Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

AirMagnet Survey vs Aruba Wireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

AirMagnet Survey
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Network Modeling and Simulation (2nd), Network Troubleshooting (8th)
Aruba Wireless
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
147
Ranking in other categories
Wireless LAN (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

AirMagnet Survey and Aruba Wireless aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. AirMagnet Survey is designed for Network Modeling and Simulation and holds a mindshare of 23.7%, down 31.6% compared to last year.
Aruba Wireless, on the other hand, focuses on Wireless LAN, holds 18.8% mindshare, down 23.7% since last year.
Network Modeling and Simulation
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

David Olofson - PeerSpot reviewer
It fixes so many problems quickly that we don't regret spending more on high-end tools than most companies
It would be nice to have some more training resources for younger techs. We can use them if we need some assistance, but that usually requires one of us who knows what we're doing to calibrate the programs properly. There's one thing our nXG handhelds do that AirMagnet doesn't do out of the box. The nXG devices can analyze the wired and wireless networks simultaneously and map the networks out. We find it handy. However, if I have that plugged into our older OptiView XG tablets or our laptops, I have no way to analyze both the WiFi and the wired network at the same time and build a single picture with all that data. So far, that's something only our nXG handhelds can do. It would be nice if there were a way to integrate all the network discovery, troubleshooting, and mapping of the WiFi and the wired at the same time. There are almost no products that do that currently. If they managed to do that, they'd probably open up their market pretty quickly.
Muhammad_Faisal - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience seamless connectivity with top-notch roaming capabilities
The Aruba Wireless solution has excellent roaming capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity. Once installed, Aruba Wireless works robustly without overheating issues. This is particularly effective compared to other products I've used, like FortiMonitor and FortiAPs, which sometimes heat up. I am very satisfied with the roaming feature, as it ensures connectivity when moving from one location to another. The product's stability, after setting it up, adds to its value.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is reliable and easy to use (user-friendly). The heat mapping, passive network surveying, and doing the heat mapping of a building's wireless network allows me to see what level of coverage an area has."
"The heat maps are quite good, and some features are easy to use."
"The benefit is with the ease of use of the software, I am able to show the customer, "Here is what your wireless coverage looks like." It is set up in a fashion that non-technical people can understand it."
"The predictive survey is the most valuable feature. I use it quite often."
"I would like to rate the product as eight of ten."
"Customer service is great."
"The AirMagnet Survey allows you to see the list of APs in the live view. It only supports certain adapters, which can be limiting, but it's also beneficial because these adapters are more comparable to real-life devices like laptops. With Ekahau, Sidekick needs to be used for full features, but I find the Sidekick too strong, which can hamper results. Therefore, I prefer AirMagnet's approach because the adapters provide more realistic readings."
"The addition of the AirMapper software on the nXG and our AirCheck G2s has helped a lot because we're mostly not drilling down into the data. Local managers only need to see the coverage on their end and whether there are performance bottlenecks. These things are easy enough for us to ascertain with iPerf."
"With Aruba Wireless Controller, all our access points are connected to one controller. Through that controller, we can actually handle each access point; we can disconnect or connect that access point, and then we can tell, or see, or allow how many users are, or should be, connected through that access point."
"The fact that Aruba Wireless has a virtual controller onboard the internet access points makes it cheaper than other solutions."
"The support for both on-premises and cloud deployments has proven to be very effective."
"The initial setup was very easy and intuitive."
"It provides excellent performance and security through the use of available features and policies, reducing the reliance on external firewall configurations while ensuring a secure and reliable network environment."
"The most valuable features are the Instant On capabilities, including the controller."
"Price is one of the most important factors. We have a solution that's reasonably cost-effective when balanced against all the areas we need to cover."
"Aruba is an industry leader. The hardware is on par, and its performance is also on par with anybody else. The Aruba brand really only focuses on wireless, so they're not competing their R&D for switching data center products and cloud security. They're really focused on that and their underlying key pieces. They provide a role-based authentication that is native to the controller. A lot of other systems don't do that. They won't provide you the ability to basically have everybody join the network, regardless of whether or not they share the same network space, the SSID, or the wireless LAN. You can segment it down to a specific user role based on any kind of attributes that you like. That's their differentiator. If you need per user, per device, or per port segmentation, you can get that with Aruba. There isn't another vendor who does it."
 

