F5CTSLTM5-B

BIG-IP LTM Specialist Packet Capture/Troubleshooting - TCP/UDP/Application Layer

Part of F5 Certified Technology Specialist, BIG-IP LTM

Targets: Product version not specified in the blueprint
Blueprint source: Official beta blueprint F5CTSLTM.032026.BETA (valid March-April 2026; beta exams until 2026-07-31), relayed by PRIME 2026-07-21 ↗

Independent study aid built from the public exam blueprint. Not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by F5. Objectives are transcribed and mapped by hand, so this page may contain mistakes or may have fallen behind the vendor's current material: exam objectives, versions, numbering and availability all change without notice. Treat F5's own certification portal as the source of truth and verify against it before you book anything.

Exam F5CTSLTM5-B: BIG-IP LTM Specialist Packet Capture/Troubleshooting - TCP/UDP/Application Layer

F5CTSLTM5.01 Given a set of headers or packet captures, determine the root cause of an HTTP/HTTPS application problem
What to know:
- Explain how to interpret response codes
- Explain the function of HTTP headers within different HTTP applications (Cookies, Cache Control, Vary, Content Type & Host)
- Explain HTTP methods (GET, POST, etc.)
- Explain how to decode POST data
On this site: HTTP/0.9 vs 1.0 vs 1.1 vs 2 vs 3: Five Versions of the Web's Protocol, HTTP QUERY: the read that finally carries a body
Tools: http-methods-comparison
F5CTSLTM5.02 Given a scenario, determine which protocol analyzer tool and its options are required to resolve an application issue
What to know:
- Identify application issues based on a protocol analyzer trace
- Explain how to follow a conversation from client-side and server-side packet captures
- Identify the different causes of slow traffic (e.g., drops, RSTs, retransmits, ICMP errors, demotion from CMP)
- Explain how SNAT and OneConnect effect protocol analyzer's packet captures
On this site: Capturing Safely on a Production BIG-IP, CMP: The Cores You Paid For, and the iRule Lines That Give Them Back, OneConnect: Reuse Is a Grouping Problem, and SNAT Rewrites the Groups
Tools: f5-bigip-tcpdump-builder
F5CTSLTM5.03 Given a packet capture, and necessary supporting documentation, determine the root cause of an application problem
What to know:
- Analyze a tcpdump to identify application or configuration problems
On this site: BIG-IP tcpdump: How It Differs from Standard tcpdump
Tools: f5-bigip-tcpdump-builder
F5CTSLTM5.04 Given a packet capture, and necessary supporting documentation, determine a solution to an application problem
What to know:
- Analyze a tcpdump to identify application or configuration solution
On this site: BIG-IP tcpdump: How It Differs from Standard tcpdump

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