Forum Discussion

8 Replies

  • nathe's avatar
    nathe
    Icon for Cirrocumulus rankCirrocumulus

    Basically its a new form of irule, based on node.js. LX stands for Language Extension. Don't think it's a fully fledged feature yet but I note it's now part of the v12 version.

     

    Not much, if any, documentation on them yet. More of a taster/sneak preview.

     

    N

     

  • Hamish's avatar
    Hamish
    Icon for Cirrocumulus rankCirrocumulus

    They had a few presentations about it (By Joe & Jason etc) at Agility.

     

    As said above, it's extensions to iRules that allow you to write in node.js with other languages coming along at some stage too.

     

    Way cool...

     

    There's a couple of articles on devcentral somewhere about it IIRC.

     

    H

     

  • Arie's avatar
    Arie
    Icon for Altostratus rankAltostratus

    Application Server functionality right on the BIG-IP (node.js). Very, very cool. Got to play with it a bit at Agility in DC.

     

  • Arie's avatar
    Arie
    Icon for Altostratus rankAltostratus

    Found this:

     

    iRules LX There is a new version of iRules that is coming out with the new BIG-IP version 12.0 called iRules LX. If you have not heard about the F5 LineRate product that was launched in December 2013 after F5 acquired LineRate Systems ten months prior, it is F5’s answer to the other software proxies and load balancers found on the market today, such as HAProxy and Nginx. It is a relatively low-cost, high-volume, and lightweight virtual load balancer. It allows load balancing and high availability for cloud and software-defined data centres so that DevOps teams can simplify the deployment of applications. The LineRate product suite includes its own iRules equivalent called Node.js.

     

    If you haven’t already, we highly recommend getting up-to-speed on the Node.js platform built on Chrome’s JavaScript runtime. It uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it perfect for data-intensive real-time applications. iRules has always been viewed as the flexible extension of the F5 platform. Now think about iRules LX as an extension to the flexibility provided by iRules by using Node.js. That’s right, clients will now be able to use iRules to call Node.js extensions and import modules/plugins found on “npm”.

     

    In version 12.0, the call between an iRule and a Node.js extension will be made via a Remote Procedure Call (RPC). F5 did mention that down the road, perhaps in version12.1, this will be replaced by making iRules LX part of the TMM instead of letting it run as a separate process. This should provide the potential for even greater performance and flexibility. Don’t fret though, the current iRules are not going anywhere from what F5 mentioned. Instead, the iRules LX are meant to act as an extension of the current iRules, not as a replacement.

     

    F5 demonstrated the ability to make a connection and query into a MySQL database. The data found was then displayed on a web page from an iRule. The “mysql” package found on “npm” was imported to the F5, showing that some existing Node.js modules can simply be imported and used.

     

  • iRulesLX is a language extension to iRules, the first iteration being Node.js. In 12.0, it is an Early Access feature, which requires an add-on license to function.

     

    Even though you will be able to provision, configure, and attach iRulesLX configuration to the virtual servers, it will not work without an EA license.

     

    Some points of clarification to the questions on and comments.

     

    1. The TCL-based iRules are not in any way going away. The LX is an extension of the existing iRules platform, not a replacement.
    2. It is not a standalone platform whereas you choose iRules or iRulesLX. The Node.js platform is called from iRules with an init command.
    3. We will have a release plan for articles on use cases and architectural considerations as iRulesLX transitions from early access to general availability.

    Please drop any comments or questions in the comments attached to this answer and we'll do our best to address your concerns.

     

  • So May I ask, what the most part of consideration here, if we are running 11.6 with EHF-5, and planning to upgrade our F5 units to 12.0 (EHF-x).

     

    1. Does existing iRules work at 12.0 ? or conversion of iRules is required from existing to (java node.js) format ? if yes then do we need separate license ?
    2. default behavior any new listed features at 12.0, cause any impact ?
    3. Would existing UCS file get loaded at 12.0, i meant does encrypted attributes at 11.6 be supported at 12.0 for decrypted ?
    4. We are keeping almost 28 viprion chassis (2100/2200 almost) with 2 blades in each, what do we need to consider from hardware standpoint before upgrade if any TMM process or shared memory need more resources ?

    Kindly Advise Jai A Singla