AWS Load Balancer VS FortiADC

COMPARISON AMONG AWS LOAD BALANCER, FORTIADC AND RELIANOID LOAD BALANCER

What is AWS Load Balancer

The AWS Load Balancer, widely known as Elastic Load Balancer (ELB), is a fully managed offering from Amazon Web Services (AWS) that distributes incoming application and network traffic across multiple destinations, such as EC2 instances, containers, or IP addresses. ELB supports both Layer 4 (Transport) and Layer 7 (Application) load balancing, depending on the type of service used: Application Load Balancer (ALB) handles HTTP/HTTPS traffic with sophisticated routing features; Network Load Balancer (NLB) is optimized for high-speed TCP and UDP traffic; and Gateway Load Balancer (GLB) allows the use of third-party virtual appliances for deep traffic inspection and security purposes. These load balancing types provide scalability, reliability, and consistent performance for applications running on the AWS platform.

A key advantage of AWS Load Balancer is its native integration with other AWS services, allowing infrastructure to automatically adapt to changing traffic volumes. It includes essential security options like SSL/TLS termination, support for AWS Certificate Manager, and compatibility with AWS WAF to guard against web-based threats. Continuous health monitoring ensures that traffic is only directed to functioning targets, maintaining high availability. Thanks to its usage-based pricing, ELB remains a flexible and economical choice for organizations deploying cloud-native or hybrid solutions.

What is FortiADC

FortiADC, Fortinet’s Application Delivery Controller, is a sophisticated solution crafted to deliver high availability, enhanced performance, and strong security for applications and services. Originating from the Coyote Point Load Balancer after Fortinet’s acquisition, FortiADC expands on its predecessor’s capabilities with a broad range of features designed for today’s application delivery demands. It offers Layer 4 and Layer 7 load balancing, global server load balancing (GSLB), SSL offloading, and advanced health checks to ensure smooth traffic management and reliable uptime. Additionally, it integrates seamlessly with Fortinet’s security ecosystem, featuring a built-in Web Application Firewall (WAF) and protection against Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, providing a comprehensive solution for secure and dependable application delivery.

A major advantage of FortiADC is its blend of high performance and user-friendly deployment and management, a legacy of the Coyote Point Load Balancer. FortiADC further improves on this by incorporating advanced analytics, application optimization tools, and support for hybrid and multi-cloud setups. It is especially well-suited for enterprises aiming to simplify their application delivery processes while ensuring robust security. Through tight integration with Fortinet’s product portfolio, FortiADC enables organizations to efficiently scale and protect their infrastructure, representing a strong evolution of the original Coyote Point Load Balancer tailored for modern IT environments.

WHAT IS RELIANOID

RELIANOID as alternative to AWS Load Balancer and FortiADC across key ADC capabilities

When comparing RELIANOID with AWS Load Balancer and FortiADC, it becomes clear that RELIANOID offers a more flexible, efficient, and future-ready solution. While AWS Load Balancer is ideal for cloud-native apps within AWS, it suffers from vendor lock-in and limited visibility into traffic control. FortiADC, though strong in security integration, often presents higher total cost of ownership and a steeper learning curve. In contrast, RELIANOID combines powerful L4/L7 load balancing, built-in WAF, TLS/mTLS offloading, and HTTP/3 support in a single lightweight platform. It is designed for maximum performance and portability, with support for bare metal, VMs, containers, and hybrid clouds, while offering an intuitive web interface, REST API, and hot reloads for operational agility. This makes RELIANOID a compelling choice for organizations seeking control, security, and scalability without infrastructure lock-in.