It's just the perks that we get with everything in terms of the equipment, such as client tracking and GPS coverage. There's a whole lot of perks to Aruba.
Information Technology Support Engineer at One Eighty SA
Easy network management, Aruba Instant AI and offers security features
Pros and Cons
- "It's practical. It does what it needs to do."
- "For some people, price is a concern."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
We have seen one hundred percent improvement in terms of network management. Network management is so easy.
Aruba Instant AI, for one. It's like skipping your level-one technicians and going straight to two or three. It tells you what's wrong and helps you fix it. That's just one of the benefits.
It's all embedded in the controller itself.
What is most valuable?
The security features cover everything and more. It definitely meets our requirements.
What needs improvement?
For some people, price is a concern.
Buyer's Guide
Aruba Instant
April 2026
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For how long have I used the solution?
I use both Aruba Instant and Instant On, I have been using it for a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's stable. Only planned downtimes, months ahead, and it's timed so it doesn't even affect people. They don't even know.
How are customer service and support?
Whenever you need it, they pick up the phone. They help you then and there. If there's a project that you're stuck with, they literally walk you through everything. I've never had better service.
How was the initial setup?
Once you have a fundamental understanding of WLAN, it's easy. It's just the control and everything. Depending on the type of person you are, it's just learning it.
It all depends on the person. It took me a week; it took others two months. At the end of the day, it just depends on how much you're willing to sacrifice and learn.
So it depends on the case.
Besides syntax, which is a global thing across all brands. But there's no need to even use it because it gives you everything you need already, which fixes nine out of ten problems.
What was our ROI?
It's a tool that does what it needs to do, and it benefits the company. It keeps costs down because you don't need to worry about having level-one support; you can skip straight to level two and level three. I think that's a real cost factor for companies.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
At the end of the day, that is obviously a big thing in the industry where, for some people, price is a concern. That's where you have Aruba Instant On, but there are different factors to consider with certain things.
So, it is a little bit more on the pricey side. But in terms of what you're getting, I personally would rather pay that little bit more and get what I need because I know what I'm getting, as opposed to going for something cheaper that's not as manageable and doesn't give as much. So I'm one hundred percent satisfied with this tool.
What other advice do I have?
It's practical. It does what it needs to do. At the end of the day, it's a tool. It serves its purpose. I literally could not ask for better. Compared to Unifi and Ruckus, it's in a whole different world.
I would recommend it to other people because I know the benefits. It depends on what suits their needs, whether it's in the enterprise range or a normal home range. The benefits you're getting from both of them, it does vary slightly, but it is worth it. I would recommend it. I would justify the costs more.
Overall, I would rate it a ten out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Sales Executive at Intelys Technology Africa
Has an easy initial setup process, but there could be more security features
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to use, manage, and implement."
- "They could provide a centralized system to manage switches incorporated into multiple branches."
What is most valuable?
The product is cost-effective. It is easy to use, manage, and implement. It can be installed with an app on the phone as well. It is built and designed for users who do not have the necessary skills to implement enterprise cloud networks.
What needs improvement?
The product could have more security features integrated into enterprise data. They could provide a centralized system to manage switches incorporated into multiple branches.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Aruba Instant for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the product’s stability a seven out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We can only incorporate about 27 IPs and switches in a particular bandwidth. It needs to be more scalable. It is suitable for small and medium businesses. I rate the product’s scalability a four out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy. We have deployed physical infrastructure on-premises, managed via the cloud. It took us a few minutes to complete the process.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the product’s pricing a two out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Aruba Instant a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Buyer's Guide
Aruba Instant
April 2026
Learn what your peers think about Aruba Instant. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2026.
885,880 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Network engineer at Visiontech
The solution is easy to configure and has a responsive support team, but it needs to enhance its security features
Pros and Cons
- "The product is easy to configure."
- "The tool needs to enhance its security features."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution in our regional offices.
What is most valuable?
The solution is useful for costing purposes. The product is easy to configure. We do not need a controller to have a complete network setup.
What needs improvement?
Some features like DHCP that were available in the original Aruba controller are not available in Aruba Instant. The tool needs to enhance its security features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for more than three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable. We have 1000 to 1500 users in our organization.
