bigip_virtual_server – Manage LTM virtual servers on a BIG-IP¶

New in version 2.1.

Synopsis
Parameters
Notes
Examples
Return Values
Status

Synopsis ¶

Manage LTM virtual servers on a BIG-IP.

Parameters ¶

Parameter		Choices/Defaults	Comments
address_translation boolean added in 2.6		Choices: no yes	Specifies, when `enabled`, that the system translates the address of the virtual server. When `disabled`, specifies that the system uses the address without translation. This option is useful when the system is load balancing devices that have the same IP address. When creating a new virtual server, the default is `enabled`.
clone_pools list added in 2.8			Specifies a pool or list of pools that the virtual server uses to replicate either client-side or server-side traffic. Typically this option is used for intrusion detection.
	context string	Choices: clientside serverside	The context option for a clone pool to replicate either client-side or server-side traffic.
	pool_name string / required		The pool name to which the server replicates the traffic. Only pools created on Common partition or on the same partition as the virtual server can be used. Referencing pool on common partition needs to be done in the full path format, for example, `/Common/pool_name`.
default_persistence_profile string			Default Profile which manages the session persistence. If you want to remove the existing default persistence profile, specify an empty value; `""`. See the documentation for an example. When `type` is `dhcp`, this parameter will be ignored.
description string			Virtual server description.
destination string			Destination IP of the virtual server. Required when `state` is `present` and virtual server does not exist. When `type` is `internal`, this parameter is ignored. For all other types, it is required. Destination can also be specified as a name for an existing Virtual Address. aliases: address, ip
disabled_vlans list added in 2.5			List of VLANs to be disabled. If the partition is not specified in the VLAN, then the `partition` option of this module will be used. This parameter is mutually exclusive with the `enabled_vlans` parameters.
enabled_vlans list added in 2.2			List of VLANs to be enabled. When a VLAN named `all` is used, all VLANs will be allowed. VLANs can be specified with or without the leading partition. If the partition is not specified in the VLAN, then the `partition` option of this module will be used. This parameter is mutually exclusive with the `disabled_vlans` parameter.
fallback_persistence_profile string added in 2.3			Specifies the persistence profile you want the system to use if it cannot use the specified default persistence profile. If you want to remove the existing fallback persistence profile, specify an empty value; `""`. See the documentation for an example. When `type` is `dhcp`, this parameter will be ignored.
firewall_enforced_policy string added in 2.6			Applies the specify AFM policy to the virtual in an enforcing way. When creating a new virtual, if this parameter is not specified, the enforced policy is disabled.
firewall_staged_policy string added in 2.6			Applies the specify AFM policy to the virtual in an enforcing way. A staged policy shows the results of the policy rules in the log, while not actually applying the rules to traffic. When creating a new virtual, if this parameter is not specified, the staged policy is disabled.
insert_metadata boolean added in 2.8		Choices: no yes ←	When set to `no` it will not set metadata on the device. Currently there is a limitation that non-admin users cannot set metadata on the object, despite being able to create and modify virtual server objects, setting this option to `no` will allow such users to utilize this module to manage Virtual Server objects on the device.
ip_intelligence_policy string added in 2.8			Specifies the IP intelligence policy applied to the virtual server. This parameter requires that a valid BIG-IP security module such as ASM or AFM be provisioned.
ip_protocol string added in 2.6		Choices: ah any bna esp etherip gre icmp ipencap ipv6 ipv6-auth ipv6-crypt ipv6-icmp isp-ip mux ospf sctp tcp udp udplite	Specifies a network protocol name you want the system to use to direct traffic on this virtual server. When creating a new virtual server, if this parameter is not specified, the default is `tcp`. The Protocol setting is not available when you select Performance (HTTP) as the Type. The value of this argument can be specified in either it's numeric value, or, for convenience, in a select number of named values. Refer to `choices` for examples. For a list of valid IP protocol numbers, refer to this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IP_protocol_numbers When `type` is `dhcp`, this module will force the `ip_protocol` parameter to be `17` (UDP).
irules list added in 2.2			List of rules to be applied in priority order. If you want to remove existing iRules, specify a single empty value; `""`. See the documentation for an example. When `type` is `dhcp`, this parameter will be ignored. When `type` is `stateless`, this parameter will be ignored. When `type` is `reject`, this parameter will be ignored. When `type` is `internal`, this parameter will be ignored. aliases: all_rules
