Chapter 1. New and Changed Information for this Release

New and Changed Information for This Release

Chapter 2. Overview

About the F5 Big-IP LTM Load Balancer

About the Workflow Task for F5 Application Container Setup

Chapter 3. Managing the F5 BIG-IP Load Balancer

F5 Load Balancing

Understanding Load Balancing Terminology

Adding a Network Element

Viewing Application Services

Creating an Application Service

Virtual Servers

Creating a Virtual Server

Viewing Virtual Servers

Viewing Virtual Server Statistics

Viewing Virtual Addresses

Updating Traffic Groups for Virtual Addresses

Creating a Pool

Adding Members to a Pool

Viewing Pool Statistics

Viewing Node Lists

Viewing Node Statistics

Viewing TCP Profiles

Viewing UDP Profiles

Partition

Creating a Partition

Viewing Device Groups

Creating a Device Group

Viewing Traffic Groups

Viewing Traffic Group Device Statistics

Creating a Traffic Group

Forcing a Traffic Group to a Standby State

Viewing Device Information

Viewing HA Groups

Copyright Page

Chapter 1. New and Changed Information for this Release

- New and Changed Information for This Release

New and Changed Information for This Release

The following table provides an overview of the significant changes to this guide for this current release. The table does not provide an exhaustive list of all changes made to this guide or of all new features in this release.

New Features and Changed Behavior in Cisco UCS Director, Release 5.5.

Feature

Description

Where Documented

Device group report

You can view information for F5 BIG-IP load balancer device groups.

Viewing Device Groups

Create, modify, and delete device groups

You can create, modify, and delete F5 BIG-IP load balancer device groups.

Creating a Device Group

Device information report

You can view information for devices associated with the pod.

Viewing Device Information

Traffic group report

You can view information for F5 BIG-IP load balancer traffic groups.

Viewing Traffic Groups

Traffic group device statistics report

You can view traffic group device statistics.

Viewing Traffic Group Device Statistics

Create, modify, and delete traffic groups

You can create, modify, and delete F5 BIG-IP load balancer traffic groups.

Creating a Traffic Group

Force standby a traffic group

You can force a traffic group into a standby state.

Forcing a Traffic Group to a Standby State

Virtual address report

You can view information for F5 BIG-IP load balancer virtual addresses.

Viewing Virtual Addresses

Update traffic group for a virtual address

You can update the traffic group for an existing virtual address by selecting the traffic group, or inheriting the traffic group from the current partition or path.

Updating Traffic Groups for Virtual Addresses

Specify device group and traffic group for an application service

When creating or modifying an application service, you can select the device group or traffic group, or inherit the values from the current partition or path.

Creating an Application Service

HA group report

You can view information for HA groups associated with the pod.

Viewing HA Groups

Chapter 2. Overview

- About the F5 Big-IP LTM Load Balancer

- About the Workflow Task for F5 Application Container Setup

About the F5 Big-IP LTM Load Balancer

Cisco UCS Director supports the F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) product module, which provides local load balancing based on a reverse proxy architecture, increases operational efficiency, and ensures peak network performance by providing a flexible, high-performance application delivery system. Cisco UCS Director supports basic and critical configuration in the LTM module through its generic tasks and reports. You can manage the LTM through Cisco UCS Director. In this document, references to F5 or BIG-IP or the "load balancer" all refer to this F5 product.

Note

For specific information about the F5 product releases supported by Cisco UCS Director and for related information, refer to the Cisco UCS Director Release Notes.

Cisco UCS Director includes the following features and capabilities to support the F5 BIG-IP LTM product module:

- iApps Application Services and Templates

- Virtual Server creation, deletion, updates, and management, including inventories, processing metrics, and reports.

- Pool list creation, deletion, updates, and management, including inventories, processing metrics, and reports.

- Pool member inventory and reports.

- Node list inventory, processing metrics, and reports.

- TCP and UDP profile reports.

- Device group creation, deletion, updates, and management, including inventories, processing metrics, and reports.

- Traffic group creation, deletion, updates, and management, including inventories, processing metrics, and reports.

- Device information reports.

- HA group reports.

