BIG-IP : deleted data-group/file contents are re-appearing in re-created data-group/file of same name
f5 BIG-IP LTM VE v11.4.0 on ESXi
Does BIG-IP somewhere retain contents of deleted data-files - perhaps in a hidden cache file or a database ?
Consider the following sequence :
Via BIG-IP browser admin , I delete a data-group and then its related data-file. When I peruse BIG-IP's data dirs, the corresponding data-file is no longer present :
/config/filestore/files_d/Common_d/data_group_d/:Common:test_data_file_57958_1
This is as expected.
Also not present are any other data-files with names of the form :
/:Common:test_data_file_*
This is also as expected.
Next via the iControl API I create a brand new data-group/file of same name
test_data_file
Via browser admin, I open the newly created data-file, and I'm very surprised to see remnants of the previous deleted data-file’s data ( at the top of the file ), along with some, but not all, of the data I supplied in the new external data-file ( the one that was pointed to with the Browse button during the Create sequence ).
This is completely unexpected.
Really weird. Somehow BIG-IP is remembering the contents of a deleted data-file and then co-mingling that data with the new data supplied for a new data-file of same name.