mask string added in 2.8			Specifies the destination address network mask. This parameter will work with IPv4 and IPv6 type of addresses. This is an optional parameter which can be specified when creating or updating virtual server. If `destination` is set in CIDR notation format and `mask` is provided the `mask` parameter takes precedence. If catchall destination is specified, i.e. `0.0.0.0` for IPv4 `::` for IPv6, mask parameter is set to `any` or `any6` respectively. When the `destination` is provided not in CIDR notation and `mask` is not specified, `255.255.255.255` or `ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff` is set for IPv4 and IPv6 addresses respectively. When `destination` is provided in CIDR notation format and `mask` is not specified the mask parameter is inferred from `destination`. When `destination` is provided as Virtual Address name, and `mask` is not specified, the mask will be `None` allowing device set it with its internal defaults.
metadata raw added in 2.5			Arbitrary key/value pairs that you can attach to a virtual server. This is useful in situations where you might want to annotate a virtual to be managed by Ansible. Key names will be stored as strings; this includes names that are numbers. Values for all of the keys will be stored as strings; this includes values that are numbers. Data will be persisted, not ephemeral.
mirror boolean added in 2.8		Choices: no yes	Specifies that the system mirrors connections on each member of a redundant pair. When creating a new virtual server, if this parameter is not specified, the default is `disabled`.
name string / required			Virtual server name. aliases: vs
partition string added in 2.5		Default: "Common"	Device partition to manage resources on.
password string / required			The password for the user account used to connect to the BIG-IP. You may omit this option by setting the environment variable `F5_PASSWORD`. aliases: pass, pwd
policies list			Specifies the policies for the virtual server. When `type` is `dhcp`, this parameter will be ignored. When `type` is `reject`, this parameter will be ignored. When `type` is `internal`, this parameter will be ignored. aliases: all_policies
pool string			Default pool for the virtual server. If you want to remove the existing pool, specify an empty value; `""`. See the documentation for an example. When creating a new virtual server, and `type` is `stateless`, this parameter is required. If `type` is `stateless`, the `pool` that is used must not have any members which define a `rate_limit`.
port string			Port of the virtual server. Required when `state` is `present` and virtual server does not exist. If you do not want to specify a particular port, use the value `0`. The result is that the virtual server will listen on any port. When `type` is `dhcp`, this module will force the `port` parameter to be `67`. When `type` is `internal`, this module will force the `port` parameter to be `0`. In addition to specifying a port number, a select number of service names may also be provided. The string `ftp` may be substituted for for port `21`. The string `http` may be substituted for for port `80`. The string `https` may be substituted for for port `443`. The string `telnet` may be substituted for for port `23`. The string `smtp` may be substituted for for port `25`. The string `snmp` may be substituted for for port `161`. The string `snmp-trap` may be substituted for for port `162`. The string `ssh` may be substituted for for port `22`. The string `tftp` may be substituted for for port `69`. The string `isakmp` may be substituted for for port `500`. The string `mqtt` may be substituted for for port `1883`. The string `mqtt-tls` may be substituted for for port `8883`.
port_translation boolean added in 2.6		Choices: no yes	Specifies, when `enabled`, that the system translates the port of the virtual server. When `disabled`, specifies that the system uses the port without translation. Turning off port translation for a virtual server is useful if you want to use the virtual server to load balance connections to any service. When creating a new virtual server, the default is `enabled`.
profiles list			List of profiles (HTTP, ClientSSL, ServerSSL, etc) to apply to both sides of the connection (client-side and server-side). If you only want to apply a particular profile to the client-side of the connection, specify `client-side` for the profile's `context`. If you only want to apply a particular profile to the server-side of the connection, specify `server-side` for the profile's `context`. If `context` is not provided, it will default to `all`. If you want to remove a profile from the list of profiles currently active on the virtual, then simply remove it from the `profiles` list. See examples for an illustration of this. If you want to add a profile to the list of profiles currently active on the virtual, then simply add it to the `profiles` list. See examples for an illustration of this. Profiles matter. This module will fail to configure a BIG-IP if you mix up your profiles, or, if you attempt to set an IP protocol which your current, or new, profiles do not support. Both this module, and BIG-IP, will tell you when you are wrong, with an error resembling `lists profiles incompatible with its protocol`. If you are unsure what correct profile combinations are, then have a BIG-IP available to you in which you can make changes and copy what the correct combinations are. aliases: all_profiles
