Aruba Airwave vs OpenText Network Node Manager comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and OpenText are both solutions in the Network Management Applications category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3, while OpenText is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.3. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 4.9% mindshare in NMA, compared to OpenText’s 3.8% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of OpenText users who would recommend it.

Aruba Airwave

Read 26 Aruba Airwave reviews

1,316 Views
1,198 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

OpenText Network Node Manager

Read 25 OpenText Network Node Manager reviews

842 Views
581 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Aruba Airwave

OpenText Network Node Manager

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 21, 2025

OpenText Network Node Manager and Aruba Airwave are products in the network infrastructure management category. Aruba Airwave appears to have the upper hand with its advanced features targeting wireless environments, making it a preferred choice for organizations needing such capabilities.

Features: OpenText Network Node Manager offers robust fault management, performance monitoring, and automation, facilitating efficient network monitoring of devices like switches and routers. It supports diverse protocols and automatic topology mapping, enhancing network oversight. Aruba Airwave provides comprehensive wireless management, multivendor support, and detailed reporting with a robust interface. Its zero-touch provisioning and VisualRF for location-based troubleshooting are particularly beneficial for complex environments.

Room for Improvement: OpenText Network Node Manager could improve its user interface and provide better support for mobile environments. Enhancing its integration capabilities with more third-party tools would also benefit users. Its scalability in managing extremely large networks could be refined. For Aruba Airwave, simplifying the deployment process would benefit smaller enterprises. Expanding support for more non-Aruba devices and enhancing real-time analytics for faster decision-making could enhance its usefulness. Further development of cloud capabilities might also attract more users transitioning to hybrid solutions.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: OpenText Network Node Manager promotes easy deployment with robust customer service, aiding quick setup and integration, making it appealing for organizations seeking simpler solutions. In contrast, Aruba Airwave requires a more complex deployment involving detailed configuration, which can be beneficial for large-scale networks. It offers specialized support to assist in customized configurations, catering to enterprises with extensive network management needs.

Pricing and ROI: OpenText Network Node Manager offers a cost-effective solution ensuring quick ROI with efficient features suitable for budget-conscious organizations. Aruba Airwave, while requiring a higher initial investment, justifies its cost with advanced management and analytics features. It promises significant long-term value for organizations focused on extensive wireless network oversight and scalability, supporting them in managing multivendor environments efficiently.

To learn more, read our detailed Aruba Airwave vs. OpenText Network Node Manager Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Airwave vs. OpenText Network Node Manager

September 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

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

OpenText Network Node Manager

Ranking in Network Management Applications

12th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Aruba Airwave is 4.9%, down from 8.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Network Node Manager is 3.8%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Management Applications Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Aruba Airwave	4.9%
OpenText Network Node Manager	3.8%
Other	91.3%

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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Ahmed-Salman

Performanc Monitoring and Application Architect at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Reliable network monitoring and proactive analytics enhance decision-making with areas for configuration improvement

NNMi is an OpenText product and serves as the OpenText Network Node Manager monitoring tool. OpenText Network Node Manager is used for network monitoring of switches, routers, firewalls, load balancers, and all network devices. It can support any SNMP protocol. The advantages of OpenText Network Node Manager stand out because it can build the topology, Layer 2 topology, and Layer 3 automatically once devices are added, connecting them together, such as device one, for interface one, connected with interface one on another device. The integration capability of OpenText Network Node Manager is excellent because it integrates directly, and I can configure the integration to feed the CMDB, from where I can get all information from network monitoring into the CMDB, linking it with the infrastructure and correlating events. I use advanced fault monitoring and management features in OpenText Network Node Manager for topology and fault monitoring, as it can alert or generate an event if the value exceeds or falls below a predefined threshold for SNMP traps. The predictive analytics impact planning and optimization strategies because the product can be linked with another product for analytic analysis, allowing me to see the interface utilization trend and proactively take action if the utilization increases. The automated network discovery features and topology mapping in OpenText Network Node Manager have a positive impact. It supports a bundle with another product for NetFlow to monitor traffic, ports, protocols, and SLAs, and I can build compliance reports to address security vulnerabilities, such as identifying all devices using outdated protocols.

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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

"The solution is not overly expensive."

"The most beneficial feature for network monitoring in Aruba Airwave is the Live Heat Map. It helps identify interferences, coverage issues, and user connectivity issues. The device management capability of Aruba Airwave is good. It provides end-to-end visibility from the user to the access point, the switch, and the internet breakout. From a monitoring, management, and orchestration standpoint, it is very effective and can manage any scale of deployment."

"This solution is definitely stable."

"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 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."

"The technical support services are good."

"The powerful features we can put forward in Aruba Airwave are clarity, report creation, and VisualRF."

"The feature that proved most beneficial for our organization's network monitoring is the virtual four, which we use frequently when working with Aruba."

More Aruba Airwave pros

"It's quite a mature solution."

"A good enterprise-level solution."

"Overall, the tool helps maintain the health of the network."

"Topology creation is the most valuable feature."

"Our monitoring and network teams of less than 100 people use this solution. The availability and fault monitoring are good."

"If you install one node on Network Node Manager and want to scale it up, it's pretty easy to create more nodes."

"Most valuable function would have to the internal causal engine and its root cause analyzer which keep us updated on critical errors and incidents in our network environment."

"We do not have any issues stability-wise."

More OpenText Network Node Manager pros

Cons

"I would try to integrate more products from different vendors in future releases. Because that's really good features that Aruba Airway has, but it's so limited."

