Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs Fortinet FortiExtender comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Fortinet are both solutions in the Wireless WAN category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.6, while Fortinet is ranked #7 with an average rating of 9.5. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 4.6% mindshare in Wireless WAN, compared to Fortinet’s 2.6% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN

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93% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiExtender

Read 10 Fortinet FortiExtender reviews

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464 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN

Fortinet FortiExtender

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 2025

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN and Fortinet FortiExtender compete in the wireless WAN market. Aruba seems to have the upper hand due to its robust features and comprehensive security.

Features: Aruba Networks Wireless WAN offers a stable and secure platform with centralized management and seamless integration with its products. Its ease of installation, scalability, and extensive firewall capabilities make it suitable for enterprises. Fortinet FortiExtender integrates well with Fortinet’s security suite, offering flexibility in SD-WAN topologies and an edge for users invested in the Fortinet ecosystem.

Room for Improvement: Aruba Networks Wireless WAN could refine its pricing, antenna integration, and graphical interface. Users find the setup complex, needing improvements in support responsiveness and software updates. Fortinet FortiExtender could enhance pricing, support response times, and the user interface. Better integration with edge technologies and simplifying deployment would increase its versatility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Aruba Networks Wireless WAN supports deployment across on-premises, private, and public cloud environments. Customer feedback suggests improvements in technical support speed for both products, though Fortinet's integration into existing setups provides an advantage for current users.

Pricing and ROI: Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is perceived as more expensive, but it offers potential infrastructure cost reductions and strong ROI. Fortinet FortiExtender presents a flexible, possibly less costly licensing model, appealing to smaller operations with options for one-off or subscription-based purchases, with some users valuing Aruba’s extensive capabilities despite the higher price point.

To learn more, read our detailed Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs. Fortinet FortiExtender Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs. Fortinet FortiExtender

July 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 Networks Wireless WAN

Ranking in Wireless WAN

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Fortinet FortiExtender

Ranking in Wireless WAN

7th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Wireless WAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is 4.6%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiExtender is 2.6%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless WAN

Featured Reviews

Joseph Colly

Vice President, Wireless Solutions at Strategic Mobility Group

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.

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Özden-Aydın

Technology Consultant at Netwiser

Ensures seamless network continuity with efficient remote management and cost savings

I manage and monitor Fortinet FortiExtender devices across multiple sites by using the FortiCloud feature, which allows me to easily manage and monitor everywhere. I haven't used Fortinet FortiExtender's AI-driven network features for this product. My advice for those who want to implement Fortinet FortiExtender is that if you use this device as a console server for out-of-band management, it has only one USB port; if you need more than one port, you can use an external USB hub for multiple console cables. I am maintaining Fortinet FortiExtender for my customers for one year, and I find that to be sufficient. I rate Fortinet FortiExtender a 10 out of 10.

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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

"They offer per-user tunneling to a variety of endpoints."

"It's stable and reliable."

"There is a clustering feature, so the APs immediately switch back to the next available controller. The users will not notice any impact and will feel connected to the network. They will not notice any disconnection."

"I have found the technical support to be one of the most valuable features."

"The most valuable feature of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is centralized management capability. You don't have to have wireless LAN controllers at every location."

"It's quite stable."

"We are very satisfied with the solution as it delivers everything we need for our wireless network, including security, authentication, and integration with other platforms."

"Once Aruba Wireless is set up and configured correctly, you just walk away. That's what we like about it. We have some devices that are six or seven years old, which is rare in the wireless world because everything changes so quickly, but in some banks and municipalities, it just keeps working."

More Aruba Networks Wireless WAN pros

"We appreciate that this solution can be used as an active secondary link as well as a backup."

"The product is easy to use and easy to integrate."

"You don't need to have two different vendors to interoperate and get into comparability issues or inter-operability issues."

"Management can be carried out from a central point."

"The most valuable feature will be that it works."

"The integration is easy and it works as a normal internet connection."

"The solution is extremely user-friendly."

"For me, the best feature of Fortinet FortiExtender is its integration with an external solution such as a 5G LTE broadband modem, wired modem, and cellular network. I also like that the product can be integrated into one device or a unified device, and that is one of its best features because it allows you to manage and centralize the control of every device."

More Fortinet FortiExtender pros

Cons

"We have had stability issues with some types of portable devices."

"Aruba Networks Wireless WAN could improve the solution availability. The selection of mounting hardware for the various radios is limited and poor. Often, you have to create and manufacture your own mounting hardware in certain situations."

"The initial setup has a lot of options, which makes it very versatile yet very complicated to install. There should be two modes: a basic mode and then a more advanced mode to help make implementation easier. Most of the time, if it's a small installation, you don't need the complexity. You shouldn't need higher expertise in order to install a couple of access points in a single place."

"They have to work on their Aruba Central cloud platform. There are still some glitches such as not showing proper user details. When we removed the AP from the Aruba Central cloud, it showed up as being connected to Aruba Central. They need to fix these issues."

