When sufficiently powerful machines arrive, today’s encryption standards – RSA, ECC, and others – will be rendered obsolete. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has already set a 2028 milestone for all of us to complete cryptographic inventories and prepare for post-quantum migration. For many, one of the most strategic steps towards quantum resilience is already on the roadmap for F5 customers: upgrading from iSeries to rSeries.
That means the work needs to start now.
While often viewed as a hardware refresh, this transition delivers much more than performance gains; it’s a foundational move toward a crypto-agile, PQC-ready infrastructure.
Why quantum readiness starts with platform readiness
Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) will demand greater flexibility, processing power, and architectural agility than legacy systems were designed to handle.
The migration to new cryptographic standards won’t be as simple as swapping algorithms; it will require running hybrid cryptography, combining classical and PQC algorithms all while maintaining business continuity.
F5’s rSeries platform is designed for this level of agility. Built on a modular architecture that separates the underlying system (F5OS) from individual tenants, rSeries enables administrators to evolve, test, and deploy new cryptographic methods without disrupting production environments. This separation of duties is key to crypto-agility – the ability to rapidly adapt to new standards as they emerge.
The dangers of standing still: Why upgrade to rSeries?
The F5 iSeries has served the enterprise world well, but it wasn’t built for the cryptographic demands of the decade ahead. Moreover – it’s going EoSS (End of Software Support) in December 2026.
As PQC algorithms are standardised by NIST and the NCSC and adopted into mainstream protocols, older appliances will struggle to keep pace, forcing costly workarounds or re-architectures. In contrast, upgrading to rSeries provides a foundation that’s future-proof by design, ensuring that you can introduce hybrid or post-quantum cryptography without overhauling your network. The new crypto-agile features that are both out-the-box and rolled out throughout the product’s lifecycle also simply won’t be available to the iSeries – something that’s vital to remember when building your PQC-ready tech stack.
As PQC algorithms are standardised by NIST and the NCSCC and adopted into mainstream protocols, older appliances will struggle to keep pace, forcing costly workarounds or re-architectures.
F5 rSeries: built for crypto-agility
With rSeries, F5 has created a next-generation platform that balances performance, automation, and future readiness. Its hardware acceleration and SSL/TLS offload capabilities give it the cryptographic muscle required for PQC’s heavier key exchanges, while its modular design enables the flexibility to evolve as standards change.
The platform is also backed by F5’s investment in post-quantum security research. F5 has already begun integrating support for NIST-approved algorithms such as CRYSTALS-Kyber and Dilithium, providing hybrid key exchange options within its application security stack. This ensures that those adopting rSeries today will be ready to test, validate, and deploy PQC workloads when standards are formalised.
“Upgrading to rSeries is a strategic investment in resilience. The performance uplift is impressive, but the real value lies in its adaptability, its ability to support next-generation cryptography and evolving security standards without constant re-engineering. It’s the bridge between today’s enterprise demands and the innovations that will be coming in the future.”
Donald Ross, Senior Technical Consultant
Why should I act now?
IT leaders who wait for quantum computing to arrive before upgrading their platforms will find themselves years behind. As all of us in IT know, strategies can take time (sometimes up to years!) to implement. Your PQC journey should start now, and for F5 customers, that includes upgrading to the rSeries. Hackers are already engaging in “harvest now, decrypt later” tactics, collecting inaccessibly encrypted data today with the expectation of decrypting it in the future once the tech is fully realised. The only effective defence is crypto-agility – and that begins with having the right platforms and technology in place.
Upgrading to F5’s rSeries is, therefore, both a tactical and strategic move: it delivers immediate performance and efficiency gains while positioning your infrastructure for long-term quantum resilience.
By taking this step now, your organisation gains the flexibility to adopt post-quantum algorithms as they become available, maintain compliance with emerging security standards, and stay ahead of adversaries in a fast-evolving cryptographic landscape.
FullProxy can help
As a leading Scottish cyber consultancy and an F5 Gold Partner, FullProxy helps you modernise infrastructure with security and agility in mind.
We’ve already helped clients across the UK assess cryptographic risk, planned and implemented iSeries-to-rSeries migrations, and we can help you make sure your network is ready for it.
Contact us to discuss your F5 upgrade and PQC readiness roadmap.
