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F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Imperva Data Security Fabric 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.6
Many companies found F5 BIG-IP LTM beneficial for security and deployment, with mixed views on ROI depending on pricing.
Sentiment score
6.2
Imperva Data Security Fabric boosted productivity and compliance, saving time and reducing incidents, though costs varied by business size.
The major return on investment is the security of our data.
IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital
My thoughts on the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of the Imperva SecureSphere Database Security are that it could be more competitive.
Group Head of Information Security at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
F5 BIG-IP LTM support experiences vary, with mixed reviews on responsiveness, knowledge, community resources, and regional support efficacy.
Sentiment score
6.1
Imperva Data Security Fabric's customer service is mixed; praised for expertise but criticized for inconsistent response times and support levels.
Customer support is quite good but could be faster.
Network Engineer at Stryker
Overall, my experience with F5 is very good compared to Radware.
Security Analyst at IBM
I would rate the technical support of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) nine out of ten.
IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital
Local vendors provide on-ground support, and if issues cannot be resolved, a support ticket is raised to the OEM via a portal.
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Regarding customer support, I would like to see improvements in response time.
Group Head of Information Security at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
F5 BIG-IP LTM offers scalable integration with AWS, suitable for enterprises, but requires careful sizing to avoid constraints.
Sentiment score
6.6
Imperva Data Security Fabric is praised for seamless scalability, flexibility across devices, efficient resource management, and adaptability to industries.
The scalability of the Imperva SecureSphere Database Security in accommodating the organization's growth and database security needs is excellent.
Group Head of Information Security at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
The solution works well for large organizations and enterprise levels if appropriately sized during the setup.
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
F5 BIG-IP LTM is stable and reliable, with occasional bugs manageable through updates, supported by responsive customer service.
Sentiment score
6.9
Imperva Data Security Fabric is stable and reliable but may experience issues under heavy load or poor configuration.
It is important to manage it correctly by performing health checks with the vendor.
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
I rate the stability of Imperva SecureSphere Database Security as nine because there are ongoing integration processes between Imperva and Thales.
BDM at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
 

Room For Improvement

F5 BIG-IP LTM needs better cost-effectiveness, user interface, cloud integration, documentation, security, automation, and a flexible licensing model.
Imperva Data Security Fabric struggles with interface, performance, scalability, high costs, and limited support for modern databases.
I expect faster resolutions when providing contact numbers while raising cases, as other companies typically do.
Network Engineer at Stryker
The pricing of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is on the higher side compared to competitors, but it is worth it.
Security Analyst at IBM
The archiving functionalities should be enhanced to allow easy conversion of archived logs into CSV or Excel formats for data analysis.
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
We cannot be competitive by price alone, though in terms of quality, Imperva SecureSphere Database Security is the best compared to Russian import products and building products such as Garda, which attempt to copy Imperva's data activity monitoring and database firewall functionality.
BDM at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Imperva Data Security Fabric can be improved by being more useful for creating security policies that help to convince customers.
Cyber Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

F5 BIG-IP LTM is feature-rich but costly, especially in AWS; consult F5 for tailored licensing options.
Imperva Data Security Fabric pricing is varied and competitive, with flexible models for different company sizes and needs.
The price is high, but it is not as high as competitors like IBM, Guardian, and Oracle.
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

