We performed a comparison between Aruba Wireless and Cisco Wireless based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: When comparing Aruba Wireless and Cisco Wireless, it is evident that Cisco Wireless is the more popular choice. While both have great features, users of Cisco Wireless seem to find fewer things lacking with it and are generally satisfied. In regards to service and support as well, Cisco users are happy with the service they receive. Users do feel that it is an expensive solution, however.
"The most useful feature of Juniper Wireless AP is the reporting Marvis."
"The simplicity is great."
"The solution is pretty generic and easy to use."
"Setup is straightforward."
"Good wireless solution that's user-friendly, stable, and scalable, with very good product support, and a limited lifetime warranty."
"The most valuable features are the Instant On capabilities, including the controller."
"All features are useful for me. It lets me perform some specific configurations depending on the site or the client. All WAN features are valuable."
"Aruba Wireless is easily scaled between a lot of devices and a lot of endpoints. When we decided to use it as our solution, we had planned to use it exactly for its ability to scale."
"Overall, it's a very strong solution."
"We were able to increase capacity very easily."
"The technical support is very good."
"The technical support is excellent."
"Its stability is most valuable."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"Setting up Cisco Wireless is pretty straightforward. It takes about an hour or two, and we can handle it in-house. To deploy one project, it takes two to three for a single controller."
"The most important thing for me is that all the access points are in one group and use one access code. So, when you move from one area to another, you don't disconnect and reconnect again. The device is also very easy to install and control."
"The solution offers very good stability."
"I'm very satisfied with Cisco's technical support."
"The integration with Cisco ISE is good, and together we use them to provide services."
"Juniper Wireless AP can improve by continually improving its reporting and integration with other systems."
"If you want to do more specific stuff, it's a bit limited."
"I need a bit more time with it before criticizing the features."
"The coverage, concurrent user life, and visualization are the most valuable features of these solutions."
"The pricing could always be better."
"There is a lot of information for users about the product, but it needs to be better organized so that solutions are easier to find."
"Aruba is missing some features that are available in other solutions, such as the email notifications. It's a bit complex to configure the notification part. Mainly I'm talking about the rogue WiFi detection. This email notification is crucial for us, but it isn't possible to configure with the built-in software. You need something else, like an external system log collector or another Aruba software. These notifications are essential in hospitality for PCI compliance. My colleagues in famous luxury hotel chains need that report."
"The user interface could be improved in Aruba Wireless. This would make the setup easier."
"Their documentation needs to be improved. Aruba's documentation is poor."
"There needs to be better visibility on the day-to-day monitoring."
"I would like to see a faster web interface in the controller and more troubleshooting tools, including real-time troubleshooting tools."
"In the next release, they should add a better reporting feature. The reporting will tell you if you have a problem. That will make the diagnostics easier."
"The solution is stable but it could be improved. However, this could be because there are not enough APs."
"The solution could improve by having more advanced features, such as AI that is able to do diagnosis on the network or detect incorrect configurations and is able to tell you what is the recommended practice. Additionally, it would be a benefit to have smart antennas that are able to track your movement, Wi-Fi 6 support, better transfer rates, low latency, stronger signals that can penetrate thick walls, and zero packet losses."
"They are a pretty expensive option."
"Cisco Wireless does not have a dashboard that would make it easier for people to manage the solution, such as Cisco Meraki where you are able to monitor the network through the dashboard and everything is visible making it easier."
"Code stability is something that needs to be improved."
"It should be fully compatible with other devices."
"The price of Cisco Wireless could be lower."
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Aruba Wireless is ranked 1st in Wireless LAN with 41 reviews while Cisco Wireless is ranked 3rd in Wireless LAN with 76 reviews. Aruba Wireless is rated 8.0, while Cisco Wireless is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Aruba Wireless writes "Overall a good product that provides role-based authentication native to the controller, but has code stability issues". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Cisco Wireless writes "Robust with a good level of performance and very helpful technical support". Aruba Wireless is most compared with Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN, Ubiquiti WLAN, Ruckus Wireless, Fortinet FortiWLM and Mist AI and Cloud, whereas Cisco Wireless is most compared with Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN, Ruckus Wireless, Huawei Wireless, Ubiquiti WLAN and Fortinet FortiWLM. See our Aruba Wireless vs. Cisco Wireless report.
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We monitor all Wireless LAN reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.
On the most basic level, Cisco Wireless can offer a rather straightforward initial setup. In the span of about three hours, the basic framework can be set up. Step-by-step instructions are available to ease the deployment of the Cisco wireless network. A small business will now be able to make use of this wireless product without being worried about having to make a massive investment of either time or resources. This peace of mind extends to the actual maintenance of the product as well. Cisco wireless’s network does not require very much in the way of maintenance. It does require occasional upgrades to keep it running smoothly, but other than that, a team tasked with maintaining it has very little to worry about. Organizations of all sizes will be able to benefit from both of these aspects of Cisco wireless’s design.
Cisco wireless provides a very robust service that will continue to run over long periods of time and under heavy usage. Furthermore, the teams that are responsible for assisting users and resolving any potential issues that may arise are highly professional. These are two additional features that make Cisco wireless a valuable product. The wireless service is capable of running for years without any real need for replacements to be made to the hardware.
Although no system is perfect, Cisco’s Wireless network shows that products can still be made to last. Long spans of time can pass without issues arising. When they do, Cisco’s technical support team is well-equipped to help handle it. They respond quickly to inquiries and they are extremely knowledgeable. They bring the kind of professionalism that one would hope to have in a product’s support team.
Aruba Wireless can support many devices and provide the features that one would expect for this type of product. It is relatively cheap when compared to other products like Cisco Wireless. For that relatively cheap price, Aruba offers hardware whose performance can match anything offered by its competitors. It advertises what it can do and follows through with its promises. It is also very easy to configure. However, they do not guide users in different industries through the best practices that they should be employing when using Aruba Wireless.
Conclusion
Cisco Wireless offers an effective service. In terms of cost it is more expensive than Aruba Wireless. They both have a lot to offer. The price tag might just be the deciding factor.
Aruba is our choice for our WIFI solution as Aruba has a lot of features that can do the same with Meraki.
Aruba is saving costs vs Meraki in a long time operation.