We use the solution for security.
Senior IT Manager at a pharma/biotech company with 1-10 employees
Provide single access point and high availability at standard pricing
Pros and Cons
- "It provides a single access point and is highly available."
- "The period of firmware updates is very short."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
It provides a single access point and is highly available.
What needs improvement?
The period of firmware updates is very short.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Aruba ClearPass for one year.
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Aruba ClearPass
January 2025
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It consists of one-time passwords, so you don't have many challenges.
I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have 700-800 users, out of which 50 are concurrent.
I rate the solution’s scalability a nine out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy.
If you take a controller concerning the APN, that is a one-time setup. Once you set it up, it doesn't give you any problem going further. The one-time setup takes around four to eight hours.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Compared to other solutions, it has a standard price.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate the solution a nine 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.
Last updated: Sep 2, 2024
Flag as inappropriateNetwork Administrator at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees
Good stability and offers seamless integration with other systems
Pros and Cons
- "Authentication capabilities are one of the most valuable features."
- "One area for improvement would be the possibility of using social media providers for user authentication."
What is our primary use case?
We use ClearPass to authenticate users and have a product in development that will use NAC solutions. In addition to these, we also use ClearPass for network access control and guest management.
How has it helped my organization?
We have flexible and detailed options to implement our security policy using ClearPass Policy Manager engine.
What is most valuable?
The authentication capabilities are one of the most valuable features, including the ability to build rules within the system to anticipate users. We also have maximum or onboard margins, and a new product is coming soon that can be used onboard. Additionally, the integration with other systems is a great value and a standout feature of the product.
What needs improvement?
One area for improvement would be the possibility of using social media providers for user authentication. In Brazil, we have a government-sponsored service that indicates users who would like to see this feature supported. I have made a formal request for this feature, but I am unsure if it will be considered for the next release. However, it would be a valuable addition for us.
For how long have I used the solution?
We use ClearPass with Aruba controllers for our wireless LAN. We have the 7220 gateway/controller model and wireless APs, specifically the 510 series.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable product. We've never experienced any downtime with ClearPass. We have a cluster of ClearPass servers, and we've never had any problems with stability or downtime.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is good. You can scale very well.
How are customer service and support?
I had to call customer support once because I needed to reset the license for an upgrade, and I needed guidance on how to use the new license model. That was the only time I had to call support. They responded to me quickly and it was a good experience.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
I would rate it an eight out of ten, where ten is the easiest and zero is the most difficult.
What about the implementation team?
It took a few months to deploy the solution. I was the main technician involved in the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is a little bit more expensive than other options, but it's worth the value.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Sep 18, 2024
Flag as inappropriateBuyer'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.
Network Engineer at General Authority OF ZAKAT & TAX
Helpful support, stable, and user-friendly GUI.
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Aruba ClearPass is its ease of use and the GUI is user-friendly."
- "We have had some issues with the installation of Aruba ClearPass."
What is our primary use case?
Aruba ClearPass is used for managing and identifying users.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Aruba ClearPass is its ease of use and the GUI is user-friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Aruba ClearPass for approximately three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Aruba ClearPass is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Aruba ClearPass is good. We can add more users if we want.
We have two technical staff members using the solution.
How are customer service and support?
We have used the support from Aruba ClearPass and they have helped us with our issues.
I rate the support from Aruba ClearPass a five out of five.
How was the initial setup?
We have had some issues with the installation of Aruba ClearPass.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a license to use Aruba ClearPass.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend Aruba ClearPass to others.
I rate Aruba ClearPass a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Cisco Network Engineer at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Intuitive, easy to manage, and offers great monitoring capabilities
Pros and Cons
- "The web dashboard and the policy manager are very intuitive and very easy for the engineers to use."
- "I can't think of an area where the solution is lacking a feature or a capability."
What is our primary use case?
I'm not the one who deployed this solution. However, there are many use cases.
What is most valuable?
I've had no problems with it at all. It's been a breeze. Our other guy who left taught me everything, including the basics in order to implement it.
The dashboard, the monitoring tabs, and the configuration tabs, the admin tabs is all pretty self-explanatory.
The WiFi solution, the ease of use, and the scalability are excellent. We have Infoblox for all that stuff; however, as far as authentication and stuff like that, it is very easy to use.
