuring Bad Actor Detection in Device Configuration, the number of packets per second (PPS) is per core (TMM).

Workaround: When specifying PPS for system-wide Bad Actor Detection, multiply by the number of cores (TMMs) on your system.
600031 Hardware accelerated DoS protection drops packets based only on source IP address. A sampling of packets is "leaked" to the DoS software to provide visibility for logging and reporting. For this reason, the system provides the total packets dropped based on source IP address.
600039 The Detection Threshold setting for a DoS attack is per core (TMM), not per device. Since the system has multiple cores (TMMs), the total traffic may be greater than the configured threshold if each core (TMM) sees traffic below the threshold. In this case, the attack is not detected.

Set a configured value reflecting the overall total required value divided by the number of cores (TMMs). The number of cores (TMMs) varies by platform. For example, for VE, there are two, by default. The 5250 platform has 8 cores (TMMs). Note that if traffic is unevenly distributed, one core (TMM) may reach the detection threshold while the other cores (TMMs) are still relatively idle. As a result, the device may detect an attack while processing traffic at fairly low levels overall.
611752 The maximum number of protected objects that you can create on DDoS Hybrid Defender is 40.

Workaround: If you need support for creating more than that, follow these steps:

  1. After installing DDoS Hybrid Defender, log in to the device console.
  2. Execute the command tmsh modify sys db provision.extramb value 2048. This causes some daemons to restart. Wait 2-3 minutes for the daemons to restart.
  3. Execute the command tmsh modify sys db restjavad.useextramb value true.
  4. Edit the /etc/rest.storage.BIG-IP.conf file and change 10M to 100M.
  5. Run the command bigstart restart restjavad.
You can then create up to 200 protected objects.
622838 DDoS Hybrid Defender does not support deleting the high availability configuration. Call F5 Support if you need to unconfigure high availability.
624614 If you attempt to delete more than 10 protected objects at once, DDoS Hybrid Defender may not complete the deletion process successfully. Therefore, F5 recommends deleting fewer than 10 protected objects at a time. Otherwise, if you need to clean up configuration objects left-over from deleting more than 10, F5 support can help you resolve configuration inconsistencies.
626578 If the connection to Silverline does not succeed when the configuration is entered for the first time, the Silverline configuration may have been lost. Workaround: Click the Silverline tab and re-enter the configuration data.
638708 For a Protected Object, when updating the Maximum Bandwidth to Infinite and Scrubbing Threshold to Absolute (Enable External Redirection), the update fails with the following error message: Following Errors were found transaction failed:01071b08:3: Scrubber percentage threshold property requires throughput capacity to be configured on Virtual Server protected_obj.
Workaround: Edit the protected object in two steps.
  1. Set Maximum Bandwidth to Infinite, and click Update.
  2. Set Scrubbing Threshold to Absolute, and click Update.
675125 Silverline configuration fails after installing the rpm and displays the message: Silverline portal error: Couldn't create a session: verify portal address, username and password. Try to restart restnoded process to resolve this issue

Workaround: On the command line, restart the restnoded process.

bigstart restart restnoded
679661-1 When changing the logging destination from Splunk to Arcsight on the Logging tab, the logging destination does not get updated to the correct remote logging format.

Workaround: To change the logging format, first set the remote logging format to Disabled, click Update, then change it to Arcsight, and click Update again.
680730 The system cannot successfully create an HA pair if the device name and hostname are different.

Workaround: In an HA pair, use the same names for both the device name and hostname.

Upgrade info

To upgrade to DDoS Hybrid Defender 13.1.0.3 v3.1, it is recommended that the system be running version DDoS v2.1 or v3.0 before you begin. During the upgrade process, you will need to install the latest rpm. If updating from v2.1, you also need to update the system image, update the configuration, then if using Silverline, re-enter your credentials.

Note: To upgrade to DDoS Hybrid Defender 13.1.0.3 v3.1 VE version, follow the same upgrade installation process.

Following are the steps to upgrade DDoS Hybrid Defender to 13.1.0.3 v3.1:

  1. Download the 13.1.0.3 v3.1 rpm from the F5 downloads site at https://downloads.f5.com.
  2. Log onto DDoS Hybrid Defender and start the upgrade (using the rpm you downloaded) from the About tab.
  3. After the rpm is installed, if updating from v2.1, a message on the About tab tells you that you need to update the system image to 13.1.0. Get the BIG-IP 13.1.0 system image from the downloads site and install it on the system (see Installation overview for details).
  4. Log on to DDoS Hybrid Defender and click DoS Protection > Quick Configuration .
  5. You may see the message Configuration Update Required. Older Configuration Detected. You must migrate your configuration to continue. Click Start if you get the message.
  6. The system updates the configurations, and you see a migration status of Success for all except if using Silverline. Click Done to display the Quick Configuration screens.
  7. If using Silverline, click the Silverline tab and type the username and password for your account.

