Citrix ADC (now NetScaler) vs PureLB
Citrix ADC (now NetScaler)
netscaler.com
PureLB
purelb.ioSide by side
| Figure | Citrix ADC (now NetScaler) | PureLB |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 0 |
| Spec score · Load Balancing Software | 7.4 (#9) | 6.8 (#18) |
| Intended users | NetScaler says it serves enterprises scaling customer-facing applications and organizations using Citrix virtual apps and desktops. | PureLB is designed for operators running Kubernetes clusters on bare-metal Linux nodes who need external reachability for LoadBalancer services. |
| Purpose | NetScaler is an application delivery and security platform for high-performance application delivery, application and API security, and end-to-end observability. | PureLB provides Kubernetes LoadBalancer services for bare-metal deployments by allocating IP addresses from configured pools and announcing them through Linux networking or optional BGP. |
| Security | Its listed security features include web application firewall, API protection, and bot mitigation. | The allocator runs as non-root UID 65534 with a read-only filesystem, while the node agent and k8gobgp run as root with networking capabilities and host networking. |
| Support | The three subscription options listed on the pricing page include software support and on-demand training. | The project lists its Kubernetes Slack #purelb-users channel and GitHub Issues as ways to get help. |
Plans
Citrix ADC (now NetScaler)
- Citrix Platform LicensePriced on request
- Citrix Universal Hybrid Multi-Cloud LicensePriced on request
- NetScaler Fixed-Capacity LicensePriced on request
In their own words
Citrix ADC (now NetScaler)
Citrix ADC, now NetScaler, is an application delivery and security platform for high-performance traffic management, application and API protection, and end-to-end observability. Its delivery features include load balancing, intelligent traffic management, SSL/TLS offloading, dynamic scaling, Kubernetes ingress, and multi-cluster routing. Security capabilities include a web application firewall, API protection, and bot mitigation. Management options cover ADC monitoring, infrastructure as code, intent-based configuration, Next-Gen API, and NITRO APIs. NetScaler is available as a virtual machine (VPX), container (CPX), bare-metal deployment (BLX), or single-tenant (MPX) and multi-tenant (SDX) hardware. A common code base and single management plane support management across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Listed integrations include AWS, Microsoft, Google, IBM, Oracle, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible, Rancher, Splunk, Prometheus, Grafana, and Elastic. The Platform License has unlimited throughput; the Universal Hybrid Multi-Cloud License includes 1,000 Gbps; Fixed-Capacity defines instance counts. Prices are available on request.
PureLB
PureLB is a Kubernetes Service LoadBalancer for bare-metal Linux clusters. It allocates external IP addresses from configured pools and announces them through Linux networking, with optional BGP for remote addresses. ServiceGroups use exactly one pool type: local, remote, or Netbox. Local addresses are attached to host interfaces, and a Kubernetes Lease election chooses which node announces each address; another node can take over if that node fails. Remote addresses are placed on a dummy interface on every node and advertised through BGP, allowing an upstream router to distribute traffic with ECMP. Pools can contain IPv4, IPv6, or both for dual-stack deployments. Kubernetes Custom Resource Definitions configure pools and node agents. Installation uses kubectl manifests or Helm, with Helm recommended for production. PureLB requires a Kubernetes cluster with an operational CNI and Linux nodes. It is free, open source, Apache 2.0 licensed, and self-hosted. Prometheus metrics are exposed on port 7472 at /metrics. NetBox integration is documented but currently unsupported and may not work with recent versions.