Does F5 Virtual Edition running on Esxi support VMware Virtual Machine backups ?

Hi Frederick,

F5 Virtual Edition (VE) running on VMware ESXi does not officially support full VM backups using VMware's native backup tools. Instead, F5 recommends using UCS (User Configuration Set) backups for configuration and state preservation

Key Points:

1. UCS Backups:
   • Purpose: UCS backups capture the configuration, including system settings, network configurations, and SSL certificates.
   • Usage: Regularly create UCS backups to ensure you can restore your F5 VE configuration if needed.
2. VM Snapshots:
   • Limitation: While VM snapshots can be useful for short-term state preservation, they are not recommended for long-term backups or disaster recovery. Snapshots can impact performance and are not a substitute for UCS backups1.
3. Full VM Backups:
   • Support: Full VM backups using VMware's native tools are not officially supported for F5 VE. This means that while you might be able to create a full VM backup, it is not the recommended or supported method for ensuring the integrity and recoverability of your F5 VE configuration1.

Recommended Approach:

1. Regular UCS Backups:
   • Schedule regular UCS backups to capture the configuration and state of your F5 VE.
   • Example command to create a UCS backup:
     
     tmsh save /sys ucs <filename>.ucs
   • 
     I use this universal command and i can use it on any F5
     
     tmsh save sys ucs $(echo $HOSTNAME | cut -d'.' -f1)-$(date +%Y-%m-%d-%H-%M-%S)_UCS
     

     tmsh save sys ucs

     • tmsh: Traffic Management Shell, the command-line interface for managing F5 devices.
     • save: A command used to save the current configuration.
     • sys: Refers to the system configuration.
     • ucs: Stands for User Configuration Set, a file format used to save the configuration of the F5 device.

     $(echo $HOSTNAME | cut -d'.' -f1)

     • $(): Command substitution, used to execute the command inside the parentheses and substitute its output into the command line.
     • echo $HOSTNAME: Prints the value of the environment variable HOSTNAME, which contains the hostname of the device.
     • |: Pipe operator, used to pass the output of the command on its left (echo $HOSTNAME) as input to the command on its right (cut -d'.' -f1).
     • cut -d'.' -f1: Cuts the input string using the delimiter . and selects the first field.
       • cut: A command used to remove sections from each line of files.
       • -d'.': Specifies the delimiter as a dot (.).
       • -f1: Selects the first field.

     -$(date +%Y-%m-%d-%H-%M-%S)_UCS

     • -: A hyphen used to concatenate the hostname with the date and time.
     • $(date +%Y-%m-%d-%H-%M-%S): Command substitution to get the current date and time in the specified format.
       • date: A command used to display the current date and time.
       • +%Y-%m-%d-%H-%M-%S: Specifies the format for the date and time.
         • %Y: Year (e.g., 2025).
         • %m: Month (e.g., 02).
         • %d: Day (e.g., 12).
         • %H: Hour (e.g., 22).
         • %M: Minute (e.g., 41).
         • %S: Second (e.g., 07).
     • _UCS: A suffix added to the filename to indicate that it is a UCS file.

     Putting It All Together

     The command tmsh save sys ucs $(echo $HOSTNAME | cut -d'.' -f1)-$(date +%Y-%m-%d-%H-%M-%S)_UCS does the following:

     1. Generates a Filename:
        • The filename is created by combining the hostname (up to the first dot) and the current date and time, followed by the suffix _UCS.
        • For example, if the hostname is f5.example.com and the current date and time is 2025-02-12 22:41:07, the filename would be f5-2025-02-12-22-41-07_UCS.
     2. Saves the UCS File:
        • The tmsh save sys ucs command saves the current system configuration to a UCS file with the generated filename.

     Example

     If the hostname is f5.example.com and the current date and time is 2025-02-12 22:41:07, the command would execute as:

     tmsh save sys ucs f5-2025-02-12-22-41-07_UCS

     This saves the UCS file with the name f5-2025-02-12-22-41-07_UCS.

2. Store Backups Securely:
   • Ensure that UCS backups are stored securely and are accessible in case of a recovery scenario.
3. Test Restorations:
   • Periodically test the restoration process to ensure that backups are valid and can be used to restore the system if needed.

By following these recommendations, you can ensure that your F5 VE configuration is backed up and can be restored effectively. 

Kindly rate

HTH
F5 Design Engineer