1. Understanding Default VLANs on BIG-IP By design, when you first run the BIG-IP Setup Utility, TMOS automatically creates two VLAN objects in the Common partition: external VLAN: Typically carries traffic between the data‐center network and client networks. internal VLAN: Usually used for traffic between the BIG-IP and backend application servers or private subnets. Each... » read more
1. Obtaining Your BIG-IP License Key 1.1 Trial vs. Production Licenses 30-day Trial License: Ideal for lab evaluations or proof-of-concepts. Perpetual/Annual Production License: Purchased through F5 or an authorized reseller, tied to specific BIG-IP hardware serial numbers or VE instances. 1.2 Requesting a Trial from MyF5 To get a 30-day trial for BIG-IP VE (or... » read more
F5 BIG-IP’s fail-safe features—System, VLAN, and Gateway—provide robust, automated recovery mechanisms that complement traditional HA clustering. By monitoring service heartbeats, network traffic flow, and upstream reachability, BIG-IP can take preconfigured corrective actions (reboots, service restarts, failovers) when anomalies arise, significantly reducing MTTR and safeguarding application availability. 1. Why Fail-Safe Matters in an ADC An ADC... » read more
Configuring an F5 BIG-IP load balancer involves creating nodes, health monitors, pools, and virtual servers, then applying SSL profiles, SNAT, and persistence to suit your application’s needs. By clustering BIG-IP systems and leveraging iApps or AS3, you can automate deployments and ensure continuous service availability. 1. BIG-IP LTM Concepts at a Glance Before diving into... » read more
The Evolution of BIG-IP: From Load Balancer to Full Proxy Platform F5’s BIG-IP platform dates back to 1997, predating modern cloud-native architectures by over a decade. Originally conceived as a high-performance load balancer, BIG-IP enabled organizations to distribute incoming user traffic across multiple application servers, alleviating server overloads and improving availability. Over the ensuing years,... » read more
1. Preparing for Deployment Before touching the FortiGate GUI or CLI, gather: Network Plan: IP subnets for LAN, WAN, DMZ, VPN pools, and management. Access Credentials: FortiGate serial number, default admin login (GUI/SSH), and SSH keys if used. Documentation: FortiGate model datasheet, FortiOS version compatibility, and firmware image. Maintaining clear documentation of your network design... » read more
1. The Role of At its simplest, Fortinet’s flagship product line—FortiGate Next-Generation Firewa—serves as a high-performance gatekeeper that inspects every packet of network traffic, comparing it against security policies to allow, block, or quarantine content. But Fortinet’s DNA goes far beyond traditional firewalls. Its platform is built on three pillars: FortiOS, a unified operating system... » read more
Industry Applications and Real-World Scenarios Finance and Banking: Tight compliance requirements and persistent targeted attacks demand integrated security, granular segmentation, and continuous monitoring provided by Fortinet’s fabric. Healthcare: Protecting patient data and ensuring uptime for critical care systems via secure endpoints, encrypted communications, and real-time threat detection. Retail: Securing POS systems, guest Wi-Fi, and back-office... » read more
Real-World Use Cases Campus Simplification An enterprise with 10,000+ users replaced three disparate vendors (firewall, wireless controller, NAC) with a FortiGate-centric LAN Edge. Result: 50% fewer consoles to manage 30% faster onboarding of new buildings (zero-touch provisioning) Increased segmentation granularity without VLAN sprawl Branch Network Convergence A retail chain deployed FortiGate SD-Branch appliances at 200... » read more