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Phase 4 structural (commit 633e440) moved 6 connector files into the
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Mappings applied (relative to docs/reference/connectors/):
deployment-atomicity.md → ../deployment-model.md
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scep-intune.md → ../protocols/scep-intune.md
async-polling.md → ../protocols/async-ca-polling.md
quickstart.md → ../../getting-started/quickstart.md
demo-advanced.md → ../../getting-started/advanced-demo.md
legacy-est-scep.md → ../protocols/scep-server.md
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172 lines
5.5 KiB
Markdown
172 lines
5.5 KiB
Markdown
# F5 BIG-IP Connector — Operator Deep-Dive
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> Last reviewed: 2026-05-05
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>
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> Per Phase 14 of the deploy-hardening II master bundle. For the
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> connector-development context (interface contract, registry, atomic
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> deploy primitive shared across all targets), see the
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> [connector index](index.md).
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## Overview
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The F5 connector (`internal/connector/target/f5/`) deploys TLS
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certs to F5 BIG-IP load balancers via the iControl REST API.
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F5's transactional API gives certctl atomic-update semantics for
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free at the API level — the Bundle I rollback wire layers
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on-failure cleanup of orphaned crypto objects.
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## Vendor versions tested
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- **F5 v15.1 LTS**
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- **F5 v17.0 LTS**
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- **F5 v17.5**
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## Two-tier validation strategy (frozen decision 0.3)
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1. **CI tier**: `f5-mock-icontrol` sidecar — in-tree Go server at
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`deploy/test/f5-mock-icontrol/` implementing the iControl REST
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surface this bundle exercises (auth, file upload, transactions,
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SSL profile CRUD). All `TestVendorEdge_F5_*_E2E` tests run
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against this in CI.
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2. **Customer-grade tier**: operator-supplied real F5 vagrant box.
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Documented setup recipe below. Manual smoke required for
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"verified" status in `docs/reference/vendor-matrix.md`.
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The mock implements a SUBSET of iControl REST. A real F5 may
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diverge on quirks the mock doesn't model. Customer-grade
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validation against the vagrant box is the validation tier above
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the mock.
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## Setting up the operator-supplied real F5
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```bash
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# F5 Networks publishes BIG-IP VE (Virtual Edition) on:
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# https://downloads.f5.com → BIG-IP VE → 17.5.0 → Vagrant
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# Download the .box file (requires F5 account; free tier ok).
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vagrant box add f5/big-ip-17.5.0 ~/Downloads/BIGIP-17.5.0.0.0.box
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vagrant init f5/big-ip-17.5.0
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vagrant up
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# Then point certctl at vagrant's mapped management interface:
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# https://localhost:8443 with admin/<vagrant-default-password>
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# Per-target Config:
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# Host: "localhost"
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# Port: 8443
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# Username: "admin"
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# Password: "<from vagrant>"
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```
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Run the F5 vendor-edge tests against the real F5 by setting:
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```
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F5_REAL_HOST=localhost:8443 \
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F5_REAL_USER=admin \
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F5_REAL_PASS=<vagrant-pass> \
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INTEGRATION=1 go test -tags integration \
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-run 'TestVendorEdge_F5' ./deploy/test/...
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```
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(Test bodies opt into the real-F5 path when these env vars are
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set; otherwise default to the mock sidecar.)
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## Per-quirk operator guidance
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### SSL profile reference counting
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`TestVendorEdge_F5_SSLProfileReferenceCounting_TransactionWithNVS_AtomicCommit_E2E`
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When a transaction binds the new SSL profile to N virtual
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servers, F5 commits all N atomically. Failure aborts all N.
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### Client SSL vs server SSL profile
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`TestVendorEdge_F5_ClientSSLProfileVsServerSSLProfile_DeployUpdatesCorrect_E2E`
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F5 has separate `client-ssl` profiles (terminating TLS from clients)
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and `server-ssl` profiles (originating TLS to backends). Connector
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targets the operator-named profile only.
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### Partition handling
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`TestVendorEdge_F5_PartitionCommonVsCustom_DeployRespectsPartition_E2E`
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F5 partitions namespace objects (Common, custom-tenant). Connector
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respects the operator-supplied `Partition`.
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### v15 vs v17 API stability
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`TestVendorEdge_F5_F5v15_vs_v17_TransactionAPIShapeStable_E2E`
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`mgmt/tm/transaction` API shape stable across v15.1 LTS and v17.x.
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No per-version branch needed.
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### Large cert chain (>4 links)
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`TestVendorEdge_F5_LargeCertChainHandling_E2E`
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v15.x had a known issue with cert chains >4 links (silent
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truncation of the deep links). v17.x lifted this limit.
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**Operator action:** if on v15.x, keep chains ≤4 links OR upgrade
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to v17.x. Documented loud in this doc.
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### Auth token expiry
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`TestVendorEdge_F5_AuthTokenExpiryRefresh_E2E`
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F5 auth tokens expire (default 1200s). Connector re-authenticates
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on 401 transparently.
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### Transaction timeout cleanup
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`TestVendorEdge_F5_TransactionTimeoutCleanup_E2E`
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Open transactions timeout after 120s. Bundle I rollback wire
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catches orphaned crypto objects (uploaded files not committed via
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transaction).
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### Same-VS update
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`TestVendorEdge_F5_VirtualServerBindingOnSameVS_E2E`
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Re-binding an SSL profile on the same Virtual Server is atomic
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at the F5 API level. No listener disruption.
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### SSL options preservation
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`TestVendorEdge_F5_SSLOptionsPreservedAcrossRotation_E2E`
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Operator-supplied `cipher-list`, `no-tls-v1`, `secure-renegotiate`
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options on the SSL profile preserved across cert rotation.
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### iControl REST rate limit
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`TestVendorEdge_F5_iControlRESTRateLimit_E2E`
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F5 iControl REST defaults to 100 req/s. Connector backs off on
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429 with exponential retry.
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## Troubleshooting matrix
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| Symptom | Test name | Operator action |
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| Cert deploys but only 4 chain links served | `LargeCertChainHandling_E2E` | upgrade to v17.x or shorten chain |
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| Frequent 401 retries | `AuthTokenExpiryRefresh_E2E` | benign; tune token lifetime if needed |
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| Orphaned `/Common/cert-<timestamp>` objects | `TransactionTimeoutCleanup_E2E` | run cleanup script; check for hung deploys |
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| Wrong partition deployed to | `PartitionCommonVsCustom_E2E` | verify `Partition` in connector config |
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| Cipher list reset post-rotate | `SSLOptionsPreservedAcrossRotation_E2E` | bug — file an issue |
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## V3-Pro deferrals
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- F5 GTM (DNS-load-balancer cert deploys).
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- F5 NGINX Plus cert deploy via the F5 API (when F5 ships the
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unified API).
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- AS3 declarative deploy (operator-friendly JSON declaration vs
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the imperative iControl REST flow).
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## Related docs
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- [Atomic deploy + post-verify + rollback](../deployment-model.md)
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- [Vendor compatibility matrix](../vendor-matrix.md)
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- F5 official iControl REST docs: <https://clouddocs.f5.com/api/icontrol-rest/>
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