Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

A10 Networks Thunder SSL Insight (SSLi) vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

A10 Networks Thunder SSL In...
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
SSL/TLS Decryption (2nd)
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Man...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
122
Ranking in other categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

A10 Networks Thunder SSL Insight (SSLi) and F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. A10 Networks Thunder SSL Insight (SSLi) is designed for SSL/TLS Decryption and holds a mindshare of 31.8%, up 24.8% compared to last year.
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM), on the other hand, focuses on Application Delivery Controllers (ADC), holds 16.1% mindshare, up 15.2% since last year.
SSL/TLS Decryption Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
A10 Networks Thunder SSL Insight (SSLi)31.8%
GigaSMART26.6%
Symantec SSL Visibility Appliance20.8%
Other20.799999999999997%
SSL/TLS Decryption
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)16.1%
NetScaler14.3%
HAProxy11.1%
Other58.5%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
 

Featured Reviews

CH
We used to have to bypass on the firewall, proxy, and IPS; now we can do it in one place
For us, it would be great if it supported SSL operations according to Active Directory users. For example, if we want to bypass one of the servers or a client's internet access for SSL interception, we have to do it according to the IP address. It would be better if we could do it according to the Active Directory username. A10 says they kind of support that but we haven't tested it. Another thing is SNI. A10 intercepts all the traffic according to the SNI, the server name indicator. It would be better if it intercepted traffic according to the IP addresses. A10 can only understand that a website is within the banking category or the website is in the social media category, according to the SNI. Without SNI, there is no way to understand it; there is no bypass operation. It would be better if worked without SNI as well. Also, the solution comes with web categories like banking and social media. There are suspicious URLs, malicious URLs, etc. It would be better if it had an application category as well. For example, it would be helpful if we had the chance to bypass all Office 365 applications: OneDrive, Skype, Outlook, etc. According to Microsoft, we need to bypass SSL for all Office 365 applications but we need to create custom categories and put all the Microsoft URLs in them and then we can bypass. It would be great if an application category could recognize Dropbox, for example. For now, we have to put the Dropbox URLs in one custom category and bypass them. Application categories could be very useful.
Bonieber  Orofeo - PeerSpot reviewer
Identifying compromised traffic and securing data has been a significant advantage
One of the most beneficial features of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is its ability to identify compromised traffic and its capabilities in authentication. Additionally, the security aspect of it provides a significant advantage as it helps us secure our data, which is a major investment and benefit for us. Before using this system, we had difficulties in storing our data and managing the traffic that comes in and out.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"We have several proxies in our environment, so we localized internet traffic between these proxies. Instead of getting a really huge proxy box, according to our size, we can use three boxes and share the traffic with A10's load-balancer feature."
"With the Thunder SSLi, we're better protected. We can stop use of VPN and proxies. We are better protected against dirty traffic coming back to our schools. Having a secure decrypt zone with the equipment lowers the chances that our security infrastructure could possibly miss an attack."
"Its most valuable feature is its ability to do its job accurately, effectively, and very quickly. The amount of traffic that we have going through our system is astounding... The delay with the SSL decryption turned on is almost unnoticeable."
"The most valuable feature is customization."
"It makes the publishing of applications to the Internet safer."
"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."
"It has so many features. ​First of all, it has a full proxy architecture, it has multiple modules. The best feature is the WAF, the web application firewall module. It also has cashing type capabilities. It has all kinds of load-balancing algorithms based on your IT requirements."
"it has TCP LAN and WAN optimization features. It has has caching."
"What we like best about this solution is its stability. It is extremely stable."
"We have multiple solutions we can deploy through the F5."
"It has helped a lot to protect our organization from external attacks, especially XSS or XSRF types of attacks."
 

Cons

"It would be great if it supported SSL operations according to Active Directory users. For example, if we want to bypass one of the servers or a client's internet access for SSL interception, we have to do it according to the IP address. It would be better if we could do it according to the Active Directory username. A10 says they kind of support that but we haven't tested it."
"There is one thing I would like to see changed. In their features for setting things up, there is a templating system that would normally assist clients. However, we had a better time setting up the device either through the command line or through the interface and not using the templates that were pre-installed. So there is room for improvement to the templates for initial installation."
"I would like them to have a better UI (better universal design)."
"Logging is a bit of a problem. Logging and monitoring are only in plain text. You have to search and you have to know what you are searching for to find anything. So of course, monitoring and getting alerts for abnormal situations is hard. There are no tools for monitoring and alerts"
"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."
"The cost of the solution is pretty high. It would be ideal if it was more reasonable."
"The solution's hardware quality needs improvement."
"The analytics should provide insight into latency across various traffic routes and virtual servers."
"I wouldn't recommend the tool to small companies, considering its high price and the infrastructure needs of small businesses."
"I'm not very sure about the security with F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM). We have our own private data center, but we are going to migrate our private data center into the Azure cloud environment. Security will then be a major concern when we migrate our own whole infrastructure to the public cloud."
"One improvement could be updating the user interface (UI)."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our licensing costs, yearly, are just under $15,000. Your initial cost of acquisition is obviously going to be more than $15,000..."
"When you purchase the equipment, you purchase the licensing and warranty. It's all fairly standard. We haven't been caught with anything surprising."
"We always pay for support. Any organization of our size who doesn't is asking for problems."
"You can buy it on a yearly basis, or you can go for a subscription. For on-premise boxes, it is just the RMA."
"Though functionality is high, its cost can be considered slightly higher than its competitors​."
"The price of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is too high."
"Check other vendors like Cisco, Citrix or A10 Networks. There are plenty in the market with which you can achieve same thing."
"The cost is high for this product, so it's not suitable for small customers, e.g. those with small environments."
"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"
"We have found the pricing and licensing on AWS to be competitive."
"It is the best solution, but that comes with an increased price."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which SSL/TLS Decryption solutions are best for your needs.
871,829 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Recreational Facilities/Services Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise31
Large Enterprise84
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP?
The GUI of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) could be improved. It's not something regarding how it processes or blocks, as that's perfect. However, it still feels a bit legacy regarding the GU...
What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP?
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is a perfect product for load balancing and WAF, and I would recommend it far more than any other product. The load balancing capabilities of F5 BIG-IP Local T...
 

Also Known As

Thunder SSLi
F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Klein Independent School District
Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about Broadcom, A10 Networks, Fidelis Security and others in SSL/TLS Decryption. Updated: October 2025.
871,829 professionals have used our research since 2012.