Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch vs. HPE Aruba Networking Switches

The Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch 6900 series switch is highly robust, technological, and perfectly suited to our purpose. It is rich in advanced routing features including BGP, OSPF, static, 10Gb and SFP+ ports, 40GbE QSF+, and stability with redundancy across hardware. It is ideal and we recommend it for distribution and network core scenarios. The price is much lower than the big switch leaders.

Incentivized

We manage a lot of public infrastructure and schools which
means we need reliable hardware that is easy to prep and install quickly due to
time constraints. The price is great as we must keep a close eye on our budget.


We use these switches in all types of situations and
configurations some are full SFP and others are ethernet but honestly the software
and hardware are great for our usage.

Incentivized

• Many 10GbE SFP+ fiber port options.
• Can be used in Distribution and Core topologies.
• Options with 20, 32 and 48 10GbE SFP+ ports.
• Redundant fans, fonts, and CPU.

Incentivized

• REST API capability
• Wired & Wireless 802.1x configuration easiness
• Wireless Access Points (APs) zero touch provisioning
• Its high-end family (running the AOS-CX firmware) supports a virtualization technology called VSX (Virtual Switching Extension) which allows 2 switches to present itself as one virtualized switch under Layer 2, and as 2 separate routers under Layer 3; thereby providing high availability.

Incentivized

• Being provided in Cloud environments
• Out of the VPN connection and service usage
• limited reach when using DECT antennas.

Incentivized

• The new ArubaOS is closer to Cisco switches than the OS running on the 2530 series. Could be a plus if you are familiar.
• I wish there were better uplink ports, 1G seems really dated when cheaper competitors have 10G SFP+
• Lack of real support for POE++ devices, most switches in the lineup are still POE+ only

Incentivized

Like said before - I think there are better solutions in the market to solve the challenge rather than a physical appliance. Functionalities are there and capabilities are available, but, in my experience, they lack the inherent capacity a cloud solutions provides. Lacking on the capacity to have the flexibility and dynamic growth Cloud platforms enable.

Incentivized

I have not had that many issues with these products. Aruba Central has been really helpful. The Integration Capabilities allows us to use Clearpass . For individuals new to enterprise-grade networking, there can still be a learning curve associated with understanding the concepts and the specifics of the Aruba configuration.

Incentivized

HPE Support is very easy to reach. A knowledgable rep can be reached in a few minutes. After some basic troubleshooting if the failure is due to hardware I can receive a replacement within a day or even in a few hours.

Incentivized

Most problems that face our company has been solved by an effective performance of this product. The operation and continuity of our business programs are boosted by great network connections. Alcatel company has been helpful in providing training and development guidelines where possible. The system performance has built a powerful operation base that can identify and provide solutions to business challenges. The digital working base for all our plans has been implemented.

Incentivized

We like the reliability and support of the HPE switches over the UniFi devices despite the UniFi being cheaper and better performing for the price. We like the additional configuration options of the HPE switches over the Instant On line, we are also a staffed office, and don't need the cloud configuration abilities.

Incentivized

• Cloud platforms have a quicker rollout of new functionalities rather than a dedicated appliance
• high initial OPEX which may require financing solutions vs Cloud platforms is most of times a no brainer in favour of Cloud
• Fewer companies support Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch, thus it may be difficult to manage and support it on the medium to long term

Incentivized

• When comparing Aruba to Cisco and Dell there is no comparison in cost. Aruba is a better value and will not require additional licensing like it often the case with Cisco.
• The Aruba OS is very simple to use and understand. A user with very little networking experience can understand the config of an Aruba switch.
• Aruba's hardware warranty assures me that even my oldest switches are covered due to hardware failure.
• In the 11 years I have worked with HPE/Aruba and with over 55 switches I have had a hardware failure less than a handful of times.

Incentivized