Cisco Meraki vs HP Aruba

[garbage46]

Connect the Classroom funding as been approved for 8 schools in our MAT.

All schools on a single domain. We have been moving towards installing Aruba switches if that makes any difference.

We have been given the choice of Cisco Meraki or HP Aruba for a new wireless solution. There have been hints that the Aruba kit is more likely to be available (in stock).

I am after opinions, pros and cons from those with experience of either solution. I guess there are quite a few of you who have been through or are going through a similar process.

[atcoates]

If you've already got Aruba switches it would make sense to stick with Aruba otherwise you'll have a dashboard for one set of hardware, and another one for the rest of your kit.

[Sonic007]

Had a Meraki setup. License costs kept going up and up. Dirched it all for a Unifi setup instead. Happy days.

I'd go Aruba instead of Meraki.

[Aprice]

I'd go with the Aruba kit all day. Just to keep away from those licence costs.

 

All Aruba APs at our main customer sites, using the Aruba Instant controller running on one of the access points.

 

Have to say I see little benefit to getting Aruba Central for us, but if it's in the deal I probably wouldn't turn it down.

Edited September 28, 2022 by Aprice

[Davit2005]

There are different types of Aruba i.e. below

 

Instant On - Cloud or local management

Instant AP - One AP can become a master

Campus AP - Dedicated hardware controller and mobility masters available.

 

We have 2500 APs, 3 Mobility masters and 2 mobility masters. The APs are paperweights without the controllers.

 

https://www.arubanetworks.com/products/network-management-operations/arubaos/

[ThatBoringBloke]

Had a Meraki setup. License costs kept going up and up. Dirched it all for a Unifi setup instead. Happy days.

I'd go Aruba instead of Meraki.

 

Connect the Classroom won't fund a Unifi setup though.

We asked, apparently doesn't meet the DfE's requirements.

Went Meraki in the end at what would have been about 5 x the cost of Unifi.

[atcoates]

Connect the Classroom won't fund a Unifi setup though.

We asked, apparently doesn't meet the DfE's requirements.

Went Meraki in the end at what would have been about 5 x the cost of Unifi.

 

FYI

 

Compliance with the DfE Generic Design Brief specifications

 

(November 2021)

Ubiquiti

 

The following document explains where Ubiquiti Wi-Fi products currently do

not meet the DfE specification for wireless networks for new or refurbished

schools building projects.

Standard: 4.7.2.3 An enterprise-level wireless solution shall be provided

which shall support a high number and high density of educational users by:

a) Maximising the bandwidth between the Access Point (AP) and the switch

providing a minimum of 2.5Gb bandwidth per AP. [Pr_70_75_52_42]

Rational for not meeting the standard:

The Ubiquiti Wifi 6 access points support a 1Gb network interface, and

therefore do not meet the specification. Whilst the access point can operate at

claimed speeds of up to 4.8Gbps in the 5GHz range, the slower physical

network interface connection creates a bottleneck when moving large

amounts of traffic from the wireless to the wired network.

 

Standard: 4.7.2.3 An enterprise-level wireless solution shall be provided

which shall support a high number and high density of educational users by:

k) Having a manufacturer warranty and support arrangement (telephone,

email and web) including, but not limited to, licences, software enhancements

and firmware updates, providing 5 years of cover as a minimum.

[PM_10_20_82]

Rational for not meeting the standard:

Ubiquiti provide a 1-year hardware warranty and not the required 5 years.

Ubiquiti provide limited direct support. Instead, their model is based around

partners providing support, which is often in the form of the online community.

Web support is provided for hardware claims, but limited direct phone or email

facilities exist.

[psydii]

Interesting. Ubiquiti being excluded because they don't meet the support level required by the procurement is quite understandable, their business model was never aligned with enterprise/government grade deployments.

 

However requiring >1Gb/s at the wire is a surprise. Once you have a AP under load, do you really get more than 1Gb/s traffic in the air? In all previous iteration of wifi prior to ax, performance collapses after 10-15 devices. n and ac made the huge strides in improving airtime utilization so wifi remained usable at high density for most applications, but raw throughput as measured at the wire would be relatively low compared to the throughput of the AP with only a few devices. Who cares if I get 1 or 2 Gb/s with two macbook pros connected - what matters is how it handles airtime with 30 chromebooks and 30 low-end andriod phones, and a teacher on a 2x2 device streaming Teams.

 

I've not seen any detailed analysis of 802.11ax under load. There was/is lots of analysis around ac. Can ax exceed 1Gb/s with real-world classroom environment loads?

[psydii]

FWIW - we moved from Meraki to Aruba and have no regrets.

[RLR]

We've been with Aruba for 5+ years using there Instant Access Points and it's been great.

[Wave9_Lee]

My two pence as a provider, user and supporter/maintainer - Personally a big fan of Cisco Meraki, in terms of support, features, capability, ease of management, roadmap and whole life costs (yes honestly).

[Baerf]

"Interesting. Ubiquiti being excluded because they don't meet the support level required by the procurement is quite understandable, their business model was never aligned with enterprise/government grade deployments.

 

However requiring >1Gb/s at the wire is a surprise. Once you have a AP under load, do you really get more than 1Gb/s traffic in the air? In all previous iteration of wifi prior to ax, performance collapses after 10-15 devices. n and ac made the huge strides in improving airtime utilization so wifi remained usable at high density for most applications, but raw throughput as measured at the wire would be relatively low compared to the throughput of the AP with only a few devices. Who cares if I get 1 or 2 Gb/s with two macbook pros connected - what matters is how it handles airtime with 30 chromebooks and 30 low-end andriod phones, and a teacher on a 2x2 device streaming Teams.

 

I've not seen any detailed analysis of 802.11ax under load. There was/is lots of analysis around ac. Can ax exceed 1Gb/s with real-world classroom environment loads?"

 

That's an interesting one as well.

 

Do they specify the links from edge to cores? I have a 10GB backbone, but only 2GB (2x1GB) links to the edges. I'm not sure what traffic my clients would be using to justify 2.5GB physical links per AP (and with multiple AP's per edge, that's a potential high bandwidth at the front, with a huge bottleneck at the back).

[RedwayNetworks_Niall]

In relation to links from edge to cores - "Connections linking switches or switch stacks in hub rooms must connect back to the core server room using a minimum of 2x10Gbps with links taking different routes where possible"

 

In the real-world unfortunately we likely won't have the ability to run 160MHz with clean RF and just the right devices so we won't get the top end advertised speeds on Wi-Fi in a classroom environment under full load.

[Baerf]

In relation to links from edge to cores - "Connections linking switches or switch stacks in hub rooms must connect back to the core server room using a minimum of 2x10Gbps with links taking different routes where possible"

 

In the real-world unfortunately we likely won't have the ability to run 160MHz with clean RF and just the right devices so we won't get the top end advertised speeds on Wi-Fi in a classroom environment under full load.

Thank you, I'm impressed with the forward thinking.