NGINX App Protect and Azure Web Application Firewall are competitors in the web application security space. Azure appears to have the upper hand due to its ease of integration within its ecosystem and cost-effective pricing options.
Features: NGINX App Protect is known for its flexibility, reverse proxy capabilities, and open-source nature. It is effective in managing HTTP sessions and traffic inspection while offering command-line interface support. Azure Web Application Firewall is highlighted for its easy configuration, seamless Azure ecosystem integration, and effective request filtering with custom rules.
Room for Improvement: NGINX App Protect could improve its flexibility in configuration and face challenges with integration and throughput. It also needs better dashboard views and simpler policy management. Azure Web Application Firewall could enhance its documentation and provide clearer deployment tutorials. It would benefit from more affordable pricing plans for medium to small enterprises.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NGINX App Protect supports both on-premises and cloud environments but has inconsistent technical support. Azure Web Application Firewall is easier to deploy within Azure with generally good support, though improvements are needed for non-Microsoft environments.
Pricing and ROI: NGINX App Protect offers varied pricing based on needs and is considered expensive, though beneficial for network security. Azure Web Application Firewall offers flexible, enterprise-friendly pricing, making it attractive for larger deployments, though attention to cost management is essential.
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Recently, they have been under serious attack with major exploits, such as Log4j, affecting Fortinet and Palo Alto, and even Cisco and VMware.
I hardly use Microsoft's paid subscription or maintenance services, however, whenever I send them a note, they have been responsive.
I am very satisfied with the response from Microsoft dedicated architects if it happens that I have to call for their support.
They were quick and efficient when we had issues.
Some Azure applications, like the web application firewall, require a certain level of SKU for hosting setup.
Very rarely do I see any latency issues.
It is a quality solution, and I would rate its stability as eight out of ten.
Upgrading the platform regularly is necessary for security, however, frequent updates every six months or year from Azure can be a maintenance overhead.
There was more information from F5 regarding hardware requirements and specifications to deploy the service.
It is even a lower cost compared to AWS and GCP.
Sometimes, when opting for a higher SKU, it's not the WAF itself that's costly but the additional requirements.
With Microsoft, everything is within a single suite, making it easier to configure and plan.
It is almost impossible to access these assets from outside, requiring a very skilled attacker to obtain asset tokens of a customer using Azure.
The most valuable feature is the ability to operate in a DevOps environment and to be configured through API and pipeline by the developers themselves.
Detecting bots and blocking IPs have proven effective for securing applications.
Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) provides centralized protection of your web applications from common exploits and vulnerabilities. Web applications are increasingly targeted by malicious attacks that exploit commonly known vulnerabilities. SQL injection and cross-site scripting are among the most common attacks.
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NGINX App Protect application security solution combines the efficacy of advanced F5 web application firewall (WAF) technology with the agility and performance of NGINX Plus. The solution runs natively on NGINX Plus and addresses some of the most difficult challenges facing modern DevOps environments:
NGINX App Protect offers:
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