course overview
Overview
This 3-day course provides networking professionals a functional understanding of iRules development.
The course builds on the foundation of the Administering BIG-IP or Configuring LTM course, demonstrating how to logically plan and write iRules to help monitor and manage common tasks involved with processing traffic on the BIG-IP system.
Extensive course labs consist of writing, applying and evaluating the effect of iRules on local traffic.
This hands-on course includes lectures, labs, and discussions.
Course Topics
• Setting up the BIG-IP system
• Getting started with iRules
• Leveraging DevCentral resources for iRule development
• Exploring iRule elements, including events, functions, commands, variables, and operators
• Using control structures for conditional branching and looping
• Mastering whitespace, grouping, and special symbols
• Measuring iRule efficiency using timing statistics
• Logging from an iRule using syslog-ng and high-speed logging (HSL)
• Optimizing iRules execution, including implementing efficiency best practices
• Modularizing iRules for administrative efficiency, including using procedures
• Securing web applications with iRules, including preventing common HTTP attacks, securing HTTP headers and cookies, and implementing HTTP strict transport security (HSTS)
• Working with strings, including using Tcl parsing commands and iRules parsing functions
• Accessing and manipulating HTTP traffic, including applying selective HTTP compression
• Working with iFiles and data groups
• Using iRules with universal persistence and stream profiles
• Gathering statistics using STATS and ISTATS
• Incorporating advanced variables, including arrays, static variables, and the session table
Audience
This course is intended for system administrators, network administrators and application developers responsible for the customization of traffic flow through a BIG-IP system using iRules.
Skills Gained
At the end of this course, the student will be able to:
• Describe the role of iRules in customizing application delivery on a BIG-IP system
• Describe best practices for using iRules
• Define event context, and differentiate between client-side and server-side contexts, request and response contexts, and local and remote contexts
• Trigger an iRule for both client-side and server-side request and response events
• Assign multiple iRules to a virtual server and control the order in which duplicate events trigger
• Describe and use a testing methodology for iRule development and troubleshooting
• Use local variables, static variables, lists, arrays, the session table, and data groups to store information needed for iRule execution
• Write iRules that are optimized for runtime and administrative efficiency
• Use control structures to conditionally branch or loop within an iRule
• Log from an iRule using Linux syslog-ng or TMOS high-speed logging (HSL)
• Incorporate coding best practices during iRule development
• Use analyzer tools to capture and view traffic flow on both client-side and server-side contexts
• Collect and use timing statistics to measure iRule runtime efficiency
• Write iRules to help mitigate and defend from some common HTTP attacks
• Differentiate between decimal, octal, hexadecimal, floating-point, and exponential notation
• Parse and manipulate strings using Tcl commands and iRule functions
• Write iRules to access and manipulate HTTP header information
• Write iRules to collect customized statistics
• Implement universal persistence via an iRule
• Modify payload content using an iRule with a stream profile
Prerequisites
Students must complete one of the following F5 prerequisites before attending this course:
? Administering BIG-IP instructor-led course -or-
? Configuring BIG-IP LTM instructor-led course -or-
? F5 Certified BIG-IP Administrator
The following free web-based courses, although optional, will be very helpful for any student with limited BIG-IP administration and configuration experience.
These courses are available at LearnF5 (https://www.f5.com/services/training):
? Getting Started with BIG-IP
? Getting Started with BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
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 protocol
? Any programming language
Outline
F5 Networks is the leader in application security and availability. F5 Solutions ensure that applications are always secure and perform the way they should – anywhere, anytime, and on any device.
F5 Networks training courses will give you the knowledge needed to install and configure F5 Networks solutions including LTM, ASM, DNS, APM, AFM, AAM, Viprion, Big-IQ, iApps, and iRules.
F5 trainers bring to the classroom decades of extensive experience. All F5 Networks courses consist of Lectures, Labs, and Discussions and are available either in a classroom setting or as virtual live courses.
Network professionals intending to attend F5 Networks courses are required to be proficient with Basic PC operation and application skills, Windows OS & Basic Web Browser operation (HTTP).
If you need training for 3 or more people, you should ask us about onsite training. Putting aside the obvious location benefit, content can be customised to better meet your business objectives and more can be covered than in a public classroom. Its a cost effective option. One on one training can be delivered too, at reasonable rates.
Submit an enquiry from any page on this site, and let us know you are interested in the requirements box, or simply mention it when we contact you.
All $ prices are in USD unless it’s a NZ or AU date
SPVC = Self Paced Virtual Class
LVC = Live Virtual Class
Our clients have included prestigious national organisations such as Oxford University Press, multi-national private corporations such as JP Morgan and HSBC, as well as public sector institutions such as the Department of Defence and the Department of Health.
