F5 BIG-IP DNS Reviews

We use F5 for load balancing, reverse processing, and for web applications.

There is room for improvement in pricing. It is very pricey. So we don't have a performance problem at this stage. Because the appliances that we use are not the virtual edition. We know that NGINX started using the virtual edition for containers. But, from a performance perspective, we're happy. And from just the price perspective, it's very expensive.

I have been using this solution for ten years.  

It's very stable.

It is scalable to a certain extent, but that's why we're starting to look at the virtual deployed editions like NGINX because you have limitations, and it's easier to scale in any environment you have on-prem cloud deployment as well. 

Two engineers are required for the deployment of the solution. We also have certain vendors who work with us during the implementation. 

We saw a return on investment. 

We need pay for the license. It is an expensive solution. 

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. I would recommend using the solution.

The solution is used for balancing the load. For example, if someone calls the X-ray department, we use the solution to transfer the calls to different servers. This way, we are not putting a load on one specific server all the time. F5 BIG-IP DNS balances the load. For example, there are a hundred calls and I have ten servers, so every server will receive 10 calls instead of one server receiving all the calls.

The solution has improved our organization by providing a means to transfer data from one source to another securely.

The most valuable feature of the solution is security. I have not encountered any hacking attempts since we have been using the solution.

F5 BIG-IP DNS is quite old and may go extinct in a few days, months, or years, depending on whether it offers additional features. I first heard about the solution over ten years ago. People are moving away from it slowly to cloud-based load-balancing solutions. I don't have any strong evidence to back up my opinion, but that's what I believe based on what I've seen. Cloud-based tools are already available in the market, so no one will consider an on-prem tool unless it's affordable for small organizations. The solution can improve by adding cloud integration through plugins or additional configurations so we can use F5 BIG-IP DNS to communicate with the cloud.

I have been using the solution for seven months.

The solution has been in the market for over 12 years, used by many organizations because it is very stable.

I give the stability an eight out of ten.

I am currently facing around three or four hundred servers, all of which are using F5 BIG-IP DNS load balancers. The solution easily handles the load. I believe the solution is quite scalable.

I give the solution a seven out of ten.

The solution is currently on-prem. The engineering team is always upgrading something. Perhaps in six months, this solution will be pushed to the cloud. The cloud has its own load balancer tools. We may decommission the solution down the line.

We have between 70 and 80 middleware users on our team that use the solution. We are the link between the development and the production teams. We are the service providers, sitting at the center of the funnel of time. Time flows through us, and we act as a bridge between the developers making requests and the rest of the world. Without this center frame, the requests would not be visible.

Our organization started using the solution a long time ago, around 2014 or 2015. At that point, the cloud was not as popular as it is now, and F5 BIG-IP DNS was at its peak. The organization may soon migrate to a cloud environment.

F5 BIG-IP DNS is a very user-friendly solution, and because it's an old tool, it's easier to understand in the first call compared to an API gateway. The solution is quite easy to configure any new items which are available. New users should keep the configuration neat and shouldn't mix different types. The details are fine enough, the solution won't give us bad feedback and will result in a positive output.

We use the solution for the JPMC Logistics site. In our data center, we have deployed a couple of GTM devices to manage multiple sites across the globe. 

I sometimes encounter issues with the porting of F5 BIG-IP DNS. The porting functionality is not up to the mark when troubleshooting or attempting to access logs or connections. Additional attention is needed to ensure smooth operation. 

I have been using F5 BIG-IP DNS for 2 years.

F5 BIG-IP DNS is stable.

The solution offers good scalability.

F5 BIG-IP DNS is excellent. Whenever we encounter any issues and reach out to their support, they are always ready to assist. They promptly address any severity level of the problem and often call us to troubleshoot and resolve issues effectively. I would rate their support a solid 9.5 out of 10. It's truly awesome.

Positive

We opted for Citrix NetScaler, too. F5 BIG-IP DNS has better load-balancing features than Citrix NetScaler. It stands as the top leader in the market, renowned for its unmatched performance, scalability, and advanced features. Its dominance is evidenced by its widespread adoption and proven track record in delivering seamless and reliable application solutions. 

The initial setup is quite simple. First, we need to understand the customer requirements. If it is simple, and we have an expert network team. We need to deploy the F5 BIG-IP DNS in one data center. If the architect understands the traffic flow, the traffic will hit the DNS directly. After DNS resolution, the traffic will be routed accordingly. If they know the complete flow, then it's a straightforward process.

I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

The configuration process is straightforward, making it easy to set up wide IPs and distribute traffic across local US sites and data centers via VPN. Overall, my experience with F5 BIG-IP DNS has been positive.

Overall, I rate the F5 BIG-IP DNS a nine out of ten.

We use it for data center (DC) operations. We have a three-tier, eight-site DNS configuration: one DC and two "DR." It's used for the failover of our applications and resolving hosts for applications.

It intelligently works at release time to load balance traffic and applications. It also provides an intelligent solution to resolve their (application) hosts securely.

BIG-IP DNS effectively handled a traffic surge. For example, we have application forms replicated across our DCs. If our primary application becomes unavailable, BIG-IP automatically fails over to a client-unaware secondary application.

We primarily rely on our GTM, not a full BIG-IP DNS bundle implementation. In a disaster scenario, we leverage our DR solutions and a dedicated LTLF line connecting all three geographically dispersed recovery (GDR) sites. When a blackout occurs, it automatically fails over to the DR site, ensuring our applications remain managed by the DR solution.

