F5 VE on Proxmox
Has anybody been successful running F5 BIG-IP VE on Proxmox? Proxmox: Operating System: Debian GNU/Linux 10 (buster) Kernel: Linux 5.0.18-1-pve Architecture: x86-64 F5 VE: virtual edition 14.1.2.2 from downloads.f5.com I tried both qcow2 and .ova(scsi) licensing with trial license obtained from F5 single NIC mode According to https://clouddocs.f5.com/cloud/public/v1/matrix.html, Debian should be supported distribution. Following instructions on https://techdocs.f5.com/kb/en-us/products/big-ip_ltm/manuals/product/bigip-ve-setup-linux-kvm-13-0-0/1.html. Creating new VM in Proxmox: OS: guest OS Linux, 2.6 Kernel, no media for OS Hard Disk: bus SCSI, VirtIO SCSI, NFS storage, QEMU format (qcow2), 100GB CPU: 4 sockets Memory: 8GB Network: bridge vmbr0 openvswitch with appropriate vlan tag, VirtIO, no firewall VM is created replacing just created qcow2 on remote storage with downloaded F5 qcow2 image. VM is started I am able to get prompt in Proxmox console, log in with default root account. But then mcpd keeps on restarting - constantly every few seconds. Logs show errors caused by permission errors. For some reason F5 is complaining that it cannot create "/shared/.snapshots_d/" because of permission problem. However permissions of "/shared" are OK. When I create .snapshots_d folder manually as root, mcpd no longer restarts, no more console errors... I run config utility to setup management IP/mask/gateway. As expected in single NIC mode, https port is automatically configured to 8443. I am able to reach GUI configuration utility and login as admin. Up until now everything looks fine. When trying to license the VM, I am able to generate dossier, also receive the generated license file from F5. But when I apply the license to the VM and click next, it acts as if nothing has happened. GUI keeps showing VE is not yet licensed. LTM logs says: err mcpd: License file open fails, Permission denied. "/config/bigip.license" has read permission for all and write for tomcat. Those are expected permissions for the license file. Funny though, content of /config/bigip.license is now actually populated with the correct new license. But "Registration Key" in "tmsh show sys hardware" is empty. There are several other file system related warnings or errors in logs.. so I suspect that the whole issue is with how F5 VE is accessing file system on Proxmox. But I don't know what to check or fix further. Is it even possible to run F5 VE on Proxmox? (although F5 clearly states it should be.) thx.
BIG-IP license throughput limit tracking
Hi all, I'm looking for a way to track the throughput limit on my BIG-IP appliances using iControl REST API. The problem that I'm having is that I have found a way to do this but I'm sure it will work for the license type that I have, where I am not sure about other license types. I would like for this tool to work if I change my license so this is where I could use your help. I have found perf_VE_throughput_Mbps property on . What I'm wondering if other license types will also contain limit in Mbps within the brackets after the property perf_VE_throughput_Mbps[5000]: { description: "Virtual Edition maximum throughput" }, Furthermore I only have virtual appliances and it would be great if somebody could tell me if this property is present on physical appliances as well and how does it look like. Any help with this would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
11.6 HTTP compression limit
Hi Guys, I have the default http compression license which provides me compression up to 50mbits, the thing is, I am using maximum 3Mbit/sec of http compression throughput (checking with statistics, it clear show plataform limit 1Gbps, License limit 48Mbps, Current Value 3Mbps, and checking the graph it never go beyond 20Mbps) but I am still getting the following message: Compression license limit of 50 Mbit/s exceeded today. How does this limit works? I thought that as far as I don't cross the 50Mbit/sec limit it should be fine, so I don't know why I am getting this error with only 3Mbit/sec throughput. Can someone help me to understand this? Thanks a lot!
