F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Score8.9 out of 10

23 Reviews and Ratings

What is F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

F5 Networks provides BIG-IP Access Policy Manager as an identity and access solution which can be deployed as a standalone solution or as an add-on to F5 Networks' flagship BIG-IP TLM or F5 Advanced WAF applications.

Categories & Use Cases

AES 256-bit Encryption
Utilizes Advanced Encryption Standard with a 256-bit key to secure data and communication, ensuring high levels of confidentiality and protection against cyber threats.
Category average: 9.7
Kill Switch
Automatically disconnects the device from the internet if the VPN connection drops unexpectedly, preventing data leaks and exposure of sensitive information.
Category average: 9.5
Multi-Platform Support
Offers compatibility with various operating systems and devices, allowing users to protect their data and privacy on multiple platforms.
Category average: 9.1

Simultaneous Connections
Allows users to connect multiple devices to the VPN service under a single subscription, ensuring all devices are protected concurrently.
Category average: 9
Customer Support Services
Offers reliable customer support through various channels such as live chat, email, or phone to assist users with setup, troubleshooting, and inquiries related to the VPN service.
Category average: 8.8

Most Frequent Users

Top 3 industries using F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM).

Based on HG Insights installation data

View all Reviews

#1 most frequent

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

33.2%

72 installations of 217

#2 most frequent

Finance and Insurance

13.4%

29 installations of 217

#3 most frequent

Information

10.1%

22 installations of 217

Pros

Flexible policy management with VPE editor
Strong authentication integration, especially with MFA and SSO
Provides secure remote access VPN

Tim Riker View profile

Guru in Engineering at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (5001-10,000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Protecting applications before exposing them to the Internet. Often COTS applications.

Pros

Using OAuth with a COTS app that does not support it.
Integrated with different authentication systems.

Cons

JWT tokens process DIES.
UI is cumbersome.
Replicating configuration to another F5 cluster is time consuming.

Return on Investment

Again, works well for protecting COTS applications that don't integrate with other corporate solutions

Usability

Alternatives Considered

F5 BIG-IP, F5 BIG-IP DNS, F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management

Other Software Used

F5 BIG-IP, F5 BIG-IP DNS

Brandon Finley

F5 Engineer in Engineering at GDIT (10,001+ employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We utilize this mainly to meet MFA requirements. Displaying DoD Access Warning banners, utilize the F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager ability to work with PKI certs, RSA, and authenticate with LDAP to authenticate the user prior to load balancing them.

Pros

VPE editor makes for a clean thought out approach to building the policy.
Fairly straight forward with where to set up configuration items and reference them in policies.
I enjoy how well it communicates with the other modules.

Cons

There's some more advanced configurations within OAuth that I think could be fleshed out and easier to approach.
There's a lot of things in F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager policies that I find myself recreating every policy. An easier way to copy objects from one to policy to another.

Return on Investment

Positive is that due to how much F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager can do, the F5 is the landing spot in our environment for MFA authentication.
It has allowed a technology the company originally bought for load balancing to be used for multiple purposes.
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager has made the environment more trusting of F5 as a MFA.

Usability

Other Software Used

NetBrain Technologies, ScienceLogic SL1, Splunk Enterprise

Damian Muñoz Levingston

Technological Infrastructure Coordinator in Information Technology at Copa Airlines (11-50 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Para permitir el acceso de forma segura a las aplicaciones. No hemos tenido mayor problemas con el equipo o la aplicación.

To allow secure access to applications. We haven't had any major issues with the equipment or the application.

Pros

Políticas de acceso
Access Policies
Balanceo
Balancing
Certificados
Certificates
Gestión de nodos de granja
Farm node management

Cons

IA para ayuda de configuración de granjas
AI for farm setup help
IA para notigicacion de vencimiento de certigicados
AI for certificate expiration notification

Return on Investment

El retorno de inversión es positivo
The return on investment is positive

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS)

Other Software Used

JLL Saltmine

Jacob Kedari

Senior Network Engineer in Engineering at Bank Of America (1001-5000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager is our remote access VPN tool, to access internal horizon VDIs

Pros

Policy Management
Federation
SAML Authentication
Radius Authentication
Webtops

Cons

TMOSH OS
Policy editor
SAML Integration

Return on Investment

Too many APMs
APMs across DCs deployed

Usability

Oron Yosef

Network and Security engineer in Corporate at Amdocs (10,001+ employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We have like 40 F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager modules devices in our company and we are searching for the next remote access generation like ZTNA. Unfortunately, F5 is not ready for ZTNA tech, and we have to proceed with other vendors... we like the F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager a lot, and it is very useful, but there is no innovation from you guys on it.

Pros

Flexibility
Easy to configure
Stability

Cons

I think you should go to ZTNA on cloud for remote access users.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

Other Software Used

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

Ivanti Connect Secure

NetScaler

Zscaler Private Access

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

What is F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

Categories & Use Cases