Array APV

Array APV is an application delivery controller for organizations that need to balance and secure application traffic across varied infrastructure. It is strongest for teams with business-critical services and administrators who can shape detailed traffic policies; for basic load distribution, it may be more than necessary.

Overview

APV brings server load balancing, traffic management, acceleration, and application security together. Balancing across Layers 2, 3, 4, and 7, with health checks, persistence, clustering, and failover, gives operators multiple ways to keep services available as traffic and server conditions change. Layer 7 routing and global traffic management extend that control beyond straightforward server distribution.

Its policy engine lets administrators configure rules in the WebUI or CLI, then combine or nest them for customized traffic handling. That flexibility matters when applications need distinct routing behavior, but complex policies require people who can manage them reliably.

Key features

Traffic control and availability

Health checks, persistence, clustering, and failover support continuity, while policies can tailor handling at Layer 7. This is useful for organizations managing multiple applications or service requirements. Teams that only need a simple load balancer may not benefit from the additional policy and operational controls.

Acceleration and security

APV can accelerate and offload SSL/TLS processing, including key exchange and bulk encryption, and provides certificate and key management. Connection multiplexing, caching, and compression add ways to optimize traffic. Array describes SSL acceleration as suited to SaaS, e-commerce, and other business-critical applications with high-volume secure connectivity. The x850 datasheet describes WebWall protection against DDoS and malformed URL attacks; buyers should distinguish those x850 capabilities from the broader APV feature set.

Management and integrations

The x850 datasheet describes secure CLI, WebUI, and SSH remote management, role-based administration, and real-time monitoring. It also identifies integration with OpenStack Load Balancing-as-a-Service, VMware Cloud Orchestrator, and Microsoft System Center standards. These options suit environments that need centralized administration or those integrations, though they do not remove the need for skilled operational ownership.

Pricing

APV is paid, with custom pricing. Array says its licensing options include perpetual or subscription licenses, utility consumption, and MSP/IaaS pricing models. That range can suit different procurement and deployment arrangements, but buyers should request a quote for the intended configuration before comparing total cost.

There are no published APV plan prices or free-plan terms to use as a baseline. This makes it harder for smaller teams to assess affordability upfront; organizations considering APV should clarify the licensing model and costs that apply to their deployment.

Platforms

APV is available across API, Linux, self-hosted, and web environments. Array describes physical and virtual appliances, hyper-converged infrastructure, and deployment on AWS, Azure, and Google. The vAPV guide covers VMware ESXi, Hyper-V, KVM, Citrix XenServer, Nutanix, AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, giving infrastructure teams several ways to place the virtual edition in existing environments.

Who it's for

APV is a reasonable fit for organizations with demanding application availability and traffic needs, including the banking, healthcare, manufacturing, government, education, and service-provider sectors Array serves. Its SSL/TLS processing options are particularly relevant to SaaS and e-commerce services that handle substantial secure connectivity. It is less compelling for teams that need only basic balancing or lack administrators to maintain customized traffic policies.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Balancing across Layers 2–7, plus health checks, persistence, clustering, and failover, supports a broad set of availability needs.
• Pros: Configurable and nestable Layer 7 policies let administrators tailor traffic handling through either the WebUI or CLI.
• Pros: SSL/TLS offloading, connection multiplexing, caching, and compression provide several approaches to handling secure and application traffic.
• Cons: Custom pricing means buyers cannot make an upfront cost comparison from a published APV price.
• Cons: The breadth of policy and management controls is a poor match for teams seeking only basic balancing or a minimal operational setup.
• Cons: WebWall and DDoS details are tied to the x850 datasheet, so buyers should confirm those capabilities for the specific APV configuration they intend to purchase.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, browse Load Balancing Software.

• VMware Workstation Pro is a free Windows or Linux-hosted option for users whose need is running virtual machines rather than choosing an application delivery controller.
• AWS Elastic Load Balancing is worth considering for API or web deployments that want a free tier of 750 shared monthly hours for Classic and Application Load Balancers and 15 GB of Classic Load Balancer data processing.
• HAProxy Community Edition is a free Linux, self-hosted choice for TCP and HTTP proxying.
• Linux Virtual Server is a free, GPL-licensed option for teams that want load balancing software running on Linux.
• MetalLB is a free open-source project for Kubernetes load balancing.
• PureLB is a free Linux, macOS, and self-hosted alternative.
• F5 BIG-IP APM is a paid alternative with a free trial for teams considering a perpetual license across virtual, hardware, or hybrid environments.
• kube-vip is a free Linux and self-hosted alternative.

Verdict

Choose Array APV if your organization needs multilevel balancing, tailored traffic policies, and SSL/TLS processing across physical, virtual, or cloud deployments. Its combination of availability controls and traffic-management options is the main reason to consider it. Look elsewhere if basic load balancing is enough or if you need clear published pricing before engaging with a vendor.