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Fortinet FortiAP vs Ruckus Wireless 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

Fortinet FortiAP
Ranking in Wireless LAN
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Ruckus Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiAP is 4.8%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ruckus Wireless is 14.3%, up from 12.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Yati Gharat - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrates well with Fortinet products, but there are signal issues in the outdoor environment
FortiAP is very good in an indoor environment, but we are struggling with the outdoor environment. That is where we are having certain issues. We are not 100% happy with it. With the indoor environment, we are okay, but we are facing some issues when certain voice-related calls go from wireless points. There are certain drops, and we have faced these issues on an ongoing basis. We also have other vendors such as Aruba and Meraki, and we do not face any issues when there is a Teams or Zoom meeting going on. It could be that FortiAP is okay, but that particular device or appliance is not capable of handling that much load of voice and video. This might be the issue. RF Spectrum Analysis helps to understand what is the coverage and hotspots related to a particular access point, but then when we bought it, we did heat mapping through different vendors. If there are any rogue APs, we can identify them with RF Spectrum Analysis. We can see what the coverage area is, but there are some issues with that. Some of the offices have thick glasses, or the cabins are different, so in the RF coverage, what is shown is not what we get on the practical grounds. There are some issues with signal performance. It has the basic functionality that is mostly used, but there are certain devices that are not able to interconnect. When there is any issue or problem, if the administrator can get some information about that, that will be good. With Meraki and Aruba, we get certain beautiful things. If those can be integrated into this solution, it will be more beneficial, but we understand that being a security company, Fortinet's focus is on security.
Xander Janse Van Rensburg - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable and high-performance wireless networking with exceptional stability, scalability, and robust feature set
One of the most valuable features I appreciate is auto channelization, facilitated by a proprietary product called ChannelFly. This feature enables APs in a specific zone to automatically adjust their channels, optimizing performance. Additionally, Ruckus Wireless stands out for its ability to reuse certain beams, resulting in smaller data spots. In my experience with various products, Ruckus Wireless consistently delivers unparalleled throughput, coverage, and reliability in wireless networking across different environments. As a noteworthy point, the newly launched WiFi 7 standard is measured against Ruckus's WiFi 7 AP, establishing it as the global benchmark. When it comes to WiFi, Ruckus sets the standard, outperforming competitors with its superior performance and capabilities.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The stability of the solution is very high."
"The most valuable aspect of Fortinet FortiAP is the support."
"The setup was straightforward."
"The product's deployment phase is very easy since its documentation part is available in the public domain."
"The integration is efficient, allowing for management through the firewall."
"The pricing is reasonable for what it offers."
"The product's initial setup phase was easy, especially with FortiGate or your FortiManager in place."
"The solution supports recent security components like encryption or hashing algorithms. We can control the APs from FortiGate Firewalls and integrate those APs into FortiGate. You don't have to purchase a separate controller for it."
"It's reliable wireless equipment."
"The most valuable feature of Ruckus Wireless is its exceptional performance and reliability. The signal is highly reliable. We have not received a single complaint in the past year, which is a marked improvement from our prior equipment."
"Easy to configure and user-friendly."
"I like the price and its capacity."
"The most valuable feature of Ruckus Wireless is the Beamforming feature."
"In my experience, Ruckus devices are much more reliable than other vendors when it comes to consistency, coverage, and client density. Ruckus is very simple to configure and troubleshoot."
"I haven't heard any complaints about the WiFi equipment at all causing problems."
"I can manage the network through a cell phone, which is a plus from my side. I am also able to visualize the network. I can also check the quality of the signal for different clients that are currently connected and see whether the quality is excellent, moderate, or poor. Sometimes, I can even adjust the signal strength."
 

