Aruba Access Points Reviews

I use Aruba Access Points in my company to support IoT network architecture.

The most valuable feature of the solution is its stability.

The disadvantage of Aruba Access Points is experienced by me when I need it to offer me a long range of coverage. When it comes to some devices, where maximum users connect with Aruba Access Points, the range of coverage area it provides is reduced. When a large number of users join Aruba Access Point, they are provided with a very small range of coverage. The aforementioned aspect related to the product is an area where improvements are required.

In the future, I want Aruba Access Points to provide more scalability options. The scalability part of the solution comes into the picture, especially when considering the product's performance issues. More scalability options are required in the solution, especially during times when my company needs to switch users or shift them to some other area.

From an improvement perspective, Aruba's technical support team should consider providing a faster response to the queries raised by users.

Training for users related to Aruba's upcoming firmware releases should be provided.

Aruba Central is a good product, and users need similar capabilities in Aruba Switches and Aruba Access Points at a very low price point. Aruba provides its users with a lifetime hardware replacement, and I want the same thing in Aruba Central, wherein users get lifetime product support and switches. In short, Aruba should make it possible for users to incur a one-time cost for Aruba Central.

I have been using Aruba Access Points since 2017. I am an end-user of the product.

It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a out of ten.

Aruba Access Points is a scalable product.

My company has 55 end users of the product.

The support provided by the technical team of Aruba Access Points is neither good nor bad, meaning it lies somewhere in the middle.

I use Cisco and Aruba in my company. I have been using Cisco since 2008. I would describe Cisco and Aruba as products that are very similar to each other.

The product's initial setup phase was easy.

The solution is deployed on the cloud.

The solution can be deployed in less than 30 minutes.

I can take care of the product's deployment phase by myself.

Aruba is cheaper than Cisco.

My company needs to pay yearly for the licensing costs attached to the product. There are no additional payments towards the solution apart from its licensing costs.

Currently, there is no maintenance required for the solution.

I recommend the solution to those who plan to use it.

I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten.

We use the tool for our devices. We use it for laptops, wireless phones, and tablets.

The product helps find issues in devices.

The stability must be improved. Sometimes, the user gets disconnected from the network.

I have been using the solution for four years.

The tool’s stability is good. I rate the stability a seven out of ten.

The tool is scalable. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten. We have 300 users. It is not extensively used.

The technical support is perfect.

The setup takes a long time. We took three months to complete the setup. The deployment process is the same as Cisco’s.

We used consultants to deploy the solution. We had an issue with the access ID for the captive portal. The engineers couldn’t solve it at that time. It took too long. We used a pre-shared key. We needed three engineers and technicians for the deployment.

The product is cheaper than Cisco and Huawei. We pay a yearly license fee.

I will not recommend the tool to others. I wouldn’t want people to go through the issues I went through. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

We use Aruba access points for wireless connectivity, like connecting 30 to 40 users' laptops to the office Internet through WiFi access points.

Model 556 is a very stable and good product for users to access the Internet without any interference and disturbance while getting good speed. WiFi technologies are growing day by day. Where we had 2.4GHz and 5GHz earlier, OEMs now give devices that support 6GHz.

Aruba access points protect connectivity, and we don't get interference. The hardware is a throughput point and handles the required number of users. The product's capacity is proper, and we are not facing any challenges.

These days, every OEM gives services on their cloud. We want to move the wireless controller to our cloud. If a company has multiple offices in multiple locations, we need to direct connectivity without depending on any other location. Going with a cloud solution will make dependency no longer a challenge from a connectivity point of view. If you move an account, you get the freedom. You're not dependent on any other locations selling the same product.

I've worked with Aruba Access Points for approximately ten years.

I rate Aruba access points' stability an eight out of ten. We've been using the product for a long time, and it is a very stable product.

If you go with the cloud version, it's a good endpoint for user scalability. In-house you'll need to upgrade or change the hardware if the number of users or company size grows. I rate the scalability an eight out of ten. Approximately 500 users are using Aruba access points 24/7.

I rate the initial setup an eight out of ten because the deployment is easy.

The deployment was a physical deployment that involved cabling parts, physically mounting the product on walls, and installing the AP on a roof. If you set up the product in an office, it will take one to two days.

