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NAREK MOVSESYAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Team Lead at Digitain
Real User
Top 5
A stable tool that offers its users downloadable user roles for authentication, along with NAS and backup
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
  • "The initial setup phase of the solution was really very difficult, owing to which the setup phase can be considered as an area that can be improved."

What is our primary use case?

My company uses Aruba ClearPass mainly for the initial goal we set during the initial setup of the solution, which includes Network Access Server (NAS) and backup. We use the application in our company with almost all the features it provides.

What is most valuable?

I have found all of the features of the solution to be valuable. One of the most important features of the solution is that you can have downloadable user roles for authentication in the solution, which I think is pretty good.

What needs improvement?

The initial setup phase of the solution was really very difficult, owing to which the setup phase can be considered as an area that can be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Aruba ClearPass for three years. I am a customer of the solution.

Buyer's Guide
Aruba ClearPass
May 2025
Learn what your peers think about Aruba ClearPass. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
851,823 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

My organization has about 3,000 users of the solution.

How are customer service and support?

I contacted the solution's technical support team since I had some questions related to the product and not due to any particular issues related to the solution.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

My company has a huge infrastructure, because of which we have to deal with a multi-vendor environment that includes Arista, Cisco, Juniper, and Fortinet.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Aruba ClearPass was really very difficult.

The solution is deployed on-premises.

Aruba ClearPass' deployment process that involves the configuration from scratch can take up to a couple of weeks, especially if you are not familiar with the product.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Though I don't remember the pricing model of the solution, I can say that the package or licensing model offered for the solution is a permanent one.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend those planning to use the solution to use it, but they need to consider that it comes across as a really complex solution. It is important to have some past experience with the solution.

I rate the overall product a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
CEO at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
The compatibility is a key valuable feature that sets it above other products
Pros and Cons
  • "ClearPass is open to any operating system or mobile app."
  • "Licensing cost is extremely high."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case of ClearPass is for network access control, wireless access and policy enforcement. We use it for authentication, verification and authorization, and then patch it to our users. We are system integrators. 

What is most valuable?

The advantage of Aruba is that it is open to any operating system or mobile app. The compatibility of Aruba ClearPass is a key valuable feature and makes it a stronger product than Cisco ISE in this area.

What needs improvement?

The cost of Aruba is very, very high. It's the biggest challenge we have with this product. It would be helpful if Aruba would integrate the SDN controller into the solution. Cisco is moving towards that in order to create one platform. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using this solution for 10 years. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability depends on the design policy. One device has a scalability provision of 20,000 but you might only use 5,000 licenses initially so it really depends on your needs.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is excellent. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy and there is no need to install anything whether you buy the virtual platform or the appliance. It's all very open and clear and a matter of configuring for policy enforcement. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There are licensing options but this is a very expensive product. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Forescout and ClearPass are both trying to build their system as an open platform for everyone which is why their reachability is very high. If you're using ClearPass or Forescout, you can use any open switches on the market. Cisco has a limited category that it has developed for its own products and infrastructure. If you use different switches and different Wi-Fi, it doesn't provide the pure solution inside. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate this solution 10 out of 10. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Aruba ClearPass
May 2025
Learn what your peers think about Aruba ClearPass. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
851,823 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Aditya Buditama - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer - Network at PT.Helios Informatika Nusantara
Real User
Top 5
Has an access tracker that's helpful when you want to troubleshoot authentication failures
Pros and Cons
  • "What I like most about Aruba ClearPass is its access tracker that serves as its monitoring feature. The access tracker is really helpful when you want to troubleshoot authentication failures."
  • "What needs improvement in Aruba ClearPass is just the endpoint context server, in particular, the indication with the context server because sometimes the daily process isn't as smooth-sailing. Sometimes, the information isn't up-to-date. I'm not sure if that's a vendor limitation, but currently, it's the only tricky part of the current configuration. What I'd like to see in the next release of Aruba ClearPass is a dashboard or a monitoring feature that would allow users to see the integration process with an external server because there's no visibility into that right now."

What is our primary use case?

We use Aruba ClearPass for our authentication server and also integrate it with our active directory. We also use the endpoint function of the solution.

How has it helped my organization?

Aruba ClearPass has improved our organization because, through it, we have much better visibility in terms of who our users are in our network. We have more insight into the type of devices people are using and their roles. For guests, we can also gather some information from them, for example, their emails, so in most cases, Aruba ClearPass is pretty useful for us.

What is most valuable?

What I like most about Aruba ClearPass is its access tracker that serves as its monitoring feature. The access tracker is really helpful when you want to troubleshoot authentication failures.

What needs improvement?