About the Workflow Task for F5 Application Container Setup

Cisco UCS Director includes an F5 BIG-IP workflow task to aid in connecting to the Load Balancer using the Workflow Designer. The crucial workflow tasks are:

- Allocate Container VM Resources

- Provision Container - Network

- Provision Container - VM

- Re-Synch Container - VMs

- Setup Container Gateway

- Setup Container F5 Load Balancer

- Send Container Email

Note

Only the task titled "Setup Container F5 Load Balancer" is unique in this F5 workflow. This F5 task was recently added to Cisco UCS Director container support. The other tasks previously existed, and are used in other workflows. Two other workflows that aid in the construction of load balancing application containers are Fenced Container Setup - ASA Gateway and Fenced Container Setup.

For more information on the F5 BIG-IP workflow task, see the Cisco UCS Director Application Container Guide.

Chapter 3. Managing the F5 BIG-IP Load Balancer

- F5 Load Balancing

- Understanding Load Balancing Terminology

- Adding a Network Element

- Viewing Application Services

- Creating an Application Service

- Virtual Servers

- Creating a Pool

- Adding Members to a Pool

- Viewing Pool Statistics

- Viewing Node Lists

- Viewing Node Statistics

- Viewing TCP Profiles

- Viewing UDP Profiles

- Partition

- Viewing Device Groups

- Creating a Device Group

- Viewing Traffic Groups

- Viewing Traffic Group Device Statistics

- Creating a Traffic Group

- Forcing a Traffic Group to a Standby State

- Viewing Device Information

- Viewing HA Groups

F5 Load Balancing

Cisco UCS Director supports the creation and monitoring of F5 load balancers.

Although load balancing may be prevalent in the routing environment, it is also of growing importance in the virtual networking and VM environment. Server load balancing is a mechanism for distributing traffic across multiple virtual servers, offering high application and server resource utilization.

Server load balancing (SLB) is the process of deciding to which server a load-balancing device should send a client request for service. For example, a client request can consist of an HTTP GET for a web page or an FTP GET to download a file. The job of the load balancer is to select the server that can successfully fulfill the client request and do so in the shortest amount of time without overloading either the server or the server farm as a whole.

Depending on the load-balancing algorithm or predictor that you configure, the F5 BIG-IP performs a series of checks and calculations to determine the server that can best service each client request. F5 BIG-IP bases server selection on several factors, including the server with the fewest connections regarding load, source or destination address, cookies, URLs, or HTTP headers.

A high-level process flow of load balancing is as follows:

1. A client attempts to connect with a service on the load balancer.

2. The load balancer accepts the connection.

3. The load balancer decides which host should receive the connection and changes the destination IP address (or port) in order to match the service of the selected host.

4. The host accepts the load balancer's connection and responds to the original source, to the client (through its default route), and to the load balancer.

5. The load balancer acquires the return packet from the host and changes the source IP (or port) to correspond to the virtual server IP and port, and forwards the packet back to the client.

6. The client receives the return packet, assuming it came from the virtual server, and continues the rest of the process.

Cisco UCS Director enables the management, orchestration, and monitoring of the F5 load balancer. Following is a summary of the crucial processes:

1. Add the F5 load balancer using Administration > Physical Accounts > Managed Network Element > Add Network Element.

2. Adding the F5 load balancer is added to Cisco UCS Director as a managed element triggers Cisco UCS Directortask inventory collection. The polling interval configured on the System Tasks tab specifies the frequency of inventory collection.

3. After the F5 is added to the Pod, it is listed with all other components of the pod environment at the account level. To see the F5 component information, navigate to Physical > Network > Network Managed Elements.

There are two ways to implement load balancing on an F5 device using Cisco UCS Director:

1. Use an iApps (BIG-IP) application service.

iApps application templates let you configure the BIG-IP system for your HTTP applications, by functioning as an interface to consistently deploy, manage, and monitor your servers. You can use default iApps templates or create and customize a template to implement load balancing on the F5 device.

2. Use Cisco UCS Director to:

- Set up a managed element

- Create a Pool

- Add pool members

- Create a virtual server

Understanding Load Balancing Terminology

This section describes common terms found in the F5 BIG-IP environment. In a load-balancing environment, a virtual server is a construct that allows multiple physical servers to appear as one for load-balancing purposes. A virtual server is bound to physical services running on real servers in a server farm and uses IP address and port information to distribute incoming client requests to the servers in the server farm according to a specified load-balancing algorithm.

