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

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
55
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

MK
May 11, 2020
 

Featured Reviews

Bonieber  Orofeo - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Andrew_Kampolo - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I have found F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) to be stable."
"The tech support we got from F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager directly was pretty good."
"The solution is robust and reliable."
"Initial setup is easy and pretty standard."
"Secure and scalable traffic management solution for applications. Good for bigger environments."
"The feature I find the most valuable is the support infrastructure."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The solution is very easy to use and easy to understand. It's quite an intuitive system."
"I like Imperva SecureSphere platform forms. Imperva SecureSphere is the foundation for SecureSphere data, file and web application solutions."
"Ability to send event monitoring and administrative activities."
"This solution has helped secure our Internet-based services, protecting us against DoS and other types of web-based attacks."
"The solution is very stable."
"The functionality is very useable and easy to understand."
"The company focuses on and has a passion for security."
"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 technical support for Imperva is super, super, super."
 

Cons

"Implementing whitepapers with a lot more applications could easily be added."
"In the LTM solution, it would be beneficial to have more algorithms for traffic segmentation or the ability to create user-defined algorithms rather than being restricted to predefined ones."
"The setup is a little bit complex."
"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."
"They could improve the product's ease of use. There is some confusion how to operate it."
"The price needs improvement as it is quite costly."
"For integration with other AWS environments, we do some tie-ins with some autoscaling groups. This has been challenging for us. We have had issues, where when autoscaling groups scale up, there are some instances which are not showing up in the proper size. Then, those IPs would get registered with F5, but never get released. Therefore, we are ending up with a whole bunch of ghosted IPs."
"While the licensing is good through the AWS Marketplace, it is more expensive than what you could buy yourself."
"Imperva SecureSphere Database Security can improve something in all the versions I have used."
"Imperva needs to improve their cloud capabilities."
"The firewall features are not very strong and should be improved."
"The GUI for this solution could use some improvement."
"Database security from the access management perspective could be better."
"I would like to see improvement in the integration part of the tool. This should be an easy process."
"The solution is expensive."
"I have worked with IBM before, and I prefer its ease of deployment and management. Imperva SecureSphere Database Security has tricky deployment, whereas IBM's deployment is straightforward because of the UI."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our company pays for the licensing cost on a yearly basis. Also, there are no extra costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"F5 isn’t cheap but is worth the price."
"We are on an annual license to use the solution."
"This is a high-priced tool. We pay for its license yearly."
"You can buy it on a yearly basis, or you can go for a subscription. For on-premise boxes, it is just the RMA."
"It is cheaper than the average on the market."
"It's fair, it's not too expensive. Maybe just a little high."
"The pricing is inclusive of many features."
"There is an annual licensing fee for upgrading the device."
"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."
"It is very 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."
"The cost of support for this solution is very expensive."
"The pricing is reasonable and competitive."
"They have introduced new price models, which makes the product more affordable now."
"Pricing is low and scalable to add features and volume."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
29%
Computer Software Company
14%
Insurance Company
6%
Retailer
6%
 

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.
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.
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...
What do you like most about Imperva SecureSphere Database Security?
The tool's pricing is flexible and affordable for small and medium enterprises.
 

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

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about NetScaler, F5, HAProxy and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC). Updated: March 2025.
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