How are customer service and support?
I have had no problem with the support team so far. The team always responds on time if we raise any request or ticket.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy. Deploying ten to twenty access points will take an hour or less than an hour.
What about the implementation team?
I am an engineer. I can install the solution. To deploy the tool, we must connect with the Wi-Fi, do the default setups, and assign it to Aruba controllers. We can adapt from the controller for the rest of the access points. We need five people to deploy and maintain the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There’s no licensing required to use the tool. We have to renew the maintenance agreement, though.
What other advice do I have?
Even new users or IT personnel can easily manage the deployment of the solution. There are no hassles regarding billing configuration or Wi-Fi signaling. Aruba Instant’s Virtual Controller is very helpful and easy to manage. Overall, I rate the tool seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Implementer
Solutions Consultant at TD SYNNEX
Easy to manage with a good user experience and excellent flexibility
Pros and Cons
- "The solution provides a very good end-user experience."
- "They could offer a new model for access points that are outdoors."
What is our primary use case?
I primarily use the solution for my WiFi.
What is most valuable?
The solution provides a very good end-user experience.
It's easy to manage the wireless. I can make a mesh. I can make connections to other access points without wires. I have several WiFi routers and can connect them seamlessly.
It's very transparent. I can see how my bandwidth is being used and I can control that.
The access point has a firewall inside to see my applications and the kinds of applications I am using.
The most valuable aspect is the potential to have it cover all my devices and I can see the applications and make a policy around them. The monitoring is very good as it does help me build out policies around the access points.
The security features are very good.
What needs improvement?
They could offer a new model for access points that are outdoors. They don't have an outdoor WiFi Six in their portfolio right now.
They should maybe make the sites bigger. While you can have extension nodes, you can only have 25 devices only. That is too small for some companies.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for a year and a half.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability depends on the cloud and what stability the cloud has. I haven't had any issues where the service has gone down. The stability has been 100% stable for me.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
You can have 25 devices on one site.
For example, in the case of a hotel, you might have one site for the lobby and one site on another floor. You might have WiFi for one site yet you won't have roaming. You need to have sites.
If a company needs more, it can buy an enterprise solution. This one has limited scalability.
How are customer service and support?
I've never contacted technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have not really used another solution, aside from an offering from my ISP.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward. You do not need a specialist. You just have to open the box and read some documentation. I have to download an app on my phone and scan a QR to enter a website. I gain access to a Wizard. Through that, I look for my device and start the process. I go through it step by step. Even if you have no expertise in technology, it's very simple.
I'd rate the ease of setup ten out of ten.
The full deployment took about five minutes. You only have to configure the first IP. After that, you don't have to configure anything. It's very fast. Even if you have 25 IPs, you only have to configure one, and then the others you just have to power up.
What about the implementation team?
I handled the setup myself. I did not need any outside assistance. Everything I needed was in the box.
What was our ROI?
I have seen a good ROI. I've been more productive working from home and this solution facilitates that. It ensures we are safe and protected and the network can help us to be more stable.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is reasonable. I'd rate it seven out of ten.
Whether it is affordable to other people depends on who is buying it and what they need it to do. It's not like TP-Link or something like that. There are a bit more features.
There are also other solutions that are cheaper than this, however, they may not work the same.
There are no additional costs. We pay just one price for the device itself. I'm not sure of the exact price. It might have been around $100.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I did evaluate other solutions previously. I understand what other solutions can do, more or less, however, I choose to use Aruba since I know what it can do and it offers a good price.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a user and also a distributor.
It has devices that are switches and access points and it is managed via the cloud and the cloud is free. It's all unified.
This solution can integrate other solutions, such as Clear Pass. You can easily configure it to connect to a radio server, for example. There are a lot of great advanced configurations. It's very flexible. It's a very capable product.
I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Managing Director at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Excellent features, good security, and easy to integrate
Pros and Cons
- "This is a very solid product. It is very powerful."
- "They should enhance reporting and add more features."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for connecting to our WiFi network. We use it to communicate with our internal network. It connects everything - telephones, tablets, et cetera. It's our company network.