- Virtual servers—In a load-balancing environment, a virtual server is a construct that allows multiple physical servers to appear as one for load-balancing purposes. A virtual server is bound to physical services running on real servers in a server farm and uses IP address and port information to distribute incoming client requests to the servers in the server farm according to a specified load-balancing algorithm.

- Pools—A pool is a collection of virtual servers that provide similar services available on multiple hosts. (See the pool members or nodes entry for additional information.)

- Pool members or nodes—When creating a pool, you assign one or more pool members to it. A pool member or node is a logical object that represents a physical node (and a service) on the network. When you add a virtual server to a pool, it becomes a pool member. A member or node includes the TCP port of the actual application that is receiving traffic.

Tip

A virtual server can be a member of multiple pools. In a different pool, it can have different attributes and play a different role. For example, a virtual server could be a backup resource for a different type of requests, such as requests from a different part of the world.

- Nodes—Physical servers that receive traffic from a load balancer.

- Profiles—A profile can be either local or roaming. We recommended that you operate using roaming profiles rather than local profiles. Using roaming profiles assures you that your settings are always available to you at all times.

Adding a Network Element

In order to create a virtual server that supports load balancing, first add a network element in Cisco UCS Director. After a Load Balancer is added as a network element in Cisco UCS Director, it appears under the Managed Network Element tab.

Before You Begin

You must be logged in to the appliance to complete this task.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Administration > Physical Accounts.

Step 2

Choose the Managed Network Elements tab.

Step 3

Click Add Network Element.

Step 4

In the Add Network Element dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Pod drop-down list

Choose the pod to which the network element belongs.

Device Category drop-down list

Choose the device category for this network element. For example: F5 Load Balancer.

Device IP field

The IP address for this device.

Protocol drop-down list

Choose the protocol to be used. The list may include the following:

- Telnet

- SSH

- HTTP

- HTTPS

Note:
When working with an F5 load balancer device, HTTP and HTTPS are the only valid selections.

Port field

The port to use.

Login field

The login name.

Password field

The password associated with the login name.

Step 5

Click Submit.

Adding the F5 Load Balancer triggers the system task inventory collection. The polling interval configured on the System Tasks tab specifies the frequency of inventory collection.

What to Do Next

To modify or edit a virtual server, choose the server, then click the Modify button. To remove a virtual server, choose the server, then click the Delete button.

Viewing Application Services

The Application Services tab provides information on the following items:

- Pod Name

- Name

- Template

- Partition/Path

- Device Group

- Traffic Group

- Active Device

Note

F5 BIG-IP devices with versions lower than 12.0 show a blank Active Device column.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod.

Step 3

Choose the load balancing server.

Step 4

Click the Application Services tab to view information for the existing application services.

Creating an Application Service

This topic describes how to create an application service for a selected pod.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod that includes the F5 network, expand the directory as necessary, and click the F5 network.

Step 3

Click the Application Services tab.

Step 4

Click Create.

Step 5

In the Create Application Service dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Select F5 Partition

The partition name.

Application Service Name field

The virtual server name.

Template field

The name of the template.

Note:
When working with an F5 network, this value should be set as f5.http.

Virtual Server IP field

The IP address of the destination device.

FQDN names of Virtual Server field

The fully qualified domain name (FQDN) names of the virtual server. Separate each FQDN name with a comma.

Note:
Clients can use the FQDNs that you enter here to access the web servers. For each FQDN, your DNS Administrator must configure a DNS entry that resolves to the IP address you entered for the BIG-IP virtual server.

Nodes List

Select a node from the Nodes list and click Submit.

If a node that you want to associate with the Virtual Server does not appear in the Nodes list:

- Click + to add it. The Add Entry to Nodes list dialog box appears.

- Provide the Node IP address, the Port, and the Connection limit; then click Submit.

Inherit Device Group from current Partition/Path check box

Check to automatically inherit the device group from the current partition or path. This option is selected by default.

Device Group

Select the device group to associate with the application service.

Inherit Traffic Group from current Partition/Path check box

Check to automatically inherit the traffic group from the current partition or path. This option is selected by default

Traffic Group

Select the traffic group to associate with the application service.

