Akamai Bot Manager vs. Kemp LoadMaster vs. VMware NSX

One of the most serious issues with commercial websites is dealing with bots. Even a good bot can slow down or render a website unresponsive. Because not all bots are evil, Akamai Bot Manager allows us to handle the bots that are required and those that are not. It adds an extra degree of security where typical solutions fail.

Incentivized

Loadmaster is very powerful and flexible load balancer. Variety of options allows to create a complex network of rules and routes. During our website rollout Loadmaster allowed us to run multiple generations of the website simultaneously and seamlessly by doing the content switching on the fly. Powerful API allows easy integration into any development lifecycle.

Incentivized

With proper design, VMware NSX can and should be deployed to virtually any VMware virtualization environment, but the deployment should be tailored to the needs of that environment. There isn't really a one size fits all deployment design for all environments. That versatility is what provides its greatest strength to a business.

Incentivized

• Bot detection
• Good selection of actions in case of bot detection
• Easy implementation of its standard features

Incentivized

• Where the LoadBalancer excels is the multiple levels at which you can load balance servers. We currently use layer 7 LB, but others are available as well.
• I particularly like the ability for the LB to know when servers are down, and if all are offline then you can create a redirect to a static HTML page or some other destination that is more informative.
• The ease in which a service can be created and deployed using already pre-canned templates makes it a very convenient setup process.

Incentivized

• End to end encryption on the wire.
• Micro-segmentation.
• Integrates well with existing VMWare environment.
• Integrates well with our existing network.

Incentivized

• Support might not be as fast as we want for custom implementations.
• At the beginning the interface might be confusing.
• Some new features they introduce might break existing features.

Incentivized

• Ability to 'clone' existing Virtual Services for rapid deployment of similar ones.
• A better API for ease of automation.
• Simplification of Certificate management.
• Better explanations of Kemp implementations of industry standard protocols like VRRP (or CARP)
• More control over device factory reset configuration and forcibly breaking HA pairs at boot time

Incentivized

• Interoperability in multi-vendor environments
• Advanced networking and packet acceleration options can be improved

Incentivized

I'm very pleased with the support I've received as well as the quality of the product.

Incentivized

Kemp makes it very easy to setup, configure and manage the LoadMaster without needing a lot of help from their engineers. The interface is very easy to understand and intuitive to use. We like how it is not complicated - I can easily have one of my techs login and they can figure out how to setup/configure virtual services for load balancing without needing a manual or tech support.

Incentivized

Support has been easy to deal with; I have only need[ed] to contact them a few times during setup. Once its been in place and operational, we have not need[ed] to mess with the system [which] is a huge advantage. I like system[s] that do not break and require constant attention in a production environment.

The installation was straight forward. Once i installed it, their technical support team helped me with configuration

Incentivized

Security concerns call for the deployment of Akamai Bot Manager. It assists in preventing bots from being unable to target our website and applications. The Akamai lab rejects the request or attack before it reaches my cloud infrastructure or my applications. My application is more secure as a result.

Incentivized

We chose Kemp LoadMaster because it is 1/10 the price of the competition and MUCH easier to deploy and configure and WORKS. We have had ZERO issues with the product since installation. Their engineers and their sales team have both reached out post-install to check in and see if everything is working as expected.

We use both Cisco ACI and VMware NSX, and while they have different strengths and capabilities, I would recommend VMware NSX, as it can be used in all VMware environments, without costly physical infrastructure changes. Cisco ACI provides some of the same capabilities, but not all. It's focus relies on physical networking changes.

Incentivized

• Reduce overall infrastructure maintenance due to less incoming traffic and leverage of caching rules
• Better user experience on the website due to better overall performance

Incentivized

• We used Kemp LoadMaster for many projects. For a lot of customers, load balancers were too expensive or too complicated before we introduced Kemp products.
• It's not a overly complicated product, so we were able to train many engineers on it and have them get a certification.

Incentivized

• Ability to move workloads more easily with the ability to stretch/move networks across multiple physical locations.
• The added flexibility allows you to expedite tech refreshes since you're no longer constrained by the hardware.

Incentivized