The following procedure describes how to update an F5 ARM template to use a different BIG-IP image than the one referenced in the template. This is useful if your organization has standardized on a particular version of a template, and the BIG-IP image SKU referenced by the template has been retired from the Azure platform, for reasons such as a vulnerability is discovered in the BIG-IP image used by the template.

Refer to the Azure ARM Template Matrix to ensure proper compatibility of BIG-IP versions for particular releases. The BIG-IP version must be in the same family (for example, if you deployed using a v13 image, you use any v13.x image in the template).

Important This procedure is only necessary if you need to modify a template that was contained in a previous tagged release. If you do not need to use an older template, we recommend using the latest templates.

1. Determine the F5 ARM template you want to deploy (for example, standalone, 1-NIC).
2. Select the release Tag that corresponds to the template. To select the release tag:

• Go to the F5 ARM Template main page (https://github.com/F5Networks/f5-azure-arm-templates).
• From the Branch list, click the arrow, and then click the Tags tab.
  
  
• Select the Tagged version that contains the template you want to update.

3. Browse to the template file (azuredeploy.json) which contains the BIG-IP image you want to replace. For example, for a 1-NIC, new stack, PAYG template, we click supported > standalone > 1nic > new_stack > PAYG > azuredeploy.json.
4. Click the Raw button and save the file locally.
5. Open the azuredeploy.json file and search for the BIG-IP version (image SKU) you want to replace (for example, 13.0.021). Replace this number with the new BIG-IP version (image SKU) everywhere it appears in the file (for example, with 13.0.0300) . The following is a snippet of the file showing where you would change the version.

   "bigIpVersion": {
           "allowedValues": [
               "13.0.021",
               "12.1.24",
               "latest"
           ],
           "defaultValue": "13.0.021", 
           "metadata": {
               "description": "F5 BIG-IP version you want to use."
           },
           "type": "string"

6. Save the new file.
7. Deploy the ARM template as you typically do. For example, you can:
   • Use CLI tools to deploy the template. See the individual README file for instructions.
   • Deploy using the Azure portal by uploading the template file using the Templates blade. Once it is uploaded, you can launch the new template from there.
   • This is not an exhaustive list, simply deploy the new template as you normally would in Azure.