	context string	Choices: all ← server-side client-side	The side of the connection on which the profile should be applied.
	name string		Name of the profile. If this is not specified, then it is assumed that the profile item is only a name of a profile. This must be specified if a context is specified.
provider dictionary added in 2.5			A dict object containing connection details.
	password string / required		The password for the user account used to connect to the BIG-IP. You may omit this option by setting the environment variable `F5_PASSWORD`. aliases: pass, pwd
	server string / required		The BIG-IP host. You may omit this option by setting the environment variable `F5_SERVER`.
	server_port integer	Default: 443	The BIG-IP server port. You may omit this option by setting the environment variable `F5_SERVER_PORT`.
	ssh_keyfile path		Specifies the SSH keyfile to use to authenticate the connection to the remote device. This argument is only used for cli transports. You may omit this option by setting the environment variable `ANSIBLE_NET_SSH_KEYFILE`.
	timeout integer	Default: 10	Specifies the timeout in seconds for communicating with the network device for either connecting or sending commands. If the timeout is exceeded before the operation is completed, the module will error.
	transport string	Choices: cli rest ←	Configures the transport connection to use when connecting to the remote device.
	user string / required		The username to connect to the BIG-IP with. This user must have administrative privileges on the device. You may omit this option by setting the environment variable `F5_USER`.
	validate_certs boolean	Choices: no yes ←	If `no`, SSL certificates are not validated. Use this only on personally controlled sites using self-signed certificates. You may omit this option by setting the environment variable `F5_VALIDATE_CERTS`.
rate_limit integer added in 2.8			Virtual server rate limit (connections-per-second). Setting this to 0 disables the limit. The valid value range is `0` - `4294967295`.
rate_limit_dst_mask integer added in 2.8			Specifies a mask, in bits, to be applied to the destination address as part of the rate limiting. The default value is `0`, which is equivalent to using the entire address - `32` in IPv4, or `128` in IPv6. The valid value range is `0` - `4294967295`.
rate_limit_mode string added in 2.8		Choices: object ← object-source object-destination object-source-destination destination source source-destination	Indicates whether the rate limit is applied per virtual object, per source address, per destination address, or some combination thereof. The default value is 'object', which does not use the source or destination address as part of the key.
rate_limit_src_mask integer added in 2.8			Specifies a mask, in bits, to be applied to the source address as part of the rate limiting. The default value is `0`, which is equivalent to using the entire address - `32` in IPv4, or `128` in IPv6. The valid value range is `0` - `4294967295`.
security_log_profiles list added in 2.6			Specifies the log profile applied to the virtual server. To make use of this feature, the AFM module must be licensed and provisioned. The `Log all requests` and `Log illegal requests` are mutually exclusive and therefore, this module will raise an error if the two are specified together.
security_nat_policy dictionary added in 2.7			Specify the Firewall NAT policies for the virtual server. You can specify one or more NAT policies to use. The most specific policy is used. For example, if you specify that the virtual server use the device policy and the route domain policy, the route domain policy overrides the device policy.
	policy string		Policy to apply a NAT policy directly to the virtual server. The virtual server NAT policy is the most specific, and overrides a route domain and device policy, if specified. To remove the policy, specify an empty string value.
	use_device_policy boolean	Choices: no yes	Specify that the virtual server uses the device NAT policy, as specified in the Firewall Options. The device policy is used if no route domain or virtual server NAT setting is specified.
	use_route_domain_policy boolean	Choices: no yes	Specify that the virtual server uses the route domain policy, as specified in the Route Domain Security settings. When specified, the route domain policy overrides the device policy, and is overridden by a virtual server policy.
server string / required			The BIG-IP host. You may omit this option by setting the environment variable `F5_SERVER`.
server_port integer added in 2.2		Default: 443	The BIG-IP server port. You may omit this option by setting the environment variable `F5_SERVER_PORT`.
