How to get a F5 BIG-IP VE Developer Lab License

can we get some help here? i'm not trying to trash f5, in fact just the opposite...

i want to get my hands on a couple 18x lab licenses so i can test / learn / certify / promote f5 products.

i love my 16.x ve labs, and want to get the latest version so i can learn the new functionallity.

f5 has always made quality products, and the support is one of the best in the business!

please make the lab editions easier to obtain so we can continue to learn and expand the customer base of f5!

-drew

When i asked CDW about 18, they were told by F5 that it not exist yet. I was also told 16 also did not exist and only 15 existed, though I got no help getting the license for 15. When I visited VE downloads, I only saw 15 and earlier only.

UPDATE:

Good evening.

My F5 Sales Engineer responded even though he is on vacation. He handed off to the Engineer. The Engineer engaged the F5 Public sector sales group. Someone from that group sent me and e-mail and we had a phone conversation moments ago. Wow! Talk about good customer service!

Okay - so here's the bad part. While F5 is great at many things, handing their Lab licenses and sales of those licenses to the general public (apparently called the Private sector, not "public" as seems logical to me) is Not one of those things.

To be clear, it was the F5 Public sector sales group that reached out to me. They handle sales to government entities, not companies or private citizens.

I explained the situation to this person. He understands the situation. He said he would reach back to F5 and see what they can come up with.

If you work for a government entity (are military, Civilian, or Contractor) and would like assistance, there's no guarantee this group that reached out to me tonight will be able to assist, but if you choose to send me your name and e-mail address, I will pass that information along and request that they reach out to you. The individual I spoke with tonight did not want to post anything here himself at this time and did not want to make promises he couldn't keep.

I did receive a quite tonight however and can verify that this is the current listing for the current lab license:

Part No.: F5-BIG-VE-LAB-V18

Description: BIG-IP Virtual Edition: Lab License (LTM, DNS,

AFM, ASM, AWF, APM, CGN, SSLO, Routing,

SDN, Crypto Offload, Ext-HSM, Adv, Protocols,

10 Mbps, v12.1.x - v18.x)

F5 Networks, Inc. - F5-BIG-VE-LAB-V18

The price quoted to me (for Public sector and from this specific company) was less than $95. When I purchased my lab licenses four years ago, the price was $115 or so. I would expect to pay about $120 or more if a private citizen.

And the Service Agreement is:

Part No.: F5-SVC-BIG-PRESW218

Description: BIG-IP Service: Premium CAT SW218

F5 Networks, Inc. - F5-SVC-BIG-PRE-SW218

The price quoted to me (for Public sector and from this specific company) was less than $17 for 1 Year.

At least I kicked the ball over to F5 and they acknowledged the concern.

Best Wishes,

John K. Weaver

CISSP, CISM, CISA, CCNP, CCNA-Security, F5-CA, MCSE-Security, MCITP-EA/SA/VA (2008), VCP-DCV 2019 (v6.5), VCP6-NV (v6.2), VCP5-DCV (v5.5), Security+CE  

Where are you seeing downloads for 16-18? These are not listed on the site.

Jer - who are you addressing?

I have not been on the F5 web site since they moved to v13.

I am not sure what web site you are looking at (no URL showing).

I received a Quote from F5. That's the information I passed along.

Starting a D&D game now so I have to go. Catch you guys and gals later.

JKW

Screenshot is from F5.com (dark mode extension for Chrome), the normal download area. My point is, 16-18 doesn't seem to exist yet. Where are people getting it and why is CDW supposedly selling 16 and 18 even though F5 classifies them as support extensions during attempted transactions? What a mess.

Jer, I see what you mean. Interesting. When I spoke with the F5 Public sector salesman, I told him I had not heard of v16, v17, or v18. I explained that, when I last worked with F5 OS, I recall using v13 (with v14 on the horizon). The salesman told me they do indeed have v15, v16, and v18.

I just logged in, as you did, and see the same thing - v15 is the most recent available in the Downloads section.

I also heard back from my primary federal sales rep this morning. He is researching the issue and will get back with me.

I'll keep you updated,

John

Update:

I spoke with my F5 sales team.

1) I was informed that any F5 reseller can sell the VE Lab Licenses.

Keep in mind that there is little profit, if any, in reselling the lab licenses. This may explain the apparent ignorance or indifference of some resellers when it comes to Lab licenses.

2) Sounds like v16 and v18 are future releases that are in the works. This explains why the F5 Downloads section goes up to v15, but not v16 or v18. F5 has apparently released SKUs for resellers to use to sell licenses for the future v16 and v18 versions. This explains why some vendors show v16 or v18 for sale. The licenses being sold will include the version being sold for. As an example, my own lab licenses are "F5-SVC-BIG-VE+PREL13." If I recall, I have access to some v9, some v10, some v11 (but not all, for example, the version on the exams was not available with this license four years ago!), v12, and v13).

3) My F5 sales contact reached out to internal leaders to determine if F5 might want to sell lab licenses directly instead of through resellers (which would make things a Ton easier for people like us!). Response forthcoming. My own thoughts: of course, even if it were a positive response, getting to the desired state may take much time.

4) I sent back questions about lab licenses and versions covered. For example, if we purchase a v18 lab license, which versions will we be allowed to utilize in the lab?

Hope the information helps.

I'll keep you posted as things develop.

John

Hi all;

Sorry I haven't been able to get back to you sooner. Here's the scoop on licensing:

The lab licenses are designed to allow upgrades for several versions. That version is baked into the internal SKU as you've seen. There are several different lab functions for different sectors so the SKU defines what features are available and through what versions, including future versions.

F5-BIG-VE-LAB-V18: This is a BIG-IP Virtual Edition Lab License that will work through version 18 when it's released in the future. I am running this license on my v15 BIG-IP Lab. I won't have to relicense when I upgrade.

What you're all running into and what I've brought up several times with CDW and F5 internally is that should NOT be the title of the purchasable license to consumers. As this thread clearly illustrates, it confuses everyone when you see a future version date as the sellable item. It also really doesn't help when they have two versions on there without an explanation. I know the older v15, v16 licenses are designed to work back to a specific version (if you were running v11 and wanted to test upgrades for example).

The second issue here is how is an emailed license can be "out of stock". That even happened to me and I have no idea the back end rationalization.

I will escalate this thread up as another case of legacy sales methods failing a digital purchasing model. F5 does know this is a huge issue and we have several "things" being worked on to fix it.

But the short is: Call CDW and ask where the order is. I did create a personal secret shopper account and was able to get the order through once I gave them a physical shipping address (even though it's an emailed license) and they had to create a secondary charge of $15ish USD for a support contract to go with the license, something not listed/itemized on their site.

But it did end up going through and I do know that another community member used that info and got their license same week.

What other questions related to this fun subject do you need answering? 😁

Chase, did you actually get a license as a secret shopper or just complete an order? I have tried to get a license twice and failed. Placing the order is not the issue. I've never been prompted by CDW to buy a support contract. I have lost hours upon hours via phone and email with CDW. I still see no way to get this license though CDW.