Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Ruckus Wireless WAN comparison

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HPE Aruba Networking Logo
577 views|308 comparisons
92% willing to recommend
Cisco Logo
27,723 views|21,294 comparisons
92% willing to recommend
Ruckus Logo
7,122 views|5,638 comparisons
92% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Aruba Networks Wireless WAN, Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN, and Ruckus Wireless WAN based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Ubiquiti Networks, Ruckus, Cambium Networks and others in Wireless WAN.
To learn more, read our detailed Wireless WAN Report (Updated: March 2024).
768,415 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The solution's strong security mechanism and user-friendly web console are great.""The GUI offered by the product is good.""It integrates with the Aruba portfolio very easily, and it's a vendor-agnostic solution, and that's brilliant.""I like the solution's ability to add multiple SSIDs on different levels such as enterprise and guest networks.""It’s very stable and reliable.""It's stable and reliable.""In the event of a controller appliance failure or downtime, the system seamlessly transitions control to any access point acting as a backup controller.""Aruba is a very stable system."

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"The most important feature is flexibility.""The graphic user interface is very nice.""It improved the installation time.""The solution provides good coverage and identity management. Additionally, the user interface is straightforward.""We use the solution's bandwidth shaping, URL filtering, and group policy configuration features.""The most valuable feature is cloud management.""The most valuable feature is the ease of deployment.""Cisco's technical support is very good and better than other vendors."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Pros →

"The most valuable feature of Ruckus Wireless WAN is the antenna technology.""Provides great coverage and performance.""The performance is very nice, the throughput is better than any other product, and it's reliable.""The most valuable feature is the ease of adding an access point.""The most valuable solution is its simplicity. The solution is simple and easy to use.""We use things like VLAN and all the multibeam features that are built in, but at the end of the day, the most important thing for us is to get a good signal and site-wide coverage.""The stability provided is very nice.""Scalability is a valuable feature."

More Ruckus Wireless WAN Pros →

Cons
"The integration, pricing, and configuration could always be improved upon.""What needs to improve in Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is the support because it takes quite a long time for the support team to resolve issues. Whenever a new version or update is released, my company sees many bugs and issues, so that is another area for improvement as well.""The integration should be better.""Technical support is important to me and I feel that it is something that can be improved.""They have to work on their Aruba Central cloud platform. There are still some glitches such as not showing proper user details. When we removed the AP from the Aruba Central cloud, it showed up as being connected to Aruba Central. They need to fix these issues.""Support is not good...The support can be improved, especially in India, since whenever I require support, it takes some time.""The support needs improvement because it is not very good in terms of response time.""This product needs more flecibility with switching technologies."

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"Meraki is still very much a small office type of solution. It is not a fit for large enterprise networks, as it doesn't have tunneling functionalities.""It would be useful to have a service management platform integrated within this solution where we can measure the customer experience.""It would be good to integrate with ISE in the future.""The product's coverage area could be expanded. It would help ensure better connectivity.""Initially, I liked some of the filtering features, but that's one of the components that we ran into problems with.""I'd like better integration with security providers.""The product's pricing needs improvement.""I would like to see more cybersecurity. I would like the ability to go in and enhance security. Because WPA2 is becoming obsolete, many devices are now WPA3, but the challenge is that a lot of devices are not yet there. I would like to be able to go in and do monitoring, similar to ASPM. ASPM has the ability to monitor who's joining and who's active. It supports two-step monitoring. The stability of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN can also be improved."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Cons →

"There is a significant issue with wireless functionality in Apple devices, particularly during video calls.""I would like to see the billing system improved by adding a billing system integration.""Ruckus Wireless WAN needs to improve its pricing.""The stability of the solution could improve in an upcoming release.""I would not consider this solution to be stable.""I would like to have a better built-in reporting feature.""The interface has to be more automated.""The connectivity and mobility for users could be improved."

