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Aruba Instant On Access Points vs ExtremeWireless 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
2.5
Aruba Instant On Access Points are valued for setup ease, no fees, stability, reliability, and promising ROI despite initial costs.
Sentiment score
8.5
ExtremeWireless provides scalable, cost-effective solutions with 30% ROI savings, easy deployment, and excellent support for long-term use.
The monitoring access and excellent support provide significant value.
The best ROI is achieved over a three-year term.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.9
Customer service for Aruba Instant On Access Points receives mixed reviews, with efficient support praised, but inconsistency noted.
Sentiment score
7.2
ExtremeWireless support is helpful but inconsistent, with slow response times and limited availability affecting user satisfaction. Ratings vary.
The technical support from Aruba is rated seven due to limitations, such as support issues when the controller is on the VM side.
There are still issues with the language barrier and the overall quality of support.
I rate their support as a nine because they are very helpful when we need assistance and they strive to help, even if not the fastest.
I would rate the customer service as a ten.
The response time and quality could be better, and updates can be troublesome at times.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Aruba Instant On Access Points excel for small to medium businesses but lack scalability needed for large enterprises.
Sentiment score
6.7
ExtremeWireless is scalable and adaptable for medium to large enterprises but may face stability issues at higher user thresholds.
ExtremeWireless is suitable for companies with a user base below three hundred.
The Extreme access points handle high-density connectivity needs very well, managing lots of traffic efficiently.
The scalability of ExtremeWireless is average.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Aruba Instant On Access Points are stable with minor app issues, reliable installation-dependent performance, and no major connectivity problems.
Sentiment score
7.0
ExtremeWireless is praised for its stability and reliability, though some encounter challenges with firmware updates in high-density environments.
The stability of Aruba Instant On Access Points is generally good.
They work well without failures.
I experienced issues during firmware upgrades, as some devices required a physical restart, which affects system stability.
The stability of ExtremeWireless is somewhat weaker compared to previous solutions, like Motorola before its acquisition.
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba Instant On Access Points need improved integration, scalability, security, pricing, management, range, documentation, and mobile app features.
ExtremeWireless must enhance affordability, integration, security, support, and performance to improve competitiveness and meet small business needs.
In future updates, more AI for intelligence and the option for a separate network could be beneficial.
The default configuration can be overridden to enhance performance beyond the default settings.
There is not enough focus on security across networking vendors, and they often add features without testing them thoroughly.
I wish for ExtremeWireless to optimize the roaming capability between access points, especially for IoT devices.
Another area that could use enhancement is the clarity and implementation of updates, as they can be troublesome sometimes.
There is some delay in firmware upgrades for access points.
 

Setup Cost

Aruba Instant On Access Points offer excellent value with no hidden fees, but some users find costs slightly high.
ExtremeWireless provides good value with both free and paid options, despite medium-high pricing and substantial hardware costs.
Aruba Instant On Access Points work without a list price, suggesting that they are open source and no additional licensing costs are incurred.
The pricing of Aruba Instant On Access Points is competitive compared to Cisco, and they are actually cheaper.
The cost of Aruba Instant On Access Points is reasonable;
Each customer typically buys around 100 APs, which makes it quite expensive.
The pricing is a weak point for Extreme; it is very high.
From a corporate point of view, stability is more important than pricing.
 

Valuable Features

Aruba Instant On Access Points offer easy management, superior coverage, cloud setup, robust security, and seamless network integration with remote management.
ExtremeWireless offers cloud management, strong security, seamless integration, and stability, making it ideal for security-focused sectors.
Customers choose Aruba because it is more stable, has superior radio management, and offers features like mesh and a stateful firewall.
The product is incredibly stable and meets our needs excellently.
The virtual controller feature is very beneficial because it removes the need for a physical controller.
A single license can be used for on-premises, hybrid, or cloud, allowing for easy transition between solutions without losing investment.
One of the most valuable features of ExtremeWireless is its centralized control, which influenced our choice.
Extreme access points perform very well in high-density environments, and we use them at sites with our customers.
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Instant On Access Points
Ranking in Wireless LAN
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ExtremeWireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Instant On Access Points is 1.0%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeWireless is 1.8%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Ricardo Quintero - PeerSpot reviewer
Affordable and offers an easy setup phase
I was working on the on-premises solutions, like IronNet, Aironet, and some other tools from Cisco, but not with Meraki. The last Aironet model that we have here in Mexico, in the corporate office, and in some of the other regions of Mexico is Cisco Aironet 3700 and Cisco Aironet 3800, so it is just two or three devices. Aruba Instant On Access Points was working with Aruba 2540 and Cisco 3850 In Cisco, I found some issues. I was working well with a vendor. I was working with Cisco Catalyst 9200 and Cisco Catalyst 9300, along with Cisco Catalyst 2916M XL Switch. With all devices, we got a report. During the immigration, we choose another vendor, which Aruba. We have some issues with Aruba Instant On Access Points in iOS that are targeting the devices, and I have seen some problems with the DHCP solution.
Seungho Yang - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced employee access with effective wireless monitoring and seamless roaming
Our use case for ExtremeWireless is to allow our employees to access the company systems The monitoring systems in ExtremeWireless have been very effective, and they are cheaper than other products. It provides better monitoring logs and detailed logs compared to Cisco Wireless. The most…
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
42%
Computer Software Company
7%
Construction Company
5%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Instant On Access Points?
It's really easy to set up. And, you don't have to pay for the cloud solution. That's really interesting for our clients. And the other thing is, the roaming is also quite good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant On Access Points?
The cost of Aruba Instant On Access Points is reasonable; however, I do not have information on the exact pricing, such as cost per user or annual license fees.
What needs improvement with Aruba Instant On Access Points?
We can improve Aruba Instant On Access Points by tuning some of the parameters of the radio. The default configuration can be overridden to enhance performance beyond the default settings.
What needs improvement with ExtremeWireless?
There are concerns regarding the stability of ExtremeWireless. It could be an area of improvement, especially when compared to previous solutions such as Motorola before their acquisition. Another ...
What is your primary use case for ExtremeWireless?
We mainly use ExtremeWireless ( /products/extremewireless-reviews ) for the warehouse, specifically for the Zebra handheld devices and printers.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
St. Xavier High School, Americatel, Diamond Light Source
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Instant On Access Points vs. ExtremeWireless and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.