F5 Updated F5CAB3 Exam Questions and Answers by fynn

When multiple hostnames resolve to the same IP address and encrypted communication is required, the BIG-IP must be able to present the correct SSL certificate based on the hostname requested by the client. This is accomplished using Server Name Indication (SNI).

According to BIG-IP Administration: Data Plane Configuration documentation:

SNI is a client-side TLS extension, where the client includes the requested hostname during the SSL handshake.

BIG-IP evaluates this hostname using the Client SSL profile, not the Server SSL profile.

The “Server Name” setting in the Client SSL profile enables BIG-IP to select the appropriate SSL certificate for the requested hostname.

Why option C is correct:

Client SSL profile handles inbound (client-side) encryption.

Server Name enables SNI-based certificate selection when multiple DNS names share the same virtual server IP.

Why the other options are incorrect:

A. Client SSL, Client NameThere is no Client SSL setting called Client Name for SNI certificate selection.

B. Server SSL, Server NameServer SSL is used for encryption between BIG-IP and backend servers, not for client-side hostname identification.

D. Server SSL, Client NameServer SSL does not process client-requested hostnames during TLS negotiation.

Correct Resolution:

Configure a Client SSL profile and enable the Server Name (SNI) setting to support multiple encrypted hostnames on the same virtual server IP.

Application-level monitors ensure that only the affected service is marked down, not the entire node.

To fulfill the requirement of " SSL Offload " limited to " TLSv1.2 only, " the administrator must focus on the client-side of the connection. SSL Offload means the BIG-IP terminates the encrypted connection from the user, processes the traffic (often as plain text internally), and optionally sends it to the backend. The profile responsible for this termination and the initial negotiation with the client ' s browser is the Client SSL Profile.

A custom Client SSL Profile must be created because the default clientssl profile typically allows a broad range of protocols for compatibility (including TLS 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2). To restrict communication specifically to TLS 1.2, the administrator modifies the Ciphers string within the profile. Using a string such as DEFAULT:!SSLv3:!TLSv1:!TLSv1.1 or specifically defining TLSv1.2-only suites ensures that the BIG-IP will reject any handshake attempts from older, less secure protocols.

Server SSL Profiles (Options B and C) are used for the encryption between the BIG-IP and the backend nodes, which is not what is requested here. Simply selecting " no TLSv1 " in an options list (Option D) is insufficient and often refers to older versions of the software; the modern and standard way to control protocol negotiation on a BIG-IP is through the precise application of Cipher Strings within the Client SSL profile. This ensures compliance with security standards like PCI-DSS while providing the offloading benefits to the backend infrastructure.

X-Forwarded-For inserts the original client IP into HTTP headers while SNAT is enabled.