Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points vs. HPE Networking Instant On Access Points

The Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points is a good solution although not for everyone. Cost wise it is more expensive than competition. Technically speaking, if you are going for a full Cisco Meraki solution from firewall, switches, WAP, and management app, it requires a solid technical understanding of where each part and piece falls. If you have the money and the technical capabilities (in house or outsourced) then it is a solid platform that leans on Cisco's respectable history in the communications and infrastructure industry.

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It is possible that we have a bad luck with the deployment. However, It is capable to perform enterprise-level security to fit some of the organization's standards. With Airwave and other tools, it's easy to manage and administrate your wireless environment. Make aware of the IPsec tunnel from each user to the controller if you are using Clearpass for NAC. If you have a remote office with local resources, you will need controller or IAP to route traffic locally. If you have many remote offices, you will need to deploy controllers or IAP in each office, which lead to additional cost and management.

• It's cloud based, so as long as we have an internet connection, we can access it. Whenever we push a change, it's one stop like a single pane of glass to manage all our equipment. And so that's what I liked about it.

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• They have the range we need especially in our warehouses were they are mounted up on the ceiling.
• They can all be controlled by a controller, which makes for easy configurations and monitoring.
• The ability to have multiple SSID's is great. We are able to push traffic where it needs to go.
• The built-in Guest network on the controller is top notch, and makes it super easy to give guest internet access but not access to your network.

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• So the Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points dashboard, it's a little bit like comparing Apple and Android. So with Android you can do a lot more configuration, whereas with Meraki there are a lot of assumptions about a radio resource management. There are a lot of assumptions around, for instance, when it does a heat map, it's a heat map, which is a population density rather than a wireless coverage heat map. So that can cause confusion because normally when you look at heat map, you're looking at, that is a metric for how well it's performing rather than how many devices are using it. So I think that's always at the bone of contention around one of the things it can do.

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• Remote access points were a little tricky to get working and requires a controller outside of the two we were currently using. On the plus side they have an inexpensive controller that worked for our needs.
• I feel Aruba needs to offer more training in a hands on lab environment.

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Reliability and Performance: Reflect on whether they provide consistent, high-quality connectivity in your environment. Cost-effectiveness: Weigh the value they deliver against their cost and any alternatives. Support and Usability: Think about the ease of use of the Meraki dashboard and the quality of customer support. Scalability: Assess how well they align with your organization's growth plans

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The Cisco Meraki MR web interface is best in class when it comes to network management. While some networking knowledge is needed to understand what you are doing, no specialized training in any one specific operating system is required to design a whole network.

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Aruba Networks Wireless LAN is very intuitive to use. After the initial learning curve for the Aruba OS platform, it is straightforward. Day-to-day tasks, such as deploying an access point with a configuration, are very straightforward. Standard incremental system upgrades are also very intuitive. If you have any past experience with Aruba network switching or Cisco switching, the command structure is relatively similar.

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We have been deploying Meraki since last 8 years and even the first one deployed seems to be working fine till now!

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Meraki support is usually top notch. The are quick to respond and stick with an issue until it is resolved. One of the difficulties I've had with Meraki MRs is the limited ability the customer has in troubleshooting. Much of the more technical aspects of resolution can only be accessed by the Meraki support team, meaning dedicated IT teams are reliant on them when more complicated issues arise.

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It is a reliable and complete solution for providing wireless network to users. I had no technical problems during those years. The Aruba controller and access points have always worked very well and we have greatly improved the relationship with customers and we now have absolute control over the wireless network traffic. It has quality assurance and support with efficient service as well.

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There were documents that detailed how the WiFi Access Point was to be installed and mounted. The only issue was to cable the device, we use a third party for this type of work and typically has to be performed after normal business hours. Other than that, the installation was easy.

Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points are very easy to install, configure, and manage. Centralized management offers excellent features, and especially if you have multiple locations where the access points are installed, they're very easy to manage, saving you a lot of time. If a location wants to expand or reduce its Wi-Fi network, this is incredibly easy. Integration with other Cisco network components is smooth, connecting seamlessly. Updating and layer 7 analysis help create a stable network.

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In the past we used Cisco APs. As many may agree, Cisco is not known for their management software and interfaces. Aruba makes this much more user friendly. The cost is also a major factor. The hardware seems to be equal in quality to Cisco, but at a reduced price.

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As far as I know, it's 10. I mean, because like I said, I manage stuff in the south. I have coworkers that manage it in the north. And so the scalability of it to be able to be go in and see the configurations of the ones in the north as well as they can see in the south. So across the board, it works really well for how widespread out it is.

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• Uptime has improved significantly. The dashboard automatically keeps devices up to date by scheduling upgrades at remote times (say 2am on a Sunday)
• Swapping to Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points has reduced the management overhead. No more long controller software hardware upgrades and obviously no more need for beefy central controllers.

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• It is a scalable solution, so if the company expands or contracts, the Aruba Instant Wi-Fi Access Points can be added or removed.
• It is an expensive purchase, but you will earn it back because you have less disruptions, which does not cost IT hours. And the wifi users can do their work without interruptions
• Aruba Instant Wi-Fi Access Points require little maintenance.
• High security standards that connect to the existing corporate network, saving you time

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