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VivekKumar10 - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-Founder at Virajo
Real User
Top 10Leaderboard
Good stability and offers various valuable features like WAF
Pros and Cons
  • "For NetScaler, our major use cases are database load balancing, PowerVPN VPN access gateway, WAF (Web Application Firewall), and content switching."
  • "Manageability and adaptability can also be challenging for end customers."

What is our primary use case?

There are two major verticals for Citrix: VDI and NetScaler. For NetScaler, our major use cases are database load balancing, PowerVPN VPN access gateway, WAF (Web Application Firewall), and content switching. But most of them are for load balancing, access gateway, and VPN for NetScaler.

And for VDI, the major use cases are definitely securing the data and centralizing the entire infrastructure to the data center. Another major use case is publishing in-house applications for end-users who are working from home or from remote locations.

How has it helped my organization?

Our organization doesn't use it because we're very small. However, we have deployed the service for more than 10,000 users. Our smallest customer had 25 users, and the biggest customer had over 10,000 users.

We have eight people in the maintenance team for Citrix NetScaler, plus 24/7 customer support for day-to-day issues. They are managing multiple customers. Their expertise is at the level of RL1, three at RL2, one at L3, and one at L4.

What is most valuable?

For VDI, centralization, data protection, and data management are the most important features. As for NetScaler, its key features include a firewall, GSLB, load balancing, and an actual gateway. These are the four tiers of NetScalers.

What needs improvement?

Pricing is one area for improvement. It's on the higher side because NetScaler is a premium product used for over 70% of internet traffic worldwide. However, price is not the only concern. Manageability and adaptability can also be challenging for end customers, who may require the assistance of experts like us to deploy and manage the product effectively. Although this is good for us as partners, it can limit the product's appeal to customers who prioritize ease of use.

Moreover, having some GUI-based tools for log management and troubleshooting would be helpful and make it easier for customers to manage and troubleshoot their databases.

For the future release of Citrix NetScaler, I would like to see better pricing, as well as improved manageability and log management features.

Another thing is if a problem occurs, we have to rely on the central support system. We need to collect the log and send it back to support for analysis, and then Citrix support will provide the solution. It would be much easier to troubleshoot if something is handy, such as a web portal or a common platform where customers can upload logs and resolve some of the issues automatically.

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For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Citrix for over twelve or fifteen years, so I know everything about Citrix. We are using the latest update of this product.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a rock-solid solution, and I would rate it a ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution. I would rate it a nine out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

Previously, their support was great, especially two years ago. But these days, I'm seeing lots of slowness in providing solutions. The L1 support team is not ready, or the L2 team has a lot of work and is overburdened.

Therefore, sometimes they are very good and sometimes slow in responding, resulting in slow solution delivery.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The deployment process is quite complex because it's a premium or tier-one product. It requires great knowledge and experience to make it easier. If you don't have the necessary knowledge and experience, you may struggle.

Moreover, the deployment process depends on the customer's requirements and priorities. If the customer is focusing on multiple options or use cases, it may take seven to ten days. But if it's a straightforward installation with only one solution, then two or three days is more than enough.

We are using both on-premises and cloud-based versions.

What about the implementation team?

We have a good team of ten people in India, and we are expanding our partnerships all over the world. We have even received orders from the USA. We are focusing more and more on the interaction market and are not looking to hire any consultants or other sources. Our company is the SI (system Integrator) for the product.

What was our ROI?

