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Aruba Switches vs Cisco Ethernet Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

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 Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
134
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Aruba Switches is 11.7%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 16.3%, down from 18.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Eunice Thirikwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable hotel networking enhances return on investment with valuable modular features
There are issues with the distribution side of Aruba Switches. For instance, the distributor in our country cannot sell to neighboring countries, creating complications in project execution. Improving the distribution network across regions would be beneficial. Also, the SFP modules are significantly more expensive than industry peers, which affects cost-effectiveness.
Ronald Van Rees - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers a power stacking feature and enhances port speed with impressive stability
The vendor is presently working with large digital network architectures and additional software, as it is now willing to become a software-focused company instead of a hardware one. Cisco Ethernet Switches presently provide two options, either the user can utilize the basic features or the advanced software. Previously, advanced features were included in the basic package, but now they are provided as add-ons that need to be purchased separately for an extensive period of three or five years. As part of the advanced features in the solution, there is Digital Network Architecture (DNA) that provides insights, multiple dashboards and monitoring capabilities over Nexus and Catalyst switches from Cisco. Sometimes, customers need to buy features for Cisco Ethernet Switches that they do not require or use. The basic switches like the C1000 from the vendor don't have the DNA feature, but advanced version switches like Cisco Ethernet Switches have made the add-on purchases mandatory to avail certain features, which makes it difficult for several users.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's an excellent product. They're high-quality switches, and nothing has failed in the time that we've had them."
"Aruba has a good switching solution. It has some basic security features and full switching features for the company. It’s not used as a security device, but it has some basic features like configuring ACL. However, it cannot be used as a complete security solution. The primary thing our clients look for in Aruba, or HPE now since HP acquired Aruba, is cost-effectiveness. Aruba is a good choice if the customer has budget limitations. We recommend Aruba switches because they are less expensive than Cisco but provide the same features."
"The pricing of Aruba Switches is good compared to Cisco."
"It is pretty easy to implement the product."
"Very easy and quick to setup and provide a nice dashboard providing a view of everything."
"There is a feature where you can use Bluetooth. You can set up a Bluetooth pairing connection and do the configuration through your phone."
"This is a very stable product with good performance."
"It allows us to manage the switches through the cloud, which is good."
"Technical support has always been helpful."
"One of the most valuable aspects of Cisco Ethernet Switches is many engineers can work on the equipment. You can find qualified engineers that can configure Cisco equipment more than any other networking equipment."
"The solution effectively provides a stable connection for users."
"They are easy to use and have low maintenance requirements."
"I like that it's easy to use."
"The layer-2 switching is very fast."
"The stability is 100%."
"Cisco Ethernet Switches are stable."
 

Cons

"There is a long delay in receiving Aruba Switches when ordered. There should not be a long delay in receiving the solution. Additionally, there should be a lifetime warranty to compete with other solutions."
"Aruba's website should be localized to support the Indonesian language. The content of their website and the help desk should be in the Indonesian language."
"There is room for improvement in the customer service and support team."
"The power supplies are generally susceptible to power fluctuations and failure due to these fluctuations."
"They have limited CLI options in the UI and this is something that needs improvement."
"The delivery time for this product is slow and is something that needs to be improved."
"Aruba's switches are older so I'd like to see more upgrades. The newer ones may have that built-in. The product could be more user-friendly."
"There is an issue with Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), but it is escaping me. We aren't using this feature yet, but it is something we are considering."
"An area for improvement in Cisco Ethernet Switches is its command-line interface. It works differently than expected if you want to do some implementation. However, it works if it's a simple integration."
"Setting up Cisco Ethernet Switches is not very easy; I'd rate it around four out of ten in terms of ease."
"We are less in the Cloud because the Cloud technologies didn't work so well. That happened in all of the companies where I've been engaged."
"The initial setup can be simplified."
"The high price of the tool is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"Their firmware could be better secured against vulnerabilities or other exploits. Also, only selected catalyst switches are allowed to onboard to Cisco SD Access technology."
"Better manageability and ease of use would be an improvement."
"Putting in a more complete management infrastructure would help when it comes to handling lower-end switches."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is very cheap when you compare it to CISCO."
"This is an expensive product, costing about double what most competitors do."
"The price point was a big consideration for us and it is reasonable enough that we're able to standardize on Aruba for the networking pieces in our organization."
"It is a little bit expensive. It can be cheaper."
"Aruba's switches are priced lower than Cisco's by about 30%."
"The pricing for Aruba Switches is definitely expensive."
"There is a license to use the solution."
"The price is reasonable."
"Price is a pain point for us. We've lost a lot of bids, and the reason has been that we majorly quoted Cisco devices. Some of our competitors quoted other devices like Ubiquity or Microchip. Some even quoted this Chinese product TP-Link, and they won the bid over us because we quoted Cisco. Meanwhile, the major reason why we quoted Cisco is reliability and stability from day one. They also last longer. The prices could be worked on so that they become more affordable. We had to deploy a city-wide WiFi network, and we were working in conjunction with Google. Because of the price, even Google recommended a product called Ruckus, so we used Ruckus over Cisco. Its price and license were the main reasons. You have to pay to renew the license every year. Even though you also renew the licenses for Ruckus, but they are much cheaper than Cisco. So, while I would recommend Cisco any time, the trouble remains with the pricing."
"The price of this solution is fair."
"Cisco Ethernet Switches are more expensive than Huawei Ethernet Switches."
"The price of Cisco Ethernet Switches is expensive."
"Customers have to pay for some of the L3 switches licenses, which are expensive."
"The solution can be comparatively cheaper."
"In some of the latest switches, the warranty is not included in the pricing and we have to purchase it separately."
"The solution does not require a license. However, it is expensive and the price could improve."
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Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 29, 2014
Benefits of Juniper vs Cisco
Both are decent products. I prefer Juniper for the following reasons: 1) Cleaner separation of data plane from control plane. Higher end Cisco devices are better at this but most of the lower end products still seem to be more integrated than I like. 2) The Hierarchical config design means I can…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Switches?
Aruba lives up to the expectations of the tech giant hewlett packard enterprise providing excellent networking capabilities at a very affordable price compared to the equivalent from another tech g...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Switches?
I find it to be middle to high. It's not always affordable, but they're losing the pricing market against Huawei, let's just put it like that.
What needs improvement with Aruba Switches?
There isn't much room for improvement. A more granular breakdown in debugging would be beneficial. Apart from that, not much is needed.
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 ...
Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
In terms of ethernet switches, would you go with Cisco or Juniper?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known...
 

Also Known As

8400 Series, 8320 Series, 5400R Series, 3810 Series, 2930M Series, 2930F Series, 2920 Series, 2540 Series, 2530 Series
Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Purdue University
Linz AG
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Switches vs. Cisco Ethernet Switches and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
841,431 professionals have used our research since 2012.