snat string			Source network address policy. When `type` is `dhcp`, this parameter is ignored. When `type` is `reject`, this parameter will be ignored. When `type` is `internal`, this parameter will be ignored. The name of a SNAT pool (eg "/Common/snat_pool_name") can be specified to enable SNAT with the specific pool. To remove SNAT, specify the word `none`. To specify automap, use the word `automap`.
source string added in 2.5			Specifies an IP address or network from which the virtual server accepts traffic. The virtual server accepts clients only from one of these IP addresses. For this setting to function effectively, specify a value other than 0.0.0.0/0 or ::/0 (that is, any/0, any6/0). In order to maximize utility of this setting, specify the most specific address prefixes covering all customer addresses and no others. Specify the IP address in Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) format; address/prefix, where the prefix length is in bits. For example, for IPv4, 10.0.0.1/32 or 10.0.0.0/24, and for IPv6, ffe1::0020/64 or 2001:ed8:77b5:2:10:10:100:42/64.
source_port string added in 2.8		Choices: preserve preserve-strict change	Specifies whether the system preserves the source port of the connection. When creating a new virtual server, if this parameter is not specified, the default is `preserve`.
state string		Choices: present ← absent enabled disabled	The virtual server state. If `absent`, delete the virtual server if it exists. `present` creates the virtual server and enable it. If `enabled`, enable the virtual server if it exists. If `disabled`, create the virtual server if needed, and set state to `disabled`.
type string added in 2.6		Choices: standard ← forwarding-l2 forwarding-ip performance-http performance-l4 stateless reject dhcp internal message-routing	Specifies the network service provided by this virtual server. When creating a new virtual server, if this parameter is not provided, the default will be `standard`. This value cannot be changed after it is set. When `standard`, specifies a virtual server that directs client traffic to a load balancing pool and is the most basic type of virtual server. When you first create the virtual server, you assign an existing default pool to it. From then on, the virtual server automatically directs traffic to that default pool. When `forwarding-l2`, specifies a virtual server that shares the same IP address as a node in an associated VLAN. When `forwarding-ip`, specifies a virtual server like other virtual servers, except that the virtual server has no pool members to load balance. The virtual server simply forwards the packet directly to the destination IP address specified in the client request. When `performance-http`, specifies a virtual server with which you associate a Fast HTTP profile. Together, the virtual server and profile increase the speed at which the virtual server processes HTTP requests. When `performance-l4`, specifies a virtual server with which you associate a Fast L4 profile. Together, the virtual server and profile increase the speed at which the virtual server processes layer 4 requests. When `stateless`, specifies a virtual server that accepts traffic matching the virtual server address and load balances the packet to the pool members without attempting to match the packet to a pre-existing connection in the connection table. New connections are immediately removed from the connection table. This addresses the requirement for one-way UDP traffic that needs to be processed at very high throughput levels, for example, load balancing syslog traffic to a pool of syslog servers. Stateless virtual servers are not suitable for processing traffic that requires stateful tracking, such as TCP traffic. Stateless virtual servers do not support iRules, persistence, connection mirroring, rateshaping, or SNAT automap. When `reject`, specifies that the BIG-IP system rejects any traffic destined for the virtual server IP address. When `dhcp`, specifies a virtual server that relays Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) client requests for an IP address to one or more DHCP servers, and provides DHCP server responses with an available IP address for the client. When `internal`, specifies a virtual server that supports modification of HTTP requests and responses. Internal virtual servers enable usage of ICAP (Internet Content Adaptation Protocol) servers to modify HTTP requests and responses by creating and applying an ICAP profile and adding Request Adapt or Response Adapt profiles to the virtual server. When `message-routing`, specifies a virtual server that uses a SIP application protocol and functions in accordance with a SIP session profile and SIP router profile.
user string / required			The username to connect to the BIG-IP with. This user must have administrative privileges on the device. You may omit this option by setting the environment variable `F5_USER`.
validate_certs boolean added in 2.0		Choices: no yes ←	If `no`, SSL certificates are not validated. Use this only on personally controlled sites using self-signed certificates. You may omit this option by setting the environment variable `F5_VALIDATE_CERTS`.

