F5 Administering BIG-IP
Course Overview
A live BIG-IP system tells you a lot if you know where to look. F5 Administering BIG-IP training spends real time on that skill: reading statistics, checking object status, following logs, and capturing packets so you can say what is wrong and why.
Monitoring starts with the objects themselves. You learn to read the status of virtual servers, pools, pool members and nodes, and to tell apart a failed monitor, a member disabled by an administrator and a configuration mistake. Health monitors get detailed treatment because they decide whether traffic reaches a server at all.
Logging comes next. The course covers local logging, legacy remote logging, and high-speed logging, so events end up where your team can find them. When logs are not enough, tcpdump on the BIG-IP system shows what actually crossed the network, and iHealth helps you assemble diagnostics for F5 support.
To act on what you find, you need to know how the system is built. The course therefore covers initial setup and licensing, VLANs, self IPs and trunks, virtual servers, pools and load balancing methods, profiles, persistence, NATs and SNATs. Before any change, you save a UCS archive so that a known good state is one restore away.
Access is part of operations too. User roles and administrative partitions determine who may change what, and you practise in both the Configuration utility and tmsh. The course closes with high availability, where you configure sync, failover and mirroring and then confirm that the standby unit is ready.
Together, these topics give operations staff and engineers a method for working on live systems. They also provide the base for other F5 BIG-IP courses.
Course Objectives
- Interpret status and statistics for virtual servers, pools, nodes and pool members on a running system.
- Configure local, legacy remote and high-speed logging.
- Use tcpdump and iHealth data to analyse traffic and prepare information for F5 support.
- Configure health monitors and explain why a pool member has been marked down.
- Archive the configuration as a UCS file and restore it after a failed change.
- Complete initial setup, including licensing, provisioning, VLANs, self IPs, and trunks.
- Build virtual servers and pools with suitable profiles, persistence, and SNAT settings.
- Define user roles and administrative partitions, and administer through the Configuration utility and tmsh.
- Maintain an active/standby pair using sync, failover, and mirroring.
Prior Knowledge
The following free Self-Directed Training (SDT) courses, although optional, are helpful for any student with limited BIG-IP administration and configuration experience:
- Getting Started with BIG-IP
- Getting Started with Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
Target Audience
- F5 BIG-IP administrators: build a clear map of every object they already touch each day.
- Network engineers: see how BIG-IP sits between routing, switching and the application.
- Application delivery engineers: learn the operational baseline before designing traffic policies.
- Systems administrators: understand why a healthy server can still fail to receive traffic.
- Network security engineers: know how access, roles and logging are controlled on the platform.
- Data centre and infrastructure specialists: support high availability pairs and configuration backups with confidence.
- Operations staff: gain the monitoring and log-reading skills used during incidents.
- Teams planning a BIG-IP deployment: share one vocabulary before design work begins.
Course Content
3 modules · 66 topics01Module 1: BIG-IP Setup32 topics
- Introducing F5 Solutions
- Introducing the BIG-IP System
- Initially Setting Up a Standalone BIG-IP System
- Configuring the Management Interface
- Activating the Software License
- Provisioning Modules and Resources
- Importing a Device Certificate
- Specifying BIG-IP Platform Properties
- Configuring the Network
- Configuring Network Time Protocol (NTP) Servers
- Configuring Domain Name System (DNS) Settings
- Backing Up and Restoring BIG-IP Configuration Data
- Using Single Configuration Files (SCF)
- Overview of the BIG-IP High Availability Feature
- Configuring DSC Communication Settings
- Establishing Device Trust
- Establishing a Sync-Failover Device Group
- Synchronizing Configuration Data
- Securing Management Access
- Securing Self IP Addresses with Port Lockdown
- Securing SSH Administrative Traffic
- Securing HTTPS Administrative Traffic
- Securing NTP Services
- Running BIG-IP in Appliance Mode
- Securing the Automatic Update Check and Phone Home Features
- Securing the Default System Maintenance Accounts
- Restricting Command Line Access by User
- Tracking User Access and Actions
- Enforcing a Secure Password Policy
- Securing Persistence Cookies
- Securing BIG-IP Generated HTTP Server Header Information
- Getting Help If You Are Under Attack or Experiencing a Security Breach
02Module 2: Local Traffic Basics16 topics
- Understanding BIG-IP Local Traffic Processing Configuration Objects
- Load Balancing Traffic through a BIG-IP System
- Monitoring Traffic Processing and Performance Using Statistics
- Managing the Status of Nodes and Pool Members
- Using the TMOS Shell (TMSH)
- Managing the BIG-IP System's Configuration State and Files
- Mapping IP Addresses with NATs
- Solving Routing Issues with Source Address and Port Translation
- Introducing Local Traffic Monitoring on the BIG-IP System
- Deploying a Local Traffic Monitor
- Managing Local Traffic Monitors During Application Delivery
- Overview of Modifying Traffic Behavior with Profiles
- Introducing SSL Offload and Re-encryption
- Introducing Persistence on the BIG-IP System
