F5 Load Balancer Expert

Abacus Consulting; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 200 000 - 300 000; Part time

Job summary

A leading consulting firm in Johannesburg seeks an experienced F5 Load Balancer Expert for a short-term consulting engagement. The role involves configuring F5 Load Balancers for optimal performance and high availability, along with delivering key documentation and knowledge transfer to the internal team. Candidates must have extensive hands-on experience with F5 technologies and strong communication skills to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams. The engagement is expected to last approximately four weeks.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with F5 Load Balancer configuration, including BIG-IP modules.
• Expertise in configuring F5 clustering for high availability.
• Understanding of DNS management and routing logic.
• Proficiency in designing failover strategies.
• Strong communication skills for cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Provide end-to-end support for implementing F5 Load Balancers.
• Ensure proper configuration aligns with project requirements.
• Design and implement failover strategies and clustering.
• Conduct system testing and integration with other systems.
• Document and transfer knowledge to the internal team.

Skills

High Availability

System Testing

Routing

Scalability

Load Consulting

Reliability

Integration

Design

Communication

Job description

Problem Statement for an F5 Load Balancer Expert - (Consultant)

Project Overview

As part of our ongoing project with Vodacom, we are transitioning to an advanced infrastructure to ensure optimal performance, scalability, and reliability. The client has provisioned two F5 Load Balancers to be integrated into our system architecture. To ensure the successful setup and configuration of these devices, we require an experienced consultant with specialized expertise in F5 Load Balancer solutions, including clustering and high-availability configurations.

Objective

The consultant will be responsible for providing end-to-end support for implementing the F5 Load Balancers, ensuring they align with project requirements, are properly configured, and function seamlessly within our infrastructure. The tasks will involve both strategic design and hands‑on implementation, culminating in a robust clustering, failover, and load‑balancing mechanism.

Scope of Work

• Preparation and Access Configuration
  • Define IPs for all Virtual IPs (VIPs).
  • Confirm access to the F5 interface.
  • Configure DNS settings.
• Health Monitoring and Endpoints
  • Provide health-check endpoints.
  • Configure health monitors.
• Virtual Server and Routing Configuration
  • Create Virtual IPs (VIPs) for various systems.
  • Define routing logic for the systems.
• Failover Strategy and Clustering
  • Design and implement a failover strategy.
  • Configure F5 Load Balancer clustering to ensure high availability and fault tolerance.
  • Simulate PROD/DR failover scenarios.
• System Testing and Integration
  • Configure DNS to integrate seamlessly with other systems.
  • Test VIP health checks.
  • Test round‑robin traffic distribution.

Desired Expertise

• Extensive hands‑on experience with F5 Load Balancer configuration, including BIG‑IP modules (LTM, GTM, etc.).
• Proven expertise in configuring and managing F5 Load Balancer clustering for high availability.
• A deep understanding of DNS management, health monitoring, and routing logic.
• Proficiency in designing and implementing failover strategies.
• Ability to simulate and troubleshoot high‑availability (HA) scenarios like PROD/DR failover.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills to work with cross‑functional teams.
• Fully configured F5 Load Balancers with integrated DNS, clustering, and routing logic.
• A clustering and failover strategy documented and implemented.
• Comprehensive testing reports covering VIP health checks, PROD/DR failover simulations, traffic routing validation, and clustering performance.
• Knowledge transfer to the internal team regarding the setup and maintenance of the F5 Load Balancers and clustering features.

Engagement Type

This will be a short‑term consulting engagement with a clear timeline and deliverables. The expected duration of the activity is approximately four weeks.

Required Skills

• High Availability
• System Testing
• Routing
• Scalability
• Load Consulting
• Checks
• Validation
• Deliverables
• Reliability
• Features
• Architecture
• Infrastructure
• Availability
• Integration
• Strategy
• Preparation
• Testing
• Maintenance
• Design
• Communication
• Management