Ordering F5 BIG-IP
You can include the F5 BIG-IP® service with a new VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Automated instance or add the service to your existing instance.
Ordering F5 BIG-IP for new instances
- When you order the instance, scroll down to the Add-on services section. F5 BIG-IP is in the Security and compliance category.
- Open the category, locate F5 BIG-IP, and toggle its switch on.
- Click Edit to review and specify the configuration information, then click Save.
Ordering F5 BIG-IP for existing instances
- On the instance details page, click the Services tab.
- Click Add to add the service.
- On the Add services page, locate the F5 BIG-IP service in the Security and Compliance section and toggle its switch on.
- Click Edit to review and specify the configuration information, then click Save.
Ordering F5 BIG-IP for private instances
When you order F5 BIG-IP for instances that are not configured with public interfaces, you must provide a proxy server to complete the installation. The HTTP proxy server must be configured and available by using Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) before the F5 BIG-IP installation can begin.
The BigIP Virtual Edition (VE) endpoints must be able to activate their license before they can become operational. After the BigIP VE endpoints are installed, they no longer require the use of the proxy server.
The F5 BIG-IP service cannot be added without a working proxy server at the time of service installation.
F5 BIG-IP service configuration
When you order the service, provide the following settings.
Name
Enter the service name.
F5 license activation connection
Select Public network or Private network for license activation. This selection determines how the F5 virtual servers contact the F5 license server, and it does not impact the workload data plane.
If the target cluster is configured with private-only network interfaces, only the Private network option is available.
If you select Private network, specify the following settings:
- Proxy IP address: The IPv4 address of the proxy server.
- Proxy port number: The port number of the proxy server, usually 8080 or 3128.
Authenticated proxy is not supported.
Maximum bandwidth
Specify the maximum throughput of the F5 BIG–IP appliance.
License model
The license model for F5 BIG-IP offers the following options:
- Good - This offer uses the BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager™ (LTM) VE, operating as a full-proxy architecture, which provides:
- Intelligent local traffic management
- Complete SSL traffic visibility
- Analytics and health monitoring to ensure that application servers are always available to your users.
- Better - This offer is built on the benefits of the Good option, with the addition of BIG-IP DNS™, BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager™ (AFM), and BIG-IP Application Acceleration Manager™ (AAM) modules. It delivers global traffic management services, application performance optimization, and advanced network firewall and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) mitigation capabilities.
- Best - In addition to the Good and Better offers, BIG-IP Application Security Manager™ (ASM) provides:
- Comprehensive application protection against L7 DDoS
- Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) top 10 threats
- Common application vulnerabilities
BIG-IP Access Policy Manager™ (APM) offers users secure, simplified access to applications located anywhere within a multicloud environment, incorporating features such as SSO (Single Sign-On) and MFA (Multifactor Authentication).
You cannot change the license model after service installation. To change the license model, you must delete the existing service and reinstall the service by choosing a different license model.