Building F5 BIG-IP Lab for Free - VMware ESXi

Discover a concise overview of the F5 BIG-IP lab. Learn how to access F5 BIG-IP resources on the fly during the lab.

Configure a single hardware host running hypervisor to host the F5 BIG-IP lab VM and access the training server with Windows 7 client, PuTTY, and Chrome for remote desktop testing.

Explore the F5 big-ip lab topology with three networks—internal 172.16.0.0/16, external 10.0.0.0/16, and management 192.168.0.0/24—and test connectivity to web servers using vip, Chrome, and remote desktop.

Initiate phase 1 by creating an F5 account, registering a license, downloading the VIP Virtual Edition, and deploying it to the hypervisor.

Register on the F5 trial page, activate your account via email, set a password, log in, and request a Big-IP virtual edition trial license.

Navigate to the download portal, select the f5 big-ip version 13.1.3.3 virtual edition, and accept the user agreement; then choose singapore and check email for the trial license.

Install the F5 BIG-IP virtual edition by deploying the BIG-IP VE template in VMware ESXi, after reviewing the 30-day evaluation license and registration keys.

Configure the BIG-IP management network via the console, log in with default credentials, license later, and set a static management IP and default gateway using CLI.

Phase one completes deploying the BIG-IP, creating the F5 account, registering the trial license, downloading BIG-IP VE version 13, and configuring the management IP via the vSphere client.

Download the server VM template and deploy it to the hypervisor; create new virtual switches and assign the server.

Download the server VM template from the provided dropbox link, a 1.24 gigabyte file in a XXX format, then prepare the virtual network discussion for the f5 big-ip lab.

Configure the VMware ESXi hypervisor with a management network and connect the F5 BIG-IP to management, external (10.0.0/16), and internal (172.16.0.0/16) networks. Deploy a server VM on the internal network.

Extract the training server zip, deploy its template to the hypervisor via the client, configure the network, and enable power-on after deployment, using the text file for access credentials.

Create two virtual switches—external and internal—and attach the training server’s network adapter to the internal switch. Configure the training server to use the internal network in the VMware ESXi environment.

Complete phase two by downloading the server ova template and deploying it to the hypervisor. Create virtual switches external and internal, and assign the server interface to the internal network.

Log in via the gui to set up phase 3 of the F5 BIG-IP, activate license, create passwords, configure platform settings, host names, and assign internal and external IP addresses.

Configure the external interface (interface 1) and the internal interface (interface 1.2) on the big-ip device in the VMware ESXi lab, assigning the external ip 10.x.x.x and internal ip 172.16.1.31.

Activate the F5 BIG-IP license automatically, complete the platform and network configuration with management IP, self IPs, and a basic high-availability setup, then archive the base config.

Complete phase three by licensing and accessing the BIG-IP device. Configure hostname and platform settings, self IP, route and admin passwords, and save with BIG-IP archives.

Test the EB 5 BIG-IP device's reachability across internal and external networks through basic checks. Create pools and virtual servers to test the F5 BIG-IP load balancing features.

Configure a VMware ESXi lab with a three-interface F5 BIG-IP virtual appliance, linking management, internal, and external networks, and access the F5 VIP from a client PC via remote desktop.

Configure the BIG-IP lab by mapping adapters: 1 to management port group, 2 to external, 3 to internal, then access the client PC via remote desktop at 192.168.1.30.

Plan and execute network tests on a F5 BIG-IP device via external and internal networks, sending ICMP traffic to specified client IPs to validate reachability.

Access the BIG-IP lab via SSH to test network reachability. Verify external connectivity to the Windows client 10.10.130 and internal reachability to 172.16.x addresses and servers 172.16.20.1–20.3.

Create a pool of three servers on port 80, linked to a virtual server listener, to test the web app and load balancing on the F5 BIG-IP at 10.0.0.100.

Create a pool and a virtual server on the f5 big-ip, then test from a windows client and verify load balancing across servers.

Wrap phase four up by accessing client environment, testing reachability between internal and external networks, creating an hdd pool, attaching it to virtual server, and validating web app load balancing.

Deploy the second BIG-IP device using the same setup and enable high availability by configuring device trust, then test configuration synchronization to ensure F5 VIP high availability works properly.

Deploys the second BIG-IP device in a VMware ESXi environment, applies the VE template, configures management IP, licenses automatically, and completes internal and external network setup.

Establish device trust and form a two-device group for failover, then sync configuration from BIG-IP1 to BIG-IP2 to enable high availability.

Demonstrates high availability testing of F5 BIG-IP on VMware ESXi, validating active standby failover and virtual server continuity, with ICMP traffic during forced offline scenarios and config sync.

Phase five wrap up establishes high availability by deploying a second big IP appliance, configuring device trust, creating device groups for failover, and pinging the virtual server on second device.

Completed all five phases, deployed the big IP appliance in standalone and standby modes, tested EB 5 big IP devices with ICMP connectivity, and verified load balancing via HD DP.

Celebrate course completion and invite feedback, five-star ratings, and sharing with peers. Highlight the course focus on cloud data center and cybersecurity.