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Aruba Wireless 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
8.4
Many users report positive ROI from Aruba Wireless, citing productivity boosts and cost-effective, downtime-reducing infrastructure solutions despite valuation challenges.
Sentiment score
8.5
ExtremeWireless provides cost-effective scalability, significant ROI and time savings, easy deployment, excellent support, and optimal value over three years.
There are significant time savings, around thirty to forty percent, due to minimal disconnections.
There is no need to buy additional controllers for managing access points.
The monitoring access and excellent support provide significant value.
The best ROI is achieved over a three-year term.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Aruba Wireless customer service varies, with mixed feedback on phone support but generally positive views on online and technical help.
Sentiment score
8.3
ExtremeWireless customer service is praised for reliability but criticized for response speed, global coverage, and inconsistent support availability.
I only needed support once or twice for a replacement, and it was handled smoothly without any difficulty.
I would rate their technical support nine out of ten.
The customer support is good.
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
8.0
Aruba Wireless scales for diverse enterprises, offering flexible deployment, centralized management, and robust performance despite some hardware limitations.
Sentiment score
7.0
ExtremeWireless is highly scalable and flexible, effectively supporting organizations of all sizes with seamless expansion and high-density management.
The solution is scalable, as multiple sites connect seamlessly.
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
8.9
Aruba Wireless is highly reliable, stable, and effective across environments, with minor issues resolved by updates, rated highly by users.
Sentiment score
7.7
ExtremeWireless is lauded for its stability and reliability, though firmware updates occasionally require physical restarts for resolution.
I have been using the product for the last nine years without facing any issues post-installation.
I don't remember it going down during the years it existed.
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 Wireless needs improved usability, stability, security, integration, cost-effectiveness, bug resolution, and enhanced features for better user experience.
ExtremeWireless must enhance usability, security, and signal stability while optimizing costs, integration, and market visibility for smaller businesses.
Zero-touch provisioning is needed, and although a cloud version is available, like Aruba Central, easier provisioning and configuration would be beneficial in the future.
While the technical specifications are satisfactory, the access points are expensive.
At the time of purchase, the prices were moderate, but now they are quite expensive.
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 Wireless offers competitive pricing, with costs justified by performance, though initial setup and licensing can be expensive.
ExtremeWireless provides reliable solutions with annual subscriptions, though pricing and additional fees can make it costly.
It is very high compared to other products.
The pricing seems reasonable compared to other brands; however, it is too expensive for smaller businesses.
The initial prices were more affordable compared to the current high prices.
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 Wireless excels in security, scalability, and management, offering integrated solutions with advanced features and cost-effective deployment.
ExtremeWireless excels in cloud management, security, performance, integration, scalability, flexibility, and offers user-friendly tools for multi-site organizations.
I do not need to buy a controller for the access point since the Aruba Access Point has a built-in virtual controller.
I am very satisfied with the roaming feature, as it ensures connectivity when moving from one location to another.
It has many features and is integrated with Azure AD and multiple active directories, making authentication easy.
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 Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
147
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ExtremeWireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
16th
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 March 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Wireless is 18.3%, down from 23.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeWireless is 1.6%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad_Faisal - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience seamless connectivity with top-notch roaming capabilities
The Aruba Wireless solution has excellent roaming capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity. Once installed, Aruba Wireless works robustly without overheating issues. This is particularly effective compared to other products I've used, like FortiMonitor and FortiAPs, which sometimes heat up. I am very satisfied with the roaming feature, as it ensures connectivity when moving from one location to another. The product's stability, after setting it up, adds to its value.
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
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
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Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 24, 2015
Cisco vs. Aruba Wireless Solutions
Cisco or Aruba Networks? If you are considering wireless access solutions, this is a common question that you are probably asking. You probably have sales people knocking at your door. How do you make sense of all the stories that you are presented with. If you have done any research, you are…
 

Answers from the Community

DS
Oct 5, 2021
Oct 5, 2021
It also depends on the integration with your LAN network and Network Access Control. Both have campus and cloud-native solutions. One single pane of glass for all your end devices is very advisable. So be sure to integrate your LAN with your WLAN and NAC, and if possible with your firewall gateway and endpoint security. Aruba Wireless has a very rich feature set and integration possibilities. ...
See 2 answers
EB
Oct 4, 2021
Hi @Huthaisa Al Saaideh, @D6B8, @DImo Dimov, @Gassan Armouti ​and @Joris Van den Bergh, Can you share your professional insights with @Danny Stevens?  We appreciate your help.
JV
Oct 5, 2021
It also depends on the integration with your LAN network and Network Access Control. Both have campus and cloud-native solutions.  One single pane of glass for all your end devices is very advisable. So be sure to integrate your LAN with your WLAN and NAC, and if possible with your firewall gateway and endpoint security. Aruba Wireless has a very rich feature set and integration possibilities. Extreme has a very high level of automation and easy to deploy virtual services on their SPBM fabric.  So it all depends on your expectations and business case...
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
11%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...
Aruba Wireless or Ruckus Wireless?
At my organization, we researched Ruckus Wireless among other solutions but ultimately chose Aruba wireless. What did we like about Ruckus? First, it was very easy to use, and anybody with minimal...
How does Cisco Wireless compare with Aruba Wireless?
On the most basic level, Cisco Wireless can offer a rather straightforward initial setup. In the span of about three hours, the basic framework can be set up. Step-by-step instructions are availabl...
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.
 

Also Known As

Aruba WLAN, HP WLAN, HP Wireless, Aruba Instant On AP Series Access Point
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Consulate Health Care, Los Angeles Unified School District, Science Applications International Corp (SAIC), San Diego State University, KFC, ACTS Retirement-Life Communities
St. Xavier High School, Americatel, Diamond Light Source
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Wireless vs. ExtremeWireless and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.