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HP Wireless Comfort - mouse - 2.4 GHz

Mfg # H2L63AA CDW # 2784019 | UNSPSC 43211708

Quick tech specs

  • Mouse
  • 2.4 GHz
  • for Chromebook 11A G8
  • wireless
  • USB wireless receiver
  • 11MK G9; Chromebook x360; Mini 100; ProBook x360; Stream Pro 11 G4
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Know your gear

The HP Comfort Grip Wireless Mouse features a 30-month battery life and a bold, modern design that integrates seamlessly with HP Business Notebooks.

This item was discontinued on November 25, 2021

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HP Wireless Comfort - mouse - 2.4 GHz is rated 4.40 out of 5 by 124.
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Scalable solution with efficient integration features What is most valuable? The solution's most valuable features are authentication and third-party vendor integration. What needs improvement? The solution's GUI for configuration could be better. For how long have I used the solution? We have been using the solution for two years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution is stable. I rate its stability a nine out of ten. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? We have enterprise businesses as our customers for the solution. I rate its scalability an eight out of ten. How are customer service and support? The solution's technical support is excellent. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? Compared with the solution, Cisco Wireless has a more user-friendly GUI for configuration. How was the initial setup? The solution's GUI for configuration is complicated. Thus, it is easier to implement if you have experience using it. There should be drag-and-drop features to make it more easier. I rate the process a four out of ten. It takes a month to complete. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The solution's cost is affordable. I rate its pricing a five out of ten. What other advice do I have? The solution is stable, integrates with different platforms, and is reasonably priced. I rate it an eight out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Implemnter
Date published: 2023-06-21T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It's a reliable, affordable solution for small and medium-sized companies What is our primary use case? Our team handles the Aruba controller. We have four senior and two junior engineers. What is most valuable? AirWave is a valuable feature. What needs improvement? We're using the Aruba Sensor, but sometimes the sensor isn't talking to AirWave or the AP. If something happens, we need to receive an email directly from the sensor, but the controller doesn't know. If there's something like the high channel utilization from the sensor we send to the controller, the controller can change the channel because they're all in the same environment. Also, the controller can not do active/standby mode. It only works in active/active. I haven't seen any option for active/standby because we want to put one in the backup center. However, with the active/active mode, the traffic must go to the primary and the backup center. I would like it if Aruba had a mobile app so I wouldn't need to log in on my laptop. They should also simplify the solution, so there aren't so many layers. It would be nice if the solution double-checked your configurations. For example, it could warn you if a configuration change in one layer conflicts with your current settings. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Aruba Wireless since 2018. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba is stable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Aruba is pretty scalable. How are customer service and support? I've called Aruba support directly for several tickets. It is quite good most of the time. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I work with Cisco and Aruba. We are more familiar with Cisco because we've been using it for more than 15 years. It is stable and available in active/standby. We can put one in the backup dial center and one in the primary dial center. Cisco's controller is also stable, and they're using DNA to monitor. It sends us an alert if something happens and tells us what caused the problem. It can identify the root cause and solution. How was the initial setup? Deploying Aruba is somewhat complex. There are many layers. It's easy to make mistakes because the same setting will appear in different layers. Various parts of large buildings can have different settings. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? We don't like the subscription model. We need to adjust our budget every time we renew the license. What other advice do I have? I rate Aruba Wireless eight out of 10. I would recommend it to a small or medium-sized company. It depends on your budget because Aruba is slightly cheaper than Cisco. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-09-07T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Seamless features, straightforward implementation, and reliable What is most valuable? The most valuable features of Aruba Wireless are the seamless feature and the concurrent user. What needs improvement? Aruba Wireless can improve the assigning of access points. We have times that the nearest access point is not assigned but one far away. The integration between access points could improve. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Aruba Wireless for approximately one year. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is very stable among all the other access points I have used. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The scalability of Aruba Wireless is good. We have approximately 1,000 to 1,300 users using the solution. We plan to increase the usage of the solution. There are plans to install 150 access points in January. How are customer service and support? We have a partner in Indonesia that we use for support that is called Agiva and they sometimes escalate issues to Aruba Wireless. I do not have direct experience with the support of Aruba Wireless. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I do not have any experience with other vendors other than Aruba Wireless. How was the initial setup? The initial setup of Aruba Wireless is simple, including a wireless plan used. If we have instant access points and change them to computer access points, it is simple to do. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? We have a license for the source mobility controller. The price of Aruba Wireless is expensive. I rate the price of Aruba Wireless a two out of five. What other advice do I have? We have four people for the maintenance of the solution. I rate Aruba Wireless a nine out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-09-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Very complete with a good portable and easy expansion capabilities What is our primary use case? We primarily use the solution for access points. What is most valuable? The solution is very complete. The portal has been very helpful for us. It's easy to set up the solution. We have found the product to be stable. It's scalable. What needs improvement? They need to increase the number of routers on the controller. The VSSIP needs to have at least 25 access points. I just need them to increase the access points without the controller. Other than that, it has everything we need, and we do not need any new features. The downside is right now there is a shortage of hardware. It's hard to acquire switches and access points. For how long have I used the solution? I started using the solution one year ago. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The stability has been good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The solution is scalable. We have ten people using the solution right now. How are customer service and support? I've never called technical support. I haven't needed any assistance so far. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I've also used Juniper. How was the initial setup? The product has been very easy to set up. It's straightforward to implement. It did not become overly complex. Under ten access points only takes about five minutes to set up. We only need one person to manage the solution. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? It is free to use. It is open source. We do not have to pay for a license. What other advice do I have? We're an Aruba partner. We are using version 11. In 2022, it might be now version 12. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Public Cloud Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2022-09-28T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Has good stability, performance, and functionality; has a straightforward setup What is our primary use case? I'm using Aruba Wireless for enterprise deployment that's more centralized. What is most valuable? What I like most about Aruba Wireless is its stability, functionality, and performance. What needs improvement? What needs improvement in Aruba Wireless is its access point, in particular, it should have more flexibility. Aruba Wireless has Campus AP, Instant AP, and Unified AP, but it would be better if the product has a generic access point that you can manage over the cloud, on-premise, etc. Another area for improvement in Aruba Wireless is scalability. In terms of what additional features I'd like to see in the product, I'm unsure if it's already on the roadmap, but if possible, it would be good to have an SD-WAN functionality on the AP in Aruba Wireless. For how long have I used the solution? I have years of experience with Aruba Wireless. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba Wireless has great stability, especially because it's from Aruba, a brand known for its stability and performance. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? In general, the scalability of Aruba Wireless needs some improvement. The product needs to be more flexible in terms of scalability. How are customer service and support? I would rate the technical support for Aruba Wireless as five out of five. It's quite impressive, though it's not perfect. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I compared Aruba Wireless with other solutions, and I found it to be a complete product. It's ahead of the competition, so I chose to work with it. How was the initial setup? The initial setup for Aruba Wireless is straightforward. There's nothing complex about it. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? 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. What other advice do I have? I'm working with Aruba Wireless. My company has a partnership with Aruba. My company is a technology provider, so it's not an enterprise user of Aruba Wireless. I have experience with both the on-premise and cloud versions of the product. I would recommend Aruba Wireless for enterprise customers. The product applies to multiple verticals. Overall, my rating for Aruba Wireless is eight out of ten, and it's a product that I would recommend to others. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Hybrid Cloud Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2022-10-13T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A stable solution with a clear and easy setup process What is our primary use case? Our company uses the solution to provide wireless service for our clients. There are less than 100 users of the solution across clients. What is most valuable? The solution provides a clear path to instant wireless. What needs improvement? The solution needs to add features and enhance security. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using the solution for ten years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution is very stable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The solution is scalable. How are customer service and support? The solution provides separate support lines for distributors and vendor specialists. I rate technical support a ten out of ten. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? Our company has been a partner of the solution for the last ten years. How was the initial setup? The setup is easy and normally it goes smoothly. What about the implementation team? We partnered with a certified specialist for implementation. Two in-house engineers handle all maintenance. Which other solutions did I evaluate? We also work with Cisco products. What other advice do I have? I recommend using the solution and rate it a ten out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Date published: 2022-10-23T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It doesn't require a controller, has an easy-to-navigate GUI, and shows statistics that give you a lot of insight, but the syncing between the cloud and the APs is inconsistent What is our primary use case? We deployed Aruba Wireless in our corporate head office, where we have a lot of business users. We use the product both as corporate WiFi and guest platform. What is most valuable? What I like best about Aruba Wireless is that it doesn't need a controller. The product also has a GUI that's easy to navigate. I also like that Aruba Wireless shows statistics that give you a lot of insight. What needs improvement? Aruba Wireless is a good product, but it still has some issues, especially at the beginning, where there's inconsistent syncing between the cloud and the APs. Sometimes, there's also a little lag when accessing the query. For how long have I used the solution? I started using Aruba Wireless two years ago. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is a stable product. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? I find Aruba Wireless scalable. How are customer service and support? We've contacted Aruba Wireless support many times, but there weren't proper resolutions. Cases remain open for a few days, and then they'll automatically resolve. Then, sometimes, those cases will reappear. Aruba support would be a four on a scale of one to five. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? My company has a particular office on Cisco APs, then replaced completely with Aruba Wireless, one of the most extensive Aruba deployments in the company. My company is still planning to switch from Cisco Wireless to Aruba Wireless in other offices. However, concerning Cisco Wireless, the product is pretty stable and solid. It has been running for years, but eighty percent of the environment is on Cisco Wireless, which Aruba Wireless will eventually replace. How was the initial setup? Deploying Aruba Wireless is pretty straightforward. It took several days to complete the deployment because the office was enormous and the number of APs deployed was quite significant. It took one to two months to pre-stage, install, and make Aruba Wireless stable. What about the implementation team? My company pre-staged the equipment and the APs, and then initially, the deployment team had a few issues during the Aruba Wireless installation. A third-party team deployed the product for my company. What was our ROI? As Aruba Wireless doesn't require a controller, my company saved some money, so there's ROI from the product. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? I don't know the exact costs associated with Aruba Wireless, but I have a rough idea, and it's not too cheap, though it's less costly than Cisco Wireless. Pricing for Aruba Wireless is moderate. It's a three out of five. What other advice do I have? I have experience with both Cisco Wireless and Aruba Wireless. My company uses Aruba Wireless IAP-245. It's a centrally-managed cloud product. Daily, the number of Aruba Wireless users varies. If there's a meeting, then many high-profile users will come. At least two or three times a week, there will be many product users, for example, IT engineers, designers, finance people, and people from other teams. My advice for anyone looking into implementing Aruba Wireless is that it depends on the use cases. You get all the features available in Cisco Wireless at a lesser price, but in terms of support and stability, Cisco is ahead of Aruba. However, Aruba Wireless is a good option when considering the price and if you're a mid-sized organization. Aruba Wireless gets a seven out of ten from me. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Public Cloud Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-12-19T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Highly scalable, excellent price point, with good control What is most valuable? I have found the most valuable features are the new Wi-Fi six technology and it also integrates with triple-A solutions. It has good bandwidth and virtual control. What needs improvement? I would like to see the management improve. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Aruba Wireless for the past two to three years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The stability is excellent and ranks a nine on a scale of one to ten. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The scalability is very high with Aruba Wireless. How are customer service and support? Technical support is very helpful and response time is good. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I have used all three solutions Aruba Wireless, Cisco, and Ruckus. How was the initial setup? The initial setup is straightforward and easy to set up. Simply plug and play and it will automatically block calls. You can change it every Friday or by favorites. What about the implementation team? The setup is generally in-house and we support it. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? When you look at the price it is a higher price than Cisco. Which other solutions did I evaluate? I have used all three and Cisco is more complicated than Aruba Wireless. What other advice do I have? I would rate Aruba Wireless an eight on a scale of one to ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Public Cloud If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use? Other Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner/Integrator
Date published: 2023-01-04T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from User-friendly controller, highly stable, and good support What is our primary use case? We are using Aruba Wireless for land ports for customs. The inspection guides use the solution while walking around with tablets. What is most valuable? The most valuable feature of Aruba Wireless is the controller. It is easy to use. What needs improvement? We have an issue with the integration of Aruba Wireless with our LDAP servers. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Aruba Wireless for approximately six years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I rate the stability of Aruba Wireless a ten out of ten. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is a scalable solution. We have approximately 200 users using this solution. I rate the scalability of Aruba Wireless a nine out of ten. How are customer service and support? The support is good. However, they sometimes take some time to respond. I rate the support from Aruba Wireless a seven out of ten. How would you rate customer service and support? Neutral Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I have previously used Cisco and Huawei solutions. The major difference with Huawei is it provides one single platform for the management of all of your features. How was the initial setup? The initial setup of Aruba Wireless is of a medium level of difficulty. However, it is not simple to configure. It took approximately one month to deploy. We installed the devices everywhere on-premise and had the field engineer from Aruba Wireless first power up all the access points. We then tried to integrate it with the LDAP, but they found some problems. They had to change it with another system for it to work. I rate the initial setup of Aruba Wireless a five out of ten. What about the implementation team? Two of our engineers had help from the two Aruba Wireless engineers for the implementation of Aruba Wireless. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Aruba Wireless is the best for the price. Aruba Wireless is the least expensive, the second is Huawei, and the most expensive is Cisco. For every device, you need to get a license which is charged separately to add to the control for Aruba Wireless. I rate the price of Aruba Wireless a nine out of ten. What other advice do I have? There is no maintenance required for the solution. I recommend others who want to use Aruba Wireless should first determine the integration of which server they want. There can be some issues with devices that they connect to the switches. I rate Aruba Wireless a nine out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2023-01-04T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Reliable and provides good signal strength and controller features What is our primary use case? We're upgrading from version 9 to version 10, but I'm satisfied with the new proposed upgrade. The solution is deployed on-premises. What is most valuable? Aruba Wireless is reliable, and the signal strength is pretty good. The controller has good features. What needs improvement? I want to have a virtual controller, so I would like to see integration with other vendors of the LAN network. We need security features to recognize the traffic source and to apply Zero Trust security. For how long have I used the solution? I have used this solution for nine years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The stability is excellent. I would rate it as nine out of ten. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? I would rate the scalability as eight out of ten. We have multiple canvases and sites, so it's easy to scale up and across the same controller within the same enterprise network. When we add new access points, there is a limitation in the virtual appliance, but it's not that bad. How are customer service and support? Technical support in Aruba is very good. It's better than other solutions' support. I would rate technical support as eight out of ten. What about the implementation team? Deployment was done through a third party. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The price is reasonable. I would rate the cost as 8 out of 10. What other advice do I have? I would rate the solution as nine out of ten. We made an evaluation between Aruba and other vendors, and we've seen the Gartner Magic Quadrant report for Aruba. Aruba has employed a lot of experience and vision in their product, which is why it's better than others. My advice is to have a professional survey with the best used tools for the survey and an excellent design. I think that's the most important. The sizing and dimensioning have to be done well from the beginning. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2023-01-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Intuitive, easy to install, and simple to maintain What is our primary use case? We primarily use the solution for wireless access, for using WiFi and the network, the internet. How has it helped my organization? It's very popular. We've ordered more than 150 units. What is most valuable? It's a really good product. It's really easy to maintain. The AP preconfig with the USB console cable and everything is easy and really useful for the company. The installation is simple. Users have been very pleased with the solution as it offers such a high-speed connection. The network strength is good. It is more intuitive and user-friendly. What needs improvement? I don't have any access in the Aruba dashboard. I need more access. I only install the hardware and the software part for the client. However, there are no admin privileges, which is an issue. You need to contact them and make a special request. They should allow everybody to fiddle with their settings if they bought the solution. For how long have I used the solution? I've used the solution for the past six months. What do I think about the stability of the solution? We haven't had any performance issues. The solution is stable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The scalability is pretty good. You can expand it by using Aruba Switches. We have about 700 users on the solution at this point. How are customer service and support? I've never had any reason to reach out to technical support. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I previously used Meraki. Aruba has better network speed. Also, in Meraki, when we make changes, we need to refresh the dashboard. With Aruba, it's one click and we can regulate and refresh the dashboard. It's much easier. How was the initial setup? The solution is simple to install. It's not overly difficult or complex. For half of the preconfig process, it might only take 15 minutes. Then, there might be one and a half hours for testing, to fix the access IDs and other access points to match everything in the data center. We only need two people to install and set up the solution. What about the implementation team? I deploy the solution for our clients. What was our ROI? We have seen a positive ROI. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? I don't handle the licensing aspect of the solution. It is likely more expensive than Meraki since Meraki just has a dashboard. Aruba has a little bit more on offer. You do have to purchase the software and hardware separately. Which other solutions did I evaluate? We did not consider any other options before choosing Aruba. What other advice do I have? We have a partnership with Aruba. Overall, it's a good solution, and we are happy with it. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Date published: 2022-11-03T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A stable, scalable solution, and easy to deploy What is our primary use case? The hospital's internal network is used for communications between staff, including emails and direct point-to-point access. One of the most challenging features of the network is its ability to facilitate live video communications between staff in different parts of the world that can view operations live. We use Aruba Wireless to help facilitate the three requirements of always on-time, on-live, and on-direct. In certain cases, I have to communicate with another surgery room, whose call may be back to back or parallel in that same venue. What is most valuable? The most useful feature of this product is the configuration that allows us to have several areas covered with one unit. However, when we have to make maintenance to that unit, the other units can go back and support the one that we have in maintenance. This back-to-back service or this come-alone service is the best thing for us. If I have to remove the unit that we have in surgery, I know that another unit or two can take its place. What needs improvement? The most important thing that needs to be improved is the internal web feature. This allows all our units to use this as an internal GPS to locate somebody or some elements. However, the problem is that they need another unit different from the 535. This point is not good because we put that on this unit, and changed it from 515 to 535. For this unit, just to enable the possibility of locating equipment, we have very expensive equipment in the hospital and we put a GPS stack, so the system can track. We put them in all the time, but we need another unit to make it functional. Aruba can improve this by including the GPS stack in each unit. This would reduce our maintenance work. Aruba Wireless needs to provide more visibility into the differences between their models so we can better understand them. The changes between the 515 and the 535 are just scalable in one step; We don't feel that one unit is going to be better in so many ways. Instead, it is just one change. The scale from one model to another is very short and because of this we are going to try to save money, we're going to pick up the lowest model because the newer model, doesn't have many additional features. The bad things about the product are the price, the information about the product, and the time it takes to deliver the product. For how long have I used the solution? I have used the solution within 12 months. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The heat map is already running and it is very stable. There are no issues with the corners of the building, except for the sign, which I think is covered well. I give the stability of the solution a nine out of ten. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? I give the scalability of the solution a nine out of ten. How are customer service and support? As we had to present our submission or change a model to another, the technical support was very bad. The work I have to do to research the difference between the models and compare them is all manual. When we asked the factory, what the differences between the models are and what is going to be the advantage from one another. The training can't support me. I have to do all the research myself. We asked the representative, and we had conversations with the factory, and nobody tells us it is a small change, instead they say it was a software issue. When we have to present the submission, the presentation has to be very complete with all the technical information, with all the features and we have to say this is a processor that works in this area, this works at this speed. The technical support could not help with any of our required information. How would you rate customer service and support? Negative How was the initial setup? The initial setup is very easy because we change all the models. We have around 1,000 units and we changed all of them in one week. What about the implementation team? The implementation is completed in-house by our team for our customers. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Aruba Wireless is expensive. The balance between quality and price is there, but the cost is still high. I give the cost of the solution a seven out of ten. What other advice do I have? I give the solution a nine out of ten. Eight IT people are required for the maintenance of the solution. The first thing I'm going to do is check all the features to make sure they meet our requirements. The step from one model to another is very important. There are little changes, and we have to review a lot to know the difference between the models, and what the major advantage between them are. In PeerSpot, we've seen the difficult differentiation, but the compliment of the functionality, how does it work, what is the benefit that I get with each model in the field? What is the difference between the software, and the versions? Is it throughput out? It's a factor that we need to consider. It doesn't address the major concerns, and I check every single specialized page and I don't see anybody saying, "Okay, five megabytes is a huge improvement in throughput out." Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Integrator
Date published: 2023-01-10T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Stable, with a guest management feature and good technical support What is our primary use case? We're using Aruba Wireless as a wireless access point, particularly Aruba AP-505. We're also using Aruba Wireless for guest management purposes. What is most valuable? For my organization, the most critical feature of Aruba Wireless is guest management. What needs improvement? An area for improvement in Aruba Wireless is creating a DMZ. Without Aruba ClearPass, you need to allow guess access directly via the internet, which means you need to implement the security in between, so this is what I'd like Aruba to improve in the product. Another area for improvement in Aruba Wireless is delivery because right now, in the COVID-19 pandemic, the product doesn't have much availability. There's a limited supply of semiconductors, so I want Ariba to increase Aruba Wireless production. The product needs to be available and delivered to customers faster. For how long have I used the solution? I've been working with Aruba Wireless since 2016. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I would rate the stability of Aruba Wireless as nine out of ten. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? From a scalability point of view, I don't see any challenges with scaling Aruba Wireless. After all, my organization only has one office and only needs approximately fifty APs. How are customer service and support? Aruba Wireless has good technical support. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We used Cisco, the older technology, before using Aruba Wireless. We were not getting guest management as a feature on Cisco, while Aruba Wireless came up with guest management via Aruba ClearPass, so we started using Aruba Wireless. How was the initial setup? The initial setup for Aruba Wireless was easy. It was so simple. My organization used it as a standalone solution. Deploying the product took approximately six months. What about the implementation team? We implemented Aruba Wireless through a consultant. Our experience with the consultant was good. He provided good support without the need for any intervention. The product was implemented well and working per our requirements. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The commercial department handles the Aruba Wireless license for my organization, so I cannot comment on the product's pricing. What other advice do I have? I have experience with Aruba Wireless. My organization is an Aruba Wireless customer. My organization has three administrators of the product. Currently, there is no plan to increase Aruba Wireless usage. I'd tell anyone looking to implement the product that Aruba Wireless works well in my environment. I have no complaints about it, so I can only say this. Overall, I'd rate Aruba Wireless as eight out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2023-01-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The portal for centralized management and virtual controller for APs are very valuable What is our primary use case? Our company uses the solution for wireless service. We currently use the latest version but have been using the solution since version six. The solution is hybrid because it is deployed on-premises but managed in the cloud. Our company currently has 300 users and we plan to grow by 100 more. What is most valuable? The solution is well designed so you can easily integrate it in an infrastructure network. The APs can be implemented as a campus AP, remote APS, or instant APs. As soon as you buy the solution, you can instantly use APs. You don't need anything external because you can use the virtual controller inside the APs. It is easy to create clusters using the controller that comes inside the AOS of the APs. You can add an external controller at any time because the solution is resilient and very upgradeable. The security components are very, very, very well designed and strong. The Aruba Central portal allows you to centralize all management for your infrastructure and security. It is not a monolithic solution. What needs improvement? The solution's documentation could be better organized in an information portal. There are many assets on the technical side so there is a lot of documentation. Sometimes it takes work to find what you need because of the vastness of information. You need to know the products to find things. The solution could offer some kind of portal for documentation to better organize things. The cloud CHS and remote APs could be improved faster. The solution has already been integrated with the cloud and there are plans for other product integrations but they could occur faster. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using the solution for five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution is very stable and reliable. I rate stability a nine out of ten. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The solution is very scalable. I rate scalability a ten out of ten. How are customer service and support? The technical support is very useful and good. Every time we need help and open a case, they solve our issues. Technical support is very knowledgeable about the solution. Most of our issues are regarding upgrading versions or firmware. We sometimes need assistance finding new versions. The process for solving our issues is very straightforward. Technical support is rated a ten out of ten. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We previously used Cisco. How was the initial setup? The setup is very easy. All the APs come from the manufacturer so you can start right away with configurations. The features make configurations and upgrades very easy. I rate setup a ten out of ten. What about the implementation team? Three in-house engineers implemented the solution with help from an integrator. Deployment took one week to ten days. There is no ongoing maintenance because the solution is very, very reliable. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The pricing is fair and similar to other products. It might be a bit cheaper than Cisco. I rate pricing an eight out of ten. Which other solutions did I evaluate? Cisco is a good product but is old and very monolithic. They are working to improve but their mindset is different. The solution is the future because it integrates with the cloud and addresses new needs. We prefer the design and strategy of the solution over Cisco. What other advice do I have? When you are looking for a wireless option, it is important to pay attention to key points that include resilience, expandability, security, and integration. The solution is one of the best available and is very valuable for centralizing management. It is very resilient and expandable so you can grow it to the needs of your company. Even if you buy the small solution, the features of the big solution are there. This is a great benefit over Cisco. For example, you buy a switch from Cisco that includes 48 ports but only 16 of the ports have licenses. If you need more ports, you need to buy more licenses. With the solution, you don't need to buy additional licenses. What you buy is what you get with all the included features like AOS and security. This is very important because you can start small and grow using the same device with no extra licensing costs. It is important to find a solution that already implements security. The solution has all these features included so that is why we moved away from Cisco. The solution also integrates very well with nearly every other vendor. The solution is a very good product and I rate it a ten out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Hybrid Cloud If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use? Other Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Reseller
