Deploy

All Terraform files are in the terraform/ directory. Clone the repository and deploy directly:

git clone https://github.com/f5xc-salesdemos/traffic-generator.git
cd traffic-generator/terraform
cp terraform.tfvars.example terraform.tfvars
# Edit terraform.tfvars with your Azure subscription ID and target FQDN

Terraform Configuration

Terraform File Structure

The terraform directory contains 9 files following the Demo Resource Standard:

versions.tf — Terraform and provider version constraints (azurerm ~> 4.0, azuread ~> 3.0)
providers.tf — Azure RM and Azure AD provider configuration
data.tf — Azure AD data sources for deployer auto-resolution
locals.tf — Deployer resolution, Azure Cloud Adoption Framework resource naming, standard tags
main.tf — Resource group (named rg-traffic-generator-{environment}-{deployer})
variables.tf — All input variables (2 required, 9 optional) with deployer auto-resolution via Azure AD
network.tf — VNet (10.201.0.0/16), subnet, public IP, NSG (port 22 SSH), NIC
vm.tf — Ubuntu 24.04 VM with cloud-init via templatefile()
outputs.tf — 17 outputs: 15 standard outputs shared by all demo resources (deployer, public_ip, private_ip, ssh_command, resource_group_name, vm_name, nsg_name, vnet_name, subnet_id, component, environment, resource_group_id, vm_id, nsg_id, location) plus 2 component-specific outputs (target_fqdn, status_check)

Provider and Variables

main.tf configures the Azure provider:

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "main" {
  name     = local.name.resource_group
  location = var.location
  tags     = local.tags
}

variables.tf defines all configurable parameters. The vm_size default is Standard_F16s_v2 (16 vCPU compute-optimized) — see VM Sizing for scaling guidance:

# ---------------------------------------------------------
# General
# ---------------------------------------------------------

variable "subscription_id" {
  description = "Azure subscription ID"
  type        = string
}

variable "deployer" {
  description = "Override for deployer identifier (auto-resolved from Azure AD if empty). Required for service principal or managed identity authentication."
  type        = string
  default     = ""
}

variable "location" {
  description = "Azure region for all resources"
  type        = string
  default     = "eastus2"
}

variable "environment" {
  description = "Environment label used in resource group naming and tags"
  type        = string
  default     = "lab"
}

variable "tags" {
  description = "Additional tags merged with standard tags (component, environment, deployer, managed_by)"
  type        = map(string)
  default     = {}
}

# ---------------------------------------------------------
# Compute
# ---------------------------------------------------------

variable "vm_size" {
  description = "Azure VM size (F16s_v2: 16 vCPU compute-optimized, validated by benchmark)"
  type        = string
  default     = "Standard_F16s_v2"
}

variable "admin_username" {
  description = "SSH admin username for the VM"
  type        = string
  default     = "azureuser"
}

variable "ssh_public_key_path" {
  description = "Path to the SSH public key file"
  type        = string
  default     = "~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub"
}

variable "disk_size_gb" {
  description = "OS disk size in GB"
  type        = number
  default     = 64
}

# ---------------------------------------------------------
# Component-Specific
# ---------------------------------------------------------

variable "target_fqdn" {
  description = "FQDN of the F5 XC load balancer to target"
  type        = string
}

variable "target_origin_ip" {
  description = "Direct origin IP for bypass testing"
  type        = string
  default     = ""
}

variable "tool_tier" {
  description = "Tool installation tier: standard (default) or full (includes ZAP, Metasploit)"
  type        = string
  default     = "standard"

  validation {
    condition     = contains(["standard", "full"], var.tool_tier)
    error_message = "tool_tier must be \"standard\" or \"full\"."
  }
}

Network Infrastructure

network.tf creates the VNet, subnet, public IP, NSG (port 22 SSH), and NIC:

resource "azurerm_virtual_network" "main" {
  name                = local.name.virtual_network
  address_space       = ["10.201.0.0/16"]
  location            = azurerm_resource_group.main.location
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.main.name

  tags = azurerm_resource_group.main.tags
}

resource "azurerm_subnet" "main" {
  name                 = local.name.subnet
  resource_group_name  = azurerm_resource_group.main.name
  virtual_network_name = azurerm_virtual_network.main.name
  address_prefixes     = ["10.201.1.0/24"]
}

resource "azurerm_public_ip" "main" {
  name                = local.name.public_ip
  location            = azurerm_resource_group.main.location
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.main.name
  allocation_method   = "Static"
  sku                 = "Standard"

  tags = azurerm_resource_group.main.tags
}

resource "azurerm_network_security_group" "main" {
  name                = local.name.nsg
  location            = azurerm_resource_group.main.location
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.main.name

  security_rule {
    name                       = "AllowSSH"
    priority                   = 100
    direction                  = "Inbound"
    access                     = "Allow"
    protocol                   = "Tcp"
    source_port_range          = "*"
    destination_port_range     = "22"
    source_address_prefix      = "*"
    destination_address_prefix = "*"
  }

