Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
Ethan, We've used Procurve access points for about 6 years now. We still have quite a few 420's in service though we're starting to move them out of service, and have a bunch of RP210's connected to a WESM controller. I had been holding out on deploying any of the MSM (Coloubris) access points because there wasn't a way to make them work with Bradford Campus Manager. This problem is supposed to be solved between the latest release of the controller firmware. I hope to set up a proof of concept of the two working together, and assuming that all looks good will probably deploy several MSM 422's this summer. I tried a few Meraki's about 3 years ago in an attempt to provide outdoor wireless to several of our sports fields. They found each other and magically made a mesh just like they were supposed to. If I configured them as a wide open wireless network I never had any trouble connecting to it. When I made an account in Meraki's cloud controller (I don't think they called it that yet) we had fairly mixed luck with getting that to work. Sometimes it'd work sometimes it'd time out. I see that they don't make that model of AP any more, and that they've made quite a few changes to their controller, so maybe that experience is irrelevant what currently happens. It seemed like a nice idea in principle, but in practice I just couldn't make it work for us. Adam Forsyth Luther College Library and Information Services Sr. Systems Administrator On Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 1:21 PM, Ethan Sommer somm...@gac.edu wrote: We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
It should also be noted that not all controller in the cloud solutions are the same. The key difference is the control plane. While the data plane is distributed and the management plane is centralized the control plane will be handled differently depending on the vendor. If the control plane is cloud based then the APs are dependent on the WAN link and cloud availability in order to maintain dynamic intelligence (and all of the features that are tied to the control plane - roaming, RF mgmt, etc..). If the control plane is also distributed then the APs will maintain their intelligence when they cannot talk to the cloud. Make sure the vendor explains all of the features which are tied to the control plane before deployment. /rf On Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 11:28 AM, Kevin Hess kh...@westmont.edu wrote: Hi Ethan, et al, I am new to the list but noticed this discussion and thought I might offer my two cents. I work at Westmont College, a liberal arts college in the Santa Barbara area. We evaluated Aruba, Cisco and Meraki last summer. We had a previous Aruba installation, running for several years, and with moderate success. What we found was that Meraki's model was made extremely flexible and simple by virtue of having no onsite controller. Being in the cloud, the controller itself was accessible by anyone we chose to allow access to it, not just whoever had knowledge of the specific command structure of the onsite controller, as was the case with the Aruba installation. Because of that flexibility, I or any of my network staff can log on from anywhere, be it a cafe, home or iPhone. Additionally, I can easily log into my local AP, wherever I am on campus, and get local information about that AP. Being a smallish shop, we used a local integrator, Novacoast, to work with us on some reengineering and deployment. I only mention that because before we approached them, NC had never even heard of Meraki. Within a few weeks they were fully credentialed and ready to go. That I almost entirely attribute to how easy Meraki is to deploy, though certainly NC were great. We spent some time working through our preferred configuration, some of which was a logical lift from the Aruba and some entirely new. We had around 270 Aruba ABG units (AP61s I think...) that were not upgradeable to N and as I mentioned the controller management was challenging. Only our Network Manager had access and knowledge enough to manage the unit. We replaced with nearly the same number of Merakis but gained full coverage around campus (indoor and out), N, dual and triband radios and an elegance in operation that has continued. With the Meraki setup even our CIO logs on and can easily run usage reports, drill down to specific APs, clients, time frames etc. Whenever Meraki enables a new feature, of which there have been several, they are applied to the cloud controller and have no effect to the local APs (=no down time). There have been a couple firmware updates but those are applied intelligently so that there is minimal downtime in the middle of the night and the update is applied in batches so we don't have a campus of dark APs during the upgrade. We haven't had a single unit fail. The long and short is that we have barely thought about the system since putting it in. We are in it all the time to check usage (...the ongoing struggle to have enough bandwidth etc etc), troubleshoot client issues (typically client misconfiguration by user), and see what new features have been added. But I don't worry about it. Ever. That may not be a standard TCO argument but for my money it's a big one. Cheers Kevin __ Kevin J. Hess '98 Senior Director Information Technology Westmont College 805.565.6154 kh...@westmont.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. -- /rf ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
