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mikeinet_61712's avatar
mikeinet_61712
Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
Mar 14, 2008

Simulator?

I've seen a lot of talk of this in the past (2+ years ago), but nothing recently.

 

 

Is there any simulator or way to test configurations with a BigIP? (Specifically, 1500). I would like to test a number of changes, but am nervous implimenting it on a production box first go.

 

 

Thanks!
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  • The_Bhattman's avatar
    The_Bhattman
    Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
    Mar 16, 2008
    You might want to speak with your F5 Account Rep to see if they can provide you a demo 1500 that allows you to test before the changes go into affect.
  • hoolio's avatar
    hoolio
    Icon for Cirrostratus rankCirrostratus
    Apr 02, 2008
    cmbhatt's suggestion is probably the best option for now. Longer term, there is a CR which notes the request to allow customers to run BIG-IP software virtually. It's CR81856. If you want to raise the visibility of this request, open a case with F5 Support using https://websupport.f5.com and request to have your case attached to this CR. The justification I provided when opening a case was:

     

     

     

    - Being able to run BIG-IP software in vmware would be a simple, cheap way to test layer 7 configurations, like iRules, WAM, ASM security policies.

     

     

    - It would reduce the need to perform functional testing on live equipment.

     

     

    - I believe the main functionality already exists, but hasn't been released to customers.

     

     

    - There have been numerous requests on DevCentral from customers who want to be able to test iRules in a simulator. I think using a vmware instance would meet their requirements. Here are a few related posts:

     

     

    http://devcentral.f5.com/Default.aspx?tabid=53&view=topic&postid=20628

     

    http://devcentral.f5.com/Default.aspx?tabid=53&forumid=5&tpage=1&view=topic&postid=1573515772

     

    http://devcentral.f5.com/Default.aspx?tabid=53&forumid=46&postid=22105&view=topic

     

     

     

     

    Thanks,

     

    Aaron