F5 on IBM Cloud vs. NetScaler

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
F5 on IBM Cloud
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
F5 on IBM Cloud lets you see and control all traffic passing through your network. F5’s highly scalable, resilient and reusable services dynamically adapt to ensure application availability, performance and security.N/A
NetScaler
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
NetScaler ADC is an application delivery controller.N/A
Pricing
F5 on IBM CloudNetScaler
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
F5 on IBM CloudNetScaler
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
F5 on IBM CloudNetScaler
Best Alternatives
F5 on IBM CloudNetScaler
Small Businesses
Cloudflare
Cloudflare
Score 8.7 out of 10
Cloudflare
Cloudflare
Score 8.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Cloudflare
Cloudflare
Score 8.7 out of 10
Cloudflare
Cloudflare
Score 8.7 out of 10
Enterprises
NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.2 out of 10
NGINX
NGINX
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
F5 on IBM CloudNetScaler
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
F5 on IBM CloudNetScaler
Likelihood to Recommend
F5 on IBM Cloud has efficient ways to manage traffic, both local and that from the international sources. Besides, the firewall evaluations and management is handled by the program. F5 on IBM Cloud has a well designed virtual machine configuration, following both small and the largest templates for efficiency. The network configuration and monitoring is also deployed in the program.
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Citrix NetScaler is suited to any environment where hardware load-balancing, application delivery or SSL offloading is a requirement. It's a product that can be used to manipulate traffic flows in a multitude of different ways and its only limit is the protocol, application and imagination of the administrator. It's not a product that includes helpful wizards to guide the admin through each process gracefully. While it is a fairly intuitive product to use, it's not for someone who is not initiated into the ways of networking and network protocols and communication. Nor is this a product that would lend itself solely for the usage of single usage scenarios where small traffic flows would be expected (although if desired the VPX product would probably suffice in that specific scenario depending on the environment)
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Pros
  • F5 on IBM Cloud has application security features.
  • Besides, the extensive local traffic management from the application is efficient.
  • Lastly, the program acts as an advanced firewall managing tool.
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  • The GUI interface is fairly easy to learn making ramp-up time faster than some similar products.
  • It is used by thousands of companies around the globe so finding free support on Google is usually quite easy.
  • The virtual implementation version of the product runs on a Linux-based hypervisor install so no additional licensing is needed for the OS.
  • When used in conjunction with a Citrix Web front/Storefront, the integration is very tight making the passing of packets very quick.
  • Even in the lesser VPX versions, there is the ability to have a cluster of Netscalers to allow for uptime capability.
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Cons
  • F5 on IBM Cloud is a virtual edition, which is technical.
  • The subscription fee is extensive and expensive.
  • F5 on IBM Cloud configuration process requires an expertise.
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  • At times it seems like there is a flurry of firmware updates needed to remediate security vulnerabilities which creates some overhead.
  • Out of the box automation using ADM is a bit lacking
  • Nit picking but occasionally there are minor config changes that need to be done via CLI or GUI but nothing significant.
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Usability
No answers on this topic
I gave the NetScaler a 7 here because the system once configured and deployed is very easy to use. However, if you did not deploy the system and do not have the fundamental background knowledge then you will have trouble using the product in general. Overall it is a great product and service but does typically require professional services to be deployed.
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
Overall, our organization's experience with Citrix support is that support can be hit or miss. Oftentimes it takes multiple attempts and much longer than desirable to obtain a viable solution for issues experienced with their products. It would be great to see Citrix invest time, effort, and almighty dollars into improving their support and bug fix process across the board.
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Alternatives Considered
F5 on IBM Cloud is substantially competent in managing traffic, through network configuration and monitoring. The presence of a software security manager also suits the program for stability and confidence. Besides, F5 on IBM Cloud has an infrastructure management feature, which deals with storage, network, and the general hardware that supports systems.
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Netscaler has more features than F5 BIG-IP APM product and easier to manage with friendlier user interface for network admins. It was more cost efficient as well and if you have a Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop environment, it is more compatible with those products as well. Our annual maintenance cost is lower as well.
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Return on Investment
  • F5 on IBM Cloud offers a traffic report that is critical for decisions.
  • Firewall management eliminates chances of threats and destruction.
  • Network monitoring and configurations keeps us safe and monitored.
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  • Features - There are many features to be used that we haven't quite gotten to.
  • Licensing - The need for licensing is one of those necessary evils.
  • Reporting - It gave our management team the requested graphs and statistics on usage.
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ScreenShots