Mostly I support my clients in relation to the product.
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Very stable and easy to use with a good GUI
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is very easy to use and easy to understand. It's quite an intuitive system."
- "Technical support could be faster. It's something I'd like to see them work on in the future."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I am very satisfied with the product overall.
There is never a big number of false positives or false negatives. That's the most valuable aspect of the product.
The solution is very easy to use and easy to understand. It's quite an intuitive system.
The user interface and GUI are very good.
I find the product to be very stable. I've supported customers for two years and haven't really had an issue with the solution.
What needs improvement?
I can't say that there are any features missing. I've overall been quite happy with it.
We once had an issue related to trying to publish some exchange application to a file and we experienced some problems there, however, the incident was not really related to BIG-IP. It was likely some kind of infrastructure problem the company was experiencing.
We haven't had any big problems of note.
Technical support could be faster. It's something I'd like to see them work on in the future.
The pricing could be more reasonable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for about two years at this point.
Buyer's Guide
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
September 2025

Learn what your peers think about F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is extremely stable. We haven't had an issue in years. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. The performance is good. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Most of our clients are medium-sized entities.
For the one customer I typically deal with, there has been no need to scale or expand services. The product can be scaled by adding more licenses if necessary. That said, our clients have everything they need and have not actually done this.
There are also add-ons that come from the ASM if a company is interested in that.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is slow and it could be faster. I had one issue once that was not very serious as it was on the Disaster Recovery Site. We were able to pull a previous version from a snapshot. However, the issue was that I was able to solve the problem myself before I even heard back from technical support. If they knew their technology, how is it that I could solve the problem faster as a person that's not as familiar with it? They need to be much faster. It could have been a much bigger problem.
I'd say, overall, we aren't satisfied with the technical support for that reason.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I did not previously use a different product. This is my first Application Delivery Consult Solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very complex. The basic setup may be fine, however, right now I'm trying to do something in my lab environment. We've tried a few things over the years and it hasn't gotten any easier.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The costs could be lower. In a report, we found that Citrix Solutions are somehow cheaper - including in relation to encryption licensing. I cannot compare as I haven't spoken to Citrix. I don't know if it's easier or has the same (or more features). That said, I wouldn't describe this product as cheap.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We're currently comparing F5 to Citrix. I'm not currently working with Citrix; I'm curious to see how they compare to each other. I had a presentation to a client and they just wanted some sort of comparison, which is why I began to look at Citrix.
What other advice do I have?
We are resellers.
I'm a System Integrator. I have experience in virtual environments and with clients. I have some moderate experience with implementation and some bigger experience in supporting this product. I'm not an expert in the field, however, I'm trying to be.
I don't have any issues with the solution. It's pretty problem-free in general. Overall, I would rate it at a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. reseller
Solutions Architect - Telecom & Network Infrastructure at a non-tech company with 501-1,000 employees
Provides excellent load balancing and a simple deployment
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has good load balancing capabilities."
- "An expensive solution for the minimal features we use."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution as a proxy to our websites, load balancing all our servers as clients come onto our website and use our services. Our website provides around 15 different services. We are customers of F5 and I'm a solutions architect for telecom and network infrastructure.
What is most valuable?
The load balancing aspect is valuable to us.
What needs improvement?
We use a limited amount of features so the biggest issue for us is the price. For what we're using, it's an expensive solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using this solution for 12 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable and scales easily. Our networking team deals with the maintenance.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty straightforward. We had external help for implementation and I believe deployment took about two days.
What other advice do I have?
I rate this solution a nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
September 2025

Learn what your peers think about F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.
System Engineer at PT Nusantara Compnet Integrator
Easy install, quality support, but expensive
Pros and Cons
- "The scalability of the solution depends on the sizing of the network. Generally, the scalability is quite good."
- "The deployment can take some time because you can do a lot of configuring to meet the needs of the use cases for clients."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is mostly used for the LTM load balancer. Recently more of our customers are using it for the web application firewall. Some of my other customers are using the GTM model also.
For how long have I used the solution?
My experience in selling this solution is approximately two and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the solution depends on the sizing of the network. Generally, the scalability is quite good.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is one of the best I have seen in their field. They have been good so far.
How was the initial setup?
One of the strongest areas of this solution is its ease of install. It did not take more then a couple of hours.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment can take some time because you can do a lot of configuring to meet the needs of the use cases for clients. This will take more time to configure the different areas than just the general install. We typically have two technicians on site doing the deployments.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is quite expensive if we compare it with the competition. For only load balancer, it is too expensive. The license is subscription-based, except for the security model.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution.