My only concern with the controller in the cloud approach. What happens if you decide not to pay maintenance. Do all your AP's turn into paper weights? They keep running, just with the last config that was loaded? (Times get tough, sometimes you have to cut corners to keep the ship floating. I'm not advocating this approach, just throwing it out there, because not everyone has the budget they want, or need) On Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 2:35 PM, Rich Fulton rich.ful...@gmail.com wrote: It should also be noted that not all controller in the cloud solutions are the same. The key difference is the control plane. While the data plane is distributed and the management plane is centralized the control plane will be handled differently depending on the vendor. If the control plane is cloud based then the APs are dependent on the WAN link and cloud availability in order to maintain dynamic intelligence (and all of the features that are tied to the control plane - roaming, RF mgmt, etc..). If the control plane is also distributed then the APs will maintain their intelligence when they cannot talk to the cloud. Make sure the vendor explains all of the features which are tied to the control plane before deployment. /rf ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
On Fri, 2 Apr 2010, Ethan Sommer wrote: We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? When we purchased some aruba gear the PEF was licensed by user. We ended up having to upgrade this license as usage increased. This is supposed to be changing in their new license model. 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? No significant regrets. We have ~600 aruba waps and 3 m3 controllers. We have also deployed cisco and others over the years. I don't believe we have ever had a hardware failure of an aruba wap and few if any cisco wap failures. These units are installed in dorms, libraries, dining halls, labs, etc. I can't say that we go out of our way to install them in piles of lint, oily rags, or battle with them. If I was that concerned about the location I would use a protective enclosure. If a wifi-equipment-only battle breaks out I claim the vivato panel for a shield. Software stability, failover, and scaling top the list of my concerns when looking at a controller based solutions. When we deployed fat waps, a misbehaving unit only annoyed a small number of customers. A bad OS update to a controller can make for a lng day. Jason Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. /* Jason Cash IT/Network and Systems Services University of Delaware, Newark Delaware e:c...@udel.edu v: 302-831-0461 */ ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
I think I'll finally chime in here. We have around 350+ Aruba APs with 10 controllers. I've upgraded the AOS every other version for the past 2 years, ~ 12 upgrades. I've never had an upgrade go bad on all 10 controllers. I've only had 1 AP NIC failure in that time as well. We have APs that are mounted in some of the dorms on the wall even and those haven't been destroyed or stolen. We have APs that sit in a garage and machine shop and work fine. We are primarily a Cisco shop for the rest of our networking equipment, but switched from Cisco fat APs to the Aruba's 3 years ago. Aruba releases software about once a month and it always has worked. I'm very glad we made the decision to go with Aruba based on the fact that I see people on this message board complaining that something doesn't work right with their cisco upgrade. Maybe more people have cisco than Aruba, I don't know. As for Meraki, the concept works in some cases, and I'm not sure what the educational costs are, but the cost of their APs as advertised and enterprise controller seems almost the same as Aruba. -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Jason S. Cash Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 8:32 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki On Fri, 2 Apr 2010, Ethan Sommer wrote: We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
I'll chime in as well, we have around 100 Aruba 121 (n) and 65(BGA) access points and two controllers. I won't talk about the ease of setup or the features as that has already been discussed ad-nausea... I'll just say this: not to knock Cisco, as they have never done me wrong, but Aruba support borders on precognition. They are genuinely concerned with the health and well being of their customers. This has happened to me twice, once we had a 802.1x machine authentication issue that turned out to be our fault. I mentioned the issue on a forum, Aruba contacted me, started a ticket and worked with me to resolve my issue. And just this week, I mentioned that I had had one access point die on me in the past year and I was again contacted by Aruba TAC, and was sent a replacement AP the very next day. Brilliant. -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of gwill...@uccs.edu Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 8:07 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki I think I'll finally chime in here. We have around 350+ Aruba APs with 10 controllers. I've upgraded the AOS every other version for the past 2 years, ~ 12 upgrades. I've never had an upgrade go bad on all 10 controllers. I've only had 1 AP NIC failure in that time as well. We have APs that are mounted in some of the dorms on the wall even and those haven't been destroyed or stolen. We have APs that sit in a garage and machine shop and work fine. We are primarily a Cisco shop for the rest of our networking equipment, but switched from Cisco fat APs to the Aruba's 3 years ago. Aruba releases software about once a month and it always has worked. I'm very glad we made the decision to go with Aruba based on the fact that I see people on this message board complaining that something doesn't work right with their cisco upgrade. Maybe more people have cisco than Aruba, I don't know. As for Meraki, the concept works in some cases, and I'm not sure what the educational costs are, but the cost of their APs as advertised and enterprise controller seems almost the same as Aruba. -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Jason S. Cash Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 8:32 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki On Fri, 2 Apr 2010, Ethan Sommer wrote: We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 11:07 AM, gwill...