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Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs Cisco Wireless WAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 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 Networks Wireless WAN
Ranking in Wireless WAN
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Wireless WAN
Ranking in Wireless WAN
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Wireless WAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is 4.0%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Wireless WAN is 3.6%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless WAN
 

Featured Reviews

Joseph Colly - PeerSpot reviewer
Reasonably priced and offers a good GUI
The product is very scalable. When it comes to some schools, they start with the solution's proof of concept in certain sections. My company aims to improve the throughputs in the schools where the product is installed. If the rest of the School wants the product, it is easy to set up the solution. My company uses Aruba Networks Wireless WAN for schools and warehouses but not in the retail sector. The product offers reliability and uptime twenty-four hours and seven days a week. My company gets notified if the reliability offered by the product goes down. My company also gets notified if we are getting hacked.
LalanChowdhury - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhances network reliability, offers device longevity and offers open authentication
The device longevity is a factor. enhances network reliability. Specifically, the handoff feature for WAN, when a customer moves from one access point to another in a building or office, is much easier and more reliable if it's controller-based. So, in those cases, we recommend the traditional controller-based solution. Cisco is adding AI features; they've already started in SD-WAN. But in Bangladesh, people are still new to AI. Cisco is including AI capabilities in their devices, so people are gradually adopting them. If they need AI-driven devices for industrial purposes, they can use them. So, Cisco is forward-thinking with these features. Even though they're not being used extensively now, they may be used in the future for things like RFID or automation. That's why Cisco's solution is logical and adaptable.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is that it is easy to configure. Additionally, with the same configuration with Cisco and Ruckus, we can receive 55 to 60 percent more out of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN."
"The most valuable features are price, quality, and performance."
"The solution is overall a great product. The stability is one of the best aspects of it. It's also useful in helping control multiple access points. You don't need to have a physical controller like other brands."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the streaming of screen sharing."
"It's stable and reliable."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of setup and deployment."
"It works well. It is reliable."
"Aruba makes use of "Direct Tunnel" as its best security feature."
"It definitely makes our network and life much easier when using these features."
"Our most valuable feature involves the 802.11ac, which operates at a very high level and has updated technology."
"Cisco Wireless WAN is stable and scalable, and the support received is good."
"Cisco Wireless WAN's best features are simple management, the cloud base, dashboards, and reliability."
"Cisco Wireless WAN's best feature is the integration with other Cisco products."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Wireless WAN is the ease of management."
"It is suitable for small and medium businesses."
"The access points and controllers are good."
 

Cons

"We have had stability issues with some types of portable devices."
"This solution needs different models that are more specialized for certain customers."
"Its technical support service could be better."
"This product needs more flecibility with switching technologies."
"The product should improve Aruba Central."
"Technical support is important to me and I feel that it is something that can be improved."
"The solution should be cheaper."
"Aruba's technical support has room for improvement."
"The reporting feature needs improvement, especially adding information with regards to availability uptime."
"The new platform of Cisco Wireless WAN I did not like, there weren't many features available. The online platform has more options."
"A lot of the time, for users, it comes down to pricing. Many would like to see it be a bit less costly."
"There are some limitations with scaling the on-premises version - if you want to scale, you need to change the hardware and purchase a new wireless controller at an additional cost."
"Improvements can be made in the wireless fabric."
"The price point is contentious as the licensing model seems complicated and unclear."
"The CLI type is not very user-friendly."
"We would like to have the lead times improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is more affordable than Cisco."
"It is a costly solution."
"The licenses are available as both perpetual or yearly."
"The price of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN depends on how you buy it. From a pricing perspective, if you choose to buy Aruba Networks Wireless WAN as an MRC, it's dependent upon the radio and the solution that you choose what your MRC is. If you choose to buy it outright, they're competitive with their competitors, and they're probably four percent or five percent lower than their largest competitor."
"That's really subject to the type of environment you're deploying. If you're doing a full controller model with 200 APs, the initial deployment could be 150 grand. Maintaining that or maintaining support for that per year could be something like 10 to 15 grand per year. In the cloud sense, the cloud is by the number of APs. So, everything is readily available."
"The price of this solution is approximately 1,000,000 ESP ($6,750 USD)."
"The pricing of the product is pretty good."
"You will need to pay an annual subscription cost."
"The pricing is good."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The license is priced based on the number of APs and controllers used."
"The price is expensive."
"The price could be better, but it's been okay. You must pay license fees for each access point connected to the controller."
"Cisco's licensing model includes some mandatory licenses, making it more expensive than other vendors like HP, Aruba, and Ruckus."
"The price is too high. The licensing is on a yearly basis."
"The cost of licensing should be improved."
"The solution is not expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Real Estate/Law Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Real Estate/Law Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Do you recommend Aruba Network Wireless WAN?
I recommend Aruba Networks Wireless WAN. I have been using Aruba for approximately a decade. It has a great centralized management system, which means we don’t need wireless LAN controllers at ever...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Networks Wireless WAN?
I am not paying anything more apart from the licensing. The only thing I am paying for is the implementation cost.
What do you like most about Cisco Wireless WAN?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
What needs improvement with Cisco Wireless WAN?
We are conducting proof of concepts with VOIP and electronic tags. Walmart is interested in using electronic tags instead of paper labels for easier price changes on products. We are still testing ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

The Pittsburgh Golf Club, Rio Rancho Public Schools, Amwaj Rotana - Jumeirah Beach Residence - Dubai, Trevecca Nazarene University
Aegean Motorway, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Brunel University London, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Chartwell School, Children's Hospital Colorado, Cisco Live Milan, City of Biel, City of Mississauga, Dundee Precious Metals, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Erickson Living, Goldcorp, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS)
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs. Cisco Wireless WAN and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.