The web dashboard and the policy manager are very intuitive and very easy for engineers to use. Finding what you need is pretty simple.
What needs improvement?
ClearPass is not something that I have to get into every day, as I do with Aruba Wireless Solution or Central. The only time I really need to get into ClearPass is to troubleshoot, handle authentication problems, or add a device for SNMP access. I can't think of an area where the solution is lacking a feature or a capability. It's fine right now.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've used the solution for two and a half to three years or so now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable and reliable. We haven't had any issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution can scale well. It's great.
How are customer service and support?
I've never had to open up a tech support case on ClearPass. I can't speak to how helpful they would be if you reached out.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We've used Aruba and Cisco. As opposed to Cisco ISE and their tech act solution, hands down, Aruba is far better. It was far easier to manage. I know that the Cisco ISE solutions that we had before this was a pain. It was just difficult to manage. We had to reboot it three, four times a year just to get it going. And we've had several Cisco tech cases open on it. Cisco never knew how to fix it. That's why we looked at ClearPass. Finally, we convinced the person in charge of everything. We put together a POC and afterward, everyone was like "Wow, this is great. Yeah. Let us do this, please." We switched and we love it. It was no problem at all.
How was the initial setup?
I was not a part of the initial setup, however, Aruba is typically simple to set up.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I do not deal with the licensing aspect of the solution.
What other advice do I have?
We have a VMware server that hosts this solution. It is not on the cloud. I'm not sure which exact version we're using.
I don't know about any other tech act applications out there. That said, I know that this is a breeze if you're working with Cisco ISE. I highly recommend a swap over to ClearPass Policy Manager. It is very, very, very, very easy. That's compared to Cisco ISE. I don't know about any other managers out there or if there may be better ones out there. We like Aruba. That's all I can say.
I'd rate the solution ten 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.
Network Team Leader at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
A flexible solution with automatic onboarding and a vast amount of features
Pros and Cons
- "It is beneficial from a security perspective because not everyone can connect to our wifi without going through an authentication process."
- "It would be good if ClearPass made it a SaaS solution."
What is our primary use case?
It is a network access control solution used to authenticate users. We use it for wifi certificate-based authentication. It is also good for automatic onboarding and fingerprinting, like automatic device classification. This allows us to control devices automatically and have role-based authentication. For example, for Windows and Mac, we can define a specific role, and it will automatically go to that role. We can also enable free wifi guest authentication.
There are so many features in Aruba ClearPass that our company hasn't even utilized all of them. It is beneficial from a security perspective because not everyone can connect to our wifi without going through an authentication process using a corporate device or a corporate email ID. The solution confirms the credentials before they can connect to the wifi.
What is most valuable?
Aruba ClearPass has a feature called ClearPass OnGuard, like an agent installed on all devices. It ensures your device complies with corporate policies, like antivirus or firewall settings. In addition, it verifies before allowing users to connect properly to our networks.
What needs improvement?
It would be good if ClearPass made it a SaaS solution. The only difficulty is that it's a security solution, and if you put a security solution on a SaaS, there could be certain challenges. That may be why ClearPass hasn't done it.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for about seven years. We initially used it on-premises but have been using it on a private cloud for the last four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution, and we have almost 2000 high-end users.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not use any solution before Aruba ClearPass. This is the first NAC solution we deployed, and we are still using it.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was okay for us. A partner managed it, and we had no troubles. The deployment took about six months because we had a lot of user migration and needed to change device authentication.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There are different licenses, like onboarding, OnGuard and access licenses. We purchase a yearly license that includes all features.
What other advice do I have?
I rate this solution a ten out of ten. I would recommend Aruba ClearPass because it has all the features. It is very flexible, and you can implement any complex solution. For example, if you want to allow only Android or any complex situation, you can with Aruba ClearPass. Therefore, I can say that this is the best solution on the market.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Group Head - IT at Medusind Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.
High availability and simple implmentaion
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has been working well."
- "The scalability could improve."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Aruba ClearPass for authentication purposes.
What is most valuable?
The solution has been working well.
What needs improvement?
The scalability could improve.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Aruba ClearPass within the last 12 months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Aruba ClearPass is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the scalability of Aruba ClearPass a nine out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Aruba ClearPass was simple.