More Ruckus Wireless WAN Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It is more affordable than Cisco."
  • "The price of this solution is approximately 1,000,000 ESP ($6,750 USD)."
  • "The price of this solution is better than some other vendors."
  • "Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
  • "The price of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN depends on how you buy it. From a pricing perspective, if you choose to buy Aruba Networks Wireless WAN as an MRC, it's dependent upon the radio and the solution that you choose what your MRC is. If you choose to buy it outright, they're competitive with their competitors, and they're probably four percent or five percent lower than their largest competitor."
  • "Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is cheaper than Cisco, and the web experience is great."
  • "Aruba Wireless comes with the controller."
  • "With some vendors, the access point is not manageable anymore if you don't maintain the license. It's more or less a doorstop because you can't configure and control it. You can't troubleshoot it unless you maintain the license. That's not true with Aruba."
  • More Aruba Networks Wireless WAN Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Negotiate the deal put in front of you!"
  • "At this price point, I would not mind seeing a four-way channel, instead of a 3x3 or a 4x4, like they do in the Cisco Aironet system with their other brand. For the same price point in this other Cisco brand, it is a lot cheaper, and you can get a slightly better throughput than you can with these."
  • "​If you are wondering if Meraki can work for you, contact one of their representatives because they will do onsite trials where you can set up their system. If it does not work, you can send it back to them for no charge.​​"
  • "The price is negotiable."
  • "It's a pretty good value, but not great. Pricing is on a yearly basis for the Meraki solution."
  • "The price is good, but it could be improved."
  • "You have to renew your contract every year, or for three or for five years. If you do not pay right away they will suspend your subscription."
  • "The pricing is based on a subscription and is a bit high at the moment."
  • More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The solution is a little pricey, so customers sometimes select other products because of the price."
  • "This solution offers a yearly subscription. The price is not high, other solutions are much higher than Ruckus."
  • "This is a wonderful product for the price."
  • "It's expensive but you get more coverage."
  • "Here in India, Ruckus is chosen often because it is priced low."
  • "Licensing for Ruckus Wireless WAN when you compare it to other vendors, it's on par and not expensive. For me, all licensing is expensive by default, but you do get lifelong licenses, and what's cool about it is the license for Ruckus Wireless WAN, especially on the LAN controller, is not linked to an access point. It's just a quantity access point deployment, so you can rip out old APs, and put new ones in and they'll work on the wireless LAN because the license is not linked to a specific access point which is much easier to work with."
  • "In terms of the license of Ruckus Wireless WAN being cheap or expensive, it would differ based on your country. As I'm living in Turkey, it's expensive, so far. There is a big challenge about the chip crisis or the silicon crisis lately, and all vendors are fighting, so not enough equipment could be sold and the vendors must earn money, so it's very fair for vendors to push software and licensing to keep working and earning, so it's hard to answer a question on how cheap or expensive the license is for the solution."
  • "The price of Ruckus Wireless WAN is in the middle price range compared to competitors. You will find Cisco is the most expensive, the second is HPE and Aruba, and the third is Ruckus Wireless WAN. You then have all the follower solutions."
  • More Ruckus Wireless WAN Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:I recommend Aruba Networks Wireless WAN. I have been using Aruba for approximately a decade. It has a great centralized… more »
    Top Answer: In the event of a controller appliance failure or downtime, the system seamlessly transitions control to any access… more »
    Top Answer:The pricing of the product is pretty good. Aruba Networks and Extreme Networks offer good prices. Cisco operates in its… more »
    Top Answer:Depends.  I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them.  Extreme I am not, so unless they have… more »
    Top Answer:Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to be… more »
    Top Answer:Cisco’s Meraki Virtual MX is a virtual instance of the Meraki SD-WAN appliance. We liked the Meraki. The Wifi APs are a… more »
    Top Answer:Ubiquiti Wireless is extremely easy to set up and is an excellent option for small businesses, offering enterprise… more »
    Top Answer:Ruckus Wireless WAN is an easy-to-use solution.
    Top Answer:On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten.
    Ranking
    5th
    out of 10 in Wireless WAN
    Views
    577
    Comparisons
    308
    Reviews
    24
    Average Words per Review
    449
    Rating
    8.4
    4th
    out of 31 in Wireless LAN
    Views
    27,723
    Comparisons
    21,294
    Reviews
    26
    Average Words per Review
    458
    Rating
    8.2
    2nd
    out of 10 in Wireless WAN
    Views
    7,122
    Comparisons
    5,638
    Reviews
    26
    Average Words per Review
    530
    Rating
    8.3
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN
    Learn More
    Overview

