Create a StyleBook for an application using NetScaler Console

A StyleBook is a configuration template that you can use to create and manage NetScaler configurations for any application. You can create a StyleBook for configuring a specific NetScaler feature, such as load balancing, SSL offload, or content switching. You can design a StyleBook to create configurations for an enterprise application deployment such as Microsoft Exchange or Lync. For more information, see StyleBooks.

You can create your own StyleBook for your application or modify and use the APIC-HTTP-LB StyleBook shipped with NetScaler Console.

To create your own StyleBook for your application in NetScaler Console, see How to Create Your Own StyleBooks.

While creating the StyleBook, make sure that you follow the the APIC ’s service graph model in the StyleBook. In other words, the APIC’s service graph for any application follows consumer and provider model connected through a NetScaler function . Consumer and provider are represented as an End-Point Group (EPG) and have a 1:1 relationship. The same model must be followed in StyleBook as well, where the provider EPG must be represented as a servicegroup and each end point as a member of the service group. The NetScaler function node must be represented by a virtual server (for example, a load balancing virtual server), and there must be a 1:1 relationship between virtual server and servicegroup.

This essentially captures the essence of the service graph and allows you to handle the attach or detach event from the APIC, where an attach event binds the end point to the corresponding servicegroup and a detach event unbinds it. You must make sure that the service graph and StyleBook are in parity for seamless automation from network L2-L3 to NetScaler-feature L4-l7 configurations.