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Brocade ADX [EOL] vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) comparison

HCLSoftware and F5 are both solutions in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category. Additionally, 100% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of F5 users who would recommend it.
Brocade ADX [EOL]
Read 1 Brocade ADX [EOL] review
    100% willing to recommend
    F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Man...
    Read 124 F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) reviews
    • 11,891 Views
    • 8,086 Comparison Views
    83% willing to recommend
     

    Comparison Buyer's Guide

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    Executive Summary
    We performed a comparison between Brocade ADX [EOL] and F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

    Find out what your peers are saying about F5, HAProxy, Radware and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC).

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    Buyer's Guide
    Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
    July 2026
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    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

    Brocade ADX [EOL]
    Average Rating
    7.0
    Number of Reviews
    1
    Ranking in other categories
    No ranking in other categories
    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)
     

    Featured Reviews

    it_user735237 - PeerSpot reviewer
    it_user735237
    Sr Technology Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
    Makes local load balancing relatively simple but could use more options for L7 load balancing
    L7 load balancing features like URL re-write, persistence, etc. Also some of the global load balancing features like sticky, sticky-sync, etc Organization has a lot of client facing applications and needs to have multiple servers for scalability. With ADX network load balancer, local load…
    Read full review
    edshyaa - PeerSpot reviewer
    edshyaa
    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.
    Read full review

    Quotes from Members

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

    Pros

    "ADX is better in capacity and its chassis-based product (10K) is much more scalable."
    "It has so many features. ​First of all, it has a full proxy architecture, it has multiple modules. The best feature is the WAF, the web application firewall module. It also has cashing type capabilities. It has all kinds of load-balancing algorithms based on your IT requirements."
    "For mission-critical applications, you can trust F5 with any of your load balancing functions."
    "F5 delivers a full range of solutions that simplify service providers’ security architectures while mitigating threats."
    "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."
    "The web application firewall feature is the most valuable and useful feature. It is a leading industry product when it comes to load balancing. Its user interface is very simple. There isn't a steep learning curve. When we initiate someone to F5, they start using it quickly."
    "As a pure network engineer, I think the box is performing very well."
    "The Local Traffic Manager (LTM) provides a simple low balance and SSL decryption, in addition to some TCP parameters, for incoming and outgoing traffic to redirect appropriate traffic patterns to appropriate servers."
    "Using the F5, we were able to build rules to detect that the shutdown was occurring, then begin to route people elsewhere, so we didn't have any outages or downtime."
    More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) pros
     

    Cons

    "Should have more options for L7 load balancing. Also, troubleshooting is a little difficult with this product."
    "The product is expensive."
    "There are not very many areas for improvement, but the price is high."
    "When WAF is enabled, you can see a decrease in performance."
    "This is also a very expensive solution."
    "Its GUI could be a bit better."
    "The user interface could be improved in F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager."
    "Its price can be better. It is a bit expensive."
    "The configuration is intricate and could be improved."
    More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) cons
     

    Pricing and Cost Advice

    Information not available
    "LTM is a good product, but it's expensive. They should make it more competitive because cloud providers offer free load balancing. Cloud providers can't cover all the security aspects of F5, but you get a decent amount of security. Cloud environments are becoming the norm across the IT industry. Many of the larger companies that previously used on-prem infrastructure are switching to the cloud, so companies like Fortinet and Palo Alto are reducing their prices. Otherwise, they can't compete in the cloud."
    "It is cheaper than the average on the market."
    "The licensing model of F5 BIG-IP LTM is highly complex. The operation cost of the solution is high. The overall cost is high."
    "Security should be involved in any base license. When you bring on F5, you only have default license. Then, the ASM product license has to be purchased. It would be great if F5 could include the ASM in the base license."
    "The price is high."
    "Our company pays for the licensing cost on a yearly basis. Also, there are no extra costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
    "Compared to using open-source products, the prices are not cheap."
    "The price of the solution is sometimes expensive."
    More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) pricing and cost advice
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    Top Industries

