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Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs Fortinet FortiExtender comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 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

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN
Ranking in Wireless WAN
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiExtender
Ranking in Wireless WAN
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Wireless WAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is 11.4%, up from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiExtender is 7.7%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless WAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba Networks Wireless WAN11.4%
Fortinet FortiExtender7.7%
Other80.9%
Wireless WAN
 

Featured Reviews

Edward Zeng - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer at Auckland University of Technology
Faced deployment successfully but configuration complexity needs to be reduced
I think the layout is a bit complicated. There are so many different layers to set up, and it is very easy to miss out or make configuration mistakes because they are hierarchical. You need to be very careful about which one has been in use. Aruba ClearPass is also complicated as well. If Aruba could combine all of their products together, it would be great to have a single pane of glass. Currently, the Aruba sensor does not work together with other products. There is no single pane of glass for location configuration, so you need to log into different websites to check the user experience.
SyedQuadri - PeerSpot reviewer
IT director at Sajaya Medical Care Services
Has supported multi-branch connectivity effectively and still has potential for deeper feature utilization
Centralized management via FortiManager for my organization is very useful and a must-have. I have used Sophos Central as a manager and Fortinet manager as well. I believe Fortinet Manager has more in-depth features compared to Sophos or some other manager. The threat intelligence integration in Fortinet FortiExtender helps me to meet my industry's compliance standards. Fortinet FortiExtender brought many benefits to my organization. It was a very useful solution for us to have such a service.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I rate the support an eight out of ten since it is good."
"Aruba Wireless's best feature is that it's very, very robust."
"The most valuable feature of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is that it is easy to configure. Additionally, with the same configuration with Cisco and Ruckus, we can receive 55 to 60 percent more out of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN."
"It’s very stable and reliable."
"The product gives good stability and concurrency."
"An engineer with enough experience can tune the network however they want. It's crucial. It's good to customize our information security how we like it and configure the solution to achieve the level of stability we need."
"It's a stable solution with advanced technical capabilities."
"The solution with central management is what I like about Aruba Networks, as I appreciate the ease of deployment and management through the centralized console."
"The ease of the setup and integration into the entire Fortinet solution is seamless."
"The integration is easy and it works as a normal internet connection."
"Having the FortiExtender as a part of an SD-WAN topology is a major competitive value."
"The most valuable feature is that management can be carried out from a central point, as a result, the Fortinet Firewall's management is centralized, making things easier."
"For me, the best feature of Fortinet FortiExtender is its integration with an external solution such as a 5G LTE broadband modem, wired modem, and cellular network."
"The initial setup was was just beautiful. It was straightforward."
"The most valuable feature will be that it works."
"Management can be carried out from a central point."
 

Cons

"The product needs some simplification of the configuration for their security tools or for SD-WAN, specifically."
"Right now, the integration between the support that you are getting from Hewlett-Packard, which is the parent company, and Aruba, they're not meshing together."
"The integration, pricing, and configuration could always be improved upon."
"The solution would be improved with a better interface."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing, it's quite a premium."
"Technical support is important to me and I feel that it is something that can be improved."
"In the next release, the security should be improved by including support for WPA3."
"When it comes to configuring rules for file security tests, any issues that arise can be referred to as "glitches". Despite the extensive configurations required, the process itself is not overly complicated."
"There is a huge downside because we need to remove and insert the SIM to get it working."
"Though Fortinet FortiExtender has some security features, the product could still be improved by adding features similar to those in FortiGuard, such as antivirus, intrusion, prevention, and detection, as well as web filtering features. The product is also not as user-friendly, so that's another area for improvement. In the FortiGate UTM solution of Fortinet, there's software-defined or SD-WAN, and in the next release of Fortinet FortiExtender, I'd like to see SD-WAN embedded in the product. Most of the communication in Fortinet FortiExtender is related to WAN and Edge, so having an SD-WAN function in the product would be useful for integrating and controlling WAN communication."
"There is a huge downside because we need to remove and insert the SIM to get it working."
"The solution would be a lot better if it was a little bit more intuitive. Additionally, the help menu would be a lot better if it was easier to identify the items that I was looking for. I find the graphical interface a little bit difficult to navigate. And I find the font that is used on the HTML interface not conducive to being able to be read in low light situations."
"They could improve the remote console server feature and make it more user-friendly for more users."
"What most of my clients are telling me is the price is a problem."
"In future updates of Fortinet FortiExtender, I would definitely want to see AI. They are working on the AI feature, but so far it is a great, amazing product."
"The engineering of the solution has some negative points, especially in terms of troubleshooting."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is more affordable than Cisco."
"The price of Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is less expensive than Ruckus and Cisco."
"On a scale f one to ten, where one point is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the pricing as eight. Cloud licenses are quite expensive."
"With some vendors, the access point is not manageable anymore if you don't maintain the license. It's more or less a doorstop because you can't configure and control it. You can't troubleshoot it unless you maintain the license. That's not true with Aruba."
"That's really subject to the type of environment you're deploying. If you're doing a full controller model with 200 APs, the initial deployment could be 150 grand. Maintaining that or maintaining support for that per year could be something like 10 to 15 grand per year. In the cloud sense, the cloud is by the number of APs. So, everything is readily available."
"I rate the pricing a seven or eight on a scale of one to ten, where ten is the highest and one is the cheapest."
"The licenses are available as both perpetual or yearly."
"I rate the product's price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is the lowest ,and ten is the highest."
"I'm not sure what the cost is. However, I anticipate that the purchase price will range between $2,500 and $5,000."
"I've only used the open-source version of Fortinet FortiExtender, but I know that it has some features that require you to pay for a license."
"The solution is not that expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Marketing Services Firm
15%
Construction Company
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Media Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Consumer Goods Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

Do you recommend Aruba Network Wireless WAN?
I recommend Aruba Networks Wireless WAN. I have been using Aruba for approximately a decade. It has a great centralized management system, which means we don’t need wireless LAN controllers at ever...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Networks Wireless WAN?
The pricing is not cheap. Compared to Cisco, it is a bit cheaper, but still not enough to switch over to Aruba. The benefits are not sufficient.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiExtender?
The price for Fortinet FortiExtender deserves the highest rating.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiExtender?
In future updates of Fortinet FortiExtender, I would definitely want to see AI. They are working on the AI feature, but so far it is a great, amazing product.
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiExtender?
Since I was having FortiManager and everything, Fortinet FortiExtender was suggested by the vendor. I went through it and appreciated the product. There are plenty of things we are using Fortinet F...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

The Pittsburgh Golf Club, Rio Rancho Public Schools, Amwaj Rotana - Jumeirah Beach Residence - Dubai, Trevecca Nazarene University
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs. Fortinet FortiExtender and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.