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Aruba Wireless vs Juniper WLC Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 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 Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
148
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Juniper WLC Series
Ranking in Wireless LAN
18th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Wireless is 17.1%, down from 23.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper WLC Series is 0.9%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad_Faisal - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience seamless connectivity with top-notch roaming capabilities
The Aruba Wireless solution has excellent roaming capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity. Once installed, Aruba Wireless works robustly without overheating issues. This is particularly effective compared to other products I've used, like FortiMonitor and FortiAPs, which sometimes heat up. I am very satisfied with the roaming feature, as it ensures connectivity when moving from one location to another. The product's stability, after setting it up, adds to its value.
Matilda Elwell - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers visibility and cost benefits
The tool has given us more visibility, but I'm not very technical, so I can't comment on specific features. However, the diagnostic tools for identifying system issues have greatly improved, which we appreciate. We still use Cisco ICE for authentication on the Juniper network, as we did before. We've seen cost benefits with the Juniper WLC Series, which was a key factor in our decision-making during the proof of concept. Besides cost improvements, we've also noticed better resolution of issues and faults in our help desk, thanks to the enhanced features.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The technical support is 24/7 from the UA."
"Aruba Wireless is easily scaled between a lot of devices and a lot of endpoints. When we decided to use it as our solution, we had planned to use it exactly for its ability to scale."
"We like the centralized configuration and monitoring."
"Aruba is an industry leader. The hardware is on par, and its performance is also on par with anybody else. The Aruba brand really only focuses on wireless, so they're not competing their R&D for switching data center products and cloud security. They're really focused on that and their underlying key pieces. They provide a role-based authentication that is native to the controller. A lot of other systems don't do that. They won't provide you the ability to basically have everybody join the network, regardless of whether or not they share the same network space, the SSID, or the wireless LAN. You can segment it down to a specific user role based on any kind of attributes that you like. That's their differentiator. If you need per user, per device, or per port segmentation, you can get that with Aruba. There isn't another vendor who does it."
"For my organization, the most critical feature of Aruba Wireless is guest management."
"Support for both on-premises and cloud environments has proven effective for network management."
"It offers an easy initial setup."
"The most valuable features are the Instant On capabilities, including the controller."
"It prevents a large number of unauthorized modifications of access point devices."
"The installation process is nice and easy."
"There weren't any scalability issues, the product did what it had to do."
"It is a very stable solution."
"The tool has given us more visibility, but I'm not very technical, so I can't comment on specific features. However, the diagnostic tools for identifying system issues have greatly improved, which we appreciate. We still use Cisco ICE for authentication on the Juniper network, as we did before. We've seen cost benefits with the Juniper WLC Series, which was a key factor in our decision-making during the proof of concept. Besides cost improvements, we've also noticed better resolution of issues and faults in our help desk, thanks to the enhanced features."
"The AI integration with Marvis is very valuable."
"The installation process is very easy."
"Juniper WLC Series is a very high-performance device designed for indoor wireless deployment."
 

