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Aruba Wireless vs SonicWall SonicWave Access Points 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
6.7
Number of Reviews
151
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall SonicWave Access ...
Ranking in Wireless LAN
25th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Aruba Wireless is 12.9%, down from 16.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall SonicWave Access Points is 1.3%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba Wireless12.9%
SonicWall SonicWave Access Points1.3%
Other85.8%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

CK
Network Administrator at Nippon Express Canada Ltd.
Wireless network has supported long-term reliable access and simplifies RF optimization
I have experience with Cisco products and the Cisco brand. The product is mainly a hardware product. Regarding the software part, I don't have a lot of experience. Aruba Wireless was not too difficult to set up. When compared with other products such as Cisco, they also have products with wireless controllers, and it's similar to that. I think it should be recommended for both bigger and smaller companies based on the feedback and our experience. I believe there should be AI functions that might help us in some cases of cybersecurity matters, detecting threats regarding security would be better with AI. For this role, I have more than twenty years of experience. I would rate Aruba Wireless eight out of ten overall.
Winsley De Oliveira - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at ANOC
An industry-leading security and wireless solution packaged in one box
We make our customers SonicWall clients. We have a solution package: If you have a contract to network with us, we will deliver SonicWall firewalls, access points, VPN clients, and all the other equipment with the SonicWall solution. We have been selling this solution for the past 30 years. We had a customer three months ago struggling with a Fortinet solution. We convinced them that the Fortinet solution would not work perfectly during renewal. We made a bet and delivered SonicWall equipment for free for one week, and if they had no more issues, they would buy it. That's precisely what happened. The customer ended up purchasing an $80,000 SonicWall solution. The SonicWall SonicWave Access Points are a good product compared to Cisco, Sophos, and Fortinet. In Brazil, Ruckus is taking market share in some key areas, such as hotels and hospitals. They are into big solutions with thousands of access points. Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I really like the user interface."
"The most valuable feature is the client match."
"We've been able to give them the best experience possible, and their feedback has been amazing."
"We have three wireless networks: One for employee use, one for guest use, and one for our warehouse use, which uses MAC authentication. These wireless networks just simply work, they do not fail. The IAP-205 devices are very strong with great range. Very durable equipment; it always works."
"It's a very stable system."
"We've used Meru and Cisco, but Aruba's proven to be the best."
"It delivers constantly, there is no break in the internet using these devices. It also automatically gets connected when the internet comes back. Failure is very low."
"The solution is very stable."
"Unlike the Cisco solution that needs a dedicated wireless controller outside of a firewall, SonicWall has everything in one box. Fortinet is close to it."
"I rate SonicWall a nine out of ten."
"The platform's most valuable feature is the ability to provide cloud access to configure and manage devices."
"A good management tool that can be managed through the cloud or firewall."
"The security features of SonicWall are highly valued."
"This is a very good management option that can be managed through the cloud or firewall, is a very good solution for controlling or managing the device, and offers good integration with many capabilities."
 

Cons

"The urgent areas of improvement would be customer support, better tuned default settings, and documentation."
"I believe it would benefit from more reporting, other than just a dashboard. It needs some type of report builder so you can have PDFs to show upper management what is going on in the wireless network."
"Making the setup more simple is an area for improvement in Aruba Wireless. Security-wise, this solution also needs work."
"Sometimes the configuration is difficult."
"I think the ROI is great if it is going to replace the wired environment, but if it is not going to descale the wired environment then it needs a bit of a hard sell to meet the ROI."
"They could work on energy consumption as this equipment needs a lot of energy."
"When I compare Aruba with Juniper Mist, Juniper is the more an AI-driven management solution. It is more of a modern solution, I think. Aruba needs to be more competitive with Juniper."
"Aruba is missing some features that are available in other solutions, such as the email notifications. It's a bit complex to configure the notification part. Mainly I'm talking about the rogue WiFi detection. This email notification is crucial for us, but it isn't possible to configure with the built-in software. You need something else, like an external system log collector or another Aruba software. These notifications are essential in hospitality for PCI compliance. My colleagues in famous luxury hotel chains need that report."
"We have a lot of overlapping wireless networks with a lot of cheap equipment that does not run on any rules or regulations. The best way to improve the wireless network, like in SonicWaves, is to defeat these networks by isolating, preventing them, or overcoming their wireless signal. We try to do that, but I live near an airport, and the AirPortRadar glitches my wireless network every nine seconds."
"The main issue is the management of the access points. They are sometimes difficult to manage from the end-user side because they are not yet familiar with the configuration."
"The product's pricing is high and could be improved."
"Integrating with the firewall and management console was a little complex."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I think they should lower their prices."
"Licencing can be surprising and needs improvement. Look into all features, what you need versus what you want, and know that nothing comes without some kind of license."
"Pricing is very competitive."
"Aruba is probably cheaper than Cisco, and yet you get all the things that you want."
"The system was very good, but we needed to upgrade in order to adapt for our needs, and doing so with Aruba would have been more expensive. ​"
"Aruba Wireless is the best for the price. Aruba Wireless is the least expensive, the second is Huawei, and the most expensive is Cisco."
"Aruba Wireless is very attractive cost-wise."
"The pricing is fair and similar to other products."
"The pricing of the SonicWave Access Points solution is different in the US and Brazil. In the US, the solution is priced more competitively than other vendors. In Brazil, the exchange rate is a problem. To address this, SonicWall managers in Brazil are running several sales promotions and improving the price of new units."
"The platform offers yearly licenses."
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Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
President at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
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
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
University
7%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
University
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business77
Midsize Enterprise47
Large Enterprise77
No data available
 

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 needs improvement with SonicWall SonicWave Access Points?
The main issue is the management of the access points. They are sometimes difficult to manage from the end-user side because they are not yet familiar with the configuration.
What is your primary use case for SonicWall SonicWave Access Points?
I am using the SonicWall SonicWave Access Point for our Proof of Concept (POC) to our customers.
What advice do you have for others considering SonicWall SonicWave Access Points?
I rate SonicWall a nine out of ten. It should provide training to end users to enhance their knowledge.
 

Also Known As

Aruba WLAN, HP WLAN, HP Wireless, Aruba Instant On AP Series Access Point
SonicWave 200 Series, SonicWave 200 Series Access Points, SonicWave 400 Series, SonicWave 400 Series Access Points
 

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
St. Dominic's School for Girls
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Wireless vs. SonicWall SonicWave Access Points and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.