It's a good investment tool. If your own organization or any other organization invests in this product, it will be useful for their product line. This product is robust and reliable, which helps customers a lot.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The cost of the product depends on the customer's requirements, so there is no fixed price. There are multiple licensing models. There are no additional costs for using this product. It comes with a support bundle, and the licensing is subscription-based. It means that you have to pay on a yearly basis.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Citrix can be quite expensive, and it can be challenging to qualify or close leads for 50 users or less than 100 users. Therefore, we are considering evaluating multiple products in parallel and finalizing one product we can pitch in our product line.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend using Citrix. Overall, I would rate it an eight out of ten because every product has room for improvement. If I rated it a nine, it means there's almost no room for improvement, which is not entirely true. So, eight is a fair rating.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: System Integrator (SI)
PeerSpot user
Mazhar Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager Spend and Alliances (RVP) at Faysal Bank Ltd
Real User
Top 10
A effective solution for load balancing with gateway
Pros and Cons
  • "From a security standpoint, It is a comprehensive solution in a single box."
  • "If one device or switch fails, the failover to another device is not seamless which is painful."

What is our primary use case?

We used Citrix NetScaler for load balancing in our application, where our users connect via the portal. This portal is load-balanced via a ServiceNet NetScaler. Additionally, our core banking application also runs on this infrastructure.

How has it helped my organization?


What is most valuable?

Citrix NetScaler has its capabilities and benefits. From a security standpoint, It is a comprehensive solution in a single box. We also have additional features such as gateway and global service load balancing. Furthermore, there's a provision for expanding data capacity.

What needs improvement?

In the latest version of Citrix NetScaler, there are specific improvements in the appliances, particularly in the management interfaces, which were not available in previous versions. If one device or switch fails, the failover to another device is not seamless which is painful. There needs some changes in their subscription-based model.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Citrix NetScaler for over four years. In 2020, we purchased two NetScalers for our Citrix solution. It's effective in load balancing. We always stay updated on critical vulnerability updates.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

More than 5000+ users are using this solution.

How are customer service and support?

We purchase support every year, making it more convenient. We have dedicated support and assistance with the subscription, ensuring stability.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is neither difficult nor straightforward, but some products have their challenges, but it's a good product.

Deployment depends on the requirement. After complete connectivity and power on, it will have some configuration requirements.

What about the implementation team?

Local vendors are also available for the solution's deployment.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

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.
PeerSpot user
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Timur Gadjiev - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Head of Network Security at DOM.RF
Real User
Simple implementation, reliable, and good dashboards
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Citrix ADC is its ease of use."
  • "Citrix ADC can improve if it provides a more user-friendly interface and clear working protocols. Citrix is not working with classic RFC, it is working with Citrix RFC, which is not common in the world. If engineers of Citrix can provide us with more information on working with the classic IP networks it would be a benefit."

What is our primary use case?

Citrix ADC is deployed on our VMware cluster. We use Citrix ADC for Virtual Virtual Desktop Infrastructure(VDI), load balancing, and SSL offloading.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Citrix ADC is its ease of use.

What needs improvement?

Citrix ADC can improve if it provides a more user-friendly interface and clear working protocols. Citrix is not working with classic RFC, it is working with Citrix RFC, which is not common in the world. If engineers of Citrix can provide us with more information on working with the classic IP networks it would be a benefit.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Citrix ADC for approximately three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of Citrix ADC is not working well. We have one cluster of firewalls and the firewall can switch from active mode to standby mode, but in active mode, Citrix is not recognizing the ARP or MAC address. When the ARP lease timer ends it is working properly again.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have approximately 10,000 users using Citrix ADC.

The main IT and network security departments are using this solution the most.

How are customer service and support?

I wrote many emails about the lease ARP timer problem we were facing to Citrix, but they did not respond to my question.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have previously used F5 BIG-IP. Citrix is more user-friendly and scalable for engineers for doing configuring. The dashboards and interface are better in Citrix ADC than F5 BIG-IP.

I found Citrix ADC the better solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Citrix ADC is easy. I have been doing it for many years.

What about the implementation team?

We have 10 network engineers that do the configuration and maintenance of Citrix ADC.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

F5 BIG-IP is much more expensive than Citrix ADC. For example, If we choose two platforms, Citrix ADC, 3000 version, and we choose F5, F4200 version. F5 BIG-IP has connections, timers, and throughput similar to Citrix ADC, but the price is very expensive.