    By visitors reading reviews
    No data available
    Financial Services Firm
    15%
    Manufacturing Company
    8%
    Construction Company
    8%
    Outsourcing Company
    8%
     

    Company Size

    By reviewers
    Large Enterprise
    Midsize Enterprise
    Small Business
    No data available
    By reviewers
    Company SizeCount
    Small Business62
    Midsize Enterprise32
    Large Enterprise86
     

    Questions from the Community

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    Earn 20 points
    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...
    See all answers
    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...
    See all answers
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)?
    The product is costly. I would rate the price a five out of ten.
    See all answers
     

    Comparisons

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    LoadBalancer Enterprise vs Brocade ADX [EOL]
    Compared 28% of the time
    HAProxy vs Brocade ADX [EOL] Logo
    HAProxy vs Brocade ADX [EOL]
    Compared 24% of the time
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    Fortinet FortiADC vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Logo
    Fortinet FortiADC vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
    Compared 11% of the time
    NetScaler vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Logo
    NetScaler vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
    Compared 6% of the time
    HAProxy vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Logo
    HAProxy vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
    Compared 6% of the time
    NGINX Plus vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Logo
    NGINX Plus vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
    Compared 5% of the time
    Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Logo
    Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
    Compared 5% of the time
    More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Competitors
     

    Product Reports

    Buyer's Guide
    Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
    July 2026
    Brocade ADX [EOL] reportDownload Brocade ADX [EOL] product report
    Buyer's Guide
    F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
    August 2026
    F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) reportDownload F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) product report
     

    Also Known As

    ADX
    F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP
     

    Overview

    Brocade ADX Series, used by service provider networks and large enterprise data centers, provides a comprehensive application delivery portfolio. All Brocade ADX platforms run the same software and support the same features. In addition, the base model for all Brocade ADX platforms can be upgraded via two software licenses - a Premium feature license and an SSL license. The Brocade ADX family of application delivery switches includes: Brocade ADX 1000 Series, Brocade ADX 4000 Series and Brocade ADX 10000 Series.
    HCLSoftware

    F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) specializes in load balancing, iRules, and application security. It provides flexibility and stability, supporting SSL offloading and enhancing application performance and reliability with low downtime.

    F5 BIG-IP LTM is designed for efficient traffic management and security. Its intuitive interface allows users to customize traffic through iRules and ensures stable application delivery. Its performance stability and ability to inspect TLS traffic, along with web application firewall features, make it preferred for consistent application delivery. While praised for its capabilities, users note its challenges with complex configuration and management. Calls for streamlined processes, training, support, better logging, and cloud integration highlight areas for improvement.

    What are the key features of F5 BIG-IP LTM?
    • Load Balancing: Distributes HTTP and HTTPS traffic to ensure high availability.
    • iRules: Allows for customized traffic management.
    • Application Security: Includes TLS inspection and web application firewall capabilities.
    • SSL Offloading: Reduces server load by handling SSL processing.
    What benefits and ROI should users expect?
    • Performance Stability: Ensures high reliability and less downtime.
    • Flexibility: Offers customizable traffic management through iRules.
    • Security: Provides strong protection against application attacks.
    • Network Management Efficiency: Simplifies traffic distribution and infrastructure management.

    F5 BIG-IP LTM is widely used in industries requiring robust application delivery and security, such as finance and healthcare. It supports load balancing and traffic management across different environments and acts as a reverse proxy, helping companies secure their infrastructure against cyber threats while facilitating high availability and scalability.

    F5
     

    Sample Customers

    Fusebill, Niagra Falls Bridge Commission, Medien System Partner
    Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.
    Buyer's Guide
    Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
    July 2026
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    Find out what your peers are saying about F5, HAProxy, Radware and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC). Updated: July 2026.
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