  tags = azurerm_resource_group.main.tags
}

resource "azurerm_network_interface" "main" {
  name                = local.name.network_interface
  location            = azurerm_resource_group.main.location
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.main.name

  ip_configuration {
    name                          = "internal"
    subnet_id                     = azurerm_subnet.main.id
    private_ip_address_allocation = "Dynamic"
    public_ip_address_id          = azurerm_public_ip.main.id
  }

  tags = azurerm_resource_group.main.tags
}

resource "azurerm_network_interface_security_group_association" "main" {
  network_interface_id      = azurerm_network_interface.main.id
  network_security_group_id = azurerm_network_security_group.main.id
}

Virtual Machine with Cloud-Init

vm.tf creates the Ubuntu 24.04 VM and passes the cloud-init template with target and tooling variables:

resource "azurerm_linux_virtual_machine" "main" {
  name                = local.name.virtual_machine
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.main.name
  location            = azurerm_resource_group.main.location
  size                = var.vm_size

  admin_username                  = var.admin_username
  disable_password_authentication = true

  admin_ssh_key {
    username   = var.admin_username
    public_key = file(pathexpand(var.ssh_public_key_path))
  }

  network_interface_ids = [azurerm_network_interface.main.id]

  os_disk {
    caching              = "ReadWrite"
    storage_account_type = "Premium_LRS"
    disk_size_gb         = var.disk_size_gb
  }

  source_image_reference {
    publisher = "Canonical"
    offer     = "ubuntu-24_04-lts"
    sku       = "server"
    version   = "latest"
  }

  custom_data = base64encode(templatefile("${path.module}/cloud-init.yaml", {
    target_fqdn      = var.target_fqdn
    target_origin_ip = var.target_origin_ip
    tool_tier        = var.tool_tier
  }))

  tags = azurerm_resource_group.main.tags
}

Cloud-Init Provisioning

cloud-init.yaml is the production-validated configuration verified under 48+ hours of continuous load testing including 4 rounds of origin torture testing. It uses a helper library with retry logic, progress logging to /var/log/cloud-init-progress.log, 9 provisioning phases, and conditional status reporting (ready/degraded in status.json). It provisions:

Kernel tuning — somaxconn=131072, tcp_max_tw_buckets=4000000, tcp_fin_timeout=5, 64 MiB socket buffers, file-max=4194304
NIC optimization — RPS/RFS across all cores, maximized ring buffers via ethtool, THP=always
APT packages — nikto, nmap, masscan, sqlmap, hydra, medusa, ncrack, tshark, hping3, tcpdump, netcat, ngrep, iperf3, mtr, sslscan, socat, dirb, whatweb, wrk, hey, vegeta, ethtool
GitHub Releases — nuclei, dalfox, ffuf, gobuster, feroxbuster, subfinder, httpx, amass
Python packages — mitmproxy, sslyze, dnsrecon, fierce, theHarvester, playwright, scapy, impacket, arjun
Node.js 20.x — Puppeteer with stealth plugin for bot simulation
Browser automation — Playwright Chromium for headless browser testing
Git clones — testssl.sh, recon-ng, spiderfoot, SecLists, waf-bypass, PayloadsAllTheThings
Suite deployment — 19 traffic suites cloned from this repository to /opt/traffic-generator/suites/
Config file — config.env with TARGET_FQDN, TARGET_ORIGIN_IP, and CRAPI_PORT

The cloud-init uses Terraform template variables: ${target_fqdn}, ${target_origin_ip}, and ${tool_tier}. Shell variables like $NPROC are escaped as $$NPROC in the Terraform templatefile.

#cloud-config
package_update: true
package_upgrade: true

packages:
  # System essentials
  - ca-certificates
  - curl
  - gnupg
  - lsb-release
  - jq
  - git
  - unzip
  - build-essential
  - python3
  - python3-pip
  - python3-venv
  - python3-dev
  - libffi-dev
  - libssl-dev
  - libpcap-dev
  # Network analysis
  - nmap
  - masscan
  - tshark
  - hping3
  - socat
  - tcpdump
  - netcat-openbsd
  - ngrep
  - iperf3
  - mtr-tiny
  - whois
  - dnsutils
  # Web scanners
  - nikto
  - sqlmap
  - dirb
  - whatweb
  - sslscan
  # Password/credential testing
  - hydra
  - medusa
  - ncrack
  - john
  - hashcat
  # Forensics/analysis
  - binwalk
  - strace
  - ltrace
  # Performance monitoring
  - sysstat
  - htop
  - iotop
  - ethtool
  # Load testing
  - apache2-utils
  - wrk
  # Headless Chrome dependencies
  - fonts-noto-color-emoji
  - fonts-liberation
  - libnss3
  - libatk-bridge2.0-dev
  - libdrm2
  - libxkbcommon0
  - libgbm1
  - libasound2-dev

