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Fortinet FortiAP vs Ruckus Wireless comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Juniper Mist Wireless Acces...
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Ranking in Wireless LAN
8th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiAP
Ranking in Wireless LAN
13th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Ruckus Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points is 5.7%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiAP is 3.0%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ruckus Wireless is 14.3%, up from 11.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Gyan Sharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers good performance, good solution and smooth implementation
I do have a suggestion: it would be helpful to have even stronger security features to help protect against interference from other nearby access points that aren't part of our network. If there are access points from other brands installed nearby; they can cause interference and disrupt the range of our Mist access points. So, the security features could be stronger, especially in terms of authentication. The connectivity is excellent, but security needs improvement. In future releases, integrating more AI features would be beneficial. If Mist had stronger AI features, it could provide better security against network threats and cyberattacks. So, this solution still needs to improve its AI capabilities. It would be great if the AI could improve the range of the access points, and auto-protect functionality should be there to avoid interference by other nearby access points and enhance threat detection. In the future, I'd like to see stronger threat detection features integrated with Mist, as well as better detection of nearby access points that might cause interference.
Yati Gharat - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrates well with Fortinet products, but there are signal issues in the outdoor environment
FortiAP is very good in an indoor environment, but we are struggling with the outdoor environment. That is where we are having certain issues. We are not 100% happy with it. With the indoor environment, we are okay, but we are facing some issues when certain voice-related calls go from wireless points. There are certain drops, and we have faced these issues on an ongoing basis. We also have other vendors such as Aruba and Meraki, and we do not face any issues when there is a Teams or Zoom meeting going on. It could be that FortiAP is okay, but that particular device or appliance is not capable of handling that much load of voice and video. This might be the issue. RF Spectrum Analysis helps to understand what is the coverage and hotspots related to a particular access point, but then when we bought it, we did heat mapping through different vendors. If there are any rogue APs, we can identify them with RF Spectrum Analysis. We can see what the coverage area is, but there are some issues with that. Some of the offices have thick glasses, or the cabins are different, so in the RF coverage, what is shown is not what we get on the practical grounds. There are some issues with signal performance. It has the basic functionality that is mostly used, but there are certain devices that are not able to interconnect. When there is any issue or problem, if the administrator can get some information about that, that will be good. With Meraki and Aruba, we get certain beautiful things. If those can be integrated into this solution, it will be more beneficial, but we understand that being a security company, Fortinet's focus is on security.
Sachin Vinay - PeerSpot reviewer
Great wireless, good reliability, and excellent connectivity
Ruckus should have an option to migrate existing licenses from an old controller to a new purchase; presently, this is not possible. Also, the rates are a bit higher compared to its nearest competitors - like Cisco and Aruba. The New Ruckus VM controller has an increased set of options, yet all options are scattered and is a bit complicated for even users who handle earlier hardware versions. It would have been great if Ruckus Wireless had the standalone version which they had before. Presently, it can be used only in controller-based or cloud environments.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is very secure."
"You can easily monitor, manage, and cover all your IT equipment."
"It provides private network access, helping us protect our company’s devices."
"The solution is pretty generic and easy to use."
"The AI capabilities of Mist Wireless are superior to other OEMs."
"With Mist, every Wednesday they roll out new features."
"The simplicity is great."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is Marvis, the AI-driven network management system."
"The pricing is reasonable for what it offers."
"The setup was straightforward."
"If we have FortiClient installed on multiple devices, it is seamless to connect with FortiAP. It supports passwordless authentication as well. That is a great thing about it."
"FortiAP's integration using SSID configuration for the input/output makes deploying permission rules easier."
"We really don't need to call technical support. Any time we have had to call, they've been great."
"I like FortiAP's performance and stability. The reporting is also quite good."
"The most valuable aspect of Fortinet FortiAP is the support."
"The solution supports recent security components like encryption or hashing algorithms. We can control the APs from FortiGate Firewalls and integrate those APs into FortiGate. You don't have to purchase a separate controller for it."
"I'm not on the technical side, so I personally haven't configured Ruckus Wireless. We've got some staff that manages that for us. But if I had to say a most valuable feature from my perspective, it would maybe be Ruckus Analytics."
"The beamforming has been the most valuable aspect of the solution for our organization."
"The solution has great network intelligence from applications, clients, access points, and controllers."
"The most valuable feature of Ruckus Wireless is the simple interface of the SmartZone platform."
"The solution provides superior coverage."
"Ruckus Wireless is a valuable solution. It's both scalable and reliable."
"The solution has many innovative features."
"I am familiar with the brand and it works well."
 

