BIG-IP i7000 Series Appliance

Description

BIG-IP i7000 Series Appliance 

The BIG-IP i7000 Series Appliance is an F5 hardware platform constructed for enterprise application delivery, traffic management, and scalable application offerings. F5 positions the i7000 as a mid-to-high overall performance ADC platform for demanding application environments.

The platform combines BIG-IP software with dedicated hardware assets. It helps handle high-volume application traffic and might suit data center environments that need reliable traffic management and security.

Key Features of BIG-IP i7000 Series Appliance

Layer 4 and Layer 7 Processing

The BIG-IP i7000 Series inspects application traffic at each Layer 4 and Layer 7. Layer 4 processing focuses on connections and network traffic. Layer 7 processing makes traffic decisions based on application-layer data. F5 lists up to 1.1 million Layer 4 connections per second and up to a few million Layer 7 requests per second for the i7800. The i7600 supports up to 750,000 Layer 4 connections and 1.8 million Layer 7 requests per second.

SSL/TLS Offloading

Encrypted application traffic can increase the processing load on application servers. The i7000 Series gives hardware-assisted SSL/TLS processing for supported workloads. F5 lists up to 40,000 RSA transactions per second for the i7800 and up to 22,000 for the i7600, based on its specific test conditions. Both models also list up to 20 Gbps of bulk encryption.

High-Speed Network Connectivity

The platform affords high-speed interfaces for demanding enterprise networks. The i7000 Series includes eight 10GbE SFP+ ports and four 40GbE QSFP+ ports. This connectivity allows companies to combine the appliance with 10GbE and 40GbE switching infrastructure. F5 also states that the supported SFP+ ports are compatible with F5 SFP modules.

High Availability Support

The appliance consists of a dedicated serial failover interface. Organizations can use this interface while deploying BIG-IP systems in high-availability configurations. The i7000 platform also uses redundant power supply units in its standard AC and DC platform designs, supporting redundant energy configurations.

Enterprise Hardware Platform

The i7000 uses a 1U enterprise-standard rack-mount chassis. F5 lists a six-core Intel Xeon processor with 12 hyperthreaded logical processors for both the i7600 and i7800 in its platform data sheet. The platform is designed for data center deployments that require dedicated application delivery hardware.

Front-Panel Management

The front panel includes a 2.2-inch LCD touchscreen and device indicator LEDs. Administrators can use the LCD to view system data, test alerts, configure selected settings, and perform basic system operations. The platform also consists of a management port, USB port, console serial port, and dedicated failover port.

Capabilities

• Application delivery: The platform manages traffic between users and application servers. It can distribute requests and control application traffic flows.

• Traffic control: BIG-IP processes Layer 4 and Layer 7 traffic to support policy-based traffic management.

• SSL/TLS processing: Hardware acceleration handles supported encryption workloads and can reduce processing requirements on application servers.

• Application availability: BIG-IP traffic management and failover capabilities support resilient application delivery environments.

• Performance optimization: The i7800 supports a Tier 3 TurboFlex performance profile, while the platform also provides hardware compression capabilities.
  
• Centralized management: BIG-IP uses TMOS to provide a common platform for managing application delivery services.

Key Specifications

Common Use Cases

The BIG-IP i7000 Series Appliance fits application delivery environments that want high-volume traffic capacity, managed workload distribution, and dependable application offerings. Organizations can use it in their data centers to manage web applications, customer portals, business applications, and different high-volume applications. It can also manage supported SSL/TLS workloads and connect with high-speed 10GbE and 40GbE network infrastructure. The exact deployment relies upon application traffic, licensing, network design, and required BIG-IP offerings.

Real-World Deployment Scenarios

• Enterprise Web Applications: Distribute incoming requests across multiple application servers and control traffic from a dedicated application delivery platform.

• E-commerce Platforms: Handle high volumes of client traffic throughout the network and application servers at some stage in normal and peak periods.

• Banking and Financial Applications: Manage application traffic and support SSL/TLS workloads for enterprise-critical financial services.

• Data Center Applications: Place the appliance between users and application servers to govern traffic inside enterprise data center environments.

• Customer Portals: Improve traffic distribution and high availability for portals that depend on multiple backend services.

• Business-Critical Applications: Use BIG-IP traffic management and failover abilities to support applications that require steady availability.

Why Choose Netmate for BIG-IP i7000 Series Appliance?

Netmate IT enables teams in Nepal to evaluate and deploy F5 solutions based on their application delivery, network, protection, and infrastructure needs. For the BIG-IP i7000 Series, Netmate can help with platform choice, deployment making plans, network integration, BIG-IP configuration, and required licensing offerings. This enables organizations to align the F5 platform with their traffic necessities, application structure, availability needs, and existing infrastructure.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the BIG-IP i7000 Series Appliance?

The BIG-IP i7000 Series is an F5 hardware platform designed for high-performance application delivery and traffic management. The series includes the i7600 and i7800 models and provides 10GbE and 40GbE network connectivity.

What is the difference between the i7600 and i7800?

The i7600 and i7800 belong to the same BIG-IP i7000 Series but have different performance levels. The i7800 supports up to 3 million Layer 7 requests per second and 1.1 million Layer 4 connections per second. The i7600 supports up to 1.8 million Layer 7 requests and 750,000 Layer 4 connections per second. Both support up to 80 million concurrent Layer 4 connections and up to 80 Gbps/40 Gbps L4/L7 throughput.

How much throughput does the BIG-IP i7000 Series support?

The i7000 Series supports up to 80 Gbps of Layer 4 throughput and 40 Gbps of Layer 7 throughput according to F5’s published specifications. Actual performance depends on the services enabled, traffic profile, configuration, and test conditions.

What network interfaces does the BIG-IP i7000 have?

The platform provides eight 10GbE SFP+ ports and four 40GbE QSFP+ ports. It also includes a 10/100/1000Base-T management port, console serial port, hard-wired failover port, and Hi-Speed USB port.

Who should use the BIG-IP i7000 Series Appliance?

The platform fits organizations that need a high-performance hardware platform for application delivery, traffic management, and related BIG-IP services. It is suited to mid-to-large enterprise and data center environments with demanding application traffic requirements. F5 classifies the i7000 Series as a mid-to-high-performance ADC platform.