We performed a comparison between Aruba ClearPass and Cisco ISE (Identity Service Engine) based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Although Cisco is a worldwide, well-known, trusted, and respected branded product, with many known complexities, Aruba ClearPass is flexible, versatile, and more user-friendly than Cisco. Aruba’s aggressive stance on keeping hackers out with strict authentication policies and its cost-effective business model and excellent technical service make it a NAC solution to consider seriously.
"The aspect of Aruba ClearPass that I like most is that it has a lot of options, it is very versatile."
"The interface is very easy to use and the workflow is quite straightforward."
"A mature and functional product."
"ClearPass's best feature is its comprehensiveness."
"Document authentications allows us to decide which users can connect to an office VLAN and this has been the most valuable feature."
"Authentication capabilities are one of the most valuable features."
"The customized modules for guests, the self-registration and login, one license for all, no license for guest users, and the self-integration of sandbox integration are the most valuable features."
"I like the integration options with a multitude of other vendors and Aruba applications."
"The most valuable feature is the integration with StealthWatch and DNA as one fabric."
"One of the advantages is that you can easily find rogue endpoints. For example, if you don't want to allow any endpoints where you don't know the people plugging into what kind of devices, ISE can give you a big, clear picture, e.g., what kind of endpoints are getting connected to your network. That is one of the advantages."
"SGTs are valuable because they make it easy to enforce policies, instead of pushing them across all the other platforms."
"The solution cuts down on the repercussions of getting malware or ransomware."
"There is good integration with third-party systems like antivirus patch management, MDM."
"I like the automation of the collection of information."
"The user experience of the solution is great. It's a very transparent system."
"The authorization and accounts inside of ISE are very useful for us."
"The licensing model could be improved."
"There is room for improvement in terms of scalability."
"The improvement can be in the cloud area. They can improve it for the cloud so that we can deploy it on the cloud."
"The setup of ClearPass can be a bit convoluted at times."
"They should include SMP functionalities."
"Lacks the ability to handle more than one certificate for both the management process and the Captive Portal."
"The monitoring of Aruba ClearPass needs improvement. For example, they have monitoring for TECHx and you can find out what the administrator did. However, if Aruba ClearPass is managing GUI devices, you do not know what the administrator is doing."
"The user interface could be more polished and modern. It would be useful to have more options for automation."
"In order to make it a ten, it should be more user-friendly. You need somebody who is knowledgeable about it to use it. It's not easy to use. We have to rely heavily on technical support."
"The installation is not straightforward, it took us approximately one month."
"Compatibility and integration with other vendors is what needs to be improved in Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine)."
"With the recent release of the solution, we had a bunch of bugs and we had to delay our deployment. Other than that, the solution is good."
"The interface is a little bit complex."
"I'd like to see an easier way to upgrade to larger versions, as well as more best practices that are easier to locate on their support page."
"Deploying to a machine, as opposed to a dedicated appliance, can be a bit difficult."
"The UI and UX could be more seamless and easier to use."
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Aruba ClearPass is ranked 2nd in Network Access Control (NAC) with 75 reviews while Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is ranked 1st in Network Access Control (NAC) with 138 reviews. Aruba ClearPass is rated 8.6, while Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Aruba ClearPass writes "Easy to use, multifeatured, and reliable policy management platform for identity authentication and new device onboarding". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) writes "Gives us that extra ability to assist the end user and make sure that we are making them happy". Aruba ClearPass is most compared with Fortinet FortiNAC, Forescout Platform, Microsoft Intune, Ruckus Cloudpath and macmon Network Access Control, whereas Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is most compared with Fortinet FortiNAC, Forescout Platform, CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, Fortinet FortiAuthenticator and Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security. See our Aruba ClearPass vs. Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) report.
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We monitor all Network Access Control (NAC) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.