Aruba Instant On Access Points Reviews

I use Aruba Instant On Access Points primarily for our small business network needs. We have been working with them for about five years.

I find Aruba Instant On Access Points easy to monitor and appreciate the notifications they provide if there is a problem in the network. 

They are very simple to install, and the deployment was straightforward, requiring only a few minutes. The product is incredibly stable and meets our needs excellently. It also supports user blocking, which enhances our network security.

All features already exist in Aruba Instant On Access Points. However, in future updates, more AI for intelligence and the option for a separate network could be beneficial.

I have been using Aruba Instant On Access Points for five years.

I consider Aruba Instant On Access Points to be very stable.

On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the scalability of Aruba Instant On Access Points as an eight.

I haven't encountered any problems with their technical support. I would rate it a nine out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup was very simple and took only a few minutes.

I carried out the installation by myself without any assistance.

In terms of financial benefits, the Aruba project is a high-cost solution, and I haven't seen specific financial returns.

Aruba Instant On Access Points work without a list price, suggesting that they are open source and no additional licensing costs are incurred.

Many other vendors are used within our Azure branch.

I would recommend Aruba Instant On Access Points to those who have a suitable budget.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

We use it for office use on laptops, mobile devices, meeting rooms, etc.

Dynamic segmentation and role-based access have simplified the network configuration we have to do whenever a new device comes in. We don't have to change any settings to add new people or devices to the system.

The valuable feature is deep monitoring with the management tools. Configuring everything in the cloud with Aruba Central and having all the devices be independent of a centralized controller has made it simple to deploy.

The pricing could be a little cheaper.

I have been using Aruba Instant On Access Points for six years. We are V15 of the solution.

We've had almost no issues. The only devices that have been damaged were those used outdoors during hurricane season.

It is moderately difficult to find certified engineers. They're not widely available.

Support is good but could be a little better. Whenever there are technical questions, it takes them a while to answer.

Neutral

We used to have Ruckus Wireless, but we switched to Aruba because of its advanced features and solutions' scalability. 

It's really easy to set up. Aruba provides and hosts it. The access points are in our offices, but the management solution is a service. It took probably a couple of days to deploy.

We designed the network beforehand, purchased the devices, did the cabling and switching, had Internet installed in the building, and then deployed the Wi-Fi access points.

Two implementation engineers helped deploy it. One person now performs remote maintenance for all our sites.

I rate the initial setup a ten out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

We have had very few issues. Whenever we've had an issue, we can see what the problem is and fix it quickly. We have also reduced the amount of time and people that we have dedicated to managing the network.

We pay 150 dollars per access point every year.

I rate the product’s pricing an eight out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive.

We considered several vendors, including Huawei, Ruckus, other HPE brands, and 3Com, but ultimately decided on Aruba.

They have allowed us to segment the different parts of the organization so that they have only the permissions they should have to access what they need and nothing else. And that has made our servers and infrastructure more secure because only authorized people can access them.

There is an opportunity to enter lower SMB segments where Erbway has other products. But it wouldn't be for Ergo Instant. It would be for another line of products from them.

I advise you to get it with Aruba Central. It makes it easier to manage and much simpler. You can monitor it from anywhere. And be sure to have someone who knows Server Central help you set it up. It's good for almost every business access to very large campuses.

There is a dashboard where we can see AI recommendations on potential issues or performance improvements if we change part of the configuration, which has helped us improve network performance or stability over time.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

We have several good use cases where we don't have the need for a controller in a couple of locations or for small office areas. 

In those situations, Aruba Instant is a good solution. It provides similar mobility access advantages as Cisco, so we have a similar experience with the Instant AP. This is particularly useful when we don't require a controller. 

In such cases, the APIs are very helpful for small wireless deployments, managing around six to eight access points, and providing all the necessary wireless capabilities. It's a cost-effective solution, similar to Cisco, for supporting small deployments.

Aruba Instant On Access Points have greatly enhanced our organization's operations. These access points provide most of the setup functionalities that we typically use at the enterprise level. 

While a controller offers various integration options and enables features like the guest portal, the Instant AP is designed in a similar way. Although it doesn't offer the full range of controller functionalities, it acts as a replica and provides nearly all the features available on a controller. This is particularly beneficial for customers who have budget constraints and cannot invest in a full-fledged controller. 

In terms of cost and deployment, Aruba Instant On Access Points are a suitable and cost-effective solution. They are also easier to manage. 

It's a good option to propose to customers who have limited budgets or lack advanced technical skills. Additionally, for users with basic home router settings, they can easily set up the Aruba Instant On Access Points in a similar manner.

The most valuable feature is the ease of setup, which includes the full set of features. When you turn on the Access Point (AP), it automatically broadcasts a setup SSID, allowing you to easily connect to it using your mobile device and configure it according to your needs. 

You can set up the desired SSID, configure security settings, and even enable an internal guest portal. This guest portal is particularly useful in the Instant AP. Additionally, we can integrate the APs with our existing AAA servers. These are the key features of the Instant APs.

So, the valuable features include setup capabilities, security, and integration.

I sincerely think that the focus should be on improving monitoring capabilities. Currently, we have to integrate these APs into the APAP as a management platform for configuration and other tasks. However, Aruba enhances the monitoring aspect by providing more analytical views and troubleshooting capabilities; it would be beneficial if Aruba prioritize these areas.

We faced an issue when trying to integrate this Instant AP with other tools. The functionalities are limited, and I couldn't find proper documentation regarding this matter. If they could provide more integrations, such as APIs to integrate with our existing monitoring platforms or other systems, it would be a valuable addition. That's what I think the next release should focus on, from my point of view in IT. 

I have been using this solution for more than a year. We currently use version 8.10. 

I would rate the stability of this solution a ten out of ten. 

In terms of scalability, I would rate it as a five out of ten, which means it's medium. It is suitable for smaller organizations, but it may not be the best choice for large enterprises.

If an organization is larger and needs to manage a significant number of APs, a different solution might be more suitable.

Around 50 users are currently using Aruba Instant On Access Points in our company. The users have various job roles. They handle tasks such as programming, software, and networking. 

We utilize it to its maximum potential. It is used 24/7, every day.

Customer service and support are not up to mark. The response time depends on the type of support or service contract we have. Currently, we have 5B and 30 support contracts. 

When we raise a ticket, it takes about 48 hours to resolve. They connect with us, gather the required information, and start troubleshooting. 

Neutral

The initial setup is very easy. I would rate my experience with it a nine out of ten. The deployment took hardly ten minutes. 

However, like any other APs, maintenance is required. We typically perform maintenance at least once a year to check the AP conditions and address any software updates or related tasks.

Usually, one person is sufficient for maintenance. It's usually the same person who handles both the deployment and maintenance.

We handled the deployment ourselves. We didn't involve any third party.

The setup guide and installation documentation are well-prepared and helpful for the deployment process. Along with the APs, we receive a simple documentation link. By following the guidelines provided in that documentation, it becomes very easy to set up the APs. 

The steps for turning on the APs and connecting the cables are mentioned in the documentation. If you follow the setup guide, the configuration process becomes very easy.

You can start with just one person for the initial configuration. But for proper deployment, if you have around five to six APs, it would be fine to have two people managing the installation and cable connections. Otherwise, one person can handle the installation process.

If we are in remote size, the person responsible for deployment verifies the AP positions, installs the necessary cables, and ensures the power requirements are met for each specific location where the APs need to be mounted. They also perform the initial configuration.

It's a cost-effective solution, similar to Cisco, for supporting small deployments.

If I compare it to other vendors, I would say the pricing is low. You can rate it as a six out of ten, with one being expensive and ten being cheap.

Moreover, there are no additional costs apart from the standard license fees. 

You can consider the Aruba 515 and 5315 series. They are good in terms of the overall installation.

Overall, it's the best solution because I have personally worked with other vendors before, and Aruba Instant provides a good cost-wise and solution-wise experience. 

It's also easy to set up and manage, making it suitable for customers looking for small-scale, stable network deployments. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten because of its overall performance.

We use this solution for our wireless employee network and the wireless guest network for our clients. We have it for personal devices as well. It runs the wireless network for the company.

It improved our organization by lowering the cost of APs. Cisco is more expensive, and we're saving money. It helps us to utilize our funds elsewhere. It gives our employees and our clients easy-to-use internet access which makes them happy. It's a win-win all around.

The app allows me to see that we transferred 137-Gigs in the last 24 hours. I haven't had any complaints, and we can see insights into what people use the most. The metrics on the app are pretty good. We can see who uses utilities versus instant messaging, who browsed the web, streaming, and productivity, which is cool.

From start to finish, the setup is pretty simple. I've set up Ubiquiti, SonicWall, SonicPoint, and more, and this seems to be pretty much plug-and-play. For the most part, it's fairly straightforward and pretty simple to use.

I currently have it in half of our corporate offices, and I haven't heard any complaints about coverage. People can access it much more quickly. I hear positive feedback and I haven't heard any downsides. The coverage is better than expected.

We don't use the mesh, everything is hardwired directly. Each AP is directly hardwired to the switch which provides another signal. I haven't gotten into the mesh yet. That said, I don't see it being an issue.

Currently, I've seen about 75 to 80 users on 12 access points. I'm not sure exactly how many are on each access point, however, I would assume that about 10 to 12 users are on an access point. I’ve had up to 17 users at one point on one access point, and it seemed to be fine. I haven't reached its max limit of users quite yet. I'm also adding more and I haven't tested it with the max number of users.

I haven't seen a decrease in bandwidth. We went from Cisco to Aruba and we haven't seen a downgrade. As far as I know, the bandwidth is still the same.

It's super user-friendly.

If you need to remove or reset one to factory settings, you can do so if it is either online or offline. Once it gets back online, it hits the cloud and resets itself. I don't see a reason to have buttons on the APs. They're out in the open. Anybody could reach up and grab it, so it is less likely for something to happen there.

The only downside is that there are some bugs that I see. 

Hardware-wise, the product is fine. Software-wise, I would like to have a way of moving APs from site to site and wish there would be a way to add more APs to one site. I know the limit is 25 APs per site and I wish there were more. I wish I could have all of my APs in one pane, rather than have multiple sites. For now, it'll do. Maybe there'll be an update in the future.

In addition, I wish I could add more admins to sites.

We just implemented the solution. So far, we finished half of the implementation. We ordered 115 access points and we have about 30 in place.

For now, it seems pretty stable. I am not running into any issues right now. The only issue I've found is the AP lights. The AP told me that the codes and everything ran out of DHCP and I didn't have enough IPs. It's stable enough to let me know what the issue is with my network and that is pretty helpful.

It's scalable, yet limited to how you scale it. The APs are limited to 25 per site, and I have 70 APs. I'm going to have at least three sites, but I wish they would all be in one. That way, I could see it and not have to manage different sites. When I set up a network, I have to set it up on each site manually and that is a downside of this solution. I don't know of a way to set up or copy a site. 

There are a lot of users. There are about eight IT employees that will be managing and helping with the product. Our company numbers about 1,000 people and is growing, so there will be more than 1,000 users. That's not including the clients that come in.

The solution comes with a one-year warranty and 90 days of phone support. I didn't realize it would come with that and I was already sold on the concept of ease of use and simplicity of it. It's a plus to know that it comes with a one-year warranty.

I haven't had any experience with technical support yet.

We used Cisco Aironet. The other side of the company did not have any wireless network, so this is the first wireless access point they installed. We're one big company and we merged with another company, so we're bringing them up to speed. They didn't have any wireless network in their building. This is better for them and is quite new.

In the beginning, the setup wasn't what I thought it was. After looking into it and focusing on it, it was pretty straightforward. Once I got one going, it was pretty much plug-and-play for the rest. The initial part might be challenging if you don't know much about networking. That said, anyone could figure it out even with a lack of IT knowledge. As long as you know your basic terminology in networking, know what your goal is, and how you want your network structured or wireless network structured, I'd say it's pretty simple.

The deployment is still ongoing. We're placing it in more than one county. I had 12 set up in a day or two. It didn't take long at all once I got the first going.

Right now, out of eight people, only two of us use it, set it up, and manage it. We don't need a lot of people for the setup or to manage it. Once set up, it's pretty much left alone.

The solution was received straight from the reseller, and I installed it and set it up. I meshed it and I didn't need outside assistance.

Right now, I can't say for sure that there is an ROI. I assume it will be seen soon, as long as the product lasts. If it only lasts us three years and they don't give us any problems, then I would assume we'll see an ROI. We haven't had that many problems with APs before, until recently. When we started to switch over, our APs were going out, however, they were already out of service life and out of date.

There is no licensing fee. There is a one-time purchase. There is no support after a certain amount of time, however, you could probably buy more support.

The price is $165 an AP. Even if something goes wrong, another $165 for a replacement wouldn't be a pain. It was a win in that sense. Plus, we don't need a license to make it work.

The cost of the solution includes everything we need to manage and upgrade our WIFI network, including the mobile management app.

The cost weighed a lot on the decision to go with this solution. It was nice not to worry about the need for a license in order for the units to work, as we had with Cisco. If you didn't have a license, then they were just a paperweight. Pricing and licensing were really big factors, and Aruba pretty much hit it out of the park.

We looked at Ruckus, WatchGuard, and Ubiquiti. Between simplicity, price point, and my sales rep, who was the one that said he had a good experience with Aruba, I was sold. I also liked their accessibility. All of the other APs seemed to be out of stock and on back order. We needed something fairly quick, and they had them in stock.

I'd advise potential users to just buy the product. I do other consultant work, and I look forward to putting it in other places, due to its ease of use. It's up there with the name-brand APs, and I don't see it having an issue running with the other APs that cost three or ten times as much.

It doesn't have to be complex to run a wireless system. You've got three buttons on your app and that's what you really need.

I'd rate it an eight out of ten. I took a few points off due to the fact that the solution lacks some software.

There are a couple of different use cases. The first one is that I bought it for my home because I needed a dedicated Wi-Fi access point, and I was intrigued with the way it sets up. I enjoyed the performance of it, and I recommended it to a friend of mine who was totally non-tech savvy. The thing that was super cool about it was that he was able to plug it in at home, give me a phone call, read me the serial number, and I was able to provision it remotely.

I also use it at work. It is something that's convenient for other engineers to hop on real quick and do unhindered testing.

I'm using AP12, and I'm using the 1900 switch series. It is 1930 or something like that.

In my organization, our use case for the solution was end-to-end connectivity. In our office, we basically had wall jacks that were dedicated to out-of-band access. In terms of ease of use, I was able to drop this solution in and get it up and running very quickly. It brought deployment times to almost zero because it sets up in about five minutes.

Its physical coverage is good. I've got about a 1600-square-foot home, and I find that it covers all of the insides of my home fine. If I go out outdoors, then it starts to fall off, but it is totally acceptable for my use case.

The maximum number of devices that I've ever connected is about 30. The unit is rated for 64 or 128 users, which is beyond the scope of what I need. So, it falls within my parameters perfectly.

It meets my specification perfectly in terms of the reliability of the coverage when multiple user devices are simultaneously accessing the solution for bandwidth-intensive use.

The app and the provisioning are the best features of the product. It was really impressive that I was able to just provision it remotely. I didn't have to be on-site with my friend, and we were just able to get everything up and operational. So, the app is great. It sends me notifications when things are down, and it tells me how everything is doing.

Its mobile management app or the cloud-based web management app is easy to use, easy to read, and easy to navigate. I would classify it as a prosumer-type product. It is very well placed to compete in the Ubiquiti UniFi market. For someone who is non-technical or someone like myself who is quite technical, being able to drop in and just get it up and running quickly is valuable. It is positioned in a good spot where the functionality and ease of use are in a sweet spot.

When I first deployed the solution, I couldn't use a tagged VLAN for the management. It might already have been fixed in a recent firmware upgrade. 

They should increase the number of devices that can be located at a site.

I would really like it if they added a dedicated router to the lineup. They've got dedicated access points and dedicated switches. Having a dedicated router would be the icing on the cake for the big picture of the whole solution.

It has probably been about a year.

I haven't seen any downtime specific to the solution. It is 100% stable. I am removing other factors that aren't related to the product.

Its scalability needs improvement. You can only put 32 pieces per site. So, there is a limit on scalability. 

Currently, we have between 30 and 40 users of this solution. They are home office users, and there is also the engineering staff to do all sorts of network testing. 

Its use case is pretty isolated. We purchased it to fulfill a very niche scenario, and we don't have any plan to expand its usage beyond what it currently is. 

I've never had to utilize that.

We did not have anything in place previously. We were just using dedicated wired connections.

It was straightforward and easy. We just popped it out of the box. There were about five steps in the instructions. They were straightforward.

There was some infrastructure work, but that wasn't specific to the product. I had to pull infrastructure to the location where the access point was going to be ultimately installed, but that would've been required for any solution. Popping it up on the ceiling and getting the unit online took about 15 minutes.

Once it is set up, it is super easy to manage. I don't even think about it. The updates are scheduled automatically, and I'm only really notified if there is a problem. It is simple.

We didn't use an integrator or reseller for the deployment. For its deployment and maintenance, we don't have any dedicated staff.

For setting it up and managing it, very little knowledge is needed. It would be more than your average consumer, which is why I label the product as a prosumer product. Someone who's a little bit better than the average consumer would be able to pick this product up and get it operational.

I don't know how to quantify that.

It is competitively priced. It was at a price point that made sense for me to put in my home, and that says something. 

The cost of the solution includes everything we need to manage and upgrade our Wi-Fi network, including the mobile management app. Having the licensing and all the functionality built into the base price of the product is really important for me.

There are no extra costs for the security feature or automatic software/firmware updates, which is really important to me. In enterprise-type environments, the biggest thing that's always pushed down is the recurring cost in terms of support licensing, etc. In a small office or home office solution, a lot of times, those recurring costs don't fit the budget. So, being able to drop a solution and have it all baked in really sells the product.

We didn't evaluate other solutions. We were using Aruba Controller, the enterprise solution. It just made sense for us to try the Instant On product. We just jumped right into it.

It comes with a one-year warranty and 90 days of phone support, which is a
pretty standard thing.

For small office or home office type scenarios, I would recommend going for it. It is a great solution. For large-scale enterprise deployments, it is probably not the right solution.

I would rate it a solid eight out of ten.

They have a virtual controller feature that allows access points to function even if the master access point disconnects.

The virtual Controller feature is valuable. 

Improvement as per customer requirements. 

I have experience using Aruba Instant On Acess Point.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

The solution's most valuable features include a simple deployment phase, easy management, and scalability. The scalability of access points is perfect.

I want the product to be made available at a cheaper price point. My company's customers look for the price before purchasing the solution.

I have been using Aruba Instant On Access Points for five years. My company has a partnership with Aruba.

It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

My company deals with around 100 customers of the product.

The product offers very fast support, which is provided by skilled engineers.

After one access point gets deployed, the other access points can be pushed by getting the config part from the first access point that was deployed. Only one default access point after which I don't deploy any other access points work since I just need to connect to a network, after which the config part from the initial access point can be used to deploy the other access points.

The solution can be deployed in five minutes.

I recommend the product to those who plan to use it because it is easy to deploy and has good scalability features.

In terms of ROI, the product offers stability, reliability, good work equipment, an easy deployment process, and the best scalability features and support.

There is a need to make yearly payments towards the standard licensing charges associated with the product. There are some additional costs associated with the product since I have seen customers who purchase three-year or five-year plans.

The solution helped simplify our company's wi-fi network setup and management, specifically for small and big enterprise-sized businesses.

The guest access feature impacted our company's business and customer satisfaction. The tool has a good guess portal, and it is easy to configure.

I have not used the tool's mobile app.

I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Aruba Instant On Access Points are primarily used for small offices, private houses, or apartments. The ease of installation and deployment is valuable. The user-friendly interface allows you to manage the equipment easily via smartphone, laptop, or tablet, and you can access it instantly over the internet.

Aruba Instant On Access Points are almost enterprise-level equipment but designed for end users who might not have an IT specialist on staff. They can be used in scenarios similar to those in enterprises. The security features, like easily deploying with RADIUS and dot1x, are efficient and satisfactory, providing enterprise-class security. The solution is future-proof and adapts well to changing connectivity needs. It is easy to extend the network, although there are some limitations. For large buildings, you can separate the network into floors or areas, each containing up to fifty access points, and give them one SSID and password. There might be a small gap when switching between sites, but overall, it can be extended effectively.

It would be good to integrate some marketing features into Aruba Instant On Access Points, like heat maps. This would allow deployment in warehouses or malls to see how people move from one point to another, helping to locate the original fit.

I have experience with Aruba Instant On Access Points. 

We haven't had many performance or stability issues, but with the AP17, which is an outdoor access point, it has only available channels above one hundred. In Ukraine, almost all channels are available to use from thirty-six to one hundred fifty-eight.

Scalability issue arises with obsolete equipment using five gigahertz but lower channels like thirty-six or forty, as they cannot connect to the access point because it turns on channels above one hundred.

The technical support for Aruba Instant On Access Points answers quite fast, approximately within five to six hours, considering the time difference. I think that's great time management since not everyone can answer within that timeframe.

Positive

Apart from Aruba, I've also worked with Ruckus. The main pro of Ruckus is its better performance of beamforming, as it has more antenna patterns than Aruba, Cisco, or any other vendors. For Aruba Instant On Access Points, the pros are stable work, stable performance, and high predictability. When using tools like radio frequency planners such as Ekahau and AirMagnet, you can see a good pattern on your screen, which makes it easy to predict signal transmission. This level of predictability is not as strong with Ruckus.

The initial setup process for Aruba Instant On Access Points is quite easy as you just scan the barcode of the access point, and it’s already on your portal, so you can manage the SSID. It's very easy, and one person is enough to do the full deployment. Maintenance is also not difficult as it has a very user-friendly interface. 

Aruba Instant On Access Points are license-free. It's a very good and cheap solution for wireless networks. It can be compared with solutions from Ubiquiti and TP-Link, but it is in a different class. Aruba Instant On Access Points are cheaper than those from Cisco, Ruckus, and Motorola. It's perhaps the cheapest one. They do not use licenses, so it is a solution from the box. You don't need to pay extra money or deal with hidden payments.

I strongly recommend it because it is not expensive, quite robust, and provides a network for a very low price. It can be deployed very fast and contains every single need. I rate Aruba Instant On Access Points a nine out of ten because there are some flaws with outdoor access points.