Step 6

Click Submit.

Virtual Servers

In a load-balancing environment, a virtual server is a construct that allows multiple physical servers to appear as one for load-balancing purposes. A virtual server is bound to physical services running on real servers in a server farm. The virtual server uses IP address and port information to distribute incoming client requests to the servers in the server farm according to a specified load-balancing algorithm.

Although the virtual server is of primary importance because it is used to administer pools and pool members, the practical flow of performing the setup is as follows:

1. Create a pool

2. Add members to pool

3. Create a virtual server that uses the pool

Remember:
Before you can create a virtual server that supports load balancing, you must add the F5 load balancer as a network element.

- Creating a Virtual Server

- Viewing Virtual Servers

- Viewing Virtual Server Statistics

- Viewing Virtual Addresses

- Updating Traffic Groups for Virtual Addresses

Creating a Virtual Server

Tip

To get inventory information about the F5 device, navigate to Converged > Pod, then click the middle of the large Pod icon. In the row of Network images, double-click BIG-IP to see current information about it.

Before You Begin

An account with the F5 BIG-IP server.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Click a pod in which one of the Managed Network Elements is the F5 BIG-IP device you want to use, then click the network.
With a Pod highlighted under Physical > Network and the Managed Network Elements tab selected, a row of information in the table include the IP address for the F5 BIG-IP device you want to. In the left column, click the network associated with this device.

Step 3

Click the Virtual Servers tab, then click Create.

Step 4

In the Create Virtual Server dialogue box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Virtual Server Name field

The virtual server name.

Virtual Server Description field

A unique description of this virtual server.

Virtual Server Type field

The type of virtual server (preselected).

Destination IP field

The IP address of the destination device, the virtual server. This is a network address, which the system uses this network address with Mask to represent a range of IP addresses.

Destination IP Address Mask field

The IP address mask of the destination device.

Service Port drop-down list

The data transfer protocol associated with the service port

Choose a protocol from the following list:

- FTP

- HTTP

- HTTPS

- TELNET

- PPTP

- SMTP

- SNMP

- SNMP-TRAP

- SSH

- Other

Port Number

The port number to be assigned to this server.

Protocol drop-down list

Choose a protocol for high-speed data transfer from the following list:

- TCP

- UDP

Note:
TCP is the default value for Protocol.

Protocol Profile (Client) button

Choose a client protocol profile with the correct Parent Profile for the Client. The parent profiles are TCP and UDP.

The Client Protocol here specifies that the selected profile is a client-side profile. The drop-down list contains entries for each client protocol profile that has been defined.

Remember:
The profile selection applies to TCP and UDP connections only. If TCP is set as Protocol, the TCP-related profile should be selected in client and server-side profiles. Likewise, UDP-related profiles should be selected if UDP is selected as the protocol. Hence parent profiles are TCP and UDP.

Protocol Profile (Server) button

Choose a server protocol profile with the correct Parent Profile for the Server.

Server Protocol: Specifies that the selected profile is a server-side profile. Options are: (Use Client Profile) - the default - and entries for each defined server protocol profile.

Default Pool button

Choose a default pool.

Note:
If you have created a virtual server for load balancing, you must assign a default load balancing pool to this virtual server. A default pool is the pool to which the BIG-IP system sends traffic if no iRule exists specifying a different pool. When you first create the virtual server, you assign an existing default pool to it. From then on, the virtual server automatically directs traffic to that default pool. It is not strictly mandatory to add default pool while creating a virtual server, so there is no default.

Step 5

Click Submit.

Viewing Virtual Servers

The Virtual Servers tab provides information on the following items:

- Pod Name

- Virtual Server Name

- Status

- Destination IP Address

- Service Port

- Type

- Partition/Path

- Active Device

Note

F5 BIG-IP devices with versions lower than 12.0 show a blank Active Device column.

Before You Begin

Create a Virtual Server.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod that includes a load balancing network.

Step 3

Choose the load balancing server.

Step 4

Click the Virtual Servers tab to view the F5 server.

