F5 NGINX Automation Examples [Part 2: Deploying NGINXaaS with App Protect and Grafana Integration]

Introduction

Welcome back to the F5 NGINX Automation Examples series. We will explore innovative ways to leverage the power of NGINX and F5 technologies for modern application deployment. If you’re new to this series, be sure to start with our first article. This series utilizes the F5 NGINX Automation GitHub repository along with a robust CI/CD platform to facilitate the deployment of F5 NGINX as a Service for Azure (F5 NGINXaaS for Azure). This includes integrations with F5 NGINX App Protect for enhanced security, as well as Azure Grafana for comprehensive monitoring and visualization of system metrics. The approach is deeply rooted in DevSecOps principles. It ensures that security, automation, and collaboration are woven into every stage of your development and deployment processes.

F5 NGINXaaS for Azure is a versatile and powerful Application Delivery as a Service (ADCaaS) platform that seamlessly integrates with the Microsoft Azure cloud environment. This service harnesses the scalability, flexibility, and reliability of cloud-native infrastructure. Combined with the adaptability of NGINX technology, it empowers organizations to deploy, secure, and scale their modern applications and microservices efficiently. Whether you're managing small projects or large-scale enterprise applications, NGINXaaS provides the tools and infrastructure you need to meet your evolving IT and business needs.

In this detailed example, we present a comprehensive, step-by-step guide for setting up a Terraform deployment of NGINXaaS on Azure with NGINX App Protect. This deployment will enable advanced load-balancing capabilities for demonstration applications such as tea and coffee, which run across two virtual machines. The NGINX App Protect policy will secure upstream applications, ensuring robust security and traffic management.

Furthermore, this guide will walk you through deploying Azure Grafana. This powerful visualization tool lets you effectively monitor and analyze system metrics, including those from F5 NGINX Plus and virtual machines. By doing this, you can get useful information about how your system works, find problems, and make your deployment work best for you and your customers.

Architecture Diagram

NGINXaaS + App Protect with Azure Grafana Workflow guide

Deploying F5 NGINXaaS on Azure with App Protect and Azure Grafana Integration

The workflow guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to deploy using Terraform, along with other relevant instructions.

Note: This workflow guide covers the deployment of Precompiled App Protect Policies in NGINXaaS using Terraform. Custom security policies for NGINXaaS for Azure can be created and managed via API or Azure Portal, but not currently through Terraform.

Prerequisites:

Azure Account - Due to the assets being created, the free tier will no longer be applicable.
GitHub Account

Tools:

Cloud Provider:  Azure
IAC: Terraform
CI/CD: GitHub Actions

Conclusion

This article outlines how to automate the deployment of F5 NGINXaaS on Azure, including NGINX App Protect and Azure Grafana integration, using Terraform. By following the step-by-step process, you can efficiently create a robust and scalable environment to manage your applications. The integration of NGINX App Protect enhances the security of your deployments. Azure Grafana provides essential insights through visualization, helping you monitor performance and make informed decisions.