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Aruba Airwave vs SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper 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

Aruba Airwave
Ranking in Network Management Applications
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SolarWinds Network Topology...
Ranking in Network Management Applications
18th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Aruba Airwave is 7.8%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper is 1.4%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Prashant-Patel - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution has multi-vendor support, and it can be used for network management
Aruba Airwave is an on-prem solution, so you have to manage it with your servers to be deployed. You can also deploy it on the cloud if you have your own private cloud. All the configuration guides and the different types of designs you need are available from Aruba Airwave's portal. I would recommend Aruba Airwave to other users. Overall, I rate Aruba Airwave ten out of ten.
SS
Very user-friendly and stable
I'm still learning how the solution works, figuring out how to check reports and system information. I'm a student and customer of SolarWinds The tool seems to be widely used and I find it user-friendly The Network Topology Mapper is on the expensive side - it would be helpful if it were less…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Aruba Airwave is the multivendor support, which enables you to manage and monitor different vendors or products."
"The most valuable features are the error log and intrusion log. It also provides an overview of your assets. It gives a good database for wireless coverage."
"The Clarity feature makes it easy to use and understand what is going on with your network in a nice dashboard.​"
"It can interact with other vendors better than Cisco, which is a good point of AirWave. It is easy to use, and its reporting is good."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its dashboard and simplicity."
"The most beneficial feature for network monitoring in Aruba Airwave is the Live Heat Map. It helps identify interferences, coverage issues, and user connectivity issues. The device management capability of Aruba Airwave is good. It provides end-to-end visibility from the user to the access point, the switch, and the internet breakout. From a monitoring, management, and orchestration standpoint, it is very effective and can manage any scale of deployment."
"What I like best about Aruba Airwave is its orchestration feature because it saves configuration time. I also like that it allows you to do ZTP installations for new Aruba equipment."
"The solution's most valuable features are its usage, bandwidth existence, device capacity, and utilization."
"It's user-friendly."
 

Cons

"The solution’s pricing could be improved."
"Pricing for Aruba Airwave could be cheaper, which is an area for improvement in the solution."
"We're looking for more device compatibility. Like compatibility with third-party devices."
"I would like to see an integration of services into one system, rather than having multiple systems to do multiple things."
"I would like to see is “AAS”. Not only Aruba APs with central, but NAC/ClearPass, AirWave, and everything licensed as a Service."
"The integration with other platforms like Cisco needs to be improved."
"More devices or vendors should be onboarded to Aruba Airwave."
"I want a management solution to manage and monitor everything from a single dashboard. This is not there with Airwave."
"This is a relatively expensive product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This product is not expensive."
"Run a 90 day free Proof of Concept (PoC) for each product by implementing and using it fully in your environment. This way you will be educated on its features, functionality, and manageability."
"The cost is perfect because the devices have a lifetime warranty, and the licensing is good as well."
"The tool is expensive. If one is bad or expensive, and ten is very good or cheap, I rate the product's price as a six."
"Licensing and pricing are extremely straightforward."
"The licensing is on an yearly basis."
"Aruba Airwave is an expensive solution."
"AirWave is a very expensive solution. If you implement it in a wide range network, it will cost a lot. There is no option to sell it outside that price segment, which is a problem."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
8%
University
8%
Government
21%
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Airwave?
I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Airwave?
The tool is expensive. If one is bad or expensive, and ten is very good or cheap, I rate the product's price as a six.
What needs improvement with Aruba Airwave?
The tool's expensive nature is an area of concern where improvements are required. The product's scalability can be improved.
 

Also Known As

No data available
SolarWinds NTM
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Henkel, University of Findlay, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Iowa
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Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: December 2024.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.