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Aruba Instant On Switches vs Juniper QFabric 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
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Juniper QFabric
Ranking in LAN Switching
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Aruba Instant On Switches is 9.7%, up from 9.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper QFabric is 2.4%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

MashukThakur - PeerSpot reviewer
A centrally managed switches ideal for small and medium businesses but does not have any console access
The solution does not have any console access. For example, if you do not have internet access on your side and you need to configure anything, you should at least have CLI access to do something or manage the solution to put to some IP. It will only work if we have a TSCT on the network. We can port and configure the initial settings before we get the Instant On Switches. I am not working deeply on Instant On devices. I have only installed it in a couple of accommodation sites. Even today, one customer has ordered to install 80 pieces of Instant On. I’ve to order additional 94 access points. I was confused about whether to go with Aruba Instant On or AP-505. Instant On has limited accessibility but AP-505 have cloud or local access on normal infrastructure. This would be better and easier to configure. So, there are further improvements in regard to console access and some limitations with access.
Suresh Pathipatti - PeerSpot reviewer
Performs well, is easy to set up, and the vendor maintains the product well
QFabric is the core switch. We also have two Brocade switches for the Fibre level The product works fine. It is an excellent product. There are different element systems and different options for each generation of the tool. We maintain the data center and analyze issues. I have no negative…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Regarding the feature, my clients are currently favoring it because it enables them to switch back to phone functionality."
"The cost and simplicity of the product are its most valuable features."
"The product's initial setup phase is very simple."
"The solution has a simple deployment and zero border."
"The best thing about Aruba Instant On Switches is their cost."
"Its customer service is good."
"We use Aruba Instant On Switches for general communication, sending files, and going to the internet."
"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."
"It's user-friendly."
"The most valuable features of this solution are the fabric backplane having upwards of 160 GB of communication. It is a top-of-the-rack solution where you have your directors sitting in the main area and then you have your nodes expanded out to your multiple cabinets. It has a very good design and could be your server backbone."
"It is known for being agile, flexible, and cost-effective when working with various vendors."
"The solution is easy to use and has good performance."
"QFabric supports redundancy and includes all of the enterprise and service provider features that customers would want in data center or service provider network."
"The vendor maintains the product well."
"The solution is stable."
"The 40 gig backbone InterConneX was valuable for our use case. It is even faster now. QFabric has spine-leaf technology or topology, which basically makes every single hop only one hop away in terms of connecting from one device to another. It is a pretty good and robust solution. It works pretty well in terms of scalability, and their technical support is amazing."
 

Cons

"The price has room for improvement."
"Some models need enhancement of the web interface to make management and monitoring easier."
"Some L3 features could be included in the solution."
"We would like to see more documentation."
"The difficulty with the tool is in the area of troubleshooting."
"It is not a very scalable solution."
"Improvements are required in the product's price. I want it to be cheaper."
"In the next version, they should add a firewall from a single source."
"I do not use GUI's very much for switch stacks. I am always in the CLI. However, I do know that Juniper in the past has lacked on their GUI's, but they have been working on it."
"Having support for all OpenFlow versions would be beneficial."
"The pricing structure could be more budget-friendly."
"It works too much on rebooting and there is some memory leakage."
"The stability needs to be improved."
"The disruptive upgrade was an issue for us."
"It would be nice if Juniper provided the system integrator with training, similar to that of Cisco."
"Improvements could be made to QFabric's life cycle management, particularly in maintaining stable versions and extending product support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I give the price seven out of ten."
"The pricing is cheap."
"It is an expensive solution."
"Aruba Instant On Switches is slightly cheaper than Cisco."
"The pricing is quite low compared to other products, which is good for the customer."
"Aruba Instant On Switches is cheaper than Cisco and expensive compared to some Chinese brand products."
"The license for Instant On Switches is free."
"The product is not cheaply priced, especially when compared to the other vendors in the market."
"The price for Juniper QFabric could improve. There are subscription, maintenance, and add-on feature fees."
"The pricing is high and it is possible to find better pricing option solutions on the market, but the licensing model is quite flexible."
"In terms of price, the QFabric solution is going to be probably in the middle of the road for a fabric solution."
"The price is relatively high, but it offers an advantage over its competitors by providing better performance and functionality."
"The pricing is high."
"Juniper QFabric is a high-level solution but it could be less expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
11%
University
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Instant On Switches?
The solution has a simple deployment and zero border.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant On Switches?
We mainly go for Aruba Instant On Switches since our network has Aruba switches, especially considering the compatibility and as previously explained, the familiarity and easy management. Economica...
What needs improvement with Aruba Instant On Switches?
I cannot say exactly whether I have employed the Quality of Service feature in this solution. Considering security at the switch level, we have not employed any kind of special security methods for...
What do you like most about Juniper QFabric?
The most valuable feature of QFabric for network performance is its stability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper QFabric?
Juniper QFabric is not overly expensive. Licensing is required for certain features like vRRP, but setting up a virtual chassis does not necessitate a separate license.
What needs improvement with Juniper QFabric?
Improvements could be made to QFabric's lifecycle management, particularly in maintaining stable versions and extending product support. The rapid release cycle and short life span compared to comp...
 

Also Known As

Aruba Instant On 1930 Switches
QFabric
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

KEMET, Vestavia Hills City Schools, Dropbox
MCB Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Instant On Switches vs. Juniper QFabric and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.