Course Outline
BIG-IP Architecture & Platform Management
- Networking primers covering the OSI model (L2–L7) and load balancers at L4/L7, with IP addressing and subnetting mapped to BIG-IP self IPs and VLANs.
- TMM traffic-processing architecture; traffic flow from client to virtual server to pool member; device modes, administrative partitions, and role-based access control (relevant to banking segregation-of-duties requirements); licensing and module provisioning (LTM, AVR).
- Navigating the TMUI and optimizing GUI workflows; essential tmsh commands; configuration backup and restore using UCS archives; an overview of hardware versus virtual editions and their respective roles 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 taking 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.
- 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 offload 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 (redirects, 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, and ARP essentials; DNS resolution flow and record types; TLS handshake recap.
- Device Service Clustering: establishing device trust, configuring sync-failover groups, config sync, traffic groups, and floating IPs; understanding failover behavior and client experience; HA design considerations for banking (dual-datacentre 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 strategy, and disaster-recovery basics; brief outlook on automation (iControl REST) and WAF (ASM/Advanced WAF) as follow-on 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 receives a dedicated, isolated lab environment consisting of two BIG-IP Virtual Edition instances (enabling the Day 3 HA exercise) plus shared backend web servers simulating application tiers. Access is entirely browser-based via a secured Guacamole gateway, meaning trainees only need a web browser with no VPN client or local software installation required, which simplifies participation from locked-down banking workstations. The environment is pre-built and validated before Day 1, and every trainee completes Day 1 with working traffic through their own BIG-IP.
Requirements
No prior experience with F5 is necessary.
While basic TCP/IP knowledge is beneficial, it is not assumed. Each day begins with concise networking primers covering the OSI model, TCP/HTTP, and DNS/TLS, contextualized to the day’s F5 topics to ensure mixed-experience teams reach a common understanding.
Audience: Network engineers, security engineers, and application support and operations staff within banking or financial institutions.
Testimonials (1)
communication, knowledge from experience, solve problems,