What other advice do I have?

Citrix ADC is scalable.

I recommend Citrix ADC to all of my friends and engineers.

I rate Citrix ADC a nine out of ten.

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.
PeerSpot user
Co-owner at Akson d.o.o.
Real User
Has a good graphic user interface for beginners, but lacks real-time notifications, alerts, and artificial intelligence
Pros and Cons
  • "The advantage of Citrix Web App and API Protection is just its graphic user interface for beginners. The solution is nothing special, but we have to use it for the corporation. Another advantage of Citrix Web App and API Protection is that we have our copy to test things and get the know-how of it."
  • "An area for improvement in Citrix Web App and API Protection is for it to give real-time notifications and alerts. It would be practical if the solution warns you if there's an attack or if the load or traffic volume increases or decreases. An additional feature I'd like to see in Citrix Web App and API Protection is a prediction or artificial intelligence on what is happening, for example, attacks."

What is our primary use case?

Corporations we work for use Citrix Web App and API Protection for security compliance.

What is most valuable?

The advantage of Citrix Web App and API Protection is just its graphic user interface for beginners. The solution is nothing special, but we have to use it for the corporation. Another advantage of Citrix Web App and API Protection is that we have our copy to test things and get the know-how of it.

What needs improvement?

An area for improvement in Citrix Web App and API Protection is for it to give real-time notifications and alerts. It would be practical if the solution warns you if there's an attack or if the load or traffic volume increases or decreases.

An additional feature I'd like to see in Citrix Web App and API Protection is a prediction or artificial intelligence on what is happening, for example, attacks.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Citrix Web App and API Protection for five or six years because of a corporate decision, but for me, the solution is of no use.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Citrix Web App and API Protection is a stable solution, but it doesn't have much use. We had a cluster setup in the past, and the solution lost connectivity, but it's been a year since the latest update, and that issue has been resolved.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Citrix Web App and API Protection is a scalable solution.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I didn't work with other solutions before working with Citrix Web App and API Protection, but my company is currently looking at F5, Nginx, and a cloud solution such as Cloudflare.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup for Citrix Web App and API Protection was quite easy. We just installed it, configured the interfaces, and it worked. It only took one day until full production.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing for Citrix Web App and API Protection is unreasonable. I don't know the exact price, but I heard it's tens of thousands and it's a bit too much for the small country I live in.

What other advice do I have?

My company is working with Citrix Web App and API Protection, but the team doesn't like the solution.

The team used version 11 of Citrix Web App and API Protection. Version 12 of the solution stopped working on the exchange server because of authentication issues. It serves as a proxy, but you can do it with Apache or Nginx if you want. There's nothing special with the solution in terms of protection and no notification if there's an issue, so Citrix Web App and API Protection does not have much use.

About ten people use Citrix Web App and API Protection in my company.

My advice to people who want to implement the solution is "Better not start".

My rating for Citrix Web App and API Protection, if you have the solution, would be in the middle. There's no practical use for it for technical system administrators. I'm rating it six out of ten.

I don't know the exact relationship with Citrix, but it seems my company has the license for partners in terms of usage.

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: Partner
PeerSpot user
Parin Thaker - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Specialist at Dotcad Pvt Ltd
Real User
Top 5
Can be configured very granularly and has good control over security
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution can be configured very granularly and has good control over security."
  • "I would like to enhance the solution's bot protection features."

What is our primary use case?

One of our customers uses the solution for his payment portal.

What is most valuable?

The solution can be configured very granularly and has good control over security. I can customize it for different web portals. If one customer has five portals and I need different configurations for those five portals, I can use the configuration multiple times. I can do different configurations for each web portal. I can configure a different combination of configurations for various portals. On top of that, I can define security at its best. It is one of the most granular control firewalls.

What needs improvement?

