The two most valuable features for us are ClearPass guest and policy manager.
Co Founder at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
The two most valuable features for us are ClearPass guest and policy manager.
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
It keeps your organization secure in many ways, has easy guest logins, tons of options to customize the portal page, and many other useful enterprise-level features.
Automated guest account creation and the customizable captive portal has reduced the burden of the receptionist generating a token for guest access. It supports multiple authentication methods and the access tracker makes admin life easy for troubleshooting.
ClearPass onboard reduces the IT admin burden as well.
What needs improvement?
ClearPass Insight needs to be worked on. The functionality is not quite there yet.
Also, add-on licenses are expensive.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for one year.
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Aruba ClearPass
January 2025
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What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
There were no issues with deployment.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There have been no issues with stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There have been no issues with scaling it.
How are customer service and support?
Customer Service:
Aruba has one of the best support teams amongst all the vendors.
Technical Support:Technical support is the best.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
There was no solution in place previously.
How was the initial setup?
It was a little complex to set up. Following the installation guide makes the initial setup easy.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it in-house.
But if you do use a vendor, make sure your implementation partner is aware of all CleaPass features. Otherwise, it will be tough. Since ClearPass is a mix of AAA, NAC, Guest Module, Onguard, Profiling, and On-Boarding, make sure your partner is an expert in ClearPass.
What was our ROI?
The VM version is good for the cost, but add-on licenses are costly.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The VM version is good for the cost, but add-on licenses are costly.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We also looked at Cisco ISE.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are Aruba channel partners.
Senior Information Security Specialist at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
It has eliminate unauthorized access to the corporate network, hence minimizing the threat level.
What is most valuable?
There are many features of ClearPass that are worth mentioning -- mainly the extensive support of almost all networking protocols and mobile platforms, the flexibility to integrate with other systems, the debugging and logging facilities, and finally the ability to fully customize web login and payment pages.
How has it helped my organization?
It has eliminated unauthorized access to the corporate network, hence minimizing the threat level.
What needs improvement?
If the UI is simplified and improved, bugs are minimized, and the support becomes more responsive, it would be perfect.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There were major bugs that caused us to spend an extensive amount of time for recovering the configurations. Aruba has fixed it upon our request and provided details.
How are customer service and technical support?
It's very good, but not excellent.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
No, we did not.
How was the initial setup?
It was extremely complex in our heterogeneous, scattered environment. To be able to deploy a NAC solution without causing downtime is a tedious task.
What about the implementation team?
It was a mixed team working together.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Sizing is very important as the licenses of Aruba ClearPass are quite expensive.
What other advice do I have?
Use the DHCP options for a long time to profile all types of devices communicating on a network. Keep ClearPass in monitoring mode and start blocking profiled devices in batch.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Aruba ClearPass
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Aruba ClearPass. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Assistant Lead Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Straightforward to deploy, easy to use, and the support is quick
Pros and Cons
- "The interface is very easy to use and the workflow is quite straightforward."
- "The licensing model could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use is network access control at the endpoints.
What is most valuable?
The interface is very easy to use and the workflow is quite straightforward.
What needs improvement?
The licensing model could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been working with ClearPass for about two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a very reliable and robust product and we plan to continue using it
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not yet had to scale or add features, but I think that it's going to be easy. We currently have about 10,000 endpoints.
How are customer service and technical support?
The support is good and they are quite fast. We have not had many issues.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have experience with Cisco ISE and ClearPass is much easier to use. Because it is so complicated, we were having a lot of issues with it.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward and easy to do. It took less than a week to deploy.
What about the implementation team?
We purchased this solution together with the Professional Services, so the vendor set it up for us.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is not bad and everything is included.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, this is a good product and I can recommend it. There is really nothing bad that I can say about it, although I do think that they should work on changing the licensing model.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Support Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
The most valuable feature for us is the ability to manage each access point from a single application.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature for us is the ability to manage each access point from a single application.
How has it helped my organization?
As we are a reseller, we had it installed in our office for our customer test. Also, we were using it as our demonstration tool. I found ClearPass made our work easier as we were connected to WiFi on our laptop, meaning we weren't constrained to our desks.
What needs improvement?
They need to improve the wizard to make things easier to manage. When we had the access point, I was not sure how to get it to work with Aruba. I tried to follow the guide from Aruba support and the internet, but found it very limited even though I went through one of the two-day technical presentations. The wizard needs to show what you need to configure and what needs to be in there in terms of users. In the end, I got support from one of the Aruba systems engineers to get it to work.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for one year.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
We had no issues deploying it.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have had no stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have had no issues scaling it.
How are customer service and technical support?
I got support from one of the Aruba systems engineers to get it to work, but I haven't had to use them for anything else.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Our prior solution was a bit complex to configure things prior to deployment.
