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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    F5 BIG-IP

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/AF5 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

    NetScaler

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ANetScaler ADC is an application delivery controller.N/A
    Pricing
    F5 BIG-IPNetScaler
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    F5 BIG-IPNetScaler
    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-IPNetScaler
    Considered Both Products
    F5
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    The F5 BIG-IP interface is so much nicer than the NetScaler, from creating a VIP to applying a certificate the F5 interface is so much nicer.
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    I hate NetScaler
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    F5 BIG-IP is Much better than NetScaler ADC. Flexibility of iRules and great user base make it customizable and easy to configure
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    F5 BIG-IP is years ahead in terms of features, support, etc compared to NetScaler ADC.
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    We use a significant number of the virtual edition F5s, and a few physicals. We also have netscalers in a few places, but the netscalers we use are pretty much only used for Citrix Traffic where the F5s give us a ton of flexibility and can handle pretty much anything we throw …
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    When comparing F5 BIG-IP to these products they do not offer half of the things F5 BIG-IP offers and in some situations I could not even get the app to work. With Azure App Gateway we needed to make specifics redirects to work but we never got it to work. With F5 BIG-IP we got …
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    versatility in terms of customizing the application specific parameters, as well as security features
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    I prefer F5 BIG-IP over Netscalers. Newspapers don't have the customizations or available options that F5 provides.
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    In my experience, F5 BIG-IP has better health capabilities and F5 BIG-IP is easier to manage.
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    BIG-IP provides more completeness of technology than its competitors.
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    F5 interface is better and more user friendly and the technology is just better. F5 WAF is better and easier to integrate than Imperva WAF which I have seen introduce latency.
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    F5 BIG-IP's iRules are way superior and robust. the biggest game changer was iRules. F5 also able to modify the responses from our application on different conditions. We have security vulnerability that we need to patch 500+ webservers. F5 came in and using iRules able to …
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    F5 BIG-IP is hands down better, easier to use, configure etc. It is easy to pick up and learn.
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    A10 was great because it was all inclusive, but F5 BIG-IP was more familiar.
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    As a partner we had a better commercial undestading and a better experience with the product that the competitor, but, sill customer service have the improve.
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    SSLVPN on F5 works much better than IPSec on ASA. From the user's side, no configuration is required - the user can just install the VPN client, input the URL, and the F5 client does the rest. For ASA, profile installation or configuration is required, so the user must go to …
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    Netscaler and F5 Big-IP are very similar. I liked the Netscaler GUI a little better, but they both basically serve the same purpose quite well. Both are more advanced than the cheap/free software-based alternatives out there. Both can be clustered to avoid having a single point …
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    We decided to go with F5 BIG-IP over the competitors because F5 BIG-IP has the features we need at an acceptable price point for our organization. The ease of use, administration, set up, and quality of support was better than the competition. Also, the ability to link several …
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 BIG-IP
    In the application delivery controller space, there are a lot of players - established players like F5, Barracuda and Citrix all the way to new kids on the block such as A10.

