Barracuda Load Balancer ADC vs Citrix NetScaler comparison

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Barracuda Networks Logo
631 views|540 comparisons
66% willing to recommend
Citrix Logo
8,852 views|6,735 comparisons
91% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Barracuda Load Balancer ADC and Citrix NetScaler based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Barracuda Load Balancer ADC vs. Citrix NetScaler Report (Updated: May 2024).
772,679 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Barracuda's technical support is good - whenever we have an issue, they immediately connect and resolve it.""The price is very good, and it's not very expensive."

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"High availability, performance, and security are the main pillars. It enhances the security for accessing the applications.""The load balancing feature of this solution is very good.""I find all of it to be valuable, because of the flexibility that is built into this product.""The MAS integration for HDX Insight has provided teams with significant visibility into network performance of the user's connection.""Citrix NetScaler offers robust security features, including SmartAccess and customizable policies, making it a reliable choice for safeguarding user data.""The load balancing feature and the fact that you can do context switching in the WAF are the most valuable. We majorly use it for load balancing, but we also use it for context switching in the WAF. It is also robust and very easy to work with and manage.""We appreciate that this solution facilitates our access to Citrix internet.""The most valuable feature for us is the application firewalling in Citrix NetScaler, ensuring only valid traffic enters our environment."

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Cons
"Load Balancer ADC is competitively priced, but it's not feature-rich, and its technology is not that advanced.""The quality of the solution's performance could be improved."

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"I would like to see multifactor authentication added to this solution to improve the security.""The solution can improve their support and send tickets directly to a Citrix ADC engineer in order to avoid having to escalate each support call.""Needs configuration processes like disabling LB VIPs, automatically disabling the IPs used.""The solution is a bit more expensive than some of the available solutions in this region. One solution in particular that I noticed was cheaper was Kemp.""Citrix ADC can be really complex. It isn't very simple like some other appliances that I've worked with. You need a lot of skill and experience to manage it. I'm not talking about a year or two. You need at least four years to understand it very well. It is not that easy to learn. They should make it a lot simpler for users to understand the management of it. They can also provide some additional training. The material they have on the site is not sufficient enough for you to understand how to manage it. Their training is expensive, and not everyone has the funds and experience for it. Citrix isn't very popular around these parts of the world. So, it can use some more marketing, sales, enlightenment, and advertisement. These could bring more market for them. Basically, there are just a few companies that really go for Citrix. Most of the companies go for VMware because they marketed themselves more than Citrix. There isn't much difference between Citrix and VMware. VMware is a little more robust than Citrix. Citrix has focused more on desktops rather than server virtualization, and that's the advantage VMware has over Citrix. Citrix also needs to educate and inform users about the infrastructure that is supported with a version. Currently, if the customers don't look at the datasheet, they might miss this important information.""If one device or switch fails, the failover to another device is not seamless which is painful.""I will try to migrate all the tools to the cloud because there is more lab and more VPN scalability available in the cloud. It is not available on-premises.""They can improve the scalability and the multi-tenancy feature. We recently tried to configure an authentication, and we ran into some issues while using the web-based GUI. It was very slow when you log in with your credentials in the web-based GUI. Each time we clicked on the menu, it tried to do the authentication. It works properly in the console."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Load Balancer ADC is cost-effective and is about half the price of F5."
  • More Barracuda Load Balancer ADC Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "It's not for startups or SOHO."
  • "Costly product and complicated licensing."
  • "It all depends on the features that will be used and the number of accesses."
  • "It is true that it is a bit pricey compared to newer technologies coming to the market. For example, A10 is a load balancer that does everything that Citrix can and it does a lot more than what NetScaler does when it comes to the security space, and their prices are so cheap. Every box comes with its own license and support built into it. When you compare that with NetScaler, you have to buy licenses separately, you have to buy a support agreement that is going to be separate. A small NetScaler, even if it is a VPX which is a virtual server, could cost you close to $150,000 to $200,000 dollars. So the pricing is really high."
  • "We have been evaluating F5, Citrix, and other ADC products. Citrix is the most expense of all of them."
  • "We are quite happy with price. It's not too high."
  • "I do not have any experience with the pricing of the product."
  • "You get the value for your money. There aren't any hidden fees."
  • More Citrix NetScaler Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:The price is very good, and it's not very expensive.
    Top Answer:The price of the solution is reasonable. It costs approximately 200 million. So the price is very good, and it's not very expensive, because it's just basic WAF, but the Load Balancer is good.
    Top Answer:The quality of the solution's performance could be improved. For example, the solution's performance is high because of CPU usage when the application is in refresh mode for more than 30 seconds… more »
    Top Answer:The most valuable feature for us is the application firewalling in Citrix NetScaler, ensuring only valid traffic enters our environment.
    Top Answer:After deployment, Citrix Netscaler shifted to a subscription-based license scheme for support, which is slightly more expensive.
    Top Answer:Citrix NetScaler is a robust product, but mastering it requires significant learning and training due to its complexity. While it could be easier to manage, it is like transitioning from driving a car… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    631
    Comparisons
    540
    Reviews
    2
    Average Words per Review
    309
    Rating
    7.0
    Views
    8,852
    Comparisons
    6,735
    Reviews
    23
    Average Words per Review
    383
    Rating
    8.3
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Barracuda Load Balancer
    Citrix ADC, NetScaler, Citrix NetScaler VPX
    Learn More
    Overview
    Barracuda Load Balancer is ideal for organizations looking for a high-performance, yet cost-effective application delivery and security solution. With the broadest range of hardware and virtual models, Barracuda Load Balancer provides maximum flexibility for organizations looking to build highly secure and scalable application infrastructure, whether it's deployed on-premises or in the cloud.

