Aruba Switches Room for Improvement

Michael-Sugg - PeerSpot reviewer
President at Sovereign Managed Services

There are some growing pains with Aruba Central. When you first launch the wireless access points or switches, a lot of updates are needed to get Aruba Central ready, especially on the access points, so the initial deployment time could improve. 

I would hope that I could just turn it on and leave the updates until later on. The switches themselves probably did okay. I'm primarily referring to the wireless access points. There was a lot of back and forth before everything was in sync. It took hours. 

I can't think of any missing features, but it would be nice if there were a free version of Aruba Central for my small business clients that doesn't have as many features. 

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Khaled Shaker - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of Technical Department at Modern establishment for supply and trading

If we compare Aruba and Cisco at the data center layer, Cisco has its Nexus switch. Aruba provides the new 10000 series, but it does not compare with the Nexus switch. Aruba is in networks but still not in data centers since their data center switches are not as good as Cisco's.

Aruba should enhance its performance and management solution to manage Aruba and non-Aruba switches. Aruba needs better layer management or a software management solution. When we talk about Aruba Central, the integration with the management software is not good enough. When we need to push a configuration in a switch, Aruba Central can manage Aruba access switches only. We work with the Aruba OS for normal management, but the CX switches are for monitoring only. Aruba'a management solution is a weak point. Management solutions are a weak point for other vendors, too, but we need to enhance Aruba to be better than other vendors.

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SunilNair1 - PeerSpot reviewer
AGM - Infrastructure & Information Security at Aster DM Healthcare Limited

There is room for improvement in the pricing because the Aruba Central licenses add a high cost.

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Buyer's Guide
Aruba Switches
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Aruba Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
768,578 professionals have used our research since 2012.
AK
Manager at LAN TO WAN

We've had issues with availability. We cannot source switches right now. They are hard to get. 

There are no missing features. 

The pricing could be lowered. 

Technical support could be improved in terms of dealing with time changes. 

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AA
Director, Technical Solutions at Sigma.3 Pte Ltd

The port flexibility on the 54 series, specifically the 5406 for core usage, could be improved. When I want to upgrade to 10G, I don't have many options to choose from.

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Wajid Khattak - PeerSpot reviewer
Procurement Officer at Emerging Systems

The biggest issue right now is the delivery timeline. It takes too long to get the product.

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AmrIssa - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Information officer at Mobica Advanced

There were some issues in Aruba Switches, specifically Aruba PoE Switches since working with it in our company damaged our network. The timer and the internal battery in Aruba Switches don't work sometimes, and if users want to replace the battery, it is not safe. Sometimes, there is a need to configure and reconfigure Aruba Switches every two or three months to avoid cutting off the power of the product. Considering the need to

reconfigure the switches in the controller when it comes to Aruba, I would say that, comparatively, Cisco is a stable product.

From an improvement perspective, I want Aruba Switches to have a longer life since it doesn't work properly after five years of use.

If a user wants to configure Aruba Switches after using it for five years, there is a need to keep reconfiguring the product, the controller, and access points every three to five months, which is very problematic. Considering the controllers or the access points attached to Cisco at multiple sites in our company, I can say that the switches from Cisco are good when it comes to the setup phase. If I compare the switches and controllers from Aruba and Cisco, I would say that the products that fall under Cisco's side are better.

Aruba Switches should have a longer life and not just a product that offers stability for five years. The tool should be able to function properly for around ten years. Considering factors like infrastructure, cost, management, and business decisions, the production is able to offer a long life to users.

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MR
Works at ZENONLINE

The solution could always be a bit cheaper. 

My experience with Aruba's account manager hasn't been the greatest.

Dealing with the server is very complicated. We'd like it to be simplified. 

The setup is complex. 

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Wajid Khattak - PeerSpot reviewer
Procurement Officer at Emerging Systems

The delivery time for this product is slow and is something that needs to be improved. This is the biggest challenge in the market right now.