Date published: 2023-01-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Can be widely tuned to meet any needs and it offers a higher level of integration with IoT straight out-of-the-box What is our primary use case? Our primary use case of the solution is hospitality. What is most valuable? The most valuable feature is that it can be tuned much more than other vendors, giving you more options to execute. What needs improvement? The solution can be improved by simplifying the configuration. I would like to see a more user-friendly GUI that is not so easily confused when configuring clusters or even a single node when people are not paying attention to what layer they are configuring, whether it be at the mobility master level or at the node level. I would like to see more analytics that can help us pinpoint the cause of reduced performance related to the airtime and number of SSIDs being used. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using the solution for two years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I consider the solution to be stable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? I believe the solution is scalable. How are customer service and support? The support team for the solution is good and always eager to help. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive How was the initial setup? The initial setup is more complex than other solutions. You need to understand the technology, the way it's configured, and the way you have to set it up. The solution requires more knowledge and more commitment than others. What about the implementation team? We implemented it in-house. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The pricing has increased and it was always more costly than some of the other solutions available. Which other solutions did I evaluate? I evaluated Ruckus and Meraki Wireless before choosing the solution. What other advice do I have? I give the solution a nine out of ten. Although there are other solutions available and some with a lower initial cost, they don't offer the same level of integration with IoT as this solution without having to add additional hardware, which ends up costing more. I recommend that you gather all the requirements and define the API groups before the deployment of this solution. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2022-12-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Helpful in extending LAN capabilities via wireless capabilities but is not user-friendly What is our primary use case? Our primary use case for this solution is extending the LAN capabilities via wireless capabilities so people can roam around in the office with wireless connectivity. Additionally, its management has a lot of insight into which access point you're connected to and a lot of information about the devices. Some of the information is related to bringing your device, whether it's a device which is owned by the company or not and reporting what sites are being browsed and accessed. What is most valuable? We find its stability very valuable. It's been running for the past three years with no default configuration. What needs improvement? The solution could be more user-friendly. For how long have I used the solution? We have been using the solution for a couple of years and are currently using the latest one. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution is stable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The solution is scalable. We have approximately 300 users utilizing the solution. How are customer service and support? We have had a relatively good experience with customer service and support. I rate them an eight out of ten. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive How was the initial setup? The initial setup is a bit complex and requires some basic networking and wireless networking concepts. What about the implementation team? We implemented via a vendor, and implementation took approximately one week. Which other solutions did I evaluate? We did not evaluate other options because we wanted one integrated solution which incorporated both wired and wireless, and with Aruba Wireless, we got the full package. What other advice do I have? I rate the solution a seven out of ten. I advise users to research and decide based on their organization's needs. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-11-25T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Reliable, expandable, and offers seamless mobility between access points What is our primary use case? I primarily use the solution for wireless connectivity. What is most valuable? I really appreciate the seamless mobility between access points. The solution is very stable. It can scale as needed. Technical support has been helpful. What needs improvement? It did take us a while to get used to the setup. We have had issues with the availability of the equipment. We always have trouble locating equipment, finding suppliers who sell it, or finding someone who has stock. For how long have I used the solution? I've been using the solution for the past three years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution is stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? We haven't had issues with scalability. It has met our needs so far. Our organization is quite sizeable, and 10,000 people alone are cell phone users. They all use Aruba Wireless. How are customer service and support? I've never dealt with technical support. I recall there was an issue that we had to call to contact technical support, and the architect contacted Aruba directly. It took them like three days to resolve the issue. Generally, my understanding is that they are helpful. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I also have experience with Cisco Wireless solutions as well. What about the implementation team? The initial setup does take some getting used to. However, once you understand it, it's quite straightforward. I'd rate the ease of setup at a four and a half out of five. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? I don't have any insights into the exact cost of the solution. My understanding is that it is a bit more expensive than Cisco. I'd rate the affordability at a three out of five. Which other solutions did I evaluate? I'm not involved in the decision-making process regarding looking at solutions. What other advice do I have? We're Aruba partners. New users need to understand the technical solution before considering it, especially if they're migrating from Cisco to Aruba. If that's the case, they need to understand Aruba before migrating fully. They shouldn't compare it as it's not apples to apples. I'd rate the product eight out of ten. At the time when we started implementing it, there wasn't enough experience in the market, so all the engineers and the architects had to learn from scratch. I also have a concern about the cost, which seems, from what I recall, a little bit higher than the one we were replacing. Otherwise, it's a very good, reliable product. Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2022-11-25T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Provides wireless controller and access points, and technical support is quick to respond What is our primary use case? We have 150 clients who are using this solution. The solution is deployed on-premises. What is most valuable? The wireless controller and access points are valuable features. What needs improvement? The console is difficult to use. The firewall settings could be improved. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with Aruba Wireless for two years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? It's a stable solution. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The scalability is okay. How are customer service and support? We had some complications with the controllers, so we received help from technical support when we couldn't find any tutorials online. I would rate technical support as five out of five. They're very fast. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We have also used Cisco. Aruba's database is better compared to Cisco. We chose Aruba because the pricing is better. How was the initial setup? Setup is straightforward. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Aruba is less expensive than Cisco. What other advice do I have? I would rate this solution as nine out of ten. Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2022-12-14T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It's cost-effective but the signal strength isn't strong compared to some competitors. What is our primary use case? I have implemented Aruba for a few small customers. What is most valuable? Price is one of the most important factors. We have a solution that's reasonably cost-effective when balanced against all the areas we need to cover. What needs improvement? Aruba doesn't match some competitors in wireless signal strength. It isn't in the same class as Cisco Meraki, so I would use Cisco Meraki in situations where I need to cover a large open space. Meraki has more powerful signals going out. Coverage and penetration have been the biggest disappointments. You should be able to connect to a visible Wifi access point. Often, people 20 meters away from an Aruba external access point need to move closer to get into the coverage radius. For how long have I used the solution? I have used Aruba for the past couple of years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is stable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Aruba is scalable. I'm not doing dealing with the management or licensing, so I'm not aware of the costs compared to some other products. How are customer service and support? I would be using it through a third party, so I wouldn't go to Aruba for support directly. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I rate Cisco Meraki higher than most others I've used in the same price range. Ruckus is stable, but it can be difficult to implement an external Wifi connection without some kind of problem with the cabling or something else. Aruba is in roughly the same class as Ubiquiti, which carries no licenses that I'm aware of. Ruckus is an excellent product to use for local government clients when I'm not planning to go back there. Plus, it has the advantage of being an HP-branded product. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? All wireless solutions are relatively pricey in my experience. The cost of a Wifi access point is only part of it. The implementation cost is bigger. I'm paying just over €200 for an additional internal access point. An external access point costs us €676 plus VAT, so that's about €840 for an external AP. What other advice do I have? I rate Aruba Wireless about six out of 10. When planning for the cost of a project, you consider the price of different products, including operational and implementation costs, and make a judgment call. It's different if you have a portal. If you need to invest in a portal, it's difficult to transition away from that portal's brand. For example, if I have Ruckus access points in certain buildings and a Ruckus gateway handling all of those, I'm probably going to stick with Ruckus for any additional Wifi points. I'm not going to deviate from that. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-08-21T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Handles 10,000 users with ease and is easy to configure on-premises What is our primary use case? Our company has a conference center and we use the solution for all our conferencing needs. How has it helped my organization? The solution has been helpful in improving the way our company functions. What is most valuable? The solution is easy to configure on-premise. We always got complaints about support for our prior solution so handling configuration in-house is easier. What needs improvement? Configuration could be made easier with more bandwidth than they offer at the moment. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using the solution for three years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution's stability is good. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The solution is very flexible and scalable. We have about 10,000 users and are at about 50% of maximum capacity. How are customer service and support? We used to contract with outside, local vendors for technical support, but found them picky about their ability to respond. We now handle support on-premise. How would you rate customer service and support? Neutral Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? Our company uses a few solutions for our conferencing needs including this solution and Ruckus Wireless. We added Aruba because we expanded and needed two solutions. How was the initial setup? The initial setup was easy compared to other solutions. We have two staff members who maintain the solution. What about the implementation team? We hired a third party for setup and it took about four months. I rate the setup experience an eight out of ten. What was our ROI? We have received a good return on investment. I would rate our ROI a six out of ten. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Licensing for the solution is based on number of users. There was also an initial setup fee, but I don't have those details. Which other solutions did I evaluate? Our company looked at a few other options, but chose Aruba based on recommendations from other large businesses that compare in size/scope to ours. What other advice do I have? I rate this solution an eight out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-08-22T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Simple to use but reliability could be improved What is most valuable? It's simple to use. What needs improvement? The reliability could be improved. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using this solution for five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The stability could be improved. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The solution is scalable. How are customer service and support? One a scale of one to five, I would give their technical support a two. It could be better. How was the initial setup? Setup is straightforward. What other advice do I have? I would rate this solution 7 out of 10. My advice is that if you don't have experience, you should find a partner for support rather than rely on the company. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-03T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Simple initial setup, beneficial product lifetime warranty, and integrates well What is our primary use case? We have many customers in the retail business using Aruba Wireless for their network. What is most valuable? The main features of the Aruba Wireless are universal and effective, covering most uses, a lifetime hardware warranty that sets it apart from the competition and it integrates seamlessly with the network access control solution - Aruba Clearpass What needs improvement? The GUI dashboards should more user-friendly. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Aruba Wireless for approximately four years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I found the Aruba Wireless to be a stable solution. It is more stable than competitors especially in roaming. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The solution is scalable and stable How are customer service and support? We have opened a support ticket with technical assistance and I would rate the support from Aruba Wireless a four out of five when comparing it to Cisco or Juniper. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I have used Juniper and Cisco networking products previously. How was the initial setup? The initial setup was simple to do. What other advice do I have? My advice to others that want to implement Aruba Wireless is they have to study the solution and have a good understanding. Aruba has a good academy for studying. I rate Aruba Wireless a nine out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:partner
Date published: 2022-02-02T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from User-friendly wireless solution with attractive pricing, good technical support, and a limited lifetime warranty What is our primary use case? I was able to provide Aruba Wireless to financial, Telco, and hospitality industries. What is most valuable? If you're looking into a wireless solution, more and more people now are using Aruba Wireless. There are two key reasons why: in a developing country, many of the companies look at the cost and quality of a solution. Cost-wise, Aruba Wireless is very attractive here in the Sri Lankan market. The other key reason is Aruba Wireless provides their key product portal and a limited lifetime warranty. Other providers do not provide that level of warranty. These are the reasons why a customer would choose to purchase Aruba products than Cisco, or any other access point or wireless solution. The key feature of this solution is the value for money. If customers can get a good quality product at a very competitive price, plus a limited lifetime warranty, then this gives very high value to the customer, which is what you can get from Aruba Wireless. Aruba Wireless is able to provide value addition, apart from their product features. This solution is user-friendly and their technical support team provides very good support. What needs improvement? An area for improvement I found in this solution is the configuration. Though it's currently an improved version, it could still be made easier, so technical people could benefit from being able to configure Aruba Wireless within a quicker amount of time. For how long have I used the solution? I'm a specialist and I've been in this industry for 22 years, and I've been dealing with Aruba Wireless for over 10 years. I've worked with it within the last 12 months. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is a stable product. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is scalable. We have different product segments and we educate different customer requirements and industries. Because of COVID, all industries are facing a lot of challenges, but we find this product scalable. How are customer service and support? We have our pre-sales team with us in-house, but we do have two technical support people distributed here locally. We always communicate with them. They share their product knowledge, experiences, and user case studies, to help us improve. We also share our experiences with them to also help them improve. On a scale of one to five, I'm giving the technical support team a four. They provide very good product support. How was the initial setup? The initial setup of Aruba Wireless is not complicated. In the past, it was complicated, e.g. We needed experienced technical people to do the configuration and the initial setup. Nowadays, even basic technical people can do it. It has improved, but what we are expecting is that when new technologies arise, along with the new technologies, the configuration should be simplified. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The cost for Aruba Wireless is good. It's attractive. Which other solutions did I evaluate? I evaluated Cisco Wireless. What other advice do I have? Our company's role is system integrator. We are involved with products and solutions which we provide to the end customers. The products we provide vary, because it would depend on the requirement and customer requirement levels. It would also depend on the current pricing of the products, e.g. this is because we provide different vendor products, not just Aruba. We also provide Cisco, Maracas, and the entire product spectrum that we provide to the customers. We provide the latest version of this product to our customers, because with the latest version, the benefit to the customers is that they can get the maximum usage of the product lifetime. Other than the product features, our customers value our onsite support, onsite feedback, clarifications, and installations. We are able to quickly sort out the issues experienced by our customers. For people who are not currently using Aruba Wireless, I would tell them to look into the Aruba product range and try it out for themselves. They'll find out that these are Amazing products with very good product support. I'm rating Aruba Wireless an eight out ten, because no products could reach the perfect score of ten. Technology is fast-changing, so today's technology won't be tomorrow's technology. There's no technological vendor who could be ranked a ten, so my rating for this product is an eight. Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Integrator
Date published: 2022-02-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Easy to set up, connect, and configure What is our primary use case? We installed Aruba Wireless for some clients who needed to expand their network inside offices or homes. What is most valuable? It's an excellent solution overall. We were able to increase capacity very easily. This type of equipment is easy - very easy to connect and configure inside a network. For example, you can use a cell phone to configure. It is very, very simple. When you want to check if the equipment is working it's quite straightforward. You can do it just with a cell phone. You can check if you've got any problem or any type of equipment connected to the network. It's useful to be able to check what the equipment is connected to or if there is a mesh connection between other APs. You don't need to use a physical cable. While I haven't used it, Aruba has a server that can not just check the equipment, but also validate or log into the network. This type of server is wonderful, however, I don't know the name. The initial setup is quite simple. What needs improvement? Many features are already in development. For example, Aruba Central, or the server to verify the type of equipment is connected to the network centrally. It's very useful and is a good solution for home or business, and it supports more than 200 pieces of equipment. We're not really missing any features at this time. They could work on energy consumption as this equipment needs a lot of energy. This is probably what needs to be improved in the future, as, currently, this type of equipment consumes more than 60 watts. I understand that it needs more power to work, however, there must be a way to lessen it in future releases. For how long have I used the solution? We've worked with this solution throughout the year. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution is stable and allows you to connect any kind of equipment - cell phones, tablets, laptops, any type of equipment that has a wifi connection. It is very easy to connect. There are no issues. There can be about 50 or 60 pieces of equipment working at the same time without losing connection or velocity, or use of equipment. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The solution can scale well and has helped us to increase capacity. We don't have plans to increase usage at this time. How was the initial setup? We installed one first, the first AP, the first equipment, and the others' equipment could connect without a network cable - just by mesh, like a network without cables. We increased the capacity of the network with this type of technology solution. It is very easy to use. You just load an app on your cell phone from the Apple Store. You can continue with this application on your cell phone. What other advice do I have? I would rate the solution at a ten out of ten. We've been quite satisfied with its capabilities. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-01-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Good stability so far What needs improvement? Aruba Wireless has room to improve the connection from one AP to another. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Aruba Wireless for three years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The stability of Aruba Wireless has been good. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? We have not required scaling at this point. How are customer service and support? I would rate solution's technical support a 7 out of 10. What other advice do I have? If you are considering Aruba Wireless, make sure you have the best implementation team possible. One that knows the product. Overall, I would rate this solution an 8 out of 10. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Helpful support, and good Instant On features, but the pricing needs to be better What is our primary use case? We are a solution provider and Aruba Wireless is one of the products that we implement for our clients. It provides wireless network access to local users. One of our implementations is in a hospital, and we have also installed it in a few government offices. What is most valuable? The most valuable features are the Instant On capabilities, including the controller. You don't need to have a separate controller. What needs improvement? They should have more support for implementing Aruba Wireless in Smart Cities and outdoor applications. The price of this product could be improved. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with Aruba Wireless products for more than five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is a stable product. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? This solution scales easily. How are customer service and support? The technical support is helpful. How was the initial setup? The initial setup was not difficult. We had an issue during the implementation, but we fixed it when we contacted support. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? My main concern about this product is the price. The cost is causing me to look at other vendors and competing products. Which other solutions did I evaluate? I am currently looking into dealing with similar products from Huawei. In our market, we are competing with other implementors. What other advice do I have? I would rate this solution a seven out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Simple to install, easy to use, and cost-effective What is our primary use case? Aruba is part our our network infrastructure. What is most valuable? The most valuable features are ease of use, a simple management interface, cost-effectiveness, reliability, and simple installation. The web-based GUI is much simpler to use than similar products by Cisco. What needs improvement? Because it's cloud-based, it takes time for the floor maps and the heat map to load. I understand the reason for this but it would be nice if once you click on the flop map, instead of waiting sometimes 20 or 30 seconds, it would come up a lot quicker. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with the Aruba Wireless cloud service for between a year and eighteen months. It's fairly new but I work on it every day. What do I think about the stability of the solution? This is the most stable wireless product that we have had. We have only had similar products by Cisco but we've had a lot of problems with them. Our partners have come out to look at them, as well as remote services, and they've told us that "everything is fine". However, we have to reboot APs here and there at all of our sites. Once we implemented the Aruba solution, we've not had those problems since. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? We have nine remote sites right now, around the world, with multiple access points per site. Some sites have two or three access points, whereas others have between 25 and 30, depending on how large the site is. In total, we have 147 access points. We have a data network that we use, and we also have a guest network. ADF authentication logs into the data network and the guest network is open. It's pretty simple to scale. We had a building and a site that we decommissioned, so we have between nine and eleven spare APs floating around. All you have to do is plug them into the network using the right port, give them a name, and they come online. After that, you assign a foundation license to them and overall, it couldn't be simpler. With the spares and backups we have, should we need to scale, and we always do, it's easy. How are customer service and support? The technical support is good. They know what they're doing although the biggest problem that I have with them is their accents. You open up a ticket and I have nothing against the people, but it always routes to India. We open a support case and they're very difficult to understand. Not all of them, but a lot of them are. As such, we've had some problems communicating and we've had to use text messages to compensate for the accents. Otherwise, their technical skills are top-notch. Another thing that I'll say about their tech support is that it's easy to get in and have a ticket assigned, which gets the ball rolling when we have a problem. With Cisco, it sometimes took days to get an engineer assigned. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I also have experience with Cisco wireless LAN controllers and a little bit with the Meraki line of networking equipment. We were primarily running Cisco products at one time. However, we pulled out the Cisco devices because they were too complicated and too expensive. We bought out another company that is currently using Aruba wireless LAN controllers. However, we're getting rid of that system and moving them to the cloud. The reliability of Aruba products is better and the technical support from Aruba is more responsive. Cisco is good but there's much better competition out there. How was the initial setup? The initial setup is very easy. Once the cloud is set up, you assign each AP a license through the web portal. You plug it in, make sure it's in a port that's configured for our Wi-Fi network, and it works. It's a three or four-step process and it's very simple to do. What about the implementation team? Maintenance, such as deploying updates, can be done using a single person. I do all of it for our company and we have 147 access points, worldwide. Doing an upgrade involves two clicks, and it can be done within 15 minutes. This can be compared to Cisco, where you had to pre-stage everything. It was painful and it took me four hours to complete. What was our ROI? This is by far the best investment that we've made in a long time. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Aruba Wireless is much cheaper than our previous solution by Cisco. It is a significant saving, measured in thousands of dollars per year. Which other solutions did I evaluate? We looked at Fortinet, Aruba, and several other vendors. Ultimately, we found that Aruba was by far the best. What other advice do I have? We authenticate through Aruba ClearPass, which is the TACACS server that we use. This is a product that I recommend and especially if you're with Cisco, I suggest switching. Cisco just makes things complex. They are simplifying things with Meraki, which is something that I understand because I've been in the IT industry for a long time. With the company scaling back, I'm doing the job of three or four people and with this in mind, it's important to go with simplicity. Cisco, for some odd reason, just cannot keep it simple. It has to be complicated, even when it comes to their documentation. I would rate this solution a ten out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Public Cloud Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-08-06T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Stable long distance connection that needs better support What is our primary use case? We use this solution for law enforcement, medical, etc. How has it helped my organization? We have couple campus and throughout the country. Our users are able to use their laptop or cell phone while on the move from one location to different location across the country while maintaining connection. And also for me as administrator, we can use Aruba WIFI along with the clear path authentication, TechX, and Samuel. This enables users to experience seamless connection to the organization. What is most valuable? We appreciate the integration options that are available. What needs improvement? I believe that Aruba's support could be improved. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba is pretty stable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? This solution is extremely scalable. We have about one thousand users and have license for ten thousand. How are customer service and support? They made some changes to support that I am not happy with. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We have used Cisco and Ruckus in the past. We are still using Ruckus, but stopped using Cisco due to directors orders. How was the initial setup? The initial setup was pretty straightforward and took just a couple of hours. What about the implementation team? We deployed via out in-house team of a couple of engineers. What other advice do I have? Be sure that you know your infrastructure, how many users will be using it, and how many SSIDs you use. This will help you maximize integrations and have engineers that can successfully navigate the new system. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-27T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Scalable enterprise wireless LAN solution with good visibility; technical support is also good What is most valuable? I found a lot of things, a lot of functions to be most valuable in Aruba Wireless. It depends on the category of the features you are looking for. From a security perspective, a performance perspective, a quality perspective, and a user experience perspective, there are a lot, so I can't mention a specific feature. The best feature for me would be the visibility of this solution. This solution can also cover thousands of access points, and that's another thing I like. What needs improvement? What I'd like improved in Aruba Wireless is for it to be a full cloud solution. Making the setup more simple is another area for improvement for Aruba Wireless. There's a big solution for this, but it's not a huge enterprise solution, but Aruba Wireless has thousands of access points, so it's okay. Security still needs some work with Aruba Wireless, because you don't know which users are accessing, what each user is trying to do, what the applications are and the intentions behind the applications, so there are a lot of complexities behind the scene. The wireless access points from Aruba Wireless are not just access points, e.g. they form a platform that contains a lot of features such as cloud features, security features, even IoT, so I recommend to have these in all the product range, including small business solutions, so this is what I'd like to see in the next release. For how long have I used the solution? I've been working with Aruba Wireless for more than six years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba Wireless has great stability within uptime and service time, but from a security perspective, it's not stable, because it's exposed to the users. A lot of CDEs and security issues appear every day. From a security perspective, there are a lot of challenges for everyone, but within uptime, the stability of this solution is perfect. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? I have no doubts about the scalability of Aruba Wireless. Its scalability is amazing. How are customer service and support? Technical support for this solution is good. If I were to rate technical support, with five being the highest, I'm giving it a four out of five. How was the initial setup? The initial setup for Aruba Wireless is not easy. It's not straightforward. The setup for the solution is quite complicated, but this is not unusual, because it is an enterprise solution, and it is no different from the competition, in terms of the complexity of the setup. If I would rate the setup of Aruba Wireless between one to five, with five being the highest, I'm rating the setup a two. Which other solutions did I evaluate? I've worked with Cisco and Mojo solutions. What other advice do I have? I'm a technical engineer, and I'm leading the networking team in one of our system integrations today. I'm an integrator. One of the solutions that we are providing is wireless, e.g. Cisco, Aruba Wireless, and Mojo from Arista. My advice to an organization looking to implement Aruba Wireless is to take it, because I've seen a lot of vendors and I've dealt with customers, so everyday I assume there would be different challenges with my customers. With Aruba Wireless, there are no doubts about its quality and uptime. I'm rating Aruba Wireless an eight out of ten. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-26T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Reliable with excellent signal strength and lots of great features What is our primary use case? We using now working with a customer in Jedda. We sold more than 738 access points - 294 outdoor access points and around 500 indoor ones. We sold a controller for this number as well. What is most valuable? Aruba has a lot of features. The stability is the best. It's very reliable. The roaming signal is excellent. You can do firewalling over the WiFi which is unique. The initial setup is easy. What needs improvement? Sometimes the configuration is difficult. Aruba needs to offer an IT telephone in order to can catch all of the market. Cisco already has an IT telephone security product. Aruba does not. If Aruba offered an IP conference option it would be great. For how long have I used the solution? I've worked with Aruba for seven years at this point. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The stability is great, as is the reliability and the performance. there are no bugs or glitches. it doesn't crash or freeze. the signal is strong. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Aruba is scalable. Many products are. For example, if we have a controller, we can manage 2,000 access points and can add another thousand access points. How are customer service and support? Technical support is very good, very qualified. We are very happy with their level of knowledge and support. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We are a partner for Aruba, Cisco, and Huawei. How was the initial setup? The implementation is easy. Anyone that has a platform from Aruba or knows about Aruba knows about configuring the product, which can be difficult. There are many deployment options for a natural configuration. You need to figure out what type of deployment you are doing (and there can be many) and do it according to your specific needs. If one has enough experience or is certified from Aruba, he can do it. If he doesn't it's complex and difficult. ClearPass from Aruba is complicated. However, it's a very good, powerful software. What other advice do I have? We are on a partner, gold partner at tier-one for HP. We are working directly with the vendor. There isn't any team, or any supplier, or anyone between us and Aruba. For Cisco, we are working with their team or, and the suppliers from Europe, from Dubai. We request some material from them, and that's all. Huawei has the same setup as Cisco. I'm certified ACMP, ACSP, ACDB, and a certified ACAD, AC professional. While the latest release was 10, we are working with 8.7. New users will get a lot of benefits from Aruba. They have a lot of products - including ClearPass. Users will not find any net solution like ClearPass, from anyone. In Gartner, it is a leader in IoT for wired and wireless IoT such as cameras, access control, et cetera. They also have great switches. It's a very big vendor like HP. Aruba has a lifetime warranty. You don't need to get proactive care; the hardware already has a lifetime warranty. In the end, you will get a lot of benefits. I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-25T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from We've gone two years without downtime What is our primary use case? We use Aruba Wireless to direct all enterprise traffic, including emails, video calls, and browsing. Each office typically has between 50 to 150 users. My biggest office has 150 users, and the smallest office has 25. Depending on the strength, we use the APs. All of our users access the internet through a wireless connection, and we do a lot of Zoom calls through Aruba Wireless. We send emails and have internal tools like Zoho, NetSuite, and cloud applications like G Suite or Office 365. Everything goes through the Aruba Wireless. What is most valuable? I think Aruba Wireless' Wi-Fi 6 capability is something that really makes a difference. We used to have bottlenecks. Each user has one laptop on one mobile device, so that equals 40 devices connecting to one AP. The Wi-Fi 5 series couldn't handle the traffic during peak hours, and when I say "peak hours," I mean Monday at 11 a.m. We used to see a lot of packet drops, but we haven't seen that problem at all since we moved to Wi-Fi 6. What needs improvement? Aruba needs to improve two things. One is security. These days, security is about more than just the endpoints — it's also about the devices connecting to the endpoints. They need to improve wireless intrusion detection and prevention. If Aruba can do something like that, I think it would be a game-changer. The second thing is the range. Before Aruba, we had Ruckus, which covers a larger area than Aruba. For how long have I used the solution? We have been using Aruba Wireless for about two and a half years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is stable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is highly scalable because it also offers a cloud version of the controllers where you can add as many APs as you want. You can add close to 10,000 APs, so it's really scalable for us. How are customer service and support? I rate Aruba technical support six out of 10. We have a hard time connecting with them every time. There is a long queue whenever we reach out to support, and we have to wait for them to answer calls. Once we get in touch with them, we have to coordinate with different teams, so our engineers struggle to understand who are the correct team members. I think support is another area where Aruba needs to improve. How would you rate customer service and support? Neutral Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We previously used Extreme Aerohive then we started using Cisco Meraki for some of our locations. We had Meraki at one or two of our offices, but we decided it was too costly, so we shifted to Aruba. We've also used Ruckus Wireless, which is an 802.1X solution. Ruckus lacked a security feature that is available in Aruba. We didn't want to compromise on security with Ruckus even though the range is really good. It can cover larger areas and a greater number of devices. However, we are an organization that places a high premium on security, so that is why we switched to Aruba. I think Meraki and Aruba can go hand in hand, but Meraki is expensive, and the OpEx is costly. You need to renew the licenses every year, so it's a lot of overhead. Meraki is a fantastic solution apart from that. How was the initial setup? Setting up Aruba was straightforward. We did the initial deployment on our own. After we got the Aruba Central licenses, Aruba's team provisioned the first five APs and prepared documentation on how to do provisioning. My team was quickly able to do that. We completed everything in a day and had it running without any challenges. What was our ROI? We had a lot of downtime with Aerohive. The AP used to reset every three days or four days, and we would lose connectivity. Zoom calls were interrupted, and emails failed to send. Even my company's founder faced many challenges with the wireless. But after shifting to Aruba, we haven't seen any downtime. We've gone two years without downtime, so we are doing well now. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The price of Aruba Wireless is fairly reasonable. It was within our budget. What other advice do I have? I rate Aruba Wireless eight out of 10. If you're an enterprise customer like us working with applications daily, you should check out Aruba. However, if you're an educational institution, a large stadium, an auditorium, or something like that, I suggest Ruckus. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-24T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It has built-in IoT functionality without the need for an additional dongle What is our primary use case? We use Aruba 7010 controllers to deploy our wireless system infrastructure. We're planning to use Aruba for our wired network, including the core switches. We're waiting for the upgrades of existing wired infrastructure to be delivered. What is most valuable? One advantage is the built-in Zigbee-based IoT functionality. You don't need an additional dongle to enable that option. What needs improvement? Aruba is missing some features that are available in other solutions, such as the email notifications. It's a bit complex to configure the notification part. Mainly I'm talking about the rogue WiFi detection. This email notification is crucial for us, but it isn't possible to configure with the built-in software. You need something else, like an external system log collector or another Aruba software. These notifications are essential in hospitality for PCI compliance. My colleagues in famous luxury hotel chains need that report. One of the requirements for PCI compliance is rogue WiFi detection. When a rogue AP is discovered, they need a notification sent to a certain email. If there is no built-in feature, you need either to purchase an additional software to make sure that you are notified through that software. This feature is built into Ruckus. For how long have I used the solution? We've been using Aruba Wireless for a year now. What do I think about the stability of the solution? We haven't conducted any upgrades to the latest version, but Aruba support suggested we upgrade. We need to schedule the time because it will cause downtime, but it is stable. Some access points have frozen a few times. We restart them, and that resolves the issue, but we've never had significant issues with the APs, controller, or the software itself. No one has complained about the system and the infrastructure in general. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? It's scalable depending on the number of licenses you buy. We two people in the IT department managing the controller and access points. In a hotel, the usage depends on the occupancy. It can be up to 1,000 people, but let's say about 500 people. How are customer service and support? Aruba support is knowledgeable. We never had an issue contacting support, but I I've had the chance to troubleshoot the same system in a little different environment. They're responsive, and you never feel like you're on your own with them. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We were using an older generation of the AP, and it was outdated by the time we upgraded. I also had some experience with Ruckus. It wasn't extensive, but my colleagues say that Ruckus is more reliable in a hospitality setting, and the coverage is better. Aruba lacks functions like the rogue Wi-Fi notification, but it's a good product. It just requires fine-tuning to get what you need and a good experience. Ruckus can do everything out of the box. You have an initial input, and it does everything for you. You can get the same from the Aruba. How was the initial setup? The Aruba partner deployed the solution. I was partially involved, though. It wasn't that difficult, but it took a while because we have complex corporate standards. It was maybe three weeks plus testing in the lab. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Aruba is cheaper than their competitors in our market since we don't have a full Ruckus presence of the Ruckus here. There are no licensed modules, so it's a one-time purchase. We have a five-year care plan, and the access points have a lifetime warranty. We had one or two access points malfunctioning. It looks like a factory issue, but local support replaced them pretty quickly, considering the problems with logistics worldwide. Once you factor in the lifetime warranty, it's cheaper and not bad feature-wise. At some point, some of their products were not available, like WiFi 6, but that was last year. What other advice do I have? I rate Aruba Wireless eight out of 10. It has good support and solid options for the access points. However, if the Ruckus solution were the same price, I would go for Ruckus. We have some budget limitations, so we ended up going with Aruba and fine-tuning it. In general, we have no issues with coverage. It works fine, and it's WiFi 6. At that point, there was no WiFi 6 hospitality version of the access points from Ruckus available in our market. That was one of the biggest advantages in addition to the price. We also got an IoT-enabled solution by default. If you don't need these notifications, you can go with Aruba product. Otherwise, you need to consider that in advance. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-06-20T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Reasonably priced, works for any size of organization and has helpful support What is our primary use case? We primarily use the product for wireless connectivity in terms of securing wireless access. What is most valuable? Wi-Fi 6 is the most beneficial aspect of the solution. Apart from that, the WPA3 introduction in terms of security is one of the key features. The solution is stable. It's a scalable product. Technical support is helpful. The pricing is pretty good. What needs improvement? The scope of improvement would go along with the technology's adoption into the market. Even though Wi-Fi 6 has been introduced, everyone is quite skeptical in the market in terms of the adoption part, as the platform network should be that strong to cater to that kind of bandwidth. While it may be great in the future, currently, the existing versions are incompatible with some of the networks which customers own. They could improve the seamless roaming, which is already there, however, needs some tweaking. For how long have I used the solution? I've used the solution for quite a long time. I've been deploying this product to multiple customers and it's been almost five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution is stable. For example, even some military organizations are using Aruba Wireless and RF features. It is quite reliable for an enterprise to work with. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Aruba works with small to large companies. Data is open for all three. They have different kinds of solutions for individual stakeholders in terms of small, medium, and large. They have a different product portfolio offering for small. They have something else for mid-size enterprises and larger enterprises as well. Everyone can be catered to. It is quite easy to scale, even if a small-scale business is starting with a standalone deployment. They too can scale up to 50 or 60 access points on a mid-scale deployment eventually. The group pattern in terms of the wireless controller has limits to the physical hardware appliances if you already own one. That said, the cloud adoption part is one of the aspects which gives you quite a bit of scalability and you need not worry about your scalability and your future growth. How are customer service and support? Technical support is quite brilliant and they offer good support as well as product replacement. Any Aruba product that is wireless includes a limited lifetime warranty wherein the delivery scope is not bound to an SLA. They will give a replacement if you purchase support or not. That is the best part of Aruba. How would you rate customer service and support? Positive Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I also use Cisco. There are no differences in the technology. There are some user experience differences. Integration would be a part of that. There are many integrations possible in the Cisco portfolio in terms of their own product line. If the entire portfolio is of Cisco, then the integration is quite easy and Cisco has the same kind of offerings. The SLA might differ and some of the user experiences might differ. However, in terms of the portfolio, Cisco stands out as they have an enterprise-class and a different portfolio altogether to cater to the cloud-based market. They have an entire offering called Meraki. They do focus on the enterprise with Cisco. Companies that are small or medium scale work more with Meraki. How was the initial setup? The standalone deployments are straightforward whereas the introduction of wireless controllers and security parameters can be complex. That depends on the architecture to which you are applying. Even though direct integration with any of the radio servers or any of the triple-A authentication servers like Mac is very straightforward, it could be complex depending upon the environment. A standalone deployment would not take more than 15 minutes. It is quite simple. You might need some pre-planning before that. If you planned enough in advance, then it would take you 15 minutes or 20 minutes at a maximum to deploy. If there's a wireless controller deployment, it would take a maximum of two hours to three hours. Not more than that. Maintenance as such is not required. It's just the regular maintenance that you do in terms of software upgrades or firmware upgrades, in terms of when vulnerabilities are found. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Aruba is quite competitive in pricing. In some cases, on a case-to-case basis, Cisco also gives better discounts in terms of price. You may have to pay for additional support if you require services bound to some actual replacement time. They will charge you some amount for RMS support, not for technical support. Eventually, the technical support is built into the cost. What other advice do I have? I used to work with an organization that had a business relationship with Aruba, however, recently I've moved on. I typically work with the latest version of the solution. It can be deployed on-premises as well as in the cloud. I would recommend new users utilize each and every feature of the wireless capabilities which are being offered for security. There is quite a bit of integration possible. I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Public Cloud Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Integrator
Date published: 2022-05-22T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Improved our Wi-Fi signal in office and allows us to monitor access points remotely What is our primary use case? We use this solution for wireless infrastructure. We completed the upgrade of our Wi-Fi this year. It's a hybrid solution. Our controller is in the cloud, and there are devices installed in the offices. Our provider is a local telco. Between 400 and 500 people are using this solution in our environment. How has it helped my organization? In terms of customer experience, the Wi-Fi signal in the office is a lot better right now compared to in the past. What is most valuable? Aruba Central is a valuable feature because I can monitor access points remotely, even if I'm not in the office. What needs improvement? We would like to declare a specific number of devices that an employee or a user can use to access their Wi-Fi. Right now, it's a free for all. The other features that I would like to explore are alerting and auto reporting of users accessing the internet. I want proactive alerts on the usage of these applications because I have to go to Aruba Central every time to see what's going on. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using this solution for one year. What do I think about the stability of the solution? It's a matter of experiencing the benefit of the solution in our environment. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Since we have a lot of branches, the scalability is open. For now, the scope is really in the head office and I think the promise is that we can scale. We can incorporate this to our branches across the Philippines. How are customer service and support? Part of our agreement is that we would receive technical support. I would rate them 4 out of 5. How was the initial setup? Initial setup was complex. The vendors have to perform due diligence and heat mapping in the height of the pandemic. The project started last year in September and it was completed last February. Deployment took less than a year. We had a software and hardware implementation plan. What about the implementation team? Aruba provided an implementation partner who helped us on the project. Fewer than 10 people were needed for deployment. What was our ROI? The return on investment is subjective because we're trying to improve the host experience. IT is not host centered in the company; we are just providing solutions. This is an initiative and the benefits aren't convertible into an amount of money. It's really an investment, and I think the promise is to improve the hosting experience, speed up the internet browsing, etc. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The price is low. There is an additional cost for maintenance. We had a local partner, so we signed a five year deal to support our Wi-Fi infrastructure, including the hardwares. Which other solutions did I evaluate? We evaluated Cisco Meraki and Ubiquiti. The price of Cisco is very high compared to Aruba and Ubiquiti. What other advice do I have? I would rate this solution 8 out of 10. For someone who is looking into implementing this product, they need to understand what the objective is of that project. It could be coming from the IT modernization strategy. You have to evaluate different vendors offering different solutions. Then perform that pitch to the management and the usual project management. If there is a winning vendor, of course implementation comes in. Make sure that the target date will be completed as planned in the project plan. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Hybrid Cloud Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-05-25T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Reasonably priced with an easy implementation and helpful support What is our primary use case? We primarily use the solution due to the fact that the architecture is suitable for management and engineers. What is most valuable? The user interface is great. We have found the pricing to be reasonable. Technical support is pretty good. It's very easy to set up the solution. What needs improvement? The certification for licensing could be better. For how long have I used the solution? I've been using the solution for seven years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution is stable and reliable. While we have noticed many bugs in other offerings, Aruba has been issue-free. The performance is good. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The solution can scale if you need it to. It's not a problem. We have 20,000 people, including network engineers, using the product in our organization. Right now, we do not have plans to increase usage. How are customer service and support? I've used technical support in the past and find them to be helpful and responsive. They are better than, for example, Cisco, when it comes to assisting us. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We also use Cisco. We find Aruba's technical support is better. How was the initial setup? I've been a part of the implementation process and found it to be quite straightforward and simple. It's not an overly complex or difficult process at all. We can have it deployed in an hour. It's pretty quick to get everything up and running. What about the implementation team? We are able to handle the implementation process ourselves. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? It's not an overly expensive solution. However, I cannot speak to the overall costs involved in buying or operating the product. I don't handle the licensing aspects. What other advice do I have? I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. We've been fairly happy with its capabilities. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-05-24T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Reasonably priced, reliable, and straightforward to set up What is our primary use case? We have many clients and therefore many use cases. It's used in manufacturing, hospitality, hospitals, commercial buildings, and shopping centers. What is most valuable? The cost is pretty good. It's what draws in the clients. It has a straightforward initial setup. The solution can scale. It's a stable product. Technical support is good. What needs improvement? The solution is now taking eight to 12 months to deliver the product. It takes too long to receive it right now. Depending on how you design the setup, it can get complicated. For how long have I used the solution? I've been dealing with the solution for ten or more years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? It's a stable solution. We haven't had any issues. It's reliable and the performance is good. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? You can scale the solution quite well. It's a good option for enterprises or large rollouts. How are customer service and support? It's been so far, so good with technical support. We're satisfied with it overall. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We also use Ruckus Wireless. How was the initial setup? The initial setup's level of difficulty depends on how we design the network. It can be very complicated if we're talking on a campus level and there are a thousand touch points. What about the implementation team? I'm a systems integrator. I can implement the product for clients. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The price is reasonable. What other advice do I have? We are a system integrator, an IT company. We are still selling the latest version. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. The customers for the most part are happy with it. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-05-30T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Easy to manage, reliable, and offers lots of features What is our primary use case? The use case is basically for wireless authentication. We are also using Aruba clear path policy manager and we are providing our customers with free WiFi. We have our retail customers, where we give them free WiFi. What is most valuable? Their technological improvements and innovations are always great. They are up to market level. They’re always upgrading to whatever the latest technology is. They are a bit of a monopoly solution. It offers an easy initial setup. The solution is pretty stable. There are so many features. Even we are also not using the complete functionalities and features of Aruba. We need to explore more. What needs improvement? There are some issues we occasionally have. However, they are easily remedied. Recently, HP acquired Aruba. There have been some changes in the licensing form. Platforms are changing. These kinds of things are slowly happening. However, it is not a problem. The issue is that the delivery timelines have increased. That is not only for Aruba, even for all the partners; it is increased. That is something which they need to improve. The hardware takes too long to be delivered. For how long have I used the solution? I’ve been using the solution for seven years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution is pretty stable. There are some issues; however, it’s all pretty fixable. For the most part, it doesn’t crash or freeze. It’s reliable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? We have about 4,500 people on the solution. Everyone at all levels of the company uses it. The solution is scalable. We started pretty small and we were able to grow as required. The number of people and the number of retail stores increase yearly. How are customer service and support? We pay our partners for technical support. They handle everything. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We used to use Ruckus. With Ruckus, we were in on the initial stage. We were facing a lot of issues depending on the management. With Aruba, we did a POC, and we were satisfied with that. That's why we moved to them. How was the initial setup? The solution is simple to set up. The configuration and everything it is pretty straightforward. We are using Aruba’s central console to manage the wireless. There are no complications, actually. On the initial level, it took two months to complete the complete projects and everything. In terms of maintenance, we are paying our partner for an AMC annual maintenance contract. We are paying yearly, and they are just maintaining our network. They're managing everything. We have around 20 people working on their team to support us. What about the implementation team? We have a partner who is working on this with us, and they are the ones implementing the solution. They're managing our infrastructure also. What was our ROI? We are not calculating any kind of ROI as it's an infrastructure solution and therefore, we cannot calculate any kind of ROI here. It's used for the basic infrastructure. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? We pay a yearly licensing fee. I’m not sure of the exact cost. We are negotiating our pricing and can do so on a global level. When we were comparing it to others, we found it to be reasonably priced. What other advice do I have? We’re end-users and work with Aruba partners. This is an in-house solution and we use the latest version. I’d rate the solution nine out of ten. For new users, Aruba can be a good solution. The hardware portfolio is great. They have instant access points for small-scale businesses to medium size and even large businesses. They have all kinds of portfolios in their hardware catalog. Even for COVID times, they also introduce access points for the work from home. These kinds of things are there already in their portfolio. When we are plugging in their stack, we can leverage Aruba Central, Aruba Wireless, Aruba Switches, et cetera. It's easy to manage. Everything is managed under a central console. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Public Cloud If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use? Amazon Web Services (AWS) Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-07-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Priced well, stable, and good support What is our primary use case? We are using Aruba Wireless to connect our internal network. What needs improvement? The user interface could be improved in Aruba Wireless. This would make the setup easier. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Aruba Wireless for approximately three years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is a stable solution. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? We have approximately 200 people using this solution in my organization. How are customer service and support? I have used the support from Aruba Wireless. I rate the support from Aruba Wireless a four out of five. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I was previously using Cisco small business. We switched to Aruba Wireless because the capacity was better and was more stable. I wanted to switch to SQL Enterprise but the price was very high compared to Aruba Wireless. How was the initial setup? Aruba Wireless has been straightforward to set up. I rate the initial setup of Aruba Wireless a four out of five. What was our ROI? I have received a return on investment while using Aruba Wireless. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The price of Aruba Wireless has a more competitive price than other solutions. I rate the price of Aruba Wireless a four of five. What other advice do I have? I rate Aruba Wireless an eight out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-04-11T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Simple to install, reasonably priced, and helpful technical support What is our primary use case? I've been a consultant for six years. What is most valuable? Aruba is easier than Juniper. What needs improvement? The stability and management could be improved. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with Aruba Wireless for five years. We are currently working with Aruba Wireless but will be changing to Juniper later this year. What do I think about the stability of the solution? When it comes to stability, Cisco is number one. Aruba and Juniper are similar. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is a scalable solution. How are customer service and support? Technical support is good. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I have been working with Juniper WLC Series for one year. We plan to implement Juniper next month. How was the initial setup? The initial setup is very easy. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The pricing is fine. Cisco is more expensive than Aruba or Juniper. Aruba has pricing for a Virtual license with a VLAN package. Which other solutions did I evaluate? We decided to change to Juniper because it looked right, and because of the easy management. What other advice do I have? I would rate Aruba Wireless a nine out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-08-10T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A wireless networking solution with a useful analytics feature, but the price could be better What is our primary use case? We are part of a conglomerate on the island. We provide this solution to all our different divisions, including the shopping malls. We are the technology division of the group. So, we've been assisting the group in their implementation across sectors. What is most valuable? I like the analytics feature. What needs improvement? The price could be better. In the next release, I would like to have more analytics features. For how long have I used the solution? We have been using Aruba Wireless for the past five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is a stable solution. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Scalability depends on the model. What about the implementation team? Our in-house team did the implementation. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The price could be better. Competitors offer more features for a similar cost. What other advice do I have? On a scale from one to ten, I would give Aruba Wireless a six. I rated Aruba Wireless six because the analytics part seems to depend on third-party software applications and because of their pricing. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2022-08-09T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Good documentation, great licensing, and is very easy to work with What is our primary use case? We primarily use the solution for the wireless services for the entire campus. What is most valuable? The wireless service is pretty much standard. We like the centralized configuration and monitoring. We like the performance of the access points as they're not easily interfered with by other wireless devices. The initial setup was straightforward. It's really easy. The documentation is great. The pricing and licensing structure are great. It's very easy to work with. What needs improvement? I would like to see a faster web interface in the controller and more troubleshooting tools, including real-time troubleshooting tools. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The stability is quite good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? A lot of people use the solution. We have about 120 access points and more than 1,500 clients who use it daily. In terms of scalability, it is very easy to expand the network. We build new schools and buildings all the time so the usage is always increasing. How are customer service and support? We haven't used technical support yet; I really am not qualified to answer to how helpful or responsive they are. That said, the forums are quite helpful if you need assistance or to gain insights into usage. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We previously used HP Access Point and LANCOM Access Points. The HP series was discontinued and the LANCOM is very outdated. Therefore, we switched over to Aruba. How was the initial setup? The initial setup is straightforward and not overly complex. A company shouldn't have any trouble handling the process. We had it up and running in a day or two. The deployment is fast. What about the implementation team? We have installed and configured it by ourselves. We did not need the assistance of consultants or integrators. That said, we had the access points, however, we needed some education, some training. The company who sold us the access point really spent two or three days training us and then we configured it ourselves. We had a very good experience with them. We were satisfied with their level of expertise. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The license is not that expensive. The access point comes with a perpetual license. That's a very big deal in this kind of market. For example, Cisco charges annual licenses in comparison. Aruba Access Points come with perpetual licenses. It could be one license and you have it forever. There is no need to renew or buy something extra. The pricing is very attractive. I'd rate it at a five out of five. You buy the controller. You buy the access points and the licenses and that's it. If you want to have technical support on the controller, you have to buy subscriptions. However, the licenses and the warranty of the access points are free and forever. There's an unlimited lifetime guarantee. What other advice do I have? We are a university, so we have the whole community using this product. We are using Access Point 305 with the Aruba controller 7210. It's a very good solution. We have our problems, however, all wireless products have their problems. We haven't used state-of-the-art wireless solutions like Cisco or Huawei, so we're not able to compare everything together. That said, we are very happy with what we have. I would rate the solution at an eight out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-17T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Very stable, reasonably priced and great for small to medium size organizations What is our primary use case? I work for an international service integrating company and we provide resources that are distributed internationally. We use Wireless for our branch and remote locations, and it's mainly for the internet. We are service integrators and deploy this solution as well as provide support to multiple customers. I am the director of technology and we are currently customers of Aruba. What is most valuable? Reasonably priced and great for small to medium size organizations. One positive is that they're not constantly providing upgrades and that reduces exposure to complications. What needs improvement? I haven't yet seen a cloud-based wireless controller in Aruba and I'm waiting for that as well as a heat map analysis which is also lacking. I'd like to see application visibility in the next release on the inbound and outbound traffic flow. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution is working well and we haven't had any issues with stability. Traffic flow is starting to increase now that workers are returning to the office, and we're likely to move to Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 7 in the near future. How are customer service and support? Getting a response from technical support is really tough and is a pain point for us. It doesn't flow like in Cisco Tech. How would you rate customer service and support? Neutral How was the initial setup? The initial setup is pretty easy, certainly not as complicated as Cisco. There aren't many upgrades or major bugs so it's more stable than Cisco. Deployment time depends on the size of the project. A small site will take about two weeks, a larger project might take three or four weeks. We have nine engineers supporting Aruba. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? I'm unaware of the cost but I know it's cheaper than Cisco and that is why Aruba generally wins when a contract goes to tender or in the procurement phase. What other advice do I have? A key factor is to ensure the solution suits your requirements. If a smaller organization is looking for an on-prem solution, then Aruba would fit in. For larger deployments, it would be better to go with Cisco. If you're an organization with 400 different sites, Cisco is the way to go. Aruba has proven itself for smaller to midsize deployments. The solution does what it's meant to and I'm happy with it. I rate this solution eight out of 10. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-12-03T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from We can use the access points independently, it is easy to implement and configure What is our primary use case? We are a system integrator that specializes in providing complete network infrastructure for wireless solutions. This includes Aruba Wireless, Huawei Enterprise Solutions, and Extreme Networks. The customers are seeking cloud implementation. Currently, all our deployments are done through the cloud, which is a strong selling point for positioning Aruba Instant access points. As a result, companies with multiple branches often prefer deploying Aruba Instant access points via the cloud. What is most valuable? With Aruba Instant, we can use the access points independently, allowing us to position them in many places. This is a great feature as it helps us save costs on access controllers and licenses. What needs improvement? The Return Material Authorization procedure is time-consuming and needs improvement. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Aruba Wireless for six years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution is stable and I would rate it an eight out of ten. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The solution is scalable, especially with cloud implementation, which has not presented any challenges for me thus far. I would rate the scalability at eight out of ten. How are customer service and support? The technical support is excellent, but the Return Material Authorization procedure is time-consuming. How would you rate customer service and support? Neutral How was the initial setup? I would rate the initial setup an eight out of ten. While the implementation may not be instant, it is relatively simple. The deployment time depends upon the organization. So, even if it's a big organization with multiple branches, their network, availability, and other factors can differ. However, if it's a single-site implementation, it will not take much time. The only thing that we need to ensure is that the prerequisites are ready, which may take a few days. That's it. Two to three people, including a project manager and one or two engineers, are required for deployment. What about the implementation team? We implement the solution for our customers. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? I would rate the cost as an eight out of ten, with ten being the most expensive. Aruba Instant is more affordable compared to other solutions, and we also appreciate its features. Some of the products from Aruba Networks are covered by a Limited Lifetime warranty. To ensure customer support, we maintain extra stock and include this in our integrator fees, which are separate from the product cost. What other advice do I have? I give Aruba Wireless an eight out of ten. We currently have six clients using the solution. My clients include small, medium, and enterprise-level organizations. Aruba Instant is highly recommended for organizations with multiple branches and office locations. Based on client feedback, it is easy to implement and configure, making it accessible anytime and anywhere. The solution is expensive for a single-entity organization. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Public Cloud Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2023-07-22T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A stable and scalable product that is a bit complex to use and operate What needs improvement? Aruba Wireless is a little bit complex to use and operate. So, it can be an area for improvement. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Aruba Wireless for three to four years. Also, I don't remember the version of the solution I am using. I am a customer of the solution. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The product has been pretty stable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The product is scalable. Around 150 people in my company are using the solution. We need only one administrator for the solution. How are customer service and support? I haven't faced any problems with customer support. How was the initial setup? Regarding the deployment process, it keeps showing updates. What about the implementation team? A third party did the implementation. I'm not familiar with the setting. So, I got help from a consultant. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? 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. But if we switched to another solution like Ruckus, I think maybe it is just a similar amount even if we don't have the license. So we are considering this, but have not reached a decision yet. Also, we need to make additional payments for support. Which other solutions did I evaluate? Based on our evaluations, we are considering Ruckus and Ubiquiti over Aruba since Ruckus' and Ubiquiti's functions and settings are okay, making them easy to use. What other advice do I have? Aruba Wireless will phase out. We are actually phasing out and looking at other solutions. We are switching because it's a bit expensive, so we are looking for a cheaper solution. Because of the price and ease of use, I rate the overall solution a seven out of ten. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2023-05-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Stable, scalable, and flexible featured with helpful customer service What is our primary use case? We use the product predominately for beacons and peer devices. What is most valuable? It has very flexible features. What needs improvement? I believe more security options are needed. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using the product for seven or eight years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? We have not had any problems with the stability of the product. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? It is a scalable solution. How are customer service and technical support? When we have had to use support, everything from the service was helpful. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We have used Cisco products in the past. How was the initial setup? The setup is not a problem, it only took five minutes or so. What about the implementation team? We used five technicians for the deployment of the product. What other advice do I have? I rate Aruba Wireless a nine out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Hybrid Cloud Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-12-16T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A stable solution with efficient support What is our primary use case? We provide Wi-Fi to all staff and students at the university. They just have to connect to it. They use Aruba Wireless for teaching, learning, administration, and research. For how long have I used the solution? We have been using Aruba Wireless for more than three years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? It's a very stable system. How are customer service and technical support? They provide very efficient support. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? I think it would be better if they lowered the price. What other advice do I have? On a scale from one to ten, I would give Aruba Wireless a nine. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-12-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A stable and scalable solution with useful features and good support What is our primary use case? We have about 30 APs and a lot of sites with centralized management on controller 7030. We use it to control the network in standalone mode and handle the active and standby modes. What is most valuable? All features are useful for me. It lets me perform some specific configurations depending on the site or the client. All WAN features are valuable. What needs improvement? Their documentation needs to be improved. Aruba's documentation is poor. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Aruba Wireless Controllers for about a year. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Its stability is okay. There is no issue with stability. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Its scalability is okay. How are customer service and technical support? Their support is good. When I need to open a case, I get a fast response. I can contact the technician immediately. I would rate them an eight out of ten. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I also use Cisco solutions. Both solutions are very good and suitable for different kinds of networks. Cisco is very good for certain kinds of networks, and Aruba is good for other kinds. Cisco is simpler to deploy, whereas Aruba is more complicated and complex to deploy. How was the initial setup? The initial setup was very complex because we deployed a new controller in a small network. It is useful for large networks, but for small networks, it is very difficult to understand all the models. If you don't use Mobility Master, the configuration and deployment are very complex. It took us six months to deploy it. What about the implementation team? We got help from a third-party vendor, not Aruba. They were okay. We didn't have any problem. What other advice do I have? You should know about the topology of the Aruba Wireless solution. It is very important because it depends on the size of the network. Otherwise, you might end up buying something that's not adequate for large networks. I would rate Aruba Wireless an eight out of ten. Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2020-12-06T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A scalable solution that provides a great user experience What is our primary use case? We provide services for clients, so it's always a different use case. For example, we work with a retailer and we focus on electronic tasks. Another is corporate offices in a bank, one of the biggest banks in Mexico. Another is massive events like the Olympics with different sponsors. There's a big difference in the type of use cases. What is most valuable? In the case of the contacts or the callers, Aruba Wireless offers a good user experience. For example, there are a lot of the contacts in the retail store, we are talking about 100,000 users connected at one time. After evaluation, Aruba Wireless was considered best for large numbers of users like this. What needs improvement? The network times for protocol synchronization can be improved. Sometimes it's complicated, and we need to tweak it to coordinate or synchronize it to the clock at the network access point. I have some issues with the introductory domain with the frequency that we use. For example, it's very common to have a box with a frequency channel with the introductory domains in Mexico. The access points have some issues in this release; I think it's version eight. Sometimes the documentation is confusing. You have to figure out a lot of different placements on your own because of the outdated information. For how long have I used the solution? I have used Aruba Wireless for about five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba Wireless seems to be very stable. I don't remember having any issues with stability. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is scalable. You can add more people. You can use the same configuration for 50 or 2,000, or 5,000 users. How are customer service and technical support? Aruba Wireless technical support is too slow, or it used to be. For example, to test a domain in Mexico, they would spend about three months. How was the initial setup? The initial setup is complicated because you have to modify many options, and you have to spend time handling those options, and sometimes you need attendants for these options. Which other solutions did I evaluate? We always evaluate options to see what's best. For example, sometimes, the ARM is more relative, and Aruba is more efficient than others. Cisco has the same functionality, but sometimes the main link will disconnect the users. You don't have that problem with Aruba Wireless. What other advice do I have? For those interesting in using Aruba Wireless, I would recommend taking a simplified approach to the license. They should analyze options relevant to their systems as it can get more complex. At this moment, there are a lot of licensing options. On a scale from one to ten, I would give Aruba Wireless a nine. Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2020-12-23T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Overall a good product that provides role-based authentication native to the controller, but has code stability issues What is our primary use case? We run a number of guest wireless networks with captive portals with layer 3 networks. We run .1x for corporate SSIDs or wireless networks for additional certificate-based and/or WPA2 security. How has it helped my organization? Aruba has a lot of features that work particularly well. One of the things that Aruba is trying to do in most of its product ranges to make sure that all of their products now have a fully functioning northbound set of APIs. That basically means that you can plug it into any kind of system that you have for some operational pieces. For example, if you want to have Tufin, but more in line with things like change management. We're a ServiceNow shop, so we use that for change management and orchestration. The ability to use the APIs that are available in the Aruba Wi-Fi controller means that you can get information from the system very easily by using APIs, or you can push changes to it. So, if you want to lock administrators there and restrict the type of functions that people can do, you don't have to give them access to the systems anymore. This functionality has been useful for us because we have recently outsourced a lot of our lower operational tasks to an outside vendor. With that, obviously, other people need to access systems, but we don't always want to give them direct access to the system. So, we can provide them with APIs to be able to perform basic tasks without giving them access to our dashboard services. What is most valuable? Aruba is an industry leader. The hardware is on par, and its performance is also on par with anybody else. The Aruba brand really only focuses on wireless, so they're not competing their R&D for switching data center products and cloud security. They're really focused on that and their underlying key pieces. They provide a role-based authentication that is native to the controller. A lot of other systems don't do that. They won't provide you the ability to basically have everybody join the network, regardless of whether or not they share the same network space, the SSID, or the wireless LAN. You can segment it down to a specific user role based on any kind of attributes that you like. That's their differentiator. If you need per user, per device, or per port segmentation, you can get that with Aruba. There isn't another vendor who does it. What needs improvement? Currently, the stability of the code is the basic underlying problem for us. They had an 8.6 release that came out two weeks ago, but we had to migrate twice because the code wasn't stable. We can't get things to work the same way. Version 8 was a big change for them. They made a change so that it is forced to be a managed hierarchical system. It means that you make changes at the top, and it pushes them downstream. There are a lot of problems with the 8.6 version code. I ran into four bugs in one week and was informed that we should just move onto the next one because all of those fixes have taken place. The feedback loop for fixes is not always really relayed back to you. I don't have a lot of strong things to say about version 8.6. When we had version 6, the controller was pretty much rock solid. We had no problems. We made a heavy investment to migrate a lot of stuff to take advantage of things like WPA3, Wi-Fi 6, and all that kind of stuff, and we haven't been able to turn those features on because we are not confident that they are going to work just yet. So, right now, we're still very much stumbling through the version 8.6 code and just trying to make sure that it is safe before we turn on some of those features. In terms of the marketplace, they are one of the top three leaders. In some respects, one of the things that they focus on is wireless. Therefore, there are some things that should be beyond reproach, as far as I'm concerned. In terms of the stability of the code, there are always going to be bugs, but the core stability of the code needs to be there. When it is not stable, that's a real problem for me because you lose a lot of confidence in the products. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with Aruba Wireless for about four years now. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? It is pretty good. There are a lot fewer people in the office, obviously, because of COVID. Under normal situations, we were probably about 2,000 users a day. Between 40% to 50% of that would be corporate users with mobile devices, such as iPhones, as well as laptop users accessing corporate resources and the corporate LAN. We also have guest users. They are really moving towards making it cloud-based and less attractive for you to use on-premises. There are still a number of limitations with the cloud. One of the reasons we don't use cloud controllers is that they're not able to support more than 250 access points per tenant instance. For example, you have two sites. One has 200 APs, and one has 300 APs. You could put one site in the cloud so that you wouldn't need to have on-premises wireless controllers. You could manage it all from the cloud instance, and you would have zero hardware and all that kind of stuff. However, you wouldn't be able to deploy the second site in the cloud because you can't put more than 250 APs. So, now you have got to go back to doing it the old-fashioned way, which is to have on-premises controllers or two management suites. You don't want to do that because the way this new code works is that it is hierarchical, meaning that you build your configuration centrally, and then you push it down to your access points or your local controllers. So, if you've got one management session in the cloud and one management session on-premises, you would have to manage them at two places. I do understand that you can configure that local hardware. So, for the site that has 300 APs and a local controller, you could plug that controller into the cloud, but it is still for two different models. So, the companies that just want to have a very simplified setup or want to make it less complicated, they can just say that we're going to go cloud or just stay on-premises, but now you have to have a combination of both, or you just stay with on-premises. There are still some basic limitations preventing us from doing wireless deployments where controllers are based in the cloud. How are customer service and technical support? I use them a lot. Sometimes, I use them every day. They are pretty good. There is a problem in getting hold of people. That may be just because of COVID, but it is very much dependent on when you call and the type of issue that you have. If it is a fairly standard issue, if you need assistance with a programming or configuration change, or if you need to know how to do something, you can normally get a very quick resolution. The meantime for resolution is pretty quick. It is within that call, half an hour, or one hour. You can generally speak to somebody. If it is some of the things that I have experienced or a bug, it can be very problematic. It could take days or weeks to get resolutions. The basic stuff is really good. Anything past that, you probably need to have a dedicated support engineer on your camp if you're big enough, or you need to have resources that really know how to do the legwork beforehand. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I worked for a company that had Cisco for many years. Actually, towards the end of that, I switched them from Cisco to Ruckus. I did a POC and a pilot between Ruckus and Aruba, and Ruckus came out on top because of its simplified approach to wireless networking. I have also used Meraki, which is Cisco's cloud-only based AP solution. Cisco is like the other de facto. A lot of shops are all Cisco. Their hardware is probably on par with Aruba in terms of processing and handling capabilities. Features are also probably the same. It is more like a Ford-GM question. If you were brought up in a Ford household, you are probably going to buy a Ford sort of thing. I don't think there is much to them, to be honest. The differentiator for me is that Cisco has a product, which is its network access control system, called ISE or identity services engine. That's a terrible product. It really is an awful product. It is very cumbersome, and it makes adding network access control to your wireless and wired networks very problematic. Aruba's product is called ClearPass, and it is a very flexible tool and easy tool. It is a much more reliable tool. While it doesn't have all the features that you can use with Cisco, it is a standard network application system, which means it will work with any vendor for any system. So, you can do 90% to 95% of the stuff you want, and it is a much more stable and capable system. This difference and the price are differentiators for me. From a purely wireless perspective, I think that Aruba is number one. Cisco is a very close number two, and then Ruckus is actually a distant third. Ruckus doesn't have all of the advanced capabilities, but what it does, it does very well. If you want a very basic entry-level wireless that is cheap for K-12 schools or a lot of environments like that, you can use Ruckus. If you need some of the advanced stuff, then you're going to have to pick one of the other solutions. How was the initial setup? I would say it is straightforward. It is just that it is a backward way of doing it. They had a fundamental shift in the way you deploy configurations in version 6 to version 8. So, basically, you would do one way in version 6, and then they com... Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-10-22T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Good functionality, straightforward to set up, and the technical support is okay What is our primary use case? We are using this solution to provide office internet for our clients. What is most valuable? The functionality is very high and we can properly meet the clients' requirements. What needs improvement? When we connect to Wi-Fi devices it could be easier because sometimes, it takes a lot of time to complete. It is not as easy as some other products to configure, including setting policies. Otherwise, everything is fine. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with Aruba Wireless for the past four years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I have not found any bugs or glitches in this product. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? We have more than 100 users. How are customer service and technical support? Technical support is alright. How was the initial setup? The initial setup is okay. It is straightforward and we have no issues with it. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The price of Aruba Wireless should be cheaper. What other advice do I have? For the most part, there is nothing that needs to be added and I can recommend this product. I would rate this solution an eight out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? Hybrid Cloud Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-10-22T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The remote access through RAPS is a feature that simplifies access for our providers at home, and provides continuity of security, but the configuration is detailed and can be complex. Valuable Features The most valuable features for me are: * Built-in firewall * Security * Authentication * Remote access * Stability Improvements to My Organization Providing wireless to our clinicians and providers allows them to be mobile within the facility and still maintain connectivity to valuable information, like our Electronic Health Record. The remote access through RAPS is a feature that simplifies access for our providers at home, and provides continuity of security. In addition we provide guest wireless to our patients and families which improves satisfaction. Room for Improvement The configuration is extremely detailed and can be quite complex. For a small IT staff, it is difficult to make changes without outside consulting or Aruba Support. Use of Solution We've used it for two years. We're using a 3400 controller with AP105 Access Points. The software version is 6.3.1.9_44832. Deployment Issues There were no issues with deployment. Stability Issues This product has been very stable. Scalability Issues No. We have added Access Points and Remote Access Points as needed. We also expanded to a redundant controller which allows High Availability. Customer Service and Technical Support Customer Service: Service has been good - 8/10. Technical Support: 8/10 Previous Solutions We switched to Aruba because of the advanced security. In healthcare we have HIPAA compliance to achieve and maintain. Security is a priority. Initial Setup Setting up the controller is complex. The SSIDs, Authentication methodology, Access, is all quite complex to set up. Not for a novice. Implementation Team We used a vendor team to implement. We used a third party consulting firm to assist with setting up the redundant controller. Both were very good. ROI This product is considered infrastructure. It is a cost of doing business. It allows our business to be more flexible and mobile. But there is no direct ROI. Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing Aruba has made changes to their licensing to make it more cost effective. Work with a partner that is familiar with all of the features in this product so that you get the licensing you need. Not all features are available with basic licensing. You need to determine the feature set you want, and then look at pricing for that feature set. Other Solutions Considered HP and Cisco. HP was not secure enough. We had HP in house already. We looked at Cisco but did not do a demo or work with a partner. We do not have any Cisco in house. From my own research, Cisco was too expensive and did not have a solution that was a single appliance that could do all of the things that Aruba can do. Their solution required firewalls, controllers, and routers to accomplish the same thing. This may no longer be the case. Other Advice Get a good partner. Not just the local IT shop that has wireless experience. Not all wireless vendors are created equal. To get the real bang for the buck, you need an expert to help you decide what you want and to implement it. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2015-11-29T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It has helped in making deployments easier despite the configuration's complexity What is our primary use case? I use Aruba Wireless to manage and monitor mobile users. How has it helped my organization? It has helped in making deployments easier despite the configuration's complexity. What is most valuable? I have found the Access Point (AP) group profile feature extremely useful. It makes deployments look easy. What needs improvement? * They should simplify the configuration flow. * Additional detailed reporting for client traffic would be a great addition. For how long have I used the solution? Three to five years. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-09-03T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A solid solution with good access point management features and good technical support What is our primary use case? The primary use case of this solution is to manage all of our wireless devices. What is most valuable? I like the way it groups and manages access points. What needs improvement? You have to use the command line for a lot of commands but then get back to the GUI for the main actions. A lot of the access point commands are in the command line interface, versus being in the GUI. Some control systems have the ability to right-click to go to the common line. I would like to see that incorporated onto the interface. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with Aruba Wireless for three years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I have almost 1,300 access points and on an average day, I have less than 1% down. I am usually sitting at 100%. This solution is stable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? This solution is very scalable. How are customer service and technical support? The technical support is very good and I haven't had any issues with them. They were pretty responsive. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? They had their wireless in place for eight years and I have been here for three. I wasn't a part of the initial decision-making process. How was the initial setup? The initial setup was straightforward. It only takes a few minutes to deploy. I would say that it is about as long as it takes to reboot the access point. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The pricing is reasonable. If you compare it to other solutions then it's reasonably priced. What other advice do I have? I think that Aruba Wireless is a great option. I hardly ever have problems with access points and the failover mechanism works well. Overall, It's a good solid system. I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-07-03T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from AirWave allows us to do different reporting on WiFi utilization at our different campuses so I can break down different areas of the college and find out how many users there are at any given time. Valuable Features There are a couple of valuable features of Aruba Wireless for us. First is ClearPass, which is an authentication product, and second is AirWave, which is a reporting function. AirWave allows us to do different reporting on WiFi utilization at our different campuses so I can break down different areas of the college and find out how many users are using the network at any given time. I can find out the utilization of different access points, which allows me to do capacity management. Improvements to My Organization It needs the ability to perform mobility device management. They should have some kind of mobility device management built into the product. Room for Improvement You need to make sure that the controllers at the access points have the capacity to handle the additional licenses. Otherwise, buying additional licenses won't necessarily scale. Use of Solution We're very happy with the Aruba. We've been using them for about the past five years. Deployment Issues We've had no issues with deployment. Stability Issues For the most part, stability is excellent. Scalability Issues All you need to do is buy licenses for the access points that you have on those campuses. Customer Service and Technical Support Customer Service: 9/10. The customer service we get from our sales rep is excellent. Technical Support: Technical support is always going to take more time. If there's any kind of issue it needs to be replicated, it needs to be taken away and examined certainly more than customer service. Previous Solutions We were using another vendor to provide WiFi capabilities. Although it didn't have any limitations, Aruba integrated better with our existing equipment. Initial Setup It's very easily set up. ROI I don't know what the ROI is on this. It's difficult to value the experience that the students have and the staff have, so to put an actual number on that is going to be very difficult. Other Solutions Considered We looked at other vendors before deciding on Aruba. Other Advice Make sure you're fully aware of all the products around WiFi and capitalize on any ones that are out there that would help your specific environment. Disclaimer: IT Central Station contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
Date published: 2016-04-28T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from They provide the flexibility to choose different models depending on, for example, the number of APs you want to deploy. Valuable Features: The most valuable features of these wireless controllers for us are the advanced security and management features. They're excellent and provide our users with protection over-the-air. Improvements to My Organization: They've improved our clients' organizations by providing the flexibility to choose different models depending on, for example, the number of APs they want to deploy and other criteria. They're also easily upgradeable to higher versions and the licenses can be transferred easily. Room for Improvement: Aruba adds more and more features to them all the time, but having to buy additional licenses for new features can get pretty expensive, especially when a client wants to stay up-to-date. Deployment Issues: They deploy well without issues. Stability Issues: It's a very stable product. Right now, we have several deployments and we'll know whether there are problems with these controllers. Scalability Issues: The 7000 is highly scalable. You can start with a lower controller model, and as a client's requirement increases, you can always migrate to a newer model. They'll still have all the licenses that they previously purchased. Initial Setup: The initial setup for the 7000 is straightforward for us. We're trained and certified engineers. But for someone who isn't, it's very complex. Other Solutions Considered: We've done several migrations from competitive products, but Aruba is better because of the technology and the price. They also integrate well with other Aruba applications, such as ClearPass. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2016-01-12T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A Good Wireless LAN Solution Valuable Features 1. The Integrated firewall 2. The captive portal authentication for guests 3. The modular configuration system (by profile and) 3. AppRF new system (from ArubaOS version 6.4) 4. Mutli-site Architecture (master local architecture) 5. Advantageous licensing system (by Access point and not by user, the license server feature from version 6.3). Room for Improvement 1. The new version is not stable. 2. Teintroduce the Visuel-RF mapping system in the Aruba controllers. 3. Download the firmware without a support account 4. stabilization of clearpass 5. Prepare documentation that handles concepts and not "how to" Use of Solution 2 years Deployment Issues Yes, but generally with the new OS version and with ClearPass. Stability Issues Not really. Scalability Issues It is a scalable product, but it does not have a Virtual version of the controller. Customer Service and Technical Support Customer Service: No idea, i do not deal with them. Technical Support: 75% Previous Solutions No, Aruba WLAN was my first experience with WLAN solutions and is unique. Initial Setup I think the setup and the configuration of Aruba is complex. Disclaimer: I work for the vendor.
Date published: 2014-12-14T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Clear pass helps a lot with admin, though its analytics and big data requires improvement What is our primary use case? Implementing wireless networks. How has it helped my organization? It seems a little bit more difficult to implement than Meraki. What is most valuable? Clear pass, it helps a lot with admin. What needs improvement? Analytics and big data. For how long have I used the solution? Three to five years. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2019-03-26T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Has more features than other wireless solutions. Additional troubleshooting capabilities for ClearPass could help. Valuable Features The Wireless Controller's firewall feature and the ClearPass Access Management product's NAC feature. Improvements to My Organization As of now, we are utilising the existing features of the product and it satisfies all our requirement. Room for Improvement Additional troubleshooting capabilities for the ClearPass product. Use of Solution 2 years. Deployment Issues None yet. Stability Issues None yet.v Scalability Issues None yet. Customer Service and Technical Support Customer Service: 10/10 Technical Support: 10/10 Previous Solutions Previously was using Meru and switched due to additional features and functionality in the Aruba products. Other Advice The Aruba product has more features than the other competitive wireless solutions available in this domain. Product has good stability. Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:We are an Aruba Partner
Date published: 2014-12-31T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Provides us with a scalable Wi-Fi solution What is our primary use case? Wi-Fi. The performance is okay. What is most valuable? Scalability. What needs improvement? I would like to see more security features. Also, it should have more than one, maybe five, access points. Wherever we go, we should get the same speed continuously, without disconnecting. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I am satisfied with the stability. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? I am satisfied with the scalability. How is customer service and technical support? Their services are okay, satisfactory. How was the initial setup? It is straightforward. What other advice do I have? It's a good product, you can go ahead with it. When selecting a vendor, the most important criteria are a stable product, the cost, and security features. I rate Aruba Wireless at nine out of 10 because it is reliable, and all the features are okay. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-07-25T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from We needed the ability to be flexible or add capacity when necessary. To support the success of every student, we leverage Oracle business intelligence tools for predictive modeling to identify when counseling intervention is needed. We need the capacity to run demanding applications, the uptime to operate around the clock, and the agility to react quickly to changing demands. HP and Columbus State University has a long standing relationship that started in 1995. HP account team, VAR partners nurtured that collaboration with CSU in to a successful partnership to lay a solid infrastructure foundation to position the university to transform to a global university. To meet these goals, we virtualized our data center running VMware software on HP Converged Infrastructure. HP was a natural choice. We had relied on HP servers, networking, and storage for more than a decade. We also use HP Z Workstations in our computer labs, HP notebooks for faculty and staff, and HP printers around campus. We keep abreast of other vendor technologies, but we’ve always had a good relationship with HP. HP integrates well with the VMware platform—and when we upgraded and consolidated our servers, HP was a fantastic guide. We used HP Technology Consulting Services to design a new high performance, energy efficient data center. We consolidated from approximately 200 physical servers down to an eight-blade HP BladeSystem infrastructure that requires less electricity and cooling, and that even reduced footprint enough to allow us to rent out freed floor space. HP consultants came in and worked with us on the design of our revamped data center, all the way from security to redundancy, including air conditioning systems, fiber coming in and out, and generator systems with backups. At the heart of our data center is the HP BladeSystem c7000 Enclosure that provides all the power, cooling, and I/O infrastructure needed to support modular server, interconnect, and storage components. I’ve always been impressed by the modularity of HP equipment. You can tailor it to specific needs to be more flexible and to save money. You can add capacity when you need it. Our enclosure houses eight production blade servers. We use HP ProLiant BL685c Server Blades to house most of its test and production virtual machines. A blade is a self-contained server that contains only the core processing elements, making it hot-swappable. For additional storage, blades can connect to another storage blade or to a network attached SAN. We run our test and non-production systems on HP ProLiant DL385 Servers. The HP StoreVirtual P4500 Storage System gives us a virtualized pool of storage resources to deliver enterprise SAN functionality. You have storage but also brains behind it. You have multiple interconnected servers. The data that gets written out to that storage is spread across all the different servers and disk drives. That gives us two main advantages. One is redundancy, so that if a drive or even an entire storage node goes down, we don’t lose data, and the end user never knows it happened. Two, if you’re writing to or reading from multiple disks, you can store and retrieve data much faster. You spread out the hardware load and the risk across multiple nodes of storage, all acting as one. We used HP LeftHand SAN/ iQ software to provision and manage storage, and thanks to tight integration between HP and VMware, envision being able to monitor and manage the environment from a central VMware vSphere platform. HP Networking switches deliver high quality networking services with the modular ability to add capacity. The HP Networking Lifetime Warranty delivers next-business-day replacement, with phone and email support. One of the reasons HP has a leg up on the competition is its lifetime warranty and maintenance. With some vendors, you have to buy maintenance agreements every year, and that gets expensive. HP Network Management software enables network firmware updates, notifications, and alerts, with single-pane-of- glass control. Recently, we started talking to HP about HP Software-defined Networking (SDN), providing an end-to-end solution to automate the network from data center to campus. We’ll be able to virtualize network components for redundancy, performance and high availability—have multiple physically separate network components act as one unit, so that if switch A goes down switch B takes over for it. Server provisioning in the virtualized environment takes 30 minutes, compared to 30 days to provision a new physical server. That enables us to quickly adapt our network and systems to accommodate increasing traffic, new services, and demanding applications. Faculty today increasingly run “upside down” classrooms, providing lecture content in multimedia formats to be viewed beforehand, with class time spent working collaboratively in small workgroups. They also expect the latest educational applications to be available quickly in computer labs. In the past, it took a substantial amount of time for our staff to reimage computer lab devices; now the task is quickly accomplished, and we are even able to give end users some self-service access to machines and their functionality. The next step will be to leverage VMware for a more cloudlike, IT-as-a-Service environment in which staff can provision their own resources without calling on our IT department. Our HP CI foundation absolutely will support this evolution. Another thing the infrastructure now supports is the predictive analytics we employ to trigger counseling intervention for students in need. We use Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition(OBIEE); Oracle Data Integrator (ODI); and Oracle Endeca Information Discovery to analyze unstructured data, such as that generated by social media, to detect when a student might be encountering academic, social, or financial difficulties. We have a goal and responsibility to reach out, intercede, and support students as soon as they are having difficulties. Those things would not have been possible in the old environment; it couldn’t have handled the bandwidth or processing. But successful universities of the future will have to do all this. Disclaimer: IT Central Station has made contact with the reviewer to validate that the person is a real user. The information in the posting is based upon a vendor-supplied case study, but the reviewer has confirmed the content's accuracy.
