IControl allows you to easily connect to a BigIP F5 load balancer and by means of the SOAP API. You can programmatically do almost the same things that you would do throught the Web Interface.

gem install icontrol

In order to configure you just have to set up the username, password and the server you’re connecting to:

IControl.config = ‘username’ IControl.config = ‘secret’ IControl.config = “myf5.test.com/”

Bassically the library is the same as the one documented in the f5 devcentral but using ruby docs (devcentral.f5.com/wiki/default.aspx/iControl/APIReference.html). The main difference is that while the icontrol api does allow the bulk operation over a number of elements at the same time, in this case we limit it to just one at a time. So, for example, if you one to set the default pool for a virtual server, in the f5 doc, it says you have to pass 2 parameters

 set_default_pool_name(
   in String [] virtual_servers,
   in String [] default_pools
);

So you can change several default pools at a time. On the contrary this library adopts a more object oriented design and only allows to work with one object at a time, i. e. and talking ruby, you don’t have a set_default_pool_name class method but an instance one, so you have to first retreive the virtual server and later set its default pool. Something like this

IControl::LocalLB::VirtualServer.find("my_virtual_server).set_default_pool_name(:default_pool => "the default pool name")

if you want to do it in every virtual server then you do something like this.

IControl::LocalLB::VirtualServer.find(:all).each { |vs| vs.set_default_pool_name(:default_pool => "the default pool name") }

I think you get the point. Note that now the parameter name is :default_pool and not :default_pools, because of the semantics change.

The documentation can be found in magec.es/icontrol

You can retreive, create, delete and modify virtual servers, for more information see IControl::LocalLB::VirtualServer. As an example of you what you can do:

IControl::LocalLB::VirtualServer.create(:definition => {
                                          :address => "192.168.99.99",
                                          :name => "test_virtual_server",
                                          :port => "4",
                                          :protocol => IControl::Common::ProtocolType::PROTOCOL_TCP
                                        },
                                        :wildmask => "255.255.255.255",
                                        :resource => {
                                          :type => IControl::LocalLB::VirtualServer::VirtualServerType::RESOURCE_TYPE_POOL,
                                          :default_pool_name => ""
                                        },
                                        :profiles => [])

my_virtual_server = IControl::LocalLB::VirtualServer.find("virtual_server_name")

my_virtual_server.set_default_pool_name(:default_pool => "my_pool_name")

my_virtual_server.destroy

• Fork the project.

• Make your feature addition or bug fix.

• Add tests for it. This is important so I don’t break it in a future version unintentionally.

• Commit, do not mess with rakefile, version, or history. (if you want to have your own version, that is fine but bump version in a commit by itself I can ignore when I pull)

• Send me a pull request. Bonus points for topic branches.

This documentation is based on the original documentation procided by F5 Networks, Inc., Seattle, Washington Copyright © 2010 Jose Fernandez (magec). See LICENSE for details.