|
1 | 1 | --- |
2 | | -title: Feature comparison |
| 2 | +title: Feature overview |
3 | 3 | weight: 300 |
4 | 4 | description: Compare NGINXaaS for Azure with other NGINX offerings. |
5 | 5 | toc: false |
|
9 | 9 | - concept |
10 | 10 | --- |
11 | 11 |
|
12 | | -{{< table >}} |
13 | | - |
14 | | -|**Load Balancer**<br> |**NGINX Open<br>Source** |**NGINX Plus<br> ** |**F5 NGINXaaS<br>for Azure** | |
15 | | -|----------------------------------------|---------------------|---------------------|--------------------------| |
16 | | -| [HTTP](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/load-balancer/http-load-balancer/) and [TCP/UDP](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/load-balancer/tcp-udp-load-balancer/) support |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
17 | | -| [Layer 7 request routing](https://www.nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_core_module.html#location) |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
18 | | -| [Session persistence](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/load-balancer/http-load-balancer/#enabling-session-persistence) |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
19 | | -| [Active health checks](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/load-balancer/http-health-check/) | |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
20 | | -| [DNS service-discovery integration](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_upstream_module.html#service) | |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
21 | | -|**Content Cache** |**NGINX Open<br>Source** |**NGINX Plus<br> ** |**NGINXaaS<br>for Azure** | |
22 | | -| [Static and dynamic content caching](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/content-cache/content-caching/)|{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
23 | | -| [Cache-purging API](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/content-cache/content-caching/#purging-content-from-the-cache) | |{{<check>}} | | |
24 | | -| MQTT protocol support for IOT devices | |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
25 | | -|**Web Server and Reverse Proxy** |**NGINX Open<br>Source** |**NGINX Plus<br> ** |**NGINXaaS<br>for Azure** | |
26 | | -| Origin server for static content |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
27 | | -| Reverse proxy: [HTTP](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_proxy_module.html), [FastCGl](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_fastcgi_module.html),<br> [memcached](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_memcached_module.html), [SCGI](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_scgi_module.html), [uwsgi](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_uwsgi_module.html) |{{<check>}} | {{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
28 | | -| [HTTP/2 gateway](https://www.nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_v2_module.html) |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
29 | | -| [gRPC proxy](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_grpc_module.html) |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
30 | | -| [HTTP/2 server push](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_v2_module.html#http2_push) |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
31 | | -| [HTTP/3 over QUIC](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_v3_module.html) |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
32 | | -|**Security Controls** |**NGINX Open<br>Source** |**NGINX Plus<br> ** |**NGINXaaS<br>for Azure** | |
33 | | -| [HTTP basic authentication](https://www.nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_auth_basic_module.html) |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
34 | | -| [HTTP authentication subrequests](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_auth_request_module.html) |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
35 | | -| [IP address-based access control lists](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_access_module.html) |{{<check>}}|{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
36 | | -| [Rate limiting](https://blog.nginx.org/blog/rate-limiting-nginx) |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
37 | | -| Dual-stack RSA/ECC SSL/TLS offload |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
38 | | -| TLS 1.3 support |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
39 | | -| [JWT authentication](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_auth_jwt_module.html) | |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
40 | | -| OpenID Connect single sign-on<br> (SSO) | |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
41 | | -| Internal redirect | |{{<check>}} | | |
42 | | -| NGINX as a SAML Service Provider | |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
43 | | -| [NGINX App Protect WAF](https://www.f5.com/products/nginx/nginx-app-protect) (additional cost) | |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
44 | | -| [NGINX App Protect DoS](https://www.f5.com/products/nginx/nginx-app-protect) (additional cost) | |{{<check>}} | | |
45 | | -|**Monitoring** |**NGINX Open<br>Source** |**NGINX Plus<br> ** |**NGINXaaS<br>for Azure** | |
46 | | -| Export to [external monitoring tools](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/monitoring/live-activity-monitoring/) |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |Export metrics to<br>Azure Monitor | |