write_files:
  - path: /usr/local/bin/ghlatest
    permissions: '0755'
    content: |
      #!/bin/sh
      set -e
      REPO="$1"
      if [ -z "$REPO" ]; then echo "Usage: ghlatest owner/repo" >&2; exit 1; fi
      R=0; M=3
      while [ "$R" -lt "$M" ]; do
        RESP=$(curl -fsSL -w "\n%%{http_code}" "https://api.github.com/repos/$REPO/releases/latest" 2>/dev/null) || true
        HTTP_CODE=$(echo "$RESP" | tail -1)
        BODY=$(echo "$RESP" | sed '$d')
        if [ "$HTTP_CODE" = "403" ] || [ "$HTTP_CODE" = "429" ]; then
          echo "WARN: ghlatest rate-limited ($HTTP_CODE) for $REPO" >&2; exit 1
        fi
        V=$(echo "$BODY" | grep '"tag_name"' | head -1 | sed 's/.*"tag_name"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"v\{0,1\}\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
        if [ -n "$V" ]; then echo "$V"; exit 0; fi
        R=$((R + 1)); sleep $((R * 3))
      done
      echo "ERROR: ghlatest failed for $REPO" >&2; exit 1

  - path: /etc/sysctl.d/99-traffic-generator.conf
    content: |
      net.core.somaxconn = 131072
      net.ipv4.tcp_max_syn_backlog = 131072
      net.core.netdev_max_backlog = 131072
      net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 1024 65535
      net.ipv4.tcp_tw_reuse = 1
      net.ipv4.tcp_fin_timeout = 5
      net.ipv4.tcp_max_tw_buckets = 4000000
      net.ipv4.tcp_keepalive_time = 30
      net.ipv4.tcp_keepalive_intvl = 5
      net.ipv4.tcp_keepalive_probes = 3
      net.core.rmem_max = 67108864
      net.core.wmem_max = 67108864
      net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = 4096 87380 67108864
      net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 4096 65536 67108864
      net.ipv4.tcp_syncookies = 1
      net.ipv4.tcp_slow_start_after_idle = 0
      net.ipv4.tcp_no_metrics_save = 1
      net.ipv4.tcp_timestamps = 1
      net.ipv4.tcp_window_scaling = 1
      fs.file-max = 4194304

  - path: /etc/security/limits.d/99-traffic-generator.conf
    content: |
      *    soft    nofile    524288
      *    hard    nofile    524288
      root soft    nofile    524288
      root hard    nofile    524288
      *    soft    nproc     65535
      *    hard    nproc     65535

  - path: /etc/profile.d/traffic-generator.sh
    permissions: '0644'
    content: |
      export NODE_PATH=/usr/lib/node_modules
      export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin

  - path: /usr/local/bin/tgen-profile
    permissions: '0755'
    content: |
      #!/bin/bash
      set -uo pipefail
      report() {
        echo "================================================================"
        echo "  TRAFFIC GENERATOR PLATFORM PROFILE — $(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)"
        echo "================================================================"
        echo ""
        echo "--- CPU ---"
        echo "Cores: $(nproc)"
        uptime
        echo ""
        echo "--- Memory ---"
        free -h
        echo ""
        echo "--- Disk I/O ---"
        iostat -x 1 1 2>/dev/null | grep -A20 'Device' || echo "iostat not available"
        echo ""
        echo "--- Network connections ---"
        ss -s
        echo ""
        echo "--- TCP state distribution ---"
        ss -tan | awk 'NR>1 {print $1}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn
        echo ""
        echo "--- TIME_WAIT count ---"
        ss -tan state time-wait | wc -l
        echo ""
        echo "--- Ephemeral port usage ---"
        RANGE=$(sysctl -n net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range)
        LOW=$(echo "$RANGE" | awk '{print $1}')
        HIGH=$(echo "$RANGE" | awk '{print $2}')
        USED=$(ss -tan | awk -v low="$LOW" -v high="$HIGH" '{split($4,a,":"); p=a[length(a)]; if(p>=low && p<=high) count++} END {print count+0}')
        TOTAL=$((HIGH - LOW))
        echo "  Range: $LOW-$HIGH ($TOTAL ports)"
        echo "  Used:  $USED ($((USED * 100 / TOTAL))%)"
        echo ""
        echo "--- Open file descriptors ---"
        echo "  System: $(awk '{print $1}' /proc/sys/fs/file-nr) / $(cat /proc/sys/fs/file-max)"
        echo "  Limit:  $(ulimit -n) (soft) / $(ulimit -Hn) (hard)"
        echo ""
        echo "--- Kernel TCP tuning ---"
        for k in net.core.somaxconn net.ipv4.tcp_max_syn_backlog net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range net.ipv4.tcp_tw_reuse net.ipv4.tcp_fin_timeout net.ipv4.tcp_max_tw_buckets net.core.rmem_max net.core.wmem_max; do
          printf "  %-40s %s\n" "$k" "$(sysctl -n $k 2>/dev/null || echo N/A)"
        done
      }
      if [ "$${1:-}" = "--watch" ]; then
        SECS="$${2:-10}"
        while true; do clear; report; sleep "$SECS"; done
      else
        report
      fi