Cons

"Improvement is needed in the user-friendliness of Juniper Mist, particularly in enhancing the interaction with AI features."
"Supporting multiple protocols would be beneficial."
"Juniper should make the products more affordable."
"It would be helpful to have even stronger security features to help protect against interference from other nearby access points that aren't part of our network."
"The solution is expensive."
"Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series) could improve if the MIST platform had a built-in master key. This would be an advantage."
"Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points’ support services need improvement."
"The price could be better."
"FortiAP is very good in an indoor environment, but we are struggling with the outdoor environment."
"The improvement factor could be in APs. Also, it could have a control, like MAC address."
"The support offered by the solution has certain shortcomings, making it in areas where improvements are required."
"I would like to have automation capabilities that would help us reduce the configuration steps."
"The wireless functionality is not the best."
"There is room for improvement in the product by expanding the number of SSIDs that can be broadcast."
"FortiAP could be a little cheaper."
"The security integration between the network and firewall has room for improvement."
"Their support has been lacking a little bit and needs to be improved. I have had a ticket open for a month, and it is really hard to get a resolution out of them. They haven't really come out with anything that is much of an improvement in a long time. It has mostly just been fixes and things like that. We used to have a ZoneDirector or a physical controller for the wireless network, and that was kind of end of life. It was very old, and at the time, we were expanding the wireless network, and we didn't want to rely on one piece of hardware that was pretty old. So, we went to SmartZone Cluster, which has two VMs in a cluster. Unfortunately, we lost the feature ability for guest networks and other things that we were using before, and Ruckus just kind of told us that they weren't supporting that feature in the newer product, which is not really great. I was told initially that SmartZone was an upgrade to ZoneDirector. It is the logical thing to think that it is going to have all the same features, but it didn't. The issue that we have right now is onboarding BYOD devices. It is not really great for us, and we're looking for a new product to make that easier. We did have Cloudpath, which was a product that Ruckus purchased from another company that was an onboarding solution, but it just didn't really work very well for us. So, we discontinued using it, and it actually created more confusion for people. They should make BYOD or guest network portals a lot easier and better. In some areas, we have been having issues because there are just so many WAPs that are so close that we had to manually turn down the radio of power because the automatic feature of the AP wasn't really doing it right. It should also have a little bit better RF analysis capability to be able to see on the controller side. The front end for our staff, students, and guests has also not been quite as good as we had hoped."
"What would be interesting to see is if they had more of an ability for their customers to capture revenue. They should offer some sort of gateway functionality that you could tie through radius authentication, so you can bill the customers. That way, when you go in, you could just have a device and set up a hotspot, and it's a totally billable tool at that point."
"We use this solution in a certain way, and it works very well. So, I don't expect it to do a lot more, but to do what it's doing probably better or faster. But it's not a problem with the features; it's more the operations."
"Its security can be improved. It doesn't use Wireless IPS. Therefore, we have to combine WatchGuard that uses a Wireless IPS but is a separate solution. These two solutions work in conjunction. We are using the WatchGuard as a sensor and Wireless IPS, and Ruckus is like a platform that is used for the connectivity of the network."
"The price is an area that requires improvement. The pricing could be better."
"The initial setup was not simple. We were installing indoor and outdoor wireless and this is why it took us three months."
"The solution currently lacks the integration of security services."
"I would like to see more detailed network performance, monitoring, and reporting tools or information. This would improve the deployment of multi-site networks and help administrators to progress on a timely efficient manner."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is too high."
"The pricing is fair."
"We pay maybe 1000 SEK per year, per access point."
"The solution is expensive."
"If a customer has a budget of around five lakhs in Indian currency, they can afford Juniper products."
"The pricing is something Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series) can work on. The pricing is very high compared to the competition."
"I rate the product price as a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is inexpensive, and ten is expensive. It is a reasonably priced tool."
"I rate the pricing an eight out of ten."
"FortiAP is more expensive than some other options."
"We purchased perpetual licensing, and additional costs may vary depending on the services acquired from Fortinet."
"The product is available at a very comfortable price for my company compared to the other products available in the market. The prices of products from Meraki and Aruba are high compared to those of Fortinet."
"On a scale of one to ten with ten being the most expensive, I would rate FortiAP a six."
"If I compare it with the other enterprise products, the price is good."
"Fortinet FortiAP offers a more cost-effective solution compared to Palo Alto and Check Point."
"The devices under Fortinet are not expensive. The solution's licensing part is expensive."
"Ruckus is more expensive than Meraki, but the performance moves in parallel with the cost."
"If you walk into any restaurant or hotel you will find Ruckus Wireless solutions because it is economical when it comes to pricing. There is a basic subscription for the license and support."
"It's definitely a good value. It's more expensive than some of the other offerings out there, but when you compare it to other enterprise-class gear, it's very well priced. And the beauty of it is, because it has better range because of their patented BeamFlex - which is the way they can send and receive and listen to signals - you can actually use fewer access points. That means that it's a cheaper overall project."
"Licensing is subscription-based."
"Ruckus Wireless is an expensive solution."
"It's quite expensive, but that is what you get with these types of solutions."
"It is decently priced."
"With Ubiquiti, there's no annual cost to keep the software upgraded, whereas with Ruckus, you have to pay an annual fee or three-year fee. That makes it a little more pricey."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about FortiAP?
If we have FortiClient installed on multiple devices, it is seamless to connect with FortiAP. It supports passwordles...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiAP?
The pricing for Fortinet FortiAP is good compared to other competitive vendors.
What needs improvement with FortiAP?
The radio band support could be improved, especially for legacy devices. We have faced issues where older devices are...
Aruba Wireless or Ruckus Wireless?
At my organization, we researched Ruckus Wireless among other solutions but ultimately chose Aruba wireless. What di...
Which is better - Ruckus Wireless or Cisco Wireless?
Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user frie...
How does Ruckus Wireless compare to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco’s Meraki Virtual MX is a virtual instance of the Meraki SD-WAN appliance. We liked the Meraki. The Wifi APs are...
 

Also Known As

Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series), Mist Access Points
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Information Not Available
American University of Sharjah, Baruch College, Centro Escolar Liceo Santo Tomšs, Chevalier College, Chico Unified School District, Colegio de Fomento El Prado, Columbia Public Schools, Delta School District, Dordt College, Douglas County School District, Drew University, Armonea, Central Utah Clinic, Grove Hill Medical Center, Inner South Community Health Service, Midwest Surgical, Satilla Regional Medical Center, Lyndoch Living, Polonus, Roaring Fork School District, Sonora State, Vivid, Sydney, Players Club, Sandals, Scandic Hotels, Sheraton LAX, Sunbird
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiAP vs. Ruckus Wireless and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.