Viewing Virtual Server Statistics

The Virtual Servers Statistics tab provides information on the following items:

- Pod Name

- Virtual Server

- Status

- Partition/Path

- Bits In

- Bits Out

- Packets In

- Packets Out

- Current Connections

- Maximum Connections

- Total Request

- CPU Utilization

Before You Begin

Create a Virtual Server.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod.

Step 3

Choose the load balancing server.

Step 4

Click the Virtual Servers Statistics tab to view the statistics.

Viewing Virtual Addresses

The Virtual Address tab provides information on the following items:

- Pod Name

- Name

- Status

- Address

- Partition/Path

- Traffic Group

- Active Device

Note

F5 BIG-IP devices with versions lower than 12.0 show a blank Active Device column.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod.

Step 3

Choose the load balancing server.

Step 4

Click the Virtual Address tab to view information for the virtual addresses associated with the pod.

Updating Traffic Groups for Virtual Addresses

You can update the traffic group for a virtual address associated with the pod.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod.

Step 3

Choose the load balancing server.

Step 4

Click the Virtual Address tab.

Step 5

Choose the virtual address for which you want to update the traffic group, and click Update Traffic Group.

Step 6

In the Update Traffic Group dialog box, you can select the new traffic group, or check Inherit Traffic Group from current Partition/Path.

Step 7

Click Submit.

Creating a Pool

The Pool list tab enables you to create a new pool to the list of pools associated with an F5 load balancer. It also allows you to delete a pool, or to modify a pool by adding or deleting pool members.

The Pool list tab lists the following data for each pool:

- Pod Name

- Server Name

- Status

- Members

- Partition/Path

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Click the pod that supports the F5 BIG-IP network that you want to use, then click that network.

Step 3

Click the Pool List tab to view the existing list of pools.
Using controls that appear in this tab, you can also delete a pool from this list, see the members of any selected pool, or add or delete members of an existing pool.

Step 4

Click Create.

Step 5

In the Create Pool dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Pool Name field

The Pool name.

Load Balancing Method drop-down list

Choose a load balancing method from the following list:

- Round Robin

- Ratio (member)

- Lease Connections (member)

- Observed (member)

- Predictive (member)

- Ratio (node)

Use Existing Nodes List selector

From the Existing Nodes list, add a node to the named pool.

If the node you want to use does not yet appear in the Existing Nodes List, click + to add it. A dialog box appears, titled Add Entry to Existing Node List. Provide the Node Name and the port that you want this node to use, then click Submit. Choose the node. Then click Submit.

Note:
For the purposes of setting up an F5 pool, the node name here does not have to use IPO address format. If a node is created by a virtual server creation service or by an application creation service, then the name of the node is set as the IP address of the node. If a node is created using the Create Node option, a name of another format may be displayed.

Step 6

Click Submit.

Step 7

To see additional details about available pools and nodes, see the tabs titled Pool Statistics, Node list, and Node Statistics.

Adding Members to a Pool

Before You Begin

Create a Pool.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Click the pod that supports the F5 BIG-IP network of interest to you, then click that network.

Step 3

Click the Pool List tab to view the existing list of pools.
Using controls that appear in this tab, you can also create or delete a pool from this list, or see the members of any selected pool.

Step 4

Click the pool in which you want to add, delete, or modify members, then click View Details. The Pool Members tab appears, listing the members of the pool you most recently selected.

Step 5

To add a member to the selected pool, click Add. The Add Pool Member dialog box appears.

Step 6

If you want to use an existing Node, then check the box labeled "Do you want to use existing node?" Otherwise, provide the Address and Service port.

1. Check the box labeled "Do you want to use existing node?"

2. Provide the following information.

3. In the Add Pool Member dialogue box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Node Name selector.

- Click Select... to open a list of existing nodes associated with the Pool-related account.

- Checkmark a node to select it, then click Select.

The selected node appears in the Add Pool Member dialog box.

Service Port

Enter the service port for the node.

4. Click Submit.

A message confirms that the member was added to the pool successfully.

Step 7

If you do not want to use an existing Node, then provide the Address and Service Port data and click Submit.
A message confirms that the member was added to the pool successfully and the new member is listed in the Pool Members tab.

Step 8

To return to the Pool List tab, click the Back button.

