Sometimes, the license is a bit too overpaid. Sometimes, the license is okay. Overall, the pricing strategy is fairly reasonable. Since I’m an Aruba partner, we have project prices.
The product provides a perpetual license. It doesn't have a subscription-based licensing model. Aruba’s licensing structure is very flexible compared to other vendors. The price is reasonable.
I rate the pricing a seven or eight out of ten. The tool is a little expensive for customers from other countries. We have a lot of Chinese customers. Aruba is expensive for them.
Aruba Switches are very expensive. The product has many features printed on it, but the problem my company faces with the product is related to the fact that there is a need to reconfigure the solution every two months or three months after five years. Aruba Switches don't work properly in a stable manner after five years.
Head Of Technical Department at Modern establishment for supply and trading
Real User
Top 5
2023-08-29T11:43:08Z
Aug 29, 2023
Aruba switches work without a license. A license is needed when working with a management solution, but not for enabling switch features. This is a big feature of Aruba, making it better than other vendors. For example, we need to buy a license to enable features with Cisco. Aruba's features exist in a datasheet of any switch, available from day one without a license. SLAs are available for 24 hours or four hours.
We pay an annual license for the solution. It is an enterprise product, so it's not the cheapest, definitely. I'd rate the affordability between a three and four out of five.
The advice I would provide others is if you are a customer running Aruba for your switching infrastructure, consider taking the basic switching training offered. They cover everything from out of the box setup, everything you need including GUI's and CLI interfaces. The product pricing is competitive and approximately 10% cheaper than the likes of Nexus. Professional services and training can also be provided by the vendor.
Managing Partner & Technical Consultant&Trainer(CCIE#29761, CCSI#31865) at IT Expert
Real User
Top 10
2022-07-20T14:20:07Z
Jul 20, 2022
There is a license required if you want to use wireless controls for micro-segmentation. However, for Aruba Switches there is no license required. The price of the solution is good and they provide discounts depending on the projects. The price could still be reduced.
I am paying for the hardware and Aruba Central licenses, but I would like a version of Aruba Central to come out with a light version with a few features turned off. Ubiquiti and other vendors have free tools. I believe they're looking at that, but it's not out yet. I hope they will release that to make it competitive because I'm using an enterprise-class switch for small businesses. We're looking for some of those capabilities, but not all of them. Aruba has its Soho class switches, which are instant-on platforms. However, with the instant-on platform, you need to manage everything with individual clouds instead of bringing all of them under one console. There's an annual license fee for the Aruba Central cloud management platform for each Aruba device. You don't need licenses for the hardware and other support, but if you don't pay for the Aruba Central license, you will not get firmware updates or technical support. You have to have those at least for probably several years. When you reach a point where you're managing 100-150 devices in a small business, you suddenly need multiple layers of switches, and then you have to get into campus networks, trunk groups, VLANs, etc. Then, you need segmentation between different levels. You have to utilize those additional capabilities and features more than you would for a dozen or so computers. You typically aren't going to create a bunch of VLANs, trunk groups, and multiple switches for a dozen computers. It doesn't make sense. I think under 250 people would technically be classified as a small business. However, when I say "small business," I mean 10-20 people physically working at a building. Still, the price is reasonable. I'd rate Aruba eight out of 10 for affordability. As a managed service provider, I also have access to discounts that help me manage costs better. As I own all the switches, so I keep adding people to the switches I own. Aruba has been good about providing a managed service provider discount to make it competitive. If they didn't, it would be kind of hard to justify spending $4,000 on these switches for a tiny business like a doctor's office.
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
2020-12-29T15:43:48Z
Dec 29, 2020
I don't know the exact cost of the licensing, but based on what I have heard from my sales team, Aruba is affordable. Aruba switches are cheaper than the switches from Cisco and other vendors.
Security & Infrastructure Architect at a consumer goods company with 51-200 employees
Real User
2020-10-30T00:04:33Z
Oct 30, 2020
The price point was a big consideration for us and it is reasonable enough that we're able to standardize on Aruba for the networking pieces in our organization. This also includes Wi-Fi and access points. Generally speaking, the price is good.
This solution is not cheap and they don't have a plan to certify it as Cisco does. Cisco is a famous vendor with options for certification. Aruba does not have a certified license in ARC and CNV. Their certification is for the marketing of the device in Cisco. The license is annual. If you purchase a switch, you get a one-year free subscription. Aruba has better pricing than Cisco.
CTO at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
2019-10-31T06:27:00Z
Oct 31, 2019
We just had all the licenses for five years included in the bidding process. Since the competitive nature of the resulting contract, our actual costs might not reflect the standard market prices. Due to the visibilityof our project, Aruba has been generous with the included amount of licenses, which will serve us for years to come.
Aruba Switches is a network creation solution that enables users to easily manage every aspect of their networks.
Benefits of Aruba Switches
Some of the benefits of using Aruba switches include:
Easily access and manage every aspect of your networks. Aruba Switches give users a way to control their networks from a centralized location. The simplified control center can be accessed through both the cloud and on-premises devices. Intuitively view and manage every portion of your networks....
Aruba Switches are less expensive than Cisco.
Licensing costs are competitive with other solutions on the market.
The cost is very cheap when you compare it to CISCO.
The pricing is a bit on the pricey side.
Sometimes, the license is a bit too overpaid. Sometimes, the license is okay. Overall, the pricing strategy is fairly reasonable. Since I’m an Aruba partner, we have project prices.
