Course Outline
BIG-IP Architecture & Platform Management
- Networking fundamentals — OSI model (Layers 2–7), load balancers at Layers 4/7; mapping IP addressing and subnetting to BIG-IP self IPs and VLANs.
- TMM traffic-processing architecture; traffic flow from client to virtual server to pool member; device modes, administrative partitions, and role-based access control (addressing segregation-of-duties in banking); licensing and module provisioning (LTM, AVR).
- TMUI navigation and efficient GUI workflows; tmsh essentials; configuration backup and restore using UCS archives; an overview of hardware versus virtual editions and their application in bank datacentres.
- Lab “Get Traffic Flowing” — initial setup (VLANs, self IPs, routes), creation of nodes, pools, and health monitors, building the first virtual server, verifying traffic to backend application servers, and taking a UCS backup.
Core Load Balancing & SSL/TLS
- Networking fundamentals — TCP/UDP handshakes and port concepts; HTTP methods, headers, status codes, and keep-alive mechanisms.
- Virtual server types; designing pools, nodes, and monitors; load-balancing algorithms; TCP/HTTP profiles and connection reuse; application to internet-banking and API traffic patterns.
- SSL/TLS offloading and certificate management (key/certificate import, chains, cipher policies aligned with banking security baselines); persistence methods (cookie, source-address) and their appropriate use; introduction to iRules with simple read-only examples (redirects, header insertion).
- Lab — Build an HTTPS virtual server with SSL offloading for a simulated banking portal, configure cookie persistence, validate the certificate chain in the browser, apply a simple redirect iRule, and observe monitor-driven pool member failover.
High Availability & Operations
- Networking fundamentals — VLANs, routing, and ARP basics; DNS resolution flow and record types; a recap of the TLS handshake.
- Device Service Clustering: establishing device trust, sync-failover groups, configuration synchronization, traffic groups, and floating IPs; understanding failover behaviour and client experience; high availability design considerations for banking (dual-datacentre patterns, maintenance without downtime).
- Operations for regulated environments: local and remote logging (syslog, SNMP), AVR traffic analytics, auditing administrative changes, upgrade and maintenance procedures, backup strategies, and disaster-recovery basics; a brief outlook on automation (iControl REST) and WAF (ASM/Advanced WAF) as advanced topics.
- Lab — Build an active/standby high availability pair using the two per-trainee BIG-IP VEs, establish device trust and configuration sync, execute forced failover during live traffic, configure remote syslog, review audit logs, perform a final backup; course recap and Q&A.
Lab Environment
Each trainee is provided with a dedicated, isolated lab environment consisting of two BIG-IP Virtual Edition instances (to facilitate the Day 3 high availability exercise) alongside shared backend web servers simulating application tiers. Access is entirely browser-based via a secured Guacamole gateway, meaning trainees only need a web browser without the need for a VPN client or local software installation. This setup simplifies participation from locked-down banking workstations. The environment is pre-built and validated before Day 1, ensuring that every trainee completes Day 1 with working traffic through their own BIG-IP instance.
Requirements
No prior experience with F5 is necessary.
While basic TCP/IP knowledge is beneficial, it is not a prerequisite. Each day begins with concise networking primers covering the OSI model, TCP/HTTP, and DNS/TLS, contextualised specifically to that day's F5 topics to bring mixed-experience teams to a common level.
Audience: Network engineers, security engineers, and application support and operations staff within banking and financial institutions.
Testimonials (1)
communication, knowledge from experience, solve problems,