Date published: 2015-02-22T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The initial setup required a lot of work however the scalability is the key for the solution Valuable Features The scalability is the key here. We operate in a multi-vendor environment, running proprietary and open source software as well as pretty much every OS in it. We have to be able to adjust features as we need them throughout the WLAN. Improvements to My Organization WLAN is one of the major functions that allows employee movement without re-doing cabling etc. Room for Improvement I haven't encountered an area for improvement and am quite satisfied with the product. Use of Solution We implemented WLAN 4 years ago. Deployment Issues We haven't encountered any major issues with the deployment. Normal minor glitches as usual, but nothing major. I'd expect to face the same issues with any brand of WLANs. Stability Issues All stability issues have been due to configuration changes. Currently as the WLAN expands we are starting to have some issues that aren't directly dependent on Arubas' solution, but issues in aggregate and core network layers. Scalability Issues We have no issues in scalability. Customer Service and Technical Support Customer Service: 8 out of 10. Technical Support: 8 out of 10. Previous Solutions I'm familiar via my career with other manufacturers solutions and have worked with those too. In my current position we have used Arubas' WLAN from the start. Initial Setup As always in complex systems, initial setup required a lot of work that might be seen as complex. On the other hand it was also logical and among the professionals, straightforward. Initial setup of single equipment is easy, but it only allows you to start configuring it. Implementation Team We did the implementation in-house with a technical person from the manufacturer. ROI Every AP implemented takes out around 3 switch interfaces. Also work can be done away from the desk, and much faster in certain positions. I'd say that it took about three years to get an ROI. Other Solutions Considered We did a massive comparison with most of the WLAN vendors and from those we chose Aruba. Other Advice Main thing is to have a clear vision of what is needed from the WLAN and of course, the expertise of the staff is one key factor. Pretty much, the rest is just pricing of the solution, acquisition and running costs. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2015-01-13T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The product’s performance got worse with newer releases. It provided an easy WiFi solution for our branch offices to deploy. What is our primary use case? We are using Aruba Instant in four remote branch offices. We chose this solution at the time because of its controllerless feature and easy setup. How has it helped my organization? 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. What is most valuable? The controllerless feature. It will randomly pick one of the APs to be the designated master. If that access point fails, the role is moved to another AP. This saves a lot on management and infrastructure costs. What needs improvement? There is plenty of room for improvement. Reliability of a flawless upgrade after the 4.x releases is rare. There is a lot of manual intervention required lately due to random bugs. If you have a mix of APs using different firmware, it takes nothing short but an act of god to upgrade successfully. The product’s performance got worse with newer releases as well. It seems like they are adding more frivolous features and sacrificing stability and speed. The latest design of their APs removes the console port and requires purchasing an expensive proprietary cable just to access the console. For how long have I used the solution? More than five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Occasionally, it needed to be rebooted. I used to have issues with DHCP. It is extremely buggy and difficult to upgrade with different firmware versions/models. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? I do not know what the maximum number of APs in a cluster can be (for the Instant series), but I never seemed to hit a limit. At one site, we had 12 clustered together. How is customer service and technical support? It seemed to be good when we needed it. This was before HPE purchased them. I have not had a need to contact support since then. Which solutions did we use previously? The other way around, we have switched away from Aruba to Ruckus. Aruba’s poor performance and random upgrade issues caused too much time consuming maintenance and troubleshooting. Ruckus Unleashed has been flawless; performance almost doubled, and it is far easier to configure. How was the initial setup? The initial setup was very simple. There were some settings which were confusing and unlabeled when trying to use the online help with the newer firmware. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Trial different solutions and compare pricing to how well they perform, their stability, how easy it is to maintain, etc. Which other solutions did I evaluate? At the time when we first started using them, we did not evaluate other options. They seemed to be only ones back then who could cluster APs without requiring a separate controller. What other advice do I have? Perform a site survey and get a model that supports the latest AC technology. At first, the product was a solid 10. As time went on, and newer firmware was released, the product has dropped significantly to maybe a four or five rating out of 10 due to various bugs and design issues. We no longer use Aruba for any new sites and are slowly phasing them out from our locations with a different controllerless product that has drastically increased reliability and performance. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from We don't need to visit each AP locations for a code upgrade or troubleshooting but some went bad over time. Valuable Features Central controller and ARM function on Access Points. Improvements to My Organization We don't need to visit each AP locations for a code upgrade or troubleshooting. Room for Improvement More stable cide Use of Solution 6 years. Deployment Issues Some of them have cable limitations. Stability Issues Yes, we did. Some model of APs went bad over time. Scalability Issues No, we don't as long as we purchase the license. Customer Service and Technical Support Customer Service: Almost excellent. Technical Support: Almost excellent. Previous Solutions Yes, we did. It was Cisco Autonomous APs, but we replaced them as we wanted a centralized system. Initial Setup It was pretty straightforward. Implementation Team We used a vendor and they were very knowledgeable. Other Solutions Considered Yes we also evaluated Cisco Lightweight APs. Other Advice You should start implementing the latest and greatest access points which are 801.11 AC. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2015-01-06T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from For us, the most valuable feature is the ability to access our office's network. Once you are authorized to gain access, it's a solution that makes doing so a seamless process. Valuable Features: For us, the most valuable feature is the ability to access our office's network. Once you are authorized to gain access, it's a solution that makes doing so a seamless process. Connecting to wifi at our office is something we should be taking for granted. Room for Improvement: It's too pricey, to be honest. There's not really much difference between the wireless vendors and competition is tight. Aruba would have a bigger advantage if it weren't so pricey. Deployment Issues: They deploy without issues. Stability Issues: Stability is really good and something we're very happy about. We just install it and they last until they die, which is a really long time. Scalability Issues: They can go from short range to long range, and there are many new features for connecting additional users. Previous Solutions: We chose HP because of the price. It's a good solution and best-suited for us. Initial Setup: The initial setup was very straightforward. Implementation Team: We used a vendor team for implementation. Other Solutions Considered: We always evaluate other options when considering IT solutions. We looked at Cisco and Juniper, but HP/Aruba is better. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2016-01-17T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Constantly delivers the necessary bandwidth, even when there are suddenly more users What is our primary use case? The primary use is for distributing internet bandwidth. The performance is good. How has it helped my organization? The benefit is the constant delivery of internet bandwidth. Everybody is getting internet access properly. When 40 - 50 people are sitting in a small area it is capable of delivering internet to them constantly. What is most valuable? It delivers constantly, there is no break in the internet using these devices. It also automatically gets connected when the internet comes back. Failure is very low. What needs improvement? What I would like to have with these kinds of devices is the most enhanced security. For example, if I could apply security from wireless devices, that would be great. I would also like more enhanced reports on user adoption, who is getting what bandwidth. That is the kind of report I should be getting. For how long have I used the solution? Less than one year. What do I think about the stability of the solution? It's completely stable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Scalability is good. Suppose there are 20 people in a room and suddenly 10 more people come into the room. It automatically scales up and provides the internet. How is customer service and technical support? A situation where we have had to contact technical support has never happened in the last year. It has been really constant in the distribution of the bandwidth. Which solutions did we use previously? I wanted experience using more products. We were already using another product but I thought, "Okay, let's try Aruba this time and see what the feedback is like." I thought Aruba would give me better performance, after looking at the performance of the existing devices. When selecting a vendor, the most important factor is that support has to be there. I would look for constant support from any vendor. It can't be that the product is sold and after that there is no support. There has to be constant and quick support from the vendor. How was the initial setup? The setup is straightforward, it's not complex. Things are quite easy with Aruba. Which other solutions did I evaluate? We were looking at different products for our new premises. Aruba was known to me so I compared Aruba with Ruckus. What other advice do I have? I would definitely recommend Aruba devices. I rate Aruba Wireless at nine out of 10 because of the performance and stability of the product. It's not a 10 because it needs enhanced security and a more granular level of reporting. If these kinds of things were provided it could be a 10. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-08-14T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Helps us have better control over what is happening in our network What is our primary use case? * A solution to problems for end users with friendly and easy to use work environments. * It helps the user to have a better vision of what is happening in their network. How has it helped my organization? We have begun implementing its infrastructure, and it has helped us have better control of our wireless network. What is most valuable? * Aruba Central * The easy use of APs * It has helped us have better control over what is happening in our network. * User management has helped us control their access and bandwidth on our network traffic. What needs improvement? * They should provide usage guides and solutions to frequent problems. * A telephone line dedicated to technical support for not-so-skilled users. For how long have I used the solution? Still implementing. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-10-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Stable, good support, and scales well What is our primary use case? We are a solution provider and Aruba Wireless is one of the network products that we implement for our customers. We offer it to our clients to provide wireless and cloud services. What needs improvement? Better integration with equipment from other vendors would ease the deployment process in some cases. It is also helpful because certain vendors concentrate more heavily on a certain side of the industry. For example, one may focus on security but neglect availability. Being able to integrate gives a better overall solution. Security is something that can be improved. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with Aruba Wireless for about two years. The company has more than 10 years of experience. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is stable and we plan to continue using it in the future. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? This is a scalable solution. How are customer service and technical support? The technical support is good, although it sometimes depends on who it is that handles the case. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We deal with several wireless networking products from Aruba, Ruckus, and Brocade. How was the initial setup? Sometimes, the initial setup is complex. For example, if I need to integrate with other vendors then there can be issues and we have to do a lot of work to solve these kinds of problems. The length of time required for deployment depends on the size and density of the network. There are a lot of parameters that dictate how much time it takes, but the average for us is a three to four-day deployment. What about the implementation team? We have a design team and a technical team who take care of the implementation and deployment. Most of the time, they consult with me if there's an issue with the design or they need more details. We provide a consulting service for this. What other advice do I have? My advice for anybody who is implementing Aruba Wireless concerns the design stage. I suggest trying to design everything using a single vendor. Do not use a multivendor approach because you will have issues with integrating systems together. Overall, this is a good product and I recommend it. I would rate this solution an eight out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2020-10-08T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Versatile as a solution but lacks comprehensive testing for upgrades and issues can be expected What is our primary use case? The primary use we have for the product is for users' corporate mobile access. What is most valuable? The most valuable feature is the fact that it can work with many devices. It supports everything that we need it to. Whatever features are required from an enterprise standard, it supports all of them. The main advantage is broad device support. What needs improvement? The area that has the most room for improvement is upgrades. What we have seen many times now is that new releases tend to have bugs. Sometimes the bugs are a little bad and cause some undesirable issues. The new code in the upgrades or something leads to conflicts. I would say testing releases before making them available is one of the areas which Aruba needs to improve most with the wireless product. More comprehensive testing is required for a better, more reliable end-user experience. It is not necessarily testing more often, it is just for new releases. The testing they need to do is to work more closely with different environments and take notice of where issues tend to occur. They should have some idea of what environments are experiencing issues more often by now because of which companies are reporting the issues. They can make compensations for testing in those environments. I do not have any new features that the product requires off the top of my head. I think that more than improving the product, there are management portfolios and other peripheral things that could be better integrated. But just doing better testing is the main improvement that they need to make. For how long have I used the solution? We have been using Aruba Wireless for between seven and eight years now. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Aruba Wireless has been a stable solution for us. Once it was set up correctly it was fine. We had some initial hiccups. We still have issues with upgrades sometimes. Except for mostly minor issues, it has been a good solution. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Aruba Wireless is easily scaled between a lot of devices and a lot of endpoints. When we decided to use it as our solution we had planned to use it exactly for its ability to scale. We went through a massive scaling and did not have issues with devices and endpoints. Right now we have 30,000 users and around 45,000 devices between those users. It does not seem that there are many limitations for scaling the product's use. How are customer service and technical support? Technical support is good. The only issue we have had with them is that we often have to be referred to their engineering response team. That situation actually happens most of the time. On the other hand, we do not need to use support very often. So, yes, we get support for the product and we eventually get the solution we need, but most of the time it gets referred to their engineering team to get the complete solution. Overall, the support is pretty good. How was the initial setup? The initial setup was a little bit complex because our environment is complex. Because of that, I would say the initial setup was complex. It may not be as complex for other companies. It took almost a year for deployment. But there are two sides to the setup. One is the product is good and it can be configured to do what we need. But our environment was complex because it involves some legacy devices and some really advanced new devices and technologies as well. It is good that the product is able to support both of those needs. What about the implementation team? We have a couple of IT specialists, one architect, and a development operations engineer for deploying the updates and maintaining the solution. In total, it is around four or five people who maintain the product. Not everyone needs to be dedicated to it full-time. What other advice do I have? The advice that I would give to others who are looking into implementing Aruba starts with that it is a good product. It has some really good features. But the other reality is that you might need to be prepared to face some hiccups with any upgrades and with the setup. On a scale from one to ten where one is the worst and ten is the best, I would rate the Aruba Wireless solution as a seven-point-five out of ten. Because of the upgrade issues and the persistence of those, I would rate it a seven. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-08-25T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The initial setup is straightforward. Configure one IAP and all the rest self-configure to that one.? What is our primary use case? Doctors offices, car dealerships, and small business. It is used to provide internal, guest access. How has it helped my organization? We originally were using SonicPoint and had tons of connectivity issues. We switched to Aruba to fix all the issues with all my clients. What is most valuable? I like the IAP line and being able to have a true mesh without the need of a controller. The features included in them are also very nice with a built-in website for ToS for guest access. What needs improvement? The price point is pretty high compared to Ubiquiti and other equipment. For how long have I used the solution? Three to five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? None, which is why this product turned into my go to solution. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The largest implementation that I was able to do was about 15 APs, with no issues. How is customer service and technical support? I have never had to use technical support. The product is very simple to use. Which solutions did we use previously? I used SonicPoint. The connection stability was very poor. Though, the firewalls worked well. How was the initial setup? The initial setup is straightforward. Configure one IAP and all the rest self-configure to that one. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Price is fairly expensive, however it is worth it. If the “master” fails, another AP can take over the role. Which other solutions did I evaluate? We evaluated Ubiquiti, Hive, Netgear, Cisco, and Meraki. What other advice do I have? Grab a couple and test them out. The features that these things have available and the ease of setup are fantastic. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It works with our Active Directory domain. The logging is hard to read when troubleshooting issues.? What is our primary use case? We purchased Aruba Wireless for our new office that we were opening in Austin, TX. I needed a solution which was simple to administer, easy to implement, cost effective, and tied into our existing Active Directory environment. How has it helped my organization? As we have acquired a few companies, having the ability to have multiple RADIUS connections has helped us. What is most valuable? * Having it work with our Active Directory domain. * Having a RADIUS authentication was a bonus. What needs improvement? My biggest issue is the logging. It is hard to read when troubleshooting issues. For how long have I used the solution? One to three years. What other advice do I have? I would buy it again. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Some of the implementations or features do work as advertised. Urgent areas of improvement would be customer support, better tuned default settings, and documentation. What is our primary use case? Using this solution district-wide in all of our secondary buildings. We have over 1000 IAP-225 APs deployed, along with ClearPass. How has it helped my organization? We currently use the MAC address caching through ClearPass to allow guests to connect from a prior authenticated attempt. We also use the Visual RF component in AirWave for tracking devices. What is most valuable? There aren't a lot of features that Aruba has that their competitors don't. With that being said, some of the implementations or features do work as advertised: easy deployment of APs, MAC caching, and aesthetically pleasing GUI for configuration. What needs improvement? The urgent areas of improvement would be customer support, better tuned default settings, and documentation. Aruba’s TAC support for us has been frustrating most of the time, as there is a clear language/dialect barrier when speaking or emailing a TAC representative. We’ve found that we have more emails (which equates to longer resolution time) than typically needed to cover certain questions and updates – as the TAC directions and instructions were either incomplete or we couldn’t understand what they were referencing. There have been occasions where a local Aruba rep, has had to step in for the TAC due to this problem. Out of the box the Aruba gear (at least with the IAP-225 APs) comes with all of the marketing promised higher throughput settings (which causes issues such as CCI) enabled such as (but not limited to): 80 Mhz channel width (which anybody rarely uses), all 2.4 Ghz channels enabled, and high transmit power turned on. Many of these settings are used rarely in most deployments, and will need to be tuned. Aruba should enable 40 Mhz channels, only enable channels 1,6,11 on 2.4 Ghz, and set the power lower – as this will give most deployments a better chance at succeeding. This would benefit those who just put them in and call it a day or have little to no knowledge on the inner-workings of RF. This isn't an Aruba only problem, many of the wireless vendors do this, and the community has asked for this to change – however, I felt it was worth noting. Aruba’s documentation is pretty good, however there are cases where something is recommended by a TAC or an Aruba engineer that cannot be found in their documentation for the product itself, or their best practices guides (often referred to as Validated Reference Designs – VRD). The things that we've had to change/rethink but weren't in the documentation are: cluster sizes, standard L2 VLAN, disabling L3 Mobility, and client match. For how long have I used the solution? Four to six years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? We have encountered stability issues. The APs would sometimes randomly reboot; no idea what was causing it and support was less than helpful. The clients connecting would have a magnitude of issues until we turned off or disabled some features (some of which we really wanted to use). What do I think about the scalability of the solution? We have encountered scalability issues. We were initially hooked by the simplistic nature of the "controller-less" idea. We have come to find out that we need to revamp our networking from 1-2 clusters per building (depending on size), to one cluster per network closet. This is not in the official documentation, so it feels like bait and switch. We also need to redo our VLANS, as now we've been told to go to one big L2 network for data, again not located in the documentation. How are customer service and technical support? Customer Service: Customer service is very poor. We've had many problems with Aruba TAC, such as (and not limited to): not being able to understand them, them not being complete in their requests, and outright incompetence. We've had to bring in Aruba reps and other third parties locally to assist in getting issues resolved. Technical Support: Technical support is very poor; see Customer Service section. If you previously used a different solution, which one did you use and why did you switch? We previously used Extreme Networks. We switched from 802.11n to 802.11ac, and Aruba was rewarded the bid mainly due to cost. How was the initial setup? The setup for the APs is straightforward; however, you need to be extremely knowledgeable to set up ClearPass. What about the implementation team? Implementation was done by a little bit of both an in-house team and a vendor team. The vendor helped us get the ClearPass set up; otherwise, we set up the AirWave appliance (monitoring solution - similar to a controller). What was our ROI? Not sure about ROI, but with the money spent attempting to fix the problems caused by this solution, it's definitely not as good as we would like. In regards to perhaps a 'hidden' ROI, one of our building's WiFi was extremely unreliable that the staff and users of the network simply gave up using it. We are pursuing a different vendor at this location. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Get multiple bids/quotes, and talk to the representatives about the limitations of the product; pretty standard. Which other solutions did I evaluate? Before choosing this product, we also evaluated Cisco, Extreme Networks (Enterasys at the time), and Xirrus. This process was completed before I came aboard. What other advice do I have? Honestly, and simply put, I would look elsewhere. I feel this company falls short on its promises, has been a pain to work with, and the product I feel is inferior to its many competitors. Don't be fooled by the marketing hype; it's a fair product but it's not everything they promise. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2017-05-10T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from An inexpensive option from a leader in the field with 24/7 support from the USA What is our primary use case? We are using different versions depending on the customer. We have about 400 or 500 customers. Some of them are Aruba, some of them have other technologies. Different versions are deployed all over. We use it as a wireless device manager where appropriate. What is most valuable? There are only so many features in Wireless controllers. The fact that Aruba has a virtual controller onboard the internet access points makes it cheaper than to buy Aruba Central licenses or Meraki Cloud licenses. That probably makes it most valuable. What needs improvement? Aruba Wireless is among the leaders in the market. We are not talking about basic access points. As a leader, they keep ahead of the field. For how long have I used the solution? We have been using it for a year-and-a-half. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The stability is very good. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? It is very scalable. How are customer service and technical support? The technical support is good. My impression is that pre-sale support is very good with Aruba. Their global presence is important. I do not have to deal with any other technical support because they have a follow-the-sun type of system that uses different support teams. When I ask for support, we get it and we get it during regular business hours. I never phoned anywhere else but the North American team. They are good and responsive. How was the initial setup? Installation is pretty straight forward. What other advice do I have? On a scale from one to ten where one is the worst and ten is the best, I would rate Aruba wireless eight-out-of-ten. Nobody would get a ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2020-08-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Reliable, stable platform from controller to AP. Cost prohibitive compared to similar solutions on the market.? What is our primary use case? I administered Aruba Wireless systems at two organizations. The first was a private college with around 12,000 endpoints campus wide, which included over 500 Aruba access points of various models and generations configured through the Aruba 7220 Mobility Controller. The second was a private high school with around 5000 endpoints and 130 Aruba access points, models 125 and 134, and configured through an Aruba 3600 Mobility Controller. I have been maintaining Aruba Wireless systems at these two different organization for around 4 years in total. How has it helped my organization? A reliable wireless connection is imperative in a modern school setting. Our organization is forced to resort to inefficient methods without wireless internet. Aruba provides an easy to manage solution for my team. What is most valuable? The most valuable features have been the following: * Reliability: Stable platform from controller to AP. * Responsive support: When support is needed, the Aruba engineers are normally quick to respond to problems. * Ease of Deployment: APs are very easy to configure to the network once they contact the controller. What needs improvement? Aruba has been an excellent solution. However, I am aiding in transitioning my organization to a different wireless solution due to the cost. We need to expand our network and the cost of new APs and an upgraded controller have proved to be prohibitive compared to similar solutions on the market. For how long have I used the solution? Three to five years. Which other solutions did I evaluate? Aruba is an excellent option for campus wireless. It can be more labor intensive initially than other options, such as Cisco Meraki, however it provides a reliable wireless platform that can be easily maintained by a small network team. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Allows a student or teacher to be able to roam freely from classroom to classroom without dropping a signal What is our primary use case? Provide WiFi access for an elementary school pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. Serving about 350 students with mobility Internet connection. The building infrastructure is a solid, old school, preventing your regular AP from being able to penetrate through walls. How has it helped my organization? Teachers and students have access to technology within the classroom which is used daily side-by-side complementing their education. What is most valuable? Most valuable feature of the solution is the ability for a student or teacher to be able to roam freely from classroom to classroom, no matter the floor, without dropping a signal. What needs improvement? The ability for newer devices to easily communicate with older style APs. I wish the APs had the ability to enter in notes about a specific AP. For example, AP Mac address goes to classroom 123. For how long have I used the solution? More than five years. