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RobertF5
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Mar 14, 2026

BIG IP LTM BEST PRACTICES

I want to do an F5 deployment to balance traffic to multiple web servers for an application that will be accessed by 500k users, and I have several questions.

 

As an architecture, I have a VXLAN fabric (ONE-SITE)where the F5 (HA ACTIVE-PASIVE) and the firewall(HA ACTIVE-PASIVE) are attached to the border/service leafs(eBGP PEERING for FIREWALL-BORDER LEAF, STATIC FOR F5-BORDER). The interface to the ISP is connected to the firewall(I think it would have been recommended to attach it to the border leafs), where the first VIP is configured, translating the public IP to an IP in the FIRST ARM VLAN(CLIENT SIDE TRANSIT TO BORDER), specifically where I created the VIP on F5.

 

1)

I want to know if the design up to this point is correct. I would also like to know whether the subnet where the VIPs reside on the F5 can be different, and if it is recommended for it to be different, from the subnet used for CLIENT SIDE TRANSIT.

2)

I also want to know if it is recommended for the second ARM VLAN (server side) to be the same as the web server VLAN, or if it is better for the web server subnet(another vlan) to be different, with routing between the two networks.

 

3)

I would also like to know whether it is recommended for the SOURCE NAT pool to be the same as the SECOND ARM VLAN (server side) or if it should be different.

 

In any of the approaches, I would still need to perform Source NAT, I also need to implement SSL offloading and WAF (Web Application Firewall).

 

I am very familiar with the routing aspects for any deployment model. What I would like to know is what the best architectural approach would be, or how you would design such a deployment.

 

Thank you very much—any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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