Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Aruba Wireless vs Fortinet FortiWLC 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
146
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiWLC
Ranking in Wireless LAN
25th
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Wireless is 19.1%, down from 23.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLC is 0.3%, down from 0.3% 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.
Panagiota Aggelopoulou - PeerSpot reviewer
Quick support, overall high quality, and reliable
We have used the support from Fortinet FortiWLC. We opened a ticket to Fortinet support. They have good support, but it was a simple issue that we had to be resolved. They responded quickly and with a correct answer. We contacted them during regular business hours. I rate the support from Fortinet FortiWLC a five out of five.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has an aesthetically pleasing GUI for configuration."
"I really like the user interface."
"It has helped in making deployments easier."
"Aruba Wireless is reliable, and the signal strength is pretty good."
"Aruba Wireless has its own protocols in the controller that are managed by the firewall of our company."
"It provided an easy WiFi solution for our branch offices to deploy​. We could usually have them up and running from out-of-the-box in about 10 minutes."
"ClearPass is a unique product that contains multiple solutions like BYOD, Guest, NAC, AAA, UEBA, etc. There is also quick support from Aruba TAC."
"Denies inter-user traffic: It easily blocks traffic between users."
"It's easy to set everything up during implementation."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLC is the overall high quality."
 

Cons

"They need to work on reducing prices as they are currently on the higher side."
"The certification for licensing could be better."
"The reliability could be improved."
"We have an issue with the integration of Aruba Wireless with our LDAP servers."
"Aruba Wireless can improve the assigning of access points. We have times that the nearest access point is not assigned but one far away. The integration between access points could improve."
"The Aruba Central cloud portal needs a lot of work. It is complicated to navigate."
"Better integration between the controller and the ClearPass portal would be a nice change."
"Most of the access points don't include the chargers."
"Fortinet FortiWLC is not simple to configure when compared to other solutions. The design could be better."
"One thing that is lacking is, compared with some other brands, the signal is a bit weaker. Ruckus has much wider signal coverage."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing is a one time purchase (only the cloud license has to be renewed, which is worth trying out).​"
"The system was very good, but we needed to upgrade in order to adapt for our needs, and doing so with Aruba would have been more expensive. ​"
"When you look at the price it is a higher price than Cisco."
"The product is expensive."
"Pricing is competitive. Licensing is needed to maintain access to the latest firmware, which wasn't made clear originally when we started with Arbua (or things changed, I'm not sure which). I would just say, make sure you budget for it."
"I don't know the exact costs associated with Aruba Wireless, but I have a rough idea, and it's not too cheap, though it's less costly than Cisco Wireless. Pricing for Aruba Wireless is moderate. It's a three out of five."
"The price of Aruba Wireless is reasonable."
"The price of Aruba Wireless is expensive."
"The price of Fortinet FortiWLC is high. The solution will be out of the market for us because the price is too high for the features it provides."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
7%
University
6%
Government
6%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Non Profit
9%
Real Estate/Law Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

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
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiWLC and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.