- Persisting Traffic Based on Source IP Address (Source Address Affinity)
- Understanding the Impact of Object State on Persistence
03Module 3: Administering BIG-IP18 topics
- Overview of Using TCPDUMP on a BIG-IP System
- Interpreting TCPDUMP Output
- Understanding TCPDUMP Filters and Options
- Analyzing TCPDUMP captures with WireShark
- Introducing BIG-IP System Logging Features
- Logging Locally on the BIG-IP System
- Logging Remotely Using High-Speed Logging (HSL)
- Configuring Audit Logging for the BIG-IP System
- Creating and Uploading a QKView
- Viewing Diagnostics and Status Information
- Troubleshooting
- Examining the BIG-IP Configuration
- Defining User Roles and Administrative Partitions
- Overview of Upgrading a BIG-IP System
- Planning for a BIG-IP System Upgrade
- Preparing to Upgrade a BIG-IP System
- Installing an Upgrade on a BIG-IP System
- Considerations when Upgrading a Sync-Failover Device Group
Schedule Dates
4 upcoming batches| Batch Dates | Duration | Batch Options | Language | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 November 2026 - 24 November 2026 | 2 Days | 4 hours & 8 hours | English / Arabic | |
| 01 March 2027 - 02 March 2027 | 2 Days | 4 hours & 8 hours | English / Arabic | |
| 07 June 2027 - 08 June 2027 | 2 Days | 4 hours & 8 hours | English / Arabic | |
| 13 September 2027 - 14 September 2027 | 2 Days | 4 hours & 8 hours | English / Arabic |
Can’t find a suitable date? Request a schedule that fits your team.
Request More InformationBIG-IP Administrator Course in Qatar for Resilient Application Delivery
Banks and ministries in Doha, organisations based in Lusail, and energy operators around Ras Laffan all run services that are expected to stay available at every hour. F5 Administering BIG-IP training in Qatar helps the engineers behind those services learn how BIG-IP keeps applications reachable, and how to investigate when something stops working. Qatar National Vision 2030 has made digital services a priority across sectors, and the National Cyber Security Agency sets national direction on cybersecurity, so tidy configuration practice and reliable logging matter to the teams involved. Anyone looking for a BIG-IP administration course Doha teams can plan around can read the objectives above, then explore our wider F5 training pathways. Those who focus on incident response may also like our troubleshooting courses. The training team can share the outline and talk through options for groups.
FAQs
How would you describe the F5 Administering BIG-IP course?
It is a practical F5 course on operating a BIG-IP system in an application delivery network. You learn how the system processes traffic, how its configuration objects relate, and how routine work such as backups, logging, and failover is handled. Lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on labs make up the learning format.
What topics sit inside the course?
Topics include setup and licensing, VLANs, self IPs and trunks, virtual servers, pools and nodes, load balancing methods, NATs and SNATs, health monitors, profiles, persistence, logging, tcpdump, iHealth, user roles, administrative partitions, and high availability. It also teaches tmsh alongside the Configuration utility. Content stays at the administration level.
Is it right for operations staff as well as engineers?
Yes. The course is aimed at administrators, operators, and engineers who run BIG-IP day-to-day. Operations staff learn to read status, check logs, and recognise a failing pool member, while engineers go further into configuration. Neither group needs prior BIG-IP experience, although networking basics are recommended.
What background knowledge helps?
General networking knowledge helps most. That means the OSI model, routing and switching, Ethernet and ARP, TCP/IP, IP addressing, NAT, default gateways, firewalls, and the difference between LAN and WAN. F5 states there are no required F5 prerequisites, and it provides free, optional Getting Started web-based courses for people who want to prepare further.
What will I be able to do on a live system afterwards?
You will be able to check the status of virtual servers, pools, and members, interpret statistics, read logs, and run tcpdump to see traffic. You will also be able to make a UCS backup before a change, add users with limited roles, and confirm that a standby unit is synced and ready. These are everyday tasks on a production device.
How do training, the exam and certification relate?
They are three separate things. Training means attending the course. An exam means passing an F5 exam that you sit for separately. Certification means meeting F5’s full requirements, which currently involve five BIG-IP Administrator exams. Attending Administering BIG-IP does not award any exam result or certification on its own, so check F5’s certification pages for details.
How do monitors, load balancing and failover reduce outages?
Load balancing stops one server from carrying every request. Monitors detect a failing server and remove it from rotation. Failover lets a standby device take over if the active one stops. Each layer covers a different kind of failure, so together they lower the chance that a single fault becomes an outage. The course shows how to configure and test each one.
Does the course help with career growth?
It builds practical BIG-IP skills that many network and operations roles use, and it provides prerequisite knowledge for many other F5 courses. That can support your development plan. It does not guarantee certification, promotion or higher pay, because those depend on your experience, any exams you take and your employer’s needs.
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