What needs improvement in Aruba ClearPass is just the endpoint context server, in particular, the indication with the context server because sometimes the daily process isn't as smooth-sailing. Sometimes, the information isn't up-to-date. I'm not sure if that's a vendor limitation, but currently, it's the only tricky part of the current configuration.

What I'd like to see in the next release of Aruba ClearPass is a dashboard or a monitoring feature that would allow users to see the integration process with an external server because there's no visibility into that right now.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Aruba ClearPass for one and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Aruba ClearPass, in terms of stability, is good. We haven't experienced it shutting down in the last one and a half years of using it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We've only used Aruba ClearPass for the last one and a half years, and we haven't had any need to scale it up, but it seems to be a scalable solution.

How are customer service and support?

We haven't had any issues with Aruba ClearPass. It's been really quiet in the past year, so we haven't contacted their technical support team.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used a different system before using Aruba ClearPass, but we heard that the licensing scheme for Aruba ClearPass is permanent. The solution offers a permanent license while our previous system had an annual license that we had to renew and repurchase yearly, so that was troublesome for us. With Aruba ClearPass, we don't have to repurchase or renew every year, so that's one of the main reasons we switched to it.

How was the initial setup?

Installing Aruba ClearPass was quite easy. The deployment process for it was quite easy and quick. It took our partner less than two weeks to deploy the solution, so it was quite quick.

What about the implementation team?

We used a third-party company for deploying Aruba ClearPass.

What was our ROI?

You can get ROI from Aruba ClearPass after two or three years.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I can't give the exact cost of Aruba ClearPass because that's handled by the purchasing team, but it's on the cheaper side, and on a scale of one to five, I'm rating the cost a four.

Initially, the pricing for the solution is expensive in terms of deployment, but in the long term, for example, after more than five to ten years, the operational cost incurred by the company is quite affordable because you don't have to renew the license. It's a one-time purchase.

My company only uses the standard license for Aruba ClearPass.

What other advice do I have?

My company has eight hundred users of Aruba ClearPass in the IT security team, and about five or six people are required for the deployment and maintenance of the solution.

Currently, my company doesn't have any plans of increasing usage for Aruba ClearPass because it's been scaled up three times more than the current need when it was first purchased, so the solution is only being used at about 30% of its maximum capacity. It could take another four or five years before my company increases its usage.

Aruba ClearPass is a solution I would highly recommend to others looking into implementing it because, in my experience, it's really easy to manage. It has a low production cost, and even if the initial cost for the deployment is quite high, it becomes pretty cheap because you don't have to renew the license. If you need basic captive portal authentication, I would recommend Aruba ClearPass.

I'm rating Aruba ClearPass nine out of ten.

My company is a customer, not a partner of Aruba ClearPass.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
CTO at Kingsway Hospitals
Real User
Simple to deploy, good analytics, and usage is transparent to the users
Pros and Cons
  • "It's very easy to access support and the documentation is self-explanatory."
  • "In the future, I would like to see plugins for AI and machine learning."

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are planning and analytics.

It is simple to deploy.

It is transparent for the users to come in through ClearPass.

What needs improvement?

In the future, I would like to see plugins for AI and machine learning. If it did pattern analysis then it could help to determine our requirements automatically.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using ClearPass for a couple of months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

ClearPass has been very stable and there are no hiccups or any issues that we are experiencing.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is modularly scalable and I don't see any issues with it.

I've got a lot of people connecting to my facility from outside of the organization, and they all connect through ClearPass. The combined external and internal user count is around 500.

How are customer service and technical support?

The support that I have had from Aruba on this solution has been very nice. It's very easy to access support and the documentation is self-explanatory. You won't need much guidance from the Aruba team.

How was the initial setup?

When it comes to the initial setup, as a customer, you need to prepare your own decision matrix. Once the matrices are in place, the rollout of ClearPass is seamless. It is easy. However, if you don't do your introspection and homework then it could be a challenge for an organization.

What other advice do I have?

This is a solution that I would strongly recommend.

We are very happy with the support and the product overall. Although it meets our satisfaction and requirements 100%, you can never give a 100% mark. There is a little bit of room for improvement in all things.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1401510 - PeerSpot reviewer
Team leader technical support at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Provides integration options with a multitude of other vendors and Aruba applications
Pros and Cons
  • "I like the integration options with a multitude of other vendors and Aruba applications."
  • "The user interface could be more polished and modern. It would be useful to have more options for automation."

What is our primary use case?

I use this solution for securing company-wide logs.

I'm using the latest version. It's deployed on the public cloud. Microsoft Azure is the cloud provider.

Everyone in our organization uses this solution. It's about 300 people. There are four people who specifically operate the solution, do daily checks, check for errors, and help users who are having trouble with their login sessions.

What is most valuable?