Create or edit "Chargeback Tag" in ELA license
Problem this snippet solves: You are using BIG-IQ Centralized Manager or BIG-IQ License Manager to manage your ELA licenses. The Chargeback Tag is visible on the customer usage reports, and can be useful if you bill across multiple departments within the account. When you first provision a license to a BIG-IP, you have the option to add a free text entry into a field call "Chargeback Tag". However, if you missed this or want to change this tag at a later time, it is currently not possible to add or edit the entry via the BIG-IQ GUI. How to use this snippet: You will need to copy the bash code below and then create a simple CSV file including details of the BIG-IP’s IP Address or MachineID and corresponding Chargeback Tag text you want to create or edit into the /shared directory of BIG-IQ. You will then run the script, which will confirm "Updating" followed by each IP address or MachineID and corresponding Chargeback Tag text. The Chargeback Tag can be seen in the BIG-IQ GUI: Devices >> License Management >> Licenses >> select ELA name >> Select Offering Name of the license type. The Chargeback Tag can also be seen in the reports created and shared each quarter by the Customer Success team. In the /shared directory of BIG-IQ, create a CSV file named update.csv and enter the value pair on a line for each BIG-IP device tag to chage using the format: <BIG-IP IP address1>,<new tag text> <BIG-IP IP address2>,<new tag text> Or <BIG-IP MachineID 1>,<new tag text> <BIG-IP MachineID 2>,<new tag text> For example: cd /shared vi update.csv Enter values: 10.11.10.43,new tag value 10.23.12.100, new tag value Or xxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx,new tag value yyyyyyy-yyyy-yyy-yyy-yyyyyyyyyyyyy,new tag value Save the file. Please note that no inverted commas are needed, and spaces are accepted within the Chargeback Tag value Create a file named update.sh in the same directory using your favourite editor, copy and paste the provided code below and make this file executable with: chmod u+x update.sh Run the script by entering ./update.sh If everything runs correctly, the output showing: Updating <ip address> to 'new tag' Or Updating <MachineId> to 'new tag' will be shown for each entry within the update.csv file Code : > /var/tmp/offerings > /var/tmp/lic-audit curl -s localhost:8100/cm/device/licensing/pool/utility/licenses/ | jq .items[].regKey -r | while read -r regkey ; do curl -s localhost:8100/cm/device/licensing/pool/utility/licenses/$regkey/offerings | jq .items[].id -r | while read -r off ; do curl -s localhost:8100/cm/device/licensing/pool/utility/licenses/$regkey/offerings/$off/members/ | jq .items[].id -r | while read -r id ; do curl -s localhost:8100/cm/device/licensing/pool/utility/licenses/$regkey/offerings/$off/members/$id | jq '.|{add:.deviceAddress,selfLink:.selfLink,deviceMachineId:.deviceMachineId}' -c >> /var/tmp/offerings done done done curl -s localhost:8100/cm/device/licensing/audit/ | jq '.items[]|{add:.address,id:.id,stat:.status,deviceMachineId:.machineId}' -c | grep GRAN >> /var/tmp/lic-audit cat update.csv | while read -r line ; do IP=$(echo $line | cut -d ',' -f1) VAL=$(echo $line | cut -d ',' -f2) echo "Updating $IP to '$VAL'" auditid=$(grep $IP /var/tmp/lic-audit | head -n1 | jq .id -r ) curl -s localhost:8100/cm/device/licensing/audit/$auditid | jq 'del(.generation,.lastUpdateMicros,.chargebackTag)' | jq --arg chargebackTag "$VAL" '. + {chargebackTag: $chargebackTag}' > /var/tmp/update-lic-audit curl -s localhost:8100/cm/device/licensing/audit/$auditid -XPUT -d @/var/tmp/update-lic-audit -o /dev/null offeringid=$(grep $IP /var/tmp/offerings | jq .selfLink -r | egrep -o '/cm/device/.*') curl -s "localhost:8100$offeringid" | jq 'del(.generation,.lastUpdateMicros,.chargebackTag)' | jq --arg chargebackTag "$VAL" '. + {chargebackTag: $chargebackTag}' > /var/tmp/update-offering curl -s "localhost:8100$offeringid" -XPUT -d @/var/tmp/update-offering -o /dev/null done Tested this on version: BIG-IQ 8.3.0Code to create unreachable ELA license files from BIG-IQ
