F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Reviews

LTM is a full-reverse proxy, handling connections from clients. The F5 LTM uses Virtual Services (VSs) and Virtual IPs (VIPs) to configure a load balancing setup for a service. We have used this feature in many applications, especially for HTTP and HTTPS.

There is room for improvement with their firmware quality control. A bug in the firmware caused hardware failures.

I have been using it for one year.

Unfortunately, we faced hardware failures and a lot of other problems, as well.

With the hardware failure problem, we faced a management problem via the GUI. We could only manage the device through the CLI. The issue was caused by a firmware bug.

In addition, health check statistics like CPU and memory utilization were not correct.

It is F5’s responsibility to solve those problems, and I don’t know how they can release firmware with such bugs to their customers.

F5 support can be rated low on the scale, as there is a problem regarding handover between their engineers when we follow-up with them about some technical cases.

I recommend considering NetScaler, as well.

We mainly use the following F5 modules 

ISP environments:

• CGNAT
• DNS firewall
• Load balancer
• WAF to be sold as a service to their clients

Enterprise environments:

• Web application firewall
• Load balancer
• Application policy manager
• Fraud protection (Web and mobile)
• DDoS (on-premise, and cloud-based)

iRule: It's a great feature that helped us multiple times have an advantage over competition (during PoCs) performing some traffic control/management functions that are not supported out of the box. Use Case: One client was deploying a new web app, where video/chat Traffic is configured over the SOCKS protocol. We used iRule to disable the WAF Inspection when a SOCKS protocol packet passed through (because it is not supported), and enable the WAF Inspection for all other URLs on the same Web page. (No other vendor in our region was able to provide that.)

Appliance Performance: One of the main advantages we always have over competition is in hardware performance, where the smallest F5 appliances compete with competitors’ medium to high-end appliances, while high-end devices can sit in the datacenter without risking performance degradation.

• Reporting: One of the negative things about F5 is there is no place to generate a summary/executive/detailed report about everything happening on the box, especially for WAF & APM events. The only way to get some kind of report is enable the AVR module, and manually export the data required into PDF/XLS documents.
• GUI interface: F5 appliances lack a standard dashboard page, where it shows a summary for all events on the boxes. (This is usually available with firewalls & IPSs...) In the F5 GUI, we have to perform multiple steps to reach the required info, but there is no simple (and attractive) GUI interface when compared to some other WAF competitors.
• Event notifications

I have not encountered any stability issues. It is a very stable product, even in big, high-load deployments. What I mean is that all F5 Hardware appliances are very stable and does not cause any performance degradation or failure when it has a high load (Of course a supported load).

We have deployment for different modules of F5 (LTM, ASM, CGNAT...) in Data Centers and in Telco's Public network, and we have never heard any complaints or of issues from our clients regarding the performance. - no packet drops, delays or disconnections.

We only encountered issues with small appliances, 2000s, when we needed to add more than two modules...

Technical support is great.

We previously used Cisco ACE (for load balancing & WAF). We switched because the Cisco ACE solution features were very basic compared to F5. Plus, the solutions line was discontinued several years ago.

Initial setup is straightforward; easy deployment with lots of available online documentation.

F5 Prices are considered higher then competitive solutions, but performance & features are worth the extra money.

Over our year of engagement with F5, we evaluated multiple products from other vendors and competed with many others, and we always found F5 products to be our first and best choice to advise our customers to use, with respect to:

• Performance, protection, stability, scalability
• Being modular based, for a better long term investment

F5 is dedicated to a specific technology line, which makes it the best of breed in the application delivery market. F5's main business is always focused on application delivery, whether in availability, security, or performance.

F5 is a very stable and recommended product, whether needed on the internet edge or inside the data center. It can provide different application delivery solutions, such as:

• Load balancing
• Web application firewall
• Access policy manager
• Web fraud
• DDoS protection.

I rate it nine out of 10 because we are an F5 partner, and we have been selling and deploying different F5 modules for different industry vectors. In any deployment we always had a great customer experience, mainly in the following areas:

• performance stability 
• overall stability
• rich features in the appliances, that customers can benefit from.

It's a modular-based appliance. You can double the performance specs by a license upgrade, and regarding features you can add a license for additional modules (E.g.: Web application firewall, application policy manager, fraud, DDoS). In general, for a client doing a proper ROI over five years, F5 appliances become their preferred choice.

