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Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Fortinet FortiWLC comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Cloudflare Web Application ...
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
Web Application Firewall (WAF) (5th)
Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Pl...
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
WAN Optimization (3rd), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (7th), WAN Edge (8th)
Fortinet FortiWLC
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Wireless LAN (27th)
 

Mindshare comparison

WAN Optimization Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform13.9%
Steelhead14.7%
Cato SASE Cloud Platform14.4%
Other57.0%
WAN Optimization
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiWLC1.0%
Aruba Wireless12.3%
Ruckus Wireless10.8%
Other75.9%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

DB
CTO at PlayNirvana
Advanced security reporting has protected high-traffic betting platforms from constant attacks
I don't see room for improvement to Cloudflare Web Application Firewall. One thing I don't know much about because we have a dedicated IT team for that, and I'm not involved with Cloudflare much anymore. But if I were to compare them to F5, I would like to see more features that F5 offers. F5 has an option to bring the whole infrastructure, the whole WAF and all their packages, Bot Management, and everything else on your infrastructure. You need to install certain services from their side, and then you can choose if you would like requests to hit your servers immediately or if requests need to be proxied through F5 backbone. That would be a nice addition because we have 90% of the traffic as legit traffic coming from whitelisted servers. If it comes from whitelisted servers, I don't need to go every request through the backbone; I could easily just IP whitelist everything. Then I could maybe have Bot Management on my infrastructure that drastically reduces the price of Cloudflare. I would like to see Push CDN more improved in the next release of Cloudflare Web Application Firewall. And maybe something similar to Pushpin that Fastly has, which is an option where you can push messages that then can be scaled globally over the network. From our perspective, if we have a listener that listens for stock updates, I would just need to have one processor that pushes those updates to the Cloudflare API, and then Cloudflare would broadcast that message to all listeners. Cloudflare will check the order of the message, and if you, as a customer, are not connected or have some kind of network issue, when you reconnect, you will receive the latest state and missing updates.
SatishKumar13 - PeerSpot reviewer
Deputy Manager at Savex Technologies Pvt Ltd
Reliable features and exceptional tech support enhance user experience
The Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform is a fantastic solution based on my experience. The Zero-Touch Provisioning feature is one of the best features I have seen so far. While there are some aspects that need improvement on the technical side, when comparing it with other products and solutions, it performs well but still has room for enhancement.
Md.Mehedi Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Lead Manager at Blue Pill Ltd
Offers a seamless and secure WiFi experience with outstanding customer support
FortiWLC is valuable due to its security features and the seamless WiFi experience it provides. Our customers benefit greatly from the security aspect, especially since they are already using Fortinet for Firewall services. The security features are crucial for their requirements. The stability and ease of use of FortiWLC also add to its effectiveness.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Caching is the most valuable feature of Cloudflare Web Application Firewall."
"I have not had any issues with this solution, and I would recommend it to others who are interested in using it."
"Cloudflare has positively impacted my organization by making it easier for me to handle and set up DNS for multiple clients; I can easily go in and access their accounts, make changes they need, and it's a one-stop shop."
"The setup process is very simple for me."
"We extensively use the solution every day. The solution is very stable; we haven’t seen any glitches."
"The product has improved our security posture by blocking bad actors."
"The security features are valuable. The particular feature we use is called OWASP."
"Technical support has a very fast response time and they are helpful."
"We had several clients that were paying $7,500 a month for an MPLS line for one single 10 megabit circuit and we were able to take that from $7,500 a month down to $500 a month for two 10 megabits circuits that added redundancy where before they did not have redundancy and it gave them a much better throughput."
"The most valuable feature of Silver Peak VX is the overall performance."
"Aruba EdgeConnect has an inbuilt next-generation firewall, advanced routing capabilities, and one compression capacity."
"The file and data reduction capabilities are very good. Without it, we have a great deal of network congestion."
"The tool's most valuable feature is bandwidth optimization."
"Many features are valuable for automation, connectivity, and throughput."
"The tool is easy to configure due to the existing pre-configured templates. It is easy to manage compared to legacy systems, which takes time. We can complete a site within 30 minutes. The tool's best feature is outdoor onboarding. You need to bring the box to the site with the internet. It is a simple plug-and-play. The solution offers a zero-touch procedure."
"The most valuable features of Silver Peak VX is the flexibility, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, the long-distance performance of the application storage is easy and effective."
"FortiWLC is valuable due to its security features and the seamless WiFi experience it provides."
"The security within the access point and the controller is the solution's most valuable aspect."
"I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLC is the overall high quality."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLC is the overall high quality."
"It's easy to set everything up during implementation."
 