I like that it's usable in both an on-premise and hybrid and cloud native environment. I like the integration options with a multitude of other vendors and Aruba applications.

What needs improvement?

The user interface could be more polished and modern. It would be useful to have more options for automation.

I would like to have more collaboration between different security platforms. For instance, the Fortinet portfolio, which we also use extensively.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used this solution for about one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's very stable. We did have some issues with under provisioning the underlying resources, so that needs to be taken into account. If you do, then it is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is very high. You just need to add extra nodes. I would rate the scalability as eight out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is only approached by our third party network service provider.

How was the initial setup?

Deployment took one day.

What about the implementation team?

Implementation was done through a third party. We outsourced the deployment to our network vendor.

Maintenance is also outsourced. For the application itself, maintenance takes about four hours a month. For the actual usage of the applications on a day-to-day basis, we do that ourselves.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Compared to the functionality, the pricing is very favorable. It's affordable and provides good value for the money.

I would rate the pricing as three out of ten.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated other on-premises solutions, but they aren't very comparable to Aruba.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution as nine out of ten.

I would recommend Aruba ClearPass to others.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Networking Architect at Telia Lietuva, AB
Real User
Very mature with great functionality; excellent online support
Pros and Cons
  • "A mature and functional product."
  • "Some functions could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is providing services for this solution. We've done a big proof of concept for Clearpass in our company. And another recent case I prepared was a proposal for one of our biggest customers regarding a solution for network access control. Clearpass was practically the heart of that solution.

My position in the company is independent. The company sells end products and services from various vendors and Aruba is one of them. We do the implementation. 

What is most valuable?

One of the most valuable features of the solution is the maturity of the product and, of course, the functionality is also very good. 

What needs improvement?

Possibly some of the functions could be improved, but it's hard to say. Generally, Clearpass is considered the leader in its field and it's a very good product. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for about half a year. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We have quite good support from local representatives and we have our own team in the company for maintenance. A lot is available online.

How was the initial setup?

Initial setup of the solution is relatively straightforward. There are a lot of videos and documentation available on the internet.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked at Pulse Policy Secure as a possible option. In some areas it has more flexibility than Clearpass but Clearpass came out on top in the end. Policy Secure has some ability issues and lack of good support. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this product a nine out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
PeerSpot user
Varun Bhati - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and Security Specialist at New Balance
Real User
Policy and access management solution that has a user friendly interface and is easy to set up
Pros and Cons
  • "Document authentications allows us to decide which users can connect to an office VLAN and this has been the most valuable feature."
  • "This solution could be improved by making it possible to use it across different territories. Currently, if a user moves from the US to the UK, their usage and access will be restricted."

What is our primary use case?

If for example, a user in my office received a particular VLAN for the USA and relocated to the UK, they will not get the same access. This is the challenge that we are trying to achieve through the CPPM. 

What is most valuable?

Document authentications allows us to decide which users can connect to an office VLAN and this has been the most valuable feature. It is dependent upon the policies that we have created on CPPM. If a domain laptop needs a Windows update, the device is updated. 

What needs improvement?

This solution could be improved by making it possible to use it across different territories. Currently, if a user moves from the US to the UK, their usage and access will be restricted. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for one year. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is a scalable solution. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. 

What other advice do I have?

The suitability of this solution is dependent upon the requirements of the business. You need to consider if you want authentications for every network devices like switch, routers, firewalls and wireless. This can depend on the type of projects you are running. 

We needed the enterprise authentication because we needed the wifi dot certification. Using this, we can access network devices and policies. 

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten because the Aruba dashboard is quite simple compared to other solutions.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Qasim Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Project Management at Saudi Biga
Real User
It's suitable for deploying at large hospitality projects.
Pros and Cons
  • "Aruba is a highly scalable product. It just works. We have no issues with scalability."
  • "The technical support has some room for improvement. It takes them a long time to respond sometimes. I rate Aruba support six out of 10."

What is our primary use case?

We use ClearPass for access points. We are primarily working on hospitality projects, including some major hotels in Saudi Arabia. They only allow Aruba and Cisco, so we need this product.

For how long have I used the solution?

I joined this company a few days ago, but they've been dealing with Aruba for a long time. They use it for specific projects with a local partner in Saudi Arabia that requires Aruba.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We haven't had any issues with stability so far .

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Aruba is a highly scalable product. It just works. We have no issues with scalability.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support has some room for improvement. It takes them a long time to respond sometimes. I rate Aruba support six out of 10. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Aruba is a little more expensive than other products in the market here.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Aruba eight out of 10. I would recommend it. Our company prefers Aruba because it has an attractive design that can decorate a hospitality area. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Aruba ClearPass Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: May 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Aruba ClearPass Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.