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ClearScale Windows Server 2025 vs F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] comparison

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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

ClearScale Windows Server 2025
Ranking in AWS Marketplace
428th
Average Rating
10.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only]
Ranking in AWS Marketplace
159th
Average Rating
8.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2858658 - PeerSpot reviewer
Works at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
Automated hardening has standardized our servers and reduces effort for secure Windows workloads
The first-boot time is longer than a stock Windows AMI. Sysprep and the initial hardening pass add a noticeable delay before the instance is reachable, which is something to account for if you autoscale and need nodes ready quickly. The hardened defaults also occasionally trip up common installers and agents. A few of our deployment and monitoring tools assumed services or policies that the image had locked down, so we had to add exceptions. A short compatibility checklist of what the hardening changes from a default Windows install would have saved us that debugging. I would also like the option of a CIS Level 2 build for our more sensitive workloads since the image currently only ships a Level 1 baseline. Thanks.
Dimitrov Nikolay - PeerSpot reviewer
Tech Lead and Senior DevOps Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Advanced automation and powerful traffic controls have improved application security
HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 support is something that definitely could be improved in F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only]. I mean HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 protocol support, as well as security for them too. For F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] to have better support for them would include load balancing, but also better WAF (Web Application Firewall) support for these two protocols. Improving the mentioned HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 support and the GUI would be beneficial. If they improve those things and add machine learning and AI, I want it to have some kind of AI on the box because everyone is going to AI, and they have to add some AI security to be able to check the traffic using AI models. HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 protocol support, AI, the GUI to be changed, and inline AI where the device downloads pre-built AI models from a SaaS cloud to check the traffic for security is something I think is very needed because using AI models as a replacement for signatures will be better. I think WAF signatures are a thing of the past. I would also like to see HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 in the future as additional features, and anything else I would improve would definitely include HTTP/2 and HTTP/3.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Windows Server 2025 is a strong fit for enterprise environments heavily reliant on Microsoft technologies."
"Because the image arrives CIS Level 1 hardened with the AWS tooling already in place, our servers come up patched, locked down, and ready to join the domain without a separate build out pass."
"F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] is the best option on the market without any question."
"F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] is an application delivery controller that does what it says on the tin, and we use it as a firewall, routing device, WAF, and more, leveraging a full set of its capabilities."
"For performance, reliability, and flexibility, F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] is significantly ahead."
"The best features for me in the product are that geotagging is very nicely incorporated and rule creation for incoming traffic is very user-friendly."
"The customization that iRule gives is far beyond what is available in the market when comparing to their competitors including Radware, Array, and other vendors."
"F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] data plane is very powerful; traffic is processed very quickly."
 

Cons

"Initial configuration complexity can still be high for teams without prior Windows Server expertise."
"The hardened defaults also occasionally trip up common installers and agents: a few of our deployment and monitoring tools assumed services or policies that the image had locked down, so we had to add exceptions."
"I am not sure whether putting all eggs in one basket is a good thing."
"One of the areas for improvement in F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] is the licensing part, as the cost is comparatively very high."
"F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] is expensive; it is very expensive, but they are the leader, so everyone buys F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only]."
"I see a drawback with F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only]: pools and nodes are two features that are very similar and shouldn't be divided like that, because they are almost the same thing."
"I think F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] can be improved, particularly on the metric side."
"I would appreciate improvements in the UI because F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only]'s traditional UI differs from others that have made their interfaces more user-friendly; F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only]'s approach is still traditional, with upgrades that are still manual, while competition has made upgrades easy with one-click processes."
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Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ClearScale Windows Server 2025?
The software charge sits on top of the underlying Windows EC2 cost, which is already higher than Linux, so model both together before you commit to a large fleet. The hourly model suited our autosc...
What needs improvement with ClearScale Windows Server 2025?
The first-boot time is longer than a stock Windows AMI. Sysprep and the initial hardening pass add a noticeable delay before the instance is reachable, which is something to account for if you auto...
What is your primary use case for ClearScale Windows Server 2025?
We use ClearScale Windows Server 2025 as the base image for our .NET and IIS application servers on EC2. These instances host internal line of business web applications and Windows services, and se...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only]?
My thoughts on the pricing, setup cost, and licensing part of F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] are that for some markets, F5 prices are not competitive with what the competition is offering; although...
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only]?
I would appreciate improvements in the UI because F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only]'s traditional UI differs from others that have made their interfaces more user-friendly; F5 BIG-IP [Private Offe...
What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only]?
My use cases for F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] include working on F5 ASM, and I feel the differentiator is their iRule and the detection capability, which will be differentiators compared to other...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about ClearScale Windows Server 2025 vs. F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
921,523 professionals have used our research since 2012.