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Skuba_85554's avatar
Skuba_85554
Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
Feb 22, 2010

system rebuild advice

hi

 

 

we have an old unit that we use for testing that's been playing up a bit lately, so i'd like to rebuild it. the thing is although i've installed new systems and performed upgrades, i've never wiped an existing system clean and started from scratch. basically, i'd like to do the equivilent of a PC format and rebuild, but i'd like to retain the licence and keep the unit on the same software version

 

 

can anyone offer any advice on how to achieve this?

 

 

thanks
config
design

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  • hooleylist's avatar
    hooleylist
    Icon for Cirrostratus rankCirrostratus
    Feb 22, 2010
    Hi Skuba,

     

     

    Try searching on AskF5.com for LTM solutions with the keywords "factory defaults". You'll find a few solutions depending on which version you're running:

     

     

    SOL7550 - Resetting the BIG-IP system configuration to the factory default settings using the sys-reset command

     

    SOL10519 - Resetting a BIG-IP version 10.x configuration to the factory default settings

     

    SOL6887 - Resetting the BIG-IP system configuration to the default settings

     

     

    Aaron
  • Skuba_85554's avatar
    Skuba_85554
    Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
    Feb 22, 2010
    hi aaron

     

     

    that's great - just one question: will any of the reset commands actually remove unwanted files on the system? basically, i'm not that much of a linux expert and i'm concerned that we may be leaving lot's of unnecessary files on the unit which may be taking up disk space

     

     

    thanks

     

  • hooleylist's avatar
    hooleylist
    Icon for Cirrostratus rankCirrostratus
    Feb 22, 2010
    The 10.x reset process wipes the filesystem (it's just a reinstall of the OS). The sys-reset command manually clears most directories by calling /usr/bin/sys-reset-rl1. If you want to be sure you're dealing with a wiped and clean OS, you could either use the 10.x process for v10 or manually reinstall the OS from scratch for v9.

     

     

    Aaron
  • Skuba_85554's avatar
    Skuba_85554
    Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
    Feb 22, 2010
    it's v9.1.2

     

     

    so are you saying that "SOL6887: Resetting the BIG-IP system configuration to the default settings" would achieve the goal of wiping the system clean? i don't know if i'm missing something obvious here so apologies if i am!
  • hooleylist's avatar
    hooleylist
    Icon for Cirrostratus rankCirrostratus
    Feb 22, 2010
    The 9.1.x process doesn't clear out any files except specific configuration files. If you want to clear the filesystem, I'd suggest installing 9.1.2 from scratch.

     

     

    Also, it would be good to upgrade all your units (test and production) to a more current and supported version. 9.4.8 would be a good stable option. And 10.x would offer a lot of new functionality.

     

     

    Aaron
  • Skuba_85554's avatar
    Skuba_85554
    Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
    Feb 23, 2010

    If you want to clear the filesystem, I'd suggest installing 9.1.2 from scratch

     

     

    this is the bit i'm stuggling with, aaron. i'm not sure how to perform a clean installation (as if the unit had just arrived from the factory)

     

     

    correct me if i'm wrong, but i think if i remove the base config file it will prompt me to run through the setup procedure again, but obviously it won't tidy up the system. this is where i'm getting confused as to what to do

     

     

    thanks
  • hooleylist's avatar
    hooleylist
    Icon for Cirrostratus rankCirrostratus
    Feb 23, 2010
    I'd suggest saving the bigip.license file and a UCS off the unit and then going through any of the installation methods from the 9.1.2 release notes:

     

     

    https://support.f5.com/kb/en-us/products/big-ip_ltm/releasenotes/product/relnotes9_1_2.htmlinstall

     

    ->

     

    https://support.f5.com/kb/en-us/products/big-ip_ltm/releasenotes/local_9_1_2.html

     

     

    The simplest option would probably be to run copy the .im file to the unit and run the installation using the im command. This won't wipe the /shared/ partition, but will clear everything else. If you get an error about the version you're installing being the same as what's installed, you can use the im -forceall flag.

     

     

    Aaron