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Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP vs. Kemp LoadMaster and other solutions. Updated: November 2019. 382,745 professionals have used our research since 2012. |
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros | |
F5 BIG-IP is used with good applications and functions as an application firewall with additional features. We will not use any feature or any service unless there is a business case and there is a need for implementation. We're able to do load balancing and global load balancing. When you marry those two products together, you can do a lot more. We're able to deliver our applications more securely and faster. It has improved our deliverability where we have more service across the shared data centers. We can intelligently reach all of those client connections across all of the servers and do it fairly quickly. It has helped improve our application delivery and performance. It is a fast and available solution. It is the perfect solution when you have high workloads in your IT environment. It integrates with AWS WAF, which makes it easy to deploy without changes to your infrastructure. It improves the overall performance of applications by decreasing the burden on servers associated with managing and maintaining applications and network sessions, as well as by performing application-specific tasks. Initial setup is easy and pretty standard. It is a very good, flexible solution. It helps us to catch up on flaws in our partner solutions on top of its load balancing feature. | We really like the performance of this solution. The security features are the most valuable features of this solution. With Kemp 360 Central, our customers get a nice overview of their Kemp products and an easy way to upgrade firmware on all devices from a single interface. Exchange load balancing and reverse proxy for Skype for Business are key features. Edge Security Pack is valuable because of the way it separates between critical infrastructure and the public internet. Simple to install with good documentation. There is a simplicity to the setup and configuration. It helps with efficiency and reactivity, in case of assistance needs. |
Cons | |
The license terms for "non-commercial" will be a challenge for us. The license terms for "non-commercial" will are challenging for us. There are issues with F5 BIG-IP but they are minor issues not affecting production and services. Sometimes the operations and the facility systems fail. However, there is an alert action from the windows. An ordeal for the manager. I would like to see improvement in the manageability and easier setup. I would like them to have more flexible models. Performance: Using the product, applications are jittery. Needs to provide a visual interface to follow a customer's activity (from client to BIG-IP to SNAT IP to the chosen server, then back). Today, we are still performing packet captures. We would like to see load balancing between the cloud and the on-premise, a straightforward deployment feature. | The GUI is rather technical and complex, so it could be improved by making it simpler and more user-friendly. To make it a perfect ten out of ten it would need better connection logging. If there is an active connection, that there is better logging. It should also have better management monitoring tools. The auth website of ESP is really lacking. It’s not responsive (mobile friendly) and the procedure of changing the website is difficult. We tend to avoid using pre-auth for that reason. Several elements of the GUI need work. For example, if you have many content switches, it’s difficult to find the ones you need. And where is the search feature? If you want logging for SMTP traffic, you have to enable ESP, which requires you to define allowed IP addresses. That’s irritating, to say the least. It lacks an officially supported, well-written SCOM Management Pack. They need to improve the UI environment. Currently, it's hard to navigate and use product. Some documentation is out of date versus the new version, and things have been moved. |
Pricing and Cost Advice | |
They are expensive. We purchased through the AWS Marketplace because it was a popular way to go, and we were intrigued. The price of this product is not an issue. They have good pricing and licensing. 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. I would recommend that the cost be lowered. If you are planning to use security features, better to go for strong hardware and the best bundle license, which is great for web security. The price is high. We have found the pricing and licensing on AWS to be competitive. Purchasing through the AWS Marketplace was good. We chose to go through the AWS Marketplace because everything that we needed was a soft appliance. We needed something to work in Amazon, and this product was available there. | The license varies according to the number of megabits. It has a great price for the solution they offer. I have control on the licensing and all the prices since I work for a partner. KEMP gives away free trials for 30 days. This can be stretched if you want. During the test, you will have access to KEMP support. It has a very attractive ratio of price/performance. |
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Delivery Controllers solutions are best for your needs. 382,745 professionals have used our research since 2012. | |
Ranking | |
Views 40,304 Comparisons 31,578 Reviews 28 Average Words per Review 405 Avg. Rating 7.9 | Views 5,557 Comparisons 4,481 Reviews 8 Average Words per Review 340 Avg. Rating 8.9 |
Top Comparisons | |
Compared 14% of the time. Compared 14% of the time. Compared 8% of the time. | Compared 22% of the time. Compared 22% of the time. Compared 11% of the time. |
Also Known As | |
BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP | LoadMaster Load Balancer |
Learn | |
F5 | Kemp |
Overview | |
The BIG-IP family of products offers the application intelligence that network managers need to ensure applications are fast, secure, and available. All BIG-IP products share a common underlying architecture, F5's Traffic Management Operating System (TMOS), which provides unified intelligence, flexibility, and programmability. Together, BIG-IP's powerful platforms, advanced modules, and centralized management system make up the most comprehensive set of application delivery tools in the industry. | Kemp LoadMaster provides High Availability, Scalability and Security for Application Delivery. Optimized load balancers for Hybrid Cloud and Public Cloud deployments. Available for Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS. |
Offer | |
Learn more about F5 BIG-IP | Learn more about Kemp LoadMaster |
Sample Customers | |
Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc. | Kent County Council, KEMP, SMA Solar Technology AG, RT Player , Victrix (Quebec, Canada), Texas A&M, Macmillan Cancer Support, Cisco, Austin Bank |
Top Industries | |
Comms Service Provider26% Financial Services Firm22% Healthcare Company11% Manufacturing Company11% Software R&D Company27% Comms Service Provider16% Financial Services Firm10% Government6% | Software R&D Company29% Comms Service Provider10% Real Estate/Law Firm8% Energy/Utilities Company8% |
Company Size | |
Small Business23% Midsize Enterprise14% Large Enterprise63% Small Business30% Midsize Enterprise21% Large Enterprise49% | Small Business56% Midsize Enterprise33% Large Enterprise11% |
See also F5 BIG-IP Reviews, Kemp LoadMaster Reviews, and our list of Best Application Delivery Controllers Companies.