F5 BIG-IP LTM excels in load balancing, security, and customization, enhancing performance and reliability for complex network environments.
Imperva Data Security Fabric offers comprehensive protection, real-time monitoring, seamless integration, user-friendly interface, and robust security features for databases.
The impact of SSL offloading on reducing server load and latency is very much positive because whatever traffic we receive, we encrypt at our F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) level, which has definitely reduced the additional load and SSL decryption load on the servers, so it has very much helped us and it is very smooth; it will not take much time and will not impact our regular traffic.
Security Analyst at IBM
R-series has better CPU and memory, leading to higher throughput with minimal downtime, making it a significant improvement over the I-series.
Network Engineer at Stryker
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.
IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital
Imperva SecureSphere Database Security provides one of the best solutions to analyze data, maintain GDPR compliance, and help investigate any incidents.
BDM at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
The real-time alerts and remediation actions available in Imperva SecureSphere Database Security have helped me promptly address security incidents.
Group Head of Information Security at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
The best features Imperva Data Security Fabric offers include the ability for all cloud databases to be integrated with Imperva Data Security Fabric, allowing me to monitor those.
Cyber Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Man...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
124
Ranking in other categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (1st)
Imperva Data Security Fabric
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Database Security (2nd), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and Imperva Data Security Fabric aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is designed for Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) and holds a mindshare of 12.6%, down 15.3% compared to last year.
Imperva Data Security Fabric, on the other hand, focuses on Database Security, holds 24.8% mindshare, down 30.8% since last year.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)12.6%
NetScaler11.8%
HAProxy8.7%
Other66.9%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
Database Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Imperva Data Security Fabric24.8%
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection26.7%
Oracle Audit Vault9.3%
Other39.2%
Database Security
 

Q&A Highlights

MK
Network/System Engineer at NA
May 11, 2020
 

Featured Reviews

edshyaa - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at Stryker
Load balancing has improved traffic distribution and currently supports high availability upgrades
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) offers effective load balancing methods that help distribute traffic across our servers, whether we have two or several. This load balancing feature stands out as it is the fundamental work we do with F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM). While I recognize there are many features, such as iRules, which I have not explored yet, we primarily work on VIPs, pool members, and traffic distribution. The load balancing algorithms' flexibility makes them very useful for our team, enabling us to choose different servers and manage load effectively. We use various methods based on user or application requirements, making the algorithms set up by F5 in the backend quite helpful. F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) positively impacts our organization primarily through its load balancing capabilities. We avoid traffic overload on individual servers by placing backend servers behind F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) VIP. This load balancing helps us manage traffic effectively. Since the configuration of the I-series, we have had smooth performance, and with the recent migration to the R-series, it is working faster than before, providing positive outcomes for our operations. Since moving to the R-series, I notice improved performance; it is user-friendly and handles traffic efficiently. The upgrading process is different as we create tenants and a main host. R-series has better CPU and memory, leading to higher throughput with minimal downtime, making it a significant improvement over the I-series.
reviewer1876449 - PeerSpot reviewer
BDM at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Has provided wide data coverage and supports flexible implementation for growing database environments
Imperva SecureSphere Database Security offers the most comprehensive coverage range of database types, which is a significant advantage. It has very flexible implementation modes and an understandable console. Even someone who is not a database administrator could work with it, understand the security events, and comprehend the data activity monitoring events.Data is the most important asset in any organization and the primary target of hackers. Imperva SecureSphere Database Security provides one of the best solutions to analyze data, maintain GDPR compliance, and help investigate any incidents. It is user-friendly and can start with a small scope. Unlike competitors such as IBM Guardium and Oracle, customers can start with a small scope and scale every year. This advantage allows them to invest less money initially while learning the solution. Year after year, they can add value scope and cover more databases in their organization with high quality. We have been working with Imperva SecureSphere Database Security for about 10 years. I started working with this project about five years ago.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise32
Large Enterprise86
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise32
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP?
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) could improve file upload speeds when opening cases and attaching files; sometimes, downloading files like QKView takes time, depending on size. I expect faste...
What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP?
My main use case for F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is placing our applications on F5 and the backend servers on the pool. We also regularly renew SSL certificates before they expire, usuall...
How does IBM Guardium Data Protection compare with Imperva SecureSphere Database Security?
IBM Security Guardium Data Protection is a solution for database security from IBM that gives complete visibility, control, and analysis to secure sensitive data and comply with regulations. IBM S...
 

Also Known As

F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP
Imperva SecureSphere Database Security, jSonar, Imperva's Data Security Posture Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.
BlueCross BlueShield, eHarmony, EMF Broadcasting, GE Healthcare, Metro Bank, The Motley Fool, Siemens
Find out what your peers are saying about F5, HAProxy, NetScaler and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC). Updated: May 2026.
902,270 professionals have used our research since 2012.