NetScaler Reviews

We use the NetScaler ADC in three primary use cases. The first is to provide load balancing services for our internal applications. The second is for Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) to provide data center resiliency and failover of our externally accessible services, as well as proximity-based access. The third is for the Unified Gateway to securely provide external access to some of our key applications. We deploy VPX appliances running in our VMware environment.

The GSLB feature allows us to move services between data centers. We can do this in either a planned or unplanned manner. We have experienced service provider outages at our primary data center and GSLB will kick in to automatically modify DNS records to point to a secondary data center (active/passive). We also make use of GeoIP information to point clients to the closest data center for accessing applications.

The features I find most useful are 

• Load Balancing
• GSLB
• Unified Gateway.

I love being able to terminate connections to the boxes and look at all of the packet headers to determine which way I want to send the traffic next. GSLB provides amazing ability to do active/active or active/passive deployment of services. Unified Gateway allows me to provide secure external access to applications for suppliers and customers while requiring Multi-Factor Authentication.

The main areas for improvement would be around documentation and support. If a feature can be used in two or three ways, show that feature being used in all of those ways. Documentation seems to only cover the primary use case and leaves you to either run through trial and error or consult the user community. In terms of support, I have never actually had them solve any of my issues. I have always solved them myself and then provided the resolution to support.

I would rate the NetScaler a nine out of 10. It is a fantastic platform to work with and the features/functionality are top-notch. The only ding would be for the documentation, but the user community is fantastic.

I use Citrix NetScaler as a gateway to provide secure access to virtualized desktops and applications.

Citrix NetScaler offers robust security features, including SmartAccess and customizable policies, making it a reliable choice for safeguarding user data. The seamless integration with Citrix tools enhances both performance and security, creating a powerful combination for optimal IT environments.

There is room for improvement regarding the pricing policy for Citrix offices. In the past, the gateway was cost-effective, but there has been a shift, and the current pricing seems too high.

I have been working with Citrix NetScaler for many years.

I would rate the stability of the solution as a seven out of ten.

I would rate the scalability of the solution as an eight out of ten.

Tech support for NetScaler can be frustrating. When opening a case, I often spend much time with first-level support, who sometimes lack programming knowledge. The process involves repeating details when the case is escalated to an engineer which causes delays. Overall, I would rate the support as a three out of ten.

Neutral

Before using Citrix NetScaler, I had experience with similar products. I recall working with Citrix Gateway for server access, but it involved a server running an application on a Windows server. I have also dabbled a bit with other vendors like F5 for feature integration. However, integrating with Citrix has been challenging as they are not very open to external integrations.

The solution is quite expensive. Regular security audits reveal frequent vulnerabilities, requiring monthly patches.

Overall, I would rate Citrix NetScaler as a seven out of ten.

We use the product for load balancing and as a reverse proxy solution.

The tool's pricing is a pain point since we have many cheaper alternatives. 

I have been working with the solution for five years. 

I rate Citrix ADM's stability a nine out of ten. 

I rate the tool's scalability a seven out of ten. 

Citrix ADM has a good tech support. 

Neutral

I rate the solution's deployment an eight out of ten, and was straightforward. It was completed in three weeks. 

Our customers are mostly medium enterprises. 

I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten. 

I rate Citrix ADM a seven out of ten. 

We are using Citrix ADC as a VPN appliance, and use it as a load balancer for a few different services.

We have a custom application that we use, and we were able to port it over from a legacy system into the ADC.

I find all of it to be valuable, because of the flexibility that is built into this product.

If we need an on-premises load balancer, it's easy enough to spin those up here an there and the VPN seems to be pretty solid as well.

The licensing model that Citrix employs need to be improved. There are specific features that we like but are not available at our licensing level.

There are certain features that are very useful and Citrix makes you pay a bit more for them. I think that they should be included as default features.

In the next release, I would like to have the ability to inspect the SSL payload. It should be included by default.

I have been using Citrix ADC for almost a year.

It's a stable product and I haven't found any issues with it. It's been working well for us this entire time.

Scalability is not really applicable in our case. We have moved towards the cloud.

I don't believe that we plan to scale on-premises any further.

We have approximately 500 users in the company who are using this solution.

Technical support is good. We have reached out a couple of times and they were able to assist us quickly, even on the weekend.

I would rate technical support a nine out of ten.

It depends on who you get, there are some who want to redirect you to professional services. Once you get them on board, their service is good.

