![F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] Logo](https://images.peerspot.com/image/upload/c_scale,dpr_3.0,f_auto,q_100,w_100/3wz26y4eobbnb0ea9r1hctqbpq6x.png?_a=BACAGSGT)
I work with F5 and my primary focus at the moment is F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only]. I have been a customer of F5 many times, have been a partner, and have even been part of F5 Professional Services consultancy, not directly, but through a contractor company.
Advanced automation and powerful traffic controls have improved application security
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The features I find most valuable in F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] are the iRules, which are very powerful, and the flexibility to be able to script capabilities. The WAF is good, even though they have to add some AI to it. The WAF and iRules are very good.
The new features are ones that I find very useful, such as the AS3 automation, which is the declarative API. They are even making a new one in version 21 that has new features including control plane multi-threading, where you have the control plane on many CPUs, something F5 finally had to do after so many years.
TMOS is the operating system for F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] and is very complex, to be honest. However, if you use automation such as the declarative API, it becomes much easier. If you use AS3 automation, which is the declarative API for automating virtual server creation and so on, it becomes very friendly for automation, so you do not have to log in to F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only]; you do everything through automation.
What needs improvement?
HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 support is something that definitely could be improved in F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only].
I mean HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 protocol support, as well as security for them too. For F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] to have better support for them would include load balancing, but also better WAF (Web Application Firewall) support for these two protocols.
Improving the mentioned HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 support and the GUI would be beneficial. If they improve those things and add machine learning and AI, I want it to have some kind of AI on the box because everyone is going to AI, and they have to add some AI security to be able to check the traffic using AI models.
HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 protocol support, AI, the GUI to be changed, and inline AI where the device downloads pre-built AI models from a SaaS cloud to check the traffic for security is something I think is very needed because using AI models as a replacement for signatures will be better. I think WAF signatures are a thing of the past.
I would also like to see HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 in the future as additional features, and anything else I would improve would definitely include HTTP/2 and HTTP/3.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] for almost ten years, around eight to nine years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I face some complex bugs that need a lot of time to be solved, especially with their new hardware such as F5OS-A, R series, and Velos. They have new hardware platforms and they have had a lot of bugs that needed a lot of time to resolve.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Every load balancer has SSL/TLS, but it is good that F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] in the newer version supports TLS 1.3 with new cryptographic algorithms to protect from quantum computing. That is a new and useful feature that perhaps other vendors do not have support for. Being able to have TLS 1.3 with quantum cryptographic algorithms should protect you from quantum computing if someone tries to decrypt your traffic using quantum computers, which is definitely a useful feature.
How are customer service and support?
F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] is the market leader, and I would generally recommend it. I have worked with others such as Citrix NetScaler, which is not a bad product, but the support is awful. F5 support is very good compared to Citrix. Citrix support is very awful. F5 support is better; if you are a big company, you want to call someone and have that person react, the support to react in one or two days maximum, because if you are a big company paying big money, you cannot wait.
From one to ten, I would rate the technical support by F5 at an eight and a half. It was even a nine before, but now they have been having some issues.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] is of medium complexity; I would say it is a medium level.
What about the implementation team?
I have been working with F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] for almost ten years, around eight to nine years.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] is the market leader, and I would generally recommend it. I have worked with others such as Citrix NetScaler, which is not a bad product, but the support is awful. F5 support is very good compared to Citrix. Citrix support is very awful. F5 support is better; if you are a big company, you want to call someone and have that person react, the support to react in one or two days maximum, because if you are a big company paying big money, you cannot wait.
F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] is expensive; it is very expensive, but they are the leader, so everyone buys F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only]. The pricing is not a problem; they just have to improve the platform. The pricing is very expensive.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have worked with other vendors such as FortiADC and A10; A10 is at the same level, but FortiADC for example was weaker. F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] data plane is very powerful; traffic is processed very quickly. There may be some weakness in HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 support, but I think all vendors at the moment are not very good with HTTP/2 and HTTP/3, to be honest.
What other advice do I have?
F5 BIG-IP [Private Offer Only] is the market leader, and I would generally recommend it. I have worked with others such as Citrix NetScaler, which is not a bad product, but the support is awful. F5 support is very good compared to Citrix. Citrix support is very awful. F5 support is better; if you are a big company, you want to call someone and have that person react, the support to react in one or two days maximum, because if you are a big company paying big money, you cannot wait.
From one to ten, I would rate the technical support by F5 at an eight and a half. It was even a nine before, but now they have been having some issues.
I would rate this review an eight overall.
