F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Imperva SecureSphere Database Security comparison

The compared F5 and Imperva solutions aren't in the same category. F5 is ranked #2 in ADC , with an average rating of 8.6, and holds a 15.6% mindshare in the category. Imperva is ranked #2 in DS , with an average rating of 7.7, and holds a 31.2% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Imperva users who would recommend it.

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Man...

Read 121 F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) reviews

6,644 Views
5,506 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Imperva SecureSphere Databa...

Read 55 Imperva SecureSphere Database Security reviews

3,730 Views
2,382 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Man...

Imperva SecureSphere Databa...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and Imperva SecureSphere Database Security based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about NetScaler, F5, HAProxy and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC).

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Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

March 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Man...

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

121

Ranking in other categories

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (2nd)

Imperva SecureSphere Databa...

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Database Security (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and Imperva SecureSphere Database Security aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is designed for Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) and holds a mindshare of 15.6%, down 15.9% compared to last year.
Imperva SecureSphere Database Security, on the other hand, focuses on Database Security, holds 31.2% mindshare, down 32.6% since last year.

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

Database Security

Q&A Highlights

Madhav Karki

Network/System Engineer at NA

May 11, 2020

What is the performance parameter of Imperva X10K versus BIG-IP i2600?

Performance parameters if of Imperva X10K and BIG-IP i2600 may be checked in the following links: https://www.imperva.com/resources/datasheets/Imperva-DS-SECURESPHERE-APPLIANCE-Web092118-1.pdf https://www.f5.com/pdf/products/big-ip-platforms-datasheet.pdf One of the most important parameters being checked for both is their throughput and mutually they have 10G throughput.

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Featured Reviews

Bonieber Orofeo

Information Security Manager at Chong Hua Hospital

Identifying compromised traffic and securing data has been a significant advantage

One of the most beneficial features of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) ( /products/f5-big-ip-local-traffic-manager-ltm-reviews ) is its ability to identify compromised traffic and its capabilities in authentication. Additionally, the security aspect of it provides a significant advantage as it helps us secure our data, which is a major investment and benefit for us. Before using this system, we had difficulties in storing our data and managing the traffic that comes in and out.

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Andrew_Kampolo

Senior Manager at Zamtel (Zambia Telecommunications Company Limited)

The fine-grained auditing available on the platform makes life easier and helps explain anything happening in your database

Imperva's most valuable features are ease of use and log correlation. I also like the ability to trace activity from the host machine to the server access, the user details, and the exact query that they executed. If a database administrator or application process executes a query on the database, people know exactly what was executed, including all the variables. For example, it will tell you how many rows they were trying to select on which table, and you get the OS information, network details, IPs, and the user. That fine-grained auditing available on the platform makes life easier and helps explain anything happening in your database.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager is a stable and reliable solution."

"This is a solution that does what it's supposed to do at the price point."

"It is the perfect solution when you have high workloads in your IT environment."

"The most valuable feature of F5 BIG-IP LTM is it helps our delivery team to make policies and rules for application."

"The combination of ADC and WAN is the most valuable feature."

"The initial setup is easy."

"iRule feature is useful."

"It is very intuitive, easy to deploy, and manage."

More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) pros

"Ability to send event monitoring and administrative activities."

"The solution is very stable."

"This solution has helped secure our Internet-based services, protecting us against DoS and other types of web-based attacks."

"The solution provides significant benefits such as compliance and security. Its data risk analytics tool helps reduce numerous events to more manageable incidents."

"The product’s most valuable feature is real-time highlights."

"Currently, we have audit features for auditing databases, for example, granular auditing, which we really enjoy. We've been using it to check what users do."

"The tool happens to be very intelligent when it comes to processing policies and sounding alerts. It allows us to implement policies and measure actions against them, raising alerts accordingly."

"The integration with CounterBreach is great."

More Imperva SecureSphere Database Security pros

Cons

"Technical support is somewhat slow and could be improved."

"The setup is a little bit complex."

"F5 BIG-IP LTM can improve on the SSL loading which includes the authentication of certificates. Although, most of these issues have been solved there are still some issue that persists."

"In terms of what could be improved, I would expect more integration with different platforms and more integration with the backend systems. Additionally, in the next release, I would like a more secure version."

"Improvements should enable customers to build a tailor-made solution in the future through a service portal."

"There are some aspects of F5 BIG-IP that could be improved, the main one being virtual machine support. We have seen that even with the virtual editions, there are some things that we would like to do that are currently not possible with virtual machines."

"There is a challenge in Pakistan. This is when there is a hardware failure. Sometimes, it takes more time to get a replacement because it is sent out from the U.S. or some other regional outpost. Thus, it takes two to three days to receive a replacement."

"A more hybrid approach would be beneficial for users."

More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) cons

"Performance can be slow under heavy loads, but this should be adjusted by scaling."

"The solution is expensive."

"I would like to see integration such that there is support for different kinds of environments, such as on-premises versus cloud."

"Sometimes the reports are cumbersome, and you have to drill down to get more information."