"I want a management solution to manage and monitor everything from a single dashboard. This is not there with Airwave."

"The main challenge we've faced with Aruba Airwave is its high cost, especially regarding high availability and failover licenses, which can be relatively expensive for customers. As for recommendations for improvement, considering that Aruba is planning to retire Airwave soon and introduce a new solution, it's crucial that the new product meets or exceeds the current Airwave's feature set. Customers expect a seamless transition without losing any functionality, so Aruba needs to ensure that the new solution is ready with all the essential features and capabilities from day one to avoid any gaps or dissatisfaction among users and partners."

"I would like to see an integration of services into one system, rather than having multiple systems to do multiple things."

"Whenever you get an error it doesn't immediately tell you what the thing is that is causing the error. You have to sit down and research it. If it could say what error is causing the issue, it would make my troubleshooting a lot quicker."

"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."

"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."

More Aruba Airwave cons

"We have not had a good experience with technical support from OpenText. Many cases take a month to be resolved."

"The dashboards are not customizable and it's not user-friendly."

"Micro Focus Network Node Manager is not the best when it comes to drilling down for more visibility, especially regarding traffic."

"When I open a ticket, usually they respond very late. Some of the people I negotiate with seem undertrained."

"The way the solution currently works means I'm not able to customize my own reports."

"Reporting. Even though this is available in separate software (iSPI) there is potential in making the reporting more SLA-aware and more intuitive."

"They should add AI options in the product's next release."

"We had some issues with some of the features, some modules are not meeting expectations."

More OpenText Network Node Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"The licensing cost for Aruba Airwave increased from $72 to $210 within a few months. It would be better if the pricing for the solution were cheaper."

"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."

"This product is not expensive."

"The cost is perfect because the devices have a lifetime warranty, and the licensing is good as well."

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

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

"Licensing and pricing are extremely straightforward."

More Aruba Airwave pricing and cost advice

"It is more inexpensive than other products in the market."

"I wasn't involved in the pricing, but I think it's quite expensive."

"The solution is priced mid-range compared to the competition."

"The solution is quite expensive."

"It's an expensive solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	14

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	15

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?

I think the solution is quite affordable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Aruba Airwave?

They have other sensors which can manage and control all the sites. There is an IoT component where we can restrict internet services such as Facebook and YouTube. These things can also be managed....

See all answers

What do you like most about Micro Focus Network Node Manager?

The platform has good stability.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Micro Focus Network Node Manager?

The disadvantage of OpenText Network Node Manager is related to configuration, which is straightforward since it is agentless and solely relies on SNMP protocol, and although it requires some effor...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Network Node Manager?

I remember working with OpenText Network Node Manager at my previous company. I am now working at a different company focusing on data center migrations and DR preparation. In my current role, I ha...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 27% of the time

Aruba ClearPass vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 25% of the time

HPE Intelligent Management Center vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 19% of the time

Cisco Catalyst Center vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 10% of the time

Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 7% of the time

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EMCO Remote Shutdown vs OpenText Network Node Manager

Compared 15% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs OpenText Network Node Manager

Compared 15% of the time

DX Spectrum vs OpenText Network Node Manager

Compared 13% of the time

OpenText Network Automation vs OpenText Network Node Manager

Compared 13% of the time

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs OpenText Network Node Manager

Compared 12% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Airwave

October 2025

Download Aruba Airwave product report

Buyer's Guide

OpenText Network Node Manager

September 2025

Download OpenText Network Node Manager product report

Also Known As

No data available

Micro Focus Network Node Manager, Network Node Manager, HPE Network Node Manager

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

OpenText Network Node Manager centralizes network management, offering comprehensive topology mapping and monitoring across diverse environments. Its focus on enhancing visibility and providing detailed analytics makes it suitable for handling enterprise-level network complexities.

OpenText Network Node Manager is designed for managing networks by offering functionalities such as root cause analysis, fault management, and event handling. It accommodates both physical and virtual devices, and supports integration with enterprise-level hardware. Users benefit from its customizable integration capabilities and its capacity to generate insightful visualizations that facilitate decision making in network operations. Users also appreciate its efficient alerting systems and centralized information management that improve network visibility and generate comprehensive reports and metrics. Despite room for improvement in areas like routing protocol management and interface modernization, it remains vital for IT managers and admins in their network monitoring tasks. However, it should address scalability issues and enhance its technical support and integration with more server types, including NAC.

What Features Make OpenText Network Node Manager Stand Out?

Network Topology Mapping: Provides comprehensive network visualization.
Multi-Vendor Support: Ensures compatibility with multiple devices.
Root Cause Analysis: Identifies and resolves network issues swiftly.
Customizable Integration: Tailors to specific enterprise requirements.
Fault Management: Efficiently detects and manages faults.
Event Handling: Handles network events with precision.

Which Benefits and ROI Should Be Considered?

Centralized Information: Streamlines network data management.
Enhanced Visibility: Offers a clear view of network operations.
Detailed Analytics: Provides actionable insights into network performance.
Scalability: Supports growth with enterprise needs.
Insightful Visualization: Facilitates understanding through graphical representation.

In industries requiring robust network management solutions, OpenText Network Node Manager is implemented to handle expansive device counts and complex configurations. It is particularly effective for network operations teams managing regional infrastructures, supporting comprehensive monitoring and management across diverse network environments.

OpenText

Sample Customers

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

IPC, Exelon, VivaCom,

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Airwave vs. OpenText Network Node Manager

September 2025

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