I rate F5 BIG-IP a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller
Service Delivery Engineer - Network Security Lead at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Straightforward, stable, scalable, and really good for load balancing
Pros and Cons
- "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."
- "Its price can be better. It is a bit expensive."
What is our primary use case?
We are a reseller of F5, but we haven't had many projects that we've deployed with F5. In terms of use cases, it is used when clients have web servers, and they are hosting on their own infrastructure. When they have web applications that are publicly visible, they use F5 to balance that incoming traffic for their web servers.
What is most valuable?
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.
What needs improvement?
Its price can be better. It is a bit expensive.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for the last five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
I never had a case that required technical support.
How was the initial setup?
It is very easy to set up. It is not a complicated product. The deployment duration depends on the architecture that you're deploying, but it usually doesn't take much time.
What about the implementation team?
The number of people required for its deployment depends on the size of the deployment. For a very big deployment, you need less than three people. For a fairly normal or standard deployment, just one person would be fine.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is a bit expensive product. Kemp Loadmaster is much cheaper than F5.
Its licensing is on a yearly basis. It can be for one year or three years.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. It is a really good solution. It is fairly straightforward, and it does what it is meant to do.
I would rate F5 BIG-IP a nine out of ten. In terms of features, it is good, but its price can be better.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller
CTO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
User-friendly, can be operated from a single console, and the performance is good
Pros and Cons
- "The main reason that we suggest this product to our clients is the great integration with other security tools, such as IBM Guardium."
What is our primary use case?
We are a solution provider and we work with a lot of products from F5.
In our internal network, we use F5 BIG-IP. We also have a few implementations with this product, including some that are integrated with other solutions such as IBM Guardium.
One of the great use cases is capturing an application user through F5 and then pushing it to Guardium. This is very useful for our customers because they can then connect to the database with a real application user, which is something that is very hard to achieve through other vendors.
What is most valuable?
The main reason that we suggest this product to our clients is the great integration with other security tools, such as IBM Guardium.
This product is very user-friendly, which is good for customers who have an implementation done by a partner but want to handle administration in-house.
All of the functionality can be achieved from one console.
Even on Hyper-V or a VMware appliance, the performance is very good when you use it as a proxy or a web application.
The documentation is very good.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been working with F5 BIG-IP for between three and four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
From our perspective, it is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have all of the help and support that we need from the F5 office in this region.
Technical support from F5 is very good. As a partner, I have had a very good experience with them. They have shared knowledge with us and support us in our projects, which is definitely a big plus.
How was the initial setup?
It is very easy to install, especially when doing so to VMware. For example, we have spent almost a day installing security tools by other vendors. For BIG-IP, we need only two or three hours to complete it.
For the complete deployment that includes implementation and configuration, it takes between 10 and 15 days. The length of time depends on the client's goals and requirements. For example, some just want to use it as a web application firewall, whereas others want to use more functionality. The more functionality there is, the more time it takes to complete.
What about the implementation team?
Our in-house team implements and deploys this solution to our customers.
You need two or three people, including a security manager who will configure all of the rules and policies.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price should be reduced because it is expensive when compared to the competition. Alternatively, bundled packages should be offered. This is an issue that shows up for most of our customers.
What other advice do I have?
In summary, this is a very good product and we are actively suggesting it to our customers. It is something that should be more present in our market, especially because of the functionality that it provides.
In the end, we get very good results from BIG-IP.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Technical Specialist - Network & Security at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Easy to use, simple to install, and offers good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is easy to install. It's a straightforward process."
- "Currently, the product offers everything we need. I can't recall any features that may be lacking."
What is most valuable?
The load balancing is very good.
The tech support is helpful and knowledgeable.
Everything is okay within the solution. It works well.
The product offers pretty good security.
The solution is easy to install. It's a straightforward process.
The interface is excellent.
We've found the product overall to be simple and easy to use.
What needs improvement?
Currently, the product offers everything we need. I can't recall any features that may be lacking.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've only used the solution for one year. In comparison, I've used Radware for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We've had the solution installed for a year now and it is working as it should. There aren't bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. We find it stable and reliable. It's been a good experience so far.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product can scale quite well. We haven't had any issues. If a company needs to expand it out, they should be able to do so without trouble.
Right now, I'm the only one at the office who uses the product.
How are customer service and technical support?
I've been in contact with technical support in the past. So far, I've been happy with their level of service. They have been very helpful and responsive overall. I don't have any complaints.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We also use Radware, which we've used a bit longer.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup isn't too complex. We can handle the process pretty well. It's straightforward. I consider it to be pretty easy. There's no difficulties during the instllation.
