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Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2026

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 Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
151
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Wireless 9100 Access ...
Ranking in Wireless LAN
21st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

UM
IT Infra Deputy Vice President at ESFB
Strong performance supports network team effectively but guest access compatibility needs improvement
We connect the network using Aruba Wireless. We connect our office network, and we use it primarily within our network team Aruba Wireless has many features, especially their state-of-the-art controller, which can be connected to the cloud. They also have an unlimited lifetime warranty, which is…
Bharath _Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at Velocis Systems
Wireless has delivered advanced analytics and remote troubleshooting for diverse use cases
Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points is valuable because of Cisco's Wi-Fi integration with Cisco Spaces, previously called DNA Spaces. When you bundle Cisco AP with Cisco Spaces, the complete wireless story comes into the picture. The first major advantage is the hardware, the chipset, the processor, and the IOS. There is unified licensing and unified iOS, and once you have DNA advantage, you can get a separate AVIX and the Wi-Fi 6 or 6E dashboard in DNAC. These advantages provide basic throughput support, OFDMA, multi-MIMO architecture, and the latest 4K QAM in Wi-Fi 7, previously 1024 QAM, and MLO in Wi-Fi 7. These functionalities exist for every OEM, but the Cisco advantage is the integration with Wi-Fi Spaces. Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points includes one AP that can operate in dual mode. You can onboard it in Meraki or Catalyst, meaning on-premises or cloud controller. Single hardware can be dual OS, either Meraki OS or Catalyst OS. For IoT and industrial wireless, Cisco has a different technology called CURV. The APs are different from the Catalyst 9000 series APs. There is a different set of series with different models working on fluid mesh architecture of Cisco CURV. Remote troubleshooting is a basic functionality of any SDN controller these days. Engineers do not need to manually log in to the end device, which could be either a switch or an AP. From DNA Center itself, you can get visibility from the assurance. You can get client 360, network 360, and application 360 where the health scores of each individual client are clearly visible in DNAC Center. The assurance data provides visibility and highlights the issues that a particular user or particular network node is facing. You can access the device without any challenge. Similar to how SD-WAN came into the picture seven to eight years ago where you could remotely log in to the WAN edge devices and troubleshoot it, the same principle is being applied in DNAC Center for the campus, whether it is switching or WAN. If the RTT latency has been met from the branch to the place where DNAC Center is deployed, you can easily access those devices without needing an engineer to visit that particular location for troubleshooting.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I have not experienced any bugs, software, or hardware issues with Aruba."
"I like the analytics feature."
"Its manageability of APs is the most valuable feature: ease of adding APs and the ability to configure the APs on the fly."
"For my organization, the most critical feature of Aruba Wireless is guest management."
"The performance and the application monitor. You can select the applications you want to use and block on your network"
"It is a great product and if you want complete control over your network for wireless users this is definitely the product you should choose."
"With Aruba Wireless you can scale to 10,000 IPs; it's very scalable and we use it with thousands of internal users in our office and thousands of people connected around the globe without requiring extra staff to maintain the installation."
"The portal has been very helpful for us."
"There is not much in terms of potential improvement for Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points; the product is good on wireless."
"What I appreciate about Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points is the convenience to operate them and install them across locations remotely or on-premise."
"The features in Catalyst 9100 Access Points that I have found most valuable include that it's a complete solution; we go with Cisco because you have access points, you have a controller, you have Cisco ISE, and you have Cisco DNA Center."
"Cisco is technically superior to competitors."
"The reliability of Cisco is the number one aspect I have seen, and the performance is pretty stable."
"Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points is valuable because of Cisco's Wi-Fi integration with Cisco Spaces, previously called DNA Spaces."
"Wi-Fi 6 technology has improved wireless connectivity to such an extent that LAN cable connectivity is no longer necessary, allowing users to work remotely with Wi-Fi connectivity while achieving both speed and scalability."
"My favorite thing about Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points is that they just work, and they work reliably."
 

Cons

"When we connect to Wi-Fi devices it could be easier because sometimes, it takes a lot of time to complete."
"Compared to Cisco in this regard, Arube is not as flexible."
"Improvements to the GUI, such as being able to search in the Mobility Master, would be nice."
"Most of the access points don't include the chargers."
"The ARM functionality does not always seem to perform how I would like."
"My main concern about this product is the price."
"Before HP bought Aruba, the release dates for codes were very predictable and quick. But since HP's acquisition, normal and quarterly release dates have been delayed, probably because of continued integration between the two companies."
"Initial setup was complex."
"Theoretically, you can connect up to 100 clients simultaneously, but practically, this is not feasible. There will be bandwidth deterioration, and 100 clients using the same bandwidth will impact the quality of service."
"The deployment process itself is complex because we need to ensure that software requirements are running."
"Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points are expensive. They are definitely expensive."
"I do not see support for advanced wireless technologies like Wi-Fi 6 and IoT applications."
"Apart from that, the security measures of Cisco have not provided us with great help in reducing network vulnerabilities."
"Technical support from Cisco has been a bit degraded lately because the first support we get is challenging."
"Frankly, ease of use is one of the things that needs improvement, as the management interfaces have always been complex and not very intuitive."
"Cisco is always expensive. In terms of pricing, it is very tough because I have lost many RFPs because of the pricing where Ruckus is much less expensive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Aruba Wireless could improve. It is expensive. However, I am able to reduce my costs because I do not use all the features in the controller, such as the AD integration and other enterprise features."
"Aruba is less expensive than Cisco."
"The product is expensive."
"The price of Aruba Wireless is expensive."
"The access points are more cost-effective over some other providers, both in cost per AP and the option of a controller-less environment."
"​Trial different solutions and compare pricing to how well they perform, their stability, how easy it is to maintain, etc."
"Aruba Wireless is much cheaper than our previous solution by Cisco. It is a significant saving, measured in thousands of dollars per year."
"The price point is pretty high compared to Ubiquiti and other equipment."
Information not available
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Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
President at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Mar 24, 2015
Cisco vs. Aruba Wireless Solutions
Cisco or Aruba Networks? If you are considering wireless access solutions, this is a common question that you are probably asking. You probably have sales people knocking at your door. How do you make sense of all the stories that you are presented with. If you have done any research, you are…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business77
Midsize Enterprise47
Large Enterprise75
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...
Aruba Wireless or Ruckus Wireless?
At my organization, we researched Ruckus Wireless among other solutions but ultimately chose Aruba wireless. What did we like about Ruckus? First, it was very easy to use, and anybody with minimal...
How does Cisco Wireless compare with Aruba Wireless?
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 availabl...
What needs improvement with Catalyst 9100 Access Points?
I do not see support for advanced wireless technologies like Wi-Fi 6 and IoT applications. There is nothing to add on this technology.
What is your primary use case for Catalyst 9100 Access Points?
The major use case is to couple that with the WLC wireless controller and push the different SSIDs on these access points to permit different devices and endpoints to connect to it.
What advice do you have for others considering Catalyst 9100 Access Points?
In these last ten years, the projects I made were for customers, but right now, I am a client and a customer. Cisco Wireless support for IoT is good and effective. We do not use AI analytics in Cis...
 

Also Known As

Aruba WLAN, HP WLAN, HP Wireless, Aruba Instant On AP Series Access Point
Catalyst 9100 Access Points
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Consulate Health Care, Los Angeles Unified School District, Science Applications International Corp (SAIC), San Diego State University, KFC, ACTS Retirement-Life Communities
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Wireless vs. Cisco Wireless 9100 Access Points and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
890,071 professionals have used our research since 2012.