BIG-IP LTM is mainly used to load balance applications.
Head of Presales at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Flexible solution that allows seamless addition of servers
Pros and Cons
- "BIG-IP LTM's most valuable feature is that it allows you to seamlessly add more servers without impacting your application's configuration."
- "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."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
BIG-IP LTM's most valuable feature is that it allows you to seamlessly add more servers without impacting your application's configuration. It's also very flexible because you can use iRules to manipulate the traffic.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using BIG-IP LTM for over ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
BIG-IP LTM is quite stable - sometimes there are security vulnerabilities, but they inform us when a patch is needed.
Buyer's Guide
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
BIG-IP LTM is scalable - once F5 is installed, you can keep adding servers behind it.
How are customer service and support?
BIG-IP LTM's technical support is good - once you log a case with them, the support is quite prompt and responsive.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
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. The speed of deployment depends on the application requirement and the application deployment cycle.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
BIG-IP LTM is considered a premium product, so it's quite expensive and isn't affordable for all customers. F5's licensing is based on modules, so there are separate charges depending on which features you want.
What other advice do I have?
Before implementing BIG-IP LTM, you should understand your expectations and requirements, especially from the application team. Putting BIG-IP LTM into a not-so-critical environment would be very expensive, so you may want to consider more medium-range solutions that can do the same job. I would give BIG-IP LTM a rating of ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partners
Senior ICT Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Secure and easy to scale traffic management solution; can meet the demands of bigger environments
Pros and Cons
- "Secure and scalable traffic management solution for applications. Good for bigger environments."
- "Lacking in free training to help users understand the product more, so they would know how to correctly use it. Like other vendors and their products, becoming more proactive is an area for improvement."
What needs improvement?
All the cyber security vendors and their products need improvement, including F5 and this product. No one is 100% secured, because attacks are more sophisticated now, and the hackers have become more advanced.
Recently, I've seen one of the attacks on this particular network, where they managed to bypass its multi-factor authentication. They were able to bypass that level of security, and they managed to get into the network.
Every cyber security vendor needs to be proactive. No one is perfect, so even the rank one cyber security vendors should also keep their eyes open all the time.
It would also be better if F5 provided free product training for F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM), so end customers could have more awareness and understanding of the product, so they'll know how to use it.
Our level of requirements, usage, and scalability are being met by this product. If we needed additional features, or if we needed additional licenses, all we need to do is just buy the additional features or licenses, so we currently don't have any additional features we'd like to be included in the next version of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM).
For how long have I used the solution?
My experience with F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is a total of four years now. We have customers, e.g. from the government, who prefer this solution. We also propose it to them because they have a bigger environment, compared to the environment size of private companies. We have customers from the government, e.g. from the Department of Communication.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is scalable and secure, so we propose this solution to customers with bigger environments, e.g. those in the government.
How are customer service and support?
I'm rating F5 technical support a nine out of ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Fortinet, but what we were getting from F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) was always more than what we got from Fortinet, even when using FortiWeb and Forti WAF cloud as a service, and even when considering the functionality of each product.
How was the initial setup?
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is more complex to implement. Implementation of this product would be much easier if you have the right service, e.g. consultation services included, support from the distributor or directly from the vendor itself, or a certified partner. Having consultation and support will help make it much easier for the end customer during implementation, but the implementation process for this product is more complex than Fortinet.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost is high for this product, so small customers, e.g. those in a private bank, won't be able to afford F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM), and they also don't really need the kind of support and functionality that this product gives.
For customers who are in the government, we propose F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) despite its cost being high, because they'll really need it. They host their applications in the cloud, and in private data centers, e.g. private cloud services, so they'll need the kind of protection that this product provides.
It depends on customer. Whenever we see that customers can't afford, or the environment is smaller, we propose Fortinet, or some other solution that's cheaper than Fortinet. We don't propose F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) to them.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I was able to evaluate Fortinet.
What other advice do I have?
We have a partnership with Fortinet, as a reseller of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and other F5 products. We are also a reseller of Cisco and Forcepoint products, though we just started with Forcepoint, so we haven't been doing much with their products currently.
My advice to users of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM), including people who are thinking of implementing this product, is that they need to have product awareness. What we are seeing in our government customers is that they don't have awareness, in particular, they don't know what they're using, which is why they're having issues. They need to understand the product first, and they need to go and get the training first, but they are hesitant to pay for the training.
Unlike Fortinet who provides free training, F5 doesn't. Ever since the pandemic, Fortinet has provided free training, but certification is not free. If F5 can provide free training for F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM), that would be better.
