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Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass vs Aruba Airwave comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass
Ranking in Network Management Applications
24th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Aruba Airwave
Ranking in Network Management Applications
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass is 1.7%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Aruba Airwave is 3.1%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba Airwave3.1%
Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass1.7%
Other95.2%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Karthikeyan Ravi - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President of Technology at Netcon Technologies India Private Limited
Has an automated feature for user onboarding and supports heterogeneous devices
We use the product for the automated onboarding of corporate users with secure network access. It helps secure IoT endpoints for specific networks. It allows us to control the devices, including posture, endpoint verification, validation, latest patching, and signatures The product’s most…
Edward Zeng - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer at Auckland University of Technology
Troubleshooting obstacles occur but technical support excels
My general opinion on Aruba Airwave is that it's acceptable, but it's not ideal because we are accustomed to Cisco. We didn't use Aruba much, but once you set it up, you probably don't need to worry about it too much. The version we are using is quite old now, probably around version four. I can't remember the version exactly because a lot of the products require Aruba Central, but we haven't used Aruba Central yet. I face challenges with Aruba Airwave, particularly with troubleshooting. When someone has a problem, we try troubleshooting, but the end-to-end users' messages show some details that are not always up-to-date, and sometimes the information from the GUI is not exactly aligned with what's on the website. If Aruba Airwave can apply AI capabilities, that would be even more perfect. I'd appreciate integration with Aruba Central; it would be great if they could incorporate it into Airwave.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I think the best features are the user profiling and the BYOD facilities."
"It helps secure IoT endpoints for specific networks."
"I would rate the stability a nine out of ten."
"I would rate the overall solution nine out of ten."
"The most beneficial feature for network monitoring in Aruba Airwave is the Live Heat Map. It helps identify interferences, coverage issues, and user connectivity issues. The device management capability of Aruba Airwave is good. It provides end-to-end visibility from the user to the access point, the switch, and the internet breakout. From a monitoring, management, and orchestration standpoint, it is very effective and can manage any scale of deployment."
"The cost is perfect because the devices have a lifetime warranty, and the licensing is good as well."
"The most valuable features are the error log and intrusion log. It also provides an overview of your assets. It gives a good database for wireless coverage."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its dashboard and simplicity."
"One of the main advantages is its ability to draw building floor plans and analyze Wi-Fi signal behavior in real-time."
"The monitoring and administration allow configurations for checking the association of the user to the network, then to the AP, then to the switch, and back to the controller."
 

Cons

"I think the solution would be greatly improved by adding application level visibility on the dashboard."
"There could be in-built end-to-end map integration features for IoT devices instead of using third-party tools."
"We sometimes have problems with troubleshooting between the GUI and the CLI manipulation."
"I am not deeply familiar with the solution, so if I mention a feature, it might already exist, yet I may be unaware of it."
"I would try to integrate more products from different vendors in future releases. Because that's really good features that Aruba Airway has, but it's so limited."
"Its pricing and support could be improved."
"When attempting to copy a floor plan, it does not copy well, so I often have to redraw the walls. It's somewhat annoying since other Wi-Fi design software we use is easier for drawing walls and including floor plans."
"We encounter delayed ETAs in the manufacturing of hardware."
"The integration with other platforms like Cisco needs to be improved."
"The tool's expensive nature is an area of concern where improvements are required."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass is an expensive product compared to other vendors."
"It is an expensive solution."
"It's device-based licensing. One device requires one license."
"This product is not expensive."
"The cost is perfect because the devices have a lifetime warranty, and the licensing is good as well."
"Aruba Airwave's licensing cost is not that expensive."
"The licensing is on an yearly basis."
"AirWave is a very expensive solution. If you implement it in a wide range network, it will cost a lot. There is no option to sell it outside that price segment, which is a problem."
"The tool is expensive. If one is bad or expensive, and ten is very good or cheap, I rate the product's price as a six."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Construction Company
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Government
7%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

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What needs improvement with Aruba Airwave?
They have other sensors which can manage and control all the sites. There is an IoT component where we can restrict internet services such as Facebook and YouTube. These things can also be managed....
What is your primary use case for Aruba Airwave?
For Aruba Airwave, I am using the wireless devices for the Wi-Fi for the full company with access points. This is the top product I feel, and I see in the Gartner also. It is a good product and eas...
 

Also Known As

Alcatel Lucent ClearPass, ClearPass Policy Management System, ClearPass
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blickle and Scherer, Loughborough University, CSF Inox, Caritas Speyer
Henkel, University of Findlay, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Iowa
Find out what your peers are saying about Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass vs. Aruba Airwave and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.