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The features we find most valuable are the firewall, virtual controller, and its compatibility with controller-based and controller-less solutions. Valuable Features * Firewall * Virtual controller * Compatibility with controller-based and controller-less solutions Improvements to My Organization It supports different classes of services for different types of users, has easy management, is easy to use, etc. Room for Improvement The RF needs to be improved. Use of Solution We started using it one month ago. Deployment Issues There have been no issues with the deployment. Stability Issues 8/10 Scalability Issues There have been no scalability issues. Customer Service and Technical Support Customer Service: 8/10 Technical Support: I'd rate technical support 9 out of 10. Previous Solutions We switched for its new and advanced features, as well the lifetime warranty. Initial Setup It's just plug-and-play. Implementation Team We implemented it with support of vendor and I would rate them as 9/10. Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing The IAP licence that we use is free. Other Solutions Considered * Cisco * Eugenius * Ubiquity Other Advice It is a very stable and scalable solution. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2016-02-18T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Very stable, with good integration, but quite expensive What is most valuable? The solution has great integration capabilities. It offers a lot of helpful common features. The solution is quite stable and very robust. What needs improvement? The solution is quite expensive. If they could make the cost a bit lower, that would be helpful. It's pricey compared to, for example, D-Link or TP-Link. Other commonly used products offer more competitive pricing. The solution should offer more simplified tools. There needs to be better visibility on the day-to-day monitoring. It would be ideal if they had cloud services whereby you could manage everything from the cloud. This may be on the most current version, however, on older versions, they don't offer this. Even if you deployed on-premises, you should be able to control everything from the cloud. For how long have I used the solution? We've been using the solution for quite some time. It's easily been about five or so years at this point. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The solution is quite stable. It's very robust, in fact. Many enterprises deploy it and they can rely on its stability. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? As a solution suitable for enterprises, it can scale quite well. A company should have no trouble expanding it if they need to. How was the initial setup? Everyone has their own method of deploying this product. Each company is different. It may be pretty straightforward or more complex depending on an organization's needs. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Their pricing is on-par with Cisco. It's definitely not the cheapest on the market. It's on the higher end in terms of price. For example, you need to purchase extra tools in order to get better monitoring and performance visibility. What other advice do I have? We're an Aruba partner. We provide this solution to our customers. We tend to work with and offer the latest version on the market. The version we have now in our offices is more than five years old at this point. It was the latest version when we installed it. Would advise anyone considering using Aruba first do a proof of concept. Different environments will have different needs. It's really up to the team and the performance walls that you're looking to test. If your company is pretty simple and small, it may not be necessary to have Aruba. It would be like buying a Ferrari when all you really need is any old car. However, if your organization is looking for a solution that is solid, performance-wise, this may be perfect. It's best to test. Also, a company needs to clearly identify their requirements. Do they need the high performance? Are they constrained by costs? All of these questions need to be considered before signing onto a solution. A cost-benefit analysis needs to be done before choosing any product. Overall, I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. If it offered more free tools and had better day-to-day monitoring, I might rank it higher. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2020-10-11T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Improved overall scalability and simplicity in configuring and replacing APs What is our primary use case? We had Aruba controllers and APs installed in over 1,000 retail stores and in several large distribution centers. How has it helped my organization? The product improved overall scalability and simplicity in configuring and replacing. This product replaced old Symbol wireless AP’s that required individual configuration and management. The use of an Aruba Controller to configure multiple APs was game-changing. We went with Aruba over Cisco at the time, simply for cost. What is most valuable? The most valuable feature in this product would be the stability. You build it, install it, and it’s good to go, with no further tweaks needed unless adding or replacing APs. What needs improvement? An area of this product that could use improvement would be the troubleshooting. At times I had to engage Aruba Support which ran some pretty complicated troubleshooting commands. I would not have been able to do with existing CLI documentation. What other advice do I have? I would rate it at eight out of 10. It proved to be stable with minimal failures that I saw in the three- to five-year time frame I worked with them. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It provides superior WiFi access and RF management What is our primary use case? * Branch and campus access * Guest and employee access * Device onboarding and device access * Guests are divided into groups. How has it helped my organization? * Providing WiFi access to employees and guests. * Traffic segregation * WiFi roaming * Digital branch What is most valuable? * Superior WiFi access and RF management * WiFi security via WiFi Firewall * Access control * Integrations with other systems What needs improvement? * Needs integrated wired, which is not traditional HPE. * The new 8400 failed at Lab, plus its integration with Aruba Central. * Needs a good enterprise story, including branches and campuses. For how long have I used the solution? More than five years. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-04-23T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Denies inter-user traffic: It easily blocks traffic between users What is our primary use case? * Different roles assigned to corporate and guest users. * Corporate users authenticated via 802.1X against ClearPass with machine authentication. * Guest users authenticated via captive portal; ClearPass guest self-registration process. How has it helped my organization? * Better failover. * Aruba Mobility Controllers configured in master standby mode. * Centralized licensing. What is most valuable? * HA: Apps failover without reboot. * ARM: Auto adjusts the power and channel. * Rouge Detection: Helps in identifying threats. * Role assignment: Each user is assigned a different role based on the radius attributes returned by ClearPass. * Firewall rules can be applied per role. * AppRF: Helps to find out which applications are used by the clients. * Denies inter-user traffic: It easily blocks traffic between users. What needs improvement? MAC authentication against an external Radius server while using 802.1X. This feature will help the L2 devices to authenticate via external Radius servers. As L2 devices cannot do 802.1x. This feature is available in Cisco WLC, named for its MAC Filtering. For how long have I used the solution? Three to five years. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-15T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It's allowed us to be SDN-enabled with networking thrust re-route or pick-ups at the switch edges. Valuable Features Four years ago, our network was incapable of handling our anticipated throughput. We knew we had issues in our network, so we made sure our switches and infrastructure were OpenFlow-enabled. We originally planned for three devices per student, but now we're seeing four or five and sometimes more with wearable devices. Now, with Aruba Wireless, we're SDN-enabled with networking thrust re-route or pick-ups at the switch edges. Improvements to My Organization Aruba Wireless allows us to integrate our network with different HP technologies. We want to have a single vendor with a rapid-enough life-cycle. HP isn't held back by the workload or lowest common denominator, or by the fact that we have locations in Australia, Vietnam, and other places on that side of the globe. We can use Aruba Wireless everywhere and manage it effectively. It is doing everything we need it to do and it's giving me the flexibility to go where I want to go. Room for Improvement It could always be improved to be a better risk-related investment. We need to maximum our investment and to have it work to its fullest potential for us. I'd like to see it get to the point where SDN works well with HP Net Protector. Deployment Issues We've had no issues with deployment. Stability Issues We had lots of issues on the network routers until about 12 months ago, having to do with the architecture. We had too much load at the core by allowing too many wireless users. Scalability Issues We run two-and-a-half gigabytes through the wireless system. We're looking for even greater throughput, and I think it'll scale to accommodate this. Customer Service and Technical Support Technical support has been good. We have a support contract with HP and access to the right people when we need them. However, HP's presence in Australia is a little light. Other Advice Definitely look at SDN to take some costs out of your network. If you can, go with HP ConvergedSystem because it's the simplest, fastest way to virtualize your networks. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2016-01-19T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Easy to use, the 335-AP provides reliability, stability What is our primary use case? We have made a full 32-site school transition from Mary to Aruba wireless. How has it helped my organization? Reliability, stability, and best use of our network. What is most valuable? The Aruba 335-AP. For how long have I used the solution? Three to five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? There were stability issues, but only on initial deployment. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Very few scalability issues, mostly user error. How is customer service and technical support? Great support. Which solutions did we use previously? We used Meru. We switched to Aruba for the newer technologies they presented. How was the initial setup? It was pretty straightforward. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Licencing can be surprising and needs improvement. Look into all features, what you need versus what you want, and know that nothing comes without some kind of license. Which other solutions did I evaluate? Meru, Cisco, Aerohive. What other advice do I have? It's a great product, easy to use, easy monitoring, and great tech support. Plan out placement as thoroughly as possible. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from ?Easy to deploy. I especially like the Adaptive Radio Management feature. Valuable Features Adaptive Radio Management Improvements to My Organization We're a VAR and it's our best selling solution. Use of Solution Two years. Deployment Issues No issues encountered. Stability Issues No issues encountered. Scalability Issues No issues encountered. Customer Service and Technical Support Customer Service: Fast response and professional teams. You can add new patches to match your requirements. Technical Support: Fast response and professional teams. You can add new patches to match your requirements. Previous Solutions No previous solution used. Initial Setup It is straightforward. Implementation Team We used a vendor team and their level of experience was excellent. Other Advice Aruba focuses on high-end WLAN technologies. They are now certified with many other vendors to be used in conjunction with their products. It is easy to deploy and there are many other benefits. Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:we're a VAR
Date published: 2015-01-22T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Allowed for detailed control and management of an entire WiFi network from a single screen What is our primary use case? I sold both the Aruba hardware and software, primarily the IAP 100, 200 and 300 series, along with AirWave as well as ClearPass to SMB clients primarily with less than 500 employees. At the time, I worked for PGH Networks, a local MSP and Aruba certified partner. I used this solution for four years from 2013 to 2017. How has it helped my organization? Aruba provided a great product offer for clients of all sizes and scopes. Everyone needs WiFi. 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. What is most valuable? * Instant access points and ClearPass * IAPs could be deployed without a controller, solving sticky clients by peeling away users crowding one AP and can have settings pushed from a master AP. * ClearPass and AirWave gave highly accurate detailed reports of who used which applications when and the ability to throttle users if they were bogging down the network with superfluous activity. What needs improvement? Larger network for Aruba users and partners. I would have liked to see more manufacturer driven events and outings to drive brand recognition and familiarity. For how long have I used the solution? Three to five years. Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:My previous employer was a certified Aruba partner.
Date published: 2018-03-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It's able to address BYOD complications by providing security for network access. Valuable Features: For me, its security features are the most valuable, helping us to reduce a lot of complications. For example, there are security code issues we have to address when enterprise users bring their own iPads, iPhones, notebooks, or any mobile device, and they want to access our network. They may need to access our network resources, but there can be complications because they are our enterprise users or guests with unique user names, passwords, etc. Aruba is able to address those complications by providing the security for that network access. Improvements to My Organization: I work as an IT infrastructure manager. WiFi is in our scope of responsibilities, so we prepare the implementation projects for the general areas and for our enterprise users. We asked for tenders from Aruba, Cisco, and Meru Networks. At the end of the day we decided, or rather I decided, on Aruba because of its security features. We performed a lot of tests to reduce the number of certificates needed, the access point requirements, IPS features, spectrum analyses, etc. After that, we decided that Aruba would be best for us. We have been using it for two years and we are very, very satisfied with the features because there are no security problems. We continued using Aruba, not just with that project, but for different projects in other companies. For other projects, we ask for tenders, and if HP wins, Aruba will also win because we will not buy separate WiFi solutions. We will buy solutions under the local area network site. We combine the solutions because we believe that if you are using wired and wireless networks, the one utilizing UNIX systems should be the deciding factor. At the same time we want a program with NOC solutions, BYOD, MDM, and ATM location services. We want all that to work together in our program designs. Room for Improvement: Sometimes there's some small problems, but this is the nature of technology. Deployment Issues: We've not had any issues with deployment. Stability Issues: In our two years of use, there haven't been any big problems. Scalability Issues: We've had some scalability issues because of the way we're scaling our hardware base. For example, we started with 64 access points although our controller supports only 6 core access points. We've scaled incrementally, though, as we then went to 128 and then to 200, whereas our competitors start high. Previous Solutions: Out of the box, we had 1000 access points licensed, but that amount depends on your own license. If you buy 120, you can support 120. There's no change to the control site up to 1000 licenses. Compared to Cisco in this regard, Arube is not as flexible. Initial Setup: The initial setup was not complex. There's a CLI, much like Cisco. Aruba's certification is also very similar to Cisco's, which is not very difficult. Implementation Team: I implemented it myself. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.We're partners.
Date published: 2016-01-07T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Gives us visibility into a user's speed, IP, MAC address, and daily bandwidth use What is our primary use case? We're primarily using it for wireless users. It's actually to monitor use; we're using stand-alone wireless controllers in all our sites. How has it helped my organization? Before we used Aruba Wireless we had individual access points connected to our switches. We didn't actually have a centralized switch that could control all of our access points. Now, bringing the Aruba Wireless Controller into production, it's really giving us good visibility. All our access points are connected to one controller. Through that controller, we can actually handle each access point; we can disconnect or connect that access point, and then we can tell, or see, or allow how many users are, or should be, connected through that access point. These are the developments, or the functionalities, that wireless controllers provide for us. What is most valuable? The most important feature is all about the two wavelengths, the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz, and the access points which are connected to this wireless controller. The perfect thing is that if we really want to know where a specific user is connected, it gives us the ability to see that and how that user is actually receiving. We can know the speed and their IP, their MAC address and, most of the time, how much bandwidth they're using per day. The wireless controller actually gives that functionality as well. The other good thing is the dashboard. It tells us who is using most of the bandwidth, and how many APs are not in good range, or that do not actually have good security. It shows us which users are trying to hack or how many users are trying to use BitTorrent. So it gives us very good visibility into the user, so we know who we have or who we are providing internet or bandwidth for. What needs improvement? The speed could be better. I heard that Aruba is trying to shape the speed inside the wireless controller, but that has not been adopted yet. If they put some kind of mechanism inside the wireless controller for the speed such that, "Okay, this many users will have 20 by 20, 20 in the upload, 20 in the download. Just this many users. And this many users will have this type of speed or that type of speed." I think it would be very good if they actually bring that functionality inside the wireless controller. I would also like to see stable firmware. For how long have I used the solution? Three to five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Every month Aruba has new firmware. I don't know if it's good or bad but it's not good in terms of production. We can't upgrade our firmware every month, especially an enterprise company, because if we upgrade our firmware based on the latest firmware that Aruba has, that firmware is not stable. They're not 100 percent sure about it. My suggestion is, take your time, or invest in your knowledge. Bring on more engineers. Don't produce or broadcast firmware every month. Just have two or three firmware updates each year, and make them stable. Perfect. The way that Cisco does. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The amount of work that the controllers are handling is perfect. It's very good. How is customer service and technical support? Tech support is pretty easy to work with, pretty fast. But when it comes to sending your logs to the Aruba guys, then it takes time. I had some crash logs the other day. I sent them and it took about three weeks for them to analyze the logs and then, in the end, they told me they really didn't know what was going on. So the help desk, the first level of support is very good. But when it's going to the engineers to analyze logs, then it takes time. How was the initial setup? The setup was a little bit complicated. It really depends on the person. If you really don't know and it's your first time that you are touching an Aruba device, then it takes a lot of time. You're not going to get it, if you have never actually touched an Aruba Wireless Controller. You have to have an experienced engineer with you to show you what to do: how to add an AP, how to proceed with all the other configurations. Once you have had your hands on it a couple of times, then it becomes easier. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? It's not expensive. That is the reason we switched to Aruba. What other advice do I have? Take the training at first and then implement it. Be sure to have full knowledge of your network, know how your network has been set up. And have a senior engineer or have one of the Aruba engineers so they can help you with the project that you have. Ask them how to actually implement Aruba into your network and they can advise you. I give this solution a 10 out of 10. It's a new product, Aruba is somewhat new to the market but I think they are doing an excellent job. For a newbie type of product, it's not very easy to compete with the market, especially with the Cisco controller manager. But I think Aruba is on top, nowadays, in the market. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-06-05T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The virtual controller has options for updating and remotely restarting any AP from one controller panel What is our primary use case? We have Aruba IAP-225 APs in both a school and a health center environment. We initially had 15 of them installed at the school about three years ago and kept expanding to 45 APs at this site. Our school was a challenge as each room has cider block walls, so we deployed a single AP in the ceiling above the wall of two classrooms. We primarily have laptops and iPads that connect in various classrooms and for training. We had such great success that we have deployed 40 APs in a five level building to support a new Health Center that opened in January. How has it helped my organization? We have just started to use the captive portal option at our health center to direct clients to our patient portal while restricting bandwidth so they do not get carried away in the waiting room. The full mounting kit has worked well above the ceiling. What is most valuable? The best part of the configuration is the virtual controller that we use to manage the environment. It provides redundancy of any AP acting as the controller should it go down. There are other controller purchase options for higher numbers of APs to support, but having this option has kept costs down and the devices have a lifetime warranty. The virtual controller has options for updating and remotely restarting any AP from one controller panel, and monitoring and configuration has been fairly simple from one console. What needs improvement? The ceiling grid mount clips have room for improvement. For how long have I used the solution? One to three years. How is customer service and technical support? Support through third party vendors or direct from HPE has been easy to manage. They are very responsive. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Review about Aruba Wireless Valuable Features Aruba is the only other wireless vendor besides Cisco that offers the flexibility of using AP's in any combination of the 3 controller-based architectures. Improvements to My Organization Lots of Flexibility but with flexibility comes complexity. Flexibility is great for large organizations but the Aruba instant AP may be good for smaller organizations. Use of Solution I have worked with Aruba gear for 4 years. Deployment Issues Any issues I encountered were resolved quickly with an excellent TAC. Scalability Issues Aruba has a very scalable product with different hardwar, software and complementary products such as AirWave and ClearPass. Customer Service and Technical Support TAC is really a 9+ Previous Solutions I have worked with other great vendors like Cisco, Meraki, Motorola, etc. Initial Setup There are ways to sidestep the complexity available with Aruba, but if you do not need the advanced features of Aruba then Aruba instant or another vendor may suit your needs best. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2016-05-16T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Allowed us to have one controller at our central location and still provide wireless to our outlying clinics. Valuable Features The main reason I chose to implement the HP WLC was due to the limitations of our previous Sonicwall WLC not being able to have layer three provisioning. I would say that feature is the most valuable. Improvements to My Organization With our old wireless network, we had to put controllers at every location to have wireless access. This product allowed us to have one controller at our central location and still provide wireless to our outlying clinics. Room for Improvement The user interface on the product isn’t terribly intuitive in some areas, especially when setting up VSC’s. Use of Solution I've been using HP MSM 720 Mobility Controller and 40 HP since April 2014, so approximately 10 months. Deployment Issues I experienced a few issues while deploying the controller. Getting the product to work correctly with a back end RADIUS server proved to be a bit of a task and the lack of documentation didn’t help either. Stability Issues Stability wise the product has been fairly rock solid. I can’t think of any time I have had to even reboot it since I implemented it. Scalability Issues The particular model (MSM 720) doesn’t provide much in terms of scalability. It only allows for 40 Access Points which my company has about that number. Customer Service and Technical Support Customer Service: Customer service on the phone I would rate fairly poorly. On more than one occasion I could not understand the agent or would get disconnected, however, online customer service is much better. Technical Support: I have only used the HP forums for technical support and it has a pretty good following and a lot of knowledgeable users. Previous Solutions We previously used a Sonicwall NSA3500 for all our needs. We switched due to the lack of Layer three provisioning at the time plus I wasn’t a fan of one device controlling so many aspects of our network and security. Initial Setup I would say complex, mainly due to the lack of good documentation. All together, it took me about a week to fully get the product in a production state. Coming from a Cisco background it seemed much more cumbersome than their products. Implementation Team We used an in house team (me). ROI I am not sure of the ROI at the moment. It has not been implemented long enough for any significant ROI. Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing Original setup cost for this implementation was around $30,000. Day-to-day the product costs nothing. Other Solutions Considered Any time we have a project we must have three viable options to choose from. We looked at HP, Cisco and Meru. Other Advice * Have a strong knowledge of your internal network * Study the manual as much as possible * Focus on VSC’s and Vlan configuration * If you come from a Cisco background keep in mind you won’t use an access port on the switch port connected to the AP like you would in a Cisco WLC setup, but instead either a trunk or tagged port Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2015-02-27T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from We needed a real stack environment, a high density switch & dual power supply. Managing our data centre network was a challenge. It was designed 15 years ago, before the internet, and not very flexible. If the users had asked us to create a new system we might have had to say no because we didn’t have the space and the bandwidth. With two networks – one for administration and one for students – to manage, we were certain the old data centre would not serve users’ needs into the future: it had no room for expansion. It was difficult to install new equipment because of the huge amount of cable. We needed a data centre to give us space and where it would be easy to add and remove equipment. The administration had become increasingly dependent on IT services for carrying out its duties. As e-administration capabilities expanded, ensuring delivery of the systems demanded by its seven independent departments was becoming even more crucial. Everything is done electronically today. Our network supports more than 400 applications, ranging from internal systems for supporting healthcare for the elderly and handicapped to public-facing, self-service applications for the municipality’s 203,000 citizens. We chose the HP 3800 switches for a number of reasons: we needed a real stack environment, it is a high density switch with 48 1 Gb ports and four 10 Gb ports, it has dual power supply for redundancy, and it has a lifetime warranty. The lifetime warranty is important to us. If a device breaks and is no longer available, HP provides a similar device – a newer version. At the network’s edge are more than 1,000 devices in 800 different buildings, connected using HP 2600 Series Switches and HP 3500 Series Switches. HP 5400 Series Switches connect 30 backbone devices. HP ProCurve MultiService Mobility Access Points are installed throughout the network to give easy network access to laptops, tablets and smartphones. We have been working with HP products for the past 15 years. We needed to do this installation quickly and working with products we trusted and knew inside out really helped. There was just no reason to start again with a new vendor. Network deployment took just six weeks. We have helped beta-test HP ProCurve Manager Plus for the past 5 years. The whole design creates redundancy, it is a showcase of the right way to do it. The HP 3800 switches not only have the flexibility of a stackable form factor, they have 10 Gb expandability to support bandwidth-intensive applications, providing investment protection for future needs. The flexibility we have is a huge benefit. We now have a system that can cope with future demands and can create new systems demanded by the users. It is much more flexible when you have to add more equipment: we no longer have to pull new cables because they are already installed in the racks. You just have to add the new equipment, put the network connections into the network switches and it just runs the way it should. When you have 10 Gb links it is easier to add extra VLANs and now we have the option to use 10 Gb everywhere – a huge difference to the 1 Gb links we had previously. The 10 Gb fibre is key to making our network design work. Currently we have 450 km of fibre installed across our municipality. It is now easier to find your way around the network, improving network monitoring significantly. The way it is structured now, monitoring is easier. All the racks are designed the same so it’s much easier to find your way around. All the devices have a unique naming structure and unique address, and all the ports on the switches are designed for a specific purpose – so you know where things are. Even when a stackable switch is operated with other units, there is only ever a single management interface for the network administrator to deal with. This simplifies the setup and operation of the network. You only have to manage 1 switch for each stack, meaning I only have to manage 5 switches instead of the 24 I would have had to manage previously. The system is more responsive for the users and we now have a system that can cope with future demands: now that we have the space and the bandwidth we need, we have the ability to create the new systems that the users want. Disclaimer: IT Central Station has made contact with the reviewer to validate that the person is a real user. The information in the posting is based upon a vendor-supplied case study, but the reviewer has confirmed the content's accuracy.
