Course Outline
Day 1 — BIG-IP Architecture & Platform Management
• Networking introductions — OSI model (L2–L7), load balancers operating at L4/L7; mapping IP addressing and subnetting to BIG-IP self IPs and VLANs.
• Theory 1 — TMM traffic processing architecture; traffic flow from client → virtual server → pool member; device modes, administrative partitions, and role-based access control (aligned with banking segregation-of-duties policies); licensing and module provisioning (LTM, AVR).
• Theory 2 — Navigating the TMUI and efficient GUI workflows; tmsh fundamentals; backing up and restoring configurations using UCS archives; comparison of hardware versus virtual editions and their suitability for bank data centers.
• Lab (3 h) — “Get Traffic Flowing” — initial setup (VLANs, self IPs, routes), creating nodes, pools, and health monitors, building a first virtual server, verifying traffic to backend application servers, and taking a UCS backup.
Day 2 — Core Load Balancing & SSL/TLS
• Networking introductions — TCP/UDP handshake and port concepts; HTTP methods, headers, status codes, and keep-alive mechanisms.
• Theory 1 — Types of virtual servers; designing 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/certificate import, chains, cipher policy aligned with typical 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 h) — Create an HTTPS virtual server with SSL offloading for a simulated banking portal, configure cookie persistence, verify the certificate chain in a browser, apply a simple redirect iRule, and observe monitor-driven pool member failover.
Day 3 — High Availability & Operations
• Networking introductions — VLANs, routing, and ARP basics; DNS resolution flow and record types; TLS handshake recap.
• Theory 1 — 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 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 strategies, and disaster-recovery fundamentals; brief overview of automation (iControl REST) and WAF (ASM/Advanced WAF) as future topics.
• Lab (3 h) — Establish an active/standby high-availability pair using the two per-participant BIG-IP VEs, set up device trust and configuration sync, execute forced failover during live traffic, configure remote syslog, review audit logs, perform a final backup; course summary and Q&A.
Lab Environment
Each participant is provided with a dedicated, isolated lab environment consisting of two BIG-IP Virtual Edition instances (enabling the Day 3 high-availability exercise) and shared backend web servers simulating application tiers. Access is fully browser-based via a secure Guacamole gateway — participants only need a web browser, with no requirement for VPN clients or local software installation, simplifying access from restricted banking workstations. The environment is pre-configured and validated before Day 1; by the end of Day 1, every participant will have working traffic through their own BIG-IP setup.
Requirements
No previous F5 experience is necessary.
While basic TCP/IP knowledge is beneficial, it is not a strict prerequisite. Each day begins with concise networking introductions (OSI model, TCP/HTTP, DNS/TLS) contextualized to the day's F5 topics, ensuring that teams with varying experience levels reach a common baseline.
Target Audience: Network engineers, security specialists, application support, and operations personnel within banking and financial institutions
Custom Corporate Training
Training solutions designed exclusively for businesses.
- Customized Content: We adapt the syllabus and practical exercises to the real goals and needs of your project.
- Flexible Schedule: Dates and times adapted to your team's agenda.
- Format: Online (live), In-company (at your offices), or Hybrid.
Price per private group, online live training, starting from 4800 € + VAT*
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