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Aruba Airwave vs OpenText Network Node Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

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

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
OpenText Network Node Manager
Ranking in Network Management Applications
7th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Aruba Airwave is 3.1%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Network Node Manager is 5.3%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba Airwave3.1%
OpenText Network Node Manager5.3%
Other91.6%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Ahmed-Salman - PeerSpot reviewer
Performanc Monitoring and Application Architect at Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Reliable network monitoring and proactive analytics enhance decision-making with areas for configuration improvement
NNMi is an OpenText product and serves as the OpenText Network Node Manager monitoring tool. OpenText Network Node Manager is used for network monitoring of switches, routers, firewalls, load balancers, and all network devices. It can support any SNMP protocol. The advantages of OpenText Network Node Manager stand out because it can build the topology, Layer 2 topology, and Layer 3 automatically once devices are added, connecting them together, such as device one, for interface one, connected with interface one on another device. The integration capability of OpenText Network Node Manager is excellent because it integrates directly, and I can configure the integration to feed the CMDB, from where I can get all information from network monitoring into the CMDB, linking it with the infrastructure and correlating events. I use advanced fault monitoring and management features in OpenText Network Node Manager for topology and fault monitoring, as it can alert or generate an event if the value exceeds or falls below a predefined threshold for SNMP traps. The predictive analytics impact planning and optimization strategies because the product can be linked with another product for analytic analysis, allowing me to see the interface utilization trend and proactively take action if the utilization increases. The automated network discovery features and topology mapping in OpenText Network Node Manager have a positive impact. It supports a bundle with another product for NetFlow to monitor traffic, ports, protocols, and SLAs, and I can build compliance reports to address security vulnerabilities, such as identifying all devices using outdated protocols.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I would rate the stability a nine out of ten."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its dashboard and simplicity."
"The Clarity feature makes it easy to use and understand what is going on with your network in a nice dashboard.​"
"What I like best about Aruba Airwave is its orchestration feature because it saves configuration time. I also like that it allows you to do ZTP installations for new Aruba equipment."
"All the technical support goes through our contractor. It is a local support, and it is perfect."
"The powerful features we can put forward in Aruba Airwave are clarity, report creation, and VisualRF."
"The solution's most valuable features are its usage, bandwidth existence, device capacity, and utilization."
"I would rate the overall solution nine out of ten."
"Most valuable function would have to the internal causal engine and its root cause analyzer which keep us updated on critical errors and incidents in our network environment."
"The platform has good stability."
"Our monitoring and network teams of less than 100 people use this solution, and the availability and fault monitoring are good."
"It's quite a mature solution."
"It has gradually evolved over time from a long initial stage to now where it's a very high scale product."
"A good enterprise-level solution."
"It is stable for fault and availability."
"Because of the topological network mapping, our management can quickly take action when there's a network problem."
 

Cons

"We're looking for more device compatibility. Like compatibility with third-party devices."
"I would like to see is “AAS”. Not only Aruba APs with central, but NAC/ClearPass, AirWave, and everything licensed as a Service."
"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."
"The tool's expensive nature is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"When upgrading hardware, there were technical issues with network interfaces and Red Hat, which required escalation to developers."
"The biggest problem for not using Aruba Airwave extensively now is that HP is not upgrading this tool. They're not investing money and time into it, which is why we're not using it."
"Sometimes there are some glitches; some access points will behave a little differently, but it is manageable."
"I would like to see an integration of services into one system, rather than having multiple systems to do multiple things."
"The deployment architecture and installation part needs improvement."
"Sometimes technical support is not so amazing. We need to wait a long time to get a solution for a ticket."
"Micro Focus Network Node Manager is not the best when it comes to drilling down for more visibility, especially regarding traffic."
"Micro Focus Network Node Manager is not powered to drill down for traffic visibility."
"They should add AI options in the product's next release."
"Reporting. Even though this is available in separate software (iSPI) there is potential in making the reporting more SLA-aware and more intuitive."
"Right now, we have open tickets and they are not closing as expected."
"I haven't had a great experience with this solution because the dashboards are not customizable and it's not user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing is on an yearly basis."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The cost is perfect because the devices have a lifetime warranty, and the licensing is good as well."
"Run a 90 day free Proof of Concept (PoC) for each product by implementing and using it fully in your environment. This way you will be educated on its features, functionality, and manageability."
"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."
"We must buy a new license to connect more devices to scale up the solution."
"It's device-based licensing. One device requires one license."
"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."
"The solution is priced mid-range compared to the competition."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"It's an expensive solution."
"It is more inexpensive than other products in the market."
"I wasn't involved in the pricing, but I think it's quite expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Government
7%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
Construction Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What needs improvement with Micro Focus Network Node Manager?
The disadvantage of OpenText Network Node Manager is related to configuration, which is straightforward since it is agentless and solely relies on SNMP protocol, and although it requires some effor...
What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Network Node Manager?
I remember working with OpenText Network Node Manager at my previous company. I am now working at a different company focusing on data center migrations and DR preparation. In my current role, I ha...
What advice do you have for others considering Micro Focus Network Node Manager?
I would rate OpenText Network Node Manager an eight out of ten, as it is very good, and I appreciate its ability to link faults with network configuration management, allowing me to identify root c...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Micro Focus Network Node Manager, Network Node Manager, HPE Network Node Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Henkel, University of Findlay, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Iowa
IPC, Exelon, VivaCom, 
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Airwave vs. OpenText Network Node Manager and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.