@uccs.edu wrote: I'm very glad we made the decision to go with Aruba based on the fact that I see people on this message board complaining that something doesn't work right with their cisco upgrade. Maybe more people have cisco than Aruba, I don't know. The last numbers I saw were from January of 2009, Cisco had 60% market share, and Aruba had 8%. Aruba is the #2 AP maker by Market share, and is very heavily targeting education and healthcare environments. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
On Apr 13, 2010, at 08:07, gwill...@uccs.edu wrote: As for Meraki, the concept works in some cases, and I'm not sure what the educational costs are, but the cost of their APs as advertised and enterprise controller seems almost the same as Aruba. I have to tout Meraki a little here, especially for environments that are dynamic or open to experimentation. The online, hosted controller (can't bring myself to say cloud controller) makes making serious network changes -- say, special event networks segregated from your normal wireless, reassigning VLANs, things that I would normally avoid -- brain-dead simple. They've also been extremely open to new feature suggestions, and there's zero effort to trying them out safely. -- // Miles Davis - mi...@cs.stanford.edu - http://www.cs.stanford.edu/~miles // Computer Science Department - Computer Facilities // Stanford University ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
Just a bit more on Miles' comments- I did like that with Meraki, the controller layer is somebody else's problem. And that when you lose link to the cloud, everything local still pretty much works despite the controller being out there in the Great Beyond. And if you duct-taped a couple of Meraki MR14s together and put them at the end of a good chain or leather strap, you'd have a nice whoopin' piece. (One MR 14 alone has a fairly good edge you could leverage- may not puncture the skin with it but would certainly leave a good welt.) -Lee -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Miles Davis Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 12:35 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki On Apr 13, 2010, at 08:07, gwill...@uccs.edu wrote: As for Meraki, the concept works in some cases, and I'm not sure what the educational costs are, but the cost of their APs as advertised and enterprise controller seems almost the same as Aruba. I have to tout Meraki a little here, especially for environments that are dynamic or open to experimentation. The online, hosted controller (can't bring myself to say cloud controller) makes making serious network changes -- say, special event networks segregated from your normal wireless, reassigning VLANs, things that I would normally avoid -- brain-dead simple. They've also been extremely open to new feature suggestions, and there's zero effort to trying them out safely. -- // Miles Davis - mi...@cs.stanford.edu - http://www.cs.stanford.edu/~miles // Computer Science Department - Computer Facilities // Stanford University ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
On Apr 13, 2010, at 10:45, Lee H Badman wrote: Just a bit more on Miles' comments- I did like that with Meraki, the controller layer is somebody else's problem. And that when you lose link to the cloud, everything local still pretty much works despite the controller being out there in the Great Beyond. And if you duct-taped a couple of Meraki MR14s together and put them at the end of a good chain or leather strap, you'd have a nice whoopin' piece. (One MR 14 alone has a fairly good edge you could leverage- may not puncture the skin with it but would certainly leave a good welt.) Ooh, especially with the mounting hardware attached... -- // Miles Davis - mi...@cs.stanford.edu - http://www.cs.stanford.edu/~miles // Computer Science Department - Computer Facilities // Stanford University ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
To say nothing of the MR58 !!! If you can heft it, it would make a pretty good dent in the AP jousting and bashing competition. I have also enjoyed the clean and simple management interface Meraki has developed. John On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 10:48 AM, Miles Davis mi...@cs.stanford.edu wrote: On Apr 13, 2010, at 10:45, Lee H Badman wrote: Just a bit more on Miles' comments- I did like that with Meraki, the controller layer is somebody else's problem. And that when you lose link to the cloud, everything local still pretty much works despite the controller being out there in the Great Beyond. And if you duct-taped a couple of Meraki MR14s together and put them at the end of a good chain or leather strap, you'd have a nice whoopin' piece. (One MR 14 alone has a fairly good edge you could leverage- may not puncture the skin with it but would certainly leave a good welt.) Ooh, especially with the mounting hardware attached... -- // Miles Davis - mi...@cs.stanford.edu - http://www.cs.stanford.edu/~miles // Computer Science Department - Computer Facilities // Stanford University ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
