A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between A10 Networks Thunder ADC and F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) 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 A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs. F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Report (Updated: March 2023).
687,256 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 solution is user-friendly and the CLA troubleshooting is easier compared to other solutions.""The most valuable features in A10 Networks Thunder ADC are the ease of configuration, user-friendliness, and simplicity to sell to customers.""The solution is stable.""The DNS application firewall and load balancing are very valuable."

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"The most valuable feature of this solution is IP Intelligence.""What we like best about this solution is its stability. It is extremely stable.""Currently, it's distributing the load perfectly, as per my understanding of our requirements.""LTM's most valuable features include application security, data collection, and parameter-level rules.""The most valuable feature of F5 BIG-IP LTM is it helps our delivery team to make policies and rules for application.""Its user interface is very easy to use on a day-to-day basis. It is very user-friendly.""BIG-IP LTM's most valuable feature is that it allows you to seamlessly add more servers without impacting your application's configuration.""I have found F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) to be stable."

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Cons
"The costs can be quite high.""A graphical dashboard for analyzing performance is needed.""There are competitors that have more features.""A10 Networks Thunder ADC could improve on the Application Delivery Controller. it's not a fully-fledged web application firewall solution. For example, application data and support need to improve."

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"The pricing could always be better. It's a bit expensive.""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.""Technical support is somewhat slow and could be improved.""It requires a particular skill or training before being able to manage it.""Its GUI could be a bit better. Other than that, it's already pretty good. We don't use it in a high-performance environment. So, we don't really care so much about too many features.""The solution could improve the ease of use, the management could be simplified. Other solutions are easier to use.""The initial setup can take a long time.""The pricing model has caused some frustration. My clients implemented the solution and later wanted to upgrade the features but the pricing structure was complicated. There are other solutions with better pricing models."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The price of the maintenance support is too expensive."
  • "The price of A10 Networks Thunder ADC depends on capacity and the customer's requirement. They have several offerings. They have different price models and options to choose from. Additionally, you need to subscribe to support for the hardware appliances."
  • "The solution costs less than its competitors."
  • More A10 Networks Thunder ADC Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "You can buy it on a yearly basis, or you can go for a subscription. For on-premise boxes, it is just the RMA."
  • "Compared to using open-source products, the prices are not cheap."
  • "F5 is expensive."
  • "It is quite expensive as a product. Because it is very stable, it is also expensive."
  • "It is a little pricey. I wish the pricing was cheaper, but I wish the pricing was cheaper for everything."
  • "We are on an annual license to use the solution."
  • "This is a high-priced tool. We pay for its license yearly."
  • "The cost is high for this product, so it's not suitable for small customers, e.g. those with small environments."
  • More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:I would recommend A10 Networks due that it delivers high performance in a small form factor to reduce OPEX with significantly lower power usage, rack space, and cooling requirements compared to other… more »
    Top Answer:I do recommend A10 Networks Thunder ADC. It's very user-friendly, easy to configure, and flexible. It is a very useful solution - especially now, when a lot of employees are working remotely. I have… more »
    Top Answer:It's a very friendly solution, easy to configure and it's very flexible.
    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 solution could improve the ease of use, the management could be simplified. Other solutions are easier to use.
    Ranking
    Views
    4,649
    Comparisons
    2,844
    Reviews
    2
    Average Words per Review
    267
    Rating
    8.0
    Views
    22,788
    Comparisons
    18,505
    Reviews
    38
    Average Words per Review
    453
    Rating
    8.2
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Thunder ADC, AX Series
    F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP
    Learn More
    Overview

    A10 Networks Thunder ADC is a dynamic application delivery controller and advanced load balancer. Thunder ADC is a value-added solution provided by A10 Networks specializing in robust, trusted, scalable application services for cloud, hybrid, edge cloud, and on-premise environments focused on improving business processes and keeping infrastructures safe. The solution consistently provides server availability, improves content delivery, and protects at-risk applications. A10 Networks Thunder ADC easily controls hybrid and multi-cloud deployments using a Polynimbus strategy to minimize difficulties and costs for IT processes, facilitating overall improved business results.

    A10 Networks Thunder ADC is effective for small to medium businesses (SMBs) to large enterprises. Service providers and cloud operators are all using A10 Network ADC to manage their large and fast-growing group of business-critical applications.