    Aruba Networks Wireless Wide Area Network (WAN) is a powerful WAN solution that enables organizations and businesses to create global networks that securely connect their members regardless of their locations. Aruba Networks Wireless WAN leverages AI to create a network that is always equipped to address issues or keep up with evolving needs. The operations that run on this network are also capable of running consistently because the AI is always learning and keeping the network running smoothly. The cutting-edge build of this solution is the reason that it is a leader in the field of wide area networks.

    Aruba Networks Wireless WAN Benefits

    Some of the benefits of using Aruba Networks Wireless WAN include:

    • Minimize the costs associated with cloud integrations. Aruba Networks Wireless WAN enables users to automate the process by which networks connect to cloud and SaaS services. This reduces the total amount of resources that need to be spent on these integrations.
    • Track the health of a network using real-time tracking. Aruba Networks Wireless WAN gives administrators the ability to keep track of different network health metrics. It possesses a variety of different tracking capabilities that can be used to best meet a user’s needs.
    • Increased network efficiency. Aruba Networks Wireless WAN’s AI software leverages machine learning to identify issues before they arise and recommend solutions when an issue arises. It enables users to be proactive in dealing with network issues.

    Aruba Networks Wireless WAN Features

    When users deploy Aruba Networks Wireless WAN, they gain access to a number of very powerful and useful features. These features include:

    • Unified network policy enforcement. Aruba’s Dynamic Segmentation feature connects all aspects of a user’s WAN. In doing so, it ensures that all network policies are enforced uniformly across every portion of the network.
    • Dynamic Path Steering (DPS). Aruba Networks Wireless WAN’s DPS feature keeps a user’s network running smoothly. It directs traffic running through the network to the uplink that is most appropriate for it. This minimizes potential network latency.

    • WAN Compression. This feature makes it possible for users to route more traffic through a given WAN circuit at times of high congestion. It compresses traffic so that the network circuit can better accommodate the increased activity.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Aruba Networks Wireless WAN allows users to create, deploy, and manage wide area networks. It is a highly flexible solution that provides system engineers with many options when they are designing and rolling out their networks. Administrators can produce networks that are easily configured, rolled out, and monitored from anywhere in the world. Aruba Networks Wireless WAN has a centralized management interface. Administrators can control every aspect of the network from one console. They can access all of the network controls and data from this one interface. This simplifies the jobs of network administrators who are responsible for keeping the networks up and running.

    A network engineer at a technology company writes, “I feel that Aruba allows for more flexibility when it comes to configuration and deployment. Aruba gives you the same feeling as using a controller on-prem, whereas Meraki seems to be hiding a lot of the configuration behind the scenes and forces you to actually call them and ask them to enable certain features. So far, using Aruba Central is more like using an actual controller based on the amount of configuration you can do. Meraki just came out with profiles, but as far as I know, they don't have profiles for how your device connects to the actual physical LAN.”

    A network and security engineer at a communications service provider writes, “The most valuable feature of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is centralized management capability. You don't have to have wireless LAN controllers at every location.”

    Cisco Meraki access points are built from the highest grade components and carefully optimized for a seamless user experience. The outcome: faster connections, greater user capacity, more coverage, and fewer support calls. The Cisco Meraki dashboard gives visibility into the network users, their devices, and their applications. Armed with rich analytics, administrators can quickly create access control and application usage policies, optimizing both the end-user experience and network security.

    Ruckus Wireless’s WAN (Wide Area Network) suite of switches and solutions provides companies and organizations with a wide variety of products that enable them to deploy and manage the kinds of WANs that best meet their needs. Ruckus Wireless is a leader in the field of WAN creation, deployment, and management. Their solutions are designed with the user in mind. They are sleek products and solutions that are easy for administrators to use and maintain. This makes it a valuable suite for any and every kind of industry. The level of ease that it provides makes it possible for companies and organizations to reap a high level of benefit from whichever product they choose to use. 

