Course Outline
BIG-IP Architecture & Platform Management
- Networking primers covering the OSI model (L2–L7) and load balancers at L4/L7; mapping IP addressing and subnetting to BIG-IP self IPs and VLANs.
- TMM traffic-processing architecture; traffic flow from client → virtual server → pool member; device modes, administrative partitions, and role-based access control (relevant to banking segregation-of-duties); licensing and module provisioning (LTM, AVR).
- Navigating TMUI and optimizing GUI workflows; tmsh essentials; configuration backup and restore using UCS archives; comparison of hardware vs. virtual editions and their placement in bank data centers.
- Lab “Get Traffic Flowing” — initial setup (VLANs, self IPs, routes), creating nodes, pools, and health monitors, building the first virtual server, verifying traffic to backend application servers, and capturing a UCS backup.
Core Load Balancing & SSL/TLS
- Networking primers on TCP/UDP handshakes and port concepts; HTTP methods, headers, status codes, and keep-alive mechanisms.
- Virtual server types; design of pools, nodes, and monitors; load-balancing algorithms; TCP/HTTP profiles and connection reuse; application of these concepts to internet banking and API traffic patterns.
- SSL/TLS offloading and certificate management (key/cert import, chains, cipher policy aligned with banking security baselines); persistence methods (cookie, source-address) and their appropriate use cases; introduction to iRules with simple read-only examples like redirects and header insertion.
- Lab — Build an HTTPS virtual server with SSL offload 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 primers on VLANs, routing, ARP essentials; DNS resolution flow and record types; recap of the TLS handshake.
- Device Service Clustering: device trust, sync-failover groups, config sync, traffic groups, and floating IPs; failover behavior and client experience; HA design considerations for banking, including dual-datacenter patterns and maintenance without downtime.
- Operations in regulated environments: local and remote logging (syslog, SNMP), AVR traffic analytics, audit logging of administrative changes, upgrade and maintenance procedures, backup strategy, and disaster-recovery basics; a brief overview of automation (iControl REST) and WAF (ASM/Advanced WAF) as future topics.
- Lab: Build an active/standby HA pair using the two per-trainee BIG-IP VEs, establish device trust and config sync, execute forced failover during live traffic, configure remote syslog, review audit logs, and 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 enable the Day 3 HA exercise) and shared backend web servers simulating application tiers. Access is fully browser-based through a secured Guacamole gateway, meaning trainees only need a web browser, with no VPN client or local software installation required, which simplifies participation from restricted banking workstations. The environment is pre-built and verified before Day 1; every trainee will have working traffic through their own BIG-IP by the end of Day 1.
Requirements
No prior F5 experience is necessary.
Basic TCP/IP knowledge is beneficial but not mandatory. Each day begins with brief networking primers covering the OSI model, TCP/HTTP, DNS, and TLS, contextualized to the day’s F5 topics, ensuring teams with mixed experience levels start from a common baseline.
Audience: Network engineers, security engineers, and application support and operations staff within banking and financial institutions.
Testimonials (1)
communication, knowledge from experience, solve problems,
