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Fortinet FortiWLM vs Huawei Wireless comparison

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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 FortiWLM
Ranking in Wireless LAN
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Huawei Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLM is 3.1%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Huawei Wireless is 4.1%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiWLM3.1%
Huawei Wireless4.1%
Other92.8%
Wireless LAN
 

Q&A Highlights

SS
Sr. Technical Executive at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Feb 08, 2021
 

Featured Reviews

LuayHlaleh - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Team Lead at IT Solutions AE
Offers robust network management with cost considerations for large deployments
Large enterprises typically invest in FortiAnalyzer, though our company and SMB clients don't require this analysis tool. We use Ekahau for floor planning and Wi-Fi coverage analysis rather than Fortinet FortiWLM's built-in features. Ekahau helps us perform site surveys and plan access point placement. Fortinet FortiWLM is a flexible and common solution in Dubai. It's one of the best-selling products, with Etisalat, the largest ISP, installing Fortinet FortiGate for approximately 70-80% of their clients. The solution offers different series to accommodate various needs. The triple radio model costs around $1,000 (3,500 dirham) and supports 40-50 connected devices. The 231F model suits smaller deployments of 20-25 devices. I rate Fortinet FortiWLM a seven out of ten. While it's an excellent solution, Cisco remains the market leader.
Fahad Doguwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Deputy Manager at Central Bank of Nigeria
Affordable platform with efficient analytics features
Huawei adapters have facilitated seamless integration with mobile devices, extending the LAN's reach. Additionally, including CampusInsight, a component offering analytics and visibility into wireless connectivity, has proven invaluable. This feature enables us to monitor network health and troubleshoot user-related issues efficiently. The reliability has had a positive impact on our operations. I advise others to go for Cisco if cost is not a factor. Otherwise, they can explore other options based on the availability of that OEM within the country. We have Huawei present in our country and provide all the necessary support, so we went forward with them. I rate it a nine 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

"We are highly impressed with the ease of use of Fortinet."
"We are getting better coverage, better throughput, and a more stable connection with Fortinet FortiWLM."
"The firewall integration is very important for the security of the connection."
"The most valuable features of this solution are its speed, reliability, and integration with the firewall."
"The setup was easy."
"Fortinet FortiWLM is good for tracking assets, monitoring, and overall management."
"The Access Points work with two radios (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and it was the best feature because some scanners are new with AC wireless support."
"This is the only product on the market currently that supports as many access points for wifi users."
"Installation is easy."
"At the moment, I only have experience with the on-premise deployment of Huawei Wireless, but the cloud solution looks good on paper. It looks perfect. I can say that Huawei's cybersecurity is very good, stable, and works for long periods. My company has four devices running uptime for more than four years without stopping. I also like that the support for Huawei Wireless is swift, and support does precisely what you require, at least from the point of view of the technical engineer who communicated with Huawei support, as I'm more of a technical sales guy. Good technical support is vital to my company, partners, and customers. My company had this ongoing project with an ISP provider in Bulgaria that bought some routers. Still, the existing equipment was a completely different brand, so this provider wanted to migrate to Huawei Wireless and wanted help while migrating the existing infrastructure to Huawei, so the technical engineer assigned to raise the ticket with Huawei for checking and setting parameters correctly provided feedback about Huawei technical support being good quality-wise and TAT-wise. The technical engineer was also Cisco-certified and Juniper-certified and was not experienced with Huawei equipment. Still, he did mention that the Huawei Wireless router interface was straightforward, and even a person who's new to it would find it easy to configure. Huawei Wireless is user-friendly, which is another pro of the solution. It's easy to manage, and even the program language setting can be done with fewer commands than Juniper and Cisco equipment. Some of the features in Juniper need an external program, and the same features can be found in Huawei Wireless built-in, which I find remarkable."
"All of the features are valuable in Huawei Wireless."
"What I like most about Huawei Wireless is that it's customizable. It has many unique features, such as encryption, spatial streams, hiding features for different scenarios, low-density and high-density areas, and smart antennas."
"It can scale."
"It provides high-speed network connections."
"The product is simple and easy to use."
"When opening the radio, we manage the frequency to handle overlapping effectively."
 

