Introduction

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The following sections provide an overview of BIG-IP DNS systems and the F5: BIG-IP DNS PowerPack:

What is F5 BIG-IP DNS?

F5 Networks' BIG-IP DNS service provides global server load-balancing services for domain name system (DNS) queries. To ensure that the queries are answered quickly and efficiently, BIG-IP DNS routes DNS traffic for global applications to the closest or best-performing pool in a wide IP (WIP), which will map a fully-qualified domain name to one or more pools of virtual servers that hosts domain content, and then to the best available virtual server within that pool. BIG-IP DNS also provides distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) protection for DNS infrastructure.

What Does the F5: BIG-IP DNS PowerPack Monitor?

The F5: BIG-IP DNS PowerPack enables you to monitor configuration and performance metrics for wide IP, pools, data centers, and physical and virtual servers. The PowerPack includes the following features:

  • Dynamic Applications that discover and monitor F5 BIG-IP DNS devices
  • Device Classes for each of the F5 BIG-IP DNS devices that the F5: BIG-IP DNS PowerPack can monitor
  • Event Policies and corresponding alerts that are triggered when F5 BIG-IP DNS devices meet certain status criteria

Installing the F5: BIG-IP DNS PowerPack

Before completing the steps in this section, you must import and install the latest version of the F5: BIG-IP DNS PowerPack.

By default, installing a new version of a PowerPack overwrites all content from a previous version of that PowerPack that has already been installed on the target system. You can use the Enable Selective PowerPack Field Protection setting in the Behavior Settings page (System > Settings > Behavior) to prevent new PowerPacks from overwriting local changes for some commonly customized fields. For more information, see the section on Global Settings.

Ensure that you are running version 12.1.2 or later of SL1 before installing this PowerPack. For details on upgrading SL1, see the relevant SL1 Platform Release Notes.

To download and install the PowerPack:

  1. Search for and download the PowerPack from the PowerPacks page (Product Downloads > PowerPacks & SyncPacks) at the ScienceLogic Support Site.
  2. In SL1, go to the PowerPacks page (System > Manage > PowerPacks).
  3. Click the Actions button and choose Import PowerPack. The Import PowerPack dialog box appears.
  4. Click [Browse] and navigate to the PowerPack file from step 1.
  5. Select the PowerPack file and click Import. The PowerPack Installer modal displays a list of the PowerPack contents.
  6. Click Install. The PowerPack is added to the PowerPacks page.

If you exit the PowerPack Installer modal without installing the imported PowerPack, the imported PowerPack will not appear in the PowerPacks page. However, the imported PowerPack will appear in the Imported PowerPacks modal. This page appears when you click the Actions menu and select Install PowerPack.