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Aruba Instant On Access Points vs ExtremeWireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
2.5
Aruba Instant On Access Points are valued for setup ease, no fees, stability, reliability, and promising ROI despite initial costs.
Sentiment score
8.5
ExtremeWireless provides cost-effective scalability, significant ROI and time savings, easy deployment, excellent support, and optimal value over three years.
The monitoring access and excellent support provide significant value.
The best ROI is achieved over a three-year term.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.9
Customer service for Aruba Instant On Access Points receives mixed reviews, with efficient support praised, but inconsistency noted.
Sentiment score
8.3
ExtremeWireless customer service is praised for reliability but criticized for response speed, global coverage, and inconsistent support availability.
The technical support from Aruba is rated seven due to limitations, such as support issues when the controller is on the VM side.
There are still issues with the language barrier and the overall quality of support.
I rate their support as a nine because they are very helpful when we need assistance and they strive to help, even if not the fastest.
The technical support sometimes closes cases without resolution.
I would rate the customer service as a ten.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Aruba Instant On Access Points excel for small to medium businesses but lack scalability needed for large enterprises.
Sentiment score
7.0
ExtremeWireless is highly scalable and flexible, effectively supporting organizations of all sizes with seamless expansion and high-density management.
The Extreme access points handle high-density connectivity needs very well, managing lots of traffic efficiently.
The scalability of ExtremeWireless is average.
ExtremeWireless is quite scalable.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Aruba Instant On Access Points are stable with minor app issues, reliable installation-dependent performance, and no major connectivity problems.
Sentiment score
7.7
ExtremeWireless is lauded for its stability and reliability, though firmware updates occasionally require physical restarts for resolution.
The stability of Aruba Instant On Access Points is generally good.
They work well without failures.
I experienced issues during firmware upgrades, as some devices required a physical restart, which affects system stability.
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba Instant On Access Points need improved integration, scalability, security, pricing, management, range, documentation, and mobile app features.
ExtremeWireless must enhance usability, security, and signal stability while optimizing costs, integration, and market visibility for smaller businesses.
The default configuration can be overridden to enhance performance beyond the default settings.
In future updates, more AI for intelligence and the option for a separate network could be beneficial.
There is not enough focus on security across networking vendors, and they often add features without testing them thoroughly.
I wish for ExtremeWireless to optimize the roaming capability between access points, especially for IoT devices.
They should develop more troubleshooting tools for system management.
There is some delay in firmware upgrades for access points.
 

Setup Cost

Aruba Instant On Access Points offer excellent value with no hidden fees, but some users find costs slightly high.
ExtremeWireless provides reliable solutions with annual subscriptions, though pricing and additional fees can make it costly.
The pricing of Aruba Instant On Access Points is competitive compared to Cisco, and they are actually cheaper.
Aruba Instant On Access Points work without a list price, suggesting that they are open source and no additional licensing costs are incurred.
The cost of Aruba Instant On Access Points is reasonable;
Each customer typically buys around 100 APs, which makes it quite expensive.
The pricing is a weak point for Extreme; it is very high.
The pricing is favorable due to its flexible licensing model.
 

Valuable Features

Aruba Instant On Access Points offer easy management, superior coverage, cloud setup, robust security, and seamless network integration with remote management.
ExtremeWireless excels in cloud management, security, performance, integration, scalability, flexibility, and offers user-friendly tools for multi-site organizations.
Customers choose Aruba because it is more stable, has superior radio management, and offers features like mesh and a stateful firewall.
The product is incredibly stable and meets our needs excellently.
The virtual controller feature is very beneficial because it removes the need for a physical controller.
A single license can be used for on-premises, hybrid, or cloud, allowing for easy transition between solutions without losing investment.
The support from Extreme is very good and helpful.
The most valuable features of ExtremeWireless include the management through the one dashboard management with ActionCloud IQ, integrated with Site Engine.
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Instant On Access Points
Ranking in Wireless LAN
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ExtremeWireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Instant On Access Points is 0.9%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeWireless is 1.7%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Ricardo Quintero - PeerSpot reviewer
Affordable and offers an easy setup phase
I was working on the on-premises solutions, like IronNet, Aironet, and some other tools from Cisco, but not with Meraki. The last Aironet model that we have here in Mexico, in the corporate office, and in some of the other regions of Mexico is Cisco Aironet 3700 and Cisco Aironet 3800, so it is just two or three devices. Aruba Instant On Access Points was working with Aruba 2540 and Cisco 3850 In Cisco, I found some issues. I was working well with a vendor. I was working with Cisco Catalyst 9200 and Cisco Catalyst 9300, along with Cisco Catalyst 2916M XL Switch. With all devices, we got a report. During the immigration, we choose another vendor, which Aruba. We have some issues with Aruba Instant On Access Points in iOS that are targeting the devices, and I have seen some problems with the DHCP solution.
Seungho Yang - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced employee access with effective wireless monitoring and seamless roaming
Our use case for ExtremeWireless is to allow our employees to access the company systems The monitoring systems in ExtremeWireless have been very effective, and they are cheaper than other products. It provides better monitoring logs and detailed logs compared to Cisco Wireless. The most…
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
62%
Computer Software Company
5%
Construction Company
3%
Manufacturing Company
3%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
10%
Non Profit
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Instant On Access Points?
It's really easy to set up. And, you don't have to pay for the cloud solution. That's really interesting for our clients. And the other thing is, the roaming is also quite good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant On Access Points?
The cost of Aruba Instant On Access Points is reasonable; however, I do not have information on the exact pricing, such as cost per user or annual license fees.
What needs improvement with Aruba Instant On Access Points?
We can improve Aruba Instant On Access Points by tuning some of the parameters of the radio. The default configuration can be overridden to enhance performance beyond the default settings.
What needs improvement with ExtremeWireless?
There is some delay in firmware upgrades for access points. When there is a problem with the firmware of one access point, the correction might be too late.
What is your primary use case for ExtremeWireless?
We work with some end customers, and we use ExtremeCloud IQ ( /products/extremecloud-iq-reviews ) for the administration of the wireless platform. We use Wi-Fi 6 E for many users.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
St. Xavier High School, Americatel, Diamond Light Source
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Instant On Access Points vs. ExtremeWireless and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
846,617 professionals have used our research since 2012.