I get you (and thanks for the detail)- but in dense environments where APs are at low power and plentiful to accommodate large numbers of users, the antenna pattern largely goes out the window to a certain extent. Covering for range? I completely agree with you (I design and build amateur radio and scanner antennas and calculate patterns with a few different utilities). And while ceiling mount may be more desirable as a rule, depending on the whim of the architect and space owner, height of ceiling and what's on it, and a number of other factors, we very much have cases where the ceiling is out of play whether we like it or not. I would imagine we are not the only environment like this, and this where I wish Cisco had a better message on if you must wall mount...)- like they used to when the 1130s came out. Yeah, antenna pattern changes- but it doesn't disappear! -Lee From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Hao, Justin C [j...@austin.utexas.edu] Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2010 11:28 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki The clarity is provided by the Antenna radiation patten. Which also highlights a shortcoming of the saucer shape of the 1142. The pattern for each spectrum is a lopsided circle viewed from above. Lopsided depeding on which side of the ap each radio is on becase the central body of the ap itself blocks each radio(and there's no easy way to tell which way the antenna are oriented). This skews your coverage, although the effect is minor, it's not what I prefer to see in an omni design. The 1142 also is definately not designed for wall mount. It's vertical plane is flattened (as expected for a ceiling mount ap). As well they don't offer a vertical mount (that I'm aware) of for the 1142. Feel free to ask your Cisco SE For the radiation pattern spec sheets for the 1142. They're also available on the cisco website but are poor visual quality. There should be very little reason for ever mounting an 1142 in a vertical orientation. Unless you just really enjoy buying more Cisco APs to make up for the oddly shaped and sized coverage. --- Justin Hao j...@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas ITS - Networking On Apr 11, 2010, at 8:36 PM, Lee H Badman lhbad...@syr.edu wrote: To your point, Justin- in my mind I still don't feel that Cisco has done a good job of providing clarity about the topic of wall- mounting. Sometimes that's all you can do, and the world doesn't come crashing to a halt. Would be nice to see them change their tune on this. From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Hao, Justin C [j...@austin.utexas.edu] Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2010 8:19 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki In the same line of examination you want to pay attention to ap performance and features. Cisco's 1142 does not have orientable antennas and does not support wall mount(vertical) placement. Also note the 2x3 mimo vs the 3x3 mimo between Cisco and Aruba. Cisco's only current option for wall mount 802.11n w/ discrete antennas is the monster 1250. The 1142 is also significantly larger than the AP125. So consider your installation environment and mounting options when selecting your Vendor. --- Justin Hao j...@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas ITS - Networking On Apr 11, 2010, at 5:32 PM, Jeffrey Sessler j...@scrippscollege.edu wrote: Ethan, Where I would suggest spending some evaluation time is on the AP construction. Having had time to evaluate both the Aruba and Cisco AP's, there were doubts as to the Aruba's life-span when placed in our residential halls. The design (this was their 802.11n product), relied on venting and convection cooling, and it was unknown what would happen as dust-bunnies and other obstructions settled on those vents. Even in our lab the Aruba AP got hot, so much so that the metal shield on the ethernet connector was uncomfortable to the touch. The Cisco AP's on the other hand were 100% sealed, stayed cool, and the large aluminum casing is the heat sink. Between the two, it was felt the Cisco would be maintenance free while the Aruba might require attention (dusting off) from time to time. Point being, as you look at Aruba, HP, Meru, etc. make sure to keep the AP's design and planned deployment locations in mind. Jeff Ethan Sommer somm...@gac.edu 4/2/2010 6:25 PM As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
I'd bring the 1250 to a bar fight. It's more Medieval. Bruce T. Johnson | Partners Healthcare | Network Engineering 617.726.9662 | Pager: 31633 | bjohns...@partners.org -Original Message- From: Jeffrey Sessler [j...@scrippscollege.edu] Received: 4/11/10 10:27 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki And as Lee is swinging the 1142s, the song Eye of the Tiger would be playing, along with a slow-motion montage of various IT highlights from his career. :) Jeff Mike King m...@mpking.com 4/11/2010 5:46 PM On Sun, Apr 11, 2010 at 8:30 PM, Lee H Badman lhbad...@syr.edu wrote: If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco to swing around, simply based on heft. Based on that line, I had two images pop in my mind: The first one was Lee Swinging two 1142n (one in each hand) like a ninja. Two was Cisco new Marketing campaign. If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. The information in this e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. If you believe this e-mail was sent to you in error and the e-mail contains patient information, please contact the Partners Compliance HelpLine at http://www.partners.org/complianceline . If the e-mail was sent to you in error but does not contain patient information, please contact the sender and properly dispose of the e-mail.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
