Course Outline
BIG-IP Architecture & Platform Management
- Networking refresher — OSI model (L2–L7), load balancers at L4/L7; mapping IP addressing and subnetting to BIG-IP self IPs and VLANs.
- TMM traffic-processing architecture; traffic path 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).
- Navigating TMUI and optimizing GUI workflows; essential tmsh commands; configuration backup and restore using UCS archives; overview of hardware versus virtual editions and their suitability for bank datacenters.
- 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 taking a UCS backup.
Core Load Balancing & SSL/TLS
- Networking refresher — TCP/UDP handshake 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 policy 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 — Building an HTTPS virtual server with SSL offloading for a simulated banking portal, configuring cookie persistence, validating the certificate chain in the browser, applying a simple redirect iRule, and observing monitor-driven pool member failover.
High Availability & Operations
- Networking refresher — VLANs, routing, and ARP essentials; DNS resolution flow and record types; TLS handshake review.
- Device Service Clustering: establishing device trust, configuring sync-failover groups, configuration synchronization, traffic groups, and floating IPs; failover behavior and client experience; HA design considerations for banking (dual-datacenter patterns, maintenance without downtime).
- Operations for 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 subsequent topics.
- Lab: Building an active/standby HA pair using the two per-trainee BIG-IP VEs, establishing device trust and configuration sync, executing forced failover during live traffic, configuring remote syslog, reviewing audit logs, and performing a final backup; course summary and Q&A.
Lab Environment
Each trainee receives a dedicated, isolated lab environment consisting of two BIG-IP Virtual Edition instances (enabling the Day 3 HA exercise) and shared backend web servers simulating application tiers. Access is entirely browser-based via a secured Guacamole gateway — trainees only need a web browser, with no VPN client or local software installation, simplifying participation from locked-down banking workstations. The environment is pre-built and verified before Day 1; every trainee concludes Day 1 with working traffic through their own BIG-IP instance.
Requirements
No previous F5 experience is necessary.
Basic TCP/IP knowledge is beneficial but not assumed. Each day begins with short networking refresher modules (OSI model, TCP/HTTP, DNS/TLS) tailored to the day's F5 content, ensuring teams with varying experience levels reach a common baseline.
Target Audience: Network engineers, security engineers, and application support or operations staff within banking and financial institutions.
Testimonials (1)
communication, knowledge from experience, solve problems,
