Aruba Wireless and Cisco Wireless are industry leaders, offering robust solutions for building and managing wireless networks. Users prefer the robust stability of Cisco Wireless after a longer setup process, while Aruba Wireless offers quicker deployment with seamless integration and strong security features. Cisco Wireless excels in performance and customization options, but needs improvement in range and connectivity. Consider your existing network infrastructure. If you heavily rely on Cisco products, Cisco Wireless might offer smoother integration.
The summary above is based on 64 interviews we conducted recently with Cisco Wireless and Aruba Wireless users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.
"You can easily monitor, manage, and cover all your IT equipment."
"The simplicity is great."
"The solution is stable."
"With Mist, every Wednesday they roll out new features."
"The artificial intelligence feature is very good."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is Marvis, the AI-driven network management system."
"It provides private network access, helping us protect our company’s devices."
"The most valuable feature of Juniper Mist is the Virtual Network Assistant, powered by artificial intelligence."
"It's a very stable system."
"The main features of Aruba Wireless in my country is its popularity, long hardware warranty when compared to other solutions, and it integrates well with our network access control solution."
"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 performance and the application monitor. You can select the applications you want to use and block on your network"
"Stability and its ability to handle more devices has been an improvement for our organization."
"Aruba Wireless is stable and we plan to continue using it in the future."
"The initial setup was very easy and intuitive."
"The solution is secure."
"Cisco has good support services."
"Identity PSK helps save SSIDs."
"It integrates with Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA)."
"It's very easy to configure the access points."
"This product has a long life and you don't have any issues with it."
"The tool's most valuable features are security, flexibility, user activity, and high bandwidth."
"It helps with the visibility on our network."
"The solution offers very good stability."
"Juniper Wireless AP can improve by continually improving its reporting and integration with other systems."
"There is room for improvement in terms of support and installation."
"The solution is expensive."
"Improving third-party integration is key for Juniper Mist's next release."
"The pricing should be made cheaper."
"I need a bit more time with it before criticizing the features."
"Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series) could improve if the MIST platform had a built-in master key. This would be an advantage."
"They should include SD-WAN features to it."
"Aruba’s poor performance and random upgrade issues caused too much time consuming maintenance and troubleshooting."
"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."
"The user interface could be improved in Aruba Wireless. This would make the setup easier."
"The Return Material Authorization procedure is time-consuming and needs improvement."
"We have an issue with the integration of Aruba Wireless with our LDAP servers."
"The solution could be improved on the security side."
"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."
"Our customers ask for a security portfolio, which the tool doesn't have."
"When you integrate a network access control with authentication with an ISE engine it's really complicated to put in place."
"The software quality could be improved, in particular for the new Cisco Aironet Series 2800/3800 Access Point which is pretty Linux-based."
"There's a delay in equipment that comes to Columbia, to our country, and that lasts almost six months."
"The pricing of the solution is expensive if you compare it to other competitors."
"The media stream and Mojo settings are not sufficiently supported."
"The technical support could be better. They aren't as helpful as they need to be when we run into issues."
"Older versions are complex to configure and implement."
"There are performance issues, particularly with video calls where throughput is not great."
More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points Pricing and Cost Advice →
Aruba Wireless is ranked 1st in Wireless LAN with 138 reviews while Cisco Wireless is ranked 2nd in Wireless LAN with 145 reviews. Aruba Wireless is rated 8.4, while Cisco Wireless is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Aruba Wireless writes "The portal for centralized management and virtual controller for APs are very valuable". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Cisco Wireless writes "Allows us to deploy a wide range of wireless products with stable WiFi". Aruba Wireless is most compared with Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN, Ruckus Wireless, Ubiquiti WLAN, Huawei Wireless and Mist AI and Cloud, whereas Cisco Wireless is most compared with Ruckus Wireless, Ubiquiti WLAN, Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN, Mist AI and Cloud and Omada Access Points. See our Aruba Wireless vs. Cisco Wireless report.
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On the most basic level, Cisco Wireless can offer a rather straightforward initial setup. In the span of about three hours, the basic framework can be set up. Step-by-step instructions are available to ease the deployment of the Cisco wireless network. A small business will now be able to make use of this wireless product without being worried about having to make a massive investment of either time or resources. This peace of mind extends to the actual maintenance of the product as well. Cisco wireless’s network does not require very much in the way of maintenance. It does require occasional upgrades to keep it running smoothly, but other than that, a team tasked with maintaining it has very little to worry about. Organizations of all sizes will be able to benefit from both of these aspects of Cisco wireless’s design.
Cisco wireless provides a very robust service that will continue to run over long periods of time and under heavy usage. Furthermore, the teams that are responsible for assisting users and resolving any potential issues that may arise are highly professional. These are two additional features that make Cisco wireless a valuable product. The wireless service is capable of running for years without any real need for replacements to be made to the hardware.
Although no system is perfect, Cisco’s Wireless network shows that products can still be made to last. Long spans of time can pass without issues arising. When they do, Cisco’s technical support team is well-equipped to help handle it. They respond quickly to inquiries and they are extremely knowledgeable. They bring the kind of professionalism that one would hope to have in a product’s support team.
Aruba Wireless can support many devices and provide the features that one would expect for this type of product. It is relatively cheap when compared to other products like Cisco Wireless. For that relatively cheap price, Aruba offers hardware whose performance can match anything offered by its competitors. It advertises what it can do and follows through with its promises. It is also very easy to configure. However, they do not guide users in different industries through the best practices that they should be employing when using Aruba Wireless.
Conclusion
Cisco Wireless offers an effective service. In terms of cost it is more expensive than Aruba Wireless. They both have a lot to offer. The price tag might just be the deciding factor.
Aruba is our choice for our WIFI solution as Aruba has a lot of features that can do the same with Meraki.
Aruba is saving costs vs Meraki in a long time operation.