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PT
Deputy Director of IT Operations at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez

The endpoint capabilities could be improved. 

There are no missing features at this time. 

It was a bit expensive. 

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Alfred_Pullicino - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at Genesis Global

The initial setup is relatively complex.

There is nothing to improve on in an enterprise environment, however, if you're wanting various  functionalities, you need to know how to do these things. It's not straightforward per se. Some training would be ideal for getting the most out of the solution. I had to learn a lot on the job by myself. 

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SunilNair - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Information Technology at Al Falah University

I don't think there is much to improve. I have seen that Aruba releases the patches on time, and it keeps upgrading the firmware. I have configured this device on an active basis. I don't think I have any bad reviews about the device's overall performance.

In the next release, I would like Aruba to incorporate wireless controllers and build them into the chassis.If we can integrate a wireless module, we can have a segment dedicated to wireless infrastructure.

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SA
System Engineer at Neogenesis technical solutions

There is room for improvement in the customer service and support team. 

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Anjan Basu Chowdhury - PeerSpot reviewer
Pre-Sales Manager at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Aruba is still losing out to Cisco, which continues to dominate the space. Aruba needs to continue to improve its product range in order to compete with Cisco's dominance. 

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RG
Security & Infrastructure Architect at a consumer goods company with 51-200 employees

There are many options with the modular switch and you buy cards for it. If you want 48 ports of one gig, you can buy a card for that, but more options would be better.

Right now, there's only eight, an eight-port, 10 gig module and sometimes we need a little denser than eight ports. It would be good if I could get a 24-port, 10 gig module.

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AmrIssa - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Information officer at Mobica Advanced

Managing Aruba Switches is not as good as Cisco Controller.

The switch needs to be bigger than it is now. Increasing the number of gigabytes in the switch would improve the switch interacting. You can download the DBS or the datasheet to see the switch interacting.

The switch interacting is the transfer of data from the port to the switch.

They should provide training courses for certification, and have it available on the internet.

They need to increase marketing for their products, especially for the solutions that are stable and very hard working. They should plan an event to market this solution.

Aruba could consider opening a training center for engineering, or IT students.

A suggestion would be to see the unit have a configuration switch like SMTP to send an email to the users if the performance is delayed or down. That would be very useful.

In the command line, we can configure in SMTP to send an email alert to the user and the support worldwide, so that they can know about the problem before it happens.

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BL
Manager ITS at RTA

Aruba's management suite has some room for improvement.

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Joshy Varghese - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at Evenor Info Solutions Pvt Ltd

Aruba does not have local support in our region of Kerala. The support is from Bangalore and support can be delayed.

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Marius Celliers - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director Technology at Quantum Design and Engineering

This solution could be improved if it offered long term support on a specific model or product. What we find in the market is that companies bring out too many new models, and if you still have an older model on your project, you do not get support. 

In a future release, we would like to see MQTT protocols added as well as OPC. We have this functionality on other industrial switches and some of our clients like that feature. Using those two protocols, we can provide cloud based monitoring of their systems.

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Reffy Mahesya - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Infrastructure & Security at a university with 201-500 employees

In my opinion, Aruba's new features, like the new firmware, the Operating System CX, some of the security profiles and the security protocol, need to be improved. When we want to gather some information from the switches, we should be able to use Aruba. We need more options in the outsourcing and open source environments. We often struggle to connect with Aruba.

In the next release, I'd like to see more security protocols.

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BenjaminRafrafi - PeerSpot reviewer
System and Network Administrator at a educational organization with 201-500 employees

The main issue we had with the Aruba Switches was that they would heat up easily when placed outside. We have two locations with no cover in the corridor and it's a historical building. We experienced outages on the first batch of Aruba Switches we received, which we never had with the Dell Switches, for example, even though Dell Switches are not as well-known. However, the Dell Switches had been outside for a few years and we never had any issues with them. In contrast, we encountered an issue with the Aruba Switch after only one week of being outside when it shut down in security mode.

