This 1 day course provides network professionals with a functional understanding of the BIG-IP VIPRION platform. It includes an overview of the chassis, hardware options, Clustered Multiprocessing (CMP) and virtual CMP (vCMP) deployment options.

The course includes lectures, demonstrations, hands-on labs, and discussions.

Topics Covered

• BIG-IP VIPRION system setup
• VIPRION chassis and blade hardware options overview
• Clustered MultiProcessing (CMP)
• Configuring virtualized CMP (vCMP) host and guests
• High-Availability with vCMP and non-vCMP systems
• Hardware maintenance and basic troubleshooting
• Lab projects

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Describe VIPRION system chassis-blade architecture
• Describe CMP traffic flow in a VIPRION system
• Describe VIPRION features and technology
• Configure vCMP host and vCMP guests
• Set up multiple vCMP guests in a High Availability configuration
• Follow recommended practices for configuring the VIPRION system
• Add a blade to the VIPRION system
• Identify and resolve basic troubleshooting problems using tools such as LED indicators, log messages, and tcpdump

This course is intended for system and network administrators responsible for installation, setup, configuration, and administration of the BIG-IP VIPRION system.

You will benefit from first attending the Configuring BIG-IP LTM instructor-led training and having several months or more experience configuring BIG-IP LTM before attending this course.

Students are required to complete one of the following F5 prerequisites before attending this course:

• Administering BIG-IP instructor-led course or
• F5 Certified BIG-IP Administrator

The following free web-based courses, although optional, will be very helpful for any student with limited BIG-IP administration and configuration experience. These courses are available at LearnF5 (https://www.f5.com/services/training):

• Getting Started with BIG-IP web-based training
• Getting Started with BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) web-based training
• Getting Started with VIPRION web-based training

The following general network technology knowledge and experience are recommended before attending any F5 Global Training Services instructor-led course:

• OSI model encapsulation
• Routing and switching
• Ethernet and ARP
• TCP/IP concepts
• IP addressing and subnetting
• NAT and private IP addressing
• Default gateway
• Network firewalls
• LAN vs. WAN

Chapter 1: Introducing the VIPRION System Architecture

• Introducing the VIPRION System
• VIPRION 2000 Series Chassis
• VIPRION 4000 Series Chassis
• Primary and Secondary Blades
• VIPRION Cables and Transceivers
• Other Components

Chapter 2: Setting Up a BIG-IP VIPRION System

• Initial BIG-IP Setup Utility Steps
• Archiving the BIG-IP Configuration
• BIG-IP vCMP-Enabled Appliance Setup Labs

Chapter 3: Load Balancing Traffic with CMP

• What is CMP?
• VIPRION Features and Technologies

Chapter 4: Running BIG-IP with vCMP

• What is vCMP?
• vCMP Licensing and Provisioning
• F5 Virtualization
• vCMP Host and vCMP Guests
• Physical and Logical Cores
• Virtual Disks
• Flexible Resource Allocation

Chapter 5: Configuring a High Availability Deployment in a VIPRION System

• High Availability Configuration
• Introducing Device Service Clustering (DSC)
• Preparing to Deploy a DSC Configuration
• Configuring DSC Communication Settings
• Establishing Device Trust
• Establishing a Sync-Failover Device Group
• Synchronizing Configuration Data
• Exploring Traffic Group Behavior
• Non-vCMP System High Availability

Chapter 6: Managing Blades and Performing Hardware Maintenance

• Recommended VIPRION Practices
• Full Cluster Start-Up
• Adding a New Blade
• VIPRION Troubleshooting Commands
• Troubleshooting Tools
• Contact F5 Technical Support
• End User Diagnostics (EUD)

Other courses available:

F5N_BIG-LTM-CFG-3, Configuring BIG-IP LTM: Local Traffic Manager v.15.1
F5N_BIG-DNS-I, Configuring BIG-IP DNS (formerly GTM) v.15.1
F5N_BIG-AWF-CFG, Configuring F5 Advanced WAF (previously licensed as ASM) v15.1
F5N_BIG-EGW-APM, Configuring BIG-IP APM: Access Policy Manager v.15.1
F5N_BIG-AFM, Configuring BIG-IP AFM: Advanced Firewall Manager v.15.1
F5N_BIG-IRULE-CFG, Developing iRules for BIG-IP v.15.1
F5N_BIG-TRBL-INT2, Troubleshooting BIG-IP v.15.1