Notes ¶

Note

For more information on using Ansible to manage F5 Networks devices see https://www.ansible.com/integrations/networks/f5.
Requires BIG-IP software version >= 12.
The F5 modules only manipulate the running configuration of the F5 product. To ensure that BIG-IP specific configuration persists to disk, be sure to include at least one task that uses the bigip_config module to save the running configuration. Refer to the module’s documentation for the correct usage of the module to save your running configuration.

Examples ¶

- name: Modify Port of the Virtual Server
  bigip_virtual_server:
    state: present
    partition: Common
    name: my-virtual-server
    port: 8080
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.net
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Delete virtual server
  bigip_virtual_server:
    state: absent
    partition: Common
    name: my-virtual-server
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.net
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Add virtual server
  bigip_virtual_server:
    state: present
    partition: Common
    name: my-virtual-server
    destination: 10.10.10.10
    port: 443
    pool: my-pool
    snat: Automap
    description: Test Virtual Server
    profiles:
      - http
      - fix
      - name: clientssl
        context: server-side
      - name: ilx
        context: client-side
    policies:
      - my-ltm-policy-for-asm
      - ltm-uri-policy
      - ltm-policy-2
      - ltm-policy-3
    enabled_vlans:
      - /Common/vlan2
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.net
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Add FastL4 virtual server
  bigip_virtual_server:
    destination: 1.1.1.1
    name: fastl4_vs
    port: 80
    profiles:
      - fastL4
    state: present
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.net
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Add iRules to the Virtual Server
  bigip_virtual_server:
    name: my-virtual-server
    irules:
      - irule1
      - irule2
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.net
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Remove one iRule from the Virtual Server
  bigip_virtual_server:
    name: my-virtual-server
    irules:
      - irule2
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.net
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Remove all iRules from the Virtual Server
  bigip_virtual_server:
    name: my-virtual-server
    irules: ""
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.net
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Remove pool from the Virtual Server
  bigip_virtual_server:
    name: my-virtual-server
    pool: ""
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.net
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Add metadata to virtual
  bigip_pool:
    state: absent
    name: my-pool
    partition: Common
    metadata:
      ansible: 2.4
      updated_at: 2017-12-20T17:50:46Z
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.com
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Add virtual with two profiles
  bigip_pool:
    state: absent
    name: my-pool
    partition: Common
    profiles:
      - http
      - tcp
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.com
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Remove HTTP profile from previous virtual
  bigip_pool:
    state: absent
    name: my-pool
    partition: Common
    profiles:
      - tcp
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.com
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Add the HTTP profile back to the previous virtual
  bigip_pool:
    state: absent
    name: my-pool
    partition: Common
    profiles:
      - http
      - tcp
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.com
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Add virtual server with rate limit
  bigip_virtual_server:
    state: present
    partition: Common
    name: my-virtual-server
    destination: 10.10.10.10
    port: 443
    pool: my-pool
    snat: Automap
    description: Test Virtual Server
    profiles:
      - http
      - fix
      - name: clientssl
        context: server-side
      - name: ilx
        context: client-side
    policies:
      - my-ltm-policy-for-asm
      - ltm-uri-policy
      - ltm-policy-2
      - ltm-policy-3
    enabled_vlans:
      - /Common/vlan2
    rate_limit: 400
    rate_limit_mode: destination
    rate_limit_dst_mask: 32
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.net
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Add FastL4 virtual server with clone_pools
  bigip_virtual_server:
    destination: 1.1.1.1
    name: fastl4_vs
    port: 80
    profiles:
      - fastL4
    state: present
    clone_pools:
      - pool_name: FooPool
        context: clientside
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.net
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

