Aruba Access Points Reviews

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 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 Access Points mainly for wireless connection.

Aruba Access Points is an economical solution.

The solution's technical support and the quality of the new releases need to be improved because we have seen a lot of bugs in the solution's new releases.

I have been working with Aruba Access Points for more than five years.

Aruba Access Points is a stable solution for the short term. However, it is not stable in the long term. For example, it won't be stable in an environment where the Wi-Fi needs to be up 24/7 and 365 days.

If I turn on my access points today, I will not face any issues for the next six or seven months. However, after eight to nine months, or after one year, I'll start facing a lot of issues directly connected to what we call maximum tolerable uptime.

The solution's scalability is good. We have one of the largest Wi-Fi infrastructures in terms of the number of access points, and we have never faced any limitations or issues related to capacity or scalability.

I rate Aruba Access Points an eight or nine out of ten for scalability.

The solution's technical support team can fix minor issues. However, when it comes to resolving complicated or complex issues, they either lack expertise, are not routing it through the proper channel, or are not engaging the right people. We are yet to receive solutions for the complex and unique problems we highlighted to them around two years ago.

Neutral

Cisco has an edge over Aruba in terms of stability and support.

We are getting the expected return on investment with Aruba Access Points.

Although not cheap, Aruba Access Points is a reasonably priced solution.

Users should insist on checking the SLAs in an environment where they need to run the solution 24/7 and 365 days without any break, planned maintenance window, or outage window. They should insist on defining strict SLAs right at the beginning of the project for support and resolution. We call it response time and resolution in terms of SLA.

The solution is scalable, easy to deploy, and easy to maintain.

Overall, I rate Aruba Access Points an eight out of ten.

We are using it in the office for the Wi-Fi network. We implemented the solution for our office in 2015, but in 2017, we implemented the solution for our warehouse. We have also implemented the solution in one of our branch offices.

Aruba's virtual controller is the most important feature.

I also have TP-Link, Huawei, and D-Link access points, and normally those solutions have a controller, which is a separate software or hardware used to control all of these. But Aruba's virtual controller basically sits in one of the access points, and if that particular access point goes down, the controller automatically migrates to the next available access point. With this feature, I firstly don't need any additional hardware for a controller. Secondly, I don't need maintenance for it. A virtual controller that roams around from one device to another automatically makes life very easy for me.

My access points are nearly ten years old, so though they now have 2.4 and 5 GHz options, features like the captive portal for the guest Wi-Fi, avoiding sticky clients between two Aruba devices, reduced authentication, and the ability to look at the IDS are all still very advanced.

When I implemented their access points, Aruba was a separate company, and customer support used to come directly from them. But recently, HP has taken over Aruba, and how we receive support has changed. If I am looking at a new solution from Aruba, I have to go via HP's process, which is not as good as Aruba's used to be. I understand HP has its own access point solution, though I do not know whether that is why Aruba is not given much preference.

I have been working with Aruba access points since 2015.

When I first bought my current units, their lifespan was five years, but I'm still using them happily. They came with a lifetime hardware warranty at the time, but I still have not been able to use that warranty because none of them have broken down, so I rate the stability of the product a ten out of ten.

I rate the solution's scalability a nine out of ten. We have approximately 500 users.

Tech support used to be very easy because I would just call or email them, and tech support would respond within an hour. It was very seamless. But now I have to go through HP and raise a different kind of support ticket, so I have to spend more time going through various layers of approval. The engineer might still be an Aruba engineer, but I have to go through the HP process first.

We implemented another solution from TP-Link two years ago, but their features are still ten years behind Aruba's. One of the features I use in Aruba is reduced authentication. I have reduced authentication assigned to my active directory. For that to work, I should have a controller set in my active directory. The active directory speaks to the controller, and the controller speaks to all the access points.

It is a little different with TP-Link. Even though I have a separate controller, which is software that has to be installed on another machine, that feature does not work. I think it's called Omada Controller. I cannot set the controller because if I set it in my active directory, it cannot speak to all the access points. So I must set every access point with their IP addresses and names for the active directory to listen to. It is not a big deal if you have four or five access points. But you can't do that in a big company with something like 50 access points. It's ridiculous.

The initial setup was very easy because it is out of the box, where you have to go "next, next, next" to give you the default setup. After that, you can go in and set what you want in detail, whether you want to set the clients or set whether it's visible/not visible, all those things. It had this feature as well, I still remember from 2015, where once you configure one access point, information can automatically be transferred to other access points, and they can be set up automatically. So if I have five access points running and buy a sixth one today, I don't need to do anything for that sixth device. I need to turn it on, and as soon as it connects to the same Wi-Fi network, it picks the settings from the other units and sets itself up.