    Any of these companies can sell you a load balancer / application firewall device. Any of these will …
    Incentivized
    Cloud Software Group
    Chose NetScaler
    Our organization replaced 5 BIG-IP appliances with Citrix ADC, both are comparable products. The largest advantage for our organization switching to Citrix ADC is the shared code base and reduction of the number of vendors in an implemented solution chain from end to end.
    Incentivized
    Chose NetScaler
    Netscaler has more features than F5 BIG-IP APM product and easier to manage with friendlier user interface for network admins. It was more cost efficient as well and if you have a Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop environment, it is more compatible with those products as well. Our …
    Incentivized
    Chose NetScaler
    We chose Citrix ADC over Kemp and F5 due to additional integrations with various products such as Citrix/Horizon/Monitoring tools. We additionally chose ADC due to better ease of use and ability to have the appliances be virtual or physical, with the configuration being a …
    Incentivized
    Chose NetScaler
    Our company uses both Citrix ADC and F5 BigIP. This is mostly due to team preference. F5 seems to require the use of separate types of devices to do multi-site load balancing while Citrix ADC functionality is the same software on all devices you implement.
    Incentivized
    Chose NetScaler
    The Citrix NetScaler is the competitor to the f5 BigIP LTM/GTM. I've used both products extensively and the both have pros and cons against each other. F5 has better support and better documentation, and is purpose built for load balancing applications. The NetScaler has a more …
    Incentivized
    Chose NetScaler
    Citrix NetScaler seems to be a beast right away. Once you start testing and getting used to the logic that is in place, it becomes the obvious choice for selecting such appliance to be used in an enterprise setting.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    99%
    Would buy again
    258 Answers
    93%
    Would buy again
    13 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    215 Answers
    93%
    Delivers good value for the price
    13 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    255 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    14 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    179 Answers
    92%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    11 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    196 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    13 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    F5 BIG-IPNetScaler
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    No answers on this topic
    Azure Application Gateway
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    Azure Application Gateway
    Score8.8 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    F5 BIG-IPNetScaler
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.2
    (265 ratings)
    8.5
    (26 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.0
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.7
    (140 ratings)
    7.4
    (6 ratings)
    Availability
    8.8
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.2
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.7
    (12 ratings)
    7.3
    (4 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.2
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    8.4
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    8.4
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.2
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Professional Services
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.2
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.2
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    F5 BIG-IPNetScaler
    Likelihood to Recommend
    F5
    LTM's scope of action goes beyond load balancing. Tools for control, governance, and application enhancement, as well as APIs like iRULE, are very important for day-to-day operations. Furthermore, the F5 BIG-IP WAF offers exceptional security. Advanced firewall and routing functionalities are helpful in more complex environments. O LTM possui um escopo de atuacao que vai alem do balanceamento. Ferramentas para controle, governanca e aprimoramento de aplicacoes e API como iRULE sao muito iportantes para o dia a dia a operacao. Alem disso o WAF do F5 BIG-IP tem uma qualidade de seguranca exceptional. As funcionalidades avancadas de firewall e roteamento ajudam em ambientes mais complexos. This review was originally written in Portuguese and has been translated into English using a third-party translation tool. While we strive for accuracy, some nuances or meanings may not be perfectly captured.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cloud Software Group
    Citrix Netscaler can be a powerful network appliance for environments that are fully committed and open to utilizing a network appliance that isn't made by a traditional network vendor. Administrator user experience has improved over the years and will continue to improve with the flexibility of virtual and physical appliances available for medium and large enterprises.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    F5
    • My company is kind of like it's a safe thing if you log in and you provide another second login to get the code to log in, confirm that it's a correct that you are logged into the account and it just provides more for the company
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cloud Software Group
    • Flexibility. NetScaler assumes its admins know a bit about networking and in-depth details surrounding the applications they are configuring access for/to. This being so, the range of configuration options is very broad allowing various versions' combinations of protocol patterns, expressions, rules etc., all to the benefit of the admin.
    • Granularity. Having such a broad range of configuration options available, while still allowing simple options to be configured simply. The GUI is well-stylized and navigation has a good flow.
    • Ease of control. For load-balancing of simple services right out of the box, NetScaler makes it pretty easy, compared to the range of options available in the surrounding GUI and under the hood.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    F5
    • I think a couple of challenges. One, I mean the cost, it's not an inexpensive product, but I think it's probably parity with value, maybe a little on the pricey side of things.
    • As far as features and what we'd like to see more cloud native type experiences like where NGINX and F5 kind of come together, we're moving more of the cloud just like everybody else, and it's a little clunky right now.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cloud Software Group
    • The documentation could use an overhaul with specific examples related to the command line as well as GUI. Explanations in the documentation would also be helpful.
    • Being able to have more than just one routing table would allow the ability to leverage security.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
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    Cloud Software Group
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    F5
    It is a good product to use but right now it is lacking the automation of certificates, management of iRules and automation of certain configuration. Also creating an APM policy from scratch with many APM agents take a long time due to slow load times of the GUI and the need to create everything from scratch every time. It's tough to reuse the configuration.
    Incentivized
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    Cloud Software Group
    I gave the NetScaler a 7 here because the system once configured and deployed is very easy to use. However, if you did not deploy the system and do not have the fundamental background knowledge then you will have trouble using the product in general. Overall it is a great product and service but does typically require professional services to be deployed.
    Incentivized
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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.
    Incentivized
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    Cloud Software Group
    Overall, our organization's experience with Citrix support is that support can be hit or miss. Oftentimes it takes multiple attempts and much longer than desirable to obtain a viable solution for issues experienced with their products. It would be great to see Citrix invest time, effort, and almighty dollars into improving their support and bug fix process across the board.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    F5
    Practical cases and hands on , many hours of training with tipical cases
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cloud Software Group
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    F5
    implementation is fine
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cloud Software Group
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    F5
    We are recently not evaluating, but we have started the deployment for WAF and we're using GTM, LTM, you name it. F5, we are using all of them.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cloud Software Group
    easy to use and setup and reliable. Once the configuration was setup and running this has been really useful and easy to maintain. The other solutions seemed overly complicated and difficult to configure and get up and running with the security that we required
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
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    Cloud Software Group
    • We had this set up before COVID and it saved us. We just added user licenses and scaled out our citrix farm and IT sat back and just monitored users from home.
    • Scales up and out with ease
    • Challenging to find NetScaler experts for advanced features you want to enable and use
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots