Course Outline
Day 1 — BIG-IP Architecture & Platform Management
• Networking primers covering the OSI model (Layers 2–7), load balancers at L4/L7, and mapping IP addressing/subnetting to BIG-IP self IPs and VLANs.
• Theory 1: TMM traffic-processing architecture; client → virtual server → pool member traffic flow; device modes, administrative partitions, and role-based access control (addressing segregation-of-duties requirements in banking); licensing and module provisioning (LTM, AVR).
• Theory 2: TMUI navigation and efficient GUI workflows; tmsh essentials; configuration backup and restore using UCS archives; overview of hardware vs. virtual editions and their placement in bank data centres.
• Lab (3 hours) — “Getting 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 primers on TCP/UDP handshakes and port concepts; HTTP methods, headers, status codes, and keep-alive mechanisms.
• Theory 1: 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.
• Theory 2: SSL/TLS offloading and certificate management (key/certificate import, chains, and cipher policy aligned with typical banking security baselines); persistence methods (cookie-based, source-address) and their appropriate use cases; introduction to iRules with simple read-only examples (redirects, header insertion).
• Lab (3 hours) — Build an HTTPS virtual server with SSL offloading 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.
Day 3 — High Availability & Operations
• Networking primers on VLANs, routing, and ARP essentials; DNS resolution flow and record types; and a recap of the TLS handshake.
• Theory 1: Device Service Clustering; device trust, sync-failover groups, configuration synchronization, traffic groups, and floating IPs; failover behaviour and client experience; HA design considerations for banking (dual-data centre 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 strategy and disaster recovery basics; brief outlook on automation (iControl REST) and WAF (ASM/Advanced WAF) as future topics.
• Lab (3 hours) — Build an active/standby HA pair using the two per-trainee BIG-IP VEs; establish device trust and configuration synchronization; 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 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 need only a web browser, with no VPN client or local software installation required, facilitating participation from locked-down banking workstations. The environment is pre-built and validated before Day 1, ensuring every trainee finishes Day 1 with working traffic through their own BIG-IP instance.
Requirements
No prior experience with F5 is required.
Basic TCP/IP knowledge is beneficial but not assumed. Each day begins with concise networking primers (covering the OSI model, TCP/HTTP, and DNS/TLS) tailored to the day’s F5 content, ensuring that teams with mixed experience levels start from a common baseline.
Audience: Network engineers, security engineers, and application support or operations staff working in banking and financial institutions.
Testimonials (1)
communication, knowledge from experience, solve problems,
