Setup and Initial Configuration
What the exam expects
Initial configuration takes a BIG-IP from an unconfigured appliance to a licensed, provisioned, correctly clocked system. At first boot the console setup utility prompts for the management IP, netmask, gateway, hostname, DNS, NTP and the admin password. Later changes are made in tmsh (sys management-ip, sys management-route, sys ntp, sys dns) or the GUI, but the console script is only offered while the configuration is still default.
Licensing is two separate steps in exam questions. A module must be both licensed (a valid registration key, or a manual dossier when the device has no outbound access) and provisioned (enabled under sys provision) before its objects appear. Reactivating after disk replacement or an RMA requires the original key, and reactivation can be done online or via dossier.
Traps
- Treating licensed as working - without provisioning, LTM/ASM/APM menus stay empty.
- Forgetting
tmsh save sys configafter a change; the running config then differs from the stored one, and a reboot loses it. - Setting NTP last. Certificates, HA failover and log correlation all depend on accurate time.
- Restoring a UCS from a different platform without checking licensing and interface mapping.
- Assuming an admin password change also changes the root account, which is managed separately.
Worked example
After changing the management address:
tmsh modify sys management-ip 10.10.10.20/24
tmsh modify sys management-route default gateway 10.10.10.1
tmsh save sys config
Then verify with tmsh list sys management-ip.
Rule of thumb: every session ends with save sys config; every new device begins with licence, provision, NTP - in that order.