Course Outline
BIG-IP Architecture & Platform Management
- Networking fundamentals — OSI model (Layers 2–7), load balancing at Layers 4/7; IP addressing and subnetting correlated with BIG-IP self IPs and VLANs.
- TMM traffic processing architecture; traffic path from client → virtual server → pool member; device modes, administrative partitions, and role-based access control (addressing segregation-of-duties needs in banking); licensing and module provisioning (LTM, AVR).
- TMUI navigation and efficient GUI workflows; tmsh basics; backing up and restoring configurations via UCS archives; comparison of hardware versus virtual editions and their appropriate placement in bank data centers.
- Practical Exercise “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.
- Types of virtual servers; design of 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/cert import, chains, cipher policies — aligned with standard banking security baselines); persistence methods (cookie, source-address) and their appropriate use cases; introduction to iRules with simple read-only examples (redirects, header insertion).
- Practical Exercise — Build an HTTPS virtual server with SSL offloading for a simulated banking portal, configure cookie persistence, validate the certificate chain in a 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; TLS handshake review.
- Device Service Clustering: device trust, sync-failover groups, configuration synchronization, traffic groups, and floating IPs; failover behavior and client experience; high availability design considerations for banking (dual data center patterns, zero-downtime maintenance).
- 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 future topics.
- Practical Exercise: Build an active/standby high availability pair using the two BIG-IP VEs assigned to each trainee, establish device trust and configuration synchronization, execute a forced failover during live traffic, configure remote syslog, review audit logs, and take a final backup; course summary and Q&A.
Lab Environment
Each trainee is provided with a dedicated, isolated lab environment: two BIG-IP Virtual Edition instances (to support the Day 3 high availability exercise) and shared backend web servers that simulate application layers. Access is entirely browser-based through a secure Guacamole gateway, meaning trainees only need a web browser, with no VPN client or local software installation required, which facilitates participation from secure banking workstations. The environment is pre-configured and validated before Day 1, and every trainee will have working traffic through their own BIG-IP by the end of Day 1.
Requirements
No previous experience with F5 is necessary for this course.
While basic TCP/IP knowledge is beneficial, it is not a prerequisite. Each day begins with concise networking fundamentals (covering the OSI model, TCP/HTTP, and DNS/TLS) tailored to the day’s F5 topics, ensuring that teams with varying levels of experience start from a common foundation.
Target Audience: Network engineers, security engineers, and application support/operations staff working in banking or financial institutions.
Testimonials (1)
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