Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation (Paraphrased from F5 BIG-IP Administration Install, Initial Configuration, and Upgrade concepts)
When performing a TMOS upgrade, F5 recommends validating the target software version to ensure that the release does not contain defects that may impact system behavior. The upgrade preparation process includes checking for known issues, validating compatibility, and reviewing advisory information for the intended version. Two primary F5 tools serve this purpose:
B. F5 iHealth
iHealth is a cloud-based diagnostic and analysis platform used to evaluate the operational state of a BIG-IP system.
Administrators upload a QKView file to iHealth to receive an automated assessment of the system. As part of upgrade planning, iHealth provides:
Version-specific issue analysis, comparing the system’s configuration and hardware against F5’s internal catalog of published issues.
Upgrade advisories, identifying potential risks such as deprecated features, module compatibility concerns, or changes in behavior between TMOS versions.
Checks against known defects, allowing administrators to determine whether the target TMOS version contains issues relevant to their deployment.
This aligns with F5’s recommended upgrade workflow, where iHealth is used before upgrading to confirm system readiness and detect software-level concerns.
D. F5 Bug Tracker
The Bug Tracker is F5’s dedicated interface for reviewing software defects across TMOS releases.
It enables administrators to:
Search forknown bugs by TMOS version, module, severity, or defect ID.
Review thestatus of defects(open, resolved, fixed in later releases).
Identify whether high-impact or security-related issues are associated with the target upgrade version.
F5 documentation emphasizes reviewing known defects prior to installation of new software images, making the Bug Tracker a critical resource for upgrade validation.
Why the other options are not correct
A. F5 End User Diagnostics (EUD)
EUD is used exclusively forhardware diagnostics(ports, memory, fans). It does not provide software-related issue verification and is not used for upgrade planning.
C. F5 University
This is atraining platform, not an operational tool. It does not provide defect listings or upgrade-specific warnings.
E. F5 Downloads
Although it provides access to software images and release notes, it isnot a tool for identifying known bugs. Release notes summarize general fixes and features, but systematic bug verification requires iHealth or the Bug Tracker.
