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F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs SecureLink 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

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)
SecureLink
Average Rating
7.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (32nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and SecureLink 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 12.4%, down 15.3% compared to last year.
SecureLink, on the other hand, focuses on Enterprise Infrastructure VPN, holds 0.9% mindshare, up 0.5% since last year.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)12.4%
NetScaler11.5%
Fortinet FortiADC8.4%
Other67.7%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SecureLink0.9%
OpenVPN Access Server11.7%
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks6.3%
Other81.1%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

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.
FS
Deputy Head of IT at a legal firm with 501-1,000 employees
Efficient technical support with good synchronization features, but it needs better security
We would like to be to secure access to all of the servers for all of the internal workers and engineers. We would like to have tools that provide us with security for our servers. I would like to see an improved repository to better see the users. We have a new project that requires a lot of security we will not continue with SecureLink. The security features offered in SecureLink are not enough.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the proxy."
"Currently, it's distributing the load perfectly, as per my understanding of our requirements."
"In my experience, I have received excellent support from F5 for any technical issues that I or my customers have faced."
"The support from F5 BIG-IP LTM is good."
"Very stable OS over all."
"We're able to do load balancing and global load balancing. When you marry those two products together, you can do a lot more. We're able to deliver our applications more securely and faster. It has improved our deliverability where we have more service across the shared data centers. We can intelligently reach all of those client connections across all of the servers and do it fairly quickly. It has helped improve our application delivery and performance."
"I've checked out the market and I think Big-IP/Viprion is the best ADC your money can buy at the moment."
"The most valuable feature of F5 BIG-IP LTM is it helps our delivery team to make policies and rules for application."
"Technical support is very efficient and very supportive."
"The most valuable feature is synchronizing the limited access for partners or sub-contractors."
 

Cons

"It is a hardware load balancer, and its installation procedure is more complex than a software load balancer. There are pros and cons of using hardware load balancing. You have to have specific hardware deployed in your data center to activate this load balancer. They never came up with any software-based load balancing solution. It is all hardware-based."
"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 SharePoint SSO part has some room for improvement."
"A more hybrid approach would be beneficial for users."
"For what we're using, it's an expensive solution."
"Security and Reporting."
"Ultimately, the service has not affected our customers. However, there was a failure in one of the nodes that became infected. F5 BIG-IP did not sense that the virus was there. The security didn't function."
"The initial setup can be complex - it's quite flexible in terms of configuration, but the person configuring it needs to understand the application side, the network side, and the server."
"The security features offered in SecureLink are not enough."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 with the support."
"It is sort of a commodity product. A load balancer is a load balancer. What will be, at the end of the day, the cheapest option or have the best performance, that is what it will come down to."
"The cost is high for this product, so it's not suitable for small customers, e.g. those with small environments."
"It is a bit expensive product. Kemp Loadmaster is much cheaper than F5. Its licensing is on a yearly basis. It can be for one year or three years."
"F5 pricing is too high, compared to Citrix."
"Great product for the money. But they can get really expensive, so get what meets your needs."
"The only area that has room for improvement would be pricing, so its competitors do not have a say."
"Take a look at the modules that you are going to use. Look into the best bundles for them."
"We are not happy with the recent increase in the price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Healthcare Company
18%
Construction Company
16%
Hospitality Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise32
Large Enterprise86
No data available
 

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...
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Also Known As

F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.
NISC, Sotera Wireless, InterSystems, Allscripts, Cerner, Allscripts
Find out what your peers are saying about F5, HAProxy, NetScaler and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC). Updated: July 2026.
903,182 professionals have used our research since 2012.