Aruba Airwave vs ExtremeManagement comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Extreme Networks are both solutions in the Network Management Applications category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.1, while Extreme Networks is ranked #23. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 5.7% mindshare in NMA, compared to Extreme Networks’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Extreme Networks users who would recommend it.

Aruba Airwave

Read 26 Aruba Airwave reviews

1,387 Views
1,318 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

ExtremeManagement

Read 5 ExtremeManagement reviews

305 Views
250 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Aruba Airwave

ExtremeManagement

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

Aruba Airwave and ExtremeManagement are products in the network management space. Aruba holds an advantage in affordability and customer support, while ExtremeManagement's robust features and value stand out.

Features: Aruba Airwave provides comprehensive monitoring and network visibility, supports multiple vendors, and offers valuable orchestration features that save configuration time. ExtremeManagement delivers automation capabilities, advanced analytics for deeper insights, and rich reporting capabilities that enhance network operations.

Room for Improvement: Aruba Airwave could enhance its automation features, improve its analytics depth, and expand its compatibility with non-Aruba devices. ExtremeManagement might focus on simplifying deployment, enhancing customer support resources, and broadening vendor compatibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Aruba Airwave is simple to deploy and benefits from strong customer support, easing the process for organizations. ExtremeManagement, while more complex, provides thorough documentation and tutorials to support deployment.

Pricing and ROI: Aruba Airwave has a lower initial setup cost, appealing to budget-conscious buyers, and offers good ROI due to cost-effective support solutions. ExtremeManagement comes with a higher setup cost but provides substantial ROI through its comprehensive feature set and long-term value.

To learn more, read our detailed Aruba Airwave vs. ExtremeManagement Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Airwave vs. ExtremeManagement

July 2025

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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

Aruba Airwave

Ranking in Network Management Applications

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

ExtremeManagement

Ranking in Network Management Applications

23rd

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Aruba Airwave is 5.7%, down from 8.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeManagement is 1.6%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Management Applications

Featured Reviews

Ahmet Bulbul

Senior Network Consultant at Data Market

Reports generation remains efficient while support and updates require attention

The biggest problem for not using Aruba Airwave extensively now is that HP is not upgrading this tool. They're not investing money and time into it, which is why we're not using it. I find the price of Aruba Central compared to Aruba Airwave to be more expensive. Customers start to complain and get annoyed about the license price. For example, when customers have 500 access points and features about access point licenses, moving to Central requires purchasing new licenses. This makes customers annoyed and complaining about this situation. It's hard to move from on-premises to Central because they always compare costs. If Aruba gave free licenses, they could move. But going to cloud and Central means more investment, and their budget doesn't cover the new investment. This creates problems for local partner companies.

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LuisBrown

Chief Information Security Officer at a healthcare company with 51-200 employees

Mature and robust platform; can be used to manage Cisco switches

ExtremeManagement is excellent. It is a very mature platform and robust in that it covers most of the functionality of the devices. One of ExtremeManagement's advantages over its competitors is that it is capable of managing Cisco switches if you have their on-prem manager. So you can take your legacy Cisco switches and manage them directly in the Extreme platform.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"All the technical support goes through our contractor. It is a local support, and it is perfect."

"The most valuable features of the solution are its dashboard and simplicity."

"What I like best about Aruba Airwave is its orchestration feature because it saves configuration time. I also like that it allows you to do ZTP installations for new Aruba equipment."

"The most valuable feature of Aruba Airwave is the multivendor support, which enables you to manage and monitor different vendors or products."

"It's scalable because it's licensed per device and we bought licenses with each device. I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability."

"It contains valuable features for engineers to C-level executives, who want visibility, performance, statistics, and a platform which can take action for them without manual intervention, saving time and money."

"I would rate the stability a nine out of ten."

"The solution's initial setup process is straightforward."

More Aruba Airwave pros

"The best thing about the solution is that it is all managed from just a single application window. We call this feature a single pane of glass due to the fact that almost all the features are all managed within a single application, or a browser, to be more specific."

"The technical support services are good."

"ExtremeManagement brings in the most value by reducing the technical debt to the organization in terms of having to hire personnel to maintain it or contract it."

"I need fewer people to do implementation and support, and I don't have to go on-site to change the configuration or otherwise support the switch."

"The report model is one of the valuable models. We are able to see all the information concentrated in reports, which is very useful. We are able to get the information about the performance of the equipment and check that everything is okay. You can get very useful information across applications, so we have very good experience with their management solutions. It has many functionalities to simplify the administration and monitor the development of the switches or AP. It is easy to deploy, easy to configure. and easy to develop. Its price is also good."

Cons

"The solution’s pricing could be improved."

"The overall monitoring of this solution could be improved."

"I would like to see is “AAS”. Not only Aruba APs with central, but NAC/ClearPass, AirWave, and everything licensed as a Service."

"They should make it cheaper. By doing that, they can replace Cisco, which is also very expensive. If it is equivalent to Cisco in the features, with a reduced price, they can sell it more than Cisco."

"When upgrading hardware, there were technical issues with network interfaces and Red Hat, which required escalation to developers."

"The integration with other platforms like Cisco needs to be improved."

"Its pricing and support could be improved."

"When upgrading hardware, there were technical issues with network interfaces and Red Hat, which required escalation to developers."

More Aruba Airwave cons

"It would be great to not need an on-premises SiteIQ license for running a Fabric OS cloud or managing third-party devices."

"They can improve the information period. Currently, we are able to have information for only 14 or 15 days, but we would like to have information for an extended period of maybe 30 days. Their technical support can also be improved in terms of the response time to the tickets."

"There could be better integration with third-party equipment and vendors."

"It would be helpful if this solution had support for configuring and managing third-party hardware devices."

"Some features are quite difficult to configure and they are very complicated to figure out. Maybe the vendors should introduce a more driven configuration that can clarify the processes a bit more to make the processes more clearly defined."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This product is not expensive."

"The licensing is on an yearly basis."

"It's device-based licensing. One device requires one license."

"Licensing and pricing are extremely straightforward."

"It is an expensive solution."

"Aruba Airwave is an expensive solution."

"The tool is expensive. If one is bad or expensive, and ten is very good or cheap, I rate the product's price as a six."

"Aruba Airwave's licensing cost is not that expensive."

More Aruba Airwave pricing and cost advice

"The support is billed on a yearly basis, and there are no additional costs."

"While they don't consider it affordable, they don't find it overly expensive."

"It has a good price. There is a good relationship between the cost and the performance."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Educational Organization

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Airwave?

I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Airwave?

The pricing for Aruba Airwave is acceptable because compared to Cisco, it's slightly cheaper, but not significantly - maybe 5% or 7% less expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Aruba Airwave?

See all answers

What do you like most about ExtremeManagement?

The technical support services are good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeManagement?

I don't know the exact pricing or licensing details. However, based on feedback from our customers, they haven't raised significant complaints about the cost. While they don't consider it affordabl...

See all answers

What needs improvement with ExtremeManagement?

There could be better integration with third-party equipment and vendors. While ExtremeManagement technically supports monitoring various devices like firewalls, the integration may not be as seaml...

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco DNA Center vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 32% of the time

HPE Intelligent Management Center vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 21% of the time

Aruba ClearPass vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Catalyst Center vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 9% of the time

Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 9% of the time

More Aruba Airwave Competitors

DataMiner vs ExtremeManagement

Compared 56% of the time

HPE Intelligent Management Center vs ExtremeManagement

Compared 44% of the time

More ExtremeManagement Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Airwave

August 2025

Download Aruba Airwave product report

Buyer's Guide

ExtremeManagement

August 2025

Download ExtremeManagement product report

Overview

Offering granular visibility into wired and wireless networks, AirWave is the only management platform designed with mobile devices and apps in mind. By proactively monitoring the health and performance of all things connected, AirWave lets IT gain the insights they need to support the digital workplace.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Extreme Management Center (formerly NetSight) provides access to web-based reporting, network analysis, troubleshooting, and helpdesk tools. Management Center includes wired/wireless dashboards, reports, end-system information and policy, interactive topology maps, application identification, web-based FlexViews, device views, and event logs. NetFlow diagnostics enable assessment of network issues and performance. Search functionality enables you to search for end-systems by MAC address, IP address, end-system name, or user name.

Extreme Networks

Sample Customers

Henkel, University of Findlay, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Iowa

Henry Ford Health System, Baltimore Ravens, Brandili, Federal University of Alagoas, CEDAE, Caxias do Sul, UNISC Concurrency, CenturyLink Field, Louisiana College, Cricket Tasmania Stadium, Moscow Internet Exchange

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Airwave vs. ExtremeManagement

July 2025

Free Report: Aruba Airwave vs. ExtremeManagement

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