Problem this snippet solves: *NOTE* if you are upgrading your BIG-IP,please refer to F5 solution:https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K13540950 BIG-IQ traditionally expects to be able to reach any BIG-IP devices it is going to license. This code helps create a license file from the ELA SKU offerings which can be applied on an Unreachable BIG-IP. I've added some troubleshoting steps at the end of the article, Dossier errors seen on the BIG-IP, just in case! How to use this snippet: SSH into the BIG-IP device and run the following command to gain the MAC address of the management interface tmsh show sys mac-address | grep -i interface [root@bigip1:Active:Standalone] config # tmsh show sys mac-address | grep -i interface ll:50:56:xx:xx:36net interfacemgmtmac-address xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxnet interface1.3mac-address xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxnet interface1.1mac-address xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx net interface1.2mac-address In the example above the MAC address we need is “ll:50:56:xx:xx:36” Now SSH into the BIG-IQ Move into the /shared directory (cd /shared) Copy over the Create-license.PY python script and run it by typing python Create-license.py The script runs and will prompt you for the following information [root@Preece-bigiq-cm1:Active:Standalone] shared # python Create-license.py Enter BIG-IQ user ID: admin Enter BIG-IQ Password: Enter Management IP address of BIG-IQ: 44.131.176.101 Enter Management IP address of BIG-IP to be licensed: 44.131.176.22 Enter Management MAC address of BIG-IP to be licensed: ll:50:56:xx:kk:36 Enter the name of the License Pool from which to take BIG-IP license: Load-18 Enter the license name to be assigned to the BIG-IP: F5-BIG-MSP-BT-1GIPIF-LIC-DEV Enter hypervisor used, valid options are: aws, azure, gce, hyperv, kvm, vmware,xen: vmware Optional: Enter chargeback tag if required: Department-A Optional: Enter tenant name if required: Customer-B Once the details have been filled in the script authenticates to the BIG-IQ and generates the license (30 seconds) If everything went well, you will be presented with a success message. The license file is saved as IP-address_bigip.license in the same directory as you run the script Using SCP copy the new license file from the BIG-IQ to your desktop. Copy the license file into the /config directory of the BIG-IP device. Rename the file, copy ip-address.bigip.license bigip.license Reload the license by typing reloadlic Observe the BIG-IP device restart its services and show as active. You can review in the GUI (System—License) and provision modules as needed. Code : import getpass # used to hide the users password input import json import os import requests from time import sleep """ This script uses the BIG-IQ API to license an unreachable (dark site) BIG-IP. The BIG-IQ licensing API needs certain details provided in order to license an appliance, these details can either be provided in a file call lic-data.json or if that file does not exist you will be prompted to enter them. The minimum contents of lic-data.json should be: { "licensePoolName": " -- Enter License Pool Name here. License Pool name can be found in BIG-IQ GUI -- ", "command": "assign", "address": " -- Enter MGMT IP Address of BIG-IP here -- ", "assignmentType": "UNREACHABLE", "macAddress": " -- Enter MAC address of MGMT IP for the BIG-IP here -- ", "hypervisor": " -- Enter hypervisor value here options are; aws, azure, gce, hyperv, kvm, vmware, xen: --", "unitOfMeasure": "yearly", "skuKeyword1": "-- Enter License Name here. License Name (or Offering name) can be found in the BIG-IQ GUI -- " } Additional Optional key:value pairs can be added to the JSON file to afix useful tags