The product provides a perpetual license. It doesn't have a subscription-based licensing model. Aruba’s licensing structure is very flexible compared to other vendors. The price is reasonable.
I rate the pricing a seven or eight out of ten. The tool is a little expensive for customers from other countries. We have a lot of Chinese customers. Aruba is expensive for them.
Aruba Switches are very expensive. The product has many features printed on it, but the problem my company faces with the product is related to the fact that there is a need to reconfigure the solution every two months or three months after five years. Aruba Switches don't work properly in a stable manner after five years.
The price is higher than other brands, so I recommend the product to enterprises.
Aruba switches work without a license. A license is needed when working with a management solution, but not for enabling switch features. This is a big feature of Aruba, making it better than other vendors. For example, we need to buy a license to enable features with Cisco. Aruba's features exist in a datasheet of any switch, available from day one without a license. SLAs are available for 24 hours or four hours.
It's not cheap or very expensive, but I think the price has increased recently.
The price could be a bit better. We'd like it to be lower.
There is a license to use the solution.
We pay an annual license for the solution. It is an enterprise product, so it's not the cheapest, definitely. I'd rate the affordability between a three and four out of five.
The pricing for Aruba Switches is definitely expensive.
The advice I would provide others is if you are a customer running Aruba for your switching infrastructure, consider taking the basic switching training offered. They cover everything from out of the box setup, everything you need including GUI's and CLI interfaces. The product pricing is competitive and approximately 10% cheaper than the likes of Nexus. Professional services and training can also be provided by the vendor.
The Aruba Switch cost is normally high if it is compared to Huawei and many other brands. Typically it is a $500 to $600 difference in price.
There is a license required if you want to use wireless controls for micro-segmentation. However, for Aruba Switches there is no license required. The price of the solution is good and they provide discounts depending on the projects. The price could still be reduced.
I am paying for the hardware and Aruba Central licenses, but I would like a version of Aruba Central to come out with a light version with a few features turned off. Ubiquiti and other vendors have free tools. I believe they're looking at that, but it's not out yet. I hope they will release that to make it competitive because I'm using an enterprise-class switch for small businesses. We're looking for some of those capabilities, but not all of them. Aruba has its Soho class switches, which are instant-on platforms. However, with the instant-on platform, you need to manage everything with individual clouds instead of bringing all of them under one console. There's an annual license fee for the Aruba Central cloud management platform for each Aruba device. You don't need licenses for the hardware and other support, but if you don't pay for the Aruba Central license, you will not get firmware updates or technical support. You have to have those at least for probably several years. When you reach a point where you're managing 100-150 devices in a small business, you suddenly need multiple layers of switches, and then you have to get into campus networks, trunk groups, VLANs, etc. Then, you need segmentation between different levels. You have to utilize those additional capabilities and features more than you would for a dozen or so computers. You typically aren't going to create a bunch of VLANs, trunk groups, and multiple switches for a dozen computers. It doesn't make sense. I think under 250 people would technically be classified as a small business. However, when I say "small business," I mean 10-20 people physically working at a building. Still, the price is reasonable. I'd rate Aruba eight out of 10 for affordability. As a managed service provider, I also have access to discounts that help me manage costs better. As I own all the switches, so I keep adding people to the switches I own. Aruba has been good about providing a managed service provider discount to make it competitive. If they didn't, it would be kind of hard to justify spending $4,000 on these switches for a tiny business like a doctor's office.
Aruba Switches are cost-effective.
Aruba's switches are priced significantly better than Cisco's. They're well placed in the market.
This is an affordable solution.
Cost-wise, you get some good savings as compared to Cisco.
Pricing for this product is reasonable.
I don't know the exact cost of the licensing, but based on what I have heard from my sales team, Aruba is affordable. Aruba switches are cheaper than the switches from Cisco and other vendors.
The pricing is perfect.
The product is a bit expensive.
This is an expensive product, costing about double what most competitors do. I would like to keep Aruba as my infrastructure, but it costs a lot.
The price point was a big consideration for us and it is reasonable enough that we're able to standardize on Aruba for the networking pieces in our organization. This also includes Wi-Fi and access points. Generally speaking, the price is good.
here are no licensing costs for the Aruba Switches. However, there are licensing costs for some of their other solutions.
Price-wise, the product is a little expensive compared to the competition.
The price for Aruba is quite a bit cheaper than it is for similar products by Cisco.
There are no licenses, you just purchase the switch. Comparing with Cisco, and some other solutions, it's a cheap product.
For Aruba, there is no licensing to deal with, and that's the best. For features or protocols, no licensing is ever needed.
The price of these switches is high.
Aruba switches are cheaper than Cisco for a similar feature set. The licensing costs are also cheaper than Cisco.
The pricing is decent. It's less expensive than Cisco.
This solution is not cheap and they don't have a plan to certify it as Cisco does. Cisco is a famous vendor with options for certification. Aruba does not have a certified license in ARC and CNV. Their certification is for the marketing of the device in Cisco. The license is annual. If you purchase a switch, you get a one-year free subscription. Aruba has better pricing than Cisco.
We just had all the licenses for five years included in the bidding process. Since the competitive nature of the resulting contract, our actual costs might not reflect the standard market prices. Due to the visibilityof our project, Aruba has been generous with the included amount of licenses, which will serve us for years to come.
Licensing costs are on a yearly basis.