Course Outline
Day 1 — BIG-IP Architecture and Platform Management
• Networking fundamentals — OSI model (L2–L7), load balancers at L4/L7; mapping IP addressing and subnetting to BIG-IP self IPs and VLANs.
• Theory 1 — TMM traffic-processing architecture; client traffic flow to virtual servers and pool members; device modes, administrative partitions, and role-based access control (addressing banking segregation-of-duties); licensing and module provisioning (LTM, AVR).
• Theory 2 — TMUI navigation and efficient GUI workflows; tmsh essentials; configuration backup and restoration via UCS archives; comparison of hardware versus virtual editions and their appropriate placement in bank data centers.
• Lab (3 hours) — “Get Traffic Flowing” — initial configuration (VLANs, self IPs, routes), creation of nodes, pools, and health monitors, construction of the first virtual server, verification of traffic to backend application servers, and capture of a UCS backup.
Day 2 — Core Load Balancing and SSL/TLS
• Networking fundamentals — TCP/UDP handshake 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 to internet banking and API traffic patterns.
• Theory 2 — SSL/TLS offloading and certificate management (key/cert import, chains, cipher policies 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 (3 hours) — Create an HTTPS virtual server with SSL offloading for a simulated banking portal, configure cookie persistence, validate the certificate chain in a browser, implement a simple redirect iRule, and observe monitor-driven pool member failover.
Day 3 — High Availability and Operations
• Networking fundamentals — VLANs, routing, and ARP essentials; DNS resolution flow and record types; TLS handshake review.
• Theory 1 — Device Service Clustering: device trust, sync-failover groups, configuration synchronization, traffic groups, and floating IPs; failover behavior and client experience; HA design considerations for banking (dual-datacenter patterns, zero-downtime maintenance).
• Theory 2 — 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; overview of automation (iControl REST) and WAF (ASM/Advanced WAF) as subsequent topics.
• Lab (3 hours) — Construct 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; course summary and Q&A.
Lab Environment
Each trainee receives a dedicated, isolated lab consisting of two BIG-IP Virtual Edition instances (supporting the Day 3 HA exercise) and shared backend web servers simulating application tiers. Access is fully browser-based through a secure Guacamole gateway — requiring only a web browser, with no need for VPN clients or local software installation, thereby simplifying participation from restricted banking workstations. The environment is pre-built and validated before Day 1; by the end of Day 1, all trainees will have achieved working traffic through their respective BIG-IP instances.
Requirements
No previous F5 experience is necessary.
Basic TCP/IP knowledge is beneficial but not mandatory. To ensure all participants are on the same page, each day begins with concise networking primers (OSI model, TCP/HTTP, DNS/TLS) that contextualize the day's F5 content, accommodating teams with mixed experience levels.
Target Audience: Network engineers, security engineers, and application support or operations staff within banking and financial institutions
Testimonials (1)
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