Cons

"The wireless functionality is not the best."
"The product fails to offer default access points to deal with the areas revolving around configurations."
"The security integration between the network and firewall has room for improvement."
"FortiAP could be a little cheaper."
"Technical support is a pain. Fortinet has to get its act together. If you don't pay for premium service, you will have issues."
"FortiAP is very good in an indoor environment, but we are struggling with the outdoor environment."
"The support offered by the solution has certain shortcomings, making it in areas where improvements are required."
"There could be constraints where a product can't be scaled further without purchasing a new model."
"The solution is a bit expensive."
"The initial setup could be more straightforward. It would be better if we could seamlessly integrate security tools like a firewall or IPS with Ruckus Wireless."
"It could be cheaper."
"Its interface could be a little bit more user friendly."
"The product is very expensive."
"It would be nice if there was a way to compare access points and hardware so you can always get the same level of performance."
"It would be better if there were more visibility on the cloud. We have some lack of visibility because of wireless interference, and you have to do some troubleshooting for the packet capture. They have a built-in packet capture, and we can monitor the application. You can see all things over the cloud. They also provide an on-premise solution, so they need to improve the on-premise version and ensure an output with more visibility. Live monitoring in a live environment should be good. What is happening with wireless is that the wireless client is not connected due to interference, and there should be a shield zone on their wireless cloud. If they give us more features on both Ruckus Cloud or on-premises, that will be best. Nowadays, security is more important for everyone using wireless technology. If they implement a little bit of reduction and prevention features for some packets on the wireless cloud, some features like web filtering and some prevention for blocking will be good for the network."
"What would be interesting to see is if they had more of an ability for their customers to capture revenue. They should offer some sort of gateway functionality that you could tie through radius authentication, so you can bill the customers. That way, when you go in, you could just have a device and set up a hotspot, and it's a totally billable tool at that point."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If I compare it with the other enterprise products, the price is good."
"We purchased perpetual licensing, and additional costs may vary depending on the services acquired from Fortinet."
"FortiAP is more expensive than some other options."
"The devices under Fortinet are not expensive. The solution's licensing part is expensive."
"On a scale of one to ten with ten being the most expensive, I would rate FortiAP a six."
"Fortinet FortiAP offers a more cost-effective solution compared to Palo Alto and Check Point."
"The product is available at a very comfortable price for my company compared to the other products available in the market. The prices of products from Meraki and Aruba are high compared to those of Fortinet."
"Ruckus Wireless pricing is reasonable. On a scale from one to five, I would give Ruckus Wireless pricing a four."
"I rate the product price as six to seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"It's definitely a good value. It's more expensive than some of the other offerings out there, but when you compare it to other enterprise-class gear, it's very well priced. And the beauty of it is, because it has better range because of their patented BeamFlex - which is the way they can send and receive and listen to signals - you can actually use fewer access points. That means that it's a cheaper overall project."
"The price could be better. Normally, if you find customers paying for cost-effective wireless solutions, Ruckus devices are a little expensive compared to other vendors."
"It's a lot more expensive."
"The price is high and I give the price a four out of ten."
"​Pricing is very competitive for an enterprise solution. Regarding licensing, always carry the support contract on the controller (not needed on APs)​."
"Ruckus Wireless is not an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about FortiAP?
If we have FortiClient installed on multiple devices, it is seamless to connect with FortiAP. It supports passwordless authentication as well. That is a great thing about it.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiAP?
Fortinet solutions are more cost-effective compared to Cisco. The license costs for Fortinet are more affordable when considering licensing costs with other leaders like Cisco.
What needs improvement with FortiAP?
I cannot pinpoint the exact improvements needed at the moment. However, security is always a concern for any business, and the network should not be compromised easily. There should be alerts to in...
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...
Which is better - Ruckus Wireless or Cisco Wireless?
Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user friendly. This user-friendly quality also renders it easy to learn how to use and ma...
How does Ruckus Wireless compare to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco’s Meraki Virtual MX is a virtual instance of the Meraki SD-WAN appliance. We liked the Meraki. The Wifi APs are a great feature. The dashboard is a simple interface and easy to learn. It feat...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
American University of Sharjah, Baruch College, Centro Escolar Liceo Santo Tomšs, Chevalier College, Chico Unified School District, Colegio de Fomento El Prado, Columbia Public Schools, Delta School District, Dordt College, Douglas County School District, Drew University, Armonea, Central Utah Clinic, Grove Hill Medical Center, Inner South Community Health Service, Midwest Surgical, Satilla Regional Medical Center, Lyndoch Living, Polonus, Roaring Fork School District, Sonora State, Vivid, Sydney, Players Club, Sandals, Scandic Hotels, Sheraton LAX, Sunbird
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiAP vs. Ruckus Wireless and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
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