Cons

"One of the main features that I see as lacking in any of the Fortinet products is the reporting. If you want to have proper, end-to-end reporting, you must purchase the FortiAnalyzer... If Fortinet could offer some better, built-in reporting, that would be a point of improvement."
"The interface could certainly do with some improvement. We have other customers with WiFi networks, and they always use Ubiquiti. With Ubiquiti, it's a much better user interface, and it is much easier to configure."
"Sometimes we feel that we are buying the top-of-the-line technology and, six months or eight months later, we feel it is already obsolete."
"Areas for improvement would be the compatibility with Apple products and cross-platform integration."
"There is very little publicly available information about Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture. Promotion of the overall technology is limited as well. Being more vocal about a product that has many advantages would go a long way to eliminating a lot of the confusion and negative perception about Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture."
"Overall, I find it useful, though I have concerns because after every update, some functionality is deleted or closed."
"Documentation could be improved."
"The roaming of Fortinet FortiWLM could improve when comparing it to other solutions. We are missing some of the functionality in the controller. Additionally, they should offer more logs instead of using FortiAnalyzer because all the users will not be using the same thing."
"Improving the visibility, control offered, and cloud management would all be very helpful. Also how you can monetize the information you get from Wi-Fi controllers should be improved."
"What needs improvement in Huawei Wireless is after-sales support. I've faced many after-sales support issues, so that's the area I want Huawei to improve. Having an SLA with customers is what I'd suggest to Huawei Wireless."
"Technical support could be better."
"There was one time I had a problem with their centralized licensing. I called the Indian call center, but the response was not that good. One guy attended this call and he told me, "Definitely, I am forwarding your call to the next level. I'll let you know." After that, it took between 10 to 15 hours before I got a call back. By then, we had already resolved the issue. Therefore, they could improve the local support; there should be at very good Tier 1 and 2 support in India. They should be both proactive and reactive."
"I have encountered connectivity issues with the tool. I am not sure if it is due to Wi-Fi inference. I would like the solution to include some marketing analytics features like evaluation of user behavior."
"Huawei Wireless is not scalable. We have had a problem with the solution because it cannot integrate with other servers as the other competitors can."
"They should actually first test the equipment thoroughly and then launch it. Sometimes, things come out too soon, before they are ready."
"The ongoing support and ongoing follow-up on customers is an area where the solution lacks."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"To save yourself from increased setup and maintenance costs, I highly recommend undertaking a proper site survey from the beginning."
"Licensing has become easier. There is no longer a per-AP license needed on the controller."
"Support contracts typically cost approximately $100.00 per year."
"For indoor access points, there is a one-time cost, upfront, whereas outdoor access points have an annual fee."
"If a customer already is a FortiGate customer, the cost to go to the FortiAP is incredibly affordable, because you already have the controller."
"The product is highly expensive. I rate the pricing a ten."
"The price of Fortinet FortiWLM is reasonable compared to the other vendors. We are using a five-year license."
"There is a perpetual license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."
"The price is good for the solution and there is a license required."
"I would rate them something, like, eight to nine, on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"I rate Huawei Wireless' pricing a five out of ten."
"Huawei Wireless is a cheaper solution when you compare it to the cost of other similar solutions. It has one of the most competitive prices out there."
"Its price is very good. This wireless system totally costs about 30,000 euros, and some of the other solutions cost about 45,000 euros. It is a difference of 15,000 euros, which is quite a lot of money."
"We don't have any control on the pricing. This comes from Huawei in India. Pricing-wise, Huawei is very aggressive and competitive if you compare them to competitors, like Cisco, Aruba, and Ruckus. The Indian Huawei team tells us, "Just pick up the order and design the infrastructure. If there are any pricing challenge, we'll work on that and we will try to match things 100 percent.""
"I would rate the tool's pricing a seven out of ten."
"I pay monthly for the solution."
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Answers from the Community

SS
Sr. Technical Executive at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Feb 8, 2021
Feb 8, 2021
All are good selections, and this question is difficult to answer without knowing your throughput requirements, as each vendor has multiple models within there series. Personally I recommend looking at Arista Networks’ cognitive Wifi, where controllers are a thing of the past.
2 out of 7 answers
AT
Director of Technical Services at CTM
Feb 17, 2020
Hi, It is all dependent on the size of the controllers in question. Though I would suggest getting a cloud base technology so you are limited by any controller and have much better redundancy. Take a look at Arista Cognitive Wireless
IA
Group IT Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feb 17, 2020
Hi, Every one of the mentioned solutions is good but you need to check the needs which are security since the firms you are working with need protection and tracking of data. For this reason, I recommend: - if you have FortiGate installed then go for Fortinet Wireless since they can be integrated with the Fortigate without buying a controller and they work perfectly together and you will get the advantage of applying rules to the client himself whether mobile or computer, easily managed & monitored, more visibility over your network and incident notifications. If the above doesn't apply then you can go with the best one that fits your budget and security needs which for me doesn't fall on the mentioned solution but to go with ARUBA Instant Access Wireless Solution and the reasons are as such: - Cisco is too much expensive and you got to pay smart support with some complexity in configuration and you need to buy a controller - Ruckus is good but when you want to have the security you need to buy a controller with licenses and it won't give you the security needed since it is just a wireless solution - Huawei is not a stable company since it had many ups and downs and they can reach with you to have all the solutions nearly free so that you install their brand. Whereas Aruba you don't need a controller in the Instant access points and you will get the minimum security with radius integration and what is important a lifetime warranty on the access points. In addition, if the number of access points increased and you want more detailed management and more advanced configurations, you can buy a controller either on-premises or on-cloud with Aruba. The above information is based on my experience with all the solutions and their POC. If you need any more details and consultancy, kindly feel free to contact me. Regards.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
12%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLM?
I do not have knowledge about the pricing or the cost of Fortinet FortiWLM because the license is for the package of the firewall, FortiGate.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLM?
Overall, I find it useful, though I have concerns because after every update, some functionality is deleted or closed. For the moment, I don't have anything else in Fortinet FortiWLM that I would l...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWLM?
I use this solution for the enterprise to segment the department.
Which wireless solution would you choose - Huawei or D-Link?
Huawei wireless is a strong and solid product that has a lot of features - and for all that it offers, it happens to be very cost effective. As a wireless solution, it is simple and its user interf...
 

Also Known As

FortiWLM, FortiAP, Fortinet AP/OAP, Meru Wireless LAN
Huawei WLAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Anhui Agricultural University (AAU), China Everbright Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiWLM vs. Huawei Wireless and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.