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F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Sangfor SSL VPN 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
120
Ranking in other categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (2nd)
Sangfor SSL VPN
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (7th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and Sangfor SSL VPN 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 15.4%, down 15.8% compared to last year.
Sangfor SSL VPN, on the other hand, focuses on SSL VPN, holds 2.7% mindshare, up 2.6% since last year.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Mahmoud-Yassin - PeerSpot reviewer
You can fully automate disaster recovery
LTM's cloud capabilities could be improved. Cloud providers all offer load balancing, but you can't get the same level of security. F5's cloud service is still not on par with its on-prem service. F5 acquired multiple companies a few years ago, but they still haven't integrated those solutions. For example, F5 acquired Shape Security, which had an excellent solution for detecting bots and automated login attacks, but F5 offers the solution in an inflexible way. It is only available as a cloud-based solution. It isn't zone-based. Some companies are restricted from sending financial data outside the country because of GDPR in Europe or other national regulations. Here in the UAE, we can't send host data out.
Wajeeh Ul Hasan . - PeerSpot reviewer
A secure and user-friendly solution that is simple to implement and configure
We used Sangfor SSL VPN to access our servers from home during COVID-19 in case of emergency Sangfor SSL VPN has secured our organization, and we haven't faced any attacks. Sangfor SSL VPN is a secure and user-friendly solution. The other valuable features of the solution include web access…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"iRule feature is useful."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The most valuable feature is the F5 LTM (Local Traffic Manager). This is the part of the product most organisations will be using most. It provides the core functionality to be able to load balance services and the means and the intelligence to be able to load balance based on advanced logic, e.g., TCL scripting."
"Bandwidth optimization and capacity awareness of the bandwidth are valuable features. Its video streaming capabilities are also very useful."
"The most helpful thing is that it's open-source. It's very easy to program and customize."
"LTM's most valuable features include application security, data collection, and parameter-level rules."
"Tech support has been very quick to respond to all of the needs that we've had. If you want ad-hoc support. They also provide professional services that you can purchase as well."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Sangfor SSL VPN has a user-friendly user interface."
"Sangfor SSL VPN provides secure encryption for communication."
"The platform is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature is our ability to limit access by user, IP address, or MAC address."
"Sangfor SSL VPN is a secure and user-friendly solution."
"It is a stable solution...The initial setup of the product is very easy."
 

Cons

"We would like to see load balancing between the cloud and the on-premise, a straightforward deployment feature."
"One area for improvement with F5 BIG-IP LTM could be its pricing, which some may find on the higher side."
"Based on my experience using F5 and by only taking into consideration the last seven years, I have found that the reporting mechanism is bad."
"LTM's cloud capabilities could be improved. Cloud providers all offer load balancing, but you can't get the same level of security. F5's cloud service is still not on par with its on-prem service."
"The setup is a little bit complex."
"I would like them to expand load balancing, being able to go across multiple regions to on-premise and into the cloud. This could use improvement, as it is sometimes a little cumbersome."
"The initial setup can be complex - it's quite flexible in terms of configuration, but the person configuring it needs to understand the application side, the network side, and the server."
"It is a hardware load balancer, and its installation procedure is more complex than a software load balancer. There are pros and cons of using hardware load balancing. You have to have specific hardware deployed in your data center to activate this load balancer. They never came up with any software-based load balancing solution. It is all hardware-based."
"No solution is perfect, so there is room for improvement."
"The technical support team takes around two months to respond to queries. It is very time-consuming."
"I think Sangfor can provide a web-based SSL VPN version."
"Sangfor SSL VPN should provide advanced protection against ransomware and better data analysis."
"In redundancy mode, when the firewall goes off, the VPN should be able to connect to the secondary firewall automatically."
"The solution's integration with other firewall vendors could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Unless the price difference is large, this is not the primary concern for the product. The performance and product-related issues (secure for VPN, multi-function for network device, etc.) are the keys."
"BIG-IP LTM isn't a cheap solution - I'd rate its pricing as three out of five."
"Though functionality is high, its cost can be considered slightly higher than its competitors​."
"Purchasing through the AWS Marketplace was very simple. The main reason that we went this way was the simplicity of buying it there. It is maintained and upgraded for us, and this makes it easy to stay current."
"It is a little pricey. I wish the pricing was cheaper, but I wish the pricing was cheaper for everything."
"Great product for the money. But they can get really expensive, so get what meets your needs."
"The licensing model of F5 BIG-IP LTM is highly complex. The operation cost of the solution is high. The overall cost is high."
"F5 pricing is too high, compared to Citrix."
"The product is inexpensive."
"Sangfor SSL VPN is a cheap solution."
"The pricing is good and the standard license allows for 30 users."
"My company has a three-year license for Sangfor SSL VPN."
"The first 30 licenses are free, and you have to purchase the rest if required."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Real Estate/Law Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP?
There are no specific areas for improvement as it is already well-resolved and doesn't require further enhancements.
What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP?
The primary use case includes load balancing to serve application servers and basic web application firewall solutions. Our customers use it for that purpose.
What needs improvement with Sangfor SSL VPN?
The solution's integration with other firewall vendors could be improved. Its interoperability matrices and different configurations with other vendor products also need improvements. Our client ha...
 

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.
Investcorp, Central Bancorp, Griffiths & Armour
Find out what your peers are saying about NetScaler, F5, HAProxy and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC). Updated: January 2025.
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