47 | | -| Built-in dashboard | |{{<check>}} |[Azure Monitor](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/overview)<br> and [Azure Portal](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/get-started/azure-portal) | |
48 | | -| [Extended status with 100+<br> additional metrics](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/monitoring/live-activity-monitoring/) | |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
49 | | -| Native Open Telemetry Tracing | |{{<check>}} | | |
50 | | -|**High Availability (HA)** |**NGINX Open<br>Source** |**NGINX Plus<br> ** |**NGINXaaS<br>for Azure** | |
51 | | -| [Active-active](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/high-availability/) | |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
52 | | -| [Active-passive](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/high-availability/) | |{{<check>}} | Not Applicable | |
53 | | -| [Configuration synchronization<br> across cluster](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/high-availability/configuration-sharing/) | |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
54 | | -| [State sharing](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/high-availability/zone_sync/): sticky-learn session<br> persistence, rate limiting, key-value<br> stores | |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
55 | | -|**Programmability** |**NGINX Open<br>Source** |**NGINX Plus<br> ** |**NGINXaaS<br>for Azure** | |
56 | | -| [NGINX JavaScript module](https://www.f5.com/company/blog/nginx/harnessing-power-convenience-of-javascript-for-each-request-with-nginx-javascript-module) |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
57 | | -| [NGINX Plus API for dynamic<br> reconfiguration](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/load-balancer/dynamic-configuration-api/) | |{{<check>}} | | |
58 | | -| [Key-value store](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_keyval_module.html) | |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
59 | | -| Dynamic reconfiguration without<br> process reloads | |{{<check>}} | | |
60 | | -|**Streaming Media** |**NGINX Open<br>Source** |**NGINX Plus<br> ** |**NGINXaaS<br>for Azure** | |
61 | | -| Live streaming: RTMP, HLS, DASH |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
62 | | -| VOD: Flash (FLV), MP4 |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
63 | | -| Adaptive bitrate VOD: [HLS](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_hls_module.html), [HDS](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_f4f_module.html) | |{{<check>}} | | |
64 | | -| [MP4 bandwidth controls](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_mp4_module.html) | |{{<check>}} | | |
65 | | -|**Third-party ecosystem** |**NGINX Open<br>Source** |**NGINX Plus<br> ** |**NGINXaaS<br>for Azure** | |
66 | | -| [Ingress controller](https://www.f5.com/products/nginx/nginx-ingress-controller) |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | | |
67 | | -| OpenShift Router |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | | |
68 | | -| [Dynamic modules repository](https://www.f5.com/go/product/nginx-modules) | |{{<check>}} |[Image-Filter](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_image_filter_module.html)<br />[njs](https://nginx.org/en/docs/njs/)<br />[OpenTelemetry](https://nginx.org/en/docs/ngx_otel_module.html)<br />[XSLT](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_xslt_module.html) | |
69 | | -| Deployable as a service | | |Microsoft Azure | |
70 | | -| [Commercial support](https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000140156/) | |{{<check>}} |{{<check>}} | |
71 | | -{{< /table >}} |
| 12 | +NGINXaaS for Azure delivers the core capabilities of NGINX as a managed service, integrated with Microsoft Azure. It provides most of the features of NGINX Open Source and many from NGINX Plus, but some capabilities are not included. |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +Below is a feature breakdown with notes on support and limitations. |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +## Load balancing |
| 18 | + |
| 19 | +- [HTTP and TCP/UDP load balancing](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/load-balancer/http-load-balancer/) |
| 20 | +- [Layer 7 request routing](https://www.nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_core_module.html#location) |
| 21 | +- [Session persistence](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/load-balancer/http-load-balancer/#enabling-session-persistence) |
| 22 | +- [Active health checks](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/load-balancer/http-health-check/) (not in OSS, available in Plus) |
| 23 | +- [DNS-based service discovery](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_upstream_module.html#service) |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +--- |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +## Content caching |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +- [Static and dynamic content caching](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/content-cache/content-caching/) |
| 30 | +- MQTT protocol support for IoT devices |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +**Limitation:** [Cache purging API](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/content-cache/content-caching/#purging-content-from-the-cache) (Plus feature) is not available. |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +--- |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +## Web server and reverse proxy |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +- Origin server for static content |