  - path: /opt/traffic-generator/config.env
    content: |
      TARGET_FQDN=${target_fqdn}
      TARGET_ORIGIN_IP=${target_origin_ip}
      TARGET_PROTOCOL=http
      CRAPI_PORT=8888
      NODE_PATH=/usr/lib/node_modules

  - path: /opt/traffic-generator/status.json
    content: |
      {"status":"provisioning","tool_tier":"${tool_tier}"}

  - path: /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    permissions: "0644"
    content: |
      #!/bin/sh
      PROGRESS_LOG="/var/log/cloud-init-progress.log"
      log_phase() {
        _phase="$1"; shift
        _msg="$${*:-started}"
        _ts=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)
        printf '[%s] [%s] %s\n' "$_ts" "$_phase" "$_msg" | tee -a "$PROGRESS_LOG" >&2
      }
      retry_cmd() {
        _max="$1"; _base="$2"; shift 2
        _attempt=1
        while [ "$_attempt" -le "$_max" ]; do
          if "$@"; then return 0; fi
          if [ "$_attempt" -lt "$_max" ]; then
            _wait=$(( _base * _attempt ))
            log_phase "retry" "attempt $_attempt/$_max failed ($1) — retrying in $${_wait}s"
            sleep "$_wait"
          fi
          _attempt=$(( _attempt + 1 ))
        done
        log_phase "retry" "FAILED after $_max attempts: $1"
        return 1
      }
      fetch_url() {
        _url="$1"; _out="$2"; _desc="$${3:-$1}"
        log_phase "fetch" "$_desc"
        retry_cmd 4 5 curl -fsSL --connect-timeout 15 --max-time 300 -o "$_out" "$_url"
      }
      install_packages() {
        log_phase "apt" "installing: $*"
        retry_cmd 3 10 apt-get install -y -o DPkg::Lock::Timeout=60 "$@"
      }
      clone_repo() {
        _url="$1"; _dest="$2"; _depth="$${3:-1}"
        log_phase "git" "cloning $_url -> $_dest"
        retry_cmd 3 10 git clone --depth "$_depth" --single-branch "$_url" "$_dest"
      }
      wait_for_http() {
        _url="$1"; _max="$2"; _desc="$${3:-$_url}"
        log_phase "health" "waiting for $_desc (max $${_max}s)"
        _elapsed=0
        while [ "$_elapsed" -lt "$_max" ]; do
          if curl -sf --max-time 5 "$_url" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
            log_phase "health" "$_desc ready after $${_elapsed}s"
            return 0
          fi
          sleep 5; _elapsed=$(( _elapsed + 5 ))
        done
        log_phase "health" "TIMEOUT: $_desc not ready after $${_max}s"
        return 1
      }

runcmd:
  # --- Phase 0: Kernel tuning, NIC optimization, system limits ---
  - sysctl --system
  - systemctl daemon-reload
  - |
    . /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    log_phase "phase0" "kernel tuning and NIC optimization"
    # RPS/RFS: distribute NIC softirqs across all cores
    NCPU=$(nproc)
    RPS_MASK=$(printf '%x' $(( (1 << NCPU) - 1 )))
    NIC=$(ip -o link show | awk -F': ' '/state UP/ && !/lo/{print $2; exit}')
    if [ -n "$NIC" ]; then
      RFS_ENTRIES=$((32768 * NCPU))
      echo "$RFS_ENTRIES" > /proc/sys/net/core/rps_sock_flow_entries
      for rxq in /sys/class/net/"$NIC"/queues/rx-*/rps_cpus; do
        echo "$RPS_MASK" > "$rxq"
      done
      for rxq in /sys/class/net/"$NIC"/queues/rx-*/rps_flow_cnt; do
        RXQ_COUNT=$(ls -d /sys/class/net/"$NIC"/queues/rx-* | wc -l)
        echo "$((RFS_ENTRIES / RXQ_COUNT))" > "$rxq"
      done
      # Maximize NIC ring buffers
      if command -v ethtool >/dev/null 2>&1; then
        RX_MAX=$(ethtool -g "$NIC" 2>/dev/null | awk '/Pre-set.*:/,/^$/{if(/RX:/){print $2; exit}}')
        TX_MAX=$(ethtool -g "$NIC" 2>/dev/null | awk '/Pre-set.*:/,/^$/{if(/TX:/){print $2; exit}}')
        [ -n "$RX_MAX" ] && [ -n "$TX_MAX" ] && ethtool -G "$NIC" rx "$RX_MAX" tx "$TX_MAX" 2>/dev/null
      fi
      echo "NIC tuning: RPS mask=$RPS_MASK on $NIC"
    fi
    # Transparent Huge Pages for large connection pools
    echo "always" > /sys/kernel/mm/transparent_hugepage/enabled 2>/dev/null || true

