Create F5 BIG-IP Next Instance on Proxmox Virtual Environment
If you are looking to deploy a F5 BIG-IP Next instance on Proxmox Virtual Environment (henceforth referred to as Proxmox for the sake of brevity), perhaps in your home lab, here's how: First, download the BIG-IP Next Central Manager and BIG-IP Next QCOW Files from MyF5 Downloads. Click on the "Copy Download Link" Copy the QCOW file to your Proxmox host. I am using the download links from above in the example below. proxmox $ curl -O -L -J [link for Central Manager from F5 downloads] proxmox $ curl -O -L -J [link for Next from F5 downloads] On the Proxmox host, extract the contents in the QCOW files. You will need to rename the Central Manager file from .qcow to .qcow2. proxmox $ cd ~/ proxmox $ mv BIG-IP-Next-CentralManager-20.2.1-0.3.25.qcow BIG-IP-Next-CentralManager-20.2.1-0.3.25.qcow2 proxmox $ tar -zxvf BIG-IP-Next-20.2.1-2.430.2+0.0.48.qcow2.tar.gz BIG-IP-Next-20.2.1-2.430.2+0.0.48.qcow2 BIG-IP-Next-20.2.1-2.430.2+0.0.48.qcow2.sha512 BIG-IP-Next-20.2.1-2.430.2+0.0.48.qcow2.sha512.sig BIG-IP-Next-20.2.1-2.430.2+0.0.48.qcow2.sha512sum.txt.asc BIG-IP-Next-20.2.1-F5-ca-bundle.cert BIG-IP-Next-20.2.1-F5-certificate.cert Then, run the command below to create a virtual machine (VM) from the extracted QCOW files. replace the values to match your environment. # # Central Manager # # use either DHCP or Static IP example # # using DHCP (change values to match your environment) proxmox $ qm create 105 --memory 16384 --sockets 1 --cores 8 --net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0 --name my-central-manager --scsihw=virtio-scsi-single --ostype=l26 --cpu=x86-64-v2-AES --citype nocloud --ipconfig0 ip=dhcp --ciupgrade=0 --ide2=local-lvm:cloudinit # static IP (change values to match your environment) # proxmox $ qm create 105 --memory 16384 --sockets 1 --cores 8 --net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0 --net1 virtio,bridge=vmbr1 --name my-central-manager --scsihw=virtio-scsi-single --ostype=l26 --cpu=x86-64-v2-AES --citype nocloud --ipconfig0 ip=192.168.1.5/24,gw=192.168.1.1 --nameserver 192.168.1.1 --ciupgrade=0 --ide2=local-lvm:cloudinit # import disk qm set 105 --virtio0 local-lvm:0,import-from=/root/BIG-IP-Next-CentralManager-20.2.1-0.3.25.qcow2 --boot order=virtio0 # # Next instance # # Note that you need at least two interfaces, one for management and one for data-plane # # use either DHCP or Static IP example # # DHCP proxmox $ qm create 107 --memory 16384 --sockets 1 --cores 8 --net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0 --net1 virtio,bridge=vmbr1 --name my-next-instance --scsihw=virtio-scsi-single --ostype=l26 --cpu=x86-64-v2-AES --citype nocloud --ipconfig0 ip=dhcp --ciupgrade=0 --ciuser=admin --cipassword=admin --ide2=local-lvm:cloudinit # static IP # proxmox $ qm create 107 --memory 16384 --sockets 1 --cores 8 --net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0 --net1 virtio,bridge=vmbr1 --name my-next-instance --scsihw=virtio-scsi-single --ostype=l26 --cpu=x86-64-v2-AES --citype nocloud --ipconfig0 ip=192.168.1.7/24,gw=192.168.1.1 --nameserver 192.168.1.1 --ciupgrade=0 --ciuser=admin --cipassword=admin --ide2=local-lvm:cloudinit # import disk proxmox $ proxmox $ qm set 107 --virtio0 local-lvm:0,import-from=/root/BIG-IP-Next-20.2.1-2.430.2+0.0.48.qcow2 --boot order=virtio0 You should now see a new VM created on the Proxmox GUI. Finally, start the VM. This will take a few minutes. The BIG-IP Next VM is now ready to be onboarded per instructions found here.