    A10 Networks Thunder ADC supplies L4-7 load balancing with numerous layers of security using DNS and web app firewalls, comprehensive support for advanced encryption, single sign-on (SSO) authentication, and high-performance Perfect Forward Secrecy and Error Correction Code (PFS/ECC). Thunder ADC is designed upon A10 Networks Advanced Core Operating System (ACOS®) platform to provide consistent, efficient application performance and trusted security for any environment.

    A10 Networks Thunder ADC Benefits

    • Consistently accessible: A10 Networks Thunder ADC employs numerous load balancing protocols to evenly distribute workloads to all servers and works to ensure constant application functionality. User requests are monitored to ensure loads are directed to the appropriate server so that there is always a proper response delivery to content. This process ensures the applications are consistently available.

    • Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB): To ensure business processes are fully optimized at all times, A10 Networks Thunder ADC employs a dynamic Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) process to augment server load balancing capabilities throughout global data centers for high availability and improved user experience and application tolerance.

    • Fast content delivery: A10 Networks Thunder ADC conquers the general WAN latencies, chatty policies, and redundant software programs to ensure quick and responsive service. Employees receive a fast, excellent end-user experience while the organization's business leaders get exceeded SLA mandates and increased productivity with teams working remotely and a step up on the competition.

    A10 Networks Thunder ADC Features

    • Detailed Analytics: When deployed with A10 Networks Harmony Controller, Thunder ADC delivers a large selection of detailed aggregate and per-request reports in real time. The reports include popular URLs, error and health indicators, latencies, and end-to-end response times. The data is further dissected to deliver per-app reporting, availability alerts, and performance.

    • API Coverage: Thunder ADC utilizes A10 Networks REST-based aXAPIs to structure all features with 100 percent API coverage. The resulting interface is then used to seamlessly integrate custom or third-party management solutions, such as VMware or other SDN platforms, OpenStack, Microsoft SCVMM, or other cloud orchestration systems. There are also software plug-ins available for private clouds utilizing VMware’s vRealize Orchestrator.

    • Comprehensive Management Controls: Thunder ADC is fully supported by A10 Networks Harmony Controller and can be deployed in software or as a software-as-a-service (SaaS). This controller functions as a native management platform that organizes and distributes application-centric service protocols and configuration data to numerous Thunder appliances and device cluster infrastructures throughout numerous multi-cloud environments. Users can instantly identify, audit and track every appliance using critical operational metrics, such as CPU, disk usage, device partitions, and end users. The A10 Networks Harmony Controller will also complete configuration backups and restore operations, and will schedule regular software upgrades.

    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.

    Offer
    Learn more about A10 Networks Thunder ADC
    Learn more about F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
    Sample Customers
    123inkt.nl, Bentley University, Box, Brainshark, Buienradar, Capgemini, CGN/LSN & NAT64, Chengdu Telecom, Club One, Code Ready, CRC Health Group, Cyso, Deutsche Telekom, Earth Class Mail, Excite, FFF Enterprises, Florence County, Framingham State University, From30
    Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    University21%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Comms Service Provider14%
    Wellness & Fitness Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company24%
    Comms Service Provider11%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    Government7%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider23%
    Financial Services Firm16%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Comms Service Provider12%
    Government8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business32%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise47%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise58%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business31%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise52%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise66%
    Buyer's Guide
    A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs. F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
    March 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs. F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and other solutions. Updated: March 2023.
    687,256 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    A10 Networks Thunder ADC is ranked 12th in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) with 4 reviews while F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is ranked 1st in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) with 43 reviews. A10 Networks Thunder ADC is rated 8.0, while F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of A10 Networks Thunder ADC writes "Easy to set up with good features and great reliability". On the other hand, the top reviewer of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) writes "Great support, helpful documentation, and is user-friendly". A10 Networks Thunder ADC is most compared with Citrix NetScaler, NGINX Plus, Fortinet FortiADC, HAProxy and Kemp LoadMaster, whereas F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is most compared with Microsoft Azure Application Gateway, Citrix NetScaler, NGINX Plus, Fortinet FortiADC and Avi Networks Software Load Balancer. See our A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs. F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) report.

    See our list of best Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) vendors.

    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.