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Aruba Switches vs Brocade Ethernet Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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 Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Brocade Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
23rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Aruba Switches is 10.0%, down from 12.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Brocade Ethernet Switches is 1.0%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Eunice Thirikwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable hotel networking enhances return on investment with valuable modular features
There are issues with the distribution side of Aruba Switches. For instance, the distributor in our country cannot sell to neighboring countries, creating complications in project execution. Improving the distribution network across regions would be beneficial. Also, the SFP modules are significantly more expensive than industry peers, which affects cost-effectiveness.
Youssef Ezzerouali - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective range, scalable, and simple implmentation
The most valuable feature of Brocade Ethernet Switches is the good range of access it provides Brocade Ethernet Switches could improve by having better compatibility with web management of older versions. I have been using Brocade Ethernet Switches for approximately three years. The solution is…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Very easy and quick to setup and provide a nice dashboard providing a view of everything."
"I like the number of available throughputs and its ability to have different speeds of ethernet cards or fiber-optic SFPs. It's a core switch, and you can configure it as per your requirements. All the configuration details are well documented on the HP website or Aruba website, and one can easily refer to those and find all the relevant commands from the documentation itself. It's also easy to maintain this solution. It's also cheaper than competing products."
"The most valuable features are the access point, fire control for clients, majority control, platform control in SSIGF, WiFi networking, and area monitoring."
"It is slightly more price effective than Juniper and it has a slightly larger range."
"We like that it is very easy to manage the product through the cloud."
"It can scale well."
"The Aruba care support and the lifetime warranty are very valuable aspects."
"Aruba Central is valuable."
"The most valuable feature of Brocade Ethernet Switches is the good range of access it provides."
"It is easy to configure and provides good technical support."
"The initial setup was really straightforward and easy."
"The reliability of Brocade is the most valuable feature. The solution has been up and running for over ten years without any fail, fixes required, or breakdowns. It is a very strong piece of equipment."
"There's a zone for each server and services in the storage."
"It has good integration with HPE Primera. They have smart zoning in which the administration is very easy. You don't have to do anything. Zoning and other things are done automatically if you just enable the smart zoning. That's one very good thing in HP."
"I have not had any issues with our Brocade switches."
"The technical support is good."
 

Cons

"Aruba's switches are older so I'd like to see more upgrades. The newer ones may have that built-in. The product could be more user-friendly."
"The power supplies are generally susceptible to power fluctuations and failure due to these fluctuations."
"We have had problems with the cooling fans on these switches."
"Aruba Switches could improve the monitoring and increase the scope of their online portal to cover cloud and on-premise deployments."
"I have some security issues with Aruba Switches. I need to update the firmware and then the problems might go away."
"Aruba Switches cover lots of areas and support automated and IOPS and with the central products, but I think when we look at the solutions overall, IOPS devices are not covered so much in Aruba Central. We are in Croatia and it is a small country, I don't know how its situation is in Europe, America, or Asia."
"We had an issue with the hardware where one or two interfaces went down after one and a half years. This issue impacted only one or two interfaces, not the whole hardware."
"Technical support response time could be better."
"It could be made easier to configure with a graphical interface."
"It should be simpler. There are still some things that can be simpler in the Brocade switches."
"Brocade Ethernet Switches could improve by having better compatibility with web management of older versions."
"The solution could be more secure."
"Brocade Ethernet Switches need a better interface and centralized management."
"No graphical interface."
"These switches are no longer supported."
"There are some performance issues."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Typically it is a $500 to $600 difference in price."
"This is an affordable solution."
"Aruba Switches are less expensive than Cisco."
"Comparing with Cisco, and some other solutions, it's a cheap product."
"I don't know the exact cost of the licensing, but based on what I have heard from my sales team, Aruba is affordable. Aruba switches are cheaper than the switches from Cisco and other vendors."
"Aruba Switches are cost-effective."
"Cisco has a higher cost than Aruba Switches."
"This is an expensive product, costing about double what most competitors do."
"The price of Brocade Ethernet Switches is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Switches?
Aruba lives up to the expectations of the tech giant hewlett packard enterprise providing excellent networking capabilities at a very affordable price compared to the equivalent from another tech g...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Switches?
Pricing really depends on the model. For instance, a high-end model with Aruba is about five thousand, while another brand, like Huawei, could be half of it.
What needs improvement with Aruba Switches?
The only problem with Aruba Switches is the pricing.
What needs improvement with Brocade Ethernet Switches?
To improve, it could be made easier to configure with a graphical interface.
What is your primary use case for Brocade Ethernet Switches?
I use Brocade Ethernet Switches because they are scalable. I recommend them since they are easy to configure. They are connected and used every day in our operations.
What advice do you have for others considering Brocade Ethernet Switches?
I would recommend Brocade Ethernet Switches because they are easy to configure and have good technical support. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
 

Also Known As

8400 Series, 8320 Series, 5400R Series, 3810 Series, 2930M Series, 2930F Series, 2920 Series, 2540 Series, 2530 Series
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Purdue University
Ajubeo, Akquinet AG, Big Data Analytics Provider Boligkontoret Danmark Bristol is Open, CDE Lightband, Cicero School District 99, City and County of San Francisco, Department of Emergency, City of Chattanooga, Cloudscale.sh
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Switches vs. Brocade Ethernet Switches and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.