Global availability is a key feature for me. Additionally, DNS Security Zones (DSZ) within DNS Check is a good feature.

It is cost-effective as well.

Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) functionality within BIG-IP DNS enhanced our DNS resolution efficiency.

It's the GSLB component that handles load-balancing applications across different locations. Through GSLB, if you have one location in India and another in the US, for instance, you can set up priority-based or cost-based IT services.

When a user requests support, the system checks if they are coming from a location associated with a specific service level. If the user is in the US,  GSLB automatically resolves them to US-based DCs, and vice versa for India. This ensures users are directed to the appropriate applications based on their location.

The monitoring capabilities of F5 BIG-IP DNS could be improved. Sometimes, it requires additional work to monitor details effectively.

I have been using it for six years. Currently, we're using version 16.1.2. The latest version is 16.1.0.

I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. 

I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. 

Since it's used in an Indian government ministry department, it's used across all of India.

The customer service and support is very helpful and responsive. 

Positive

We have multiple technologies in our infrastructure, including Cisco routers, HP routers, F5 products, FortiGate firewalls, NPLs, and IPS solutions like McAfee.

We use F5 primarily for DNS, while other technologies like firewalls and routers are used based on specific needs and licensing models.

So we have dedicated specialists for each solution, and I personally focus only on F5 BIG-IP DNS.

The implementation wasn't always easy. There were situations where the hardware DNS server wasn't readily available.

It's an on-premises hardware solution. 

I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, with ten being a low price. 

There are additional costs to the standard license. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. I would recommend using this solution. 

We use F5 BIG-IP DNS to handle traffic from multiple servers. 

The solution is easy to configure and deploy. It is scalable and works without any downtime. F5 BIG-IP DNS is a flexible solution. 

The tool needs to improve its UI. 

I have been working with the solution for two years.

F5 BIG-IP DNS is scalable, and we have around 5000 users. We plan to increase the number of users. 

F5 BIG-IP DNS' installation is straightforward and can be completed in 10 minutes. You need to deploy the virtual servers with the right interfaces. 

I rate the tool's stability a nine out of ten. 

We are using the latest version of FS BIG-IP. We use the solution for classic reverse proxy authentication. We have approximately 800 internal staff and 2,000 external customers using the solution.

F5 BIG-IP DNS is useful, depending on how you use it. Once you write to it, you can do anything you want from it, making it a very powerful solution.

The solution is complicated to use. It is difficult to write to. F5 BIG-IP DNS is powerful but challenging to use.

I would like to see the login facilities improved, as well as more troubleshooting.

I have been working with F5 BIG-IP DNS for two and a half years.

The solution is stable.

I have not scaled F5 BIG-IP, it is only a single-box solution.

Prior to using F5 BIG-IP, we used PMG. We switched because PMG was at end of life.

The initial set up of F5 BIG-IP DNS is complex. It took approximately six months to deploy.

We implemented the solution through consultants. We are still using the consultants, so we will need to add someone to our team to handle future deployment and maintenance.

Anyone deciding to implement F5 BIG-IP DNS should be aware that it is a complex and powerful product.

I would rate this solution an 8 out of 10.

F5 BIG-IP DNS is used for global load balancing.

F5 provides us with a mechanism to accomplish complex product balancing.

Hand management and working with rules are two areas that need to be improved.

It would be beneficial to have information and categorize it for licensing, features, and what is included in which license. I would like to see more marketing documentation, rather than technical documentation.

I have been working with F5 BIG-IP DNS for five years.

F5 BIG-IP DNS is more stable than Loadbalancer and Citrix.

F5 BIG-IP DNS is easy to scale. I don't have any issues with the scalability of F5 BIG-IP DNS.

If I am not mistaken, I don't have any support cases.

I have experience with Citrix, Kemp, Barracuda, Cisco, Loadbalancer.org, and NGINX.

I  use LTM, and my colleagues have set up an access manager, DNS, and other security features. LTM is used for local load balancing.

In most cases, I work with ADC and my colleagues work with the security, we divide the work.

The initial setup varies depending on the scenario. Generally, it requires some knowledge.

In some cases, it is expensive. F5 BIG-IP DNS doesn't provide the best prices for new or small customers.

We recommend it for customers who have complex product balancing requirements. For example, if a customer needs to parse network packets and needs to change them. 

We are partners with both F5 BIG-IP and Loadbalancer.org.

I would rate F5 BIG-IP DNS an eight out of ten.

If the client wants to clarify that they are using the trusted packet and trusted browsing, they can use the DNS load balancing. F5 can provide some DNS service solutions. The client forwards the traffic, and the DNS is verified whether it can be trusted. If it's suspicious or malicious, it will be declined. If the traffic is observed to be trusted, valid, or legitimate, then it can pass.

F5 BIG-IP DNS is a stable solution.

The solution's initial setup is complex compared to Fortinet.

I have been using F5 BIG-IP DNS for ten years.

F5 BIG-IP DNS is a scalable solution.

The solution's technical support is complex.

I did a POC for Cisco Umbrella on the client side.

You need to connect to the console port, put the management IP, and connect the management IP for the dashboard in the management port. Then, you must go to the laptop and browse the management IP, username, password, and GUI. There is a CLI option also, but most of the configuration is done on the graphical unit. The CLI dependency is very low. For the first configuration, I need to go to the CLI, put the management IP, and connect to the graphical unit.

Overall, I rate F5 BIG-IP DNS an eight out of ten.