Primary use case for the product is high availability and load sharing of applications to be serviced. Also, it provides application security by use of the Application Security Manager.

It has enabled us to keep a sustainable and supported load balancing platform. This is partly due to Cisco withdrawing a large number of their load balancing products and also related to Microsoft Network Load Balancing not scaling enough to suit our needs.

The most valuable feature is the F5 LTM (Local Traffic Manager). This is the part of the product most organisations will be using most. It provides the core functionality to be able to load balance services and the means and the intelligence to be able to load balance based on advanced logic, e.g., TCL scripting.

The F5 GTM/BIGIP DNS (Global Traffic Manager) is another valuable feature. This feature allows for DNS load balancing, which means that high availability and load sharing can be done across services locally, as well as across datacenters with advanced capabilities.

I would like F5 to incorporate the ability to create your own custom roles and customised permissions within the product set. I have seen many customers wanting to give a certain level of access for the purposes of out-of-hours servicing to out-of-hours staff or teams that fulfill an operations type role.

For example, I would like to see the ability to create roles within F5 where I can specify permissions instead of choosing from a set list that does not always fit my organisation’s needs. The current roles available out-of-the-box do not allow for enough granularity for an operator role to take pool resources offline and push or commit those changes to the configuration/HA cluster. Every role within the F5 that can make changes should be able to commit those changes if the administrator(s) permits.

Three to five years.

Stability has never been an issue with F5 BIG-IP. The product is geared predominantly at providing stability and resiliency across your infrastructure.

No issues with scalability have been encountered. I would say that this has largely been due to having a good F5 consultant and consultancy throughout the buying process and implementation. This has ensured that the product being purchased can scale past our current needs and fulfill potential future needs.

I would give a 10 out of 10. Technical support through F5 is very thorough. On most occasions, the F5 DevCentral and support website generally gives you a lot of the expertise that you need without having to raise a support ticket. If you ever reach the stage of needing to raise a support ticket, you usually are handed quickly to someone who is able to deal with your query as efficiently as possible.

Previously, I have used Cisco load balancing, e.g., Cisco CSM, Cisco ACE, Microsoft Network Load Balancing, and Cisco GSS. Previously, Cisco load balancing or Microsoft NLB had always been the preferred options. However, since Cisco discontinued most of their load balancing products, it makes it very difficult to find products of the same grade and functionality. Since we began using F5 that gap in functionality has been filled. With F5, you get not just standard load balancing, but an array of other highly useful products to boot.

The licensing pricing seems relatively easy enough to get your head around. I would advise anyone to ensure that you have a conversation with an F5 consultant before purchasing, as you would with most products. An F5 consultant is the best placed to understand your needs and ensure that you purchase the correct licensing and products for your requirements.

We did evaluate other options. We had already used products such as NetScaler, Microsoft NLB, and a vast array of Cisco load balancing products. F5 was chosen due to the level of power that the product has. I have not seen many single solutions that fulfill all the criteria that an F5 BIG-IP appliance can.

It is not superior to its competitors due to how advanced the features are and the modules that can be used. The product can be used with iRules, which are an advanced ways of making functions available on a load balancer via use of scripting in TCL.

I would strongly advise seeking technical consultation throughout purchasing and during implementation. This is usually because you can get good advice around best practises as well as utilising as much of the F5 features as possible. In some cases, you might even find yourself finding a solution to scenarios that you might not have been aware had a solution.

I rated this product four and a half stars, because of the level of advanced features available in the product versus cost. Though functionality is high, its cost can be considered slightly higher than its competitors.

LTM: Load balancing, SSL offloading, iRules, iApp,

LTM has been able to demonstrate an immediate return on investment, reducing the cost of server estate upgrades (both in terms of the numbers of required tin, reduced service impact through upgrades, server/website availability managed up to near 100% through redundancy management, improved human resource management (moving OOH work into daylight, reducing operational budget requirements)

LTM – the product is fine and all features that I have deployed have proven to be stable. TMOS release schedule is very dynamic. Major releases (9-10, 10-11) could have been made easier if configuration migration assistants had been more finessed prior to release.

4 years

No major issues with deployment. Care must be taken with infrastructure deploys – close engagement is required with Network Support and Firewall Support areas, but once the platforms are stable, module deployment is very simple. As per my previous comment, moving from release to release can be complicated by things like bigpipe command deprecation (or removal: thank you v11!!), especially if a large iRule base has been developed on the modules.

