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.
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Kemp LoadMaster
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
LoadMaster from Kemp Technologies in New York is an application delivery controller.
$1,720
per year
Pricing
F5 BIG-IP
Kemp LoadMaster
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
VLM-500
1,720
per year
VLM-500
2,000
perpetual license
VLM-3000
3,050
per year
VLM-3000
4,000
perpetual license
VLM-MAX
7,610
per year
VLM-MAX
10,000
perpetual license
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
F5 BIG-IP
Kemp LoadMaster
Free Trial
No
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
Yes
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
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More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
F5 BIG-IP
Kemp LoadMaster
Considered Both Products
F5 BIG-IP
Verified User
Contributor
Chose F5 BIG-IP
As I said previously, the F5 BIG-IP products are far and away the easiest, most robust and powerful application delivery platform I've ever worked on. The user experience was really the most noteworthy difference when using other products. The Kemp Load master platform was …
Kemp is getting more mature but F5 is still superior. While the Kemp UI is easier F5 allows for more option and customization. I still feel Kemp is strong due to their no-cost lab license.
Kemp LoadMaster is easier to implement and operate, all while being less expensive. Although some competitors offer more functionality, most of our customers don't need it.
[Selected for] good business performance and noticeable price advantage.
Verified User
Manager
Chose Kemp LoadMaster
When we looked at other load balancers, we ran into some issues. For some of the free ones, these don't necessarily perform as well - which is probably why they are free. When looking at some of the other brands, some are too complicated to use - they may have a ton of advanced …
They all do the same thing, just present the functions in a different way and cost more/less. We have found that the virtual load balancers offer the same performance at the throughput that we need. While a dedicated appliance would be necessary in some applications, we don't …
Kemp support is unlike we have seen from any other tech vendor. It truly is outstanding, and they even helped us resolve issues with our VMware environment that had nothing to do with the Kemp deployment. That combined with the pricing flexibility and the option to deploy into …
Verified User
Administrator
Chose Kemp LoadMaster
KEMP Loadmaster was chosen by the VP for reduced price alone. I was thoroughly against it in the beginning (as I was a hugh F5 supporter) until i got used to it. For a much reduced price, it performs just as well as a F5; after you get used to the WebUI configuration tool.
Definitely in larger environments, more mature organizations that obviously have the budget to spend and want best in class. Where it struggles is those organizations that don't have the funding and money to spend on it and need more basic functionality. So I'd say that's smaller customers we've worked with and kind of mid-market. They tend to get scared when they get the quotes. Also we've had some struggles with account team consistency. So for the sales team, just a lot of turnover and a lot of missteps on customer calls.
Loadmaster is very powerful and flexible load balancer. Variety of options allows to create a complex network of rules and routes. During our website rollout Loadmaster allowed us to run multiple generations of the website simultaneously and seamlessly by doing the content switching on the fly. Powerful API allows easy integration into any development lifecycle.
I mean from a basic level, it actually satisfies all the use cases we have, which is basically to have multiple web servers for the front end and then you want that to be equally split across. The traffic comes in from all over the world. We use DRA protection and everything, but then we also internally want to make sure all the servers are being utilized and we provide much more availability across all servers. We just make sure BIG-IP sits in between and handles the traffic accordingly. And it's pretty basic and it comes to drawing traffic. It's pretty easy to configure and set it up and then forget.
Where the LoadBalancer excels is the multiple levels at which you can load balance servers. We currently use layer 7 LB, but others are available as well.
I particularly like the ability for the LB to know when servers are down, and if all are offline then you can create a redirect to a static HTML page or some other destination that is more informative.
The ease in which a service can be created and deployed using already pre-canned templates makes it a very convenient setup process.
Recently we have been deploying F5 web application firewall and we have started the deployment. We have already moved applications out there, but we are not yet to the point wherein I could comment any positive feedback or any negative feedback because we are still going through it, right. But as far as I'm concerned, I don't see any drawbacks or any shortcomings on the F5 product lineup.
It's not difficult to understand the parts of application configurations and features. Setting up new virtual servers with multiple profiles, certificates, and nodes is easy for new users through the web interface, which also translates to programability in scripts, DevOps, or other configuration management use-cases. Users from different backgrounds such as networking and infrastructure can use F5 BIG-IP, while users who are familiar with API calls can easily configure objects without needing to understand the platform at all.
Kemp makes it very easy to setup, configure and manage the LoadMaster without needing a lot of help from their engineers. The interface is very easy to understand and intuitive to use. We like how it is not complicated - I can easily have one of my techs login and they can figure out how to setup/configure virtual services for load balancing without needing a manual or tech support.
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.
Support has been easy to deal with; I have only need[ed] to contact them a few times during setup. Once its been in place and operational, we have not need[ed] to mess with the system [which] is a huge advantage. I like system[s] that do not break and require constant attention in a production environment.
That's the one thing that really stood out. It was a lot easier to use from an administrator standpoint, so I think that's the one thing that really made our team decide to go with this product versus another competitor. Just ease of use.
We chose Kemp LoadMaster because it is 1/10 the price of the competition and MUCH easier to deploy and configure and WORKS. We have had ZERO issues with the product since installation. Their engineers and their sales team have both reached out post-install to check in and see if everything is working as expected.
We used Kemp LoadMaster for many projects. For a lot of customers, load balancers were too expensive or too complicated before we introduced Kemp products.
It's not a overly complicated product, so we were able to train many engineers on it and have them get a certification.