Cons

"They have some limitations with third-party integrations."
"A key challenge arises when dealing with numerous integrations with HVAC systems. Depending on the specifics, there might be some configuration mismatches, which necessitate specific support."
"The dashboard could be more user-friendly."
"The reporting could be improved if it were more granular."
"The notification part could be improved. It's very much connected to Web Application Firewall, rate-limiting, and DDoS protection."
"The reporting could be more granular."
"The product can improve by having more multitenancy capability, which is currently not available."
"If they add logs history within the Cloudflare offering, that would be a great benefit."
"More technical sessions should be offered for deploying the solution."
"I guess the tool should give you a little more flexibility on what you can show on the main window, which can be an area of improvement."
"The security can be improved, with the firewall for example, because they supply a basic one but not a UTM."
"Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform needs to improve integrations with other vendors."
"Reporting is something that they can improve on."
"They have to implement more security with it. The security, mainly their firewall functions, have to be included in the firewall features."
"One area for improvement is the Intel support integration. The security could also improve."
"The license features should improve in the solution. For example, when you purchase VMware, it starts at a low level that has some functionality. When you want to expand, the difference in the price is substantial. I purchased the lower functional version for $4,000, and now if I want to upgrade, they ask me for $80,000. This is a $76,000 difference, there's no logic, but this is VMware."
"The price of Fortinet FortiWLC is high. The solution will be out of the market for us because the price is too high for the features it provides."
"However, for massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing the price to make it more affordable."
"Fortinet FortiWLC is not simple to configure when compared to other solutions. The design could be better."
"For massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing the price to make it more affordable."
"One thing that is lacking is, compared with some other brands, the signal is a bit weaker. Ruckus has much wider signal coverage."
"One thing that is lacking is, compared with some other brands, the signal is a bit weaker."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cloudflare Web Application Firewall is more affordable than other solutions."
"We pay $210 per month for CloudFlare WAF."
"The solution is expensive."
"It is not too pricey."
"It starts at $20 and can easily go up to $200 monthly"
"The annual licensing fee is $10,000 USD."
"The pricing model is very straightforward compared to the competition. You just pay per month for the product and usage."
"The solution's pricing option needs to be more transparent for enterprise clients."
"The price of Silver Peak VX is expensive compared to competitors. There are licenses, renewals, and support that need to be paid."
"The licensing would be cheap if we compare it with the others, like Cisco."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high, I rate the pricing around five to six."
"The price of Silver Peak VX is reasonable but could improve."
"There is an annual license required to use Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect."
"The license could improve for Silver Peak VX."
"Compared to other solutions, I think it is a cheap product in the market."
"The pricing for this product is good."
"The price of Fortinet FortiWLC is high. The solution will be out of the market for us because the price is too high for the features it provides."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Legal Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
20%
University
12%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise10
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cloudflare Web Application Firewall?
I don't see room for improvement to Cloudflare Web Application Firewall. One thing I don't know much about because we...
What is your primary use case for Cloudflare Web Application Firewall?
We are using Cloudflare Web Application Firewall's advanced reporting and analytics tools with their Zero Trust, so e...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Silver Peak NX?
The pricing is on the higher side compared to the competition when discussing experience with pricing, setup cost, an...
What needs improvement with Silver Peak NX?
The room for improvement for the Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform is pricing, as people are purchasing this product ...
What is your primary use case for Silver Peak NX?
A typical use case for the Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform is high latency connectivity, which is why I or my clien...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLC?
I cannot disclose the license price, however, I recommend Fortinet reduce its pricing for massive implementations.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLC?
Until now, I have not observed any issues. However, for massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing th...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWLC?
We are resellers of FortiWLC, and our customers mainly use it in enterprise settings, particularly for chemical compa...
 

Also Known As

Cloudflare WAF
Silver Peak NX, Silver Peak VX, Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

crunchbase, udacity, marketo, okcupid, zendesk
Group Dekko, Kingston Technology, American Student Assistance, Ares Management, Charlotte Metro Credit Union, Colonial Savings, Community Bank, Denali Credit Union, Bed Bath & Beyond, Breweries of Cameroon, Carnival Australia, Coastal Beverages, Toshiba Electronics, Tru Blu Beverages, WAXIE Sanitary Supply, Charleston Area Medical Center, Community Health Plan, Healthcare Company, Mercy Health, Linklaters, Miles & Stockbridge, Thomson Snell & Passmore
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Riverbed, Cato Networks, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and others in WAN Optimization. Updated: April 2026.
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