F5 Certification: My Personal Study Journey

This my personal blog where I document my journey as a Network Designer/Architect continuously developing my skills. In this post, I’m sharing how I successfully studied for and passed the F5 Certified Administrator certification between July and December 2024. If you’re considering this certification, I hope this post helps guide your own preparation and provides some useful information as to what materials are available and the upcoming changes to the F5 certification track.

My Study Process

To prepare, I followed a structured learning path that included a combination of online courses, hands-on lab work, and practice exams.

Courses I Used:

These courses laid a strong foundation in both the theory and practical elements of F5 technology.

Setting Up My Own Lab

One of the most valuable parts of my study process was building my own lab. I used a Dell PowerEdge R210 II running VMware vSphere 6.5 and deployed F5 BIG-IP VE Trial images, which you can download from F5’s website.

I followed Dean Armada’s lab setup course, which I highly recommend. His lab includes VMs with pre-installed web servers, which saved a lot of time and allowed me to focus on the F5 platform itself. He also provides a lab topology, making it easy to replicate and experiment with different scenarios as I progressed through the course material.

Timeline and Approach

The entire process took me about five months – a little longer than I had planned. That said, I wouldn’t change the approach:

Build and get hands-on with a lab early.
Work through the course content at your own pace.
Use practice exams to identify gaps and solidify understanding.

Practice Exams: A Must-Do

When I felt ready, I turned to CertiVerse for practice exams. These were incredibly helpful – realistic, affordable, and aligned closely with the official exam objectives. I’d highly recommend these to anyone preparing for the F5 exams.

Why the Certification Was Worth It

Achieving the F5 Certified Administrator credential was well worth the effort. It’s deepened my understanding of F5 technologies and strengthened my ability to design and deliver robust application services. It’s also encouraged me to consider pursuing the more advanced F5 certification tracks in the future.

Important Changes to the F5 Exam Structure

Since completing my certification, F5 has announced significant changes to their certification program. The classic 101 and 201 exams are being retired, and they’re being replaced with five new, shorter exams that focus on specific topic areas:

BIG-IP Administration: Install, Initial Configuration, and Upgrade
BIG-IP Administration: Data Plane Concepts
BIG-IP Administration: Data Plane Configuration
BIG-IP Administration: Control Plane Administration
BIG-IP Administration: Support and Troubleshooting

One of the most welcome updates is that these new exams can now be taken via remote proctoring, which is a huge improvement over the previous requirement to visit a physical test centre.

You can find more information about these updates in this official F5 article.

Final Thoughts

The only real drawback during my certification journey was the lack of remote testing. Travelling to a test centre was time-consuming and expensive, so it’s fantastic to see F5 moving in line with other vendors by offering remote options in the future.

If you’re considering becoming F5 certified, I can wholeheartedly recommend the path I took: build a lab, learn from quality courses, and use practice exams to prepare. It’s a challenging but rewarding experience that will undoubtedly make you a better engineer or architect.

If you’ve got any questions or want to share your own journey, feel free to drop a comment below!

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