Viewing Pool Statistics

The Pool Statistics tab provides the following information:

- Pod Name

- Pool Name

- Status

- Partition/Path

- Bits In

- Bits Out

- Packets In

- Packets Out

- Current Connections

- Maximum Connections

- Total Connections

- Total Requests

- Request Queue Depth

- Request Queue Max Age

Before You Begin

Create a Virtual Server.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

In the left pane, choose a pod that includes an F5 BIG-IP network.

Step 3

Expand the pod, then choose the F5 BIG-IP load balancer account.

Step 4

Click the Pool Statistics tab to view the existing information.

Viewing Node Lists

The Node list tab provides information on the following items:

- Pod Name

- Server Name

- Status

- Description

- IP Address

- Partition/Path

Before You Begin

Create a Virtual Server.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod.

Step 3

Choose the load balancing server.

Step 4

Click the Node List tab to view the existing node list information.

Viewing Node Statistics

The Node Statistics tab provides the following information:

- Pod Name

- Node Name

- Status

- Partition/Path

- Bits In

- Bits Out

- Packets In

- Packets Out

- Current Connections

- Maximum Connections

- Total Connections

- Total Requests

Before You Begin

Create a Virtual Server.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

In the left pane, choose a pod that includes an F5 BIG-IP network.

Step 3

Expand the pod, then choose the F5 BIG-IP load balancer account.

Step 4

Click the Node Statistics tab to view information for the existing nodes.

Viewing TCP Profiles

The TCP Profiles tab provides information on the following items:

- Pod Name

- Server Name

- Parent Profile

- Partition/Path

Before You Begin

Create a Virtual Server.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

In the left pane, choose a pod that includes an F5 BIG-IP network.

Step 3

Expand the pod, then choose the F5 BIG-IP load balancer account.

Step 4

Click the TCP Profiles tab to view the existing list of TCP profiles.

Viewing UDP Profiles

The UDP Profiles tab provides information on the following items:

- Pod Name

- Server Name

- Parent Profile

- Partition/Path

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

In the left pane, choose a pod that includes an F5 BIG-IP network.

Step 3

Expand the pod, then choose the F5 BIG-IP load balancer account.

Step 4

Click the UDP Profiles tab to view the existing list of UDP profiles.

Partition

A partition is a logical container that you can create to contain a defined set of BIG-IP system objects. As an Administrator to the BIG-IP system, you can create administrative partitions to control other users' access to BIG-IP objects. When a specific set of objects resides in a partition, you can give certain users the authority to view and manage the objects in that partition only, rather than to all objects on the BIG-IP system.

- Creating a Partition

Creating a Partition

In order to create a partition, perform the following procedure:

Before You Begin

You must be logged in to the appliance to complete the task.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose the Managed Network Elements tab.

Step 3

Select a device from the Unassigned Pods in the left pane.

Step 4

Double click the element or select it from F5.

Step 5

Click Partition and a list of previously created partitions are displayed.

Step 6

Click Create to add a partition.

Step 7

In the Create Partition dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Partition Name field

A unique name for the partition.

Description field

A detailed description of the partition.

Step 8

Click Submit. The partition is created successfully.

Step 9

Click OK to confirm in the Submit Result dialog box.
Note:

- The report displays the name or path of the partition you created in the Partition/Path column.

- You can also create partitions from the F5 appliance. Go to System > Users > Partition List and click Create.

What to Do Next

You can delete partitions you have created. To delete partitions, click Delete under the Partition tab or in the F5 appliance, go to System > Users > Partition List, select the partition, and click Delete.

Viewing Device Groups

The Device Group tab provides information on the following items:

- Account Name

- Pod Name

- Name

- App Service

- ASM Synchronize

- Auto Synchronize

- Full Load On Synchronize

- Incremental Config Synchronize

- Network Failover

- Save On Auto Synchronize

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod.

Step 3

Choose the load balancing server.

Step 4

Click the Device Group tab to view information for the existing device groups.

Creating a Device Group

Cisco UCS Director lets you create a device group that runs on the F5 BIG-IP server. You can create two types of device groups. A sync-failover device group contains devices that synchronize configuration data and support traffic groups for failover purposes. A sync-only device group contains devices that synchronize configuration data, but do not synchronize failover objects.

Before You Begin

An account with the F5 BIG-IP server.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose pod in which one of the Managed Network Elements is the F5 BIG-IP device you want to use, then click that network.