  # --- Phase 1: Node.js 24 ---
  - |
    . /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    log_phase "phase1" "installing Node.js 24"
    retry_cmd 3 10 sh -c 'curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_24.x | bash -'
    install_packages nodejs

  # --- Phase 2: Python toolchain (uv) ---
  - |
    . /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    log_phase "phase2" "installing Python uv"
    retry_cmd 4 5 sh -c 'curl -fsSL https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh'
    cp /root/.local/bin/uv /usr/local/bin/uv || true
    cp /root/.local/bin/uvx /usr/local/bin/uvx || true

  # --- Phase 3: Security binaries (Go tools via ghlatest) ---
  - |
    . /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    log_phase "phase3" "installing security binaries"
    export DPKG_ARCH=$(dpkg --print-architecture)
    export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH

    echo "Installing nuclei..."
    NUCLEI_VER=$(ghlatest projectdiscovery/nuclei)
    fetch_url "https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/releases/download/v$${NUCLEI_VER}/nuclei_$${NUCLEI_VER}_linux_$${DPKG_ARCH}.zip" /tmp/nuclei.zip "nuclei"
    unzip -oq /tmp/nuclei.zip nuclei -d /usr/local/bin && rm /tmp/nuclei.zip

    echo "Installing subfinder..."
    SUBFINDER_VER=$(ghlatest projectdiscovery/subfinder)
    fetch_url "https://github.com/projectdiscovery/subfinder/releases/download/v$${SUBFINDER_VER}/subfinder_$${SUBFINDER_VER}_linux_$${DPKG_ARCH}.zip" /tmp/subfinder.zip "subfinder"
    unzip -oq /tmp/subfinder.zip subfinder -d /usr/local/bin && rm /tmp/subfinder.zip

    echo "Installing httpx..."
    HTTPX_VER=$(ghlatest projectdiscovery/httpx)
    fetch_url "https://github.com/projectdiscovery/httpx/releases/download/v$${HTTPX_VER}/httpx_$${HTTPX_VER}_linux_$${DPKG_ARCH}.zip" /tmp/httpx.zip "httpx"
    unzip -oq /tmp/httpx.zip httpx -d /usr/local/bin && rm /tmp/httpx.zip

    echo "Installing ffuf..."
    FFUF_VER=$(ghlatest ffuf/ffuf)
    retry_cmd 4 5 sh -c 'curl -fsSL "https://github.com/ffuf/ffuf/releases/download/v$${FFUF_VER}/ffuf_$${FFUF_VER}_linux_$${DPKG_ARCH}.tar.gz" | tar -xz -C /usr/local/bin ffuf'

    echo "Installing gobuster..."
    GOBUSTER_VER=$(ghlatest OJ/gobuster)
    retry_cmd 4 5 sh -c 'curl -fsSL "https://github.com/OJ/gobuster/releases/download/v$${GOBUSTER_VER}/gobuster_Linux_$(uname -m).tar.gz" | tar -xz -C /usr/local/bin gobuster'

    echo "Installing feroxbuster..."
    FEROX_VER=$(ghlatest epi052/feroxbuster)
    fetch_url "https://github.com/epi052/feroxbuster/releases/download/v$${FEROX_VER}/feroxbuster_$${DPKG_ARCH}.deb.zip" /tmp/ferox.zip "feroxbuster"
    unzip -oq /tmp/ferox.zip -d /tmp && dpkg -i /tmp/feroxbuster_*.deb && rm -f /tmp/ferox.zip /tmp/feroxbuster_*.deb

    echo "Installing dalfox..."
    DALFOX_VER=$(ghlatest hahwul/dalfox)
    fetch_url "https://github.com/hahwul/dalfox/releases/download/v$${DALFOX_VER}/dalfox-linux-$${DPKG_ARCH}.tar.gz" /tmp/dalfox.tar.gz "dalfox"
    tar -xzf /tmp/dalfox.tar.gz -C /tmp && mv /tmp/dalfox-linux-$${DPKG_ARCH} /usr/local/bin/dalfox && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/dalfox && rm /tmp/dalfox.tar.gz

    echo "Installing amass..."
    AMASS_VER=$(ghlatest owasp-amass/amass)
    fetch_url "https://github.com/owasp-amass/amass/releases/download/v$${AMASS_VER}/amass_linux_$${DPKG_ARCH}.tar.gz" /tmp/amass.tar.gz "amass"
    mkdir -p /tmp/amass && tar -xzf /tmp/amass.tar.gz -C /tmp/amass && cp /tmp/amass/amass_linux_$${DPKG_ARCH}/amass /usr/local/bin/ && rm -rf /tmp/amass /tmp/amass.tar.gz

    echo "Phase 3 complete"