My rating for F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Buyer's Guide
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Total Solution System Engineer at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Better support than similar solutions in the same market
Pros and Cons
- "I think F5's tech support may be better than Citrix's because they mainly focus on the ADC product, but Citrix support covers Hypervisor, XenMobile, FAS, and ADC. And from my experience, sometimes, we face some issues that Citrix cannot handle."
- "F5 could improve the rule-setting capabilities in the GUI, and they need to simplify web management. For example, the menus in the Citrix GUI are easier to navigate, with a clean structure and layout."
What is our primary use case?
We often use the Citrix ADC and F5 BIG-IP LTM together, because they have similar features. But, normally, we use Citrix solutions because we are Citrix providers in Bangkok, so we're not usually working with F5. However, there are some projects where we deploy F5 alongside Citrix or substitute it for the Citrix solution.
What needs improvement?
F5 could improve the rule-setting capabilities in the GUI, and they need to simplify web management. For example, the menus in the Citrix GUI are easier to navigate, with a clean structure and layout. It helps you navigate and find what you're looking for, but some of the menus in the F5 GUI are not very intuitive. You're doing the same task, but sometimes it's on the left, sometimes on the right, etc. It should all be on the same setup group menu or something like that.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with BIG-IP LTM for almost 10 years.
How are customer service and support?
I think F5's tech support may be better than Citrix's because they mainly focus on the ADC product, but Citrix support covers Hypervisor, XenMobile, FAS, and ADC. And from my experience, sometimes, we face some issues that Citrix cannot handle. In our first year, Citrix support was not very good, but in the second year, it was okay.
How was the initial setup?
Each product can be simple or complex to set up in its own way, but Citrix setup is more straightforward overall. Citrix doesn't have any restriction on modules or on features, so the features are exactly the same whether it's a small or large deployment. Only the performance is different, but everything else is the same.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I can't say much about the price because our sales department handles pricing. I'm a technical engineer, but I can say that all of these products are in the same price range.
What other advice do I have?
I rate F5 BIG-IP LTM nine out of 10. You can't go wrong with F5 because F5 and Citrix ADC are like the most advanced BMW in the market. So if what you need is deployment, localizing, high availability, and web balancing for your web server application server, both products can give you the same results. Both are good.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Founder at Fencesense
Well designed, high availability, and suitable for large enterprises
Pros and Cons
- "The solution could improve the ease of use, the management could be simplified. Other solutions are easier to use."
- "The solution could improve the ease of use, the management could be simplified. Other solutions are easier to use."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is used for deploying applications.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of F5 BIG-IP LTM is the operating system. It is nicely designed and orchestrated. The solution has all the features that are necessary for medium to large-sized enterprises would need to ensure their application are available throughout the globe. The LTM and DTM features combined provide a great service to organizations for presenting around the world which includes load balancing.
If there are any problems with the applications during integration they can be managed well with the solutions' ability to provide visibility.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve the ease of use, the management could be simplified. Other solutions are easier to use.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) for approximately 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of F5 BIG-IP LTM is great.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
50 percent of my customers are using this solution.
F5 BIG-IP LTM is a scalable solution.
How are customer service and support?
I have not needed technical support from F5 BIG-IP LTM.
How was the initial setup?
If you are an expert in F5 BIG-IP LTM then the solution is simple to implement. If someone is new to implementing the solution it is difficult.
The length of time it takes to do the deployment depends on the size of the network it is being deployed in.
What about the implementation team?
We do the implementation of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This solution comes with a standard license, and there are also extra licenses that can be obtained. The licenses are purchasable for durations of one, two, three, and five years. The hardware is something to consider when purchasing
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution to my customers.
I rate F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
Enterprise architect at Kyndryl
Improves the resilience and quality of the application but needs more data granularity
Pros and Cons
- "F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) improves the resilience and quality of the application itself, the speed and the user experience for the application. The data that the users need from the application is actually acquired faster. So, it provides faster data acquisition."
- "It would be good to have better traffic and better data. It would be nice to have more granularity to see packets in terms of the header details, the analytics, etc. It would be nice if that was also part of it and to have analytics added to the traffic."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for server management and application traffic, that is, to load balance between traffic for applications coming from their service. Users coming in are then able to have their traffic go to the service that has the suitable resources or adequate resources.
What is most valuable?
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) improves the resilience and quality of the application itself, the speed and the user experience for the application. The data that the users need from the application is actually acquired faster. So, it provides faster data acquisition.
It also provides lower latency.
What needs improvement?