We do not require anyone to maintain the solution.

The price point in 2015 was really low compared to other enterprise-level access points, and I'm not talking about consumer access points like D-Link and TP-Link. I implemented seven access points in 2015 and only spent $6,000 for the whole project.

The only other devices I consider to be at the same level would be the access points from Meraki. Feature-wise and technical-wise, Aruba is really good. However, when it comes to support, which may be local to my market in Australia, I don't see Aruba being that easy to update or get support for, even when talking to HP or whomever the partners are. It is much easier to speak to tech support with Meraki and even Juniper Mist and access those devices.

I would have downloaded information on them because I'm looking at a new product. I'm looking at three products, Aruba, Meraki, and Juniper Mist. Just like I downloaded information from your site, I looked at the websites of these three companies, and Juniper's guys immediately called me and even offered to send me two devices to test in my environment. They also told me they would do the site surveys for free if I gave them the plans for my new site.

When it comes to features, scalability, or ease of use, I rate Aruba in the top three. But when looking at the technical part, we also need to look at how easy it is to get the devices or talk with the vendor.

The solution is used for medium to high-enterprise businesses and the government sector.

I find AI Insights valuable.

The product should improve its integration and the grouping of the features and functions.

I've worked with Aruba access points for about five years.

The product's stability is great.

I rate the scalability eight to nine out of ten. We have more than 10,000 users using Aruba access points. We plan to increase the number.

We still have one case running about Aruba 203, the microbranch. The issue is about the uplink. We couldn't do a file transfer. Last time, we needed to migrate through the OSM. We cannot change the uplink to traffic. Their last answer was that they would upgrade the platform, Aruba Central, sometime by the end of this year.

The initial setup is easy. It's faster with the RS10 than the RS8. But it can still be improved. It took about ten to 25 minutes to deploy from onboarding to the stable installation.

When deploying the solution, we configure and test all the devices before deploying them at the customer's side, where the solution should then be plug and play. Then, there is further testing, such as the users and the bandwidth.

We need 11 staff members to deploy the product. They are the delivery team, and their main jobs are to do the configuration, the assessment, and the deployment.

From a return-on-investment point of view, the solution is worth it.

We have to pay for a license for Aruba Central, the platform for Aruba access points. It is an annual license. The price compared to other brands is slightly higher.

In our company, we are using a number of products from Aruba, such as access points, Gateways, switches and so on.

I rate Aruba access points eight to nine out of ten. The solution has great features, and we are exploring IPS and IDS. Some companies have already begun asking about those features.

The product is quite accessible and reliable. It needs less or no maintenance. Once you install the solution, it keeps working. It needs very few upgrades. Aruba devices are quite reliable. We have found no defaults in the devices so far. The product is easy to use and easy to set up. Its durability is quite good.

The product should provide more coverage. The coverage provided should be equivalent to that of Cisco. It will be good if the product’s device provides coverage of at least 50 to 60 feet. The solution should increase security. The devices need to be more secure. Anyone who wants to hack or access the product can easily do it. The users do not receive any alerts if somebody is trying to access the tool.

I have been using the solution for the last five years.

The stability is quite good. It is excellent. We bought the devices two to three years ago, and they still work constantly without any failure.

The solution’s scalability must be improved. It should cover more number of people and area. I rate the scalability a seven out of ten. It will be great if scalability is increased a little more.

We have not contacted support yet. If we have any problems, our local vendor is capable of supporting us. The product’s support would be great. If a local vendor can support us, then if I contact someone directly from Aruba, they would definitely be able to support us.

Aruba and Ruckus work similarly. Cisco is a bit advanced in terms of security and manageability. We manage Cisco access points through one particular console. If anything goes wrong, then we can identify it easily. Cisco products are a little better in manageability. We frequently receive updates, but we can manage them well in advance through the console.

The initial setup is quite easy. It is not a problem at all. We need not do much. We need an expert to set up Cisco. Deploying Aruba and Ruckus is as easy as plug-and-play.

The deployment doesn’t even take ten minutes.

The pricing is reasonable. The product is also good. I would rate the pricing an eight or nine out of ten. For four devices, we pay around INR 30,000. We only pay for the license and the device. There are no additional costs associated with the tool.

The solution is fairly good. Anyone can use it. I will recommend Aruba. Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.

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.