Course Outline
Day 1 — BIG-IP Architecture & Platform Management
• Networking refreshers — OSI model (Layers 2–7), L4/L7 load balancing; mapping IP addressing and subnetting to BIG-IP self IPs and VLANs.
• Theory 1 — TMM traffic processing architecture; traffic flow from client to virtual server to pool member; device modes, administrative partitions, and role-based access control (essential for banking segregation of duties); licensing and module provisioning (LTM, AVR).
• Theory 2 — Navigating TMUI and efficient GUI workflows; tmsh basics; configuration backup and restore using UCS archives; overview of hardware vs. virtual editions and their application in bank data centers.
• Lab (3 h) — “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 taking a UCS backup.
Day 2 — Core Load Balancing & SSL/TLS
• Networking refreshers — TCP/UDP handshake and port concepts; HTTP methods, headers, status codes, and keep-alive mechanisms.
• Theory 1 — Virtual server types; designing pools, nodes, and monitors; load-balancing algorithms; TCP/HTTP profiles and connection reuse; application of these concepts to internet banking and API traffic patterns.
• Theory 2 — SSL/TLS offloading and certificate management (importing keys/certs, chains, and cipher policies aligned with banking security baselines); persistence methods (cookie, source-address) and appropriate use cases; introduction to iRules with simple read-only examples (redirects, header insertion).
• Lab (3 h) — Build an HTTPS virtual server with SSL offloading for a simulated banking portal, configure cookie persistence, verify the certificate chain in the browser, apply a simple redirect iRule, and observe monitor-driven pool member failover.
Day 3 — High Availability & Operations
• Networking refreshers — VLANs, routing, and ARP essentials; DNS resolution flow and record types; TLS handshake recap.
• Theory 1 — Device Service Clustering: device trust, sync-failover groups, config sync, traffic groups, and floating IPs; failover behavior and client experience; high-availability design considerations for banking (dual-data center patterns, maintenance without downtime).
• Theory 2 — Operations in regulated environments: local and remote logging (syslog, SNMP), AVR traffic analytics, audit logging of administrative changes, upgrade and maintenance procedures, backup strategies, and disaster recovery basics; brief overview of automation (iControl REST) and WAF (ASM/Advanced WAF) as follow-on topics.
• Lab (3 h) — Establish an active/standby HA pair using the two per-trainee BIG-IP VEs, set up device trust and config sync, execute forced failover during live traffic, configure remote syslog, review audit logs, perform a final backup, and conclude with a 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 (enabling Day 3 HA exercises) and shared backend web servers that simulate application tiers. Access is entirely browser-based via a secure Guacamole gateway, requiring only a web browser without the need for VPN clients or local software installation. This setup simplifies participation from restricted banking workstations. The environment is pre-configured and validated before Day 1, ensuring every trainee has working traffic through their own BIG-IP by the end of the first day.
Requirements
Previous experience with F5 is not required.
While basic TCP/IP knowledge is beneficial, it is not a prerequisite. Each day begins with brief networking refreshers (covering the OSI model, TCP/HTTP, and DNS/TLS) tailored to the day's F5 topics, ensuring teams with varied experience levels start from a common baseline.
Target Audience: Network engineers, security engineers, and application support/operations staff in banking and financial institutions
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