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Aruba Wireless vs ExtremeWireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.4
Aruba Wireless boosts productivity, flexibility, and cost savings, offering a valuable investment despite challenges in quantifying direct ROI.
Sentiment score
8.5
ExtremeWireless provides scalable, cost-effective solutions with 30% ROI savings, easy deployment, and excellent support for long-term use.
There is no need to buy additional controllers for managing access points.
Consultant at Lantec
There are significant time savings, around thirty to forty percent, due to minimal disconnections.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
The best ROI is achieved over a three-year term.
Engineer at NewLogics
The monitoring access and excellent support provide significant value.
Wireless Network Analyst at a construction company with 51-200 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Aruba's support is praised for professionalism and expertise, but resolution speed and accessibility can be inconsistent.
Sentiment score
7.2
ExtremeWireless support is helpful but inconsistent, with slow response times and limited availability affecting user satisfaction. Ratings vary.
I only needed support once or twice for a replacement, and it was handled smoothly without any difficulty.
IT Infrastructure at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
I would rate their technical support nine out of ten.
Sales Engineer at SGE
The customer support is good.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
I rate their support as a nine because they are very helpful when we need assistance and they strive to help, even if not the fastest.
Wireless Network Analyst at a construction company with 51-200 employees
The technical support sometimes closes cases without resolution.
Engineer at NewLogics
I would rate the customer service as a ten.
Network Engineer at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Aruba Wireless is praised for its scalability, adaptability, and ease of managing many devices across diverse environments.
Sentiment score
6.7
ExtremeWireless is scalable and adaptable for medium to large enterprises but may face stability issues at higher user thresholds.
The solution is scalable, as multiple sites connect seamlessly.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
It is easy to adapt and very scalable.
IT Infra Deputy Vice President at ESFB
The Extreme access points handle high-density connectivity needs very well, managing lots of traffic efficiently.
Wireless Network Analyst at a construction company with 51-200 employees
ExtremeWireless is suitable for companies with a user base below three hundred.
IT executive at a agriculture with 1,001-5,000 employees
ExtremeWireless is quite scalable.
Systems Engineer at LinkAxia Networks Sdn Bhd
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Aruba Wireless is highly stable, reliable, handles high-density environments well, rarely needs reboots, and surpasses competitors in satisfaction.
Sentiment score
7.0
ExtremeWireless is praised for its stability and reliability, though some encounter challenges with firmware updates in high-density environments.
I have been using the product for the last nine years without facing any issues post-installation.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
I don't remember it going down during the years it existed.
IT Infrastructure at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Aruba Wireless is stable.
IT Infra Deputy Vice President at ESFB
They work well without failures.
Wireless Network Analyst at a construction company with 51-200 employees
I experienced issues during firmware upgrades, as some devices required a physical restart, which affects system stability.
Network Administrator at THK Co Ltd
The stability of ExtremeWireless is somewhat weaker compared to previous solutions, like Motorola before its acquisition.
IT executive at a agriculture with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba Wireless needs better stability, intuitive UI, support, documentation, reduced costs, and enhanced analytics, integration, and security.
ExtremeWireless must enhance affordability, integration, security, support, and performance to improve competitiveness and meet small business needs.
The product should be more affordable, especially the cloud and console for the Aruba product as it is currently very expensive.
Sales Engineer at SGE
While the technical specifications are satisfactory, the access points are expensive.
Consultant at Lantec
At the time of purchase, the prices were moderate, but now they are quite expensive.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
I wish for ExtremeWireless to optimize the roaming capability between access points, especially for IoT devices.
Network Administrator at THK Co Ltd
They should develop more troubleshooting tools for system management.
Network Engineer at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
There is some delay in firmware upgrades for access points.
Wireless Network Analyst at a construction company with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

Aruba Wireless pricing is competitive with low operational costs, offering value through versatile licensing and favorable comparisons to Cisco.
ExtremeWireless provides good value with both free and paid options, despite medium-high pricing and substantial hardware costs.
The pricing seems reasonable compared to other brands; however, it is too expensive for smaller businesses.
Sales Engineer at SGE
The pricing can be expensive.
Consultant at Lantec
The initial prices were more affordable compared to the current high prices.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
Each customer typically buys around 100 APs, which makes it quite expensive.
Systems Engineer at LinkAxia Networks Sdn Bhd
The pricing is favorable due to its flexible licensing model.
Engineer at NewLogics
The pricing is a weak point for Extreme; it is very high.
Wireless Network Analyst at a construction company with 51-200 employees
 