While we needed one man to deploy the solution, we needed three or four people to handle the physical cabling and mounting. One person is sufficient for maintenance.

We implemented the product in-house.

I rate the pricing a six out of ten because it's not cheap or expensive.

Someone considering using Aruba access points' cloud solution can choose it with WiFi 6 connected. As for the on-prem version, it depends on their requirements. If it's not a large setup, without many APs, they can choose the in-house solution.

I rate Aruba access points an eight out of ten.

We use the solution for official purposes.

Aruba is a controller-based solution. We have some multi-story buildings. We only need to maintain one controller, and we can manage it from a single IP address.

The solution’s updates and firmware are complicated to upgrade.

I have been using Aruba Access Points as a customer for five to seven years.

The product is stable.

The solution’s scalability is good. 70-80 users are using this solution in our organization.

The technical support is good, and there is no issue.

Positive

We have used Cisco and D-link. We chose Aruba since they provide a lifetime warranty with zero maintenance and can be managed easily.

The initial setup is easy, and one person is enough to deploy within five hours. It's plug-and-play only. We can buy it on the access phone and install it on our network. It will automatically take an IP address, then we can use it.

The product is costly and comes with a lifetime license. There is neither renewal nor subscription. It is a one-time solution.

The solution is easy to maintain.

We don't have any issues with the network. I recommend this solution if someone asks me what to choose.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

We use Aruba Wireless to provide wireless solutions and services to some of the biggest IT customers for multiple use cases.

The solution provided by Aruba Wireless fulfills most of today's IT services requirements.

The product’s most valuable feature is its ability to offer wireless connectivity to any service provider, and ease of integration with 3rd party vendors. It is also stable.

Technical support services needs improvement.

We have been using Aruba Access Points for more than four years.

We encounter stability issues with some old IAPs.

It is a scalable platform.

We contacted the product’s technical support team regarding OpenLDAP integration with WLC for dot1x authentication. They said the OpenLDAP support dot1x. But later we checked the solution OpenLDAP is compatible with WLC but OpenLDAP itself doesn't support dot1x. The overall support requires improvement.

Positive

The product’s initial setup process is easy if you have specific knowledge. If you use Aruba Central, enter the MAC address and serial number on Aruba Central.

Port 443 should be open on the firewall. It is zero-touch provisioning. The AP will automatically be provisioned to Aruba Central. It takes around 10 - 15 minutes to provision.

The price is better when compared with the competitors.

Compared to Cisco, the product has a user-friendly interface. It is easy to configure as well.

I advise others to analyze if the product is relevant for their production. There is no need for bandwidth. It is suitable for all types of complexity.

I rate Aruba Access Points a 9.5 out of 10.

Its client match feature is crucial as it helps ensure that devices are optimally connected to the network. It enhances the quality of service by prioritizing media traffic and reducing potential disruptions. The roaming features are also essential and primarily managed through the MCC technology. It focuses on maintaining the quality of service during media traffic, ensuring a seamless user experience. When connecting multiple Access Points, users can independently select their feature controller technology. This simplifies management and deployment, as you only need to configure one AP, and it can then replicate settings to others. Another valuable aspect is integration with other technologies, as it can be incredibly useful when replacing or upgrading systems.

We encountered some challenges when deploying different models of access points, particularly as our network expanded. Initially, using smaller models like the 200 or 300 series worked well, but as the network grew, issues related to signal strength and coverage became noticeable. The newer models, such as those supporting Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6, had stronger standards but suffered from slower signal penetration, which resulted in dead spots. Another concern is that when clients wish to migrate to higher-end models, it necessitates running additional cables to address these coverage gaps, mainly due to the higher models having less penetration. I would appreciate for the higher-end models to offer the same signal strength as the older, smaller models, even while maintaining the latest standards, as this would enhance the overall network performance and coverage. There was an issue with equipment delivery where a different model was received, resulting in signal coverage gaps due to differences in signal strength compared to what was initially tested. Having stronger signal strength in the higher-end models, similar to the lower-end models, would be a valuable improvement.

We have been working with it for three years now.

It provides exceptional stability and reliability. I would rate it ten out of ten.

