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Aruba Wireless vs Ubiquiti UniFi comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
148
Ranking in other categories
Wireless LAN (1st)
Ubiquiti UniFi
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Wi-Fi Hotspot Software (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Aruba Wireless is designed for Wireless LAN and holds a mindshare of 17.1%, down 23.4% compared to last year.
Ubiquiti UniFi, on the other hand, focuses on Wi-Fi Hotspot Software, holds 34.6% mindshare, up 33.6% since last year.
Wireless LAN
Wi-Fi Hotspot Software
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad_Faisal - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience seamless connectivity with top-notch roaming capabilities
The Aruba Wireless solution has excellent roaming capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity. Once installed, Aruba Wireless works robustly without overheating issues. This is particularly effective compared to other products I've used, like FortiMonitor and FortiAPs, which sometimes heat up. I am very satisfied with the roaming feature, as it ensures connectivity when moving from one location to another. The product's stability, after setting it up, adds to its value.
Director_45785 - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides great cloud key functionality in monitoring the environment
The initial setup takes about one to two hours and is somewhat complex in the fact that there's no proper support in terms of out of the box or a manual, or any indication of where to find proper information, so they do need to work on documentation. Implementation needs to be done by a technical person. There are a lot of chat groups and forums online and you might find five or ten different solutions to resolve the issue but it's not coming from the company. From that aspect, we'd prefer a solution where more testing is done before they release the product.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The fact that Aruba Wireless has a virtual controller onboard the internet access points makes it cheaper than other solutions."
"The 335-AP provides reliability, stability."
"Although there are other solutions available and some with a lower initial cost, they don't offer the same level of integration with IoT as this solution without having to add additional hardware, which ends up costing more."
"The web-based GUI is much simpler to use than similar products by Cisco."
"Ability for a student or teacher to be able to roam freely from classroom to classroom, no matter the floor, without dropping a signal."
"Aruba is an industry leader. The hardware is on par, and its performance is also on par with anybody else. The Aruba brand really only focuses on wireless, so they're not competing their R&D for switching data center products and cloud security. They're really focused on that and their underlying key pieces. They provide a role-based authentication that is native to the controller. A lot of other systems don't do that. They won't provide you the ability to basically have everybody join the network, regardless of whether or not they share the same network space, the SSID, or the wireless LAN. You can segment it down to a specific user role based on any kind of attributes that you like. That's their differentiator. If you need per user, per device, or per port segmentation, you can get that with Aruba. There isn't another vendor who does it."
"Support for both on-premises and cloud environments has proven effective for network management."
"The solution has been helpful in improving the way our company functions."
"The cloud management has revolutionized the way we provide services to clients, onsite trips have almost ceased and once complicated changes are made in minutes."
"I like the centralized management console, where we can add all of the devices to the Unifi controller and then management them from a single point."
"Firmware can be pushed or manually updated."
"The level of reporting offered by the controller, when used with other Ubiquiti equipment, has been invaluable."
"Overall, the suite of tools is quite useful."
"The most valuable features are its easy access, the controller, and constant updates."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is how it is centralized."
"Functionality of the cloud key in terms of monitoring and managing the environment."
 

Cons

"Initial setup was complex."
"Better integration between the controller and the ClearPass portal would be a nice change."
"I would like to see a faster web interface in the controller and more troubleshooting tools, including real-time troubleshooting tools."
"An area of this product that could use improvement would be the troubleshooting. At times I had to engage Aruba Support which ran some pretty complicated troubleshooting commands. I would not have been able to do with existing CLI documentation."
"They could work on energy consumption as this equipment needs a lot of energy."
"MAC authentication against an external Radius server while using 802.1X. This feature will help the L2 devices to authenticate via external Radius servers."
"The solution is now taking eight to 12 months to deliver the product."
"They need to work on reducing prices as they are currently on the higher side."
"Setting up IP generation for something like guest access is pretty confusing and should be improved."
"Software interfaces could be improved and there is a lack of documentation."
"Documentation could be improved, especially regarding known issues or new features. It relies heavily on the user community to provide support and info. There is a vast user group with support groups on both the dedicated forums as well as most social media platforms."
"They provide support via Chat ONLY, and moreover, they are not very knowledgeable."
"Better pre-purchase docs, as I have to contact support via chat for some things that should already be in documents."
"Integrate NanoBeams into the Controller Software."
"If I could manage the W-LAN or other items without a UniFi switch, that would be very helpful. I have not tried, but I think some options are tied to the hardware, like the Ubiquiti switch."
"A more powerful heatmapping application in the controller would assist in more reliable WiFi modeling."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the cost as an eight out of ten, with ten being the most expensive."
"I am aiding in transitioning my organization to a different wireless solution due to the cost. We need to expand our network and the cost of new APs and an upgraded controller have proved to be prohibitive compared to similar solutions on the market.​"
"The product is expensive."
"Pricing is very competitive."
"The solution's cost is affordable."
"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten"
"​AP signal strength and price. I know this is a competitive market, but APs should not cost so much if they do not cover a large area. ​"
"It offers a lower cost compared to other products, which is a significant advantage."
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Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
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

Vinny Govender - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 26, 2022
Jul 26, 2022
1 Ruckus 2 Aruba 3 Cambium It depends on your enviroment. Greetings
2 out of 9 answers
AH
Nov 15, 2021
Hi, You can purchase WiFi access points from any of the above vendors. But it must be a commercial access point as in AP a few connect to the limited devices and a few can connect large devices with a single AP. It will totally depend on your work environment and access point signals covering the area. In the hall, AP can cover a large area but there is a concrete wall between two rooms or a corridor then it can down the signal to 50 DBM. So, when deciding on a WIFI/AP keep all these things in mind.
EK
Nov 15, 2021
If you want high performance and stability, you should definitely go with Ruckus Wireless.  Ruckus Wireless APs have: - Adaptive antenna technology (called BeamFlex) This technology analyzes different paths to reach the client and electronically turns itself to a directional antenna, choosing the path that gives the best performance to reach each specific client. If the client is mobile or if the environment changes (such as a warehouse) the selection of paths/direction also changes instantly. Transmitting in a directional way allows a good Signal-to-Noise Ratio and also causes less interference for other nearby APs outside the path of the directional transmission. - ChannelFly technology This technology chooses the best channel based on performance rather than background scanning for noise. - Polarization Diversity This technology allows the clients not to lose signal strength when held at different angles (important for mobile devices such as tablets and telephones). - Better receive sensitivity compared to the competitors All these features make Ruckus Wireless a better choice than any other competitor (better performance, better coverage area, more stable and surprise-free communication especially in not so easy conditions such as noise, too many clients, too much traffic).
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Educational Organization
55%
Computer Software Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Financial Services Firm
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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...
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Also Known As

Aruba WLAN, HP WLAN, HP Wireless, Aruba Instant On AP Series Access Point
UniFi
 

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
NASCAR Grand-AM, Maritime Parc, Outdoor Music Festival, One Republic Tour, British Armed Forces, Arcadia School District, Bartlett School District, Universidad del Azuay, Estelar Hotels, Intercontinental Bali, Moscow - Enforta, Miami - Sling Broadband, Manhattan - MST, Ecuador - Aire.EC
Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ruckus, Cisco and others in Wireless LAN. Updated: April 2025.
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