    Citrix NetScaler is an application delivery controller (ADC) and load-balancing solution for multi-cloud environments. Because its software and hardware form factors are all built on a single code base, Citrix NetScaler provides operational and feature consistency with comprehensive security for monolithic and microservices-based applications on-premises and in the cloud. The solution is designed to optimize, manage, and secure network traffic. Switching features, security and protection features, and network integration efficiency capabilities are all part of its feature set.

    Citrix NetScaler Features

    Citrix NetScaler has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Citrix Gateway
    • Secure Access
    • Layer 7 content switching
    • Database load balancing
    • Triscale clustering
    • E-based policy enforcement
    • Surge protection and priority queuing
    • Application acceleration
    • Application security, including DoS attack defense, content rewriting and response control, SSL encryption, and more.
    • Network Integration

    Citrix NetScaler Benefits

    There are many benefits to implementing Citrix NetScaler. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

    • Improved Application Performance: Citrix NetScaler optimizes the delivery of applications, reducing latency and improving the user experience.
    • Scalability: The solution can scale to handle large amounts of traffic, ensuring that applications are available even during periods of high demand.
    • Advanced Security: Citrix NetScaler includes a range of security features, such as SSL offloading, to help secure applications and protect against threats.
    • Availability: Load balancing and failover capabilities ensure that applications are always available, even in the event of a failure.
    • Good user experience: The solution’s Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) ensures that users are directed to the nearest available application, reducing latency and improving the user experience.
    • Reduced costs: By improving application performance and reducing downtime, Citrix NetScaler can help organizations reduce costs associated with application delivery.
    • Agility: Citrix NetScaler makes it easier for organizations to deploy and manage applications, helping to increase the speed and efficiency of IT operations.
    • Analytics and monitoring: Provides insight into network and application performance, helping organizations to identify and resolve issues quickly.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Citrix NetScaler is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it is easy to use, is robust, and has good load balancing.

    A Senior Citrix Engineer at Troye, says, “The web application firewalling component is probably the most powerful feature as it can identify attacks on the network at an application level which is quite important. There is also good functionality where we use IP reputation and geofencing to mitigate threats from the outside world.”

    “The feature that I have found most valuable is its load balancing,” explains a Security Consultant at a tech services company.

    Timur G., Team Head of Network Security at DOM.RF, writes, “The most valuable feature of Citrix ADC is its ease of use.” 

    Another PeerSpot reviewer, Nirav S., Technical Solutions Architect at MindTree, mentions, "Compared to other solutions, Citrix ADC is much more robust in terms of the native integration to cloud platforms. It is far more robust from an operational point of view as well."

    Sample Customers
    Fenwal Blood Technologies
    ABB Schweiz, Aer Lingus, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Amnet Technology Solutions, Aramex International, Ascenty, Atos, Autodesk
    Top Industries
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Educational Organization10%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    Retailer7%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company26%
    Financial Services Firm15%
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Healthcare Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Government9%
    Healthcare Company5%
    Company Size
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business27%
    Midsize Enterprise26%
    Large Enterprise46%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business36%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise45%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise62%
    Buyer's Guide
    Barracuda Load Balancer ADC vs. Citrix NetScaler
    May 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Load Balancer ADC vs. Citrix NetScaler and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
    772,679 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Barracuda Load Balancer ADC is ranked 14th in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) with 3 reviews while Citrix NetScaler is ranked 2nd in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) with 85 reviews. Barracuda Load Balancer ADC is rated 7.4, while Citrix NetScaler is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Barracuda Load Balancer ADC writes "Cost-effective but lacking features and integration". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Citrix NetScaler writes "Optimizing application delivery and ensuring robust network performance with its excellent stability and comprehensive load-balancing capabilities". Barracuda Load Balancer ADC is most compared with F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM), Fortinet FortiADC, Kemp LoadMaster and HAProxy, whereas Citrix NetScaler is most compared with F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM), Microsoft Azure Application Gateway, Fortinet FortiADC, HAProxy and Ivanti Virtual Web Application Firewall. See our Barracuda Load Balancer ADC vs. Citrix NetScaler report.

    See our list of best Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) vendors.

    We monitor all Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.