Help selecting a network vendor.

[ADMaster]

I’m posting in wired, but this is wireless too. If there is a more generic network forum, I overlooked it and a mod feel free to move.

 

I’m in the process of taking bids for a new network this summer. I’ve talked to a few different venders and saw a couple different designs. I’ve not received any official bids back so I don’t have pricing. What hardware provides the best value? I’m replacing the whole stack switches and wifi. I’ve heard all the sales pitches, so now I’m looking for an unbiased opinion.

If I can afford ax that is what I want for future proofing.

Who provides the lowest TCO?

Cisco is costly with smart net.

Meraki you must pay or network gets shutdown, not really an option

Ruckus has maintenance costs too, but I don’t think as much as smart net.

HPE has no licensing / maintenance, but I think more expensive up front.

Extreme not sure on costs of anything.

Ubiquiti cheap, but probably doesn’t have all the enterprise features and no one has sent a bid with it yet.

 

If one of the above isn’t the lowest TCO, is the higher cost justified with extra features etc?

What is the management / configuration look like for each?

I know ruckus and cisco have controllers, can Cisco control the switches too?

Meraki and Extreme are cloud options.

HPE has the insta deployment option.

The new ruckus controller will handle switches.

HPE has IMC and clear pass

Extreme has NAC

Ruckus has cloud path.

Some have told me the interface is clunky and I’ll need some of the above add-ons and others have said they are overkill.

Something to manage the whole stack in one interface would be ideal.

Opinions and your personal experience are welcome. If you have verifiable fact, that would be even better. If I do not select the lowest bid, I need to justify it.

Hardware cost? Ongoing costs? Additional paid features vs included? Support costs / experience?

[AlanD]

I doubt you will get a supplier to quote for ubiquity... Because the margins are too small... And the installation prices would be relatively high. Its an off the shelf, configure it yourself solution in general. Without k owing the scale of your solution it would be difficult to advise...but ubiquity probably doesn't have the layer 3 support for core switching... But it would depend on your requirements..

[njc235]

Is it fair to assume your location from your profile flag?

[ADMaster]

I know Ubiquiti has been said on here may times so was including it for completeness.

In terms of scale I'm looking at 100 APs and 40-50 switches divided across 10 stacks and a core.

Yes I'm in the U.S., this is an erate project.

[houlta]

You might want to add Fortinet to the list.

Regardless of what you do here, 100 AP's is going to cost an arm and a leg

[ADMaster]

I know this won't be cheap, but its Erate money. I'll get volume / EDU / Erate discounts.

I thought Fortinet was firewall, do they do switches and APs?

Forget total cost, the government is giving me money. I want to spend it wisely and get the best value I can with it.

Ruckus vs HPE / Aurbua vs Extreme vs Cisco.

Who has the best kit, support, recurring costs etc?

If I get a bid that is way to much, I'll pick second best etc.

 

Perhaps I should change the question.

Those of you with above $kit, what is your experience, pros cons etc? Would you recommend it to someone else? Do you wish you had something different. Any gotchas?

TIA

[houlta]

Must be nice to not have to worry about budget!

 

Anyway, yes Fortinet do wifi gear and wifi controllers built into the firewalls nowadays.

They will probably end up in the middle of pricing but it's possible that their kit might keep on working without support licensing later on...don't quote me on that you'll need to check if that is the case with the latest gear.

It's a bad time to buy right now IMHO as there's the new ax standard upcoming shortly. You might want to enquire as to the possibility of getting upgrades to cover for that.

 

Anyway,

Controllers- https://www.fortinet.com/products/secure-wifi/wirelessmanagement.html (you can use either vm's, dedicated hware controller or firewalls)

 

AP's - https://www.fortinet.com/products/secure-wifi/access-points.html

 

You'll need to work with a local reseller as Fortinet don't deal direct.

 

I have the Meru wifi currently which was bought up by Fortinet and it now currently runs Fortinet firmware. I have 62 AP's mostly bgn with a few ac AP's in a couple of high usage rooms. I don't use the fortigate wifi management because the older meru AP's are not compatible with it so I'm waiting on the newer kit coming later with ax compatibility before possibly looking at a new fortigate firewall and AP's.

 

We have about 100 staff and 800-900 students and are one of the few schools where students all have a laptop so there is some heavy usage and the kit still copes admirably.

 

I've seen ubiquiti gear in use but mostly much smaller scale in primary schools etc, it does the job and it's very well priced but I can't see it being a long term choice for a large network. There's just not enough configuration.

I'd be sizing up Aerohive/Fortinet/Meraki/Ruckus/Aruba and comparing those 5. You're definitely right to ask questions about licensing and longevity.

[ADMaster]

Yes I want ax if it is within budget. I do have a budget, just the erate program is funding a large part of it. The vendors bidding can go lookup how much erate money I have so they have a rough estimate on my budget. It is based on school site / student numbers. Our BM is very good with money.

Most local vendors I've talked to are sure it can all be done in budget, but I'm awaiting official bids.

Thanks for the foritnet feedback, that is the kind of thing I'm looking for other manufacturers.

I want this thread to focus more on the overall experience / best product with cost being a minor factor / relative to to each other not absolute.

Meraki is more expensive then Unifi, good relative info.

Meraki has high ongoing costs compared to others, good info too.

Meraki cost $X says nothing as there are discounts and without bids I have no basis for comparison yet.

 

If I get two bids similar in price, I want to know who has the better technology / value long term.