The Aruba Switches would heat up too much and shut down. The CPU temperature would reach a certain point and then it would just shut down. As far as I know, the temperature threshold on the Aruba Switches was lower than on other brands. It could also be related to the specific series we ordered, as I am not sure if they have higher-grade switches that can handle higher temperatures. We are in Singapore, so if the switches are placed in a corridor without air conditioning, the temperature inside can get very warm, even hotter than outside. The temperature can rise quickly in these conditions.

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Adeline Mah - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager, Infrastructure And Helpdesk at American Water Works Association

I'm not sure if they have the core switch series as well.

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HI
Network Team Lead at ElSewedy Education

The log viewer should be improved. All required features already exist.

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AH
Production Operator at Al Ghurair Investments

Visibility and controls need to be improved. When I compare the Aruba switch with Meraki, Meraki has more visibility and more controls.

HPE Aruba has not done any development and research on the SD LAN. They may have another solution for the SD LAN.

Aruba should have SD LAN features to provide more visibility on the network and to be able to control things like the traffic shifting or for voice or data. Currently, Aruba does not have this capability.

It may be there, but it's tedious.

In the next release or the very near future, I think that it is very important to simplify the dashboard and features similar to Meraki. Meraki has a good dashboard and the way they are presenting the information is very useful.

I am forced to consider changing products because other solutions have a better dashboard and a user-friendly interface. Other solutions also have better control and visibility.

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HendrikVelloen - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Specialist at TCM

There are no areas for improvement I can think of, the product supports all the latest features, security is quite good and doesn't bring forward any requirements. Aruba has a single management AirWave and the Aruba Central. It also integrates nicely with ClearPass and Palo Alto firewalls. 
From my perspective there is not much missing with what is offered. 

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HW
Sr. Security Network Engineer at Children's Cancer Hospital - Egypt 57357

The templates to automate our switches need improvement.

We apply a template using Bison or ANSI C to automate our tasks daily.

We are using Bison and ANSI C programming language to automate our work for shutting down ports, and if the support has locked our shutdown with port security.

Cisco has Nexus Switches for the Data Center solutions. These switches are very powerful. In my research, I haven't found anything that is comparable.

In the next release or the near future, I would like similar Data Cente switches included.

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it_user1033941 - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

The written documentation, all the available documentation, is often a little bit hard to find. The solution lacks documentation of recent features. We have access directly to Aruba, Germany, so they are always helpful, but if you start, for instance, with something a little bit more complex like zero-touch provisioning, that would require a more comprehensive written piece. 

The available REST API is invaluable for elegant integration with the core and distribution network.  

There are some new multicast features coming up, but they are just in the process of preparation by IEEE, and I would like to see them as soon as possible.

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NT
Operations Manager at Cybernaptics

We have had problems with the cooling fans on these switches. They are sometimes erratic and this creates alerts. Otherwise, these devices work fine.

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WK
IT consultant at Interact Technology Solutions

Aruba's operating system changes with every version. There is AOS and CX OS, and the commands change slightly each time, so if you are used to writing commands for one version, the commands you use in the next version are wrong. This causes a lot of disruptions if you prefer to use command lines over a GUI.

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IM
Manager at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

We have needed to upgrade software to fix some challenges we experienced. After downloading the latest version of Aruba, these were fixed. 

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AS
Deputy IT Manager at ICAPP (Americana Group)

Visibility needs improvement. We don't have visibility in Aruba Switches and we are thinking of switching to FortiSwitch because it has visibility. 

Currently, we have visibility and compatibility with the firewall. Through the firewall, we can see the entire network.

They are not very active with this solution. There is no followup with the vendors and resellers, they do not contact us to inform us of new technologies as they do with Cisco and Fortinet. Other vendors are more active in the community.

In the next release, I would like to see visibility included, as well as better integration with other platforms. 

