BIG-IP i10000 is the highest-performance F5 iSeries appliance family, designed for large enterprise, service-provider, and data-center environments requiring advanced application delivery, high-volume SSL/TLS processing, and integrated security services.

The i10000 Series was built for organizations running demanding application environments where smaller ADC platforms could not provide sufficient throughput, connection handling, or encryption performance. With large memory capacity, high-speed interfaces, dedicated SSL acceleration, and support for multiple BIG-IP modules, these appliances were commonly deployed as critical application delivery infrastructure.

The family includes several models such as BIG-IP i10600, i10800, i10820, i11600, and i11800, allowing organizations to select different performance levels depending on traffic volume, SSL requirements, application complexity, and future growth expectations. Today, BIG-IP i10000 platforms are mainly relevant for existing environments, license renewal, expansion projects, replacement planning, and migration discussions toward newer F5 rSeries platforms.

Series Highlights

• Legacy F5 high-performance iSeries application delivery family
• Includes i10600, i10800, i10820, i11600, and i11800 models
• Enterprise and service-provider grade ADC platform
• 2RU rack-mount appliance design
• Up to 80 Gbps L4/L7 throughput
• Up to 240 Gbps L4 throughput depending on model
• Large memory configurations
• Dual SSD storage
• High-speed 10GbE and 40GbE connectivity options
• Hardware-assisted SSL/TLS acceleration
• Support for advanced BIG-IP modules

BIG-IP i10000 At a glance

What it is: High-end F5 iSeries physical application delivery platform

Product family: BIG-IP iSeries

Models: i10600, i10800, i10820, i11600, i11800

Software architecture: BIG-IP TMOS

Deployment type: Physical ADC appliance

Form factor: 2RU rack-mount

Typical role: Enterprise ADC, SSL/TLS offload, application security, DNS, secure access, and large-scale traffic management

Series Overview

The BIG-IP i10000 family was designed for organizations that required more capacity than standard iSeries appliances could provide. These platforms focused on high-throughput application delivery, large connection volumes, and intensive SSL/TLS processing.

Unlike smaller iSeries families, i10000 appliances were commonly deployed at critical application entry points where downtime directly affected business services. They provided the hardware resources required for multiple BIG-IP services running together, including:

• Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
• Advanced WAF
• DNS
• Access Policy Manager (APM)
• Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

The family contains several performance tiers:

The exact model matters because two appliances from the same family may look similar physically while offering different processing capacity.

Licensing and Part Number Guidance

BIG-IP i10000 part numbers typically represent a combination of:

• Physical appliance model
• BIG-IP software entitlement
• Enabled modules
• Support coverage
• Optional accessories

When reviewing an existing i10000 deployment, confirm the exact model first. The difference between an i10600 and i11800 is significant when evaluating throughput, SSL capacity, and application growth.

Important information before requesting pricing includes:

• Current hardware model
• Active BIG-IP modules
• TMOS version
• License registration information
• Support contract status
• Traffic profile
• SSL/TLS workload

The license structure also affects the final capability of the appliance. A system running only LTM has a different resource requirement compared with one running Advanced WAF, APM, and encrypted traffic inspection simultaneously.

For existing i10000 users, the question is often not only “which license is required?” but also whether continuing with the appliance is practical compared with migrating to newer F5 platforms.

Common Use Cases

Models, Licenses, and Ordering Scope

What to Check Before Requesting a Quote

For BIG-IP i10000 environments, accurate sizing starts with understanding the existing workload.

Before requesting a quote, review:

• Current application traffic
• Peak throughput
• SSL/TLS transaction volume
• Number of virtual servers
• Enabled BIG-IP modules
• HA configuration
• Network interface requirements
• Expected future growth

A common mistake in ADC replacement projects is selecting a new platform only by comparing model numbers. Modern F5 platforms use different architectures, so workload analysis is more valuable than direct hardware matching.

For example, an i11800 running Advanced WAF and heavy TLS inspection may require a different replacement design than an i11800 used mainly for LTM load balancing.

Migration planning should also consider:

• Configuration conversion
• License transfer
• Application testing
• Maintenance windows
• Rollback strategy

Activation and Delivery Notes

BIG-IP i10000 appliances use the traditional F5 TMOS architecture.

After deployment, administrators activate the license, provision required modules, configure interfaces and VLANs, and restore application delivery policies.

For high availability environments, both appliances should maintain:

• Compatible TMOS versions
• Matching licenses
• Similar provisioning settings
• Correct failover configuration

Unlike newer rSeries systems, i10000 appliances do not use F5OS or tenant-based deployment. Migration to rSeries therefore requires architectural planning because the newer platform separates hardware resources from BIG-IP tenant instances.

Before delivery or replacement, confirm:

• Appliance model
• Software compatibility
• License entitlement
• Support coverage
• Required optics
• Migration requirements