Date published: 2015-04-14T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from ?It has improved overall IT efficiency across the board What is our primary use case? We provide Aruba Wireless in over 30 schools in Southeastern Wisconsin. How has it helped my organization? It has improved overall IT efficiency across the board. This has resulted in fewer wireless issues encountered and a more stable environment. What is most valuable? ClientMatch and AirWave: These have increased management purposes, reporting, etc. What needs improvement? Some additional reporting features about the clients would be nice when not combined with the AirWave management package. For how long have I used the solution? Three to five years. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from For the most part, users haven't noticed hiccups because of the HA capability & the speed at which the controllers can authenticate. Unlike in the past, quarterly release dates have been delayed. Valuable Features It's very adaptable from the access point line. We've found that ClearPass products have met our performance marks to the letter. They sold us on foundations stats and provided us with everything we asked for. They didn't come up short and were dead on the money. Improvements to My Organization It's provided our students with such reliable service that they just expect it to be there and take it for granted. They come to school, blackboard their work, get on YouTube, chat with friends, etc., and then go home, not realizing that they used the college network. We've been able to give them the best experience possible, and their feedback has been amazing. If there are ever any hiccups, the complaints and tickets pile up very quickly. Our users, for the most part, haven't noticed hiccups because of the HA capability and the speed at which the controllers can authenticate. In fact, the last couple updates have boosted the quality and redundancy. Students have been able to watch YouTube videos without any noticeable rendering issues during hiccups. We have a few IAP's and that's sort of like the standalone home router stuff. They're lacking in functionality, and though they are designed for standalone small deployments, they don't give you the good standalone fun stuff that you expect on a smaller scale router, like good DLNA. I wish they were a little bit more progressive on their IAP line. Room for Improvement Before HP bought Aruba, the release dates for codes were very predictable and quick. Code release were always visibly available. But since HP's acquisition, normal and quarterly release dates have been delayed, probably because of continued integration between the two companies. One specific issues is that we want to deploy their latest and greatest AP, but they don't have a GA code version available yet. We're still waiting. I know that's a very specific complaint, but it actually has impacted us because we keep a flush on the older access points on hand just in the event code gets delayed by a few weeks. It's now been delayed by a month to two and I have to buy older access points. I can't deploy the latest and greatest. I'm hoping things get smoothed out when they start getting their product lines and their flow of products and code deployments get fixed. I've been a little disappointed in that. Also, I've found some of their onboarding stuff to be overkill and not worth the price. Their base stuff that's included in ClearPass is absolutely amazing, but the fringe things are superfluous and overcharged. The core stuff, though, is exactly what you pay for. Use of Solution We're essentially an Aruba shop. We have uniform wireless AP's ranging from AP 125's, which are slowly going to be de-commissioned on our next product cycle, all the way up to AP 325's in our fleet. We have three 7240 controllers, and one 7210 controller as our test platform box that we use for benchmarking and a few other projects. They're basically fully-licensed and we are basically all-wireless. We do not have any HP switching gear in-house or Aruba switching gear. All of this is controllers and access points for the hardware side. For the software side, we have AirWave, which monitors our entire wireless fleet in controllers, and ClearPass. We have three ClearPass appliances -- one is a hardware box and another is a VM box. Both of them are 25K units and one 5K unit appliance, as well as hardware. We've been using them for about 10 years I would say, maybe nine years. Deployment Issues It deploys extremely quickly. Stability Issues The controller is a rock solid 10 out of 10, the access points are 9.5 out of 10, ClearPass is 10 out of 10, and AirWave is 9 out of 10. Scalability Issues It scales incredibly well. We did have some scalability issues with the system a long time ago, but they fixed that rather quickly. We also changed product lines at around that time. We were outgrowing the product a little bit too quickly, but since we've moved to the new controllers, it's been rock solid. Customer Service and Technical Support Technical support is very good, but it's dependent on the engineer you get. Sometimes you'll get a fantastic engineer and your problem is solved right away. Sometimes you might have to jump through a few more hoops. Sometimes you get the Cisco experience where you must follow the bouncing ball and complete all the 10 questions. You know how your product works, you don't need to complete 10 questions. You have a problem and want an engineer who can solve this really quickly. I've noticed that it's been getting better over time. It used to be bad about four years ago. Over the last two to three years, it's been getting a lot better. As long as you fill out the surveys, I tend to find that the service has been getting better and better and better. You get your resolution pretty quickly. So I'm generally quite happy with the tech calls. I've noticed they've scaled back a little bit of their SE's. I guess that's because they're such a big company. Initial Setup The initial setup tends to be both straightforward and complex. Although I haven't done an initial setup in a while, everything just clicks together very well. When I did do an initial setup, the wireless controller was up and running within a few minutes. Deploying new controllers into the cluster takes seconds. There are a lot of wizards and guides built into the controllers for setup. So it's very easy. ClearPass is a little harder, and AirWave is medium difficulty. ClearPass is the hardest part to get going without a good amount of training. Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing Day-to-day costs are generally very low. We have very few problems with the system, so our maintenance costs and hours that we put into solving problems is generally very low, which makes my life really easy to work on other issues that come up. Our wireless system generally doesn't generate a lot of day-to-day issues. Initial costs for purchasing the system? It's on par with other vendors, but is a little bit cheaper than the equivalent of what we were getting out there, so I feel that we got really good value. Other Advice Make sure you buy the system that suits your network. They have a very broad pallet, so you can buy one that's overkill and buy one that's underkill. Make sure you spec and follow the guides appropriately. Also, you have to have a very good concept of how fast you're going to grow and how much you're going to grow because if you don't have a really good idea of what your growth curve is going to look like, you can easily buy something that doesn't fit perfectly. Proper planning for scaling, and knowing what your growth curve is going to be is key. Work with the SE's on figuring out the plan is very important. Aruba has a very broad product line on scalability, so that can hurt you and help you at the same time. It is very nice to have. Disclaimer: IT Central Station contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
Date published: 2016-04-28T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from ?It improves security by helping us to centralize access controls and dot1x, but it would be nice to have the heatmap back in the controller.? Valuable Features Integrated firewall, integrated WIDS/WIPS on the controllers and the ability to tunnel LAN traffic from the switches through the controllers to set consistent 802.1x and access controls that are consistent across both wired and wireless LANs. Improvements to My Organization It improves security by helping us to centralize access controls and dot1x and set common policy across both wired and wireless LANs without having to install additional components. Room for Improvement The controllers used to include heat map functionality. This was removed in a recent release. To get this functionality now, you need to be using Airwave (AWMS), which adds additional cost. On the other hand, Airwave can be used to manage a multi-vendor environment, so there may be some other benefits to having it deployed, but it would be nice to have the heat map back in the controller. Use of Solution I've been using it for five years. Deployment Issues No issues encountered. Stability Issues No issues encountered. Scalability Issues No issues encountered. Customer Service and Technical Support Customer Service: It's excellent. Technical Support: It's excellent. Initial Setup Default settings are sufficient to get a functioning wireless network up and running fairly easily. Complexity increases add vLANs, security policy, dot1x, redundancy, etc. Implementation Team At my previous employer we had a relatively large wireless installation so we worked with a vendor team. The network at my current employer is small enough that I could handle it myself. Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing Licensing has improved. In the past all redundant controllers required licenses for all the access points. They've not implemented a centralized licensing model so that you only need to license your access points once. Other Solutions Considered We evaluated Cisco. Cisco's solution, at the time, required additional components to provide the same functionality. For example you'd need external firewalls, IDS/IPS, and authentication servers. Aruba controllers had all this built in. I haven't looked at Cisco's current offerings, so this may not still be the case. Other Advice I'd recommend you do the training. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2015-11-26T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The most useful feature of Aruba Wireless is the software and controls. The stability is only decent as you have to be careful to properly configure it. Valuable Features The most useful feature of Aruba Wireless, as with all Aruba products generally, is the software and controls. Wireless has many APs and client management software. They're able to push clients based on profile matching to different nearby APs. For example, if there are 75 APs in one area, such as a lobby entrance, you can have an AP next door with one client on Aruba software, and the APs will be able to push a set number of clients. Improvements to My Organization In our hospital lobby, we have on average 700 clients trying to connect at the same time. Using the software, we've been able to make sure that everyone's able to connect. Our entire switching and LAN infrastructure is based on HP along with Cisco. We have about 10,000 access points, but Aruba provides our the client solution. So far, two smaller controllers are able to handle our entire guest infrastructure, which is something around 15,000 concurrent users on the wireless network. Use of Solution We've had it for about three years now. Deployment Issues It deploys well for us. Stability Issues The stability is only decent. You shove in an extra controller and it works generally, but you have to be careful to properly configure it. Scalability Issues The licensing works during peak hours but not during non-peak hours. We're expecting in the near future around 15,000 handheld devices as well as 9,000 BYOD, probably next year. Customer Service and Technical Support We've had no problems with technical support. We know the Aruba technicians in Denmark. Other Solutions Considered We evaluated Cisco APs. Aruba's APs are nice and the management solutions are pretty good. Cisco and Aruba play nicely together. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2016-01-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Spectrum Analyzer and the WIP are my eyes in the sky. It would be good to have more than 4GB for the firewall. Valuable Features The Aruba Adaptive Radio Management (ARM), Spectrum Analysis and Wireless Intrusion Protection are the most valuable capabilities for me. ARM is helpful because it manages my network for me basically. The Spectrum Analyzer and the WIP are my eyes in the sky, so to speak. Improvements to My Organization First of all we use to have standalone AP’s and we had to manage each one separately which was very time consuming for me but now we have a centralized management network with the Aruba 3400 series platform that saves me time in managing. Secondly we had a lot of issues with clients hogging all of the airtime and causing other clients to have to wait but now with Aruba Adaptive Radio Management (ARM) all of our clients have a fair share of airtime and the adjustments are automatic in the controller. Room for Improvement They may have already improved on this but it would be good to have more than 4GB for the firewall. I think this is the only thing I can think of for improvements. Use of Solution Just over one year Deployment Issues I didn’t have any issues when I deployed to Aruba 3400 series platform. The process was smooth and exciting. Stability Issues I didn’t have any issues with stability. We have been up and running for over a year now and the users are very happy with our network. Scalability Issues I haven’t had any issues with scalability. We haven’t had any growth or additional things since we deployed the Aruba 3400 series platform. Customer Service and Technical Support Customer Service: On a scale from 1 – 10 I would say a 7. I haven’t used the customer service enough to give a higher rating. Technical Support: On a scale from 1 – 10 I would say a 7. I haven’t used the customer service enough to give a higher rating. Previous Solutions Yes I previously used a Cisco Solution. We changed products because Aruba was better in cost. Initial Setup The initial setup was straightforward. We deployed all of the hardware and configured the controller and watch the AP’s authenticate and associate with the controller. Implementation Team We used a vendor to the deployment. The deployment went absolutely well. I will have to give the vendor a 10 for their expertise and work they did. ROI My ROI is 125%. We have better production for the workers and IT team. Other Solutions Considered No! We only evaluated Aruba. Other Advice If you are interested in a solution that is straightforward in configuring and deploying choose Aruba solutions. If you want features that will open up more time for you as a network admin Aruba solutions is for you. If you are looking to improve your WLAN performance, scalability, stability, and security Aruba solutions is for you. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2014-12-14T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from I can configure one device and it provisions all other devices with the same configuration What is our primary use case? I have a small office with about five APs. It has a good central management system to help manage my wireless devices, just to ensure that everything is working correctly. How has it helped my organization? It makes things easier because it's SD-WAN. With the central management system, I'm able to access each device. I can configure one device and then it provisions all the other devices with the same configuration, rather than my having to configure them one by one. What is most valuable? The central management system. It's called Aruba Central, which allows you to manage the APs, the switch, and the controllers, etc. What needs improvement? The management system would be better if it were more polished, if it had a better interface like, for example, Meraki. For how long have I used the solution? One to three years. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Scalability is pretty good. I believe they recommend having up to 50 APs per cluster, but it can scale even more than that. I don't really need that in particular, although it's an enterprise-standard product. The throughput is pretty good. How is customer service and technical support? I haven't used technical support as of yet. Which solutions did we use previously? I used to use Meraki but with Meraki, if you stop paying for the licenses, you basically don't own the device. Once you stop paying for the licensing, the device is pretty much dead. How was the initial setup? The initial setup was pretty much straightforward to be honest. You only configure one AP and when you plug the other ones into the network, it recognizes that that AP is the master and gets the configuration off that. Which other solutions did I evaluate? I did look at Ubiquiti because the price point was cheap. But after looking further into it, the main reason I chose Aruba was because they have a lifetime warranty on their APs. What other advice do I have? My advice would depend on the needs. It depends on what size of business you have and what you are looking to accomplish. In general, I'd recommend Aruba Wireless. The only other thing I would let you know is that, 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. For example, with Meraki, you can have a full Meraki network with the switches, routers, firewall, APs, all managed on one central network. With Aruba, if you have a firewall, you'd have to use a separate management system to manage that. The most important criteria when selecting a vendor would be * support * durability of the device * brand reputation * ease of use. I would rate Aruba Wireless at about eight out of 10. I haven't had any issues with it to date, and it's a pretty robust product. The reason I won't give it higher than that is because of the GUI. They need to make it more polished like Meraki's. But other than that, I've been pretty happy with it and I like all the additional features there. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-08-06T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Contains multiple solutions like Guest, NAC, AAA; quick support too What is our primary use case? Enterprise wireless for employees includes multiple wireless controllers, ClearPass Policy Manager, and wireless access points. How has it helped my organization? ClearPass is user friendly for managing the entire solution. What is most valuable? ClearPass is a unique product that contains multiple solutions like BYOD, Guest, NAC, AAA, UEBA, etc. There is also quick support from Aruba TAC. What needs improvement? Access point mounting options. For how long have I used the solution? More than five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? None. The product is very stable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? None. Never seen a scalability issue. How is customer service and technical support? Excellent. Which solutions did we use previously? None. Aruba Wireless was the first and has remained til today. How was the initial setup? You need training on configuration of Aruba products since it deals with a vast range of technology apart from wireless. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? A recent change is that ClearPass licensing is superb. It counts user-based instead of device-based, for BYOD on-boarding. Which other solutions did I evaluate? Cisco. What other advice do I have? Excellent support and stable product. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-04-04T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Ease of adding and being able to configure APs on the fly are key for us What is our primary use case? It is our primary wireless solution. We use a HA paired controller in our main DC. We use the 7200 model. We provide a corporate and guest SSID. What is most valuable? Its manageability of APs is the most valuable feature: ease of adding APs and the ability to configure the APs on the fly. Also, their support engineers are great to work with. What needs improvement? I believe it would benefit from more reporting, other than just a dashboard. It needs some type of report builder so you can have PDFs to show upper management what is going on in the wireless network. For how long have I used the solution? More than five years. Which solutions did we use previously? We had a small Cisco wireless environment originally and to upgrade or expand that environment it would have been a very expensive purchase. Also, instead of one controller that does everything we needed it to do, it would have taken two to three other devices with Cisco to make it work. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-04-08T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from We are able to broadcast different SSIDs with different protocol requirements What is our primary use case? The primary use of this system was to provide the best possible WiFi experience for students, faculty, staff, and guests of our campus. We had 88 APs throughout 14 buildings on campus. During the academic year, we could have hundreds of users connected to the APs at any given time. How has it helped my organization? Compared to what we previously used to have, this product has enabled us to have more devices connected to our WiFi network. What is most valuable? The feature that I love the most is being able to broadcast different SSIDs with different protocol requirements. What needs improvement? 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. For how long have I used the solution? Three to five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The system was very good, but we needed to upgrade in order to adapt for our needs, and doing so with Aruba would have been more expensive. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? No issues. How is customer service and technical support? We used a network vendor to work with us whenever we had an issue, so they took care of everything for us. Which solutions did we use previously? With our previous system, we had to delete users who had not connected to our WiFi for a period of time. With this system, we did not have to worry about that. We used Cisco and switched because of the price. In order for us to get what we needed from them, it would have been too costly. How was the initial setup? Initial setup was very straightforward. We set up the switches and APs, then took it from there. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Besides paying for the APs, you need to pay a license each year for their use. Therefore, watch out for that and do the best you can to keep costs down. Which other solutions did I evaluate? I can't remember, but we probably did. What other advice do I have? It is a great product if it has what you are looking for. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from They let their customers deploy a wireless network and manage and secure it better than others, but they need to create a better unified story with HP switching. Valuable Features The most valuable aspects are its security and analytical capabilities. I think when it comes to wireless the industry has changed a lot. When it comes to wireless, the industry has changed a lot and with connectivity everyone uses the same chips and really the same hardware so the quality of radio is very similar for every vendor. Aruba have put a lot of emphasis on manageability and security, and I think their Airwave and Clearpath products are head and shoulders the best in the industry. They let their customers deploy a wireless network and manage and secure it better than you can do with all other solutions. Room for Improvement The next step is to create better unified story with HP switching. They're part of the same competitor, and their main competitor, Cisco, has a great unified wired/wireless story, and Aruba need to focus on this. They have great management tools and security capabilities, and they need to extend that to the wireless network. Also, they need to enable the data they collect to be used by more companies. If you think of where wireless is big - schools, hospitals, retail environments - it would be good to capture that data and share it with third-parties so they can enhance their customers' experience. Stability Issues It's amongst the best in the industry. It's used by lots of small companies but also by some of the largest companies in the world, and there's only a couple of vendors who can be multi-thousand user wireless deployments, and Aruba's one of them. They have a rock solid solution. Scalability Issues It's highly scalable, and I like the way they have orientated their portfolio. They have a configuration called 'Instant' where you don't actually need a controller, you can just start with a couple of access points and get it at relatively low cost. As you scale it out, you can add more access points, and one or two controllers, and manage it through the cloud. So almost any configuration the customer wants they can do, and as it gets larger, you can bring in the management tools. It's not like some solutions where you have to rip it out to go larger. Customer Service and Technical Support I think it's great. I've never heard a customer complain and they get you on the phone with an engineer quickly. Obviously it's very focused on wireless so you're not going to be calling them for a wide range of problems. For the solution, they're very good. Initial Setup It's easy to get going. You can take an access point out of the box and have it running in minutes. Other Advice It's been the tech leader in the wireless market for a long time, which is why HP paid so much for them. Using the product is very simple, and there are lots of features unique to them. If you're going to purchase it - and you will pay a premium so it will cost more - take advantage of the security features, management tools, and analytical features. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2015-11-26T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It gives us centralized management for all campuses and all wireless access points. Valuable Features It gives us centralized management for all campuses and all wireless access points. Students have guest networks, so the centralized management help us to manage all of users. Room for Improvement Some of the diagnostic features I'd expect to help me troubleshoot parts of the network are missing. I'd like to have diagnostic tools to pinpoint where devices are not getting good signals and why. Use of Solution We've been using it for about four to five years. Deployment Issues We've had no issues with deployment. Stability Issues We've had only minimal outages over the past 5 years thanks to the High Availability solution for the controllers and the access points. If we do have an outage on one controller, the access points can free-associate to another controller on another campus and still function properly for the students and staff. So this is a very stable solution. Scalability Issues We've been able to scale sufficiently for our needs. Customer Service and Technical Support Customer service and technical support have always been great. We've never had an issue getting support from Aruba. We've always had quick responses and very helpful solutions when we contact them. Previous Solutions Before Aruba, we were on individual "fat" access points, so we had to manage each one individually. Initial Setup It's pretty simple. Once the master controller and the local controllers are set up, it's just a matter of syncing the configurations, so you do the configuration once on the centralized controller, and everything gets replicated to all the local controllers at each campus. Adding, removing, changing, bringing on new controllers to replace old controllers is a pretty simple process. Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing I think originally we were in the $30-50,000 range, with yearly maintenance costs and support for licensing, which cost $10-$15,000. Other Solutions Considered We needed a more centrally-managed solution so that you didn't have to manage each individual AP. When we sought out quotes, we looked at Aruba, Meru, Cisco, and a couple of others. Based on the features and the scalability and all the deployment solutions and everything that we needed, Aruba was the best solution for us. Other Advice Make sure you get a proper configuration. Do a proper site survey of your location to know what you need to configure and how you need to customize it to your own environment so that when you deploy your wireless, you're not popping up with any surprises from a bad signal or bad interference in certain places. Just make sure you know your area and you customize your solution around what your area provides for you. Disclaimer: IT Central Station contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
Date published: 2016-04-28T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Enables automated network posture assessment and real-time security across OpenFlow-enabled network devices. Our K-12 school has an extensive campus which hosts 250 faculty and 1500 students, with over 240 students living in boarding houses. Our senior students and faculty members each have a school-provided laptop, while also allowing BYOD access to the network in boarding houses, and throughout the campus for select users. Our IT team faced numerous security challenges associated with allowing unmanaged devices onto the network. We needed a solution that could accurately and reliably prevent and report threats to the network, no matter who the user or what the device is. Despite implementing measures such as installing local antivirus software on the school-owned machines and intrusion prevention on the firewall, our team was still bogged down with hours of manually identifying and eliminating network threats such as botnets, spyware, and malware—issues that were also impacting student and faculty productivity. When we approached HP with our challenges, HP delivered the Network Protector SDN Application to identify and block network threats and enable secure BYOD. HP Network Protector Security, running on the HP Virtual Application Networks SDN Controller, enables automated network posture assessment and real-time security across OpenFlow-enabled network devices such as switches. One of the concerns with implementing an SDN solution is knowing where to start. We were able to implement an SDN solution quickly because of our investment in OpenFlow-enabled hardware. We were able to take advantage of the Network Protector SDN solution by downloading a free software upgrade for our existing switches to enable OpenFlow, eliminating the need for a costly rip-and-replace of our network infrastructure. Network Protector leverages the Virtual Application Networks SDN Controller and OpenFlow to program the network infrastructure with security intelligence from the TippingPoint RepDV Labs database. This effectively turns the entire network infrastructure into security-enforcement devices, providing unprecedented threat protection and visibility. We installed the solution during a school break, and saw instant results when students and faculty returned. Immediately, thousands of threats were automatically identified and blocked by HP Network Protector, and our IT team was able to proactively address network vulnerabilities. HP Network Protector takes away a lot of the manual labor that we used to do; we now know exactly where the infections are and how many there are—we can detect threats and respond in a proactive manner. That saves us hours of work every week. We use Network Protector to help us with challenges around sites like Facebook, which are a distraction during class. With the DNS Blacklist feature, we restrict access to websites like that, which encourages the staff and students to engage more with one another during class. It’s hard for us to measure the return on investment that we’ve had with HP Network Protector, but there’s no doubt that it gives us the power to help staff and students be more productive in the classroom; and at the end of the day, that’s what we’re all about. Disclaimer: IT Central Station has made contact with the reviewer to validate that the person is a real user. The information in the posting is based upon a vendor-supplied case study, but the reviewer has confirmed the content's accuracy.
Date published: 2015-02-22T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Gives us flexibility, keeping the same three wireless networks at all locations What is our primary use case? Our primary product is the Aruba Instant IAP-205-US Wireless Network AP, JW213A. We have 16 locations. Currently, 12 locations have Aruba wireless APs. Within the next 4-6 weeks, all locations will have Aruba wireless APs. All locations except our main location use Aruba Central. Cloud Central gives us one management console where we can configure the same wireless networks for all locations. How has it helped my organization? Many of the devices (laptops, tablets, phones, inventory devices) throughout our organization require wireless capability. Our Aruba configuration gives us the flexibility to be wireless, keeping the same three wireless networks at all locations. With our Aruba configuration, we have a robust, rock-solid, enterprise wireless environment, that is literally maintenance free. What is most valuable? Overall, the wireless networks that we have configured are the most valuable. We have three wireless networks: One for employee use, one for guest use, and one for our warehouse use, which uses MAC authentication. These wireless networks just simply work, they do not fail. The IAP-205 devices are very strong with great range. Very durable equipment; it always works. What needs improvement? The Aruba Central cloud portal needs a lot of work. It is complicated to navigate. For how long have I used the solution? More than five years. What other advice do I have? We have used this product for over six years. We have transitioned from a physical controller (model 620) for wireless, to the "instant" (virtual) controller, eliminating the physical controller. Overall, I would rate our experience with Aruba Wireless products an eight out of 10. The product is very durable, does not go down or fail. It rates a 10. The Aruba Central cloud portal needs work. Compared to the Cisco Meraki dashboard portal, the Meraki dashboard portal is a nine out of 10, while the Aruba Central cloud portal is a five at best. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-04-09T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It allows me to monitor and block employees as needed. What is most valuable? Aruba's good. It's almost over-complicated for what we need it for. How has it helped my organization? Aruba gives me the security that I need because we have WiFi for employees, and the public. It allows me to monitor them and block them or do whatever I need to to keep them in check. What needs improvement? It's a little bit over-complicated. They could simplify the interface. Also, the update procedure from their website could be a little better. Finding the firmware the first time is a pain. What do I think about the stability of the solution? They're good. As long as you have the right controller in place to have enough APs for your business, then it's great. You can stack them. They're just a good product. How was the initial setup? You just plug them in, and once you get them configured, they're great from there. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The licensing could always be a little bit cheaper. Everybody complains about that, but you just plug them in and I rarely have to think about it and that's the product I want. Which other solutions did I evaluate? I looked at Cisco and I can't remember the other vendor. Once again, Cisco was price-point was higher. Aruba gave me every feature I needed and more so they were a good fit for us. What other advice do I have? Make sure you know how many APs you want to throw up there. Remote APs, stuff like that, and size your controller properly, but not for now but five or six years in advance because you don't want to replace it every other year so that'll be my biggest piece of advice. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2017-03-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Saves us the cost of additional wiring What is our primary use case? Aruba Wireless' network is the primary connection method used for connectivity to the university network. We use a master/local setup of controllers. On each of the three campuses we have two local controllers supporting the wireless network. How has it helped my organization? Wireless affords people the ability to stay connected. Mobility allows people the freedom to move about and not rely on being tied to an Ethernet cable only. What is most valuable? Cost reduction in wiring would be one valuable feature. Another would be the freedom of not being tethered to a cable. Mobility is a major plus. It takes a little time to learn and understand the tree and leaf hierarchy but is easy to manage once understood. What needs improvement? Sometimes you are not able to get an engineer on the phone on first call. There have been instances of waiting for a callback. For how long have I used the solution? More than five years. What other advice do I have? I would rate this product at nine out of 10. Aruba provides great service when a call is placed for assistance. One drawback for me is the language barrier. Sometimes it is a little difficult to understand the technician on the phone. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-04-08T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It works as a solution but needs to be more competitive with emerging products What is our primary use case? Aruba was our primary wireless solution until very recently. What is most valuable? In the end, when you bring on a wireless solution, you only need a wireless solution. That is the intrinsic value. We had both Aruba ClearPass and Aruba AirWaves. We had all the management features also available from Aruba. These worked well together as a class of products. What needs improvement? When I compare Aruba with Juniper Mist, Juniper is the more an AI-driven management solution. It is more of a modern solution, I think. Aruba needs to be more competitive with Juniper. For how long have I used the solution? We have been using Aruba Wireless for four or five years now. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I think Aruba is stable because it was working okay. There was no problem with downtime. The issue for us with functionality was because we have much more reflection in our building due to the height of our ceilings. How are customer service and technical support? We bought the product through a reseller. For support, we needed to go through that reseller instead of Aruba self. It is hard to judge the capabilities of Aruba support directly. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? We had Aruba and we just replaced it with Juniper Mist a few weeks ago (September 2020). The AI-driven management solutions from Juniper Mist suits our business more than the Aruba solution we used before. I think Aruba did the work we needed before, but better management is the reason why we moved over to Juniper Mist. Before Aruba, we worked with HP Colubris. We stopped using the HP Colubris solution because HP no longer provided it. That is what happened. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Aruba is comparable to competing solutions when it comes to price. I am going to say that the support pricing for Juniper Mist is higher than Aruba. I think that is because Juniper is more of a cloud model than Aruba. You do also have a cloud solution from Aruba called Aruba Central, but I have not compared prices for that. What other advice do I have? The advice that I would give to someone considering Aruba as a wireless solution would be to look into the Aruba Central cloud solution that they are offering right now. I think we are at a time of brand control that needs to be managed and needs to be supported. I think that working with a cloud-based solution is a better option than on-premises solutions. I think what is more important than a particular tool is that you also have the depth of wireless knowledge to really be able to competently manage such environments. On a scale from one to ten (where one is the worst and ten is the best), I would rate this product as a seven-out-of-ten. To improve on that score they would have to make Aruba more available to cloud management. They just recently started with Aruba Central and they are not as far along as Juniper Mist is with having a mature cloud solution. The problem for Aruba is that Juniper Mist is a new product without a longer legacy. They can start from ground zero. Aruba needs to support the older controller-based models and that may slow them down when it comes to development. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-10-07T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It's a reliable product and it just works. The most valuable feature for us is the support they provide. Valuable Features: The most valuable feature for us is the support they provide us. We're putting together a budget for upgrading to another Aruba kit, but we always know that the support will be there. Improvements to My Organization: It's a reliable product and it just works. We haven't had to really do anything with it. We don't have much budgeted for WiFi because we only have a couple of small offices, but the product is light, very effective, and incredibly reliable for both our employees and guests. I think it'll drive our BYOD policy for more guests who come into our office. Room for Improvement: I don't like how the traffic comes out of the controller. Users connect to the wireless APs and all the traffic converges to the controller and then back out again. This is probably not a limitation but a design issue. Use of Solution: We use Aruba in our manufacturing facilities for the handheld wireless scanners in warehouse production environments. Deployment Issues: We've had no issues with deployment. Stability Issues: It's been stable. We started out with a small warehouse and then we went into the next warehouse then to the productions areas and other spaces. Scalability Issues: We use it the most in our largest manufacturing site with several big warehouses. It scaled just find in this environment. Initial Setup: I wasn't involved in the setup about four years ago. Other Solutions Considered: We looked at HP/Aruba and Cisco. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2016-01-07T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The biggest selling point was the ability to create two different SSIDs to control public versus private wireless networks What is our primary use case? We use wireless for all testing (on Apple, Chrome, and even tablets). We moved our school over to having a managed wireless network. This was my first time doing something like this and my colleague nor myself had any issues with the software or hardware. We have a large investment in Aruba Networks WiFi technology. We have recently deployed a mix of Aruba 225 and Aruba 335 units to provide complete and full coverage over multiple floors. We like the automatic hand-off of a connection to the access point with the strongest connection. We have had no issues deploying the access points, and look forward to years of service from these products, which is a strength that we are seeing. How has it helped my organization? It has great equipment for wireless AP needs. We purchased 1000 units for each floor of our schools. They have a ton of useful business-related features and security features, but the biggest selling point was the ability to create two different SSIDs to control public versus private wireless networks. What is most valuable? AirWave (monitoring tool) If there is a network issue, there are so many ways to access the monitoring application. Also there are maps and labels to tell you exactly where an issue may be. The TAC Service is very responsive and persistent. What needs improvement? There is so much licensing, you literally pay for every solution, add-on, or cool feature. Compared to others, we were in the middle with pricing, but as you start to invest more into features it will get very pricey. For how long have I used the solution? One to three years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Stability and its ability to handle more devices has been an improvement for our organization. How was the initial setup? Installation is relatively easy. Configuration was not all that complicated, but there were some forums online that helped us just in case. They shed light on the deep config options. We only had a summer to deploy. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? 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. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-13T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Straightforward to set up, good stability, and the client match feature is helpful What is our primary use case? I am a system integrator and Aruba Wireless is one of the network infrastructure products that I have experience with. We have customers using versions all the way from AP-100 to AP-535. We have these devices in many industries, with a focus on educational institutions. What is most valuable? The most valuable feature is the client match. This feature continually monitors the client and provides automatic load-balancing, as well as other advanced features. What needs improvement? Improvements to the GUI, such as being able to search in the Mobility Master, would be nice. It is hard to find and provision APs when you have a substantial install base. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Aruba Wireless since 2007. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The stability has been great. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? We haven't had any trouble with scalability. 75% of our clients are using Aruba Wireless. Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I have a lot of experience with wireless networking products from Aruba and Juniper. I also have some experience with Ruckus. How was the initial setup? The initial setup is pretty straightforward and the deployment is quick. With our experience, it is pretty easy to do. What about the implementation team? We integrate Aruba Wireless and other devices for our customers. What other advice do I have? My advice for anybody who is considering Aruba Wireless is to try it. If you try it then you're going to like it. I would rate this solution a ten out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Integrator
Date published: 2020-09-30T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It has lowered our partner's costs for managing their branch offices What is most valuable? In the Aruba 2540 Switch Series portfolio, it is very important that these switches have advanced security and management tools, such as the following: * Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager * Aruba Central * Aruba AirWave How has it helped my organization? It has not made improvements for my company, but from our partner company. They have a list of branch offices across country, and use Aruba cloud-based central support and for remote manage of equipment. For how long have I used the solution? Our partner has been using this solution for a year. What was my experience with deployment of the solution? They haven't found any issues yet. What do I think about the stability of the solution? They didn't found any issues yet. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? They didn't found any issues yet. How is customer service and technical support? Customer Service: Excellent. Technical Support: They are very good responsive and very good knowledgeable. Which solutions did we use previously? Partner had been using Cisco. They switched to Aruba, because of price and functionality, also with an option for adding a SW, like AirWave, Meridian, ClearPass, and Central. How was the initial setup? Initial setup was complex, but when you finally set up the whole network, there are no problems. What was our ROI? ROI is that cost for managing a branch offices which are far away from the main building. Now, it is very low. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.We are distributor for HPE networking equipment, so on a daily bases, I have contact with our partners, who implement this solution in end user companies.
