F5 Administering BIG-IP
Course Overview
Business applications get the most attention when they stop working. A payment page that times out or a portal that drops sessions at peak hour is usually a traffic management problem before it is anything else. F5 Administering BIG-IP training shows administrators how a BIG-IP system keeps those applications available.
The starting point is load balancing. You build virtual servers and pools, add nodes, and compare load balancing methods, so requests reach the right servers. Health monitors check each pool member and take a failing one out of rotation. Persistence keeps a user on the same server when an application needs it, and profiles adjust how traffic is handled on the way through.
Availability does not end at the pool. The course shows how two BIG-IP devices operate as a high availability pair using device service clustering. You sync configuration between units, learn what triggers a failover, and set up connection and persistence mirroring so that sessions can survive a switch to the standby unit.
Around that core sits the operational work. Learners license and set up a new system, configure VLANs, self IPs and trunks, work in the Configuration utility and tmsh, and archive the configuration as a UCS file before making changes. SNAT settings, logging, tcpdump captures, user roles and administrative partitions are included as well.
The outcome is a working picture of how BIG-IP is built and run, which is useful on enterprise and data centre networks where an outage is costly. The course also prepares you for several of F5’s more specialised BIG-IP classes.
Course Objectives
- Explain how BIG-IP acts as a full proxy between clients and application servers.
- Set up a new system with licensing and provisioning, then protect it with UCS archives.
- Build VLANs, self IPs and trunks, and manage the device through the Configuration utility and tmsh.
- Configure virtual servers, pools and nodes with an appropriate load balancing method.
- Monitor pool member health and interpret status and statistics during live operation.
- Apply persistence, profiles and SNAT where an application requires them.
- Set up local and high-speed logging, and analyse traffic with tcpdump and iHealth.
- Create user roles and administrative partitions to control access.
- Deploy and test an active/standby pair, including 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 February 2027 - 16 February 2027 | 2 Days | 4 hours & 8 hours | English / Arabic | |
| 17 May 2027 - 18 May 2027 | 2 Days | 4 hours & 8 hours | English / Arabic | |
| 23 August 2027 - 24 August 2027 | 2 Days | 4 hours & 8 hours | English / Arabic | |
| 29 November 2027 - 30 November 2027 | 2 Days | 4 hours & 8 hours | English / Arabic |
Can’t find a suitable date? Request a schedule that fits your team.
Request More InformationF5 BIG-IP Administration Course in Saudi Arabia for Vision 2030 Teams
Organisations in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam run applications that people depend on all day, from online banking and government services to telecom platforms. F5 Administering BIG-IP training in Saudi Arabia gives infrastructure teams a practical grounding in the platform that often sits in front of those services. Digital transformation under Vision 2030 adds more applications and more traffic for network teams to look after. Saudi organisations also work under national cybersecurity expectations, including controls issued by the National Cybersecurity Authority, and a load balancer that is configured consistently and backed up properly is easier to document and review. Administrators searching for a BIG-IP administration course in Riyadh can find the topics on this page, and our wider F5 training courses show where to go next. Readers working on security posture may also like our network security training. To discuss your team’s needs, contact the training team.
FAQs
What will I study in F5 Administering BIG-IP training?
You will study how to set up and operate a BIG-IP system as it is typically deployed in an application delivery network. The topics include initial configuration, virtual servers and pools, health monitors, persistence, profiles, SNAT, logging, user roles, and high availability. Labs let you apply each topic on a working system rather than only read about it.
How does BIG-IP keep a busy application available?
It spreads incoming requests across a pool of servers and stops sending traffic to any server that fails its health check. If the BIG-IP device itself fails, a paired standby unit can take over. The course teaches you to configure each layer, so you build availability into the design rather than adding it after an outage.
Which job roles benefit most?
Roles that run BIG-IP day to day benefit most, including network engineers, application delivery engineers, systems administrators, and operations staff. Network security engineers and data centre specialists who support BIG-IP devices also gain useful context. The course does not assume you already administer BIG-IP, so new owners of an existing deployment can join as well.
What should I know before I attend?
F5 states that it has no required prerequisites. It recommends general networking experience: the OSI model, routing and switching, Ethernet and ARP, TCP/IP, IP addressing and subnetting, NAT, default gateways, firewalls, and LAN and WAN concepts. If you are new to the platform, F5’s free Getting Started web-based courses are optional preparation.
What practical skills will I leave with?
You will be able to license and provision a system, build virtual servers and pools, attach monitors and persistence, and configure SNAT. You will also create UCS backups, manage user roles, read logs and packet captures, and set up a synchronised failover pair. These are the same tasks an administrator performs on a production device.
Is this course the same as F5 certification?
No. The course is training, and certification is awarded only after you pass the applicable F5 exams, which are taken separately. F5’s BIG-IP Administrator credential is currently made up of five exams. Completing Administering BIG-IP does not grant a certificate of that kind, so review F5’s exam pages for eligibility and current requirements.
What happens to an application if a pool member or a device fails?
When a health monitor marks a pool member down, BIG-IP stops sending it traffic and uses the remaining members. If the active device fails, the standby can take over, and mirroring can preserve connection and persistence state. The course shows how to configure and test each behaviour so that a failure becomes a short event, not a long outage.
Will this course help my career?
It can strengthen your practical BIG-IP skills, which many operations roles require. It is also the foundation for many of F5’s other BIG-IP instructor-led courses. No training can guarantee a promotion, salary change, or job offer, and nothing here should be read as a promise of one. Results depend on your experience and employer.
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