  # --- Phase 3b: High-performance load testing tools ---
  - |
    . /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    log_phase "phase3b" "installing load testing tools"
    export DPKG_ARCH=$(dpkg --print-architecture)
    export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH

    echo "Installing hey (via go install — no prebuilt binaries available)..."
    install_packages golang-go
    mkdir -p /opt/go/bin
    chown -R azureuser:azureuser /opt/go
    retry_cmd 3 15 sh -c 'GOPATH=/opt/go go install github.com/rakyll/hey@latest'
    cp /opt/go/bin/hey /usr/local/bin/hey

    echo "Installing gotestwaf..."
    retry_cmd 3 15 sh -c 'GOPATH=/opt/go go install github.com/wallarm/gotestwaf/cmd/gotestwaf@latest'
    cp /opt/go/bin/gotestwaf /usr/local/bin/gotestwaf
    mkdir -p /opt/gotestwaf
    cp -r /opt/go/pkg/mod/github.com/wallarm/gotestwaf@*/config.yaml /opt/gotestwaf/ 2>/dev/null || true
    cp -r /opt/go/pkg/mod/github.com/wallarm/gotestwaf@*/testcases /opt/gotestwaf/ 2>/dev/null || true
    chown -R azureuser:azureuser /opt/gotestwaf

    echo "Installing vegeta..."
    VEGETA_VER=$(ghlatest tsenart/vegeta)
    retry_cmd 4 5 sh -c 'curl -fsSL "https://github.com/tsenart/vegeta/releases/download/v$${VEGETA_VER}/vegeta_$${VEGETA_VER}_linux_$${DPKG_ARCH}.tar.gz" | tar -xz -C /usr/local/bin vegeta'

    echo "Phase 3b complete"

  # --- Phase 4: Python security tools ---
  - |
    . /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    log_phase "phase4" "installing Python security tools"
    retry_cmd 3 10 pip install --retries 3 --break-system-packages scapy impacket arjun hashid pwntools
    retry_cmd 3 10 pip install --retries 3 --break-system-packages --ignore-installed typing_extensions mitmproxy sslyze
    retry_cmd 3 10 pip install --retries 3 --break-system-packages wfuzz

  # --- Phase 5: Browser automation ---
  - |
    . /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    log_phase "phase5" "installing browser automation tools"
    retry_cmd 3 15 npm install -g playwright puppeteer puppeteer-extra puppeteer-extra-plugin-stealth
  - |
    . /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    retry_cmd 3 30 npx --yes playwright install chromium
    retry_cmd 3 30 sh -c 'su - azureuser -c "export NODE_PATH=/usr/lib/node_modules && npx --yes playwright install chromium"'
    npx --yes playwright install-deps chromium 2>/dev/null || true

  # --- Phase 6: Git-cloned tools ---
  - |
    . /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    log_phase "phase6" "cloning tool repositories"
    clone_repo "https://github.com/drwetter/testssl.sh.git" /opt/testssl.sh
    ln -sf /opt/testssl.sh/testssl.sh /usr/local/bin/testssl
    clone_repo "https://github.com/danielmiessler/SecLists.git" /opt/SecLists
    clone_repo "https://github.com/lanmaster53/recon-ng.git" /opt/recon-ng
    clone_repo "https://github.com/smicallef/spiderfoot.git" /opt/spiderfoot
    clone_repo "https://github.com/nemesida-waf/waf-bypass.git" /opt/waf-bypass
    clone_repo "https://github.com/swisskyrepo/PayloadsAllTheThings.git" /opt/PayloadsAllTheThings

  # --- Phase 7: ZAP (standard tier) + heavy frameworks (full tier) ---
  - |
    . /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    log_phase "phase7" "installing ZAP and optional tools"
    export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH
    echo "Installing ZAP..."
    ZAP_VER=$(ghlatest zaproxy/zaproxy)
    retry_cmd 4 5 sh -c 'curl -fsSL "https://github.com/zaproxy/zaproxy/releases/download/v$${ZAP_VER}/ZAP_$${ZAP_VER}_Linux.tar.gz" | tar -xz -C /opt'
    mv /opt/ZAP_$${ZAP_VER} /opt/zaproxy 2>/dev/null || true
    printf '#!/bin/sh\nexec /opt/zaproxy/zap.sh "$@"\n' > /usr/local/bin/zap && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/zap

    if [ "${tool_tier}" = "full" ]; then
      echo "Installing Metasploit (full tier)..."
      curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-omnibus/master/config/templates/metasploit-framework-wrappers/msfupdate.erb > /tmp/msfinstall
      chmod +x /tmp/msfinstall && /tmp/msfinstall
    fi