    Ruckus Wireless WAN Benefits

    Some of the benefits of using the Ruckus Wireless WAN suite of switches and solutions include:

    • Simplified network deployment and management. Ruckus Wireless WAN uses Campus Fabric technology to create a streamlined network creation and management process. This technology takes many of the processes used to create and manage networks that usually require many different solutions and combines them so that a single solution can accomplish the same amount of work.
    • The ability to operate on a massive scale. The Ruckus Wireless SmartZone 100 solution gives administrators the power to handle 1,024 access points and 25,000 users from a single device. Companies can operate at a high level with fewer devices than their competitors require to accomplish a similar level of work.
    • Ease of use. Solutions like RuckusZoneDirector 1200 can be easily deployed and used by administrators who may not have a background in the use of wireless solutions. Companies that choose Ruckus Wireless WAN do not need to train administrators to deploy it. This makes it extremely valuable to companies looking to keep their budgets to a minimum. 

    Ruckus Wireless WAN Features

    Organizations that choose to use the Ruckus Wireless WAN suite of switches and solutions have a large number of capabilities from which they can choose. 

    • Centralized network management.  Ruckus Wireless WAN’s RUCKUS Network Director feature enables administrators to manage their networks from a single location. All of the controls and data that users need to monitor and control the network can be managed from one interface.
    • Advanced security features. Ruckus Wireless WAN has the capability to encrypt and demand that traffic that is trying to pass through the network be authenticated before it is allowed access. This protects the data that leaves the network and the network itself.

    • Seamless interoperability. The various solutions and products that make up Ruckus Wireless’s WAN solution suite have the ability to integrate and operate together seamlessly. Users can mix and match solution pieces to best fit their needs.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Ruckus Wireless’s WAN suite is a truly versatile selection of solutions that offer users a complete package of capabilities and features. This suite makes it possible for users to meet all of their networking needs. Their wireless access points are the kind that is mostly employed in industries like resorts, which have to cater to large volumes of people over extended periods of time. They provide companies with the highest possible level of coverage. Users working in any number of fields would find Ruckus Wireless to be up to the task of handling their networking needs. This suite is appropriate for large corporations and small businesses alikes. 

    An information technology project manager at a university writes, “The actual wireless access points themselves are very powerful. We get very good coverage from just one access point.  The throughput is very good and the centralized management is excellent.  Also, the ease of deployment is very good.”

    A video conferencing administrator at a technology services company states, “The solution is suitable for many types of environments, such as small businesses.

    Sample Customers
    The Pittsburgh Golf Club, Rio Rancho Public Schools, Amwaj Rotana - Jumeirah Beach Residence - Dubai, Trevecca Nazarene University
    Advanced Medical Transport, Banco de Guayaquil, Baylor Scott & White Health, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Calligaris, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Del Papa Distributing, Department of Justice, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Hertz, K&L Gates , LightEdge, Lone Star College System, Management Science Associates, Mindtree, NBC Olympics, Quest, Sony Corporation, The Department of Education in Western Australia, Valley Proteins
    American University of Sharjah, Dordt College, Drew University, Lamar University, Raroa School
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider17%
    Manufacturing Company17%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Retailer9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Comms Service Provider15%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Media Company9%
    Government8%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider19%
    Educational Organization10%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    Non Profit8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company20%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    Government6%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider33%
    University8%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Energy/Utilities Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Comms Service Provider14%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Educational Organization6%
    Construction Company6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business56%
    Midsize Enterprise10%
    Large Enterprise33%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business38%
    Midsize Enterprise13%
    Large Enterprise49%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business54%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise25%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business29%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise54%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business57%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise26%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business35%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise48%
    Buyer's Guide
    Wireless WAN
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Ubiquiti Networks, Ruckus, Cambium Networks and others in Wireless WAN. Updated: March 2024.
    768,415 professionals have used our research since 2012.