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ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless vs Aruba Instant comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
27th
Average Rating
6.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Aruba Instant
Ranking in Wireless LAN
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Aruba Instant is 2.0%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1397640 - PeerSpot reviewer
Access points work but there are problems with support, scalability, and keeping technology current
Having a better dashboard management system that the client can use to access and control their environment would be a nice addition to the product. They said it was going to be part of one of their updates, but we did not get it. We thought we should have in one of the updates that we did. With that, we would have been able to control the environment if we needed to do something like adding more bandwidth in certain areas. Not getting that update became kind-of problematic for us. That was one of the reasons why we had to try to find a solution with a better dashboard management system. I think they need to get the product to the next Gen. Currently they are running on Generation 5. I know that they have a new product almost ready to come out, but they are not really ready for Gen 6 yet. Support could be enhanced as well. With any one of their solutions, they are the means that provides the client with the flexibility and scalability to help manage the product. Instead of the current system where you have to send them a support ticket and then have to go back and forth to get something done, I just think that users should have better control over the process. Their current process does not allow you to have that kind of control. That may be just my limited experience.
Prashant-Patel - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly stable and easy-to-deploy solution that is free and provides excellent deployment guides
The setup is very straightforward. There is no complexity at all. It took us 15 minutes. We need IP address details, DNS, a gateway, DHCP servers, and SSIDs. Single access points can act as controller-based, controller-less, and cloud-based solutions. That is the beauty of Aruba. If I have an on-premise solution and want to move to the cloud, I don't need separate hardware. The same hardware can be utilized in the cloud. The deployment guides that we get from Aruba are excellent. We have every piece of detail.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I believe the initial setup was straightforward."
"The integration with ClearPass is the most valuable feature."
"The deployment guides that we get from Aruba are excellent."
"In terms of stability, Aruba Instant is the best on the market."
"The features I have found most valuable is that the solution creates a guest portal for guest networks, and setting up SSID authentication to the regular server."
"The cost is low, and there is controller-less architecture."
"We like being able to merge Aruba Instant to mobile via Bluetooth. You are also able to perform a lot of functions remotely such as creating an SSID IP."
"The products offer a lot of flexibility. Almost everything can be configured. It works very well for providing remote services."
"The solution provides a very good end-user experience."
 

Cons

"Support is not really up to par in quickly addressing issues."
"Having a better dashboard management system that the client can use to access and control their environment would be a nice addition to the product."
"The product is a little expensive."
"I believe there's room for improvement in monitoring, especially when troubleshooting issues. Currently, there's limited intelligence around monitoring. It needs to improve stability and scalability."
"Aruba Instant should not have a limit on users for future releases."
"My biggest problem with Aruba Instant was the DHCP implementation. The DHCP server needs to ping an IP address to connect to the internet. In some cases, we don't have a DHCP server in the network, and it was really a problem."
"The solution should be able to support more users on the access points."
"The connectivity of the solution can use some improvement."
"Embedding a heatmap tool within the product would make it easier to conduct a wireless survey."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It cost over $30,000 for us for 260 access points."
"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
"It is not expensive. Its price is fair. You get many features with the normal licensing. If I look at Cisco, it is very expensive if I need similar things."
"I would rate pricing six out of ten."
"The licensing cost is somewhere around $20,000."
"The tool's pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."
"In terms of costs, Aruba Instant is cheap because it doesn't require a license, but you'll incur charges for the access points. Access point charges could be more affordable."
"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."
"There’s no licensing required to use the tool."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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Which is better - Ubiquiti WLAN or Aruba Instant?
We researched Ubiquiti and Aruba when looking for a WLAN solution. Ubiquiti offers good WLAN access both indoors and outdoors. It provides an enterprise-level WIFI while remaining cost-effective. U...
What do you like most about Aruba Instant?
I find network management features related to monitoring Wi-Fi usage and visited sites particularly valuable. Content filtering is also important to prevent access to malicious or inappropriate web...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant?
In my experience, Aruba Instant's price is reasonable compared to premium products like Ruckus, Cisco, or Juniper. However, when compared to entry-level market segments, the price is higher. Overal...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

Adtran WLAN, Bluesocket Wireless
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Thomas College, North Cobb Christian School, Archbishop Riordan High School, Dickson Public Schools, Hamilton Heights School Corporation, North Idaho College
Purdue University, Orlando Magic, Brussels Airport Company, Molecaten Holiday Parks
Find out what your peers are saying about ADTRAN Bluesocket Wireless vs. Aruba Instant and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.