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Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access vs Ruckus Wireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secu...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (6th)
Ruckus Wireless
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
Wireless LAN (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is designed for Ethernet Switches and holds a mindshare of 4.8%, down 6.0% compared to last year.
Ruckus Wireless, on the other hand, focuses on Wireless LAN, holds 14.1% mindshare, up 13.2% since last year.
Ethernet Switches
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Uri Harf - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration with cloud management simplifies network expansion
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is expensive, and this initial cost can be a barrier, especially for new businesses setting up from scratch. Although the machine is robust and lasts for years with rare technical issues, the initial price can be high. Sometimes, I have to offer alternatives like Aruba or HP, which might be cheaper.
Xander Janse Van Rensburg - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable and high-performance wireless networking with exceptional stability, scalability, and robust feature set
One of the most valuable features I appreciate is auto channelization, facilitated by a proprietary product called ChannelFly. This feature enables APs in a specific zone to automatically adjust their channels, optimizing performance. Additionally, Ruckus Wireless stands out for its ability to reuse certain beams, resulting in smaller data spots. In my experience with various products, Ruckus Wireless consistently delivers unparalleled throughput, coverage, and reliability in wireless networking across different environments. As a noteworthy point, the newly launched WiFi 7 standard is measured against Ruckus's WiFi 7 AP, establishing it as the global benchmark. When it comes to WiFi, Ruckus sets the standard, outperforming competitors with its superior performance and capabilities.

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 this product is its simplicity."
"The visual scope of the solution is very good. It allows me to see and download all of the network information."
"It can integrate well with other Fortinet products."
"What I really love in FortiSwitch: its usability, the graphical user interface, and the ability to be managed by FortiGate."
"The policies are very good."
"I like that everything flows back to FortiGate, which is the controller, management console, and firewall. There's one central point for the entire network, so the security, switching, wireless, etc., flows back to the FortiGate. The ease of management is what customers like. They don't need separate solutions like Cisco."
"Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access has good scalability."
"The software is very stable."
"The setup is very straightforward."
"The speed between client to client is really nice. It is better than any other vendor, but officially, I cannot say that to people."
"It has one of the smoothest operations."
"The most valuable feature of Ruckus Wireless is its AI capability, which automatically scales up and down the coverage areas."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"The most valuable feature of Ruckus Wireless is its exceptional performance and reliability. The signal is highly reliable. We have not received a single complaint in the past year, which is a marked improvement from our prior equipment."
"The solution manages and updates itself."
"I can manage the network through a cell phone, which is a plus from my side. I am also able to visualize the network. I can also check the quality of the signal for different clients that are currently connected and see whether the quality is excellent, moderate, or poor. Sometimes, I can even adjust the signal strength."
 

Cons

"More integration would be helpful, especially since we sometimes have devices from other companies. Improved interoperability would be very beneficial."
"The reporting capabilities should be included."
"It would also help if they lowered the cost of their service."
"I believe that stacking, a feature that is available in Huawei and Cisco, is not available in Fortinet products."
"The central management needs improvement. The initial setup could be easier."
"The pricing could be improved, and it could be easier to configure."
"I would rate technical support at eight. It's a potential area for improvement, possibly in terms of response time or quality."
"It could be simpler but compared to the competition, it's not so bad."
"In the next release of this solution, I would like to see a more detailed spectrum analysis."
"Its pricing and licensing can be improved. Its UI can also be more user-friendly. Currently, in the Unleashed mode, the information that you have about the switches that you add to the controller is quite limited. I would like more information regarding switches. In this mode, an access point acts as a controller, so you don't need a controller. It is for deployments with less than 125 access points, and you can use an access point as a controller."
"The response time of the support team needs to improve"
"Sometimes doing mass changes on their products can be challenging."
"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."
"The cloud solution is not mature enough."
"The cost could be slightly improved. It's not on the low end, and it's not in the high end. It's in that middle area, which can be a deciding factor between someone going with this solution versus another one."
"While the Virtual SmartZone appliance has improved in the last few years, it isn’t without issue and the performance of the Web page leaves something to be desired."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the product's pricing an eight out of ten."
"It's affordable compared to other switching products, like Cisco switches."
"We signed up for a three-year license for support and replacement."
"The product's pricing is less compared to other enterprise solutions."
"Licensing is easy: FortiCare and that's it."
"We have to pay for the solution's subscription."
"The product pricing seems to be mid-range."
"The price of the solution could improve, it is expensive."
"Ruckus Wireless is a cheaper solution than Cisco."
"We found it a little more expensive than the other competitors on the market."
"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."
"The price of Ruckus Wireless could be better. I have heard it is more expensive than other solutions."
"I rate the product price as six to seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"The price could be better. Normally, if you find customers paying for cost-effective wireless solutions, Ruckus devices are a little expensive compared to other vendors."
"We have a yearly license for our multiple mode 200 or 300 Ruckus Wireless systems. It's a good price."
"It is not cheap, but it also doesn't carry the high price tag of some other products on the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
With FortiSwitch, you can easily identify who is connected to each port, disable ports as needed, and retrieve configurations from FortiGate when required.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
The initial cost of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is high compared to other options. Although robust and rarely needs replacement, it can be overqualified for some jobs, which affects the re...
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...
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 friendly. This user-friendly quality also renders it easy to learn how to use and ma...
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 a great feature. The dashboard is a simple interface and easy to learn. It feat...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
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 Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ubiquiti Networks and others in Ethernet Switches. Updated: July 2025.
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