Aruba ClearPass and Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) are two prominent network access control solutions. Aruba ClearPass has a slight upper hand in pricing and support, whereas Cisco ISE stands out because of its comprehensive features despite the higher price point.
Features: Aruba ClearPass is known for its flexibility and integration capabilities, making it adaptable across different environments. It also includes strong reporting and analytics tools and good policy enforcement. Cisco ISE receives positive feedback for its extensive and robust security features, reliable threat detection, and comprehensive access control.
Room for Improvement: Users suggest enhancements in Aruba ClearPass's reporting and analytics functions, a simpler initial setup process, and improvements in technical support accessibility. For Cisco ISE, areas of improvement include complex licensing structure, high resource requirements, and an overly steep learning curve.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Aruba ClearPass users report a generally smooth deployment process but with the need for significant technical expertise. Cisco ISE users find deployment to be complex but benefit from strong customer support that aids in overcoming challenges. ClearPass slightly edges out in customer service satisfaction.
Pricing and ROI: Aruba ClearPass is often noted for its competitive pricing and strong return on investment. Cisco ISE, while more costly, delivers value through its advanced feature set and reliability. Users weigh the higher cost of ISE against its comprehensive capabilities, concluding the investment is justified.
Portnox is one level up, as their customer support is outstanding.
We have escalated questions to tech support, and I would rate the technical support an eight out of ten.
We have local support, so it's much easier.
I rate the technical support as one out of ten.
Sometimes it's challenging to identify which support team is responsible for certain issues, which is a significant concern.
It is also better to improve threat intelligence for built-in threat detection and prevention.
A more streamlined menu of licensing options would be helpful.
ClearPass from Aruba is easier to understand compared to Cisco, which has more features but is more complicated.
Pricing can be more expensive compared to other vendors, and there is a significant price gap observed, which doesn't seem justified by some specific features.
Additionally, the product is vulnerable and has many bugs.
Aruba ClearPass is very scalable.
In our environment, ClearPass handles up to 100,000 users, which is better than some other NAC solutions like Fortinox that scale up to 25,000.
Once the policy is defined, scaling works automatically and is fast.
Factors like architecture, business nature, and legal limitations such as GDPR affect it.
Achieving the best price requires careful selection from a menu of licensing options.
We cannot mix in prices, and of course, prices are going higher.
Pricing is licensing-based, involving a modular and staggered commercial model with separate licenses needed to suit specific requirements.
Compared to other solutions like HPE ClearPass, Cisco is more costly, and the conversation suggests a possible forty percent price gap compared to competitors.
Making large organizational costs significant.
The stability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is poor for certain use cases, like authentication.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is considered very reliable and stable.
The ClearPass solution has reduced the amount of engineering time compared to previous solutions, making it more efficient for our purposes.
The solution is integrated with other Cisco devices and can offer automation for an organization, making deployments more dynamic and providing real-time visibility.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is very good at device administration.
Aruba ClearPass is a network access control (NAC) solution that provides a range of security and access management capabilities for wired, wireless, and VPN networks. ClearPass enables organizations to secure their networks and devices, enforce security policies, and provide secure access to network resources.
Aruba ClearPass Features
Aruba ClearPass has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:
Aruba ClearPass Benefits
There are many benefits to implementing Aruba ClearPass. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:
Reviews from Real Users
Aruba ClearPass is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it’s easy to use, has a valuable Guest Captive Portal and virtual security enforcement, and has a good web dashboard and policy manager.
“It is easy to use and more integrated with the Aruba wireless networks,” says Muhammad N., Network & Information Security Engineer at a healthcare company.
Ammar F., Head of IT at Hubtech, explains, “What I like most about Aruba ClearPass is that it has the best enforcement feature for the network. I also like its Guest Captive Portal and virtual security enforcement features, but the virtual security enforcement feature is still under testing by my company. Aruba ClearPass also has a wonderful UI which I find valuable."
Another PeerSpot reviewer mentions, "The web dashboard and the policy manager are very intuitive and very easy for the engineers to use."
Cisco ISE is an all-in-one solution that streamlines security policy management and reduces operating costs. Cisco ISE delivers visibility and access control over users and devices across wired, wireless, and VPN connections.
Identity Services Engine enables enterprises to deliver secure network access to users and devices. It shares contextual data, such as threats and vulnerabilities, with integrated solutions from Cisco technology partners. You can see what is happening in your network, which applications are running, and more.
Features of Cisco ISE
Benefits of Cisco ISE
Cisco’s holistic approach to network access security has several advantages:
Support
You can get ISE as a physical or virtual appliance. Both deployments can create ISE clusters that create scale, redundancy, and requirements.
Licensing
Cisco ISE has four primary licences. Evaluation for up to 100 endpoints with full platform functionality. The higher tiers are Partner, Advantage and Essential.
Reviews from Real Users
"The user experience of the solution is great. It's a very transparent system. according to a PeerSpot user in Cyber Security at a manufacturing company.
Omar Z., Network & Security Engineer at an engineering company, feels that "The RADIUS Server holds the most value."
“Whether I deploy in China, the US, South Africa, or wherever, I can get all the capabilities. It allows me to directly integrate with 365, and from a communications point of view, that is a good capability," says Rammohan M., Senior Consultant at a tech services company.
Hassan A.,Technology Manager at Advanced Integrated Systems, says that "The most valuable feature is the integration with StealthWatch and DNA as one fabric."
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