Cons

"It'd be nice if it was cheaper, however, you get value for your money."
"AirMagnet Survey doesn't cover certain devices in the system."
"When you conduct an active survey and then want to use it for design work, it's actually not very useful."
"It would be nice to have some more training resources for younger techs. We can use them if we need some assistance, but that usually requires one of us who knows what we're doing to calibrate the programs properly."
"But it's definitely a more expensive solution than other ones."
"I would say some of our newer techs that are going out to job sites can be a little bit intimidated by the interface."
"AirMagnet Survey needs to support Wi-Fi 6E otherwise they can lose to the competition. They also need to allow better grouping of SSIDs to one AP, removing the need to filter manually. At the moment, you can filter by channel or SSID, but grouping all those SSIDs together is a difficult task."
"Less time consumed doing the real surveys."
"We have had issues with the availability of the equipment."
"Aruba Wireless is a little bit complex to use and operate."
"The logging is hard to read when troubleshooting issues.​"
"Additional detailed reporting for client traffic would be a great addition."
"There were some settings which were confusing and unlabeled when trying to use the online help with the newer firmware.​"
"The Aruba Central cloud portal needs a lot of work. It is complicated to navigate."
"The Return Material Authorization procedure is time-consuming and needs improvement."
"Their documentation needs to be improved. Aruba's documentation is poor."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's pricing is medium."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"The licensing of AirMagnet Survey is different when compared to Ekahu. It is a third of the cost of Ekahau but there are no dedicated laptops to the Sidekick. AirMagnet allows you to license an adapter and share that adapter."
"For technical support, you need an annual license, but it is not worth it."
"This product is very expensive."
"The moment we began needing more of the vendor's support, the cost became very high; we switched to another solution."
"There is an annual cost of the solution. There are some additional charges, such as support and maintenance."
"It comes with a relatively higher price tag, but it's essential to assess the value it brings to the market because it actively competes with other players in the industry and dedicates efforts to offer competitive devices."
"The solution's cost is affordable."
"Partner had been using Cisco. They switched to Aruba, because of price and functionality, also with an option for adding a SW, like AirWave, Meridian, ClearPass, and Central."
"There is so much licensing, you literally pay for every solution, add-on, or cool feature. Compared to others, we were in the middle with pricing, but as you start to invest more into features it will get very pricey."
"I don't know the exact costs associated with Aruba Wireless, but I have a rough idea, and it's not too cheap, though it's less costly than Cisco Wireless. Pricing for Aruba Wireless is moderate. It's a three out of five."
"​We will be buying the ClearPass solution, which will be pricey. However, in the trial version, it has even more tools to manage a busy network.​"
"The price of Aruba Wireless has a more competitive price than other solutions."
"Aruba is probably cheaper than Cisco, and yet you get all the things that you want."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Modeling and Simulation solutions are best for your needs.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 24, 2015
Cisco vs. Aruba Wireless Solutions
Cisco or Aruba Networks? If you are considering wireless access solutions, this is a common question that you are probably asking. You probably have sales people knocking at your door. How do you make sense of all the stories that you are presented with. If you have done any research, you are…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
6%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AirMagnet Survey?
We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks.
What needs improvement with AirMagnet Survey?
AirMagnet Survey needs to support Wi-Fi 6E otherwise they can lose to the competition. They also need to allow better grouping of SSIDs to one AP, removing the need to filter manually. At the momen...
What is your primary use case for AirMagnet Survey?
We use AirMagnet Survey, for site verifications after the wireless system has been installed. We conduct pre and post-install surveys with it. We have reduced the use since now our customers requir...
What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...
Aruba Wireless or Ruckus Wireless?
At my organization, we researched Ruckus Wireless among other solutions but ultimately chose Aruba wireless. What did we like about Ruckus? First, it was very easy to use, and anybody with minimal...
How does Cisco Wireless compare with Aruba Wireless?
On the most basic level, Cisco Wireless can offer a rather straightforward initial setup. In the span of about three hours, the basic framework can be set up. Step-by-step instructions are availabl...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Aruba WLAN, HP WLAN, HP Wireless, Aruba Instant On AP Series Access Point
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Houston Methodist Hospital, Love's Travel Stops
Consulate Health Care, Los Angeles Unified School District, Science Applications International Corp (SAIC), San Diego State University, KFC, ACTS Retirement-Life Communities
Find out what your peers are saying about Ekahau, NetAlly, iBwave and others in Network Modeling and Simulation. Updated: February 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.