Course Outline
BIG-IP Architecture & Platform Management
- Networking foundations — 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; client to virtual server to pool member traffic flow; device modes, administrative partitions, and role-based access control (addressing banking segregation-of-duties needs); licensing and module provisioning (LTM, AVR).
- Navigating TMUI and efficient GUI workflows; tmsh basics; UCS archive backup and restore; overview of hardware vs. virtual editions and their placement 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 backend traffic, and performing a UCS backup.
Core Load Balancing & SSL/TLS
- Networking foundations — 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 to internet-banking and API traffic patterns.
- 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; introduction to iRules with simple read-only examples (redirects, header insertion).
- Lab — Create an HTTPS virtual server with SSL offloading for a simulated banking portal, set up cookie persistence, verify the certificate chain in a browser, apply a simple redirect iRule, and observe monitor-driven pool member failover.
High Availability & Operations
- Networking foundations — VLANs, routing, and ARP basics; DNS resolution flow and record types; TLS handshake review.
- Device Service Clustering: device trust, sync-failover groups, configuration sync, traffic groups, and floating IPs; failover behavior and client impact; high availability design considerations for banking (dual-datacenter patterns, maintenance with zero 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 overview of automation (iControl REST) and WAF (ASM/Advanced WAF) as advanced topics.
- Lab — Build an active/standby high availability pair using the two dedicated BIG-IP VE instances, establish device trust and configuration sync, execute forced failover during live traffic, configure remote syslog, review audit logs, and complete 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 (supporting the Day 3 high availability exercise) plus shared backend web servers simulating application tiers. Access is fully browser-based via a secure Guacamole gateway — trainees only need a web browser, with no VPN client or local software installation required, facilitating participation from restricted banking workstations. The environment is pre-built and validated before Day 1; every trainee concludes Day 1 with successful traffic routing through their own BIG-IP.
Requirements
No previous experience with F5 is necessary.
While basic TCP/IP knowledge is beneficial, it is not a prerequisite. Each day begins with concise networking foundations (OSI model, TCP/HTTP, DNS/TLS) tailored to that day's F5 topics, ensuring teams with varying experience levels start from a common foundation.
Target Audience: Network engineers, security engineers, and application support/operations staff working in banking and financial institutions.
Testimonials (1)
communication, knowledge from experience, solve problems,