Date published: 2017-10-25T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Web interface for AP management is intuitive, makes managing the system easy What is our primary use case? We use Aruba wireless APs to provide wireless services for a private high school campus which is located on a 60-acre campus in Rockford, IL, with an enrollment of nearly 900 students. How has it helped my organization? Increased productivity with mobile devices has improved by expanding wireless coverage throughout the building. While our building has been covered by the Aruba APs throughout the years, we are now replacing older APs to increase bandwidth to support an increase in the number of users with dedicated devices. Nowadays, the end-user devices require faster bandwidth from APs, and the newest APs obviously support faster standards and improved bandwidth connectivity. What is most valuable? We appreciate that the Instant models do not require a dedicated "controller" to manage the APs. This cost saving allowed us to purchase more APs in our initial order. We started out small and slowly added more APs as each annual budget allowed. We still have the possibility of adding a dedicated controller which affords us more options, but at this time we haven't needed it. The web interface to manage the APs is intuitive and makes managing the system easy. Firmware updates are quick and do not require much downtime. What needs improvement? Customer service really needs to be improved. If the customer support was better, I would recommend it to others more than I do now. I say that even though we are upgrading to newer units this summer. For how long have I used the solution? More than five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Stability of wireless services provided by the Aruba APs hasn't been an issue. If there have been any issues, they've been minor and have been resolved by firmware updates. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? No issues with scalability. 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. This is one of the best features of the Aruba Wireless Instant product line, besides the fact that you do not need a dedicated "controller." How is customer service and technical support? The first level of technical support is frustrating, and I stated that technical support was the one area where Aruba Wireless needs improvement. Higher levels of support are better. Considering that you have to pay yearly for support, I expect a higher level of support. On a scale of one to 10, I'd give their first level of support a four. They have to improve. Which solutions did we use previously? We did for a very brief time, it was a consumer "off-the-shelf" product to get us by in strategic locations in our building. It was not intended to be a long-term deployment. How was the initial setup? Initial setup was straightforward. We followed the very basic instructions (connect to the new WiFi network, then go to a website, make some simple changes, save, reboot, done); updated the firmware, and we were on our way. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Pricing is competitive. Licensing is needed to maintain access to the latest firmware, which wasn't made clear originally when we started with Arbua (or things changed, I'm not sure which). I would just say, make sure you budget for it. In addition to the licensing, you do get "support," for what its worth. Which other solutions did I evaluate? No, we received guidance from others in our community and stuck with Aruba. What other advice do I have? We currently utilize the Aruba Instant 205 and older Instant 105 models. I would give both models a rating of an eight out of 10. We will be upgrading this summer to move our Instant 105 models out of circulation and will be implementing three new Aruba product lines. Make sure you get the maintenance licensing, don't skimp on the models. If you can buy a more powerful unit, get the more powerful unit, it will be supported longer and offer a longer ROI. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-04-09T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Easily manages of all your wireless devices What is our primary use case? I have worked with versions 2.207 and 3.303 and 305. Because I am the service provider for my customers, I've worked with Ruckus, Aruba, Cisco, and UniFi. Most of my customers ask for new wireless solutions. Last week I installed 37 access points. My customers are very satisfied. What is most valuable? Configuring the main controller is very easy; with Aruba, it's just plug-and-play. The roaming features are great too. What needs improvement? Most of the access points don't include the chargers. If you want to increase your coverage, then you need to have a charger. When our customers ask about access points, we always recommend Aruba; however, when we tell them that they need to buy the chargers separately, they become upset, saying: "We already bought Aruba access points, the chargers should come with it". This is my main concern. In the last five years, I've installed nearly 300 Aruba access points and most of my customers have complained about the chargers. If this problem was addressed, I wouldn't have any other complaints. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using this solution for five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I have not experienced any bugs, software, or hardware issues with Aruba. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? This solution is both very stable and scalable. I want to mention something about Aruba's compatibility between various model types. If you already have version 207 installed and you want to switch to version 3.3, it's not compatible; you can't add it to your network. You need to create a standalone network for this access point only. How are customer service and technical support? I only spoke with Aruba's technical support one time. With Aruba, you don't need a lot of support. It is very easy to use. How was the initial setup? The initial setup is very easy. You just need to configure the main device. If you have a standalone or virtual appliance, you can just configure it and install the rest without connecting to the main device. Deployment time varies, but usually, it's very fast. Most of our customers need 10 access points on-site. For me, this only takes roughly 15 minutes to install. I used to use Ruckus. Ruckus takes a long time to configure. Cisco takes longer too. Aruba is the easiest to install. Just configure the main device, and install the rest. Nothing else is required. I'd like to mention something else. Last week, I installed roughly 37 access points — Aruba 303 I believe. Our clients complained about the coverage. Their access points should be able to cover 50 meters, but Aruba was only covering 25 to 30 meters, max. I know Aruba, and like anything, there are advantages and disadvantages. I like Aruba for its easy installation, management and because they provide the best and most optimized connection. What other advice do I have? The most important thing is the heat map; you need to have a good heat map and make sure it's configured correctly with Aruba. If you don't have a heat map, you may have issues. Here in Jordan, some providers will go to a company that requires 10 access points and tell them they only need five. In reality, they just want the job and the client. Then, after everything is said and done, the client complains about the five access points not covering the whole area. Some preparation is required before you can get started with Aruba. The total amount of power needed for the access points needs to be calculated. I would recommend doing this yourself as some companies just want to sell their products. Companies in Jordan were quite loyal to Cisco, but in the last five months, I have installed roughly 500 Aruba Switches. Version 1920 is very popular; it's very fast and great for network stability. Cisco and Aruba offer the same features. My customers don't need advanced features. What's the point in spending an extra $300-400 dollars for features you won't even use? On a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of eight. If they increased their coverage, I would give them a rating of 15, not simply ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2020-10-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Its Access Points are like plug-and-play devices that you just turn on and leave there and will automatically speak with its controller. Valuable Features As a network engineer, the feature that I value with Aruba is the management of the devices, like the one-touch provisioning of a wireless network. Improvements to My Organization Aruba Access Points are like plug-and-play devices that you just turn on and leave there and will automatically speak with its controller! It just makes the network administrator's work easier. Room for Improvement I worked on getting the root cause of multiple alarms of wireless access points in our management platform and found it to be caused by a software bug of the current version in the wireless controller. While doing this task, I found that the TAC support people I worked with have limited knowledge or comprehension of the what's going on as I was passed around to other engineers a few times. Use of Solution I used to troubleshoot these devices for six years. Stability Issues Due to the software bug I encountered (forgot the version), it appeared like that multiple access points were unstable, software speaking, but were not down physically. Customer Service and Technical Support Just slightly above the middle rating because not all technical support have the same caliber of troubleshooting an issue. Previous Solutions I also worked with the Cisco wireless solution as I manage several enterprise networks that use different solutions. I would say that managing Aruba products is easier than Cisco. Initial Setup For a person who has been brought up with Cisco devices, I could say it was complex when I started working in Aruba's CLI. Implementation Team We just used the cheat sheets we have in our SharePoint, following what the previous engineers did when setting up. Other Advice From a person who tried managing multiple wireless device platforms, there were little to no incidents that we receive for Aruba devices for a specific period of time. Though the biggest contender of this product line has been setup to majority of our customers, it appeared that Aruba devices are more stable. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2016-01-04T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from We are using older AP-61's that still work well, but it's beginning to show a few cracks as it ages and more devices simultaneously access the network. Use of Solution: This solution has been in place for close to 9 years. Other Advice: Even as the current system we are using is old and the AP's being used are AP-61's, it is still working well. We have 64 AP's around the site and with more and more students bringing in their wireless devices, we are only now starting to see some cracks. These cracks are to be expected due to the age of the system, and I'm sure it wasn't designed to have more than 1,000-plus devices accessing the network at the same time. So if the current and future Aruba systems are as good as the old, we should all be fine. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2015-07-23T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from We can now see how many devices and how many users are on our network and where the usage hotspots are. Valuable Features We were coming from a first-generation wireless network, and now I can use RF optimization for controllers. This is a major advancement for us and we're much happier for having it. Improvements to My Organization We can now see how many devices and how many users are on our network and where the usage hotspots are. Previously, we didn't have any data of this type, which now allows us to better plan our network. Room for Improvement I'd like more specific details of each user. Use of Solution We just put it into production and in the coming weeks we will receive our new access points. Deployment Issues Deploying it is no problem. Stability Issues We've had some issues with stability for Mac and iOS users where we've had to disconnect. There may be configuration issues, but I'm not sure. Scalability Issues We're planning for 300 access points, and right now we only have six. We have older HP products, but once we get our new access points, we should be able to scale without problems. Customer Service and Technical Support Technical support is very, very good. They've supported us with everything that we need. Initial Setup The initial setup was straightforward. We have some prior experiences with various types of access-point networks, so it was not an issue. Other Advice Make sure you plan ahead of time. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2016-01-01T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The central management feature and the solution's performance are valuable to us. Deployment is easy as well. Valuable Features Move valuable to us are the central management feature and the solution's performance. They're also easy to deploy in all our global locations. Improvements to My Organization We have about 40 offices around the world, and in every office we had a different wireless vendor. Our goal, then, was to have one standard solution for all our offices. Now, for example, when our sales team goes from Singapore to China to Belgium, they can just come into the local office and are automatically connected. Room for Improvement The AP's didn't automatically connect to our central office upon deployment. Deployment Issues We've had some deployment issues, such as the AP's didn't connect to our central office automatically. Stability Issues It's a stable solution. Scalability Issues It's very scalable. If one of our offices wants extra AP's, we can just ship them and they just need to plug them them. That's it. Customer Service and Technical Support Sometime technical support goes directly through Aruba, and other times it goes through a third party. Previous Solutions We were using several different vendors, including Cisco and some old HP's, and we wanted to standardized in all our offices. So, we switched to Aruba and now have central management. Initial Setup Initial setup was very straightforward. You just plug it in with a few settings. Other Solutions Considered We didn't look at other solutions as HP is the company standard. Other Advice You may need additional tools like ClearPass, for example, from Aruba. Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:We're partners.
Date published: 2016-01-07T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from ?Our wireless overhaul has reduced the number of wireless related help desk tickets by nearly 90% What is our primary use case? We currently have 500 access points deployed and operated by two controllers. Recently, all of the AP-125 models were replaced as part of a three year site wide upgrade, using AP-205H, AP-215, AP-225, and AP-325 models. How has it helped my organization? Our wireless overhaul has reduced the number of wireless related help desk tickets by nearly 90%. What is most valuable? I work in a concrete fortress built 70 years ago. It obviously was not designed with wireless internet in mind. The software available allows me to make very specific changes to individual access points when throttling power/settings, which are critical to good working wireless signals. What needs improvement? The ARM functionality does not always seem to perform how I would like. In some cases, I have had to manually assign channels to avoid channel confusion. Overall, it is a small task to worry about. For how long have I used the solution? Three to five years. How is customer service and technical support? HPE Aruba technical support is a nine out of 10. What other advice do I have? Quality of the product and the OS interface are a nine out 10. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The access points support a high number of connected clients How has it helped my organization? The APs has a very competitive price and the functionality is really good. I have installed them in buildings made of stone and the signal goes through the walls with no problem. I also use this equipment for very big classrooms and it works great. What is most valuable? * The antenna’s gain: It is really powerful. * The access points support a high number of connected clients. * It has an easy configuration wizard. What needs improvement? Price. For how long have I used the solution? One to three years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? Not really. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? Not really, it has supported all the protocols that I have needed. How is customer service and technical support? Technical support is very good. Which solutions did we use previously? I have used Cisco, Ruckus, D-Link, and Proxim. Aruba is equal or better than Cisco. The price and performance were the reason for the change. How was the initial setup? The initial setup was very easy and intuitive. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? Pricing is very competitive. Which other solutions did I evaluate? I tried Cisco, Ruckus, Proxim, and Juniper. What other advice do I have? Try it. It works fine. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-03-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The most valuable feature for us is High Density. We also like the location awareness it provides. Valuable Features: The most valuable feature for us is High Density as it allows us to provide coverage for lots of our students both in the same classroom and across campus. Improvements to My Organization: It really drives our WiFi function because 95% of the network connections are from student BYOD. It provides location awareness and uses HP's software, which is great. Room for Improvement: The location-based software isn't quite there yet and we haven't been able to use it the way that works best for us. Use of Solution: We've used it for over 15 years now. It's been a long journey. Deployment Issues: We've had no issues with deployment. Stability Issues: I find that its stability is better than most of the other products we've used over the years. Scalability Issues: We don't have any notable issues with scalability right now. From time to time, we've noticed that with 5,500 APs, we do have some issues, but they're not anything we wouldn't expect. Previous Solutions: We've used Meru and Cisco, but Aruba's proven to be the best. Other Advice: Consider all the software and add-ons for it because they can increase the value of it for something more than WiFi. Put everything together to maximize the benefit for your company. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2016-01-07T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from The new centralized licensing have made scalability easier than it was in the past. Valuable Features The Wireless integration with ClearPass Policy Manager to give a complete BYOD solution is absolutely the key to today's business requirements. I am sure there is a lot more they can achieve but by far they have been quite innovative in the market. Improvements to My Organization There are a lot of features that are quite unique to the product. The products from Aruba Network cater for a wide range of organizations, from media companies like BBC, to IT Companies like Microsoft and lots of universities see a perfect fit for their requirements. As an IT Network implementer I can easily see how this product fits the bill for many questions asked by companies today to embrace the future of IT Devices and personal devices at work. Room for Improvement This is an ever growing industry and there are lots of new features that are being requested on a daily basis by different companies, partners and suppliers. Use of Solution I have used it since 2007, about eight years. Deployment Issues Like any other product there are a few challenges that need to be overcome as most of the organizations have a heterogeneous network. Aruba products can happily sit over your existing network without making a large change to the way the network works. This is the best bit about Aruba Networks. Stability Issues The product development team is quite good to fix any issues. Considering the large variety of devices and network cards that Aruba has to cater for the number of issue faced have not been significant. They also get a fix out quite quickly before the issue turns into a major problem. Scalability Issues It is a very scalable product. The new centralized licensing and the newer controller models have made scalability even easier. Customer Service and Technical Support Customer Service: 7/10. Technical Support: Technical support is one of the strong areas for Aruba and I would rate it as 8/10. Previous Solutions Cisco has always been a close competitor to Aruba Networks but Cisco is much bigger than just wireless hence I think Aruba does justice to what they have to offer and are focused on Wi-Fi only. Initial Setup The setup is quite straightforward. The solutions can be deployed based on best practices. Implementation Team The support for implementation both from supplier and vendor is great. The installation definitely takes some ground work and preparation in-house but once it’s all sorted as per the design the product can be fully configured in a couple of days’ time. ROI I think the ROI is great if it is going to replace the wired environment, but it is not going to descale the wired environment then it needs a bit of a hard sell to meet the ROI. Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing This is a very subjective question and has many dependencies like the level of discount you can achieve will contribute largely to the initial cost and the everyday running cost is dependent on how many changes or enhancement you want to make at regular basis. Other Solutions Considered We also looked at Cisco Wireless products. Other Advice It is a great product and if you want complete control over your network for wireless users this is definitely the product you should choose. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2015-02-15T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A user-friendly solution to manage a wireless network What is our primary use case? We use Aruba Wireless strictly for corporate use. Within our company, there are slightly over 100 people using this solution. What is most valuable? I really like the user interface. What needs improvement? Better integration between the controller and the ClearPass portal would be a nice change. Currently, they're separated, but if they could be combined and managed in one portal it would be much better. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using Aruba Wireless for three years. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? We have been experiencing some scalability and stability issues on our Apple devices. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? There are a lot of competing solutions on the market. I think Aruba should lower their prices. What other advice do I have? Aruba Wireless is a very good solution. Should you choose this solution, be sure to start from the beginning and learn as much as you can. This way, you will have a better understanding of its uses — how to navigate and use it properly. On a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of eight. I can't give it a higher rating because of the issues we have experience with our Macintosh devices. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-09-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Highly stable and scalable enterprise-level wireless networking solution What is our primary use case? We use it to manage a substantial number of access points for our clients, ensuring reliable and secure wireless connectivity across their properties, including indoor and outdoor spaces. It helps streamline operations, and we are actively engaged in consulting and expanding our services in this regard. What is most valuable? It is highly stable and user-friendly. It provides excellent performance and security through the use of available features and policies, reducing the reliance on external firewall configurations while ensuring a secure and reliable network environment. What needs improvement? It would be helpful if they would release training materials and updates to enhance their offerings. When it comes to switching, there can be occasional variations, such as with the cooler switches. Also, there might be technical issues with the code that could lead to variations in performance. To enhance the system, more work on integration would be beneficial. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with it for four years now. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I am highly satisfied with its stability capabilities. I would rate it nine out of ten. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? It provides good scalability abilities. How are customer service and support? Its support services are satisfactory. How was the initial setup? The initial setup was easy. What about the implementation team? The deployment process can vary significantly based on the number of access points and the controller. When you're dealing with a large number of access points connected to a controller, it's important to monitor the synchronization process, which can take some time. Fortunately, there are features integrated into both the Access Point and the controller to help manage this process more effectively, help streamline the deployment process, and ensure it runs smoothly. It typically takes around two to three days for changes to become fully effective in the live customer environment. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? It comes with a relatively higher price tag, but it's essential to assess the value it brings to the market because it actively competes with other players in the industry and dedicates efforts to offer competitive devices. What other advice do I have? The product is known for its high quality and reliability, fulfilling its intended purpose effectively, which positions it as a practical and worthwhile option. Overall, I would rate it ten out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2023-10-26T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A cost-effective and highly scalable wireless networking that provides user-friendly interface and stability What is our primary use case? The primary use is for facilitating client communication. What is most valuable? Its graphical user interface is designed to be user-friendly, making work more efficient. What needs improvement? There has been a recent decrease in the level of support. When issues arise, we often require additional support, and this aspect should be enhanced. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using it for more than three years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? If there is a controller in place, I would rate its stability abilities at around eight out of ten, as it tends to be quite stable. However, if it's a controller-less setup, using clusters of access points only, I would rate it lower, around six to seven out of ten. The stability tends to vary, especially when there's no central controller, which can make the configuration and management more challenging. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? There are around two to three thousand users who rely on wireless connections for their daily work. It demonstrates excellent scalability, and I would rate it around nine out of ten. How are customer service and support? I have noticed a decline in performance over the past two years, and I've been working with it for almost four years. The initial two years were quite satisfactory, but the performance has deteriorated since then. I would rate it six out of ten. How would you rate customer service and support? Neutral Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch? I have experience using Cisco, HP Comware, Commvault, Palo Alto, and Fortinet. How was the initial setup? The initial setup process for these access points tends to be time-consuming. While other products can start up in as little as ten to fifteen minutes, these access points take longer to get going. They are relatively stable once configured. We've noticed that they can remain stable for a year or even longer initially. What about the implementation team? When it comes to installing access points, especially the IAPs, I've encountered some issues. These access points don't always remain stable, particularly during reboots or configuration changes. Even when I've configured ten access points, there's no guarantee that they will consistently come back online and perform as expected after a reboot or network interruption. This is a concern I'd like to highlight, and I believe the team should work on improving the stability of these access points. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? It offers a lower cost compared to other products, which is a significant advantage. I would rate it eight out of ten. What other advice do I have? I would recommend it due to its affordability, which stands out compared to other products. In terms of overall performance and management, I would rate it an eight out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Date published: 2023-10-26T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Offers centralized management of APs and switches What is most valuable? The tool's most valuable feature is Aruba Central, which offers centralized management. You can manage its switches, APs, and data access. It is easy to manage the entire switches and APs. The solution is the best in terms of security and manageability. What needs improvement? Our customers ask for a security portfolio, which the tool doesn't have. For how long have I used the solution? I have been working with the product for three years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? I rate Aruba Wireless' stability a nine out of ten. It comes with a limited lifetime warranty. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The solution is scalable. My territory has at least 70-80 customers. How was the initial setup? The tool's deployment is easy. Its deployment depends on the network type and scope of work. Simple scenarios can be completed in a week. Complex networks take two to three months to complete. What other advice do I have? Our customers who use Aruba Wireless are very much happy. We have a pre-sales team that helps us with solution design, POCs, installation, and implementation. Our customers appreciate this kind of support. I rate it a nine out of ten. Which deployment model are you using for this solution? On-premises Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2023-11-01T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Provides all the needed security options, but the support should be faster What is our primary use case? We use the solution for corporate users and guest users who come to the company. We use it for IoT devices, like factory devices and cameras. How has it helped my organization? We have a multi-site design with Aruba. For small locations, we use Aruba Remote Access Point. We can open a VPN tunnel to the controllers, and the users can connect their servers securely. For example, we used a captive portal solution from Aruba. The guest users could log in using web portals without any tools. What is most valuable? We manage all wireless devices from Aruba Central. Aruba AirWave is an on-premise solution. If we have our own servers, we can use AirWave and troubleshoot wireless networks. It's a good management system. It enables easy troubleshoots and management. The solution is secure. It has all the security options. What needs improvement? The support should be faster. For how long have I used the solution? I have been using the solution for four or five years. What do I think about the stability of the solution? The tool is stable. What do I think about the scalability of the solution? The tool is scalable. We have about 3000 users. How are customer service and support? The support was better before. Now it is not good. It should be improved. How was the initial setup? The setup is complex for new users. Cloud deployment is easier than on-premise deployment. The deployment can be done in one to two days. What about the implementation team? The deployment can be done in-house. We can deploy devices from the cloud for remote locations. We need not go there. Aruba has a solution for zero-touch provisioning. What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? The product is expensive. We need to renew the license to use the tool. What other advice do I have? I will recommend the solution to others. Overall, I rate the product a seven out of ten. Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2024-02-20T00:00:00-05:00

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