F5 iWorkflow
Orchestrating Network Services

Overview:

Accelerate application deployments by orchestrating the delivery of your F5 application delivery services. F5 iWorkflow aids the programmatic deployment of application service policies, enabling faster, more agile, and more easily orchestrated application deployment.

The networks of tomorrow will have more speed and flexibility than ever before. Static, set-andforget technology has given way to a new networking model that increases efficiency and agility by delivering applications on demand. This requires more than just the ability to spin up and spin down servers programmatically. Networks will also require the ability to orchestrate traffic management, access control, and security to support newly agile applications.

As a multi-tenant platform for deploying application delivery policy into any environment, F5 iWorkflow helps deliver the necessary management and orchestration. It speeds application deployment through third-party management systems such as Cisco ACI and VMware NSX and through DevOps tools like Puppet, Chef, and Ansible. It also accelerates manual deployment through the iWorkflow GUI. Formally known as BIG-IQ Cloud, iWorkflow can be a critical part of your application orchestration strategy.

Key Benefits

• Speed deployments by automating provisioning and the delivery of application services.
• Simplify configuration with programmable templates.
• Increase control while offering self-service for application owners and tenants.
• Gain agility by deploying applications more quickly and reliably

Automated deployment and provisioning

F5 iWorkflow increases IT agility and speed by automating deployment and provisioning of F5 solutions. iWorkflow facilitates automation in three ways: programmatically through direct API interaction; through connectors for management and orchestration systems; and manually, through a graphic user interface.

iWorkflow also includes a connector software development kit (SDK) for developing custom connectors. All features and functions of iWorkflow are programmatically accessible through a well-documented set of RESTful APIs.

Simplified configuration using iApps Templates

iWorkflow injects application-specific layer 4–7 intelligence into Cisco ACI and VMware NSX-based networks. It does this by generating a catalog of programmable, application-specific F5 iApps Templates. This catalog is used by F5 BIG-IP Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs) and available in orchestration solutions.

iApps Templates create configuration-specific forms used by application services to guide authorized users through complex system configurations. These application-specific templates contain all the logic necessary to deploy and provision the network services your applications require. iApps provide a programmatic, visual layout and help information. Each new application service uses one of the templates to create a screen with fields and help that guide the authorized user through the configuration process and creates the final configuration.

Role-based access control

iWorkflow was designed with the concept of role-based access control (RBAC) deeply ingrained, providing application owners and tenants control over their assigned application(s) and associated services—and only those applications and services. iWorkflow enables you to create tenants and allocate resources to them via iApps Templates. Tenants can then self-deploy the customized application templates to easily define network and application services for several devices without requiring them to perform complicated networking procedures.

Features:

iWorkflow features enable both providers and tenants to streamline application deployment and enhance orchestration, delivering greater agility, control, and security for today’s application environments.

Providers

• Multi-tenant, policy-driven deployments utilizing application services templates—iApps— presented as service catalogues
• Cloud connectors for VMware NSX and Cisco APIC, as well as connections to local BIG-IP devices and F5 Virtual Clustered Multiprocessing (vCMP) resources
• Integration with management and orchestration systems through a comprehensive RESTful API
• Orchestration SDK · License management that enables BIG-IP licenses to be granted and revoked as resource demands change
• A single web portal for viewing all tenants, applications, and devices
• Role-based access control for multiple tenants
• Resilient, all-active clustering of iWorkflow platforms

Tenants

• Self-service management of F5 application services through a catalogue of application services templates, F5 iApps
• The ability to view and deploy application delivery policy from a pre-defined, tenancybased catalogue of iApps Templates
• A device on-boarding capability that helps you orchestrate the provisioning of BIG-IP virtual editions
• Native integration with VMware NSX and Cisco APIC
• Integration with other third-party systems via the REST API
• Visibility into BIG-IP system key performance indicators (KPIs) for better capacity management and planning

As a key part of your orchestration and automation strategy, iWorkflow streamlines deployment of consistent and effective L4-L7 application services.

Documentation:

Download the F5 iWorkflow Datasheet (.PDF)