"The solution needs local support."

"Database security from the access management perspective could be better."

"I'd like to see some sort of solution for storage."

"The GUI is bad."

More Imperva SecureSphere Database Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost that they have with AWS are almost prohibitive. I'm being forced to use F5 WAF. I would not simply use it based on cost. I agree that they have some great features, but for me, cost is key in terms of AWS."

"I am not aware of the exact cost of the product. However, it is expensive."

"We are on an annual license to use the solution."

"The price of the solution is sometimes expensive."

"Our company pays for the licensing cost on a yearly basis. Also, there are no extra costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"It is quite expensive as a product. Because it is very stable, it is also expensive."

"Check other vendors like Cisco, Citrix or A10 Networks. There are plenty in the market with which you can achieve same thing."

"The price is little bit on higher side compared to the cost of NGINX."

More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) pricing and cost advice

"Imperva is too expensive for small and medium-sized enterprises. They're missing out on technology that helps them manage their data security better. Data security is essential because even the strongest network may be attacked from the inside without it."

"The price of the solution is reasonable. The cost of the solution depends on the customer, they have the flex protect licensing which can vary in price."

"There is an annual licensing fee for upgrading the device."

"The pricing over-all depends on the entry level. For example, if support and maintenance are about $20,000 - $25,000, the initial cost can be five times more. It is less expensive for the company to maintain the client than to make the deployment."

"Its pricing could be cheaper for the African countries or developing economies. The British pound is valued way more than the currency of most African countries. A better or cheaper pricing model for Nigerian and African customers would be better. It has a per-year subscription model. You pay exactly for what you need. That's all. You don't have to buy what you don't need."

"We have all the licenses, which we pay for annually. The price is a little high, but the product is good."

"The setup and license are quite expensive."

"The price is very high but compared to the price of the overall solution, then I think it's a good deal because the solution itself is great."

More Imperva SecureSphere Database Security pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

29%

Computer Software Company

14%

Insurance Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP?

The price needs improvement as it is quite costly.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP?

We're using F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) ( /products/f5-big-ip-local-traffic-manager-ltm-reviews ) for our applications and for managing our incoming and outgoing traffic.

See all answers

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)?

The solution is robust and reliable.

See all answers

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?

My recommendation is Imperva.

See all answers

How does IBM Guardium Data Protection compare with Imperva SecureSphere Database Security?

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is a solution for database security from IBM that gives complete visibility, control, and analysis to secure sensitive data and comply with regulations. IBM S...

See all answers

What do you like most about Imperva SecureSphere Database Security?

The tool's pricing is flexible and affordable for small and medium enterprises.

See all answers

Comparisons

Fortinet FortiADC vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

Compared 20% of the time

VMWare Avi Load Balancer vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

Compared 8% of the time

NetScaler vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

Compared 8% of the time

HAProxy vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

Compared 8% of the time

More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Competitors

IBM Security Guardium Data Protection vs Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

Compared 62% of the time

Oracle Audit Vault vs Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

Compared 20% of the time

DataSunrise Database Security vs Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

Compared 9% of the time

Trustwave DbProtect vs Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

Compared 5% of the time

Imperva DDoS vs Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

Compared 1% of the time

More Imperva SecureSphere Database Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

March 2025

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) report

Download F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) product report

Buyer's Guide

Imperva SecureSphere Database Security

March 2025

Imperva SecureSphere Database Security report

Download Imperva SecureSphere Database Security product report

Also Known As

F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP

No data available

Overview

F5 BIG-IP LTM optimizes the speed and reliability of your apps via both network and application layers. Using real-time protocol and traffic management decisions based on app and server and connection management conditions, and TCP and content offloading, BIG-IP LTM dramatically improves application and infrastructure responsiveness. BIG-IP LTM's architecture includes protocol awareness to control traffic for the most important applications. BIG-IP LTM tracks the dynamic performance levels of servers and delivers SSL performance and visibility for inbound and outbound traffic, to protect the user experience by encrypting everything from the client to the server.

BIG-IP LTM provides enterprise-class Application Delivery Controller (ADC). You get granular layer 7 control, SSL offloading and acceleration capabilities, and advanced scaling technologies that deliver performance and reliability on-demand. The highly optimized TCP/IP stack combines TCP/IP techniques and improvements in the latest RFCs with extensions to minimize the effect of congestion and packet loss and recovery. Independent testing tools and customer experiences show LTM's TCP stack delivers up to a 2x performance gain for users and a 4x increase in bandwidth efficiency.

Imperva SecureSphere Database Security:

Audits all access to sensitive data.
Alerts or blocks database attacks and unauthorized activities, in real time.
Detects and virtually patches database vulnerabilities.
Identifies excessive user rights and dormant users, and enables a complete rights review cycle.
Accelerates incident response and forensics investigations with advanced analytics.

Imperva

Sample Customers

Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.

BlueCross BlueShield, eHarmony, EMF Broadcasting, GE Healthcare, Metro Bank, The Motley Fool, Siemens

Buyer's Guide

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

March 2025

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