Cisco Duo vs. HPE Aruba Ethernet Switches

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Duo
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
Cisco Duo is a two-factor authentication system (2FA), acquired by Cisco in October 2018. It provides single sign-on (SSO) and endpoint visibility, as well as access controls and policy controlled adaptive authentication.
$3
per month per user
HPE Aruba Ethernet Switches
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
HPE offers Ethernet switches under the Aruba Networks product line.N/A
Pricing
Cisco DuoHPE Aruba Ethernet Switches
Editions & Modules
Duo Essentials
$3
per month per user
Duo Advantage
$6
per month per user
Duo Premier
$9
per month per user
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco DuoHPE Aruba Ethernet Switches
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsHPE Aruba Ethernet Switch prices vary significantly based on features, model, and quantity purchased.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco DuoHPE Aruba Ethernet Switches
Best Alternatives
Cisco DuoHPE Aruba Ethernet Switches
Small Businesses
WatchGuard AuthPoint
WatchGuard AuthPoint
Score 8.9 out of 10

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
WatchGuard AuthPoint
WatchGuard AuthPoint
Score 8.9 out of 10
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Microsoft Entra ID
Microsoft Entra ID
Score 9.0 out of 10
Cisco Ethernet Switches
Cisco Ethernet Switches
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco DuoHPE Aruba Ethernet Switches
Likelihood to Recommend
9.4
(150 ratings)
9.0
(13 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.8
(10 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.6
(76 ratings)
8.7
(3 ratings)
Availability
9.9
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.9
(90 ratings)
10.0
(6 ratings)
Online Training
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.9
(10 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.9
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.5
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.5
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.5
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco DuoHPE Aruba Ethernet Switches
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
Cisco Duois is well suited in all kinds of scenarios where you need to ensure proper security measurements, I think. We can't just rely on our passwords only, as they can be easily stolen through phishing or data breaches thus keeping multi factor authentication is quite essential. I always prefer MFA or at least 2FA for any critical system.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
These devices are rock solid, you will se them up once and not have to mess with them for years. They are work horses that don't die. We use them in an office environment and have only ever had 1 fail due to a PSU issue, we got a replacement next day and it's been working great.
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Pros
Cisco
  • So outside the obvious of multifactor and it being important, one thing I really like about DUO is the integrations and the options it has for integrations are pretty great. And I'd say versatile. I use Cisco ICE as well and I find I'm more most impressed with Cisco Duo specifically with the weird applications we could come up with for it in using it. So I had say the versatility of authentication and other AAA factors with the Cisco duo are why we like it so much.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
  • REST API capability
  • Wired & Wireless 802.1x configuration easiness
  • Wireless Access Points (APs) zero touch provisioning
  • Its high-end family (running the AOS-CX firmware) supports a virtualization technology called VSX (Virtual Switching Extension) which allows 2 switches to present itself as one virtualized switch under Layer 2, and as 2 separate routers under Layer 3; thereby providing high availability.
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Cons
Cisco
  • Documentation is oftentimes missing key information for proper implementation. This is circumvented by reading third-party guides or contacting support for additional details.
  • They do not push Fail-Closed as much as I think they should. Fail-Open is fairly trivial to bypass and it should be made known to the customer during setup how much this will affect overall security.
  • More vendor integration is something that is always craved by administrators. There are so many third-parties to integrate with.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
  • I have had issues finding monitoring software that natively supports Provision/Aruba OS. Most are designed primarily with Cisco in mind.
  • HPE/Aruba switches have historically had issues with corrupt flash. This seems to be less common in more recent models.
  • HPE/Aruba's switching portfolio can be confusing. Some models run on the Aruba OS while some others run on Comware. There is some overlap in these model lines so at times is can be tough to tell which switch is right.
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Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
There are a lot of competing solutions on the market; however, Duo "just works", and there is little to no learning curve for the new members to be acclimated to it. As long as that continues I see it as the preferred option moving forward
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
No answers on this topic
Usability
Cisco
La interfaz es intuitiva y fácil de navegar, lo que permite a los usuarios administrar sus dispositivos y acceder a las políticas sin problemas. La integración con las aplicaciones SSO y SaaS facilita aún más el proceso de acceso, mejorando la experiencia del usuario.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
I preferred the OS running on the 2530 series switches, but the ArubaOS is very usable. It's similar to the Cisco OS command line interface, but somehow more understandable. It takes a bit of getting used to, but the documentation is great and it makes sense after a while of using it.
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Reliability and Availability
Cisco
In the last 5+ years we've been using Duo, there may have been 1 outage that impacted us. We do receive periodic notifications of issues but, for the most part, they impact carriers or functionality that we either don't use, or do not care about.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
No answers on this topic
Performance
Cisco
We do not see any degradation of performance of the protected applications. There are occasional lags in receiving the push but no show stooppers.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cisco
I have not needed direct support for Cisco Secure Access by Duo as I have not had a problem with it, but I have full confidence that the support is outstanding. It is now a core component of the corporate technology stack - a problem would mean a serious degradation in the ability of the company to function.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
HPE Support is very easy to reach. A knowledgable rep can be reached in a few minutes. After some basic troubleshooting if the failure is due to hardware I can receive a replacement within a day or even in a few hours.
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In-Person Training
Cisco
There was no in person training but checking the box was the only way I could complete all of the questions.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Cisco
This was not organized training but the videos that Duo provides to teach you how to install a particular integration are top notch.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Cisco
Implementation was straight forward and you can isolate different scenarios in order to test new application setup or add to an existing setup. Gui interface is pretty easy to understand and follow. I had no experience with Duo and still manage to easily set up new policies and rules.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco
It's easier to deploy. When comparing the quality of technical support, Duo Security is the preferred option. Duo has better integration options for out-to-the-box on-premise and cloud applications. The dashboard brings you more reports, and the access event logging is very complete. The quality of end-user training and documentation is superior. I think the relation price vs. value Cisco Secure Access by Duo has the best rating: service & support, integration & deployment, licensing, and capability.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
We used to have a lot of Cisco switches which are great, but
the support contracts and other expenses mount up quickly; one of the main
reasons for switching to HP for networking was the cost, but the hardware and
software have gotten so much better over the years.

I can’t see us changing network hardware unless the price increases dramatically.
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Scalability
Cisco
So far, the only limits we've encountered were tied to our imagination. Duo's strong list of supported integrations is amazing.
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cisco
  • Very positive ROI given it is inexpensive for a small group and helps us secure our most valuable IT assets.
  • Lack of extreme policy granularity results in higher administrative overhead, as there is no middle ground (i.e. MFA every time or not at all).
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
  • When comparing Aruba to Cisco and Dell there is no comparison in cost. Aruba is a better value and will not require additional licensing like it often the case with Cisco.
  • The Aruba OS is very simple to use and understand. A user with very little networking experience can understand the config of an Aruba switch.
  • Aruba's hardware warranty assures me that even my oldest switches are covered due to hardware failure.
  • In the 11 years I have worked with HPE/Aruba and with over 55 switches I have had a hardware failure less than a handful of times.
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