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TimRiker's avatar
TimRiker
Icon for Cirrocumulus rankCirrocumulus
Feb 20, 2024

BIG-IP Next under Proxmox

In my lab, I'm running Proxmox instead of other virtualization software. Installation is similar to the documentation for VMware here:

https://clouddocs.f5.com/bigip-next/latest/install/cm_install_vmware.html

I was able to setup BIG-IP Next CentralManager as well as BIG-IP Next instances.

Start by downloading the images from here:

https://my.f5.com/manage/s/downloads

I chose the OVA formats for each.

Group BIG-IP_Next

Product Line: Central Manager (CM)

Version: 20.1

File: BIG-IP-Next-CentralManager-20.1.0-0.8.112.ova

Then on your proxmox instance, unpack the ova file with tar for example:

mkdir CentralManager
cd CentralManager
tar xvf ../BIG-IP-Next-CentralManager-20.1.0-0.8.112.ova
qm importovf 1100 BIG-IP-Next-CentralManager-20.1.0-0.8.112.ovf local-zfs
qm set 1100 -net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0

I'm using my local-zfs as storage and assigning the vm number 1100. You may want to change one or both of those. The import takes a long time as it's importing 350G of storage! For some reason the OVF import does not create a network interface on my setup, so I add that after the import.

You may also want to change the SCSI controller to virtio SCSI as it's a bit more efficient.

Next start the VM up from the web interface to Proxmox. It will take a while to boot. Once it does it will show the IPv4 and IPv6 address (if enabled) on the console. In my setup, I assign a static dhcp address to the node here, and then reboot again. Note: it appears that CM does NOT support DUID and/or dhcpv6. You can login on the console or ssh into the box using admin/admin and proceed as in the VMware docs.

Note: you will need samba or nfs "External Storage" or setup will fail. The "Share Path" needs to start with a "/".

Once CM setup is complete, or while you're waiting for it to do so, download:

Group: BIG-IP_Next

Product Line: Virtual Edition (VE)

Version: 20.1

File: BIG-IP-Next-20.1.0-2.279.0+0.0.75.ova

unpack it as above:

mkdir Next
cd Nex
tar xvf ../BIG-IP-Next-20.1.0-2.279.0+0.0.75.ova
qm importovf 1100 BIG-IP-Next-20.1.0-2.279.0+0.0.75.ovf local-zfs
qm set 1101 -net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0

Again, you might want to use a vm id of other then 1101 and/or storage other than local-zfs. This takes less time as it's only importing 80G of data. Again, for me, no network interfaces were created, so I create two. If you have different subnets, you may want your first interface on your management network and the second on a traffic network. I then assign a static address in DHCP and reboot again. When I create both network interfaces, the services on port 5443 don't seem to start up.

As above, you may also want to change the SCSI controller to virtio SCSI as it's a bit more efficient.

After the system boots, the instructions say to login as admin. This did NOT work for me. Instead, I use curl to change the admin credentials:

curl  -kX PUT https://next-ip:5443/api/v1/me \
-u admin:admin \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"currentPassword": "admin", "newPassword": "Welcome123!"}'

On my.f5.com request a license for BIP-IP Next, copy the JWT and paste it in to activate the license.

 

Now that I've re-installed everything, I can't get the license to take again, so it might be a one-time-use.

  • Nice work TimRiker ... I will be writing up KVM/proxmox as well eventually, with pretty pictures for the cavemen among us. :)

    • JRahm's avatar
      JRahm
      Icon for Admin rankAdmin

      lol...Just a recursion test, nothing to see here... I updated with the link I meant to share.

  • I rebooted both CM and the BIG-IP Next instance, retried the same trial JWT and it worked this time. I'm up and running again.

  • Tim,

    Are you using an eval license, or do you have a LAB-VE for 20.x ?
    I am curious because I do not see a 20.x LAB VE at CDW

     

    I too am using proxmox, and have setup 17.x using qcow.

    Looking to 'begin' my journey for NEXT.

    • TimRiker's avatar
      TimRiker
      Icon for Cirrocumulus rankCirrocumulus

      I'm using a trial License for BIG-IP Next. I've use the same license on both HA pair members now. The trial lasts only a month, so not sure what I'll do after that.

      My BIG-IP (TMOS?) instance is running a Lab VE license.

      • JRahm's avatar
        JRahm
        Icon for Admin rankAdmin

        For trial, once it expires that instance is dead. Recreate an instance and apply trial against it and redeploy your test workloads from drafts and should be good to go,