F5 Advanced WAF Reviews

We use the F5  Web Application firewall to protect our corporate web server. The security of our web is our absolute highest priority.

We've only been using this solution for six months now, so we can't really see any improvement yet.

The most valuable feature is network detection intelligence and the ability to get extra internal access. I don't have knowledge about all the functions but, because it is a fully automatic process, the devices scan a lot of traffic. It is automatically set up to protect our web.

The administrator's user interface and some of the settings can sometimes be very complicated to understand. It would really help if they could be easier and more user-friendly. Perhaps the developers can add a training video that shows users what to do. I am sure it is a good product and you only need some experience to become familiar with it.

Another thing that may need improvement, is upgrading from one version to another. It is good, but it can be faster. 

We've been testing the F5 -BIG-AWF-VE Web Application for six months now and we plan to implement the solution in July.

It is a very stable solution. We currently have three administrators and about 300 users working on it.

The scalability is great because we can change or set this device up for almost everything. We can even extend to other functions and buy new licenses - this product will automatically adapt to these new functions. For example, we can buy a license and F5 will automatically extend to these functions. It is a very simple process to extend functionality to this device. You only need to install the license and configure it.

The technical support is perfect. Our company is a corporate partner, and we can also use services directly from other international support centers.

It was a very difficult decision to find the right solution. We used open source software before to protect our system's open source architecture.
We switched to F5 WAF because, for us, professional services are absolutely necessary. There are other cheaper options on the market, but when you need support, it can sometimes be a problem. 

We've incorporated our partner and he initiated the setup of this device. He used both the manual and the automatic setup options, and then he compared the two options. And now, as we are in production, we choose either automatic setup or manual setup. The automatic setup is quite easy, but the manual setup is complicated. It all depends on what you want from the product.

Our partner was responsible for the initial setup. 

I will rate the product a nine out of ten. 

In general, the web interface is not really catchy. It's very powerful, very customizable, but it doesn't have a very nice GUI interface for a new adopter. For them, they'd have to do a lot of configuring. At least the reporting and monitoring parts, let's say, to be honest, should have a better interface. A few other products have very nice dashboards, out of the box, and F5 is not that friendly to use.

Also, when you buy WAF, you have to buy another module called APM to do authentication. You have to buy another module with an extra license, to have the authentication feature. Other vendors have it interwoven. For example, I don't know if Barracuda has it, but Citrix has it under the same license. So maybe add authentication functionality in the AOS license, and not separate.

I've been using the solutions for 10 years.

The stability is perfect. 10 out of 10. We've not had any trouble with any deployment ever. And they are very big deployments: service providers, TelCos, banking, everywhere. Even on distant parts of the network, we have not had any kind of performance issues. Of course, as long as the sizing is within the appliance performance range. But it never has had a failure in performance or degradation of service or anything like this, as long as the full-time traffic is within the box capability, we've never had an issue.

It's scalable. 

We are a partner for F5, or a system integrator, not the client. So we do the implementation for other companies. I've been working with F5 for more than 10 years, so I know them very well. 

I like them because I like the security solution. They get extra marks compared to other solutions or competitors. There are more features than any other product I can think of. They're always monitoring, and the security features offer more than other, lesser products.

I would rate this solution 10 out of 10.

Most of the time, we use it as a load balancer. It's for the client’s applications. They then apply WAF policies, of course, if the customer wants, and also an APM solution, like VPN access or Web Box, like a web and reverse protocol. Customers vary in terms of what they want.

The WAF and APM are very useful. I like the modules.

The solution has been mostly stable and reliable.

It can scale.

The BNS module needs improvement.

I’ve been using the solution for the last four and a half or five years. It’s been a while.

Most of the time, the stability is okay. For the most part, we don’t have issues with bugs or the solution crashing. It’s fine.

The solution can scale as necessary.

We have a lot of telecom and banking clients that use the solution. I’m not sure how much in total each client has in terms of users. Whoever would be using it would be more on the technical side.

We do plan to increase usage and to continue to offer this to our clients.

We help with the support as well as implementation. If a client runs into issues, they can always talk to us.

I’ve contacted the technical support of F5. However, I haven’t used them that much. They have always been okay. I’ve never had issues with them.

Sometimes the setup is straightforward. Other times it’s more complicated. It depends on the client and the project. How long the deployment takes depends on what they want.

You only need one person to handle deployment and maintenance tasks.

We are an integrator and can help customers set up the solution.

While there may be a potential for ROI, I don’t track it.

I’m not sure about the licensing. I don’t handle this aspect of the product.

We’re platinum partners with F5 in Greece. We’re integrators and resellers. We work with different versions.

The solution can be deployed both on the cloud and on-premises.

I’d recommend the solution to others.

I would rate the solution nine out of ten. We’ve been pretty happy with its capabilities.

Public Cloud

Microsoft Azure

We use the F5 Advanced WAF for TicTac on house applications at our Induction University.

One of the most valuable features is the Local Traffic Manager.

The Sandbox integration feature could be improved.

I have been using F5 Advanced WAF for approximately one year.

F5 Advanced WAF is reliable.

The solution is scalable.

We have one customer that has multiple sites that use this solution. They have 24 universities using the clusters.

The technical support is good.

The installation is straightforward.

I am able to do the installation by myself.

There is an annual subscription for this solution.

I would recommend this solution to others that are satisfied with the load balancer provided. If not then they could go to another solution with different load balancers for their needs.

I rate F5 Advanced WAF a nine out of ten.

On-premises

Our primary use case for this solution is web application security. We deploy this solution on-premises.

We have found the accessibility feature most valuable. For example, the solution is easily accessible on mobile and laptop devices and allows you to send and receive money from anyone.

The delay times on firmware patches and software updates could be better and improved.

We have been using this solution for seven years.

The solution is stable.

The solution is scalable.

The initial setup is complex but easy once you understand the product.

Their pricing is very good for the quality of the product they have delivered in the market. It is a standard licensing cost annually.

We chose this product because we believe it is the best product for us. There are other firewalls in the market, but you always look for the best as a vendor.