Coyote Point makes the grade

Traffic management vendor Coyote Point Systems recently commissioned The Tolly Group to put it to the test to measure if its load-balancing and traffic management tools stack up against F5 Network’s Big-IP products in terms of price and performance. 

The vendor reports that the tests included software updates and device configuration files provided by F5 for its Big-IP devices. The independent research firm put F5 up against Coyote Point’s E350si, the vendor’s entry-level Layer 7 product. According to the results, the Coyote Point product costs “three to four times less on a cost-per-transaction basis and 30% to 50% less in terms of the cost-per-M bit/sec of throughput served than F5’s Big-IP 3400.”

According to the report, the devices were measured for a variety of performance metrics, such as Layer 4 connection rate, Layer 7 transaction rate and aggregate throughput at both Layer 4 and Layer 7.

“Test results show that Coyote Point’s Equalizer 350si outperformed the Big-IP 1500 in every test, delivers near-comparable performance to the much more expensive Big-IP 3400 and offers compelling price/performance advantages,” said Kevin Tolly, President and CEO of The Tolly Group, in a Coyote Point press release.

In response to the released test results, F5 officials say the tests didn’t challenge comparable products.

“This is not an apples to apples comparison because companies like Coyote Point are competing in the low-end market segment, selling commodity functionality and performance at a commodity price,” a company spokeswoman says. “Their strategy to compete on price is clearly not effective when Gartner refers to Coyote Point as a player on the ‘fringes of the market.'”

Complete results of the test can be seen here.