Aruba Wireless Reviews

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.  

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.  

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.  

We have been using it for a year-and-a-half.  

The stability is very good.  

It is very scalable.  

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.  

Installation is pretty straight forward.  

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.  

The primary use case of this solution is to manage all of our wireless devices.

I like the way it groups and manages access points.

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.

I have been working with Aruba Wireless for three years.

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.

This solution is very scalable.

The technical support is very good and I haven't had any issues with them. They were pretty responsive.

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.

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.

The pricing is reasonable. If you compare it to other solutions then it's reasonably priced.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The ceiling grid mount clips have room for improvement. 

Support through third party vendors or direct from HPE has been easy to manage. They are very responsive.

The most valuable features for me are:

• Built-in firewall
• Security
• Authentication
• Remote access
• Stability

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.

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.

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.

There were no issues with deployment.

This product has been very stable.

No. We have added Access Points and Remote Access Points as needed. We also expanded to a redundant controller which allows High Availability.

Service has been good - 8/10.

8/10

We switched to Aruba because of the advanced security. In healthcare we have HIPAA compliance to achieve and maintain. Security is a priority.

Setting up the controller is complex. The SSIDs, Authentication methodology, Access, is all quite complex to set up. Not for a novice.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Aruba Wireless is a little bit complex to use and operate. So, it can be an area for improvement.

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.

The product has been pretty stable.

The product is scalable. Around 150 people in my company are using the solution. We need only one administrator for the solution.

I haven't faced any problems with customer support.

Regarding the deployment process, it keeps showing updates.

A third party did the implementation. I'm not familiar with the setting. So, I got help from a consultant.

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.

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.

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.

We use the product predominately for beacons and peer devices.

It has very flexible features.

I believe more security options are needed.

I have been using the product for seven or eight years.

We have not had any problems with the stability of the product.

It is a scalable solution.

When we have had to use support, everything from the service was helpful.

We have used Cisco products in the past.

The setup is not a problem, it only took five minutes or so.

We used five technicians for the deployment of the product.

I rate Aruba Wireless a nine out of ten.

We have 150 clients who are using this solution.

The solution is deployed on-premises.

The wireless controller and access points are valuable features.

The console is difficult to use. The firewall settings could be improved.

I have been working with Aruba Wireless for two years.

It's a stable solution.

The scalability is okay.

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.

We have also used Cisco. Aruba's database is better compared to Cisco. We chose Aruba because the pricing is better.

Setup is straightforward.

Aruba is less expensive than Cisco.

I would rate this solution as nine out of ten.

Our company uses the solution to provide wireless service for our clients. 

There are less than 100 users of the solution across clients.

The solution provides a clear path to instant wireless. 

The solution needs to add features and enhance security. 

I have been using the solution for ten years.

The solution is very stable. 

The solution is scalable. 

The solution provides separate support lines for distributors and vendor specialists.

I rate technical support a ten out of ten. 

Positive

Our company has been a partner of the solution for the last ten years. 

The setup is easy and normally it goes smoothly. 

We partnered with a certified specialist for implementation. 

Two in-house engineers handle all maintenance. 

We also work with Cisco products.

I recommend using the solution and rate it a ten out of ten.