COURSE DESCRIPTION

his course gives network administrators, network operators, and network engineers a functional understanding of the BIG-IP system as it is commonly deployed in an application delivery network. The course introduces students to the BIG-IP system, its configuration objects, how it processes traffic, and how typical administrative and operational activities are performed. The course includes lecture, hands-on labs, interactive demonstrations, and discussions.

Topics covered in this course (v12.0)

• Getting started with the BIG-IP system
• Traffic processing with BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
• Using the Traffic Management Shell (tmsh) command line interface
• Using NATs and SNATs
• Monitoring application health and managing object status
• Modifying traffic behavior with profiles, including SSL offload and re-encryption
• Modifying traffic behavior with persistence, including source address affinity and cookie persistence
• Troubleshooting the BIG-IP system, including logging (local, high-speed, and legacy remote logging), and using tcpdump
• Always-On Management (AOM)
• User roles and administrative partitions
• vCMP concepts
• Customizing application delivery with iRules

v12.0 COURSE OUTLINE

Chapter 1: Setting Up the BIG-IP System

• Introducing the BIG-IP System
• Initially Setting Up the BIG-IP System
• Archiving the BIG-IP Configuration
• F5 Support Resources and Tools
• Chapter Resources
• BIG-IP System Setup Labs

Chapter 2: Traffic Processing Building Blocks

• Identifying BIG-IP Traffic Processing Objects
• Network Packet Flow
• Configuring Virtual Servers and Pools
• Load Balancing Concepts
• Viewing Statistics and Logs
• Using the Traffic Management Shell (tmsh)
• BIG-IP Configuration State and Files
• Saving and Replicating Configuration Data (UCS and SCF)
• Viewing the BIG-IP Connection Table

Chapter 3: Using NATs and SNATs

• Address Translation on the BIG-IP System
• NAT Concepts
• Solving Routing Issues with SNATs
• Configuring SNAT Auto Map on a Virtual Serve
• Monitoring for and Mitigating Port Exhaustion

Chapter 4: Monitoring Application Health

• Introducing Monitors
• Types of Monitors
• Monitor Interval and Timeout Settings
• Configuring Monitors
• Assigning Monitors to Resources
• Managing Pool, Pool Member, and Node Status
• Using the Network Map

Chapter 5: Modifying Traffic Behavior with Profiles

• Introducing Profiles
• Understanding Profile Types and Dependencies
• Configuring and Assigning Profiles

Chapter 6: Modifying Traffic Behavior with Persistence

• Understanding the Need for Persistence
• Introducing Source Address Affinity Persistence
• Introducing Cookie Persistence
• Introducing SSL Offload and SSL Re-Encryption
• Managing Object State

Chapter 7: Troubleshooting the BIG-IP System

• Configuring Logging
• Using tcpdump on the BIG-IP System
• Leveraging the BIG-IP iHealth System
• Working with F5 Technical Support

Chapter 8: Administering the BIG-IP System

• Always-On Management (AOM)
• Expanding Availability with Device Service Clustering
• User Roles and Administrative Partitions
• vCMP
• iApps Overview

Chapter 9: Customizing Application Delivery with iRules

• iRules Concepts
• iRules Events
• iRules Resources

Chapter 10: Additional Training and Certification

• Getting Started Series Web-Based Training
• F5 Instructor Led Training Curriculum
• F5 Professional Certification Program