Cons

"The speed could be better. I heard that Aruba is trying to shape the speed inside the wireless controller, but that has not been adopted yet. If they put some kind of mechanism inside the wireless controller for the speed such that, "Okay, this many users will have 20 by 20 - 20 in the upload, 20 in the download. Just this many users. And this many users will have that type of speed." I think it would be very good if they actually bring that functionality inside the wireless controller."
"The access points could be cheaper. While the technical specifications are satisfactory, the access points are expensive."
"Aruba Wireless can improve the assigning of access points. We have times that the nearest access point is not assigned but one far away. The integration between access points could improve."
"​The ARM functionality does not always seem to perform how I would like. In some cases, I have had to manually assign channels to avoid channel confusion."
"Aruba Wireless could improve the dashboard. It is not straightforward or intuitive to use and could be more user-friendly. For IT employees the dashboards are fine but when it comes to the end-user it is difficult. The Mobility Controller dashboard is not meant for non-IT employees."
"Their documentation needs to be improved. Aruba's documentation is poor."
"The upgrades tend to be buggy and better testing is needed before they are released."
"The solution's documentation could be better organized in an information portal."
"The solution could offer more integration with other products."
"Juniper lacks a network access control agent similar to solutions like Alubakya Path and Cisco ISE."
"In my region, access to the product is very difficult and presents a logistical nightmare. Also, pricing is a big problem and a barrier to entry when selling Juniper against competitors."
"The solution should create configuration documentation."
"There could be a high level of security."
"In my region, access to the product is very difficult and presents a logistical nightmare."
"The biggest issue was that Juniper stopped developing, so we had to look for another solution."
"There could be more information from the controller, and it could be easier to work with the controller lights. It's not easy to bring up the upgrades."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing is a one time purchase (only the cloud license has to be renewed, which is worth trying out).​"
"If you compare it to other solutions then it's reasonably priced."
"The price is low. There is an additional cost for maintenance."
"I am aiding in transitioning my organization to a different wireless solution due to the cost. We need to expand our network and the cost of new APs and an upgraded controller have proved to be prohibitive compared to similar solutions on the market.​"
"The price is reasonable."
"Besides paying for the APs, you need to pay a license each year for their use. Therefore, watch out for that and do the best you can to keep costs down.​"
"The price of Aruba Wireless is reasonable."
"A recent change is that ClearPass licensing is superb. It counts user-based instead of device-based, for BYOD on-boarding."
"Juniper WLC Series is a bit pricey but worth its cost."
"The licensing cost is quite high, but considering it's an enterprise solution, the complexity justifies the price."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable."
"The product is relatively affordable for enterprise companies."
"There is a certain amount that needs to be paid towards the licensing charges associated with the product, but though I am not sure, I feel the licenses that we have in our company are for three years."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
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Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 24, 2015
Cisco vs. Aruba Wireless Solutions
Cisco or Aruba Networks? If you are considering wireless access solutions, this is a common question that you are probably asking. You probably have sales people knocking at your door. How do you make sense of all the stories that you are presented with. If you have done any research, you are…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...
Aruba Wireless or Ruckus Wireless?
At my organization, we researched Ruckus Wireless among other solutions but ultimately chose Aruba wireless. What did we like about Ruckus? First, it was very easy to use, and anybody with minimal...
How does Cisco Wireless compare with Aruba Wireless?
On the most basic level, Cisco Wireless can offer a rather straightforward initial setup. In the span of about three hours, the basic framework can be set up. Step-by-step instructions are availabl...
What do you like most about Juniper WLC Series?
Juniper WLC Series is a very high-performance device designed for indoor wireless deployment.
What needs improvement with Juniper WLC Series?
Juniper lacks a network access control agent similar to solutions like Alubakya Path and Cisco ISE. There should be a network access control engine. Some customers find it challenging as they do no...
What is your primary use case for Juniper WLC Series?
I work with Juniper service provider solutions. I have a service provider customer and some enterprise customers in retail.
 

Also Known As

Aruba WLAN, HP WLAN, HP Wireless, Aruba Instant On AP Series Access Point
Juniper WLAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Consulate Health Care, Los Angeles Unified School District, Science Applications International Corp (SAIC), San Diego State University, KFC, ACTS Retirement-Life Communities
Apollo Hotel Papendrecht, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Bajaj Capital, Baloise Insurance, BAS Group, Borealis, Danish Crown, Deloitte Belgium, Jan Yperman Hospital, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, MercaSID, S.A., NHTV Breda University, Parklands College and Christopher Robin Pre-Primary, San Antonio Community Hospital, Sandia National Laboratories, Springfield Public Schools (SPS), St. Catherine University, TalkTalk, The Education Village, University of Copenhagen, University of the Highlands and Islands, University of the West of Scotland (UWS), Valdosta State University, Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), zulily
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Wireless vs. Juniper WLC Series and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,491 professionals have used our research since 2012.