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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Ruckus Cloudpath comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 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

Cisco Identity Services Eng...
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
143
Ranking in other categories
Cisco Security Portfolio (1st)
Ruckus Cloudpath
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
10th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is 25.1%, down from 30.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ruckus Cloudpath is 1.9%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

Featured Reviews

SunilkumarNaganuri - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced device administration hindered by complex deployment and security limitations
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) needs to improve the profiling preauthentication. They are very poor in asset classification and should focus on improving the preauthentication profiling, especially for NAC use cases. This will give them a roadmap for software-defined access (SDA) use cases and network segmentation. Threat detection capabilities are very weak. Additionally, the product is vulnerable and has many bugs.
Mohammad Abdur Rahim Sarker - PeerSpot reviewer
Long-range capabilities and robust security have empowered seamless and reliable connections in diverse environments
Our primary use case for Ruckus Cloudpath is within the hospitality industry and educational institutions, such as large hotels and universities. We implemented the solution in the infrastructure to provide services to customers and students. Specifically, we use it in premises like student labs…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco ISE provides authentication for various applications. It can integrate with other applications to manage access, including Privileged Access Management for those applications. For a comprehensive environment, Cisco ISE should be able to integrate and provide asset management for an IT organization or any organization."
"Cisco ISE integrates with everything else."
"Profiling is one of the most valuable features. We have a lot of different devices between cameras, access points, and laptops that get plugged in."
"The authorization and accounts inside of ISE are very useful for us."
"The most valuable features are authentication, we have more granular control on the access policies for the administrators. The solution is easy to use, has a center point administration, and has a good GUI."
"Cisco ISE's integration with other external identity servers like Duende is very simple and easy."
"After the product was installed, no one could access the secure connection network. In order for any laptop or any endpoint device to attach to my network, it needs to be authorized or be certified to be connected."
"It offers automatic profiling of phones and computers, enabling administrators to identify and categorize devices seamlessly."
"I find the solution to be very rich in features."
"Ruckus Cloudpath is effective for network security since it points out errors, especially when working with APIs."
"The most valuable features of Ruckus Cloudpath include its long-range capabilities, smooth and uninterrupted service, and reliability."
"Ruckus technical support is very good and helpful whenever we need them."
"The solution is easy to use, well designed, robust, and has good traffic capacity."
"The ease of use is great, and the automation wizards can do a lot."
"The solution has good features for authentication, policies, and allowing users to self-provision devices for network access via their logins."
"I have found it easy to use with no significant issues once the small initial problems were resolved."
 

Cons

"The pricing and licensing structure are not ideal for customers."
"Documentation is probably the worst part of the software."
"A main issue is that the upgrade process, over time, is extraordinarily fragile. Repeatedly, over the past several years, when we've tried to upgrade our Cisco ISE implementation, the upgrade has broken it. Ultimately, we have then had to rebuild it because we need it."
"It would be nice if it could be configured easily by default."
"The compliance and posture don't always work. They should make it more stable. With each upgrade, we lose some functionality. We have to wait for another upgrade."
"The product is expensive. It would also be a good add-on to have some machine learning."
"There should be more visibility into TrustSec policy actions. When TrustSec blocks something or makes any kind of changes to the network, we don't always see that. We have to log into the switch itself, or we have to get some type of Syslog parsing to do that."
"The user interface could be more user-friendly."
"The setup had a few initial small problems, however, everything was resolved and it is very good now."
"The hardest part we've had to deal with is trying to find some physical product recently as everything is going like hotcakes."
"The setup process is a bit complex."
"There is room for improvement in deployment."
"The tool needs to support multi-vendor environments. Currently, my experience with it has been primarily within Ruckus environments. However, I haven't explored it for multi-vendor scenarios. It would be great to see newer builds that are multi-vendor capable of full integration."
"The solution could improve by adding more detailed information that customers have available on the dashboards."
"Ruckus Cloudpath needs more API features and enhanced automation capabilities."
"I believe the solution is missing some great features which are present in other solutions like Aruba, UiPath, and Cisco ISE."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Being fully honest, the Cisco licensing model right now is really confusing. We don't know what licenses we have where. We have Smart licensing, but the different levels are way confusing."
"The pricing is good. The last time we purchased four new appliances the price was doable for any organization of our size."
"The pricing is fair for what it does."
"It's an expensive solution when compared to other vendors."
"The Essentials licensing is reasonable, but I would like the Premier version to be perpetual instead of a subscription."
"The solution’s pricing is okay."
"That's where things got a bit more complicated. Previously, it was a one-time purchase and we just had to renew support. These days, there's a subscription model, which is supposed to be easier and cheaper as well, but it's more pricey"
"Cisco ISE's licensing can get pricey."
"The pricing is a little bit high."
"I would rate the tool's pricing as a seven on a scale of one to ten. Compared to others, it's not overly expensive, but it does come with a cost. Since it's a licensed-based product, it can become expensive, especially if there is a need for additional licenses."
"The cost was somewhere around $700 for the access points, however, there was a discount."
"The licensing of the solution is user-based and the price is good."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
17%
Computer Software Company
10%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Aruba Clearpass or Cisco ISE?
Aruba ClearPass is a Network Access Control tool that gives secure network access to multiple device types. You can adapt the policies to VPN access, wired, or wireless access. You can securely ...
What are the main differences between Cisco ISE and Forescout Platform?
OK, so Cisco ISE uses 802.1X to secure switchports against unauthorized access. The drawback of this is that ISE cannot secure the port if a device does not support 802.1x. Cameras, badge readers, ...
How does Cisco ISE compare with Fortinet FortiNAC?
Cisco ISE uses AI endpoint analytics to identify new devices based on their behavior. It will also notify you if someone plugs in with a device that is not allowed and will block it. The user exper...
What do you like most about Ruckus Cloudpath?
The tool's most valuable features include the phenomenal functionality of DPSK. The ease of use, particularly when it is correctly set up, is remarkably simple. Tracking users is straightforward an...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ruckus Cloudpath?
The pricing of Ruckus Cloudpath is on the expensive side. I would rate the pricing as an eight out of ten, with ten being very expensive.
What needs improvement with Ruckus Cloudpath?
Ruckus Cloudpath needs more API features and enhanced automation capabilities. I would like to improve the automation aspect, ensuring that if any issues arise or alerts are detected, the cloud pla...
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, BC Hydro, Beachbody, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Cisco IT, Derby City Council, Global Banking Customer, Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha, Houston Methodist, Linz AG, London Hydro, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Molina Healthcare, MST Systems, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Reykjavik University, Wildau University
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Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs. Ruckus Cloudpath and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.