F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks comparison

Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Report (Updated: March 2020).
772,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The F5 interface is easy to use.""There is a lot of documentation available.""It is a fast and available solution.""it has TCP LAN and WAN optimization features. It has has caching.""The load balancing function, the monitors that you can create, and iRules programmability are most valuable.""The occasion in which we needed technical support, we didn't have problems with them, because they always answered our questions without any trouble.""NetFlow balancing and traffic balancing are good features.""We have multiple solutions we can deploy through the F5."

More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Pros →

"The most valuable feature is the ability to join your network and provide access through the VPN.""Being able to use the user ID or Active Directory Group is one of the great features for control and providing more flexibility without worrying about IP addresses.""Prisma Access gives us security from a single point. It controls mobile users and determines how secure their networks will be, including from where they will get internet access. We can optimize things and add security profiles centrally.""To quarantine and clean a malware file provides a lot of security.""You have the ability to create your own expressions for your data. Palo Alto understands that DLP is not the same for all consumers. You might have a particular need to fulfill, and they give you the opportunity to create a custom expression to match the specific format that you have. For a confidential file property that you have in your files, you can add a metadata field. It gives you that opportunity to create that.""It's great that we can make sure a machine meets the minimum requirements before users are allowed to log in.""It is geographically dispersed, and it sits on top of Google and AWS platforms. Therefore, you don't face the standard issues, such as latency or bandwidth issues, that you usually face in the case of on-prem data centers.""The most valuable features of the solution are in the areas of the secure remote access it provides while also being user-friendly."

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Pros →

Cons
"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.""I used GitHub for autoscaling CloudFormation, and I found two bugs and I submitted them. Their implementation in GitHub could be cleaner and allow for a bit more customization.""The user interface could be improved in F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager.""The web interface could be better.""I would like to see F-5 implement a regular routing like in other Linux-based devices. When we try and integrate in some complex networks, we have to use some additional routing scenarios from a Layer 3 perspective, then we have some problems. It would be great if this were fixed somehow.""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 pricing could always be better. It's a bit expensive.""If one virtual portion is unavailable, it can cause issues."

More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Cons →

"Its security is good. Everything is good, but the way the dashboard responds can be improved. It takes time to implement a policy. If you change only two or three lines and push the policy to make the change work, it takes 20 to 30 minutes even for a small change. That is something very irritating from the implementation perspective.""They automatically update and they should give us time to fully understand what they're updating so that we can make sure it doesn't impact production.""Its integration with non-Palo Alto products can be improved. Currently, it is easy to integrate it with other Palo Alto products such as Cortex XDR. It integrates well with other Palo Alto products. A major part of our network is based on Palo Alto products, but for those companies that use multi-vendor products in their infrastructure, Palo Alto should optimize the integration of Prisma Access with the network devices from other vendors.""It applies commits to the firewalls slowly. There isn't an API you can use for anything. We've previously had trouble with the egress IP addresses though we expressed to engineering that those mustn't change. They changed several times without warning, causing a lot of headaches.""The price can be reduced to make it more competitive.""When it comes to the VPN, it uses the global protect VPN functionality to connect remotely, but it has a feature limitation for assigning multiple IP sub-links to different user groups. It would be much better if we are able to assign the current IP blocks for the sub-links based on the user groups.""The licensing model isn't flexible enough. It's an all-or-nothing model. Other providers in the market allow you to buy modules or add-ons separately. With Prisma Access, you have to purchase the same module for all users.""My clients would like to see a more feature-rich product."

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Though functionality is high, its cost can be considered slightly higher than its competitors​."
  • "The licensing pricing seems relatively easy enough to get your head around. I would advise anyone to ensure that you have a conversation with an F5 consultant before purchasing, as you would with most products."
  • "Take a look at the modules that you are going to use. Look into the best bundles for them."
  • "The only area that has room for improvement would be pricing, so its competitors do not have a say."
  • "If your IT budget is good, go for it."
  • "This product is costly from a licensing perspective considering its competitors."
  • "Check other vendors like Cisco, Citrix or A10 Networks. There are plenty in the market with which you can achieve same thing."
  • "Great product for the money. But they can get really expensive, so get what meets your needs."
  • More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The licensing cost is about 18,000 euros."
  • "Actually the solution is very expensive. I don't know the particulars since the purchasing team dealt with it."
  • "The pricing for this solution is on the higher end."
  • "Compared to other products, the price is slightly high."
  • "This is not an expensive product and everything is included with one license."
  • "Prisma Access is a little bit expensive."
  • "The licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis and for what we get, the price is good."
  • "The solution requires a license and the technical support has extra costs. The licensing model could improve."
  • More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Pricing and Cost Advice →

    report
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) solutions are best for your needs.
    772,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:The support from F5 BIG-IP LTM is good.
    Top Answer:There are a few licensing options available for F5 BIG-IP LTM. You can have a perpetual license which is a lifetime license. You then only need to renew the support, if you choose to open a ticket… more »
    Top Answer:The pricing must be more flexible. We get billed for firewalls based on the usage. It will be helpful if the solution provides such flexibility.
    Top Answer: We looked into Prisma Access before choosing Zscaler Private Access (ZPA). Palo Alto’s Prisma Access is a secure access service edge (SASE) designed to deliver network security in a… more »
    Top Answer:The most valuable features of the solution are in the areas of the secure remote access it provides while also being user-friendly.
    Top Answer:As compared to other solutions, Prisma Access is much cheaper. It is probably 30% to 40% cheaper than other solutions, but I do not know the exact cost. A customer is using 250,000 user licenses for… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    10,290
    Comparisons
    8,518
    Reviews
    29
    Average Words per Review
    485
    Rating
    8.4
    Views
    16,920
    Comparisons
    11,519
    Reviews
    26
    Average Words per Review
    981
    Rating
    8.2
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP
    Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access, Prisma Access, GlobalProtect, Palo Alto GlobalProtect Mobile Security Manager, Prisma SaaS by Palo Alto Networks, Prisma Access
    Learn More
    Overview

