Troubleshooting BIG-IP

This course gives networking professionals hands-on knowledge of how to troubleshoot a BIG-IP system using a number of troubleshooting techniques as well as troubleshooting and system tools. This course includes lectures, labs, and discussions.

Course Objectives

• Describe the role of the BIG-IP system as a full proxy device in an application delivery network
• Set up, start/restart/stop, license, and provision the BIG-IP system
• Create a basic network configuration on the BIG-IP system including VLANs and self IPs
• Use the Configuration utility and TMOS Shell (tmsh) to manage BIG-IP resources and use as a resource when troubleshooting
• Create, restore from, and manage BIG-IP archives
• Understand and implement troubleshooting methodology to find and resolve issues
• View resource status, availability, and statistical information and use this information to determine how the BIG-IP system is currently processing traffic
• Use iApps to update BIG-IP configuration
• Perform troubleshooting and problem determination activities including using the iHealth diagnostic tool, researching known issues and solutions on AskF5, submitting a problem ticket to F5 Technical Support, and view traffic flow using tcpdump
• Understand the tools (ping, netstat, tcpdump, ssldump, WireShark, diff, Kdiff3, Fiddler, BIG-IP logs, etc.) available to use to identify BIG-IP and network issues from bottom to top
• List log files available, understand log levels, and use the appropriate files, log levels, and filters for troubleshooting
• Use High Speed Logging (HSL) and SNMP trap implementations to perform troubleshooting and problem determination activities
• Describe the role of iRules in affecting traffic behavior and how to use them to aid with troubleshooting and problem determination

Course Topics

• Configuration Project
• Troubleshooting Methodology
• F5 Support
• Troubleshooting - Bottom to Top
• Troubleshooting Tools
• Using System Logs

Audience

This course assumes that you have successfully completed the Administering BIG-IP course, or equivalent, and have hands-on experience working in a production BIG-IP environment for several months. You should have a solid understanding of the environment in which the BIG-IP is deployed. This course is meant for BIG-IP administrators, network engineers, applications engineers, etc., who will be responsible for troubleshooting problems associated with their BIG-IP system.

Prerequisites

Students must complete one of the following F5 prerequisites before attending this course:

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

The following free web-based training courses, although optional, will be very helpful for any student with limited BIG-IP administration and configuration experience. 

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

The following course-specific knowledge and experience is suggested before attending this course:

• HTTP, HTTPS, FTP and SSH protocols

Major Course Changes since v14

The Troubleshooting BIG-IP v15.1 course presents much of the same content as v14.1 with minor modifications to improve flow. Password length is 8 digits.