F5 BIG-IP vs. Microsoft Application Server (deprecated)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
F5 BIG-IP
Score 9.2 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.N/A
Microsoft Application Server (deprecated)
Score 7.3 out of 10
N/A
Application Server is an expanded server role in the Windows Server® 2008 operating system. It provided an integrated environment for deploying and running custom, server-based business applications. These applications respond to requests that arrive over the network from remote client computers or from other applications. Application Server is deprecated.N/A
Pricing
F5 BIG-IPMicrosoft Application Server (deprecated)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
F5 BIG-IPMicrosoft Application Server (deprecated)
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
Community Pulse
F5 BIG-IPMicrosoft Application Server (deprecated)
Features
F5 BIG-IPMicrosoft Application Server (deprecated)
Application Servers
Comparison of Application Servers features of Product A and Product B
F5 BIG-IP
-
Ratings
Microsoft Application Server (deprecated)
8.0
9 Ratings
0% above category average
IDE support00 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Security management00 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Administration and management00 Ratings7.09 Ratings
Application server performance00 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Installation00 Ratings7.09 Ratings
Open-source standards compliance00 Ratings7.08 Ratings
Best Alternatives
F5 BIG-IPMicrosoft Application Server (deprecated)
Small Businesses
NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.1 out of 10
NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.1 out of 10
NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.1 out of 10
NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
F5 BIG-IPMicrosoft Application Server (deprecated)
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(187 ratings)
9.0
(9 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.7
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.8
(59 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.4
(10 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
6.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
6.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
F5 BIG-IPMicrosoft Application Server (deprecated)
Likelihood to Recommend
F5
Application delivery of both simple and advanced applications. It's easy to handle certificate management that do require individual certificates to be installed on each backend server, you can just install the certificate on the F5 BIG-IP and use for multiple backends. Also adding WAF is as simple as adding a generic policy and you will cover 80% of the scenarios.
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Discontinued Products
Microsoft Application Server has been incredible this past year during COVID. Previously I would have said that we could go without it, but after this past season, I’m glad we have utilized it. Without having this software set up prior to COVID, we would have been in a tough situation. I mention COVID a lot because we were able to continue our work almost seamlessly this entire year.
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Pros
F5
  • It's reliable. We've had very little problems with the technology. Performance is always right on. Metrics are great. They come out of it. We'd like to do more probably with it in the future as we start to grow a lot more.
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Discontinued Products
  • Microsoft Application Server has proven to be highly reliable and effective at deploying to all of its clients.
  • Application performance is surprisingly good and responsive even in bandwidth-constrained environments and generally very reliable.
  • All software programs are manageable from a single location, even when bandwidth is limited.
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Cons
F5
  • 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.
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Discontinued Products
  • Some security hotfixes and general release updates require restarts.
  • We wish it supported more applications out of the box.
  • Thin client support would be great for MS Application Server.
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Likelihood to Renew
F5
Stability of product and easy way to have account manager contact. F5 support team is also always available to help with major issues. Last year during the major OS upgrade F5 team and F5 leadership always shared clear information and F5 team was dedicated to help us to have it closed in record time
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Usability
F5
It actually satisfies the use cases, but I would like to know what it can do more than just the use cases, which is what I'm looking for, to talk at some point with somebody and figure out what to do next. We probably maybe could be able to do more that we don't know yet.
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Discontinued Products
I have found Microsoft Application Server to be incredibly easy to use. I have used dozens of similar programs and have always struggled to navigate through all the functions. So far I have been able to adapt and learn this software with ease. I rarely run into a problem that I wasn’t easily able to move forward on with a few tips.
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Support Rating
F5
I've supported F5 for three different companies. Our F5 support has been very consistent, regardless who the customer is. F5 technicians are very experienced and provide good support, even when issues are more related to knowledge than they are with the ability of the product to do what you need it to do.
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Discontinued Products
Stability is one of the first things we consider when evaluating software. MS Application Server has been rock solid and has reduced the time that our IT staff dedicates to maintaining our legacy applications.
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In-Person Training
F5
Practical cases and hands on , many hours of training with tipical cases
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
F5
implementation is fine
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
F5
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.
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Discontinued Products
It has a similar feature to what Microsoft Application Server has but at a greater cost and also having to deal with another vendor when we could use a full Microsoft Stack for better training and support.
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Return on Investment
F5
  • The F5 BIG-IP has improved all our load balancing needs, we have over 400 LTM VIPs in our environment this all use to be done with DNS round Robin configurations.
  • we have created unique APM solutions to support our external customer base
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Discontinued Products
  • Our ROI has been great since it has enabled our IT staff to have a central location to perform application updates which enables us to save time and money.
  • Deployment is very easy since the internal applications that required constant updating are now updated in one central location.
  • It's a lot easier to be within compliance protocols requirements.
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ScreenShots