to the license. The json file with optional key:value pairs looks like: { "licensePoolName": " -- Enter License Pool Name here. License Pool name can be found in BIG-IQ GUI -- ", "command": "assign", "address": " -- Enter MGMT IP Address of BIG-IP here -- ", "assignmentType": "UNREACHABLE", "macAddress": " -- Enter MAC address of MGMT IP for the BIG-IP here -- ", "hypervisor": " -- Enter hypervisor value here options are; aws, azure, gce, hyperv, kvm, vmware, xen: --", "unitOfMeasure": "yearly", "skuKeyword1": "-- Enter License Name here. License Name (or Offering name) can be found in the BIG-IQ GUI -- ", "chargebackTag": "OPTIONAL: Remove this line if you are not going to use it", "tenant": "OPTIONAL: Remove this line if you are not going to use it" } A completed minimal lic-data.json file will look like this: { "licensePoolName": "byol-pool-utility", "command": "assign", "address": "10.1.1.10", "assignmentType": "UNREACHABLE", "macAddress": "06:ce:c2:43:b3:05", "hypervisor": "kvm", "unitOfMeasure": "yearly", "skuKeyword1": "F5-BIG-MSP-BT-P3-3GF-LIC-DEV" } lic-data.json must reside in the directory from which you execute this python script. """ def bigiqAuth(_bigiqAuthUrl, _bigiqCredentials): """ This function authenticates with BIG-IQ and collects the authentication token provided. Theo token will be used for subsequent calls to BIG-IQ """ _errFlag=0 try: _bigiqAuthInfo=_bigiq_session.post(_bigiqAuthUrl, data=json.dumps(_bigiqCredentials), verify=False) print(_bigiqAuthUrl) _bigiqAuthInfo.raise_for_status() print("Response code: %s" %_bigiqAuthInfo.status_code) except requests.exceptions.HTTPError as err: print(err) _errFlag=1 #end try if _errFlag==0: _bigiqResponse=_bigiqAuthInfo.json() _bigiqToken=_bigiqResponse['token'] for _token in _bigiqToken: if (_token == 'token'): _bigiqAuthToken=(_bigiqToken[_token]) # End if # Next _authHeaders={ "X-F5-Auth-Token": "{_authToken}".format(_authToken=_bigiqAuthToken) } else: _authHeaders=0 #end if print("** Completed Authentication ***") return(_authHeaders); #End Def def extractLicense(_rawLicenseJSON): """ This function pulls the generated license from BIG-IQ """ for _license in _rawLicenseJSON: if (_license=='licenseText'): _extractedLicense=_rawLicenseJSON[_license] #end if if (_license=='status'): if (_rawLicenseJSON[_license]=="FINISHED"): print("***** License has been assigned *****") else: _extractedLicense="FAILED" #end if #end if #next return(_extractedLicense); #End def def licenseData(): """ This function read the lic-data.json file. If it does not exist you will be prompted to enter the necessary values. """ if os.path.exists('lic-data.json'): with open('./lic-data.json') as licfile: _licdata = json.load(licfile) else: _bigipAddress=raw_input("Enter Management IP address of BIG-IP to be licensed: ") _bigipMACaddress=raw_input("Enter Management MAC address of BIG-IP to be licensed: ") _licensePoolName=raw_input("Enter the name of the License Pool from which to take BIG-IP license: ") _licenseSKU=raw_input("Enter the license name to be assigned to the BIG-IP: ") _hypervisorType=raw_input("Enter hypervisor used, valid options are: aws, azure, gce, hyperv, kvm, vmware, xen: ") _chargebackTag=raw_input("Optional: Enter chargeback tag if required: ") _tenantTag=raw_input("Optional: Enter tenant name if required: ") _licdata={ "licensePoolName": "{_licensePool}".format(_licensePool=_licensePoolName), "command": "assign", "address": "{_bigipIP}".format(_bigipIP=_bigipAddress), "assignmentType": "UNREACHABLE", "macAddress": "{_bigipMAC}".format(_bigipMAC=_bigipMACaddress), "hypervisor": "{_hypervisor}".format(_hypervisor=_hypervisorType), "unitOfMeasure": "yearly", "skuKeyword1": "{_license}".format(_license=_licenseSKU), "chargebackTag": "{_chargeback}".format(_chargeback=_chargebackTag), "tenant": "{_tenant}".format(_tenant=_tenantTag) } # End if return(_licdata); def urlConstruction(_bigiqUrl, _bigiqIP): """ This function rewrites the selflink URL returned by BIG-IQ to reflect BIG-IQ management IP address rather than localhost """ count=0 _urlDeConstruct=_bigiqUrl.split("/") _urlReConstruct="" for _urlElement in _urlDeConstruct: #print("%d %s" %(count,_urlElement)) if (_urlElement=="https:"): _urlReConstruct=_urlReConstruct+_urlElement+"//" elif (_urlElement=="localhost"): _urlReConstruct=_urlReConstruct+_bigiqIP else: if (_urlElement!