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 solution is pretty generic and easy to use."
"The simplicity is great."
"The most useful feature of Juniper Wireless AP is the reporting Marvis."
"AirWave is a valuable feature."
"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 does not have too many distinguishing feature sets. However, tunneling is more flexible in this solution than other solutions, such as Ruckus."
"The stability is the best. It's very reliable."
"The feature I found most valuable to customers in Aruba Wireless is not a technical feature. It's more of its image, trademark, or brand as the product is very well-known in the market, and that's a good point to offer to customers. My customers just ask about the basic features of the product, and usually, when asking about Aruba products, customers don't pay too much attention to any specific feature as long as the product is solid and sure, and that you can change or modify it, as what you can get from Aruba Wireless."
"The most valuable features are the Instant On capabilities, including the controller."
"The cost is pretty good. It's what draws in the clients."
"This is the second time I've implemented and installed this solution and I think it is outstanding. The support is excellent and so is the hardware. We don't need much support because nothing really goes wrong."
"The LAN network conductivity is good."
"The most valuable features of Cisco Wireless are the level of control and management. I am happy with it."
"Stable and scalable with good technical support."
"It is a stable solution."
"The installation process is very easy."
"This solution is highly stable. We have only had one issue in seven years."
"The technical support is excellent."
"Some of the features I find valuable are the FlexConnect and overall it is a good global solution."
"I need a bit more time with it before criticizing the features."
"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."
"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."
"They need to increase the number of routers on the controller."
"Aruba Wireless could improve the dashboard. It is not straightforward or intuitive to use and could be more user-friendly. For IT employees the dashboards are fine but when it comes to the end-user it is difficult. The Mobility Controller dashboard is not meant for non-IT employees."
"Not cost-effective."
"We have had issues with the availability of the equipment."
"Aruba doesn't match some competitors in wireless signal strength. It isn't in the same class as Cisco Meraki, so I would use Cisco Meraki in situations where I need to cover a large open space. Meraki has more powerful signals going out."
"The stability and management could be improved."
"We would like to declare a specific number of devices that an employee or a user can use to access their Wi-Fi."
"The price could be better."
"If they could offer better coverage, we'd be much happier."
"An expensive solution that small companies cannot afford."
"In the next release, I would like to have support for Wi-Fi 6."
"The interface could be better."
"The new licensing model isn't as good as what they had before."
"The new GUI interface and the newer version OS are a little bit more complex than the older version, however, it just might take some getting used to."
"I wouldn't mind if Cisco allowed their premiere devices to be able to have that cloud-based support as well, or cloud-based management."
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Aruba Wireless is ranked 1st in Wireless LAN with 42 reviews while Cisco Wireless is ranked 3rd in Wireless LAN with 70 reviews. Aruba Wireless is rated 8.2, while Cisco Wireless is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Aruba Wireless writes "Simple to install, easy to use, and cost-effective". 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, Mist AI and Cloud and Fortinet FortiWLM, whereas Cisco Wireless is most compared with Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN, Ruckus Wireless, Ubiquiti WLAN, Huawei Wireless and Mist AI and Cloud. See our Aruba Wireless vs. Cisco Wireless report.
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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.