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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Ruckus Cloudpath comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

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

Cisco Identity Services Eng...
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
144
Ranking in other categories
Cisco Security Portfolio (2nd)
Ruckus Cloudpath
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
9th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is 24.2%, down from 29.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ruckus Cloudpath is 1.9%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)24.2%
Ruckus Cloudpath1.9%
Other73.9%
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

Featured Reviews

SunilkumarNaganuri - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced device administration hindered by complex deployment and security limitations
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) needs to improve the profiling preauthentication. They are very poor in asset classification and should focus on improving the preauthentication profiling, especially for NAC use cases. This will give them a roadmap for software-defined access (SDA) use cases and network segmentation. Threat detection capabilities are very weak. Additionally, the product is vulnerable and has many bugs.
Gary Koh - PeerSpot reviewer
Has improved network monitoring through intelligent features and simplified onboarding
I am using the certificate-based security feature in the product. The certificate-based security feature helps clients understand what Ruckus Cloudpath can do. Whether cloud or on-premises is used is defined by the clients. They are knowledgeable about the products, so minimal explanation is required. Policy management tools in Ruckus Cloudpath are performing adequately. The integration of Ruckus Cloudpath with our infrastructure is very user-friendly, as the software is becoming more intelligent. It is becoming more intelligent because it is easier to install and implement. Managing IoT devices within a network environment has improved compared to previous versions. The software is more intelligent now, with AI features integrated into their management system. The MMS portion is the best feature in Ruckus Cloudpath, as they can monitor the entire network intelligently with AI features that simplify the troubleshooting processes.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Since migrating towards doing wired ports over ISE with 802.1X and MAB authentication, our organization's security risk has been better. We have been able to establish better layouts, so devices can move and we don't have to worry about where they need to go."
"We found that the most valuable features associated with this tool are posture assessment, policy management, VLAN assignments, guest assignment, and BYOD services. In addition to these services, the Cisco IOS software switch configuration feature is another very valuable aspect of the policy and compliance solution."
"The implementation is very simple."
"I like that Cisco ISE is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the policy sets."
"The most valuable features are authentication, we have more granular control on the access policies for the administrators. The solution is easy to use, has a center point administration, and has a good GUI."
"It is stable and easy to use."
"The product is useful for device administration."
"The wireless devices are used to control access, transmit messages, and integrate with the main system."
"Ruckus technical support is very good and helpful whenever we need them."
"The MMS portion is the best feature in Ruckus Cloudpath, as they can monitor the entire network intelligently with AI features that simplify the troubleshooting processes."
"I find the solution to be very rich in features."
"The solution has good features for authentication, policies, and allowing users to self-provision devices for network access via their logins."
"Ruckus Cloudpath is effective for network security since it points out errors, especially when working with APIs."
"The tool's most valuable features include the phenomenal functionality of DPSK. The ease of use, particularly when it is correctly set up, is remarkably simple. Tracking users is straightforward and dynamic. This allows us to identify where a user might encounter issues within the process."
"I have found it easy to use with no significant issues once the small initial problems were resolved."
 

Cons

"It could be less monolithic. It's one huge application, and it does everything under the sun, so it's hard to deal with and upgrade and manage."
"The installation is not straightforward, it took us approximately one month."
"Cisco ISE has almost all the features we are looking for now, but sometimes the configuration, such as the conditions, is a little difficult to understand and not so easy to navigate."
"I'd like to see the logging be a bit more robust in terms of what it has baked in. If I want to do any in-depth searching, I have to export all the logs to an external platform like Elastic or LogRhythm and then parse through them myself. It would be nice if I could find what I want, when I want it, on the platform itself."
"One of the issues that we used to have was with profiling because we're working with a service provider that uses a lot of bring your own devices."
"With the recent release of the solution, we had a bunch of bugs and we had to delay our deployment. Other than that, the solution is good."
"Cisco could improve the GUIs on their hardware."
"The licensing scheme is complex and could use enhancement to provide more options."
"The solution could improve by adding more detailed information that customers have available on the dashboards."
"The main disadvantage is the price, as it is primarily a cost issue."
"The tool needs to support multi-vendor environments. Currently, my experience with it has been primarily within Ruckus environments. However, I haven't explored it for multi-vendor scenarios. It would be great to see newer builds that are multi-vendor capable of full integration."
"The setup had a few initial small problems, however, everything was resolved and it is very good now."
"There is room for improvement in deployment. I would like to see more effort put into troubleshooting."
"I believe the solution is missing some great features which are present in other solutions like Aruba, UiPath, and Cisco ISE."
"The scalability could be better."
"The hardest part we've had to deal with is trying to find some physical product recently as everything is going like hotcakes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are other cheaper options available."
"The pricing is fair for what it does."
"It is fairly expensive and that's part of why we have implemented it in the type of 'hack' that we did, to service multiple clients."
"Licensing has got much simpler since Cisco moved to the DNA model because we just have the three tiers, but it could always stand to be improved upon."
"Pricing is not a problem for Cisco because it has a lot of features and not much competition, although it's more expensive than other products. But if I do a cost-benefit analysis, Cisco provides high quality."
"If you're not going through an agreement, it's very expensive."
"The price is a bit on the high side."
"Being fully honest, the Cisco licensing model right now is really confusing. We don't know what licenses we have where. We have Smart licensing, but the different levels are way confusing."
"The pricing is a little bit high."
"The cost was somewhere around $700 for the access points, however, there was a discount."
"The licensing of the solution is user-based and the price is good."
"I would rate the tool's pricing as a seven on a scale of one to ten. Compared to others, it's not overly expensive, but it does come with a cost. Since it's a licensed-based product, it can become expensive, especially if there is a need for additional licenses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
16%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise31
Large Enterprise91
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Aruba Clearpass or Cisco ISE?
Aruba ClearPass is a Network Access Control tool that gives secure network access to multiple device types. You can adapt the policies to VPN access, wired, or wireless access. You can securely ...
What are the main differences between Cisco ISE and Forescout Platform?
OK, so Cisco ISE uses 802.1X to secure switchports against unauthorized access. The drawback of this is that ISE cannot secure the port if a device does not support 802.1x. Cameras, badge readers, ...
How does Cisco ISE compare with Fortinet FortiNAC?
Cisco ISE uses AI endpoint analytics to identify new devices based on their behavior. It will also notify you if someone plugs in with a device that is not allowed and will block it. The user exper...
What do you like most about Ruckus Cloudpath?
The tool's most valuable features include the phenomenal functionality of DPSK. The ease of use, particularly when it is correctly set up, is remarkably simple. Tracking users is straightforward an...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ruckus Cloudpath?
The pricing of Ruckus Cloudpath is on the expensive side. I would rate the pricing as an eight out of ten, with ten being very expensive.
What needs improvement with Ruckus Cloudpath?
The main disadvantage is the price, as it is primarily a cost issue. The new version coming out, R1, is yet to be seen, though currently, it is running very efficiently. The biggest challenges are ...
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, BC Hydro, Beachbody, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Cisco IT, Derby City Council, Global Banking Customer, Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha, Houston Methodist, Linz AG, London Hydro, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Molina Healthcare, MST Systems, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Reykjavik University, Wildau University
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Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs. Ruckus Cloudpath and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.