Sizing ASM

Hi Alex,

 

Sizing is a complex art which is heavily dependent on variables which are unique to your environment like: the average response size of your application, the latency of your servers, total throughput of the traffic that needs to inspected, current utilization of BIG-IP, use of iRules, the pick number of req/sec that need to be inspected etc'.

 

I suggest to open a support case with the information you already know (much of this info can be taken from the BIG-IP performance reporting GUI) so one of our engineers can help you.

 

Cheers,

 

 

Ido

 

I do not know of any tool for sizing. There are three pieces of advice I would like to provide.

 

 

Number 1 - Read this article:

 

http://devcentral.f5.com/weblogs/macvittie/archive/2009/03/30/would-you-risk-31000-for-milliseconds-of-application-response-time.aspx

 

Lori did an awesome job on that article.

 

 

Number 2 - Turn on ASM and start working with it. Pipe some of your traffic through it and start building policies. Start with traffic that has good servers on the backend, doesn't have many services to protect and is somewhat low in traffic. ASM sizing can be complex, but setting up the device and using isn't that bad. Once you have configured a few policies you can get a feel for how it affects traffic.

 

 

Number 3 - Seek out and talk to the F5 Engineers or a Certified Product Consultant.