  # --- Phase 8: Clone traffic-generator suites ---
  - mkdir -p /opt/traffic-generator/suites /opt/traffic-generator/results
  - |
    . /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    log_phase "phase8" "cloning traffic generator suites"
    clone_repo "https://github.com/f5xc-salesdemos/traffic-generator.git" /opt/traffic-generator/repo 1 || log_phase "warning" "traffic-generator repo clone failed — suites will be from cloud-init"
  - |
    if [ -d /opt/traffic-generator/repo/suites ]; then
      cp -r /opt/traffic-generator/repo/suites/* /opt/traffic-generator/suites/
      chmod -R +x /opt/traffic-generator/suites/
    fi
  - chown -R azureuser:azureuser /opt/traffic-generator

  # --- Phase 9: Smoke test and status update ---
  - |
    . /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    log_phase "phase9" "running smoke test"
    export NODE_PATH=/usr/lib/node_modules
    export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH
    PASS=0; FAIL=0
    for tool in nmap nikto sqlmap nuclei dalfox ffuf gobuster feroxbuster subfinder httpx sslscan hydra john hashcat masscan hping3 tshark wrk hey vegeta ab zap testssl arjun wfuzz gotestwaf node npx playwright; do
      if command -v "$tool" >/dev/null 2>&1; then PASS=$((PASS+1)); else FAIL=$((FAIL+1)); echo "MISSING: $tool"; fi
    done
    if [ "$FAIL" -eq 0 ]; then STATUS="ready"; else STATUS="degraded"; fi
    log_phase "phase9" "smoke test complete: $PASS passed, $FAIL failed"
    printf '{"status":"%s","tool_tier":"${tool_tier}","tools_pass":%d,"tools_fail":%d,"timestamp":"%s"}\n' \
      "$STATUS" "$PASS" "$FAIL" "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" > /opt/traffic-generator/status.json

  # --- Completion ---
  - |
    . /usr/local/lib/cloud-init-helpers.sh
    log_phase "complete" "traffic-generator provisioned"

Outputs

outputs.tf exposes 17 outputs including public/private IP, SSH command, resource identifiers, and component-specific values (target_fqdn, status_check):

# ---------------------------------------------------------
# Standard Outputs (present in every demo resource)
# ---------------------------------------------------------

output "deployer" {
  description = "Resolved deployer identifier"
  value       = local.deployer
}

output "resource_group_name" {
  description = "Name of the resource group"
  value       = azurerm_resource_group.main.name
}

output "resource_group_id" {
  description = "Resource ID of the resource group"
  value       = azurerm_resource_group.main.id
}

output "location" {
  description = "Azure region"
  value       = azurerm_resource_group.main.location
}

output "public_ip" {
  description = "Public IP address of the VM"
  value       = azurerm_public_ip.main.ip_address
}

output "private_ip" {
  description = "Private IP address of the VM"
  value       = azurerm_network_interface.main.private_ip_address
}

output "ssh_command" {
  description = "SSH command to connect to the VM"
  value       = "ssh ${var.admin_username}@${azurerm_public_ip.main.ip_address}"
}

output "vm_name" {
  description = "Name of the virtual machine"
  value       = azurerm_linux_virtual_machine.main.name
}

output "vm_id" {
  description = "Resource ID of the virtual machine"
  value       = azurerm_linux_virtual_machine.main.id
}

output "nsg_name" {
  description = "Name of the network security group"
  value       = azurerm_network_security_group.main.name
}

output "nsg_id" {
  description = "Resource ID of the network security group"
  value       = azurerm_network_security_group.main.id
}

output "vnet_name" {
  description = "Name of the virtual network"
  value       = azurerm_virtual_network.main.name
}

output "subnet_id" {
  description = "Resource ID of the subnet"
  value       = azurerm_subnet.main.id
}

output "component" {
  description = "Component name"
  value       = local.component
}

output "environment" {
  description = "Environment label"
  value       = var.environment
}

# ---------------------------------------------------------
# Component-Specific Outputs
# ---------------------------------------------------------

output "target_fqdn" {
  description = "Target FQDN the traffic generator is configured to attack"
  value       = var.target_fqdn
}

output "status_check" {
  description = "SSH command to check provisioning status"
  value       = "ssh ${var.admin_username}@${azurerm_public_ip.main.ip_address} cat /opt/traffic-generator/status.json"
}

Example Variables File

Copy terraform.tfvars.example to terraform.tfvars and fill in your values. The .gitignore excludes terraform.tfvars to prevent committing credentials:

# Copy this file to terraform.tfvars and fill in your values.
# terraform.tfvars is gitignored — never commit real credentials.

# --- Required ---
subscription_id = "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"
target_fqdn     = "demo.example.com"

# --- Optional overrides (defaults shown) ---
# deployer            = ""                       # auto-resolved from Azure AD
# location            = "eastus2"
# environment         = "lab"
# vm_size             = "Standard_F16s_v2"
# disk_size_gb        = 64
# admin_username      = "azureuser"
# ssh_public_key_path = "~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub"
# tags                = {}
# target_origin_ip    = ""
# tool_tier           = "standard"

Replace subscription_id with your Azure subscription ID (from az account show --query id -o tsv) and target_fqdn with your F5 XC load balancer domain.