Valuable Features

Aruba Wireless excels in security, scalability, seamless connectivity, and user-friendly design, offering cost-effective and efficient network management.
ExtremeWireless offers cloud management, strong security, seamless integration, and stability, making it ideal for security-focused sectors.
I do not need to buy a controller for the access point since the Aruba Access Point has a built-in virtual controller.
Consultant at Lantec
The Aruba Wireless solution has excellent roaming capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity.
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
It has many features and is integrated with Azure AD and multiple active directories, making authentication easy.
Senior Network Engineer at Zerone Technologies
A single license can be used for on-premises, hybrid, or cloud, allowing for easy transition between solutions without losing investment.
Engineer at NewLogics
The most valuable features of ExtremeWireless include the management through the one dashboard management with ActionCloud IQ, integrated with Site Engine.
Systems Engineer at LinkAxia Networks Sdn Bhd
The support from Extreme is very good and helpful.
Wireless Network Analyst at a construction company with 51-200 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
150
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ExtremeWireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Wireless is 13.9%, down from 19.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeWireless is 2.1%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Aruba Wireless13.9%
ExtremeWireless2.1%
Other84.0%
Wireless LAN
 

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…
KO
Network Administrator at THK Co Ltd
We manage complex networks with seamless guest and user access while ensuring device authorization
I use enterprise connections where users need to be authorized against radius servers. This feature is common across various products, including ExtremeWireless. Generally, the network management is valuable to me. However, I am unsure how the security architecture enhances our network protection as we typically use the latest firmware for access points. Nonetheless, we had some troubles with roaming, requiring me to install specific firmware to avoid issues.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
879,927 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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…
 

Answers from the Community

DS
Network Manager at PHNS
Oct 5, 2021
Oct 5, 2021
It also depends on the integration with your LAN network and Network Access Control. Both have campus and cloud-native solutions. One single pane of glass for all your end devices is very advisable. So be sure to integrate your LAN with your WLAN and NAC, and if possible with your firewall gateway and endpoint security. Aruba Wireless has a very rich feature set and integration possibilities. ...
See 2 answers
EB
Director of Community at PeerSpot (formerly IT Central Station)
Oct 4, 2021
Hi @Huthaisa Al Saaideh, @D6B8, @DImo Dimov, @Gassan Armouti ​and @Joris Van den Bergh, Can you share your professional insights with @Danny Stevens?  We appreciate your help.
JV
Team Leader Solution Specialists at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Oct 5, 2021
It also depends on the integration with your LAN network and Network Access Control. Both have campus and cloud-native solutions.  One single pane of glass for all your end devices is very advisable. So be sure to integrate your LAN with your WLAN and NAC, and if possible with your firewall gateway and endpoint security. Aruba Wireless has a very rich feature set and integration possibilities. Extreme has a very high level of automation and easy to deploy virtual services on their SPBM fabric.  So it all depends on your expectations and business case...
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
University
6%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business77
Midsize Enterprise47
Large Enterprise74
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise8
 

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 ExtremeWireless?
There are concerns regarding the stability of ExtremeWireless. It could be an area of improvement, especially when compared to previous solutions such as Motorola before their acquisition. Another ...
What is your primary use case for ExtremeWireless?
We mainly use ExtremeWireless ( /products/extremewireless-reviews ) for the warehouse, specifically for the Zebra handheld devices and printers.
What advice do you have for others considering ExtremeWireless?
Overall, ExtremeWireless has a lot of room for improvement. The main concern is stability. As a user, I focus on supporting the devices and ensuring they meet my client’s needs. While I do not hand...
 

Also Known As

Aruba WLAN, HP WLAN, HP Wireless, Aruba Instant On AP Series Access Point
No data available
 

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
St. Xavier High School, Americatel, Diamond Light Source
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Wireless vs. ExtremeWireless and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,927 professionals have used our research since 2012.