It would be good to have better traffic and better data. It would be nice to have more granularity to see packets in terms of the header details, the analytics, etc. It would be nice if that was also part of it and to have analytics added to the traffic.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using it for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is pretty stable. It's one of the most stable products that I know, when it comes to load balancing and traffic.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very scalable. We have thousands of users.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is top notch.
How was the initial setup?
It is pretty easy to set up.
Because there were other parties involved, the deployment took us about a week. Normally, it takes a couple of hours.
What about the implementation team?
We did it in-house.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise you to go for it because it's one of the top three solutions in my opinion. I would rate it at seven on a scale from one to ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Stable with good security and reliability
Pros and Cons
- "The stability is excellent."
- "The pricing of the product is a bit too high."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for security purposes.
What is most valuable?
The security on offer from the solution is very good.
The stability is excellent.
What needs improvement?
The pricing of the product is a bit too high. They should work to make it more affordable. It needs to be more cost-efficient.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable and the performance has been good.
How are customer service and technical support?
I've never used technical support. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are when it comes to servicing their customers, having never used them personally.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I also have experience with Check Point.
How was the initial setup?
We did not install the solution ourselves. We used an integrator that handled the process and helped us set everything up.
What about the implementation team?
We used an integrator to assist with the installation. We were pleased with the results. There was nothing to complain about the results.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is pretty high. It's not the least expensive option.
That said, we're willing to pay for the premium security on offer.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a customer and an end-user.
We are using the 12th version of the solution.
I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We've been quite satisfied with the capabilities of the product.
I'd recommend the solution to other users and companies.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
It renders policy-based security management but requires improvement in policy-based control
What is our primary use case?
We are primarily using it for load balancing, and with BIG-IQ managing Layer 7 security policies.
How has it helped my organization?
We did get good flexibility as well as the capabilities to accept declarative API and create per app dashboard and create a better view on the telemetry dashboard.
What is most valuable?
- Cloud templates
- Declarative onboarding
- API service gateway
- Policy-based security management.
What needs improvement?
Services to be improved:
- Multi-cloud consistency, like to simplify administration with centralized policies with multi-cloud vendors
- F5 lateral scalability within the container is still restricted.
- Web application firewalls and service mesh would be a nice-to-have feature.
- Drive programmable application with 100% restful API
- Cover deployment
- Monitoring
- Policy-based control.
For how long have I used the solution?
Trial/evaluations only.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Assistant Vice President at Nagarro
With the roll back option, I can view the last things which happened on the device
Pros and Cons
- "I have Big-IP change and control manager, which give me the roll back option. Therefore, I can view the last things which happened on the device."
- "I would like there to be more device security. I would like the tool to support SSL links, along with SSL and TLS."
What is our primary use case?
We have around 12 data centers. On average, in every data center, we have 14 to 15 F5 load balancers. We manage everything from a central location, then we deploy policy for use, giving us a place for our control managers.
What is most valuable?
I have Big-IP change and control manager, which give me the roll back option. Therefore, I can view the last things which happened on the device.
What needs improvement?
In future, I would like there to be more device security. I would like the tool to support SSL links, along with SSL and TLS. It also needs to disable the old cipher suite, which is a very old. There are ciphers, like D5, still available on the device.
For how long have I used the solution?
Three to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have faced security stability issues, but we work around it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
F5 tech support is helpful. I would rate the technical support with an eight out of 10.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used to have Cisco, then we have Citrix NetScaler. The Citrix NetScaler is just a load balancer. It did not me the complete ADC features. That is why F5 is the king of load balancing.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was pretty straightforward; not complex.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Security should be involved in any base license. When you bring on F5, you only have default license. Then, the ASM product license has to be purchased. It would be great if F5 could include the ASM in the base license.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Download our free F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2024
Product Categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)Popular Comparisons
Cisco Umbrella
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway
Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform
OpenVPN Access Server
F5 Advanced WAF
Fortinet FortiWeb
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)
Imperva Web Application Firewall
Check Point Remote Access VPN
Buyer's Guide
Download our free F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Quick Links
Learn More: Questions:
- F5 vs. Imperva WAF?
- F5 BIG-IP vs. Radware Alteon Comparison
- What is the performance parameter of Imperva X10K versus BIG-IP i2600?
- What are your daily F5 BIG-IP LTM use cases?
- What are the pros and cons of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Microsoft Azure Application Gateway for a large construction company?
- When evaluating Application Delivery Controllers, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?
- Comparison Between Kemp LoadMaster and Load Balancer.org
- Is Citrix ADC (formerly Netscaler) the best ADC to use and if not why?
- What are your daily F5 BIG-IP LTM use cases?
- Why do I need an ADC solution?