LTM L4 protocol profile explainer
The protocol-profile decision in cards: full-proxy tcp with every feature, the living f5-tcp-* four that F5 continually updates (read-only, tuned via child profiles) versus the frozen legacy -optimized trio, FastL4's PVA packet path with the loose pair for asymmetric routing, and FastHTTP's narrow-but-fast HTTP case with its complete when-to-use criteria list and K8024 as required reading.
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References
- F5 DevCentral: F5 Unveils New Built-In TCP Profiles (the 13.0 announcement, verbatim: f5-tcp-wan/lan/mobile as updated versions of the -optimized trio; f5-tcp-progressive as the general-use latest-features profile; the living contract, immediate landing in progressive and a couple of releases later elsewhere; the five read-only profiles and the child-profile custom-flag discipline; the benchmark criteria)
- BIG-IP LTM Profiles Reference 13.1 - Protocol Profiles (FastL4's purpose: PVA hardware processing some or all Layer 4 traffic, the virtual-server pairings, dynamic ePVA offload; FastHTTP's composition from TCP Express, HTTP, and OneConnect, its full when-to-use criteria list, and the Connection-header reuse benefit; the tcp-family descriptions and the mobile under-1-MB sizing note)
- BIG-IP LTM Profiles Reference 21.0 - Protocol Profiles (both TCP families, legacy and living, still shipping side by side)
- tmsh ltm profile fastl4 man page v13 (option semantics with defaults: loose-initialization accepting any TCP packet rather than requiring a SYN and loose-close on the first FIN, both default disabled; pva-acceleration full/none/partial/dedicated; pva-offload-dynamic and -state; tcp-timestamp-mode and tcp-wscale-mode defaulting to preserve; mss-override; late-binding with the FIX-profile requirement)
- K93100324: BIG-IP LTM operations guide, virtual servers chapter (Performance (Layer 4) recommended when little or no L4/L7 processing is required, minimal L7 information limiting load-balancing scope, ePVA offload; Performance (HTTP) with FastHTTP, possibly the fastest way under certain circumstances with specific requirements and limitations, K8024 as required reading; Forwarding (IP) needing FastL4 options; translation disabled when steering to inspection devices)
- K8024: Overview of the Fast HTTP profile (the canonical requirements-and-limitations K article the operations guide points to; cited by number, my.f5 renders client-side)
- K09948701: Overview of the FastL4 profile (the canonical FastL4 overview K article; cited by number, my.f5 renders client-side)