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Aruba Instant On Switches vs Dell PowerSwitch N-Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 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 Instant On Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Dell PowerSwitch N-Series
Ranking in LAN Switching
9th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
3.9
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Aruba Instant On Switches is 6.6%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is 5.6%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba Instant On Switches6.6%
Dell PowerSwitch N-Series5.6%
Other87.8%
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

MI
System Engineer at University of Kelaniya
Solution offers straightforward management and compatibility, though user support needs direct access improvement
Sometimes some features are not available. For example, the network discovery protocol, LLDP, is not available on some of the switches. When we look at the CLI management, we are considering Cisco, and we are familiar with the Cisco commands. In that case, at the command level, Cisco is much better than Aruba Instant On Switches. Considering the configuration and the CLI level and some of the features, Cisco has better offerings than Aruba Instant On Switches. There are Netgear and some other low-cost switches, but the quality of those is not aligned with our organization's requirements. Overall, I rate Aruba Instant On Switches a seven out of ten.
Mahendra Basera - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr.Engineer at Akara Capital Advisor Pvt. Ltd.
Reliable switching has supported secure audits and simplified long-term data center operations
Deploying Dell PowerSwitch N-Series on HA is very simple and easy. If we face any problem, we have our Dell support team to help us during the installation. They provide L2 engineers for supporting us on configuring the basic level configuration, stacking, and peering with others on HA. They have helped us with any faults or hardware issues, and we have taken high level care packs with three hour response time and same day hardware replacement. When we talk about the deployment of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series, when we extended our data center from starting from scratch, we had at that time nearly 170 physical servers. Then we virtualized it from mixed hardware, as we were using HCL, HP, or old heavy servers. Dell came to us and gave us a good solution with VMware, storage of Dell, and network devices. During the deployment, there were three team members from Dell and two from myself on the networking side, and one or two members from OS and server side. Almost five to six team members were there during the deployment from a hardware to a virtualized environment. The best advantages of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is that it is very much similar to Cisco. There is a little bit of difference at the command level, and it is easy to handle. It is easy to handle whether it is a CLI base or a GUI base, and it is very easy to configure. It is also reliable. We had a low fault issue, and when we talk of switching level, in a time frame of 17 years, we faced a switching issue only one time, which was a hardware failure. That is it. It is as reliable as Cisco.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The performance and cost-effectiveness balance of Aruba Instant On Switches is most appreciated regarding their cost because if you classify them as enterprise-grade switches, then they are very affordable."
"Regarding the feature, my clients are currently favoring it because it enables them to switch back to phone functionality."
"Aruba Central provides various AI features that we can use. It collects data on health and performance issues for wireless and wired clients."
"The solution's most beneficial feature is that you obtain A-class equipment for the lowest price."
"I have enjoyed the switches. They are fairly easy to use."
"The creation of multi-VLANs, access list between VLANs, control, management, and the easy monitoring of switches make it a reliable choice for my organization."
"The initial setup is simple."
"The tool's best part is the commercials. Its pricing is lower compared to other enterprise products. We pitch the product to customers who have budget constraints. Its implementation is plug-and-play."
"Port density and port speed performance are both suitable."
"The automated configuration management tools of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series help improve network traffic management."
"Port density and port speed performance are both suitable. It has some appealing intangibles."
"For a customer, it is easy to configure and to add ports through the LAN the GUI."
"The best advantages of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is that it is very much similar to Cisco, it is easy to handle whether it is a CLI base or a GUI base, it is very easy to configure, and it is also reliable, as in a time frame of 17 years we faced a switching issue only one time, which was a hardware failure, and it is as reliable as Cisco."
"Currently, I am using the Dell S4048; it's a nice switch and it gives you good results in terms of a broadcast station connection, with HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol) and bandwidth allocation that are very nice, and for a customer it is easy to configure and to add ports through the LAN GUI."
 

Cons

"You cannot use many VLANs, like VLAN 10, VLAN 20, VLAN 30, and VLAN 100 on Aruba Instant On AP."
"The solution’s initial setup is very complex."
"The product must be integrated with Aruba Central for better management."
"Its scalability needs improvement."
"Tracking with instant switches needs improvement."
"We are interested in acquiring a firewall that provides a comprehensive solution. In other words, we're seeking a firewall that encompasses multiple aspects, such as exceptional switches and active phone functionalities."
"Scalability is a concern. We need to change the model if we want scalability since some models cannot cover all needs in future plans."
"Some models need enhancement of the web interface to make management and monitoring easier."
"Some features need improvements with stability."
"Customers do not prefer this to connect to multiple cities."
"The disadvantages of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is that only the booting time is a weak point."
"Instead of competing at the enterprise level with that product, they should probably scale it. With all of the ports, they should develop a good mid-level business to truly scale it and gain adoption before attempting to go after the enterprise."
"I would not recommend it to smaller businesses because they could not afford it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Aruba Instant On Switches is slightly cheaper than Cisco."
"Pricing is competitive, and there are no supplementary fees."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The pricing is quite low compared to other products, which is good for the customer."
"The solution is the cheapest A-class switch."
"If one is very bad, and ten is a very good price, I rate the tool's price as a six."
"We pay an annual licensing fee."
"The license for Instant On Switches is free."
"You are selling it to larger customers and in larger environments, where it's a less expensive model than Cisco, which is attempting to use the same approach Arista did, but with a completely different programming language."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Marketing Services Firm
6%
Educational Organization
10%
Retailer
8%
Construction Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise8
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant On Switches?
The pricing was good because they do not nickel and dime on costs.
What needs improvement with Aruba Instant On Switches?
Aruba Instant On Switches could be improved by utilizing more AI features. They are starting to use some AI capabilities, though I haven't kept up with developments since I left.
What is your primary use case for Aruba Instant On Switches?
My use case for Aruba Instant On Switches is for small business.
What needs improvement with Dell-Force10 Campus LAN Switches?
The disadvantages of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is that only the booting time is a weak point. When we reboot that switch, it takes time. As compared to Cisco, it takes almost three to five minutes,...
What is your primary use case for Dell-Force10 Campus LAN Switches?
We are using McAfee XDR solution rather than Cisco XDR. On Cisco products, we are using Cisco routers and Cisco switches. We work with Dell, specifically Dell switches, and we are using PowerEdge i...
What advice do you have for others considering Dell-Force10 Campus LAN Switches?
Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is the one we have been working on. There was an advanced Layer 3 configuration on Dell PowerSwitch N-Series, and we have almost every security which can be configured on ...
 

Also Known As

Aruba Instant On 1930 Switches
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

KEMET, Vestavia Hills City Schools, Dropbox
Norwich University of the Arts, Shelby American, City and Islington College
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Instant On Switches vs. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,915 professionals have used our research since 2012.