What is most valuable?
This is a very solid product. It is very powerful.
The product offers a single management point.
Its features are excellent.
The solution helps us to communicate internally effectively.
The administration functionality is very easy. It's very easy to configure. Plus, it has a lot of functionality in general.
The security is very good.
We have found the solution to be very user-friendly, especially compared to other products.
It is easy to integrate with your network.
You can look into your network and see its health and usage very easily.
Troubleshooting problems is very simple.
The product is very simple to set up.
It can scale well.
The solution is stable and reliable.
What needs improvement?
In general, they've done a very good job with the solution.
However, we would like to see more done in the reporting. They should enhance reporting and add more features.
We're always looking for more features and functionality. They should continue to do regular updates and continue to add to its capabilities, specifically around cloud functionality. It would help us be ready for what's next in the industry.
Technical support response times can be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for six or seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable and reliable. I'd rate it nine out of ten. If you do the right setup and there are no misconfigurations, it will run for years without any problem.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution can scale. I'd rate it nine out of ten for its ability to expand.
We have around 12,000 or more end-users. We're a big company.
How are customer service and support?
We've dealt with technical support and they are fine. However, response times could be faster.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've had experience with Cisco. However, Aruba is more manageable. It also offers faster support.
How was the initial setup?
The product is very simple to set up. It s not complex at all. If you have some prior knowledge, it is very simple to implement.
There is very little maintenance. Often, no one needs to do anything, and it is stable for years. If you do the right setup, you don't need to worry about it.
What about the implementation team?
We have consultants that assist with the implementation process.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is okay. However, it depends on the project. If you have a big project, you can get a good price. Also, you have lifetime support from Aruba, which is great. That can save a lot of money over time.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a partner with Aruba.
The solution offers a lifetime warranty.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. It is an exceptional solution.
It is a solid, easy-to-use product with very good features. You can size it to fit your needs regardless of the size of the company. On top of that, it is simple to troubleshoot and is very fast to deploy. If you have an SLA with a two-hour support time, you will get faster support. It's good to consider SLAs at the outset.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Sistem Administrator at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
A satisfactory solution with a straightforward setup
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is stable, and we are satisfied."
- "We like that we can assign our employees based on authentication over Windows in the main controller."
- "There is an issue with flooding to the Aruba access point on the ports."
- "There is an issue with flooding to the Aruba access point on the ports."
What is our primary use case?
Our company has about 25 access points, and they integrate Aruba Instant. We have authentication integrated with Windows in the main controller for each employee. We also have a guest net portal.
What is most valuable?
We like that we can assign our employees based on authentication over Windows in the main controller. We couldn't do that with Cisco, so we switched to Aruba for that feature. Other solutions have end of life for devices, but Aruba does not. Cisco becomes completely useless at the end of life.
What needs improvement?
There is an issue with flooding to the Aruba access point on the ports. The flooding comes from the file transfer, but the two hosts that do the file transfers are on wire, not a wireless connection. So it's strange that we can see that graphic on the access point. We still don't know what is causing the issue. It may be a setting in Aruba, but we don't know. So we are trying to resolve the issue first before contacting technical support.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for about three years, and I believe we're using version 8.0.9.2. It is deployed on-premises.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Apart from some of the issues we are currently facing, the solution is stable, and we are satisfied.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution, and we have about 120 users and clients connected to wireless daily and management of the networks are done within by company.
How are customer service and support?
We have not contacted technical support before.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward, and the deployment was completed in-house.
What was our ROI?
We have a return on investment.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not evaluate other solutions before choosing Aruba Instant. We attended a presentation by Aruba, spoke with some Aruba engineers and then decided to try the solution.
What other advice do I have?
I rate this solution a nine out of ten, and I would recommend this solution to others.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT Consultant - co-owner at Resotem
Has a user friendly interface and is stable, scalable, and easy to install
Pros and Cons
- "The installation is very simple. We've limited the security feature, which I found valuable, and that allows two separate networks, one for the company and one for a guest network. During installation, it is very easy at that point to divide it."
- "The installation is very simple, the connection through the interface is nice and easy, and everything can be done through the interface."