At the module level, no. They are not as stable as System Z, but they are not far off. Hardware can be a little more susceptible to failure at the component level.

None. Appliance based options (physical and virtual), blended with Viprion/vCMP mean that these solutions have been able to scale to support enterprise class ADC offerings.

Customer Service: First class. F5 have demonstrated a willingness to support us through all issues, from architecture, deployment BAU support and high incidents. I can’t recommend them and their product offering highly enoughTechnical Support: Again, first class. It can sometimes be challenging to find even support partners with the requisite knowledge of the most cutting edge features, but only because F5 seem to develop at such a blistering rate.

No. F5 was a virgin solution to a point problem and quickly grew to a central position in the management of our enterprise infrastructure and digital tier by demonstrating quickly a value contribution made to our live service offering.

Straightforward and complex. Infrastructure setup on the boxes themselves was straightforward, although challenges in working with Network/Firewall departments made the exercise slightly more interesting. Basic LTM configuration OOB is very easy. IRules demand considerably more time and attention to develop properly.

In house, and I would rate their level of expertise as of the very best, since it was myself and a single colleague that built the entire infrastructure.

Significant and immediate.

Full analysis of the ADC space was undertaken, evaluating all competitors in the GMQ. All were discounted because of the vast distance between technologies and their capabilities. F5 was the clear and only choice for us.

Look to Enterprise Architecture before striking a key. These boxes are multiply capable, so allowing development through capability can lead to hugely complex deployments. There is (almost) nothing these boxes can’t do, including providing “tactical” solutions to application issues. Left unconstrained by a robust Architecture model, these boxes WILL grow like topsy, and the complexity of the solutions demanded by any business hungry for rapid delivery will grow into a box of fixes that only SME-level network/security/F5 technicians can manage on even a day-to-day basis. Make sure that the Enterprise Architecture model is strong and well-defined, and stick to it like glue.

I've checked out the market and I think Big-IP/Viprion is the best ADC your money can buy at the moment. It has the features and innovations that demanding organizations like us desire in an ADC especially for diverse and complex application environments. F5 has a solid offering with its iRules, iControl and iApps and we use its DevCentral portal. We take advantage of the integration with both Eclipse and .NET/Visual Basic which is a nice plus.

It’s quite expensive compared to the other vendors. F5 lacks a pay-as-you-grow licensing scheme as offered by other companies, which makes acquiring their products more expensive at the outset.F5’s support for low-end platforms is also dismal, with continued restrictions imposed on such systems making it difficult for them to cater to small to medium-sized business. You might be forced to buy more expensive systems just to get the features you want and not the performance benefits of the more expensive system.I'm also concerned about F5’s continued push on new hardware platforms to generate sales.Finally, one must be able to handle the complexity and knowledge required for deploying F5’s ADC products. Selecting a reliable and experienced partner is crucial to get the right configuration for your needs and for you to be able to maximize your ADC investment.

Top of the line ADC with great features. Just make sure you have the right partner in implementing your solution so as the business value of such an expensive product is maximized.

Our use case for this product is a web function firewall and network firewall that we can use on one platform. 

I like the combination of ADC and WAN.

The UI could be improved and we also find the pricing to be quite high. 

I've been using this solution for three years. 

We have over 50 customers using this solution and it's very stable. 

The solution is scalable. 

The customer support is very good. 

The initial setup is quite complex and requires a pre-deployment assessment because of the range of parameters involved. I think the assessment process could be simplified. 

Licensing is paid on an annual basis and there are no additional costs. 

I recommend this solution and rate it eight out of 10. 

My primary use cases of this solution are as a big IP solution, a WAF solution, EPM, and reverse proxy.

This product has improved our load balance, especially when it comes to using the termination at the A5 level, making us more efficient.

The most valuable features are the WAF and the big IP.

I've been using this solution for over eight years.

This solution is very stable.

My impression is that it's scalable.

The initial setup was straightforward, but it took some time to complete.

I would rate this solution as eight out of ten.

On-premises

We use the solution to offer load balancing to companies and especially for state and government company.

One of the best features of the solution is the operating system. Additionally, it is easy to use and has plenty of features.

The configuration is intricate and could be improved. 

For a future release, I would like to see more features in the cloud.

The price of the solution is sometimes expensive.

I rate F5 BIG-IP an eight out of ten.

On-premises