Previously, we used Juniper VPN. The hardware was older.

The initial setup was fairly complex. There is a bit of a learning curve.

We worked with professional services during our deployment.

It's an expensive product but it works well.

My advice to anyone who is looking at implementing Citrix ADC is if they need flexibility, it's a stable product. It's one of the better appliances that I have used, even in a virtual environment, it's working great. I can recommend it.

I would rate Citrix ADC a nine out of ten.

• Load balancing business web applications
• Load balancing core infrastructure services e.g. App-V, Ivanti UWM, Citrix Storefront and Director
• Application firewall features WAF for more secure application access
• XenApp/XenDesktop application gateway with two factor authentication
• Use of MAS for analytics and centralised management

• Allows the user to easily scale out application delivery.
• Provides secure remote access.
• Ease of management and business continuity support.
• Powerful, reliable, and feature rich solution all in one appliance.

NetScaler MAS centralised management and analytics makes it is easy to support, manage, monitor, and maintain a NetScaler solution.

It should offer more flexible cost-effective licensing for small to medium sized organizations i.e. a pooled licensing option on entry level MPXs like 5901s.

Not many of our customers use the solution's web application firewall. We use the solution's IP Reputation and bot protection features. We use the solution mostly as Citrix and Gateway ICA proxy and load balancing. There are a lot of changes with the solution, but Citrix NetScaler has quite a comprehensive portfolio of training courses.

The licensing model and technical support of the solution could be improved. The exchange rate with the local currency contributes a lot to why some of our customers are looking at alternatives.

I have been working with Citrix NetScaler since it first came onto the market. I have been using the solution before the Gateway feature was a part of NetScaler, and it was a stand-alone product. I have been using the solution since Citrix acquired the product.

Citrix NetScaler is a scalable solution.

Citrix NetScaler has many features. The solution's basic features, like load balancing and Gateway, are pretty easy to use. It becomes complicated very, very quickly in large environments because it has many features. I would recommend the solution to other users.

There are much cheaper alternatives if you just need the solution for basic load balancing. There are no alternatives to Citrix NetScaler if you want to use it as a Gateway and access it from the public network. Integrating Citrix NetScaler with the existing infrastructure and applications is pretty straightforward once you get the hang of things.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

We're using NetScaler for compression and optimization features.

Most of the functions are user-friendly and great. We also have mobile features that are simple but effective.

There are some drawbacks, such as using EUG for certain configurations. It could definitely be improved. Moreover, compression features could be better since it uses too much CPU and is not very effective.

In terms of additional functionality, the capture feature could be improved to make it easier to use, and schedules could also be better for me.

I have been using this solution for eight years. 

There are nine users in our organization using this solution. It is a stable solution within this capacity. Sometimes we faced bugs, but in general, it hasn't affected the general usage.

If you use the latest version, it is quite a scalable solution. I would rate the scalability of NetScaler an eight out of ten. 

We've had poor experiences with customer support partners in the past two years. If some company changes, it's a bad thing. The customer support is not good for us. It is not helpful as well as have very slow response time. 

The initial setup is actually very simple.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. I would definitely recommend using the solution.

With Citrix ADM, one can manage NetScaler and ADC. One can also gather data on remote users, especially information on their bandwidth and the resources they use.

Feature, wise, one of the things that I use is the SSL dashboard to make sure my certificates are up-to-date on my NetScalers. So, it's very handy.

Some features of Citrix ADM are available on the cloud, which could really be helpful if they were available on an on-premise version. At the moment, I can't explain it in detail since I don't utilize the Microapps or StyleBooks in the solution, even though both are available in the cloud version. However, they are not available in the on-premise version. So, I use the on-premise version.

I have experience with Citrix ADM for twenty years. I am a reseller and a partner of Citrix.

It's a virtual appliance, and once it's up and running, it just runs. So, it is a stable product.

Just one solution can handle thousands of users and hundreds of ADCs. So, it is a very convenient tool to use.

Currently, the support team is experiencing a shortage of staff, making it difficult for users to reach someone knowledgeable.

The solution's initial setup was very easy. If ten means super easy, I rate it only an eight on a rating bar.

I would recommend those planning to use the solution, especially if they use or have ADCs or NetScalers in their environment. There are a lot of people who don't use the solution when they should.

There's still a lot of scope for growth and many features that can be added to the solution. Also, I'm unfamiliar with some of the features, so I can't speak on all of them now. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.