- "The only issue we've had is getting equipment supplies. The availability of the APs that I want to use has been an issue. It took almost two months to get them the first time. I've ordered a few more for another client, and they're still on back order. It has been over a month now."
- "The only issue we've had is getting equipment supplies. The availability of the APs that I want to use has been an issue."
What is our primary use case?
Our clients use it as a Wi-Fi access point.
What is most valuable?
The installation is very simple.
We've limited the security feature, which I found valuable, and that allows two separate networks, one for the company and one for a guest network. During installation, it is very easy at that point to divide it.
The connection to it through the interface is nice and easy, and everything can be done through the interface.
What needs improvement?
The only issue we've had is getting equipment supplies. The availability of the APs that I want to use has been an issue. It took almost two months to get them the first time. I've ordered a few more for another client, and they're still on back order. It has been over a month now.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been working with this solution for about a month and have installed it for two clients so far.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
So far, it's been very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We deal mostly with small businesses, and for them, I think it's an easy solution with easy deployment and scalability. It is very easily scalable.
We plan to use Aruba Instant as our solution for small businesses.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support was adequate when we did our first installation. We contacted them just to make sure that we were doing it properly, and they were very knowledgeable. It was great.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
One client used a basic ASUS router.
One of the clients switched because their previous solution was done, and the other did so because they were expanding their warehouse and wanted something more.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward and very simple. The deployment was done in a few hours.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it ourselves for our clients.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's a one time cost, including the upgrades, but you have to pay on a yearly basis if you want support.
The price is in the middle in comparison to that of competitors' products.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We looked mainly at Ruckus, but Aruba Instant On's interface was nice and user friendly as well.
What other advice do I have?
Aruba Instant On is a good solution for small businesses. I would rate it at eight on a scale from one to ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Business Development Manager - Cyber Security at Ninth Dimension IT Solutions (P) Ltd
Robust solution for SMBs and offers plug-and-play deployment
Pros and Cons
- "I like the Instant On switches and the AP22"
- "For on-premises, I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten. For on-prem, if I want to integrate two more controls, and I want to extend my network , and add a couple of access points that need to be integrated with my network, I have to do the configurations and all. So that will be each and every time, as and when the users expand, the Wi-Fi solution expands; I need to do the configuration settings on all other controllers."
What is most valuable?
I like the Instant On switches and the AP22
What needs improvement?
For on-premises, I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten. For on-prem, if I want to integrate two more controls, and I want to extend my network , and add a couple of access points that need to be integrated with my network, I have to do the configurations and all. So that will be each and every time, as and when the users expand, the Wi-Fi solution expands; I need to do the configuration settings on all other controllers.
There is room for improvement in scalability for the on-premises deployment model.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with the solution for the past eight years. Currently, I work with the latest version of the solution.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is highly stable. I rate it a perfect ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the solution is a perfect ten on the cloud. I have positioned it for enterprise, and I have also positioned it for medium and small businesses.
For on-premises, I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten. For on-prem, if I want to integrate two more controls, and I want to extend my network , and add a couple of access points that need to be integrated with my network, I have to do the configurations and all. So that will be each and every time, as and when the users expand, the Wi-Fi solution expands; I need to do the configuration settings on all other controllers.
But if it is in the cloud, if it's on the cloud, I just need to add the control. I just need to add the MAC ID; that will be easy for us to extend it.
How was the initial setup?
I would rate your experience with the initial setup a nine out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.
The deployment model also depends on the customer inputs. We usually prefer to go with Amazon Cloud if they already have an existing Azure.
The deployment duration depends on the customer to the customer; it varies. It depends on the architecture, number of flows, number of access points, and users, too. Because it is based on the number of users, if the architecture is huge, it may take up to one month. Sometimes, it may finish in just two days. It depends on the users.
What was our ROI?
The ROI is visible. This product is a day-to-day requirement for the customers. Most of the customers will come up with their laptops or BYOD devices. All those things. So it's a mandatory thing for them to set up the network and to run their show.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would rate the pricing a five out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
If a Small and Medium Business (SMB) customer wants a plug-and-play deployment, we recommend considering Aruba Instant.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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Updated: April 2026
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