ARRAY NETWORKS APV SERIES ALTERNATIVE

What is Array Networks APV Series

The Array Networks APV Series is a high-performance Application Delivery Controller (ADC) family available as physical, virtual, and cloud appliances that accelerate, secure and ensure availability of applications across data center and cloud environments. At its core, APV provides Layer-4 to Layer-7 load balancing and intelligent traffic management to keep applications fast and available by directing user requests according to dynamic and policy-based decisions. Array’s APV appliances include SSL/TLS acceleration and interception, connection multiplexing, caching and compression, traffic shaping, DDoS protections, Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB), and an integrated Web Application Firewall (WAF).
Array Networks

Built on Array’s SpeedCore® 64-bit architecture and a kernel-level L7 policy engine, APV delivers efficient processing and low-latency traffic handling suitable for enterprises, service providers and public sector deployments. APV also provides automation and orchestration through REST/XML-RPC and integrations with cloud/virtual platforms, making it flexible for modern CI/CD and cloud-native workflows.

What is RELIANOID Load Balancer

RELIANOID® is an Application Delivery Controller and Load Balancer that ensures high performance and security of IT services on a massive scale.

RELIANOID Load Balancer is an open-source Application Delivery Controller (ADC) designed to offer flexible, scalable, and cost-effective load balancing solutions for modern application environments. Unlike the proprietary Array Networks APV Series, RELIANOID stands out for its affordability, particularly appealing to all sized businesses or developers who need advanced load balancing without the high licensing costs. RELIANOID supports features like SSL offloading, traffic shaping, and advanced monitoring, which rival some of the functionalities of APV, while offering open-source transparency and community-driven development. This makes it an ideal choice for organizations looking for a powerful yet budget-friendly alternative.

Another advantage of RELIANOID Load Balancer is its ease of use and accessibility. While Array Networks APV is known for its enterprise-grade features and extensive capabilities, it can require significant expertise to deploy and manage. RELIANOID, on the other hand, is designed to be user-friendly, with an intuitive interface and simplified configurations, reducing the learning curve for administrators. Additionally, RELIANOID is highly customizable, allowing users to adapt it to their unique environments without being locked into proprietary ecosystems. This flexibility provides a compelling advantage for businesses that prioritize adaptability and control while maintaining robust performance.

Array Networks APV Series Strengths

Comprehensive ADC feature set — L4/L7 load balancing, SSL offload/interception, caching, compression, traffic shaping, WAF, and GSLB.

High performance — kernel-level L7 policy engine and SpeedCore® 64-bit architecture provide efficient, low-latency traffic handling.

Application acceleration — connection multiplexing, caching and SSL acceleration can significantly improve application response and throughput.

Resilience & availability — stateful failover, N+1 clustering and smart GSLB for geo-aware failover and disaster recovery.

Security built-in — reverse proxy architecture, kernel-level WebWall/WAF and hardened OS reduce attack surface and protect Layer-7 traffic.

Flexible deployments & automation — available as physical, virtual and cloud appliances with REST/XML-RPC, OpenStack and orchestration integrations.

IPv6 and cloud ready — broad IPv6 support and cloud/virtual appliance options make APV suitable for modern environments.

RELIANOID’s Strengths

Expert and skilled R&D professionals accomplished in Zevenet and Zen Load Balancer, departing from an Open Source technology with no vendor lock-in and broad platforms integration (hardware, virtual, bare metal and cloud), bringing security, performance and readiness.

Cost-effective solutions with no constraints on products and services, tailored to the needs of midsize companies as well as large enterprises.

Protocol Versatility adapting and managing diverse network environments and protocols (UDP, TCP, HTTP/S, HTTP/2 SCTP, SIP, T/FTP).

High Performance Reverse Proxy managing over 140K concurrent users at Layer 7, while at Layer 4, it efficiently handles more than 10 million concurrent users, all with just 2 dedicated cores.

High Availability with automatic real time stateful cluster replication.

Security and WAF improved as it incorporates an Intrusion Prevention and Detection System (IPDS) and also an integrated Web Application Firewall (WAF). It actively safeguards web applications against specific threats while providing real-time IP blacklisting, Denial of Service (DoS) protection, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and support for black and whitelisting.

User-friendly interface designed for both DevOps and SRE professionals, ensuring ease of use in managing and configuring systems.

Automation thanks to its fully programmable and robust REST+JSON API.

Array Networks APV Series Weaknesses

Lower brand visibility in some markets compared with very large incumbents — may require extra diligence for procurement and service ecosystem.

Smaller public review footprint — fewer user reviews and community chatter than the biggest vendors, which can make third-party validation less abundant.

Partner ecosystem — while Array provides certified integrations, its partner/ISV network is narrower than the largest ADC vendors in certain regions.

RELIANOID’s Weaknesses

Emerging brand, challenging the ADC and Load Balancing market, operating as an open-source company.

Still in the process of building a significant presence. It must expand its partnership network more extensively.