Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From BIG-IP Administration Data Plane Concepts documents:
This question focuses onconnection behavior when pool members transition from down to up, which is a classic data plane consideration in BIG-IP environments.
What problem is being solved?
When a pool member:
Recovers from a failure
Is enabled after maintenance
Transitions frominactivetoactive
…it can suddenly receive alarge burst of new connections, especially when using load-balancing methods such asLeast Connections. This sudden surge can overload the server.
Why Slow Ramp Time is the correct solution:
Slow Ramp Timeis a pool-level setting that:
Gradually increases the number of connections sent to a newly available pool member
Prevents sudden spikes in traffic
Allows the server to warm up (application cache, JVM, DB connections, etc.)
From BIG-IP Administration Data Plane Concepts:
Slow Ramp Time controls therate at which BIG-IP increases loadto a pool member that has just become available
During the ramp period, BIG-IP artificially increases the member’s connection count, making it appear “busier” and therefore less attractive for new connections
This directly satisfies the requirement toavoid overloading pool members when they become active.
Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:
B. Different Ratio for each member
Ratios controlrelative distributionunder normal operation
They do not prevent a sudden surge when a member becomes active
C. Action On Service Down to Reselect
Controls persistence behavior when a member goes down
Has no impact on connection ramp-up when a member comes back online
D. Same Priority Group to each member
Affects failover logic between priority groups
Does not control connection rate or ramp-up behavior
Key Data Plane Concept Reinforced:
To protect backend servers during recovery events, BIG-IP providesSlow Ramp Time, ensuringgraceful reintroduction of trafficand preventing connection storms that can occur during high-load scenarios.
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