101 · ● Retiring 2025-04-30 · Associate · F5
Certification status: This exam officially retired on April 30, 2025. Candidates who passed the 101 exam between May 2023 and April 2025 retain eligibility to complete the F5 Certified BIG-IP Administrator pathway by passing the 201 TMOS Administration exam (active through two years of pass date). New candidates should target the modularized F5 Certified Administrator, BIG-IP (F5-CA, BIG-IP) pathway, which uses five 30-minute exams (F5CAB1–F5CAB5) instead.
Exam facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost | USD $135 (not including local taxes/fees) |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Questions | 80 multiple choice (all scored) |
| Passing | 245 / 350 scaled points (≈ 69%) |
| Format | Multiple choice (scenario-based); no labs, no true/false, no "all of the above" |
| Delivery | Pearson VUE |
| Languages | English |
| Valid | N/A (retired) |
| Renewal | N/A (superseded by modular F5-CA pathway) |
| Prerequisites | None formally required; basic understanding of IP networks, protocols, and traffic management recommended |
| Released | 2013 (updated multiple times; final version active until 2025-04-30) |
| Retiring | 2025-04-30 (official retirement date) |
Vendor source — F5 Certification ↗
Official exam page — Application Delivery Fundamentals (101) ↗
Exam blueprint — 101 Application Delivery Fundamentals ↗
About
The Application Delivery Fundamentals (101) exam validates fundamental knowledge of F5 products, technologies, and application delivery networking (ADN) concepts. Candidates demonstrate understanding of OSI model layers, traffic management, load balancing, security, and F5 solutions architecture. This exam was the entry point to the F5 Certified BIG-IP Administrator credential and all specialist pathways. Though officially retired April 30, 2025, it remains relevant as historical context for existing F5-CA certified professionals and those studying the transition to the new modular exam structure.
Domain context — Application Delivery / Load Balancing
Application delivery encompasses the technologies, platforms, and practices that optimize how applications are deployed, scaled, secured, and managed across distributed infrastructure. Load balancing distributes client traffic across multiple backend servers to improve availability, resilience, and performance. F5 dominates this space with BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM), Global Traffic Manager (GTM), and integrated security modules.
Read full deep dive — Application Delivery & Load Balancing →
Topics covered
The 101 exam blueprint covers the following core topics:
- OSI Model and Data Link, Network, Transport, Application Layers
- Switching & Routing fundamentals
- F5 Solutions, BIG-IP architecture, and TMOS platform overview
- Load Balancing concepts (virtual servers, pools, load-balancing methods)
- Traffic Management and application delivery networking
- Security fundamentals (DoS, DDoS, authentication, SSL/TLS)
- Application Delivery Platforms and integration
- DNS, Global Traffic Management, and high availability
- Basic troubleshooting and operational concepts
Source: Official F5-101 Exam Blueprint ↗
Common skills at Application Delivery · Associate
Shared skills for the Application Delivery domain at Associate level — not specific to this cert.
- IP networking fundamentals — TCP/IP, subnetting, routing, switching, OSI model
- Load balancing concepts — VIPs, pools, health checks, persistence, load-balancing algorithms
- Traffic management — request routing, connection optimization, rate limiting
- Basic security — TLS/SSL termination, basic DDoS concepts, authentication flows
- F5 platform orientation — BIG-IP system architecture, TMOS operating system, module overview
- Operational readiness — monitoring, alerting, log review, basic troubleshooting
Recommended courses at Application Delivery · Associate
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| F5 Education Services | Application Delivery Fundamentals (101) | Free (web-based training) | ↗ |
| CBT Nuggets | F5 101 – Application Delivery Fundamentals | $19–$59/month | ↗ |
| Udemy (Multiple instructors) | F5 101 – Application Delivery Fundamentals | $14.99–$99.99 | ↗ |
| Exam Labs | F5 101 Application Delivery Fundamentals | $49–$99 | ↗ |
| Global Knowledge | F5 Application Delivery Fundamentals | Instructor-led; pricing varies | ↗ |
Note: F5 offers free web-based training (WBT) through F5 Education Services. The 101 exam officially retired April 30, 2025; new course development has shifted to the modular F5-CA pathway.
Practice exams
| Provider | Title | Cost | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| SkillCertPro | F5-101 Application Delivery Fundamentals Practice Tests | $39–$79 | ↗ |
| Exam Topics | F5-101 Practice Questions | Free (community-sourced) | ↗ |
| SPOTO | F5-101 Exam Dumps & Practice Test | Varies | ↗ |
| CertFun | F5-101 Study Guide & Practice Tests | $29–$49 | ↗ |
Note: Because this exam is retiring, ensure practice materials reflect the latest blueprint. Third-party dumps should be treated cautiously; official F5 materials remain authoritative.