The solution's pricing is very high compared to its competitors. This is the only challenge I faced when I tried to sell the solution for VPN, L7 firewall, or GSLB solution. I would like to enhance the solution's bot protection features.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Citrix Web App and API Protection is a very stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Citrix Web App and API Protection is a scalable solution. If I want to upgrade it, I just need to add licenses to it. Around 2,000 to 3,000 users are using the solution from my customer’s side. The solution was deployed in a single location.

What about the implementation team?

It took around one week to conclude and deploy the policy for Citrix Web App and API Protection. Two to three people were involved in the solution's configuration.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution's pricing is very high compared to its competitors.

What other advice do I have?

Our customer has an API for payment gateway integration, and the solution provides very good security for that. The customer is satisfied, and the configuration and appliance are stable. I can scale that bigger appliance, and it is a seamless solution for the customer and us.

I didn't face any challenges while integrating the solution into the existing system. When we sell the solution, we check the prerequisites, authentication, and integration requirements from the customer side. We check what kind of applications, authentication, and other things need to be integrated with the solution.

We give the solution based on all those considerations so that we do not face any hurdles in the future. So, I didn't find any integration issues with the solution till now.

The solution's deployment is very flexible. I'm able to create any kind of granular policy because of the solution's technology, configuration style, or language, which benefits customers.

Before choosing the solution, users should check what kind of integration they want to do with it. Most integrations are available with Citrix Netscaler, but I would recommend checking all the authentication systems, like multi-factor authentication, before placing the order. I would recommend the solution to other users.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine 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: Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1987287 - PeerSpot reviewer
General Manager & founder at a engineering company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Top 20
Enhances our application delivery and offers excellent scalability
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature for us is the application firewalling in Citrix NetScaler, ensuring only valid traffic enters our environment."
  • "Mastering it requires significant learning and training due to its complexity."

What is our primary use case?

I use Citrix NetScaler to secure and reliable access to our back-end applications hosted in our data center. With its robust features like SSL security, content switching, load balancing, and application firewalling, it streamlines traffic management and enhances overall performance while keeping our data safe from threats.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature for us is the application firewalling in Citrix NetScaler, ensuring only valid traffic enters our environment. Additionally, it provides insights into the origin and destination of traffic within our data center, giving us control and visibility over our network performance.

What needs improvement?

Citrix NetScaler is a robust product, but mastering it requires significant learning and training due to its complexity. While it could be easier to manage, it is like transitioning from driving a car to flying a plane – a different experience altogether. 

Additional features could include better integration with community-developed scripts and APIs, making it easier for users to access and utilize these resources. Streamlining the interface and ensuring standardization would enhance usability and provide smoother integration with third-party services.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Citrix NetScaler for about 20 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate Citrix stability at nine out of ten because it is solid, but many issues stem from neglecting regular maintenance. If you overlook upkeep like clearing disk space, even the best products can falter, but it is not the fault of Citrix NetScaler itself.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of Citrix NetScaler is impressive, ranging from small setups to handling gigabit-level traffic. It is designed for clustering and can sync data traffic across multiple interfaces, making it highly adaptable to varying needs. In our organization, we serve several large clients, with some deployments handling up to 7,000 users daily.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is very good.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up Citrix NetScaler can vary from straightforward to complex, depending on the deployment requirements. For basic setups, it is easy, but for more intricate configurations involving clusters and firewall settings, it becomes complex and requires expertise. While there are ARM templates available for deployment, understanding your specific needs is crucial for achieving the desired outcomes.

What was our ROI?

Using Citrix NetScaler provides immense value to our organization. Its indispensable role is in facilitating remote access and managing various assets, whether on-premises, cloud, or hybrid.

What other advice do I have?

Having a robust load balancer like Citrix NetScaler is essential for our infrastructure. While there are other options like F5 and Azure load balancers, NetScaler stands out with its comprehensive features beyond just basic traffic routing, offering advanced functionalities like security controls, content switching, and application firewalling.

