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Aruba Wireless vs WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi 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 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
WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi
Ranking in Wireless LAN
24th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
6
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 WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi is 0.4%, up from 0.4% 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.
WarrenWilliams - PeerSpot reviewer
A solution that offers excellent support and makes it easy to manage networks
To utilize the solution properly, you need some training and guidance on that. Getting it working is easy, but if you're going to use it with feature sets that make WatchGuard worthwhile to use, it's probably not the easiest to set up. I'd rate the initial setup a seven out of ten. The time taken to deploy the solution depends on the project scope you're doing. Do you need ten WiFi access points or one? You could deploy the solution in an hour. We need one person to deploy the solution. But the number of people required for deployment depends on where the access points are deployed. Like, if it's the ceiling or whatever. The way we do it, we usually have an on-site technician who sets up the backend. We usually have two people when deploying the solution, but you can do it with one person. We have a team that manages the solution. But if you have ten people on a site to manage the solution, 15 minutes daily is enough.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Aruba Wireless is multi-tenancy."
"I do not need to buy a controller for the access point since the Aruba Access Point has a built-in virtual controller."
"Scalability has been one of the easiest aspects of the Aruba Instant product line. As long as the models are compatible, you can simply connect it to your network and it will learn the settings from the other APs on the network and join the AP network."
"Aruba allowed for the detailed control and management of an entire WiFi network from a single screen backed by a support team with local SEs who work with business partners to ensure the product's success.​"
"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."
"Good wireless solution that's user-friendly, stable, and scalable, with very good product support, and a limited lifetime warranty."
"The Aruba Wireless solution has excellent roaming capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity."
"I would rate their scalability as ten out of ten."
"The Wi-Fi security features of this solution have been great for our customers who need to strictly control access to their network."
"Cloud analytics that provide all its attributes."
"The solution has been stable."
"It makes it easy to obtain all information about the client experience."
"We like that WatchGuard works and integrates directly with the firewalls we use."
"They're very easy to set up and get running."
 

Cons

"Not cost-effective."
"If you want a centralized management system that is able to manage all your networking devices such as the wireless, the switch, the routers, and the firewall, then Aruba may not be the one, because Aruba doesn't do firewalls."
"The stability and management could be improved."
"The Aruba Central cloud portal needs a lot of work. It is complicated to navigate."
"The solution's documentation could be better organized in an information portal."
"We have had issues with the availability of the equipment."
"Because it's cloud-based, it takes time for the floor maps and the heat map to load."
"The Help option within the GUI needs to be improved."
"One of the things is if you buy it with a certain subscription, you can't easily change the subscription level."
"The solution can be scaled but it has limitations from my experience."
"The price of this solution needs to reviewed, as it is currently high enough to deter customers from trying it."
"Inability to import a user with one click."
"If a client device had issues with authentication due to out of date browser or similar difficulties, it would be nice to have the ability to migrate the client onto the portal via one click."
"I don't think they're available at the best price."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have some licenses for the solution, and we need not renew licenses. But we need to pay a hundred thousand if you want to renew our subscription and renew the hardware."
"Aruba is less expensive than Cisco."
"​AP signal strength and price. I know this is a competitive market, but APs should not cost so much if they do not cover a large area. ​"
"​We will be buying the ClearPass solution, which will be pricey. However, in the trial version, it has even more tools to manage a busy network.​"
"Aruba is probably cheaper than Cisco, and yet you get all the things that you want."
"The price of Aruba Wireless is higher than other products, but you'll get stability, performance, and functionality out of it. On a scale of one to five, I'm rating the price of Aruba Wireless a three."
"The price of Aruba Wireless is reasonable."
"When you look at the price it is a higher price than Cisco."
"WatchGuard is on the upper scale for pricing."
"Your licensing and cost, as would be required for many other solutions, being considered for eighty to two hundred and eighty different physical locations, is just about the same amount per access point."
"The solution is priced high compared to competitors. However, for the features that are included in the solution, the price becomes more reasonable."
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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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
7%
University
6%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Retailer
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
 

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...
What do you like most about WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?
We like that WatchGuard works and integrates directly with the firewalls we use.
What needs improvement with WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi?
One of the things is if you buy it with a certain subscription, you can't easily change the subscription level. For example, if you bought it with the Total Secure package, it's not easy to downgra...
 

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
Portsmouth Grammar School, HILOTEC
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Wireless vs. WatchGuard Secure Wi‑Fi and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.