That completes the upgrade process.

Installation overview

This document covers very basic steps for installing the software. You can find complete, step-by-step installation and upgrade instructions in BIG-IP Systems: Upgrading Software, and we strongly recommend that you reference this information to ensure successful completion of the installation process.

Installation checklist

Before you begin:

  • Use BIG-IP iHealth to verify your configuration file. For more information, see K12878: Generating diagnostic data using the qkview utility.
  • Update/reactivate your system or vCMP host license, if needed, to ensure that you have a valid service check date. For more information, see K7727: License activation may be required before a software upgrade for the BIG-IP or Enterprise Manager system.
  • Ensure that your system is running version 12.x or later.
  • Download the .iso file from F5 Downloads to /shared/images on the source for the operation. (If you need to create this directory, use the exact name /shared/images.)
  • Configure a management port.
  • Set the console and system baud rate to 19200, if it is not already.
  • Log on as an administrator using the management port of the system you want to upgrade.
  • Check all DNSSEC Key generation's 'expiration' and 'rollover' date:time fields before performing a GTM sync group upgrade. If any of the DNSSEC Key generations are set to rollover or expire during the planned upgrade window, modify the date:time of the 'expiration' and/or 'rollover' fields to extend past the anticipated upgrade window, to a date:time when all units in the sync group will again have GTM config sync enabled.
  • Boot into an installation location other than the target for the installation.
  • Save the user configuration set (UCS) in the /var/local/ucs directory on the source installation location, and copy the UCS file to a safe place on another device.
  • Log on to the standby unit, and only upgrade the active unit after the standby upgrade is satisfactory.
  • Turn off mirroring.
  • If you are running Policy Enforcement Manager, set provisioning to Nominal.
  • If you are running Advanced Firewall Manager, set provisioning to Nominal.

Installing the software

You can install the software at the command line using the Traffic Management shell, tmsh, or in the browser-based Configuration utility using the Software Management screens, available in the System menu. Choose the installation method that best suits your environment.
Installation method Command
Install to existing volume, migrate source configuration to destination tmsh install sys software image [image name] volume [volume name]
Install from the browser-based Configuration utility Use the Software Management screens in a web browser.

Sample installation command

The following command installs version 13.0.0 to volume 3 of the main hard drive.

tmsh install sys software image BIGIP-13.0.0.0.0.1645.iso volume HD1.3

Post-installation tasks

This document covers very basic steps for installing the software. You can find complete, step-by-step installation and upgrade instructions in BIG-IP Systems: Upgrading Software, and we strongly recommend that you reference this information to ensure successful completion of the installation process.

After the installation finishes, you must complete the following steps before the system can pass traffic.
  1. Ensure the system rebooted to the new installation location.
  2. Use BIG-IP iHealth to verify your configuration file. For more information, see K12878: Generating diagnostic data using the qkview utility.
  3. Log on to the browser-based Configuration utility.
  4. Run the Setup utility.
  5. Provision the modules.
Note: You can find information about running the Setup utility and provisioning the modules in BIG-IP TMOS implementations Creating an Active-Standby Configuration Using the Setup Utility and Creating an Active-Active Configuration Using the Setup Utility.

Installation tips

  • The upgrade process installs the software on the inactive installation location that you specify. This process usually takes between three minutes and seven minutes. During the upgrade process, you see messages posted on the screen. For example, you might see a prompt asking whether to upgrade the End User Diagnostics (EUD), depending on the version you have installed. To upgrade the EUD, type yes, otherwise, type no.
  • You can check the status of an active installation operation by running the command watch tmsh show sys software, which runs the show sys software command every two seconds. Pressing Ctrl + C stops the watch feature.
  • If installation fails, you can view the log file. The system stores the installation log file as /var/log/liveinstall.log.

Contacting F5 Networks

Phone - North America: 1-888-882-7535 or (206) 272-6500
Phone - Outside North America, Universal Toll-Free: +800 11 ASK 4 F5 or (800 11275 435)
Additional phone numbers: See Product Support Regional Contact Information for your area.
Web: https://f5.com/
Email: support@f5.com

For additional information, please visit http://www.f5.com.

Additional resources

You can find additional support resources and technical documentation through a variety of sources.

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