"Right now, the integration between the support that you are getting from Hewlett-Packard, which is the parent company, and Aruba, they're not meshing together."

"The licensing scheme and price could be improved. The price is a little bit expensive."

"Aruba's technical support has room for improvement."

"It is a little bit cumbersome to configure. If you're designing a WLAN and you want to do and cover certain types of clients, you really have to know different settings and how they interact with one another. If they could automate that so that if you are designing for one type of equipment, you could, in essence, run a wizard. That would certainly save on a lot of calls to tech support."

More Aruba Networks Wireless WAN cons

"The engineering of the solution has some negative points, especially in terms of troubleshooting. It's difficult to troubleshoot when we have a problem. It's not like other products like Cisco or Palo Alto which make troubleshooting much easier."

"The solution would be a lot better if it was a little bit more intuitive. Additionally, the help menu would be a lot better if it was easier to identify the items that I was looking for. I find the graphical interface a little bit difficult to navigate. And I find the font that is used on the HTML interface not conducive to being able to be read in low light situations."

"The Fortinet FortiExtender should be more suitable for outdoor use. Currently, the vehicle model can be used outdoors, but there are no dedicated outdoor devices."

"I would like to see them make it smaller in the next release so that it has a smaller footprint for mobile clients."

"There is a huge downside because we need to remove and insert the SIM to get it working."

"We would like to see some improvement in the price for 5G models, as they are currently very expensive."

"What most of my clients are telling me is the price is a problem."

"They could improve the remote console server feature and make it more user-friendly for more users."

More Fortinet FortiExtender cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On a scale f one to ten, where one point is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the pricing as eight. Cloud licenses are quite expensive."

"With some vendors, the access point is not manageable anymore if you don't maintain the license. It's more or less a doorstop because you can't configure and control it. You can't troubleshoot it unless you maintain the license. That's not true with Aruba."

"The pricing of the product is pretty good."

"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."

"Aruba Wireless comes with the controller."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is pretty cost-efficient than Cisco ISE when my company did a PO, but for a single-party tender, its pricing was on the higher side, so it depends. I rate the pricing for Aruba Networks Wireless WAN as six out of ten."

"The licenses are available as both perpetual or yearly."

More Aruba Networks Wireless WAN pricing and cost advice

"I've only used the open-source version of Fortinet FortiExtender, but I know that it has some features that require you to pay for a license."

"I'm not sure what the cost is. However, I anticipate that the purchase price will range between $2,500 and $5,000."

"The solution is not that expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

18%

Media Company

12%

Government

Construction Company

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...

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What do you like most about Aruba Networks Wireless WAN?

I rate the stability an eight out of ten.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Networks Wireless WAN?

The price is a little bit expensive. On a scale of one to ten, where ten is the most expensive, I would place them at seven or eight.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiExtender?

The price for Fortinet FortiExtender deserves the highest rating.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiExtender?

The Fortinet FortiExtender should be more suitable for outdoor use. Currently, the vehicle model can be used outdoors, but there are no dedicated outdoor devices. When a location has poor LTE conne...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiExtender?

I am still using Fortinet FortiExtender. The solution utilizes LTE data to establish a connection, and if the main line goes down, it switches automatically to the LTE connection. Advanced Antenna ...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 40% of the time

Ubiquiti Wireless vs Aruba Networks Wireless WAN

Compared 38% of the time

Fortinet FortiWLM vs Aruba Networks Wireless WAN

Compared 23% of the time

More Aruba Networks Wireless WAN Competitors

Cisco Wireless WAN vs Fortinet FortiExtender

Compared 52% of the time

Ubiquiti Wireless vs Fortinet FortiExtender

Compared 48% of the time

More Fortinet FortiExtender Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN

August 2025

Download Aruba Networks Wireless WAN product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiExtender

August 2025

Download Fortinet FortiExtender product report

Overview

Aruba Networks Wireless Wide Area Network (WAN) is a powerful WAN solution that enables organizations and businesses to create global networks that securely connect their members regardless of their locations. Aruba Networks Wireless WAN leverages AI to create a network that is always equipped to address issues or keep up with evolving needs. The operations that run on this network are also capable of running consistently because the AI is always learning and keeping the network running smoothly. The cutting-edge build of this solution is the reason that it is a leader in the field of wide area networks.

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN Benefits

Some of the benefits of using Aruba Networks Wireless WAN include:

Minimize the costs associated with cloud integrations. Aruba Networks Wireless WAN enables users to automate the process by which networks connect to cloud and SaaS services. This reduces the total amount of resources that need to be spent on these integrations.

Track the health of a network using real-time tracking. Aruba Networks Wireless WAN gives administrators the ability to keep track of different network health metrics. It possesses a variety of different tracking capabilities that can be used to best meet a user’s needs.

Increased network efficiency. Aruba Networks Wireless WAN’s AI software leverages machine learning to identify issues before they arise and recommend solutions when an issue arises. It enables users to be proactive in dealing with network issues.

