Aruba Orchestrator vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Cisco are both solutions in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.8, while Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.1. Additionally, 100% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Cisco users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

Aruba Orchestrator and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN compete in network management solutions. Based on feature set and user preferences, Cisco seems to have the upper hand with its focus on strong application control, load balancing, and scalability.

Features: Aruba Orchestrator enhances network policy management with a unified console for Wi-Fi and switches, provides internal visibility, and offers streamlined troubleshooting through integration with ClearPass. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN features robust application control, load balancing, encryption-supported security, and seamless infrastructure integration.

Room for Improvement: Aruba Orchestrator needs improved scalability of security features, dynamic certificate changes, and a simplified management process. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN should enhance cloud platform integration, security compliance, and provide clearer pricing models while offering improved analytics and simplified configuration interfaces.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Aruba Orchestrator supports both hybrid and on-premises deployments but faces challenges with technical support involving multiple escalations. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN provides versatile deployment options, including public and hybrid cloud environments, with generally knowledgeable technical support, though initial setup can be complex.

Pricing and ROI: Aruba Orchestrator is viewed as cost-effective with mid-range pricing and subscription-based licenses, typically achieving ROI by year four. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, despite high licensing costs linked to bandwidth, is appreciated for its feature set but could improve through pricing adjustments and simplified licensing models.

To learn more, read our detailed Aruba Orchestrator vs. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Orchestrator vs. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

April 2025

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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

Fortinet FortiGate

Featured Reviews

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable

In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.

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Aneesh K

IT Solution Analyst II at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Provides complete internal visibility from LAN to Wi-Fi, resulting in higher stability and easier troubleshooting

Aruba has plenty of solutions showcased at this event. Perhaps they offer their firewall, which we are not currently utilizing—the LAN switching, ClearPass, and Wi-Fi. ClearPass is is still on-premises, but the switching, Wi-Fi, and security features are included. It has some capabilities, like automation intelligence, which they call AI operations. So it is helpful. Our time spent on troubleshooting will be significantly reduced with it. Another useful feature is that we can inquire about the health data from Aruba Central and receive the necessary answers. Aruba Central simplifies management. Yes, deployment will be much faster than on-premises setups, where you need many hardware gateways. With just an access point or minimal hardware, deployment will be quicker. Troubleshooting with it has also made it much more straightforward. A group of ten people should be more than sufficient to manage an extensive infrastructure. Aruba is providing better support. They are also improving their email services. They are up to market standards, so we choose to go with them. We were looking for a direct vendor, but they didn't meet our requirements. Aruba Orchestrator is meeting our current expectations and standards, so we are sticking with them. We don't have any issues because we have been with Aruba for many years. We don't mind moving from one vendor to another. We are simply transitioning from one rental type to another with Aruba. I prioritize enhancements in AI functionality over other features. There are several implementations, with AI being the primary focus. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

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Igor Van Den Ouden

Engineer at Routz

Enables secure and flexible branch connectivity with application-aware routing

The valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include its security policies and zone-based firewall that are applied to every site, as well as application-aware routing. Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations. Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"FortiGate improved our security. It's one of the best hardware firewalls."

"It is easy to use. We chose this product for the possibility to have virtual domains (VDOMs). We are building another company in the group, and we would like to split the firewalling rules and policies between these two companies. Each company would be able to manage its own policies and security rules, which is an advantage of Fortinet FortiGate. We can define VDOMs, and every company can manage its own VDOM as if it has its own physical firewall, but in fact, we would be using the same physical appliance because we are also using the same internet lines. So, it allows us to reuse the existing resources without the disadvantage of having to compromise on policies and security. Each company can choose its own way of working."

"FortiGate has a strong security topic which allows all of the Fortinet devices to communicate and share information which makes their security more powerful."

"The security fabric is excellent."

"Fortinet FortiGate is a security device. It can optimize security on the networks of a company. It actually protects the company from attacks from outside. With FortiGate, you can categorize the users. You can create a group of users that can access all of the websites for their work. You can limit other users' access."

"The security features that they have are quite good. On top of that, their licensing model is quite nice where they don't charge you anything for the SD-WAN functionality for the firewall."

"The product offers very good security."

"The most valuable feature of the solution revolves around SSL VPN."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The technical support services are excellent."

"We had to deal with separate management models for Wi-Fi and switches. With Aruba Orchestrator, it's now a unified solution, making things much easier for us. We log in and manage everything from a single console. It provides complete internal visibility from LAN to Wi-Fi, resulting in higher stability and easier troubleshooting. The management process is much quicker and more streamlined."

