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F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Symantec VIP Access Manager 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

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)
Symantec VIP Access Manager
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (16th), Access Management (30th)
 

Mindshare comparison

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and Symantec VIP Access Manager 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 11.4%, down 15.7% compared to last year.
Symantec VIP Access Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Authentication Systems, holds 2.1% mindshare, up 1.8% since last year.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)11.4%
NetScaler11.7%
HAProxy8.3%
Other68.6%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Symantec VIP Access Manager2.1%
Microsoft Entra ID5.6%
Okta Platform4.6%
Other87.7%
Authentication Systems
 

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.
Berk Onur - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Consultant at Cyberwise
With its mobile application, this tool offers a convenient and user-friendly experience to its users
To improve the tool, I think that the solution should consider integrations with other cybersecurity and IT technologies, such as Privileged Access Management and Site Integration. Additionally, the implementation of second-factor authentication via Symantec VIP Access Manager, CyberArk, and Delinea, among other technologies, could be best for the product. While the existing technology is okay, improving the integration capabilities for Symantec VIP Access Manager would benefit the product. I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company. While many cybersecurity solutions can function independently, they often lack integration with our systems due to missed integration points. Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Initial setup is easy and pretty standard."
"The v11 clustering is a new technology they have brought in that does not require improvement. They are the leader in it."
"Before using F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager, I evaluated Citrix, Cisco, and several others, and no other solution ever came up to quite the specs that we were looking for in terms of flexibility, capabilities, integrations, and ease of implementation."
"it has TCP LAN and WAN optimization features. It has has caching."
"It is a very good, flexible solution, and it helps us to catch up on flaws in our partner solutions on top of its load balancing feature."
"BIG-IP LTM's most valuable feature is that it allows you to seamlessly add more servers without impacting your application's configuration."
"Global DNS, Link Controller, and Server Load Balancer provide our company service with high availability."
"Its user interface is very easy to use on a day-to-day basis. It is very user-friendly."
"It offers more platform support, like Apple, Android, and Microsoft."
"The solution has helped to increase staff productivity by approximately a minute."
"The product is useful for providing user access from an in-built office server as we follow the work-from-home model."
"The main benefit of Symantec VIP is that it provides strong authentication while keeping it as a very user friendly experience."
"VIP is a strong, cloud-based authentication service that enables organizations to secure access to networks and applications to prevent unauthorized logins to company resources, even when passwords have been compromised or shared."
"Cloud-based service and management."
"Integration with Citrix Access Gateway, Microsoft Office 365 and Single Sign-On (through Symantec Validation and ID Protection Access Manager) has increased the productivity of the employees for accessing resources."
"The tool has been very stable, in my experience. Also, I haven't faced any issues or problems with integration or connectivity."
 

Cons

"The GUI of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) could be improved."
"I would recommend that the cost be lowered."
"The user experience for dashboards and reports can be improved."
"There is a need for a more modular version to concentrate on the current monolithic structure of both the virtual and hardware versions."
"One area for improvement with F5 BIG-IP LTM could be its pricing, which some may find on the higher side."
"I wouldn't recommend the tool to small companies, considering its high price and the infrastructure needs of small businesses."
"The pricing of the product is a bit too high."
"F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager is expensive. Pricing needs to be improved."
"It gets out of sync with Active Directory or whatever it might be, whatever the authentication piece is on Active Directory, and they just reset it on the backend. I never have to contact the vendor."
"The User Store synchronization part needs to improve. Also, the logs, reports, and dashboard can be improved."
"There are some shortcomings on the reporting side, such as how many connections you can get per month."
"The VIP Manager can be accessed from the outside which is a security vulnerability."
"Technical support is one of the worst problems."
"Every time that I have a new phone or computer, it takes a little longer to deploy it."
"It is challenging to use when installing a new version."
"At times, the relay server could not contact Symantec; it would fail open and allow access without a passcode."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is a bit expensive."
"F5 is more expensive than other solutions, so you have to be sure F5 is the best solution to fit the requirements."
"It is quite expensive as a product. Because it is very stable, it is also expensive."
"Take a look at the modules that you are going to use. Look into the best bundles for them."
"In my view, the cost is somewhat on the higher side. There are discounts available, but I wouldn't say it's overpriced. It's not cheap either, and the value for money is a bit higher from that perspective."
"It could be priced a little less, especially on the virtual side. It gets a bit expensive, but you get what you pay."
"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."
"Purchasing through the AWS Marketplace was good. We chose to go through the AWS Marketplace because everything that we needed was a soft appliance. We needed something to work in Amazon, and this product was available there."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
"There is a one-time setup fee plus the licenses are provided as per the number of users. For SMS and voice calls, the costs are separate."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

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 Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

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
Symantec VIP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about F5, HAProxy, NetScaler and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC). Updated: October 2026.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.