=""): _urlReConstruct=_urlReConstruct+"/"+_urlElement #end if #end if count+=1 #Next return(_urlReConstruct); #End Def _userID=raw_input("Enter BIG-IQ user ID: ") _password=getpass.getpass(prompt="Enter BIG-IQ Password: ") _bigiqAddress=raw_input("Enter Management IP address of BIG-IQ: ") _credPostBody={ "username": "{_uname}".format(_uname=_userID), "password": "{_pword}".format(_pword=_password), "loginProvideriName": "RadiusServer" } _deviceToBeLicensed=licenseData() _bigipAddress=_deviceToBeLicensed['address'] print("BIG-IP Address is: %s" %_bigipAddress) _bigiq_session=requests.session() _bigiq_auth_url="https://{_bigiqIP}/mgmt/shared/authn/login".format(_bigiqIP=_bigiqAddress) # Authenticates with BIG-IQ _bigiqAuthHeader=bigiqAuth(_bigiq_auth_url, _credPostBody) # if _bigiqAuthHeader==0: print("Unable to authenticate with BIG-IQ. Check BIG-IQ reachability and credentials") else: _bigiq_url1="https://{_bigiqIP}/mgmt/cm/device/tasks/licensing/pool/member-management".format(_bigiqIP=_bigiqAddress) # # --- This section requests the license from BIG-IQ. Posting the criteria as laid out in the _deviceToBeLicensed JSON blob # _errFlag=0 try: _bigiqLicenseDevice=_bigiq_session.post(_bigiq_url1, headers=_bigiqAuthHeader, data=json.dumps(_deviceToBeLicensed), verify=False) _bigiqLicenseDevice.raise_for_status() print("Response code: %s" %_bigiqLicenseDevice.status_code) except requests.exceptions.HTTPError as err: print("Issue received, check rquest and or check connectivity %s" %err) _errFlag=1 #end try if _errFlag==0: #print(_bigiqLicenseDevice.status_code) _bigiqResponse=_bigiqLicenseDevice.json() print(_bigiqResponse) print(_bigiqResponse['selfLink']) _bigiqLicenseStatus_url=_bigiqResponse['selfLink'] _bigiqLicenseStatus_url=urlConstruction(_bigiqLicenseStatus_url, _bigiqAddress) print(_bigiqLicenseStatus_url) print("--- Standby for 30 seconds whilst BIG-IQ generates license ---") sleep(30) _errFlag1=0 try: _licenseStatus=_bigiq_session.get(_bigiqLicenseStatus_url, headers=_bigiqAuthHeader, verify=False) _licenseStatus.raise_for_status() print("Response code: %s" %_licenseStatus.status_code) except requests.exceptions.HTTPError as err: print("Issue received, check rquest and or check connectivity %s" %err) _errFlag=1 #end try if _errFlag==0: print(_licenseStatus.content) _licenseStatusDetail=_licenseStatus.json() _licenseOutput=extractLicense(_licenseStatusDetail) if (_licenseOutput=="FAILED"): print("***** License Assignment Failed. Most likely a valid license already exists for device, revoke it before applying a new license *****") else: _licenseFname=(_bigipAddress+"_bigip.license") _licensefile=open(_licenseFname, "w") _licensefile.write("%s" %_licenseOutput) _licensefile.close() print(_licenseOutput) print("***** SUCCESS, the license is stored here %s *****" %_licenseFname) #end if #end if #end if #end if Tested this on version: 13.x, 14.x, 15.x and 16.x Troubleshooting When you apply the license to the BIG-IP you may see an error similar to: License is not operational (expired or digital signature does not match contents) This could simply be that you copy and paste the license file badly, please use MD5SUM on the BIG-IQ to the output license file and compare to the same file on the BIG-IP Example: md5sum 10.2.3.4_bigip.license You can also review the /var/log/ltm file for "Dossier error" messages Dossier error: 1 (MAC address is mismatched) Dossier error: 12 (Hypervisor is mismatched) If this does not help, please open a support case and attach a recent qkview file.