Deploy

terraform init

terraform plan

terraform apply

Terraform outputs the public IP, SSH command, and target FQDN after successful deployment.

VM Sizing

The F-series compute-optimized VMs are recommended for this CPU-bound traffic generation workload. The cloud-init kernel tuning and tool concurrency scale automatically with vCPU count.

VM SKU	vCPU	RAM	Network	Use Case
Standard_F4s_v2	4	8 GiB	10 Gbps	Light lab/demo
Standard_F8s_v2	8	16 GiB	12.5 Gbps	Standard demos
Standard_F16s_v2	16	32 GiB	12.5 Gbps	Load testing (default)
Standard_F32s_v2	32	64 GiB	16 Gbps	Heavy benchmarking
Standard_D16s_v3	16	64 GiB	12.5 Gbps	RAM-heavy workloads

Post-Deploy Verification

Cloud-init provisioning takes 15-20 minutes for standard tier and approximately 25 minutes for full tier. The VM is accessible via SSH immediately, but tools are still being installed until cloud-init completes.

Wait for Cloud-Init

SSH into the VM and wait for provisioning to finish:

ssh azureuser@$(terraform output -raw public_ip)

cloud-init status --wait

Expected output when complete:

status: done

Check Status File

The cloud-init script writes a status file upon completion:

cat /opt/traffic-generator/status.json

Expected output:

{
  "status": "ready",
  "tier": "standard",
  "target_fqdn": "demo.example.com",
  "completed": "2026-04-25T14:30:00Z",
  "tools_installed": true
}

Verify Critical Tools

Run a verification loop to confirm each critical tool is available on PATH:

for tool in nikto sqlmap nuclei dalfox ffuf gobuster feroxbuster nmap masscan \
  hydra medusa ncrack sslscan tshark hping3 mitmproxy sslyze subfinder httpx \
  amass arjun mtr whatweb dirb socat netcat ngrep iperf3 whois dig wrk hey; do
  if command -v "$tool" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "OK: $tool"
  else
    echo "MISSING: $tool"
  fi
done

Verify Suite Runner

Confirm the runner and suites are installed:

ls /opt/traffic-generator/suites/runner.sh
ls /opt/traffic-generator/suites/*/

/opt/traffic-generator/suites/runner.sh web-app-attacks --dry-run

Terraform Outputs

Output	Description	Example
`deployer`	Resolved deployer identifier	`jsmith`
`public_ip`	Public IP address of the traffic generator VM	`20.12.78.200`
`private_ip`	Private IP address of the VM	`10.201.0.4`
`ssh_command`	SSH command to connect to the VM	`ssh azureuser@20.12.78.200`
`resource_group_name`	Resource group name	`rg-traffic-generator-dev-jsmith`
`resource_group_id`	Resource group Azure resource ID	`/subscriptions/.../resourceGroups/rg-traffic-generator-dev-jsmith`
`vm_name`	Virtual machine name	`vm-traffic-generator-dev-jsmith`
`vm_id`	Virtual machine Azure resource ID	`/subscriptions/.../virtualMachines/vm-traffic-generator-dev-jsmith`
`nsg_name`	Network security group name	`nsg-traffic-generator-dev-jsmith`
`nsg_id`	Network security group Azure resource ID	`/subscriptions/.../networkSecurityGroups/nsg-traffic-generator-dev-jsmith`
`vnet_name`	Virtual network name	`vnet-traffic-generator-dev-jsmith`
`subnet_id`	Subnet Azure resource ID	`/subscriptions/.../subnets/snet-traffic-generator-dev-jsmith`
`component`	Component identifier	`traffic-generator`
`environment`	Deployment environment	`dev`
`location`	Azure region	`eastus2`
`target_fqdn`	Configured target FQDN for traffic suites	`demo.example.com`
`status_check`	Command to check provisioning status	`ssh azureuser@20.12.78.200 cat /opt/traffic-generator/status.json`

Retrieve any output:

terraform output -raw public_ip
terraform output -raw ssh_command

Wiring from Upstream Components

The traffic generator targets an F5 XC HTTP load balancer that fronts the origin server. Deploy the origin server first, configure F5 XC, then set target_fqdn to the load balancer’s FQDN:

# After deploying origin-server and creating an F5 XC HTTP load balancer:
cat > terraform.tfvars <<EOF
subscription_id  = "your-subscription-id"
target_fqdn      = "your-xc-load-balancer.example.com"
target_origin_ip = "$(cd ../../origin-server/terraform && terraform output -raw public_ip)"
EOF

Required Variable	Source	Description
`target_fqdn`	F5 XC console	FQDN of the HTTP load balancer protecting the origin server
`target_origin_ip`	Origin server `public_ip` output	Direct origin IP for bypass testing (optional)

Proceed to Tool Catalog for the full tool reference or Suites to start generating traffic.