I originally joined Avi Networks because I believed they had a robust, software-defined application delivery solution. It could do everything F5 hardware load balancers could do… or so I thought. After one week on the job, I’ve realized that Avi Networks only cuts costs by up to 90% only because you aren’t paying for hardware—hardware that can do a lot of things that Avi Networks just can’t do. Let's take a look into hardware load balancers vs software load balancers.
Because I consider myself to be a person of integrity, I felt the need to come clean and highlight several of the ways that F5 Load Balancers outperform Avi’s software solution.
Door Stop
Paper Weight
I can't afford to have my paper blowing around everywhere. Can you?
Boat Anchor
Because maybe we're not ready to move at the flow of industry.
Monitor Stand
It does the job. Also, the flashiest monitor stand in the office.
"Time Out" Pad (for all you parents out there!)
My "threenager" enjoying his time out, courtesy of F5.
Furniture Stabilizer
F5 balances more than workloads. It also stabilizes furniture.
Weight Lifting
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Ya know, just gettin' swole in the office.
Stepping Stool
A little extra lift for those hard to reach places.
Space Heater
Cold conference room be gone! This sauna is powered by F5.
I’m glad to be given the opportunity to be open and transparent. While Avi Networks has major limitations compared to physical load balancers—especially in being big, clunky, and expensive—I’m going to stick it out and try to make this career move work. Compare Avi Networks with F5 and Citrix NetScaler to see for yourself.
(You may also enjoy 5 Ways to Recycle Your Old F5 Load Balancers)
Our engineering organization has also felt very convicted by our “niche” feature list so they have already added “software-defined doorstop,” “software-defined paperweight,” and “software-defined boat anchor” to the product roadmap. Rumor has it they will be GA soon.
If for some strange reason you are intrigued by software-defined application delivery services, you’re welcome to learn more by viewing the Avi Vantage Platform Architecture.
SPOILER ALERT: There is absolutely no hardware. :-(
