HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager

Score8.7 out of 10

60 Reviews and Ratings

What is HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager?

The HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager provides role- and device-based network access control for employees, contractors and guests across multi-vendor wired, wireless and VPN infrastructures.

Categories & Use Cases

Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology (1001-5000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Aruba ClearPass is our security method for protecting our organization's LAN and Wi-Fi endpoints. ClearPass helped us preserve our endpoints by blocking unwanted visitors or unknown devices connecting to our enterprise network. We are blocking unauthorized access to our enterprise network by applying security policies. Not only LAN devices but also wireless and mobile devices.

Pros

Protecting network endpoints from unauthorized access.
Listing all devices that have access to our enterprise.
Protecting Wi-Fi networks from unwanted access to enterprise networks.

Cons

When a ClearPass server loses access to the Domain, it must reconnect automatically to avoid disconnecting devices.
ClearPass policy managers could use redesigns for easy management.
ClearPass agent sometimes loses connection and disconnects users.

Return on Investment

Reduced manual work to check each device before connecting to the network.
Protect the organization network from attackers and hackers by preventing physical access to the network.
Reduce time and effort and save extra work required.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Cisco 1000 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISR 1000) and Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller

Other Software Used

MobaXTerm, SecureCRT, Fortinet FortiGate

Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology (501-1000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

ClearPass is used for endpoint management of devices. We're using it to authenticate business owned computers, function as a portal for guest devices and certificate management. We are able to see which device are connecting to the network in real time and troubleshoot devices that aren't able to connect. We are also able to push devices into different wireless roles depending on who is connecting.

Pros

Reliable
Informative dashboards
Priced well
Integrates into non-aruba platforms
Easy to install patches
Little downtime

Cons

The user interface is outdated
Support is not as responsive as it used to be
I'd like to be able to build dashboards

Most Important Features

Guest management
Functions as a NAC
Reporting

Return on Investment

Support for a large number of users/scaling
Reliability
Portal page is easy for users to understand

Usability

Alternatives Considered

FortiNAC

Other Software Used

FortiAnalyzer, FortiSIEM, ManageEngine ADAudit Plus, ManageEngine ADManager Plus

Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology (1001-5000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Aruba ClearPass has become essential for us over the last few years. We use various features that it offers and know there is a lot more that we don't use currently. We use it currently for TACACs and RADIUS central authentication, OnGuard, guest WIFI, central authentication for wireless and more. We've utilised the role based policy management and are continuing to develop it more and more to suit our changing requirements. We've been integrating Aruba ClearPass with more of our other systems for tighter security. It offers security insight and logs that give us greater clarity when troubleshooting and also a peace of mind over security concerns.

Pros

Role Based Policy Management
Logging and security troubleshooting
Guest WIFI management

Cons

UI can be hard to navigate
Ease of use could be improved
Email alert setup could be more streamline

Return on Investment

It has freed up at least 25% of administration time
We have a clearer insight into security management
It's allowed guest access to become easy and accessible

Usability

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365, SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA), SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM)

Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Aruba ClearPass for our wireless and switching infrastructure on both campuses. It has served well in addressing our identity access management needs for authentication, authorization, and accounting needs for our campus community needs. Students, faculty, staff, and guests are provided the correct access needs with the principle of least privileged being applied. After more than 5 years of utilization, Aruba Clearpass still serves our needs.

Pros

Security
Access control
Audits
AAA

Cons

The virtual VM could be easier for migration from Linux distribution changes
Licensing could be more dynamic when renewal is performed.

Return on Investment

Security
Served the population needs
Operationally it has performed very well
Improved audits

Usability

Other Software Used

Varonis Data Security Platform

Mehmet Fatih Onal View profile

Technical Architect in Information Technology at Vakıf Katılım (1001-5000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

It is used in our wired and wireless networks with nac, radius and tacacs features. Within the scope of information security, it is used as RADIUS-NAC with features such as dynamically assigning the devices that come with certificates to the relevant vlan group in wired networks, and restricting their authority with dacl. In addition, tacacs feature is used for user authentication in connection to various network and security products. In the wireless network, it is used to ensure the security of guest and BYOD networks.

Pros

wide range of compatible devices
have an easy-to-understand and hierarchical rule-writing structure
easy-to-use interface and extensive documentation
seamless MS AD integration

Cons

Going to the end of the page to edit the rules and save them later causes problems.
An AND operation can be performed within a rule, but an OR operation cannot. therefore having to write too many rules
The license structure seems very complex at first.

Most Important Features

Radius, taccas and nac are the most important features for our institution. It also makes a very important contribution to troubleshooting. For example, which port does a client connect to? It can find us many features such as wireless ip, mac address.

Return on Investment

Set and forget. It made a positive contribution in terms of labor and cost without needing much technical support. Since NAC and TACACS features come together, you can meet your needs with a single license.
The number of supporting companies may be limited in the country you are affiliated with. Therefore, agreements with third-party companies are expensive and your support requests may take a long time.

Alternatives Considered

Symantec Endpoint Security

Other Software Used

Microsoft Azure, AppDynamics, Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM)