Aruba Wireless Reviews

• Different roles assigned to corporate and guest users.
• Corporate users authenticated via 802.1X against ClearPass with machine authentication. 
• Guest users authenticated via captive portal; ClearPass guest self-registration process.

• Better failover. 
• Aruba Mobility Controllers configured in master standby mode. 
• Centralized licensing. 

• HA: Apps failover without reboot. 
• ARM: Auto adjusts the power and channel. 
• Rouge Detection: Helps in identifying threats.
• Role assignment: Each user is assigned a different role based on the radius attributes returned by ClearPass.
• Firewall rules can be applied per role.
• AppRF: Helps to find out which applications are used by the clients.
• Denies inter-user traffic: It easily blocks traffic between users.

MAC authentication against an external Radius server while using 802.1X. This feature will help the L2 devices to authenticate via external Radius servers.

As L2 devices cannot do 802.1x. This feature is available in Cisco WLC, named for its MAC Filtering. 

The scalability is the key here. We operate in a multi-vendor environment, running proprietary and open source software as well as pretty much every OS in it. We have to be able to adjust features as we need them throughout the WLAN.

WLAN is one of the major functions that allows employee movement without re-doing cabling etc.

I haven't encountered an area for improvement and am quite satisfied with the product.

We implemented WLAN 4 years ago.

We haven't encountered any major issues with the deployment. Normal minor glitches as usual, but nothing major. I'd expect to face the same issues with any brand of WLANs.

All stability issues have been due to configuration changes. Currently as the WLAN expands we are starting to have some issues that aren't directly dependent on Arubas' solution, but issues in aggregate and core network layers.

We have no issues in scalability.

8 out of 10.

8 out of 10.

I'm familiar via my career with other manufacturers solutions and have worked with those too. In my current position we have used Arubas' WLAN from the start.

As always in complex systems, initial setup required a lot of work that might be seen as complex. On the other hand it was also logical and among the professionals, straightforward. Initial setup of single equipment is easy, but it only allows you to start configuring it.

We did the implementation in-house with a technical person from the manufacturer.

Every AP implemented takes out around 3 switch interfaces. Also work can be done away from the desk, and much faster in certain positions. I'd say that it took about three years to get an ROI.

We did a massive comparison with most of the WLAN vendors and from those we chose Aruba.

Main thing is to have a clear vision of what is needed from the WLAN and of course, the expertise of the staff is one key factor. Pretty much, the rest is just pricing of the solution, acquisition and running costs.

The solution's most valuable features are authentication and third-party vendor integration.

The solution's GUI for configuration could be better.

We have been using the solution for two years.

The solution is stable. I rate its stability a nine out of ten.

We have enterprise businesses as our customers for the solution. I rate its scalability an eight out of ten.

The solution's technical support is excellent.

Positive

Compared with the solution, Cisco Wireless has a more user-friendly GUI for configuration.

The solution's GUI for configuration is complicated. Thus, it is easier to implement if you have experience using it. There should be drag-and-drop features to make it more easier. I rate the process a four out of ten. It takes a month to complete.

The solution's cost is affordable. I rate its pricing a five out of ten.

The solution is stable, integrates with different platforms, and is reasonably priced. I rate it an eight out of ten.

I primarily use the solution for wireless connectivity.

I really appreciate the seamless mobility between access points.

The solution is very stable. 

It can scale as needed.

Technical support has been helpful. 

It did take us a while to get used to the setup.

We have had issues with the availability of the equipment. We always have trouble locating equipment, finding suppliers who sell it, or finding someone who has stock.

I've been using the solution for the past three years. 

The solution is stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

We haven't had issues with scalability. It has met our needs so far. 

Our organization is quite sizeable, and 10,000 people alone are cell phone users. They all use Aruba Wireless. 

I've never dealt with technical support. 

I recall there was an issue that we had to call to contact technical support, and the architect contacted Aruba directly. It took them like three days to resolve the issue. Generally, my understanding is that they are helpful. 

Positive

I also have experience with Cisco Wireless solutions as well. 

The initial setup does take some getting used to. However, once you understand it, it's quite straightforward. 

I'd rate the ease of setup at a four and a half out of five. 

I don't have any insights into the exact cost of the solution. My understanding is that it is a bit more expensive than Cisco. I'd rate the affordability at a three out of five.

I'm not involved in the decision-making process regarding looking at solutions.

We're Aruba partners. 

New users need to understand the technical solution before considering it, especially if they're migrating from Cisco to Aruba. If that's the case, they need to understand Aruba before migrating fully. They shouldn't compare it as it's not apples to apples. 

I'd rate the product eight out of ten. 

At the time when we started implementing it, there wasn't enough experience in the market, so all the engineers and the architects had to learn from scratch. I also have a concern about the cost, which seems, from what I recall, a little bit higher than the one we were replacing. Otherwise, it's a very good, reliable product.

For campus wireless coverage, and it is performing very well.

The performance and the application monitor. You can select the applications you want to use and block your network. Most importantly, it has a lot of bandwidth and good connections.

I would like to be able to customize Captive Portals.

Stability is good.

The scalability is very good. You can use it from SME through to enterprise companies. It provides full coverage.

We provide technical support ourselves.

I have been involved in setups for our customers. It's not too complex. Of course, you need to know the solution very well.

I would recommend it for the performance and support.

For me, the most important criteria when selecting a vendor are

• performance
• reliability
• support.

I rate Aruba at eight out of 10 because every software has problems at times. It also doesn't fit all our customers' requests.

HPE acquired Aruba. I think that was a really interesting acquisition. To be able to combine those product sets, the traditional wire line and the wireless, and then the Clearpass solution from Aruba, is what I'm most interested in; the enterprise security and to have the whole picture.

We're a reseller, so for us, it's another option to present to our customers. We've traditionally had a lot of Cisco networking in our background, so to be able to provide that to our customers is important. We think there are a lot of things changing in the industry right now, in IT, so we want to make sure we're staying ahead of that and helping our customers find the best solutions for things. A lot of things are changing.

I'm very interested, and I've heard really good things about, the SDN solution; the enterprise controller. I'm planning on getting more information on that.

I've been in networking for over 20 years, and I've dealt with some of the traditional HPE ProCurve stuff a while ago. Just recently, my company signed up to do more HPE networking, so I was planning to learn more. Our recent experience is limited with the products; that's in one training class.

It's stable.

I know that we actually have a very large organization that's doing a full HPE rollout right now. We're going to assist with that. It definitely seems very scalable.

So far, so good. I haven't really opened a lot of support cases. I don't do a lot of production support. The pre-sales folks I've talked to so far have been knowledgeable. I've attended a training class and the instructor was good.

We're switching from Cisco. It was an executive decision, that's what I'll say. In those large organizations, that's how that works out sometimes. We're definitely going to help with that.

The product seems pretty good so far.

Aruba is the only other wireless vendor besides Cisco that offers the flexibility of using AP's in any combination of the 3 controller-based architectures.

Lots of Flexibility but with flexibility comes complexity. Flexibility is great for large organizations but the Aruba instant AP may be good for smaller organizations.

I have worked with Aruba gear for 4 years.

Any issues I encountered were resolved quickly with an excellent TAC.

Aruba has a very scalable product with different hardwar, software and complementary products such as AirWave and ClearPass.

TAC is really a 9+

I have worked with other great vendors like Cisco, Meraki, Motorola, etc.

There are ways to sidestep the complexity available with Aruba, but if you do not need the advanced features of Aruba then Aruba instant or another vendor may suit your needs best.