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN Features

When users deploy Aruba Networks Wireless WAN, they gain access to a number of very powerful and useful features. These features include:

Unified network policy enforcement. Aruba’s Dynamic Segmentation feature connects all aspects of a user’s WAN. In doing so, it ensures that all network policies are enforced uniformly across every portion of the network.

Dynamic Path Steering (DPS). Aruba Networks Wireless WAN’s DPS feature keeps a user’s network running smoothly. It directs traffic running through the network to the uplink that is most appropriate for it. This minimizes potential network latency.
WAN Compression. This feature makes it possible for users to route more traffic through a given WAN circuit at times of high congestion. It compresses traffic so that the network circuit can better accommodate the increased activity.

Reviews from Real Users

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN allows users to create, deploy, and manage wide area networks. It is a highly flexible solution that provides system engineers with many options when they are designing and rolling out their networks. Administrators can produce networks that are easily configured, rolled out, and monitored from anywhere in the world. Aruba Networks Wireless WAN has a centralized management interface. Administrators can control every aspect of the network from one console. They can access all of the network controls and data from this one interface. This simplifies the jobs of network administrators who are responsible for keeping the networks up and running.

A network engineer at a technology company writes, “I feel that Aruba allows for more flexibility when it comes to configuration and deployment. Aruba gives you the same feeling as using a controller on-prem, whereas Meraki seems to be hiding a lot of the configuration behind the scenes and forces you to actually call them and ask them to enable certain features. So far, using Aruba Central is more like using an actual controller based on the amount of configuration you can do. Meraki just came out with profiles, but as far as I know, they don't have profiles for how your device connects to the actual physical LAN.”

A network and security engineer at a communications service provider writes, “The most valuable feature of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is centralized management capability. You don't have to have wireless LAN controllers at every location.”

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Fortinet FortiExtender is a cost-effective hardware WAN device that is robust, easily scales, and delivers 5G, LTE, and Ethernet options. FortiExtender is designed using Fortinet’s trademark security-focused networking. The solution enables organizations to have enhanced secure network connectivity with cellular and wired broadband network options.

FortiExtender can be used for secure point of sale (POS) systems to transport fleet communications. The device delivers dependable broadband access to the internet and increases the usefulness of the Fortinet Security Fabric integration to enhance seamless business processes that rely heavily on remote device connectivity to get the job done.

FortiExtender delivers super-fast 5G and LTE wireless to connect and quickly scale any WAN edge. Users get 5G/LTE cellular, out-of-band management (OBM), high availability (HA), and dynamic risk security in one comprehensive, reliable solution.

Fortinet FortiExtender Benefits

Failover protection: Users get secure network failover protection with dual SIM, dual modem, and out of band management (OBM) functionalities.
Cloud-based processes: Organizations with a global reach can easily manage processes in the cloud from anywhere. Users can use FortiGate, FortiManager, or FortiExtender Cloud Dashboard to view and easily manage security controls, network changes, and policy and protocol automation.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with Fortinet Secure SD-WAN for simplified deployment, security, and management.
Improves TCO: FortiExtender is a very cost-effective option when integrated with FortiGate Network Security Platform. FortiExtender implements processes that save money and improve connectivity, functionality, and profitability.

Fortinet FortiExtender Features

Plug-and-play: Out of the box and ready to go, once FortiExtenders are connected to the FortiGate, they are available on the FortiOS management platform. Additionally, FortiOS provides complete visibility, monitoring data usage to ensure limits are not exceeded, resulting in significant cost savings.
Flexible connectivity options:
- LTE/5G : The FortiExtender devices provide dual SIM and dual modem options for four different ISPs. Dual SIM allows for active/passive cellular link for fast failover. Dual modem options provide two active/passive links for super-fast failover and disaster recovery. ISPs can be set for data usage limits and seamlessly switch to other ISPs to balance connectivity and reduce costs.
- WAN connectivity: Using an Ethernet WAN port, users can connect cable, DSL, or another modem. Load balancing and failover options available.
- Hybrid WAN-LAN connectivity: Four LAN ethernet ports enable users to have numerous connections to the LTE connection. Works well for high availability (HA) pairs of FortiGates to connect to FortiExtender. FortiGates then will run in failover or load balancing mode and receive WAN connectivity from the FortiExtender device.

Reviews from Real Users

“Fortinet FortiExtender helps facilitate Fortinet connectivity. When it comes to cell phone towers, you never know what you'll get with global configurations. We use this solution to mitigate switching cell phone towers. The scalability is limitless based on your cell and your internet or your cloud connectivity. It's similar to any other VPN in terms of how simple it is to set up in a global or extended environment with a large number of clients.” - Clement J., Chief Executive Officer at Clemtech LLC

Fortinet

Sample Customers

The Pittsburgh Golf Club, Rio Rancho Public Schools, Amwaj Rotana - Jumeirah Beach Residence - Dubai, Trevecca Nazarene University

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs. Fortinet FortiExtender

July 2025

Free Report: Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs. Fortinet FortiExtender

Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs. Fortinet FortiExtender and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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