| 39 | +- Reverse proxy for [HTTP](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_proxy_module.html), [FastCGI](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_fastcgi_module.html), [memcached](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_memcached_module.html), [SCGI](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_scgi_module.html), and [uwsgi](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_uwsgi_module.html) |
| 40 | +- [HTTP/2 gateway](https://www.nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_v2_module.html) |
| 41 | +- [gRPC proxy](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_grpc_module.html) |
| 42 | +- [HTTP/2 server push](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_v2_module.html#http2_push) |
| 43 | +- [HTTP/3 over QUIC](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_v3_module.html) |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +--- |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +## Security |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +- [HTTP basic authentication](https://www.nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_auth_basic_module.html) |
| 50 | +- [Authentication subrequests](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_auth_request_module.html) (for external auth) |
| 51 | +- [IP-based access controls](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_access_module.html) |
| 52 | +- [Rate limiting](https://blog.nginx.org/blog/rate-limiting-nginx) |
| 53 | +- Dual-stack RSA/ECC SSL/TLS offload |
| 54 | +- TLS 1.3 support |
| 55 | +- [JWT authentication](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_auth_jwt_module.html) (Plus feature) |
| 56 | +- OpenID Connect SSO (Plus feature) |
| 57 | +- NGINX as a SAML Service Provider (Plus feature) |
| 58 | +- [NGINX App Protect WAF](https://www.f5.com/products/nginx/nginx-app-protect) (extra cost) |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | +**Limitations:** |
| 61 | + |
| 62 | +- Internal redirect and App Protect DoS (Plus features) are not available. |
| 63 | + |
| 64 | +--- |
| 65 | + |
| 66 | +## Monitoring |
| 67 | + |
| 68 | +- Export metrics directly into [Azure Monitor](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/overview) |
| 69 | +- Dashboards in [Azure Monitor](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/overview) and [Azure Portal](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/get-started/azure-portal) |
| 70 | +- [Extended status with 100+ metrics](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/monitoring/live-activity-monitoring/) |
| 71 | + |
| 72 | +**Limitations:** |
| 73 | + |
| 74 | +- No built-in live dashboard like NGINX Plus; visibility is provided through Azure Monitor instead. |
| 75 | +- Native OpenTelemetry tracing is not available. |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +--- |
| 78 | + |
| 79 | +## High availability (HA) |
| 80 | + |
| 81 | +- [Active-active HA](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/high-availability/) |
| 82 | +- [Configuration synchronization across the cluster](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/high-availability/configuration-sharing/) |
| 83 | +- [State sharing](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/high-availability/zone_sync/) for session persistence, rate limiting, and key-value store |
| 84 | + |
| 85 | +**Limitation:** [Active-passive HA](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/high-availability/) is not applicable in the managed service model. |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +--- |
| 88 | + |
| 89 | +## Programmability |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | +- [NGINX JavaScript (njs) module](https://www.f5.com/company/blog/nginx/harnessing-power-convenience-of-javascript-for-each-request-with-nginx-javascript-module) |
| 92 | +- [Key-value store](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_keyval_module.html) |
| 93 | + |
| 94 | +**Limitations:** |
| 95 | + |
| 96 | +- [NGINX Plus API for dynamic reconfiguration](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/load-balancer/dynamic-configuration-api/) (Plus feature) is not available. |
| 97 | + |
| 98 | +--- |
| 99 | + |
| 100 | +## Streaming media |
| 101 | + |
| 102 | +- Live streaming: RTMP, HLS, DASH |
| 103 | +- VOD: Flash (FLV), MP4 |
| 104 | + |
| 105 | +**Limitation:** Adaptive bitrate streaming (HLS/HDS) and [MP4 bandwidth controls](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_mp4_module.html) (Plus features) are not available. |
| 106 | + |
| 107 | +--- |
| 108 | + |
| 109 | +## Ecosystem and extensibility |
| 110 | + |
| 111 | +- Dynamic module support for: |
| 112 | + - [Image-Filter](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_image_filter_module.html) |
| 113 | + - [njs](https://nginx.org/en/docs/njs/) |
| 114 | + - [OpenTelemetry](https://nginx.org/en/docs/ngx_otel_module.html) |
| 115 | + - [XSLT](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_xslt_module.html) |
| 116 | +- Delivered as a managed service in Microsoft Azure |
| 117 | +- [Commercial support](https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000140156/) from F5 |
| 118 | + |
| 119 | +**Limitations:** |
| 120 | + |
| 121 | +- [Ingress Controller](https://www.f5.com/products/nginx/nginx-ingress-controller) and OpenShift Router are not included. |
| 122 | +- Dynamic module repository is limited compared to NGINX Plus. |
| 123 | + |
| 124 | +--- |
| 125 | + |
| 126 | +{{< include "/nginx-plus/oss-plus-comparison.md" >}} |
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