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Aruba Instant On Switches vs Cisco Catalyst Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Instant On Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
173
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (7th), Data Center Networking (1st), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Aruba Instant On Switches is 10.2%, up from 8.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 30.8%, down from 31.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

NassifKaleny - PeerSpot reviewer
A very stable tool that needs to offer better startup speed
Speed is an area of the product with certain shortcomings where improvements are required. The product's startup speed is very bad, as it is very slow. It takes around eight minutes to start up the firmware. The tool has to be easy to configure, especially when compared with NETGEAR, Cisco, and HPE. There is an easy way to configure with vendors other than Aruba.
SameerBali - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable and stable catalyst switch; can be easily installed
I like Cisco Catalyst Switches because most of the time, we can do what we want with the product. Cisco has good guidelines that enable us to implement anything, so we can have a multiple ability product on most of the network equipment worldwide. Cisco has communities or forums that help us implement more complicated areas in terms of network, so in addition, Cisco is not just a network equipment company, because they provide us most of the solutions, development, protocols, and new technologies, more than any other company in the world. I also like the availability of Cisco Catalyst Switches, including scalability and reliability. You can find all these in this product.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Aruba Central provides various AI features that we can use. It collects data on health and performance issues for wireless and wired clients."
"The solution provides GUI control, making it particularly suitable for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and small office/home office (SOHO) networks."
"The cost and simplicity of the product are its most valuable features."
"Regarding the feature, my clients are currently favoring it because it enables them to switch back to phone functionality."
"The solution is suitable for small businesses and small offices."
"The best thing about Aruba Instant On Switches is their cost."
"The solution has a simple deployment and zero border."
"The tool's best part is the commercials. Its pricing is lower compared to other enterprise products. We pitch the product to customers who have budget constraints. Its implementation is plug-and-play."
"We use the VLANs to separate library, office, and individual apartments. With some of the reporting that receive, we're able to take and track down where people like to put in their own wireless routers. Sometimes they will take a DSL modem from AT&T that they brought from home, hook it in backward, and it will give rogue addresses causing issues."
"We heavily use the SmartPort features. It has really helped us. The U.S. policies are handled by the auto SmartPort feature"
"Cisco provides very good support services."
"If we are providing a switching solution, it's not just switching, it's a whole solution with DNA. That is where the whole concept of Network Management and Network Assurance comes in. So Catalyst plays a big role in putting everything together and providing a whole solution to the customer."
"The most important features are that Cisco is one of the most robust switches, it is easy to configure, and the documentation is pretty good."
"Cisco Switches are more stable in terms of hardware and firmware, rather than Juniper Switches."
"Cisco offers DNS features over other vendors."
"The solution is extremely flexible."
 

Cons

"Room for improvement would be if they consolidated administration from multiple locations."
"The solution does not have any console access. For example, if you do not have internet access on your side and you need to configure anything, you should at least have CLI access to do something or manage the solution to put to some IP. It will only work if we have a TSCT on the network."
"Some customers have made complaints about Aruba Instant On Switches' stability."
"In general, mostly in Instant On series, if we could have much more control on the switches, at least. We'd like a CLI access so that, when we want to do some advanced configurations we could."
"Some L3 features could be included in the solution."
"The price has room for improvement."
"Instant On Switches' layer 3 and visibility could be improved."
"It could have an MSP portal version."
"Cisco forces end-users to accept billing for some capabilities or services that they may not want."
"It would be good if Cisco Catalyst Switches could align maintenance with one version."
"There's a ban on my country and therefore I can't get Cisco support if I need it. It's not allowed."
"Cisco is dedicated to providing their customers with the latest technology, but it comes with a price. It's expensive when compared to competitors' products."
"The biggest issue we are having is with bugs and memory loss, which occurs when developing the IOS."
"The tool is not user-friendly."
"The newer models are not so stable. Other products like 6800, 3750, were stable but starting from 3850 it got worse. We have a lot of issues and a lot of bugs. It's a new product so it's understandable but it should be improved."
"Pricing for this product is on the higher end, and is something that could be improved. Security could also be increased."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay an annual licensing fee."
"Aruba Instant On Switches is slightly cheaper than Cisco."
"The license for Instant On Switches is free."
"The product is not cheaply priced, especially when compared to the other vendors in the market."
"The product has good pricing."
"The pricing is quite low compared to other products, which is good for the customer."
"If one is very bad, and ten is a very good price, I rate the tool's price as a six."
"I give the price seven out of ten."
"It is expensive."
"The price of these switches is on the upper end. It is around $3,500 plus for a 24-Port switch. These switches are more expensive than Linksys and TP-Links, but you get what you pay for. If you look at the pros and cons per switch, you can justify the cost compared to a lesser and cheaper brand."
"The price is on the higher side."
"We had to pay for the product’s licenses."
"The general price of the solution could be cheaper."
"The price of this solution is reasonable."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches is a very expensive solution."
"Could always be cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Educational Organization
62%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
3%
Financial Services Firm
3%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Instant On Switches?
The solution has a simple deployment and zero border.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant On Switches?
If one is very bad, and ten is a very good price, I rate the tool's price as a six.
What needs improvement with Aruba Instant On Switches?
The difficulty with the tool is in the area of troubleshooting. The problem that we have in our company is that the switches don't get connected properly. In the future, I want to see AI in the too...
Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?
Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the ...
What do you like most about Cisco Catalyst Switches?
We are a vendor for the healthcare sector, especially hospitals, and normally, we use a full Cisco solution for stability, especially for the stability of the Access Points and the security of swit...
 

Also Known As

Aruba Instant On 1930 Switches
Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

KEMET, Vestavia Hills City Schools, Dropbox
Afni, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Del Papa Distributing, Explorer Pipeline, Mindtree, Omaha World Herald, Radio 538, Sony Corporation, Telecom Italia, Telenor Arena
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Instant On Switches vs. Cisco Catalyst Switches and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.