What about the implementation team?
We did the deployment of the solution in-house.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Aruba ClearPass 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.
Manager, Systems Technology at Ketraco
If you max out the endpoint devices that you want to manage, you upgrade the license and can get more scalability.
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup was straightforward."
- "I would like the area of managing wired technology to be improved. Wireless is very good but I'm still struggling a bit to do my end to end configurations in the wired technology area."
What is our primary use case?
1. To improve overall security by segmenting the Guest and Corporate Vlan.
2. To Manage BYOD in the organization.
3. To provide visbility on my corporate network using one management dashboard environment for the devices
How has it helped my organization?
Secure organization by completely segmenting the guest and corporate vlans SSID.
Less management and support effort on the management of BYOD.
Clear visibility on the LAN .
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features would be:
- Wireless segregation
- Bandwidth segmentation
- Prioritization
- BYOD management
- Overall visibility.
What needs improvement?
I would like the area of managing wired technology to be improved. Wireless is very good but I'm still struggling a bit to do my end to end configurations in the wired technology area.
The Virtual Machine for the Clearpass sometimes has issues with loosing the management IP
For how long have I used the solution?
One to three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is fine because it's batched upon endpoint devices, and licensing. If you max out the endpoint devices that you want to manage, you just upgrade the license and get more scalability. The core server is running on virtualization, so you can expand the resources for you to be able to grow your server needs.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Cisco ISE. We switched because it was complex. Even the deployment was not straightforward. When I had Cisco ISE, it was still in the first version, 1.2. I heard people mention that version 2.2 is much more friendly, easy to deploy, and easy to use but I didn't get a chance to test that. I used Cisco ISE when it was what I would consider a very complex solution, difficult to install, and even understand. Even then, it was not meeting my requirements.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward and the deployment took almost a month.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Cisco ISE V1
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution a nine.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network Architect at iOCO
Easy to use, simple to scale, but lacking full Android support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Aruba ClearPass are its ease of use and the general network access controls."
- "A specific component is part of the solution called ClearPass Onboard, which can sometimes be complex and challenging to set up. If they could simplify the process and make it easier, that would be a benefit."
What is our primary use case?
We use Aruba ClearPass for customers to ensure that whatever devices are entering the network have the correct posture. For example, they have the correct operating system and antivirus, and the firewalls turned on.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Aruba ClearPass are its ease of use and the general network access controls.
What needs improvement?
A specific component is part of the solution called ClearPass Onboard, which can sometimes be complex and challenging to set up. If they could simplify the process and make it easier, that would be a benefit.
In an upcoming release, they need to include support for Android devices. Android devices are not fully supported at this time.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Aruba ClearPass for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Aruba ClearPass is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Aruba ClearPass is scalable. It's very good to scale because you can add additional units and integrate them.
How are customer service and support?
I have used the support many times and they can help remotely which is helpful.
I rate the support from Aruba ClearPass an eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
Aruba ClearPass is very easy to set up.
The time it takes to deploy the solution entirely depends on the customer's needs. Installing the software is very quick which can take about an hour. However, customizing and configuring it with all the different options can take from one day to a week or two depending on what the customer wants.
What about the implementation team?
I do the implementation and configuration of the solution for customers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You can get Aruba ClearPass either where you purchase it outright or you can be subscription-based. The cost will vary according to what is selected, but it's licensed per device. For example, for a hundred users or a hundred device license, it would cost approximately $2,000.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have evaluated Fortinet and is good. It is simple and easy to use.
What other advice do I have?
The maintenance could be more user-friendly. If you don't attend a course or if you don't have any technical knowledge of it. If a customer is going to maintain it themselves, they should attend some training.
My advice to others is to make sure they have the skill. Once they have the skills and have done the training, it's fairly simple to use the solution. If they try and do it on their own and try to figure things out, they are going to hate the solution because it's not built for them to figure things out on their own.
The second piece of advice is to make sure they understand what devices are supported and to what level because with smartphones, not all smartphones are supported and you can end up buying the solution to find that certain versions or certain models of smartphones are not supported.
I rate Aruba ClearPass a seven 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.
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Updated: January 2025
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