Step 3

Click the Device Group tab, then click Create.

Step 4

In the Create Device Group dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Select F5 Partition

The partition name.

Name field

A unique name for the device group.

Description field

A detailed description of the device group.

ASM Synchronize check box

Check to enable automatic synchronization of security policies and Application Security Manager (ASM) configurations.

Group Type drop-down list

Choose the device group type from the following list:

- sync-only

- sync-failover

Note:
Sync-only is the default value for the device group type.

Auto Synchronize check box

Check to automatically synchronize configuration changes between devices in the same device group.

Full Load On Synchronize check box

Check to enable full load synchronization.

Incremental Config Synchronize Size Max field

This value specifies the total size of configuration changes that can reside in the incremental sync cache. 1024 (KB) is the default value.

Save On Auto Synchronize check box

Check to save the configuration to file during the automatic synchronization.

Members

Choose accounts to add to the device group.

Step 5

Click Submit.

What to Do Next

You can modify a device group or delete a device group by selecting the device group and click the Modify or Delete buttons.

Viewing Traffic Groups

The Traffic Group tab provides information on the following items:

- Account Name

- Pod Name

- Name

- Auto Failback Enabled

- Auto Failback Time

- Default Device

- HA Group

- HA Load Factor

- MAC

- Unit ID

- HA Order

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod.

Step 3

Choose the load balancing server.

Step 4

Click the Traffic Group tab to view information for the existing traffic groups.

Viewing Traffic Group Device Statistics

The Traffic Group Device Stats report provides information on the following items:

- Account Name

- Pod Name

- Partition

- Device Name

- Failover State

- Next Active

- Traffic Group

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod.

Step 3

Choose the load balancing server.

Step 4

Click the Traffic Group tab.

Step 5

Choose the traffic group for which you want to view the traffic group device statistics and click View Details.

Creating a Traffic Group

Cisco UCS Director lets you create a traffic group that runs on the F5 BIG-IP server.

Before You Begin

An account with the F5 BIG-IP server.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod in which one of the Managed Network Elements is the F5 BIG-IP device you want to use, then click that network.

Step 3

Click the Traffic Group tab, then click Create.

Step 4

In the Create Traffic Group dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Select F5 Partition

The partition name.

Name field

A unique name for the traffic group.

Description field

A detailed description of the traffic group.

Failover Method drop-down list

Choose a failover method from the following list:

- HA Group

- HA Order

- Load Aware

Note:
Load Aware is the default value for the failover method. If you select HA Group, select the HA Group to failover to. If you select HA Order, specify the failover order in the Failover Order table.

HA Load Factor field

The value that represents the application load for this traffic group relative to other traffic groups on the local device. The HA load factor range must be between 1-1000.

Auto Failback Time field

The number of seconds after which auto failback expires. The default value is 60.

MAC Address field

A unique MAC address that functions as the MAC masquerade address and floats on failover to minimize dropped connections

Step 5

Click Submit.

What to Do Next

You can modify a traffic group or delete a traffic group by selecting the traffic group and click the Modify or Delete buttons.

Forcing a Traffic Group to a Standby State

Cisco UCS Director lets you force a traffic group to a standby state. By forcing the traffic group into a standby state, the traffic group becomes idle on the device, and becomes active on another device in the device group.

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod in which one of the Managed Network Elements is the F5 BIG-IP device you want to use, then click that network.

Step 3

Click the Traffic Group tab.

Step 4

Choose the traffic group that you want to force into a standby state and click Force Standby.

Step 5

In the Force Traffic Group To Standby dialog box, click Submit.

Viewing Device Information

The Device Info tab provides information on the following items:

- Account Name

- Pod Name

- Status

- Name

- IP Address

- Host Name

- Product

- Version

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod.

Step 3

Choose the load balancing server.

Step 4

Click the Device Info tab to view information for the existing devices associated with the pod.

Viewing HA Groups

The HA Group tab provides information on the following items:

- Account Name

- Pod Name

- Full Path

- Name

Step 1

On the menu bar, choose Physical > Network.

Step 2

Choose a pod.

Step 3

Choose the load balancing server.

Step 4

Click the HA Group tab to view information for the existing HA groups associated with the pod.

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