How was the initial setup?
We deployed it with assistance from our distributor.
What other advice do I have?
You should go for it.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network Administrator at a university with 501-1,000 employees
It has a customizable captive portal for quick and easy BYOD access for students.
Valuable Features
- 802.1x quick, easy, and secure wireless access for our staff machines
- Customizable captive portal for quick and easy BYOD access for students
- Quick and easy ability to allow guests to use the wireless network
Improvements to My Organization
Bringing mobile devices on to the network has been simplified and secured at the same time.
Room for Improvement
Installation can be time-consuming, so Hire an Aruba consultant to do the install and save yourself a lot of time. There will be plenty of time for you to learn the product later. Plus, the consultant can pass on some valuable information during the process.
Use of Solution
I've used it for two years.
Deployment Issues
There were no issues with the deployment.
Stability Issues
There have been no issues with the stability.
Scalability Issues
There have been no issues with the scalability.
Customer Service and Technical Support
Aruba Support is fast and accurate. I never have problems getting someone on the line that can find a resolution the problem we are having.
Initial Setup
The initial set-up was straightforward.
Implementation Team
We had a vendor team on site which helped accelerate the process.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Project Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
A flexible solution with multi-vendor support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is flexibility as it supports solutions from multiple vendors."
- "The interface could be made easier and more intuitive."
What is our primary use case?
We are a solution provider and this is one of the products that we implement for our clients.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is flexibility as it supports solutions from multiple vendors.
What needs improvement?
The interface could be made easier and more intuitive.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Aruba ClearPass for about four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable product.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is very good. When you have an issue they respond very, very quickly.
What about the implementation team?
We have qualified and certified engineers who implement and deploy this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is not an issue for us.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, Aruba ClearPass is a very good product, we feel very confident using it, and it is a product that I would recommend. That said, it is not perfect.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
This product has provided us a tool to create authentication requirements that users have to meet in order to perform 802.1x authentication.
Valuable Features:
The most valuable feature for us is its ability to provide clear authentication mechanisms to support multiple authentication requirements.
Improvements to My Organization:
This product has provided us a tool to create authentication requirements that users have to meet in order to perform 802.1x authentication.
Room for Improvement:
The update process is very intense and I believe Aruba should find a way to make this process smoother and easier to administer.
Use of Solution:
I've used it for two years.
Deployment Issues:
We have not run into issues with the deployment.
Stability Issues:
We have not run into issues with the stability.
Scalability Issues:
We have not run into issues with the scalability
Initial Setup:
It was hard at first because I didn’t have any training and was trying to figure out the best way for us to use this product with deploying 802.1x.
Implementation Team:
It was originally put in with a vendor team and was only set up for access to the appliances.
ROI:
Our ROI has been good and solid.
Cost and Licensing Advice:
The pricing/licensing is very competitive with other products out there.
Other Solutions Considered:
We chose this product because we are using Aruba in other areas today.
Other Advice:
Make sure you take a look at all the types of authentication you want to do and evaluate if you have enough appliances to handle the load. Keep in mind resiliency for failover as well.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Professional Services Engineer and Trainer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
The OnGuard feature checks the compliance of corporate laptops and restricts network access for users who are not compliant with security policies.
What is most valuable?
Our company provides professional services and we implement the features based on the customer requirement. All the features in ClearPass are good and work the way they need to.
How has it helped my organization?
Based on our implementations for many customers, it seems that they're most interested in the OnGuard feature that checks the compliance of corporate laptops and which restricts network access for users who are not compliant with security policies.
The reporting feature in ClearPass has found devices that are non-compliant had has addressed issues during the initial implementation phase.
Our customers also often request the guest feature, which they find very useful.
What needs improvement?
The OnGuard agent requires some enhancements.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've used it for the last three years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
It works best when you plan deployment according to device behavior while integrated in the network.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's been generally stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It scales well in our customer network environments.
How are customer service and technical support?
Our TAC is very responsive and very helpful. They are able to provide solutions for all the new requirements by creating customized SQL queries and configs.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I worked initially with Cisco ISE, but I didn't really get to know it well. My company currently provides ClearPass solutions only.
How was the initial setup?
We plan deployments considering all the configuring that needs to be done on the other integrated devices. The setup always ends up smooth and straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
You should test all the requirements during the PoC itself so that the planning and deployment will be smooth.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We're a distributor of Aruba and we provide professional services.
i was under wrong impression that WPA2-Enterpsie will perform better than WPA2-PSK Authentication method. this paper says " plain PSK performs better than any
other public key based mechanisms" citeseerx.ist.psu.edu
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Updated: January 2025
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@WIFISuperman....I agree, customers should make best use of TAC, if any one want to implement new feature, image upgrade, suggestions.....knock TAC door for safe results!!!!!!!!