ArubaOS vs. Cisco IOS

Aruba Wireless works quite well and is stable for enterprise. Once it's running, it works. Once you have it set up, you don't normally need to go in and make changes. Aruba is particularly good on pushing clients to use 5ghz (they say they use some kind of a proprietary algorithm). It may not be appropriate for smaller businesses due to cost and complexity

Incentivized

Well suited for building management networks across the organization as it has been reliable without much downtime. Since it has great switching qualities, it suites well for data center and end-user connectivity using access switches. It might not be the best for routing, as other XOR software has proven to be superior for routing.

Incentivized

• Wireless Access
• Security/Role Management
• Firewalling
• Centralized Management

Incentivized

• User friendly CLI.
• Quick fixes for critical bugs.
• Longer uptime.

Incentivized

• Documentation on Aruba website is very lacking
• Support is hit-or-miss - they may waste a lot of time before you get to someone who has a solution
• Some configuration items are very non-intuitive

Incentivized

• No good element managers like Nokia.
• Load balancing functionalities are not the best.
• Memory issues.

Incentivized

Aruba does quite a good job with GUI configuration, especially with AOS 8 - something that Cisco struggles with (maybe they came up with something new now). Aruba can also easily scale. While not on the same level, Ubiquiti has a good GUI but is lacking a good standard controller - users have to stand their own.

Incentivized

We have found other Cisco software to be filled with added functionalities as compared to iOS. New NCS software has certain programmability features that are advantageous to legacy iOS software but are more complex to use for some users. Hence, we still have most areas of the network that functions using iOS software.

Incentivized

• Good return on investment in terms of a working wireless network for thousands of users
• However, troubleshooting and support may be difficult
• Good integration with ClearPass

Incentivized

• Great uptimes on proven availability/reliability.
• Longevity of these switches ensures great ROI.
• Easy to learn for new users.

Incentivized