    F5 BIG-IP LTM optimizes the speed and reliability of your apps via both network and application layers. Using real-time protocol and traffic management decisions based on app and server and connection management conditions, and TCP and content offloading, BIG-IP LTM dramatically improves application and infrastructure responsiveness. BIG-IP LTM's architecture includes protocol awareness to control traffic for the most important applications. BIG-IP LTM tracks the dynamic performance levels of servers and delivers SSL performance and visibility for inbound and outbound traffic, to protect the user experience by encrypting everything from the client to the server.

    BIG-IP LTM provides enterprise-class Application Delivery Controller (ADC). You get granular layer 7 control, SSL offloading and acceleration capabilities, and advanced scaling technologies that deliver performance and reliability on-demand. The highly optimized TCP/IP stack combines TCP/IP techniques and improvements in the latest RFCs with extensions to minimize the effect of congestion and packet loss and recovery. Independent testing tools and customer experiences show LTM's TCP stack delivers up to a 2x performance gain for users and a 4x increase in bandwidth efficiency.

    Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks provides consistent security for all users and applications across your remote networks. Prisma Access grants users safe access to the cloud and data center applications and the internet as well. In addition, the solution combines all of your security and networking capabilities into a single cloud-delivered platform, enabling flexible hybrid workforces.

    Prisma Access can be managed two ways:

    1. Cloud Managed
    2. Panorama Managed

    Prisma Access delivers both networking and security services, including:

    • SD-WAN
    • VPN
    • Zero Trust network access (ZTNA)
    • Quality of service (QoS)
    • Clean Pipe
    • Firewall as a service (FWaaS)
    • DNS Security
    • Threat Prevention
    • Cloud secure web gateway (SWG)
    • Data loss prevention (DLP)
    • Cloud access security broker (CASB)

    Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Features

    Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks has many valuable key features including: App-ID, User-ID, Device-ID, SSL Decryption, Dynamic User Group (DUG) Monitoring, AI/ML-Based Detection, IoT Security, Reporting, URL Filtering, Enterprise Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)*, Logging, Policy Automation, Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), and many more.

    Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Benefits

    Some of the benefits of using Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks include:

    • Security: Prisma Access gives you consistent security to protect against cyberattacks, with enforcement of policy at every location. By implementing Prisma Access, you also gain protection that works to prevent known and unknown malware, exploits, credential theft, command and control, and many other attack vectors across all ports and protocols.

    • Global connectivity: Prisma Access provides global coverage through use of its connectivity layer.

    • Scalability: With Prisma Access, scaling is automatically managed and is scalable, flexible, and agile.

    • Instant deployment: Deployment is fast, eliminating wasted time that may otherwise be associated with setting up a solution, operating it, or shipping hardware in order to get started.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics

    users who are currently using the solution.

    PeerSpot user Partha D., Global Network Tech Lead at a computer software company, speaks about his experience using the product, saying, "It protects all app traffic so that users can gain access to all apps. Unlike other solutions that only work from ports 80 and 443, which are predominantly for web traffic, Prisma Access covers all protocols and works on all traffic patterns... The most sophisticated attacks can arise from sources that are not behind 80/443."

    Tejas J., a Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a computer software company, mentions that "it is geographically dispersed, and it sits on top of Google and AWS platforms. Therefore, you don't face the standard issues, such as latency or bandwidth issues, that you usually face in the case of on-prem data centers.

    Another PeerSpot reviewer, Max I., Associate Director at Cognizant, comments that "Security is absolutely spot-on, really top-notch. It's the result of all the components that come together, such as the HIP [Host Information Profile] and components like Forcepoint, providing end-user content inspection, and antivirus. It incorporates DLP features and that's fantastic because Prisma Access makes sure that all of the essential prerequisites are in place before a user can log in or can be tunneled into."

    Sample Customers
    Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.
    Concord Hospital, State of Colorado, Essilor International, RheinLand Versicherungsgruppe, University of Westminster, Universidade Nove de Julho, SPAR Austria, CAME Group, ZipRealty, Greenhill & Co., IKT Agder, Aviva Stadium, Animal Logic, Management & Training Corporation, Brigham Young University Hawaii, School District of Chilliwack
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider20%
    Financial Services Firm15%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Media Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm17%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Government9%
    Comms Service Provider6%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company44%
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Logistics Company4%
    Political Organization4%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    Government6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business33%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise50%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise68%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business31%
    Midsize Enterprise28%
    Large Enterprise41%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business18%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise68%
    Buyer's Guide
    F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks
    March 2020
    Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks and other solutions. Updated: March 2020.
    772,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is ranked 1st in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) with 116 reviews while Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is ranked 1st in Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) with 59 reviews. F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is rated 8.2, while Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) writes "Reduces maintenance downtime and has a strong user community". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks writes "Integration with Palo Alto platforms such as Cortex Data Lake and Autofocus gives us visibility into our attack surface". F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is most compared with Citrix NetScaler, Fortinet FortiADC, Microsoft Azure Application Gateway, NGINX Plus and A10 Networks Thunder ADC, whereas Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is most compared with Netskope , Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange, Cisco Umbrella, Zscaler Internet Access and Prisma SD-WAN. See our F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks report.

    We monitor all Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.