OS management on F5 BIG IP devices

This topic describes how to execute custom actions on F5 BIG IP devices. 

To execute device adapter custom actions

1. Navigate to Network > Actions > Jobs.
2. On the Add Job page, select a custom action from Add Actions > Custom Actions > F5 Load Balancer Provisioning
   1. To upgrade a standalone F5 BIG-IP system with specified software volume name and upgrade image select F5 Upgrade a standalone BIG-IP system.

      1. Enter information in the following fields:

         Field	Description
         Annotation	(Optional) Annotation assigned to the configurations created by the action.
         Network Span	Select a realm (single or multiple), a group, a single device, or multiple devices for the action. When the Network Span is Realm, you can select multiple realms from the drop-down list. When the Network Span is Realm or Group, you can use Filter Devices to select which devices to include in the action. When the action is triggered in an event-based Policy, additional options include: Same as Triggering Realm, Same as Triggering Group, Same as Triggering Device.
         BIG-IP upgrade image	Provide the BIG-IP upgrade image .iso file
         Message Digest (MD5) (optional)	Provide the MD5 checksum for file verification.
         Runtime parameters	The dialog box displays various additional runtime parameters that are declared in the script definition. Enter volume name: Enter an existing volume name that is currently not active, or a new volume name to be created. Reboot into the upgraded software volume: Select Yes to immediately boot into the upgraded software volume. Select No to proceed without booting into the upgraded software volume. The reboot into new volume could be initiated at a later stage using the action "F5 Boot the BIG-IP system to a particular volume".

      2. If the custom action performs a configuration change, select any of the following options, as relevant:

         Option	Description
         Mark as Trusted	If the custom action completes successfully, mark the resulting Running and Startup configurations as trusted.
         Commit	If the custom action completes successfully, copy the device's Running configuration to the Startup. This ensures that if the device reboots, the changes have been committed.
         Reboot	If the custom action completes successfully, reboot the device after executing the custom action.
         Use Auxiliary Interface	When the selected network span is a device, this option selects the auxiliary interface for connecting to the device. When not checked or when the span is not a device, the primary interface is used.

   2. To restart the system and boot to the specified software volume select F5 Boot the BIG-IP system to a particular volume. If you install a new image using the custom action F5 Upgrade a standalone BIG-IP system, the configuration from the current active volume is automatically installed in the new software volume and the newly rebooted software volume will contain the same configuration.

      1. Enter information in the following fields:

         Field	Description
         Annotation	(Optional) Annotation assigned to the configurations created by the action.
         Network Span	Select a realm (single or multiple), a group, a single device, or multiple devices for the action. When the Network Span is Realm, you can select multiple realms from the drop-down list. When the Network Span is Realm or Group, you can use Filter Devices to select which devices to include in the action. When the action is triggered in an event-based Policy, additional options include: Same as Triggering Realm, Same as Triggering Group, Same as Triggering Device.
         Runtime parameters	The dialog box displays various additional runtime parameters that are declared in the script definition. Enter volume name: Enter an existing volume name that is currently not active, or a new volume name to be created.

      2. If the custom action performs a configuration change, select any of the following options, as relevant:

         Option	Description
         Mark as Trusted	If the custom action completes successfully, mark the resulting Running and Startup configurations as trusted.
         Commit	If the custom action completes successfully, copy the device's Running configuration to the Startup. This ensures that if the device reboots, the changes have been committed.
         Reboot	If the custom action completes successfully, reboot the device after executing the custom action.
         Use Auxiliary Interface	When the selected network span is a device, this option selects the auxiliary interface for connecting to the device. When not checked or when the span is not a device, the primary interface is used.

3. Click Save to add the action to the job.

Viewing the results of custom actions

The custom action captured results can also be viewed by clicking the Results link in the Job Details page.

F5 Upgrade a standalone BIG-IP system

The captured results are displayed in the Action Details page, as shown in the following figure:

F5 Boot the BIG-IP system to a particular volume

The captured results are displayed in the Action Details page, as shown in the following figure:

The view page has the following menu options: