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Aruba Airwave vs Junos Space Network Director comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

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
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Junos Space Network Director
Ranking in Network Management Applications
12th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Aruba Airwave is 6.4%, down from 9.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Junos Space Network Director is 3.5%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Lulzim Islami - PeerSpot reviewer
Creating floor maps and configuration templates enhances troubleshooting capabilities
The most helpful feature I noticed, yet did not utilize, allowed us to add our Cisco switches for monitoring. We also created templates for configurations. Additionally, it facilitated creating floor maps. I need to open it for more extended periods. It is more about troubleshooting and checking the coverage problems of wireless.
Ibrahim Reda - PeerSpot reviewer
High scalability network management with centralized control and an intuitive interface that provides efficient monitoring and configuration capabilities
A centralized platform is crucial for efficiently managing all of our switches, which were previously handled individually, leading to significant challenges. This unified dashboard simplifies tasks like simultaneous switch upgrades, streamlining the process. It enables us to create reports that monitor site statuses, including uptime and downtime, which helps us evaluate each site's monthly uptime and assess its revenue potential based on operational time.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The technical support services are good."
"I would rate the stability a nine out of ten."
"All the technical support goes through our contractor. It is a local support, and it is perfect."
"The feature that proved most beneficial for our organization's network monitoring is the virtual four, which we use frequently when working with Aruba."
"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.​​"
"The solution's most valuable features are its usage, bandwidth existence, device capacity, and utilization."
"It can interact with other vendors better than Cisco, which is a good point of AirWave. It is easy to use, and its reporting is good."
"The most valuable features are the error log and intrusion log. It also provides an overview of your assets. It gives a good database for wireless coverage."
"A centralized platform is crucial for efficiently managing all of our switches, which were previously handled individually, leading to significant challenges."
"It allows me to do more of the basic firewall features, like traffic management and others, in a single pane of glass."
"The most valuable feature is the management from a single pane of glass."
"The most valuable feature is the technical support, as it is better than others."
 

Cons

"I want a management solution to manage and monitor everything from a single dashboard. This is not there with Airwave."
"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 solution’s pricing could be improved."
"When attempting to copy a floor plan, it does not copy well, so I often have to redraw the walls. It's somewhat annoying since other Wi-Fi design software we use is easier for drawing walls and including floor plans."
"More devices or vendors should be onboarded to Aruba Airwave."
"Cost is always a big issue for partners."
"I would like to them include network real-time performance and come up with a dashboard report."
"The upgrades are very time-consuming and difficult, and they often have to rebuild the product."
"I would like to see Space created to fully functional, where it's got multiple modules, particularly SD-WAN working on Corporate, or maybe become part of the Orchestrator portion."
"Its interface should be improved and enhanced to offer various functions, with flexible pricing"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Run a 90 day free Proof of Concept (PoC) for each product by implementing and using it fully in your environment. This way you will be educated on its features, functionality, and manageability."
"It's device-based licensing. One device requires one license."
"It is an expensive solution."
"I rate the product’s pricing a five out of ten."
"This product is not expensive."
"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."
"AirWave is a very expensive solution. If you implement it in a wide range network, it will cost a lot. There is no option to sell it outside that price segment, which is a problem."
"This product is set at a good price point."
"Typically, Juniper is more expensive than Cisco in initial costs, but overall, the long-term licensing fees that you're going to pay for Juniper versus Cisco is going to be less."
"We would like the price to be reduced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
23%
Government
7%
University
6%
Real Estate/Law Firm
6%
 

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.
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.
What needs improvement with Aruba Airwave?
My general opinion on Aruba Airwave is that it's acceptable, but it's not ideal because we are accustomed to Cisco. We didn't use Aruba much, but once you set it up, you probably don't need to worr...
What do you like most about Junos Space Network Director?
A centralized platform is crucial for efficiently managing all of our switches, which were previously handled individually, leading to significant challenges.
What needs improvement with Junos Space Network Director?
Its interface should be improved and enhanced to offer various functions, with flexible pricing. It should provide the ability to modify interfaces, enabling actions like shutting them down, adding...
What is your primary use case for Junos Space Network Director?
It served as my main point of contact for banking and the central tool for managing a large network of switches across multiple locations. The network consisted of about 3,300 switches, with roughl...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Henkel, University of Findlay, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Iowa
St. Catherine's University, OneNet, University of New Haven, Frederick County Public Schools (Maryland), America's Test Kitchen
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Airwave vs. Junos Space Network Director and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.