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NG
Assistant Manager IT at Suzuki Motor Gujtarat

I have an opinion about Aruba controllers. Aruba access points do not require any controllers. Aruba controllers have different VLANS and there is no need to configure the access points, rather only the controller. You can put different VLANs on the same controllers. You don’t need to reconfigure it. This is a good feature that would be a good vehicle to use in the next release.

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AD
Network Engineer at a insurance company with 11-50 employees

Aruba's switches are older so I'd like to see more upgrades. The newer ones may have that built-in. The product could be more user-friendly. 

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Tham Cm - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at Cmsa

I would like to see a lower price for the device.

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JB
Network Systems Engineer at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees

There is an issue with Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), but it is escaping me. We aren't using this feature yet, but it is something we are considering.

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DM
Manager IT at Hormann Legnica Sp. z o.o.

Overall, it's a very good product. There isn't really a feature that needs to be simplified or improved.

The element of security always can be improved. If the solution continues to improve its security functionality, it will continue to be a great product.

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SC
Senior Consulting and Design Engineer at Claro Ecuador

It takes a long time to import Aruba switches to Ecuador. 

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Marcio Dalvi - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at ISH Tecnologia

I would like to see them integrate a monitoring solution. In addition, continue to develop features for easy configuration.

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Mohamad Hasan - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Staff at pmbs

Aruba's website should be localized to support the Indonesian language. The content of their website and the help desk should be in the Indonesian language.

Its price can be improved. It is a little bit expensive.

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Alfred_Pullicino - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at Genesis Global

In the next release, I would like to see network access control on the switches themselves. I would like to see security functionalities when it comes to monitoring the bit of the wireless section of the switches.

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DS
Presales Consultant at a non-profit with 11-50 employees

Aruba Switches cover lots of areas and support automated and IOPS and with the central products, but I think when we look at the solutions overall, IOPS devices are not covered so much in Aruba Central. We are in Croatia and it is a small country, I don't know how its situation is in Europe, America, or Asia.

In a future release, I would like to see old switches have coverage in Aruba Cloud Central.

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Dheni Prasetyo - PeerSpot reviewer
Network & Security Department Head at Hypernet Indonesia

The UI could improve, where menus and features or functions could be moved a bit, so it's better for us. For example, the one dealing with uplinks could be grouped into a dropdown or something like that.

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AS
Deputy IT Manager at ICAPP (Americana Group)

I would like to see something like a Cisco Prime, an application controlling the entire system, switches, and access points.

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RB
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

We had an issue with the hardware where one or two interfaces went down after one and a half years. This issue impacted only one or two interfaces, not the whole hardware.

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HI
Network Team Lead at ElSewedy Education

The command-line interface could be easier to use, perhaps having voice control.

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DK
System Administrator at a energy/utilities company with 51-200 employees

What I'd like to see in Aruba Switches in the next release would be more security features. 

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AH
Production Operator at Al Ghurair Investments

We would like to see centralized, cloud-based management.

If the price were lower then it would be more competitive with other products by vendors such as Cisco and Ruckus.

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AJ
System engineer at DCA

Aruba Switches could improve the monitoring and increase the scope of their online portal to cover cloud and on-premise deployments.

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SA
System Engineer at Neogenesis technical solutions

I can't think of any features that need to be added. It works quite well for us as it is.

The dashboard could be improved, especially for the CX Switches. It would help to push scripts and configurations via an easy to use dashboard, one which would give us complete visibility of all of our switches in one place. Right now, we have more than one dashboard for Aruba. It would be nice if it was centralized.

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Anil Ergunsah - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Partner & Technical Consultant&Trainer(CCIE#29761, CCSI#31865) at IT Expert

Aruba Switches' price could improve, if they were less expensive it would be beneficial.

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Chandana Weerasinghe - PeerSpot reviewer
Director / General Manager - Infrastructure Software and Networking at DMS Electronics (Pvt) Ltd

The migration from older to newer products could be improved.