"Aruba Orchestrator has notably reduced enrollment setup times from several hours to within an hour if prepared and planned."

"The product has reduced OpEx expenditure."

"The most valuable feature is optimization."

"The most important feature is WAN optimization."

"The solution has a single pane of glass view that allows you to see everything happening in your SD-WAN world."

"The Business Intent Overlay is a great feature."

"Huge companies use SD-WAN. It is largely scalable."

"It's a complete solution with many security features."

"The solution provides good consolidation, centralization, and manageability for edge routers."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco SD-WAN is its compatibility and integration with the rest of the infrastructure."

"The tool is stable, and its troubleshooting capabilities are good. It helps us identify and fix any issues. It simplifies VPN setup for both side-to-side and multisite connections. This allows for easier data sharing between main and branch offices, creating a local network feel even for distant sites."

"The solution's application control and application traffic steering tool are its most valuable aspects in terms of how we utilize the product."

"Cisco SD-WAN is a stable solution."

"It is very simple to deploy. It's a point-and-click type of deployment, so it's fairly simple."

More Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN pros

Cons

"It is very expensive, and their support is not very good. I hope that their technical support will be better in the future."

"Areas of improvement for Fortinet FortiGate include the need for more training and certification, especially when dealing with distributors globally, which presents challenges in product availability and delivery timelines."

"Fortinet already improved FortiGate, but in the current market, many brands of security devices have improved together. Fortinet still needs to catch up with market standards. Fortinet is lacking in features in comparison to competitors."

"If I had any criticism that I would give FortiGate, it would be that they need to stop changing their logging format. Every time we do a firmware upgrade, it is a massive issue on the SIM. Parsers have to be rebuilt. Even the FortiGate guys came in and said that they don't play well in the sandbox."

"Technical support for this solution can be improved."

"One issue that I have had is that sometimes I need to monitor the traffic, so I need to filter it according to the user and which user is using it the most. I experience a bottleneck most of the time, particularly at the peak time when the number of contracts and users are at maximum."

"Performance and technical support are the main issues with this solution."

"Tunnel flapping was one of the major things I had seen wherein your internet link remains but your VPN tunnel is down. However, since I got a fix from the TAC team, I have not noticed it, but the customer complained a few times that they couldn't access the internet because of this problem."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The initial setup is complex, depending on the overall planning for the entire environment."

"The management menu should be simplified."

"The solution lacks sufficient security features."

"Aruba Orchestrator should implement dynamic certificate changes for security."

"The solution can be improved by lowering the cost and making it more user-friendly for first-time users."

"They could provide essential training to understand the product functionality."

"The bandwidth limitations would be good to remove, but it is a policy and license situation for Cisco because the cost is very high. It would be good to have OTP implemented with VRF. It can have support for EIGRP Over the Top (OTP) VRF. I saw some limitations in regards to the VRF protocol and the advertisement between VRF configuration. EIGRP Over the Top basically was quite limited with the VRF configuration. If you wanted to do rollback in VRF by using the EIGRP OTP protocol, the formation was not populated across. Cisco got back and confirmed that it is a configuration that I need to wait for until the next release, which is going to happen in one year. Cisco documentation is not the way it used to be before. It just gives an easy way to configure, but it doesn't go into the details of the configuration. The information that you need is there, but sometimes you want to go further and get more information, but the information is quite limited. It would be good to cover a few business cases or configuration cases. They used to be there in the past."

"What I find should be improved is the possibility of really separating the software layer from the hardware layer since today the current offer is not well adopted by the service providers"

"It would be better if it provided more visibility. At present, we can't troubleshoot in real time."

"The initial setup was not very straightforward, but it gets easier the more deployments you complete."

"We have had some problems with the licensing model, and it is something that should be improved."

"The installation is not easy. If you have experience and it is not your first time doing the installation, it can be easier."

"I would like to see a better, web-based interface to make changes to the configuration or to view statistics."

"This solution could be improved with a simpler implementation process and licensing model."

More Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of FortiGate is good."

"Before choosing a piece of equipment you have to take into account the cost-benefit offered by each one. Sometimes it is not worth paying a very cheap price to have a minimum level of security."

"It is cost-effective, and provides a good value for your money. The pricing, and license renewal, is very reasonable for us."

"Its pricing is good. The advantages of Fortinet FortiGate over its competitors include good pricing and meeting our requirements at a lower cost."

"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."

"These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."

