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Forum Discussion

WeaverJK's avatar
WeaverJK
Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
Nov 12, 2015

BIG-IP Virtual Edition - what does it include?

I'm new to using F5 appliances. I am here performing research for work. It appears to me that the "BIG-IP" is more of a branding, while the actual appliances are broken down by core function, such a...
Kevin_Davies_40's avatar
Kevin_Davies_40
Icon for Nacreous rankNacreous
Nov 14, 2015

John,

 

You purchase a license to run the LAB edition of BIGIP. This license enables a fully functional virtual edition with LTM/GTM/APM/ASM/AFM/AAM/CGNAT applications that is limited to 10MB/s throughput. The license itself is a key much like you see for other product keys. However the license process embeds information about your hardware or virtual so the license is tied to that specific installation. The license tells the BIGIP which applications you can enable.

 

BIGIP's all share the same software image which contains all applications (except management). You purchase a license to enable them. Then you can enable one or more depending on the memory available to the virtual machine. The software is the same that is run on the hardware just configured to support a virtual environment instead of a hardware one. This is the same image used in commerical deployments of BIGIP.

 

Jerry_Lees_4280's avatar
Jerry_Lees_4280
Historic F5 Account
Nov 15, 2015
John's response here is spot on. The memory assigned to the virtual machine is the item that dictates what modules can be provisioned, and in some case what combinations. This is exactly teh same as a hardware appliance. The mention of the $95 lab VE license is a good point, this license is intended for a Lab license. It is not only limited to 10mb/s but also not supported in a production environment. That's where the differences stop though as far as I know.