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MS
Head of Technical Support at a real estate/law firm with 51-200 employees

The cost of the solution could be improved. Before it became Aruba, it was a cheaper product. When Aruba was acquired by HPE, the prices went up. Most features I would want are there already. It's basically the upgrade, in terms of speed, and the price aspect that are issues for us. Right now we have the new switches, the Pen G features, which are still very expensive. Maybe in two or three years, these switches will be more affordable. 

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SW
Network Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

I would say that the customization of the switches could be easier to configure.

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RioAdi Nugroho - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Network & Security at PT Network Data Sistem

The software materials could be improved. 

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AP
Network and Security Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

They have limited CLI options in the UI and this is something that needs improvement.

Aruba should create a line of switches that are suitable for the industrial market.

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MK
Senior Technical Officer at Sri Lanka Telecom Services

I would prefer it if they reduced the cost of the switches and the access points. They are very high for a country like Sri Lanka. It's a good product, but the price is too high.

Here, most customers are interested in cheaper, local solutions like Planet Switches. I think Auba is better than the local solutions, but they need to cut the cost down in order for people to switch over to them.

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MV
Team leader technical support at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees

The solution is a little less convenient for more simplified management needs. It doesn't use a traditional, classical user interface for small changes. For monitoring, it's fine, but for small changes, less so. It means that our staff who have a less technical background are not able to help out with minor changes - the environment is less suitable for them.

I do think the graphical user interface for small changes could use some more love, so to speak. But let me reiterate that it's only required for staff that is less knowledgeable. For larger rollouts, larger deployment, everything ought to be API and program based. And in that department, the environment is quite sufficient.

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CR
IT Director at a government

The pricing could be adjusted.

The interface could be more user-friendly and the dashboard could be improved.

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LM
CEO at Radax Software Solutions

I would like to see easier learning and configuration from previous switch deployments.

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SS
Network Architect & Pre-Sales Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

With Aruba, some of the models that are available, you need simple features, but you have to go to very high models, very expensive models.

They need to come up with a bit more flexibility in their range of models.

I would like to see more flexibility with regard to the models that are available.

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SA
Consultant at Visolity B.V.

Our clients are really very satisfied with the service this product provides. I really see nothing for the moment that needs improvement. There was a new release at the beginning of this year that is currently available, so essentially it is a new product. It has kept up with good development.  

The only improvement I can really see is that maybe they could get more competitive price-wise. Technically we are satisfied with the product.  

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AP
Network and Security Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

I think that the performance is getting better but they need to have more powerful switches on the market so that they can capture medium and large businesses.

They don't have any data center switches.

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PJ
Managing Director at P & P Enterprise Solution Co.,Ltd.

There is a long delay in receiving Aruba Switches when ordered. There should not be a long delay in receiving the solution. Additionally, there should be a lifetime warranty to compete with other solutions.

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JM
System Admins at The Office Gurus

I have some security issues with Aruba Switches. I need to update the firmware and then the problems might go away.

The integration for Aruba Switches could improve. The solution works well with some solutions, such as Cisco, Ruckus, or Brocade switches. However, nonstandard switches could have better integration in order to comply with the standards of natural communication Aruba Switches need to integrate with the other brands.

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it_user1081542 - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Consultant at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

I would like to see the data center area improving by some added features in the future.

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WA
Engineer at NewLogics

We have issues with the stability of this product.

The firmware in this solution has a lot of bugs that become noticeable when you have complex implementations.

One of the issues with Aruba switches has to do with part numbers. For example, in the 9230F series, there are a lot of part numbers with lots of interface names that make the user confused as to which one he can use for the future. Some switches have only a 1Gbs uplink while others have only a 10Gbs uplink, and there are no clear details which one has which interface. The difference comes when you look at the pricing. Having less confusing part numbers would be an improvement.

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PK
Chief Information Officer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

It would be better and easier for us to buy if the price were reduced.

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AF
Networking Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

I think that the environment for our clients should be simplified.

Technical support response time could be better.

View full review »
Buyer's Guide
Aruba Switches
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Aruba Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
768,578 professionals have used our research since 2012.