Return Values ¶

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key	Returned	Description
address_translation boolean	changed	The new value specifying whether address translation is on or off. Sample: True
clone_pools list	changed	Pools to which virtual server copies traffic. Sample: [{'pool_name': '/Common/Pool1', 'context': 'clientside'}]
default_persistence_profile string	changed	Default persistence profile set on the virtual server. Sample: /Common/dest_addr
description string	changed	New description of the virtual server. Sample: This is my description
destination string	changed	Destination of the virtual server. Sample: 1.1.1.1
disabled boolean	changed	Whether the virtual server is disabled, or not. Sample: True
disabled_vlans list	changed	List of VLANs that the virtual is disabled for. Sample: ['/Common/vlan1', '/Common/vlan2']
enabled boolean	changed	Whether the virtual server is enabled, or not.
enabled_vlans list	changed	List of VLANs that the virtual is enabled for. Sample: ['/Common/vlan5', '/Common/vlan6']
fallback_persistence_profile string	changed	Fallback persistence profile set on the virtual server. Sample: /Common/source_addr
firewall_enforced_policy string	changed	The new enforcing firewall policy. Sample: /Common/my-enforced-fw
firewall_staged_policy string	changed	The new staging firewall policy. Sample: /Common/my-staged-fw
ip_intelligence_policy string	changed	The new IP Intelligence Policy assigned to the virtual. Sample: /Common/ip-intelligence
ip_protocol integer	changed	The new value of the IP protocol. Sample: 6
irules list	changed	iRules set on the virtual server. Sample: ['/Common/irule1', '/Common/irule2']
metadata dictionary	changed	The new value of the virtual. Sample: {'key1': 'foo', 'key2': 'bar'}
mirror boolean	changed	Specifies that the system mirrors connections on each member of a redundant pair. Sample: True
policies list	changed	List of policies attached to the virtual. Sample: ['/Common/policy1', '/Common/policy2']
pool string	changed	Pool that the virtual server is attached to. Sample: /Common/my-pool
port integer	changed	Port that the virtual server is configured to listen on. Sample: 80
port_translation boolean	changed	The new value specifying whether port translation is on or off. Sample: True
profiles list	changed	List of profiles set on the virtual server. Sample: [{'name': 'tcp', 'context': 'server-side'}, {'name': 'tcp-legacy', 'context': 'client-side'}]
rate_limit integer	changed	The maximum number of connections per second allowed for a virtual server. Sample: 5000
rate_limit_dst_mask integer	changed	Specifies a mask, in bits, to be applied to the destination address as part of the rate limiting. Sample: 32
rate_limit_mode string	changed	Sets the type of rate limiting to be used on the virtual server. Sample: object-source
rate_limit_src_mask integer	changed	Specifies a mask, in bits, to be applied to the source address as part of the rate limiting. Sample: 32
security_log_profiles list	changed	The new list of security log profiles. Sample: ['/Common/profile1', '/Common/profile2']
snat string	changed	SNAT setting of the virtual server. Sample: Automap
source string	changed	Source address, in CIDR form, set on the virtual server. Sample: 1.2.3.4/32
source_port string	changed	Specifies whether the system preserves the source port of the connection. Sample: change

Status ¶

This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]
This module is maintained by an Ansible Partner. [certified]

Authors¶

Tim Rupp (@caphrim007)
Wojciech Wypior (@wojtek0806)

Hint

If you notice any issues in this documentation you can edit this document to improve it.

bigip_virtual_server – Manage LTM virtual servers on a BIG-IP¶

Synopsis¶

Parameters¶

Notes¶

Examples¶

Return Values¶

Status¶