The scalability is highly satisfactory and it is a straightforward process to expand the network. If you're using a centralized mobility conductor architecture and you have ten thousand clients, and you want to add another ten thousand, it's as simple as adding another mobility conductor. You can set up this new conductor as a multiple instance, ensuring active redundancy, and then you add additional controllers and access points. The key benefit here is that you only need to configure one mobility conductor initially, so adding new ones is relatively painless. You can migrate configurations and add more control planes to accommodate the growing network seamlessly.

They provide good customer support.

Positive

I have experience working with both Cisco and Aruba, and I noticed some key differences, particularly in the context of client deployments and the flexibility of the two systems. With Cisco, the deployments are typically smaller, involving just a few access points. One noticeable difference is that Cisco requires additional licensing for features like security and DTC encryptions, and to fully utilize the capabilities of a Cisco switch, you often have to purchase separate performance licenses, which could be somewhat complex, especially when dealing with high-performance switches. Aruba's approach is more straightforward and flexible and the licensing is more user-friendly. It's a one-time purchase, and there's no need for additional licensing for various features.

The initial setup is straightforward.

When it comes to configuring virtual instances, the difference in time efficiency between using a mobility controller and a mobility connector is significant. With a mobility controller, the process takes longer because you need to configure the controller first, and then provision the access points individually. This step can be time-consuming, as you have to configure the controller and then proceed with the provisioning of each access point. With a feature controller, you save a significant amount of time, as you only need to configure the first access point as the feature controller, and the subsequent access points are provisioned automatically. This streamlined approach means that setting up the feature controller typically takes less than an hour, making it a much quicker option for deployment. For monitoring the access points and switches, there are typically two phases: configuration and ongoing monitoring. Self-configuration can be quite efficient while monitoring ongoing operations can be managed effectively. In situations where you're deploying a substantial number of access points, having multiple team members working in parallel, perhaps as many as ten people for more than five hundred access points, can expedite the process further.

The pricing has been quite favorable. As partners, we often engage in negotiations with Aruba, which enables us to secure discounts, making the pricing even more attractive. Overall, I would say the pricing is reasonable and meets our expectations.

It offers remarkable client-handling capacity. Specifically, the Aruba 505 can accommodate up to 266 clients, which is a significant advantage. The speed and performance of these access points are highly commendable, making them well-suited for various applications, including educational institutions such as schools. Additionally, Aruba has introduced gateway technologies, which are handy for multiple branches. By deploying gateways in these branches, you can use technologies like SD-WAN to efficiently manage and route traffic over the Internet while being centrally managed from the headquarters. This enhances scalability and flexibility, ensuring that the network can easily adapt to expanding requirements.

We use them for internal or external wireless LAN, and indoor or outdoor access points. We have on-premises controllers, switches, access switches, installation switches, and core switches. The network is big.

We have many projects, and this is a good product.

The integration with their other products, like ClearPass, and the security features they have. These are good features.

The ICT dynamic is important. Every other vendor is innovating with new features and ideas. They need to compete and implement these things to stay ahead.

So, I would suggest Aruba continue to gain the competitive edge. 

I have been using this product for 10+ years.

I would rate the stability a nine out of ten. It is a stable product.

It is a scalable product. It is easy to scale. I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. It is okay. 

We have enterprise-level clients. 

The customer service and support are good.

Positive

I also have experience with ExtremeWireless (Extreme) and Ruckus. I have parallel experience with Cisco, HP, Aruba, and Huawei.

The initial setup is easy. Our customers mostly opt for on-premises deployment. Customers aren't interested in cloud-based solutions because they need that on-premises control.

The deployment depends on the client's site. For around ten access points and wireless controllers, it takes less than two days. 

The pricing is competitive. It is neither cheap nor expensive. It is moderate. It offers better price than Cisco and other competitors. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten.

The tool's most valuable feature is better connectivity. 

Aruba Access Points should improve its automation. 

I have been using the product for three years. 

I rate Aruba Access Points' stability a nine out of ten. 

The tool's scalability is good. 

Aruba Access Points' support is good. 

Aruba Access Points' deployment is straightforward and completed in one to two days. 

The tool's pricing is not expensive. It is perfect as per the features. 

I rate the tool a ten out of ten. You should go for it. You can get better manageability, support, and stability.