Books
| Title | Author | Publisher | Year | ISBN | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F5 Networks Application Delivery Fundamentals Study Guide | Philip Jönsson, Steven Iveson | F5 Books | 2014 | 978-1312940239 | ↗ |
| F5 Application Delivery Fundamentals Exam Guide (500 Practice Questions) | Various | Amazon / Self-Published | 2023 | 979-8285000273 | ↗ |
Note: The Jönsson & Iveson guide is the most authoritative vendor-aligned study resource. It covers 13 chapters, 90 diagrams, and 70+ test questions aligned with the 101 blueprint. Verify publication dates; earlier versions may not reflect curriculum updates from 2020–2025.
Typical job titles at Application Delivery · Associate
Application Delivery Engineer · Load Balancing Engineer · F5 Network Engineer · Infrastructure Network Technician · Network Operations Center (NOC) Engineer · Junior Network Engineer (ADC focus)
(Job titles drawn from job boards listing F5-101 or equivalent as preferred/required, or seeking candidates with ADN fundamentals.)
Salary
| Region | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| USD | $107,250 – $143,800 | ZipRecruiter ↗ · Glassdoor ↗ |
| USD (F5 Engineer) | $84,000 – $165,000 | ZipRecruiter ↗ |
| ZAR | R298,605 – R656,000 | PayScale ZA ↗ |
| GBP | £45,000 – £70,000 | General network engineer baseline; no specific F5-101 data |
| EUR | €50,000 – €75,000 | General infrastructure engineer baseline; no specific F5-101 data |
Salary note: Roles requiring F5 certification typically command a 10–20% premium over general network engineers. Associate-level candidates (0–2 years experience post-101) typically earn toward the lower end of these ranges, with progression to senior titles and higher compensation as they pursue the 201, specialist certifications (CTS), or higher-level F5-CA modules.
Skills validated
Concrete technologies and concepts this exam tests, distinct from the shared domain-level skills.
- F5 BIG-IP architecture — TMOS operating system, module structure (LTM, GTM, ASM, etc.)
- Virtual servers and pools — Configuration, management, and monitoring
- Load-balancing algorithms — Round robin, least connections, weighted methods, dynamic ratios
- Connection and session persistence — Cookie-based, source IP, SSL session persistence
- Health monitoring — Monitor types, health check concepts, health status
- Traffic policies and iRules fundamentals — Basic policy application
- SSL/TLS termination and key management — Certificate handling, cipher suites
- Global Traffic Management (GTM) overview — Wide IP, intelligent DNS
- DoS and DDoS protection basics — Conceptual understanding
- High availability and redundancy — Failover, active–active clustering
- Operational tasks — Backups, upgrades, basic troubleshooting, log review
Related certifications
- Gateway to: F5 Certified BIG-IP Administrator (F5-CA, BIG-IP) ↗ — achieved by passing 101 + 201 (now superseded by modular F5-CA pathway using F5CAB1–F5CAB5)
- Equivalent at Associate level (new pathway): F5 Certified Administrator, BIG-IP (F5CAB1–F5CAB5) ↗ — replaces 101 as entry point as of May 1, 2025
- Cross-vendor equivalent (entry-level ADN): No direct vendor equivalent; CompTIA Network+ or Cisco CCNA cover broader networking; F5-101 is application-delivery-specific.
- Vendor overview: F5 Vendor ↗
Sources
- F5 Certification Home: https://www.f5.com/learn/certification
- F5 Education Services Portal (101): https://education.f5.com/certification/application-delivery-fundamentals-101
- F5-101 Exam Blueprint: https://techdocs.f5.com/dam/f5/kb/global/solutions/K29900360.html/101_-_Application_Delivery_Fundamentals.pdf
- F5 Retirement Announcement: https://support.education.f5.com/hc/en-us/articles/35127397947291-Updates-to-the-F5-Certified-Administrator-BIG-IP-Certification-F5-CA-BIG-IP
- CBT Nuggets F5-101: https://www.cbtnuggets.com/it-training/f5/101
- Pearson VUE F5 Exams: https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/f5.html
- ZipRecruiter Load Balancer Salaries: https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Jobs/Load-Balancer
- PayScale South Africa Network Engineer: https://www.payscale.com/research/ZA/Job=Network_Engineer/Salary
- Glassdoor ADC Engineer: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/adc-engineer-salary-SRCH_KO0,12.htm
Last verified: 2026-05-01
Parent ecosystem: Application Delivery & Load Balancing
Parent domain: Application Delivery / Load Balancing
Vendor overview: F5 Networks ↗