Citrix NetScaler enhances our application delivery by intelligently directing traffic to healthy servers and services. It ensures that even if a server is up, but its services are down, traffic is rerouted to functioning servers, preventing downtime and ensuring a smooth user experience. With built-in probes, it continuously monitors the health of services, identifying issues and optimizing traffic flow accordingly.

The SSL upload feature in Citrix NetScaler has significantly improved our security by encrypting traffic and ensuring data integrity. Additionally, the global server load balancing capability allows us to efficiently host multiple services behind a single static IP address, streamlining deployment and reducing the need for multiple certificates and IP addresses.

The analytics and reporting capabilities of Citrix NetScaler have improved significantly in the past year.

For those considering Citrix NetScaler, my advice is to research its capabilities thoroughly to understand which features align with your needs. Start by experimenting with one feature at a time and learn as you go to maximize its potential for your organization.

Overall, I would rate Citrix NetScaler as a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Wissam Richani - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network , Cyber Security And Infrastructure Engineer at IFE
Reseller
A good, but costly, application delivery and load balancing solution for application security
Pros and Cons
  • "The load balancing feature of this solution is very good."
  • "We would like the licensing model for this product to be improved, as it isn't currently very transparent. There isn't a standard package available, and each extra feature creates an additional cost."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for Layer 7 load balancing for our clients, as well as single sign-on functionality, and uploading the data from their applications.

What is most valuable?

The load balancing feature of this solution is very good.

What needs improvement?

We would like the licensing model for this product to be improved, as it isn't currently very transparent. There isn't a standard package available, and each extra feature creates an additional cost.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been working with this solution since 2009.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have found this solution to be stable during our time working with it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have found this solution to be difficult to scale out due to the complexity of the licensing model.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support for this solution is good, in our experience.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup for this solution is very easy, and will require one engineer for a cloud-based deployment, or two engineers for an on-premises setup.

However, the time the implementation will take is dependent on the size and complexity of the project. Full deployment can take from three days, up to a few months for the most complicated integration requirements.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The licenses for this product are payable as a yearly subscription, and carry a high price-point. The subscription scheme is quite complicated, and costs will increase with each additional feature that is required, outside of the basic setup.

Also, if clients wish to move from an on-premises setup to the cloud-based version of the solution, the licenses are not transferable.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
PeerSpot user
it_user1226787 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager at Vodafone
Real User
Has good load-balancing features but we have experienced some authentication problems
Pros and Cons
  • "The load balancing is one of the most valuable features."
  • "I will try to migrate all the tools to the cloud because there is more lab and more VPN scalability available in the cloud. It is not available on-premises."

What is our primary use case?

We deploy it for enterprise customers and some schools that are located in Denmark.

What is most valuable?

The load balancing is one of the most valuable features. We have several load balancing solutions like F5 and Fortinet.

What needs improvement?

I will try to migrate all the tools to the cloud because there is more lab and more VPN scalability available in the cloud. It is not available on-premises.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Citrix for the past four years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Of course it is stable. We have had some errors, like authentication issues, although those are easy to fix.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable enough. 

We started with 100 users and now are up to 2,500.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have contacted their technical support. They provided their contact details, the account manager details, so we contacted them frequently and as required. They are very good. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We are also familiar with F5.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. It's deployed in our central location and four different other plants. It's not complex for those types of environments. Including the network setup, the entire deployment took 45 days. 

What about the implementation team?

I did the deployment together with my team. The deployment required four advanced engineers. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also evaluated Fortinet but we found that it is not that good a solution in terms of it being user-friendly and it was not very scalable. Comparatively, FortiGate is a good option, and reading-wise I think it's good.

What other advice do I have?

I would tell someone considering this solution to know your use cases and get good documentation. 

When we experienced an issue, we made documents and we can share those documents and share all the details to help provide others with solutions. 

I would rate it a six out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
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Download our free NetScaler Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: April 2025
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