Akamai Ion vs. F5 BIG-IP

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Akamai Ion
Score 9.9 out of 10
N/A
Akamai offers the Ion application delivery controller suite to automatically supply performance optimization to websites and mobile or web applications.N/A
BIG-IP
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
F5 BIG-IP software from Seattle-based F5 Networks is a load balancing and application protection solution suite available on cloud or via virtual editions, on a subscription or perpetual licensing basis. The BIG-IP suite of products supports a wide range of security and application performance needs. The suite includes BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) traffic management and optimization, BIG-IP DNS, BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) identity and password protection, BIG-IP Application…N/A
Pricing
Akamai IonF5 BIG-IP
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Akamai IonBIG-IP
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Features
Akamai IonF5 BIG-IP
Virtual Private Network
Comparison of Virtual Private Network features of Product A and Product B
Akamai Ion
-
Ratings
F5 BIG-IP
7.1
10 Ratings
15% below category average
AES 256-bit Encryption00 Ratings7.77 Ratings
Kill Switch00 Ratings6.44 Ratings
Multi-Platform Support00 Ratings6.55 Ratings
Split Tunneling00 Ratings6.84 Ratings
IP Address Masking00 Ratings7.76 Ratings
No-Logs Policy00 Ratings7.35 Ratings
Multiple Server Locations00 Ratings7.55 Ratings
Automatic Wi-Fi Protection00 Ratings5.83 Ratings
Simultaneous Connections00 Ratings7.68 Ratings
Customer Support Services00 Ratings8.08 Ratings
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Akamai IonF5 BIG-IP
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User Ratings
Akamai IonF5 BIG-IP
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.9
(116 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.6
(2 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
6.3
(6 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Akamai IonF5 BIG-IP
Likelihood to Recommend
Akamai
  • Akamai Ion is excellent if you have the staff to manage the configurations and understand how best to leverage its benefits amidst ongoing Dev work without getting in their way. You'll have to communicate consistently on what the CDN does and does not do as well as drive knowledge sharing sessions on expected behavior or unexpected behavior to help reduce unnecessary troubleshooting from your IT and Dev teams when tickets/issues arise.
  • Akamai Ion is best suited for well equipped and well informed IT or Marketing teams that can leverage the delivery benefits of caching and offload. Doing so will increase customer satisfaction, reduce bounce rates, improve conversion rates as well as drive more time on site.
Read full review
F5
I really do think it's well suited for any placement on the edge, especially with the WAF portion. APM is a whole different module unto itself that allows for VPN Connect connectivity, web top access. So it really is for these modules anyway, an edge appliance for us and not really usable in the interior of the network.
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Pros
Akamai
  • Ease of management with good UI for making rules and behaviors.
  • There is also an API and Code integration for the advanced Dev-Ops team to use as well.
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F5
  • Easy connection: you can connect to your corporate network with two clicks.
  • IP restriction: F5 has a list of possible insecure IP numbers, if someone tries to connect using one of these numbers, F5 BIG-IP won't connect.
  • Always on feature: Very handy feature, if you install always on, you won't need to click connect.
Read full review
Cons
Akamai
  • The learning curve on using a CDN is steep and requires class time. The initial onboarding and integration with the business' DevOps teams should be a bit closer relationship.
  • Global vs. Regional management can be a bit challenging if your account is centralized overseas, and you want a local time-zone account manager on your time.
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F5
  • I think the policy configuration that had some improvements on the ASM word things, improvements may be on the signatures that would be good because it's a little bit confusing on the ASL, how they are updated and deployed, and this staging. So that's something that could be.
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Likelihood to Renew
Akamai
No answers on this topic
F5
Only way to to this type of tasks
Read full review
Usability
Akamai
No answers on this topic
F5
Great customization and easy to use help reference menus
Read full review
Support Rating
Akamai
  • Support for tickets has gotten better/quicker over the years.
  • Also, there is a wealth of information on the knowledge base, documentation, and there is also a message board too now.
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F5
On the occasions when we've had to engage f5 support, they have been great. They have always resolved our issues quickly and been easy to work with and professional. The reason I give them a 10 out of 10, however, is because when we've had issues that have crossed over between the f5 BIG-IP, our Cisco switches, and our Microsoft IIS server the f5 support representatives have been extremely knowledgeable about every product and device involved and have been able to troubleshoot end-to-end without having to engage other vendors.
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Implementation Rating
Akamai
No answers on this topic
F5
implementation is fine
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Alternatives Considered
Akamai
No answers on this topic
F5
F5 BIG-IP is my first F5 product that I have stared to work, and it brings me more experience doing a lot of migration upgrades from old code version to new code. The way F5 has all configuration help us to develop scrips to improve our process.
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Return on Investment
Akamai
  • Improved conversion rates.
  • Reduced page load times.
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F5
  • Having a load balancer of F5 helps to address large traffic limit on organisation's application
  • This means that organisation gets a lot of revenue due to the usage of their application
  • Hence provide a very positive impact onthe inverment or ROl of the organisation
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ScreenShots