F5 Programmability Training > Class 1: Introduction to Automation & Orchestration > Module 1: Imperative Automation with the BIG-IP iControl REST API Source | Edit on

Lab 1.3: Review/Set Device Settings

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All devices are already licensed so we can focus on configuring the basic infrastructure related settings to complete the Device Onboarding process. The remaining items include (list not exhaustive):

  • Device Settings
    • NTP/DNS Settings
    • Remote Authentication
    • Hostname
    • Admin Credentials
  • L1-3 Networking
    • Physical Interface Settings
    • L2 Connectivity (VLAN, VXLAN, etc.)
    • L3 Connectivity (Self IPs, Routing, etc.)
  • HA Settings
    • Global Settings
      • Config Sync IP
      • Mirroring IP
      • Failover Addresses
    • CMI Device Trusts
    • Device Groups
    • Traffic Groups
    • Floating Self IPs

We will specifically cover the items in BOLD above in the following labs. It should be noted that many permutations of the Device Onboarding process exist due to the nature of real-world environments. This class is designed to teach enough information so that you can then apply the knowledge learned and help articulate and/or deliver a specific solution for your environment.

Task 1 - Set Device Hostname & Disable GUI Setup Wizard

In this task we will modify the device hostname and disable the GUI Setup Wizard. The Resource that contains these settings is /mgmt/tm/sys/global-settings.

Perform the following steps to complete this task:

  1. Expand the Lab 1.3 - Review/Set Device Settings folder in the Postman collection.

  2. Click the Step 1: Get System Global-Settings request. Click the Send button and review the response Body to see what the current settings on the device are. Examine the resulting response to understand what settings are currently applied.

  3. Click the Step 2: Set System Global-Settings request. This item uses a PATCH request to the global-settings resource to modify the attributes contained within it. We will update the guiSetup and hostname attribute.

    • Click on Body. Review the JSON body and modify the hostname attribute to set the hostname to bigip-a.f5.local

    • Also notice that we are disabling the GUI Setup Wizard as part of the same request:

      lab-3-1

  4. Click the Send button and review the response Body. You should see that the attributes modified above have been updated by looking at the response. You can also GET the global-settings by sending the Step 1: Get System Global-Settings request again to verify they have been updated.

Task 2 - Modify DNS/NTP Settings

Note

This task will make use of JSON arrays. The syntax for defining a JSON array is:

myArray: [ Object0, Object1 ... ObjectX ]

To define an array consisting of Strings the syntax is:

myStringArray: [ "string0", "string1" ... "stringX" ]

Much like the previous task we can update system DNS and NTP settings by sending a PATCH request to the correct resource in the sys Organizing Collection. The relevant Resources for this task are:

URL Type
/mgmt/tm/sys/dns DNS Settings
/mgmt/tm/sys/ntp NTP Settings

Perform the following steps to complete this task:

  1. Click the Step 3: Get System DNS Settings item in the folder. Click Send and review the current settings.

  2. Click the Step 4: Set System DNS Settings item in the folder. Click Body. Review the JSON body to verify the name server IPs 4.2.2.2 and 8.8.8.8 are listed. Additionally, add a search domain of f5.local. You will modify a JSON array to add a search domain:

    lab-3-4

  3. Click the Send button and verify the requested changes were successfully implemented by looking at the response or by sending the Step 3: Get System DNS Settings request again.

  4. Click the Step 5: Get System NTP Settings item in the folder. Click Send and review the current settings.

  5. Click the Step 6: Set System NTP Settings item in the folder. Click Body. Review the JSON body to verify the NTP servers with hostnames 0.pool.ntp.org and 1.pool.ntp.org are contained in the servers attribute (another JSON array!).

  6. Click the Send button and verify the requested changes were successfully implemented by looking at the response or sending the Step 5: Get System NTP Settings again.

Task 3 - Update default user account passwords

In this task we will update the passwords for the root and admin accounts. The process for updating the root account is different than other system accounts because it is used by underlying Linux OS.

To update the root account password we will use a POST to the /mgmt/shared/authn/root REST endpoint.

To update all other system accounts we will PATCH the /mgmt/tm/auth/user/<username> Resource.

Perform the following steps to change the root user password:

  1. Click the Step 7: Set root User Password item in the folder.

  2. We are performing a POST operation to change the root user password and have to specify the oldPassword because the REST implementation on the BIG-IP uses the underlying Linux mechanism. Click Body. Modify the JSON body to update the password to the value newdefault and click the Send button.

    lab-3-2

  3. You can verify the password has been changed by opening an SSH session to BIG-IP A. A shortcut to a terminal is included on the desktop of the Linux jumphost. Open a Terminal window and then open an SSH connection to BIG-IP A using the command ssh root@10.1.1.10:

    lab-3-5

  4. Repeat the procedure above to change the password back to default.

Perform the following steps to change the admin user password:

  1. Click the Step 8: Set admin User Password item in the collection.

  2. We are performing a PATCH operation to admin user Resource. Click Body and modify the JSON body to update the password to the value newadmin and click the Send button.

    lab-3-3

  3. You can verify the password has been changed by opening an SSH session

    OR by logging into TMUI (HTTP GUI) to BIG-IP A in a Chrome browser tab.

  4. Repeat the procedure above to change the password back to admin.

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