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CDG's avatar
CDG
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Apr 11, 2016

iAPPs or not

I would like to ear about the pros and cons of using IAPP template? Should I use iapp template or not?

 

6 Replies

  • JamesSevedge_23's avatar
    JamesSevedge_23
    Historic F5 Account

    I would definitely recommend looking into iApp's, F5 has a long list of supported iApp's for use with most common enterprise software. Below link would be a good place to start on understanding iApp's and their use. It contains links to the codeshare if you would like to browse through some of the iApp's on devcentral.

     

    https://devcentral.f5.com/wiki/iapp.homepage.ashx

     

  • Arie's avatar
    Arie
    Icon for Altostratus rankAltostratus

    For standard deployments of certain apps (e.g. SharePoint) an iApp can be a good solution. However, if you need more than basic customization of the VIP/pool config/monitors etc. it may be best to configure it yourself.

     

    iApps still have some quirks and shortcomings. For instance, you will find that the system will mark all iApps as having been updated (and thus need their template re-applied) if you apply a HF to the BIG-IP. Another example is the basic HTTP-iApp, which is limited to assigning a single health monitor (vs. multiple).

     

    iApps definitely have their place, but you will want to be aware of the limitations.

     

  • Like almost everything in the IT world, it will depend on the current scenario and application.

     

    Some time ago I used an iApp to deploy a complex Web Application based on ASPX-IIS-MSSQL. The application has changed so much in a year and when we try to upgrade from version 11.2 to 11.3 we had problems and had to set up the configuration from scratch. In some cases this approach is more scalable and simple to modify.

     

    Things can not go as expected if you want to do a change that is not in the options inside the iApp and you try to deploy that change outside the iApp (Typically not recomended by F5). You always have the option of reprogramming the iApp (If you have some programming skills or you like this programming world, you can do incredible things with iApps), but for most systems admins, this would make the things more difficult instead of simplify the daily administration/operation tasks.

     

    On the other hand, I have several success stories with VMware Horizon, Microsoft Exchange, Lync, where I used the iApp as it comes from the factory and the application has been ready in minutes. And you say wow. It really works!

     

    As a general rule, the more specific changes we need, more work will have with the iApp. And if the application is from VMware, Microsoft, etc. and you have the typical scenario, definitely use an iApp will be the best option (A must do!).

     

    :-)