What other advice do I have?
I'm not sure of which version of the solution we're using right now. I have a few customers who are using it, and they may be using different solutions.
I'd recommend the solution. Our customers seem to be very happy with it.
Overall, I would rate the solution nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
Head Of Technology at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Good support, stable, and facilitates the management of our network
Pros and Cons
- "This is a solution that does what it's supposed to do at the price point."
- "If we decide to migrate to the cloud, I don't think that BIG-IP is a good solution and we probably won't use it."
What is our primary use case?
Our company is based in different geographical locations and we need to create SD-WANs with tight security while allowing remote access to our resources. To manage that and to manage the whole network, we use BIG-IP.
What needs improvement?
When we purchased the product, we found it to be a bit expensive.
If we decide to migrate to the cloud, I don't think that BIG-IP is a good solution and we probably won't use it.
If the price for a cloud-based deployment can be matched with their competitors the I think it would be a far better solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using F5 BIG-IP for almost two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
BIG-IP is stable and we plan to continue using it. We don't want to change because we're happy with what it's doing unless we switch over to the cloud. I think that cloud sizing is too heavy.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable product. There are three people who manage it, but it's applicable to the entire organization, so there are approximately 1,500 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
I think that technical support is pretty good. On a scale of one to ten, I can reasonably score them a nine.
How was the initial setup?
The implementation and deployment happened before I joined the company, although I have reviewed the procedure and did not find anything challenging when it came to installation. Once you understand how to work with the product, it is easy to manage the services.
What about the implementation team?
Our in-house team takes care of the maintenance. There are three people who manage it, and once every three months, we spend 30 or 40 minutes reading and clearing up the logs.
What was our ROI?
I don't think that this product really provides value for the money. However, what you get for the cost is satisfactory. It's not like I won the lottery. This is a solution that does what it's supposed to do at the price point.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
When we purchased additional licenses for our other locations, we received a discount of between 20% and 25%. My understanding is that they matched the competitor's price.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
If we move all of our on-premises systems onto the cloud, we will probably look for another solution. We may rely on the cloud provider for this.
What other advice do I have?
We have not felt the need to upgrade to the most recent version or do any updates on this product because we're pretty happy with what we have.
Overall, this is a good product and if one can afford it, then I would recommend it.
I would rate this solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior solution architect at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Very dependable and stable in its market category
Pros and Cons
- "iRule feature is useful."
- "Reporting could be improved and configuration made easier."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case for this solution is as an alternative for ADT. We work with standard enterprise customers because this product is not affordable for the SME, it's not a cheap solution. We are partners with F5 and I'm a pre-sales and technical executive.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the iRule.
What needs improvement?
The reporting could be improved and I'd also like to see the UI adjusted to make configuration easier. There are some things in the F5 configuration that are complicated.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for 16 years in total, continuously for the last seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I think this solution is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
Compared to other solutions, the technical support is not very user friendly.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously worked with Fortinet which is a much more reasonably priced solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is somewhat more complex than you would find in other solutions. Implementation can be completed in a couple of days but in terms of the configuration firewall of the product, for any application it will take a minimum of 15 days and up to a month.
What other advice do I have?
If a company wants a good solution and has the money for it, I would recommend F5.
I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner

Buyer's Guide
Download our free F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: September 2025
Product Categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)Popular Comparisons
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway
Fortinet FortiADC
Radware Alteon
Kemp LoadMaster
A10 Networks Thunder ADC
VMWare Avi Load Balancer
LoadBalancer Enterprise
Barracuda Load Balancer ADC
Ivanti Virtual Web Application Firewall
Array APV Series
Buyer's Guide
Download our free F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Quick Links
Learn More: Questions:
- F5 vs. Imperva WAF?
- F5 BIG-IP vs. Radware Alteon Comparison
- What is the performance parameter of Imperva X10K versus BIG-IP i2600?
- What are your daily F5 BIG-IP LTM use cases?
- What are the pros and cons of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Microsoft Azure Application Gateway for a large construction company?
- When evaluating Application Delivery Controllers, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?
- Comparison Between Kemp LoadMaster and Load Balancer.org
- Is Citrix ADC (formerly Netscaler) the best ADC to use and if not why?
- What are your daily F5 BIG-IP LTM use cases?
- Why do I need an ADC solution?
F5 Premium Plus Support having 24 X 7 X 365 support which is excellent at our customer site.