"The price of FortiGate is reasonable as I plan to buy new switches. The initial gadgets are already booted, and the pricing seems normal on the market. As for additional costs, I haven't subscribed to many extra features, so I'm only using what I need. Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us."

"The price of FortiGate is average and I would say that based on the top five products available on the market, it is in the affordable range."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The solution's licensing costs are yearly. It is not expensive, and I rate it around three to four out of ten."

"Aruba Orchestrator is free to use."

"I rate the platform’s pricing a five out of ten."

"I think it is quite expensive compared to other vendors in the market because it depends on what kind of features you really want to acquire in the product."

"You have to pay between 3000 and 10,000 euros, or something in that range. The core switches Nexus cost me between 10,000 and 20,000 euros."

"The cost is reasonable. I would rate the price as seven out of ten."

"It is much cheaper than other solutions. Most of our clients are the top 500 companies, and they all have a corporate contract."

"80 percent reduction in WAN costs. There are no MPLS or P2P circuits left in the organization."

"The product's license is expensive."

"Cloud subscription management must be paid for, although this does not incur a perpetual fee."

"There is no license required for this solution."

"We pay for the Cisco Customer Care support, which is a couple of hundred dollars."

More Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

20%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

No data available

Educational Organization

43%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...

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What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...

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What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?

As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...

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What do you like most about Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator?

The most important feature is WAN optimization.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator?

Aruba Orchestrator is free to use.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator?

The management menu should be simplified.

See all answers

What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?

When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significant...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?

The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.

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What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?

The durability of the switches could be improved. In the past, Cisco devices had a longer lifespan. Now, they change ...

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Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 22% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Aruba Orchestrator

Compared 64% of the time

More Aruba Orchestrator Competitors

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Compared 12% of the time

Meraki SD-WAN vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Compared 10% of the time

Prisma SD-WAN vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Compared 10% of the time

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Compared 8% of the time

Peplink SpeedFusion vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Compared 7% of the time

More Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

May 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Aruba Orchestrator

May 2025

Download Aruba Orchestrator product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

May 2025

Download Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator, Unity Orchestrator

Cisco SD-WAN

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

Aruba Orchestrator has an intuitive interface that allows you to centrally define, assign, and enforce policies across the WAN. Network managers experience the highest quality of experience to:

Centrally define, assign and enforce policies based on business intent to secure and control all application traffic across the WAN.

Orchestrator dashboards provide real time visibility into SD-WAN health and performance in a single screen, monitoring traffic throughput along with loss, latency and jitter across overlays and underlays.

Maintain the highest levels of application performance by automatically assigning application and security policies across 100s or 1000s of sites, including automated orchestration with cloud security services.

Central orchestration of network functions including SD-WAN routing, firewall, segmentation, WAN optimization, application visibility and control, and automated orchestration with cloud security services.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN serves to connect remote offices, reduce MPLS costs, and facilitate cloud and internet access while providing secure connectivity and centralized management for hybrid networks.

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is leveraged for secure connectivity, load balancing, VPN, centralized network management, and migrating from traditional networks to SD-WAN. It supports hybrid networks, enabling centralized management across branches and data centers, improving security, and optimizing bandwidth usage. Industries such as banking and retail benefit from its capabilities for secure and efficient network management.

What are the main features of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN?

Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations and administration.
Application-Level Routing: Enhances performance for critical applications.
Segmentation: Provides robust network segmentation for security.
Policy Configuration: Customizable policies for traffic management.
Real-Time Traffic Visibility: Enables monitoring for better insights.
Load Balancing: Distributes network traffic efficiently.
Hybrid Cloud Connectivity: Seamless integration with cloud services.
Deep Packet Inspection: Detailed traffic analysis for security.
High Security: Offers strong security protocols to protect the network.
Ease of Deployment: Features like zero-touch provisioning simplify setup.

What benefits should be considered in reviews?

Cost Savings: Reduces operational expenses through efficient network management.
Reliability: Proven performance and uptime for critical operations.
Scalability: Grows with the organization's needs.
Integrated Health Monitoring: Proactively identifies and resolves issues.
Industry Trust: Cisco's reputation for quality and support.

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN's implementation in banking enhances secure transaction communication between branches and data centers. Retailers utilize it to ensure steady connectivity for point-of-sale systems and inventory management. Organizations benefit from centralized management, making it easier to handle networks across multiple locations.

Cisco

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

Information Not Available

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Orchestrator vs. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

April 2025

Free Report: Aruba Orchestrator vs. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Orchestrator vs. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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