F5 BIG-IP SSL Orchestrator vs. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
F5 BIG-IP SSL Orchestrator
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
F5 Networks provides the SSL Orchestrator, a high-performance decryption, analysis, and re-encryption tool for SSL/TLS traffic across the network to locate threats or data exfiltration efforts concealed in encrypted traffic.N/A
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
SolarWinds Netflow Traffic Analyzer is a network monitoring tool within the broader SolarWinds ecosystem. It includes core traffic monitoring features, as well as customizable traffic reports and alerts.N/A
Pricing
F5 BIG-IP SSL OrchestratorSolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
F5 BIG-IP SSL OrchestratorSolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
F5 BIG-IP SSL OrchestratorSolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
F5 BIG-IP SSL OrchestratorSolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
Small Businesses
Auvik
Auvik
Score 8.4 out of 10
Auvik
Auvik
Score 8.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Darktrace
Darktrace
Score 8.6 out of 10
Darktrace
Darktrace
Score 8.6 out of 10
Enterprises
Darktrace
Darktrace
Score 8.6 out of 10
Darktrace
Darktrace
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
F5 BIG-IP SSL OrchestratorSolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(2 ratings)
8.1
(61 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(10 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.1
(49 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
F5 BIG-IP SSL OrchestratorSolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)
Likelihood to Recommend
F5
F5 SSL Orchestrator is an ideal software to address the blind spots of the encryption of incoming and outgoing traffic, this is because it provides a high visibility of the traffic. By having a management based on policies allows to carry out a simpler management and obtain a more integration easy with existing infrastructures. It is ideal for reducing costs as it allows the creation of dynamic devices, thereby evaluating whether the traffic should be decrypted or not.
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SolarWinds
I would suggest this tool to any user that has to monitor multiple sites and locations where bandwidth monitoring can be a labor. This software works really well for central monitoring of multiple sites and services where having a technician onsite isn't feasible. I really like the reporting, though, and would recommend this for someone wanting to keep an eye on bandwidth usage for replication of data across sites.
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Pros
F5
  • Provides a flexible, fast and simple implementation.
  • Provides strong encryption and decryption of traffic, ensuring high SSL visibility.
  • Ensures exposure of threats from inbound and outbound traffic and helps mitigate attacks.
  • Allows you to direct traffic through policies which provides better management of it.
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SolarWinds
  • The level of customization possible with Network Bandwidth Analyzer is very valuable. Rather than being stuck with a "one-size-fits-all" presentation, an administrator can easily create customized views, reports, and alerts so that users can have a more tailored view of the data provided by Network Bandwidth Analyzer. This has the effect of making the tool more attractive to the end user.
  • The NetFlow Traffic Analyzer piece of Network Bandwidth Analyzer provides the details on bandwidth usage on the network. More than knowing how much bandwidth is being used, one is provided with detailed information on how that bandwidth is being used. This provides invaluable information for capacity planning and even certain forensic tasks faced by the network engineer.
  • The ability to produce network maps provides an easy way to create an attractive and functional NOC/SOC view of the entire network. Both technician and the occasional passerby can quickly determine if there are issues to be addressed. The ability to customize a map with background images and custom icons and stencils can make these maps really pop.
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Cons
F5
  • It is a software with a somewhat complex documentation so when you are in doubt it is difficult to solve it through its documentation.
  • A good knowledge is required in the management of the software, because although its implementation is flexible, carrying it out in the appropriate way guarantees good operation.
  • Its price can be somewhat high if it is a small company, however considering its high versatility the investment is worth it.
  • Learning curve somewhat steep, but you can count on the support of your support team.
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SolarWinds
  • The ability to intuitively and quickly serve up specified information up to a dashboard for general “public” consumption, that cycles through several pages of information.
  • The ability to intuitively set up alerting on bandwidth levels, instead of having to dig through all types of alerts available to find the one needed.
  • Provide a pricing model based on different support levels: if I want only available update installations, don’t make me pay the same amount as those wanting full support.
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Usability
F5
No answers on this topic
SolarWinds
As far as rating for usability is concerned I would give 10/10 as NTA is very easy to use. All you need to do is install that module and ask network Team to configure the Netflow towards Server IP. [The] rest is pre-configured and reports are pre-built. Moment you receive the flows from Network all you will have is information about traffic.
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Support Rating
F5
No answers on this topic
SolarWinds
It is useful for our Infrastructure team and also provides valuable insights to our application team regarding the traffic being sent from various endpoints. They can monitor their applications and ensure there are no network issues that may impact their application.
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Online Training
F5
No answers on this topic
SolarWinds
The training offered by SolarWinds is some of the best out there. They have several different videos that go into great detail from initial setup to advanced configurations. In addition to the view at your own pace video, they also have live training for customers that focus on a single product and you can ask questions with the folks who develop the software. I have had good success with their live sessions and getting questions answered.
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Alternatives Considered
F5
OpenSSL is a simple software to use, with a complete documentation and an easy installation and ideal for encrypting and decrypting and making certificates, however F5 SSL Orchestrator can be implemented in different ways, it provides a high visibility of the traffic which does not miss any threat It wants to hide in encrypted traffic, but its biggest advantage is that it helps to better manage and does not provide static but dynamic devices so it is possible to decrypt once or encrypt once, it is for all these powerful features that F5 SSL Orchestrator was chosen.
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SolarWinds
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer compared to Wireshark and PRTG Network Monitor beats it by just the simple interface. Though all are manual setup, NTA takes it a step further with graphs and reports that analyze the data for you. In comparing to Extrahop from a bandwidth comparison, Extrahop wins but Extrahop is a lot more than just a bandwidth monitoring and cost.
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Return on Investment
F5
  • By providing a high vision of inbound and outbound traffic, we manage to avoid the entry of threats and the exposure or loss of data from our business infrastructure.
  • Its policy based management is very helpful, since it is much simpler to manage SSL traffic and to be aware of any attack coming from it and to apply security controls to all business traffic.
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SolarWinds
  • Be prepared to answer lots of questions. When people see the data in NTA they are going to want to know why App A is talking to App B. Be ready to explain!
  • Hand the keys to the NTA kingdom to the network team. They will thank you. Everyone wants to have friends on the network team, right?
  • Be prepared to invest in some significant compute and storage performance to keep up with your NTA monitoring
  • Running the latest firmware for your network gear is (often) required to take advantage of all the flow-monitoring. You upgrade regularly, right??
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ScreenShots