I have to chime in here... We've deployed close to 2000 Aruba APs at Emory (AP60/61's) over the last 5 years. In that time, we've had less than 10 fail because of hardware. I've had something like 20 more damaged in the ResHalls - mostly someone threw a ball and broke the flipper antenna on the AP61. We've been very happy with the reliability of the Aruba products. They do hold up well in an academic (read hostile) environment. Oh - those failed APs were all purchased before the lifetime warranty. We found that even with our self-insurance for APs our maintenance costs were quite low. We are now deploying AP105s as we move to 802.11n across campus and are finding that, even though they are light in weight, they're sturdy devices that should hold up even better than our AP61's have. - Stan Brooks - CWNA/CWSP Emory University University Technology Services 404.727.0226 AIM/Y!/Twitter: WLANstan MSN: wlans...@hotmail.com GoogleTalk: wlans...@gmail.com -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Jeffrey Sessler Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2010 9:24 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki Lifetime warranty is great, but it still costs time/money to have an IT staff member mount/dismount the AP and send it back for replacement. All things being equal, I'd rather mount the AP once, and the next time I visit it will be when it is life-cycled and replaced with the latest standard. Jeff Todd Lane t...@email.unc.edu 4/11/2010 5:46 PM We don't worry about our Aruba APs. They're covered by a lifetime warranty unlike the Cisco APs we were buying. Aruba Lifetime Warranty* The following Aruba indoor enterprise-grade wireless access points are covered by Aruba’s Lifetime Warranty if purchased after May 21, 2009: ● AP-60 ● AP-61 ● AP-65 ● AP-65WB ● AP-70 ● AP-105 ● AP-120 ● AP-120abg ● AP-121 ● AP-121abg ● AP-124 ● AP-124abg ● AP-125 ● AP-125abg ● RAP-5 ● RAP-5WN * Aruba Lifetime Warranty coverage remains in place for as long as you own the product, up to five years following Aruba announcement of end-of-sale of that product. Todd Lane University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill On 4/11/2010 6:31 PM, Jeffrey Sessler wrote: Ethan, Where I would suggest spending some evaluation time is on the AP construction. Having had time to evaluate both the Aruba and Cisco AP's, there were doubts as to the Aruba's life-span when placed in our residential halls. The design (this was their 802.11n product), relied on venting and convection cooling, and it was unknown what would happen as dust-bunnies and other obstructions settled on those vents. Even in our lab the Aruba AP got hot, so much so that the metal shield on the ethernet connector was uncomfortable to the touch. The Cisco AP's on the other hand were 100% sealed, stayed cool, and the large aluminum casing is the heat sink. Between the two, it was felt the Cisco would be maintenance free while the Aruba might require attention (dusting off) from time to time. Point being, as you look at Aruba, HP, Meru, etc. make sure to keep the AP's design and planned deployment locations in mind. Jeff Ethan Sommersomm...@gac.edu 4/2/2010 6:25 PM As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go with those products. We are on a tight budget, so based on initial pricing we eliminated Cisco and Meru who seemed to be the most expensive (plus we don't like cisco for a number of other reasons). (As an aside, after posting here meru contacted me _and my boss_, which I believe is not allowed under this list's rules. In any case, I told them if they could provide a quote for a 200 dual radio complete system in the same ballpark as the other systems we're looking at, then we'll talk.) Our next steps are * To get quotes * And bring in the systems to do test runs in real life conditions. (We're going to try each out in one of the dorms and the library, each of which currently have 10 APs.) If we aren't in love with any of those systems, we'll widen our search. We have very limited resources, so if one comes in much cheaper than the others the question will be is that system good enough for us. Otherwise we'll pick the system that we think will work best for us. Based on talking with schools running Aruba and Meraki, I think either would be a great move forward for us. I've yet to hear of a school who chose either and regretted it. Ethan Mike Hydra wrote: What I personally find interesting is the wide choice not from a manufacturing point of view but more from a Wi-Fi
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
From:Mike King m...@mpking.com Subject: Re: Aruba vs HP vs Meraki Based on that line, I had two images pop in my mind: The first one was Lee Swinging two 1142n (one in each hand) like a ninja. 1142? Come on, now, think big! The AP1252 weighs over six pounds and has six antennas sticking out like some sort of medieval flail! -- Earl Barfield -- Academic Research Tech / Information Technology Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 Internet: earl.barfi...@oit.gatech.edue...@gatech.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
I believe this would fall under the built-in theft deterrent feature. Patrick Goggins Network Administrator Carroll University -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Johnson, Bruce T. Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 8:04 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki I'd bring the 1250 to a bar fight. It's more Medieval. Bruce T. Johnson | Partners Healthcare | Network Engineering 617.726.9662 | Pager: 31633 | bjohns...@partners.org -Original Message- From: Jeffrey Sessler [j...@scrippscollege.edu] Received: 4/11/10 10:27 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki And as Lee is swinging the 1142s, the song Eye of the Tiger would be playing, along with a slow-motion montage of various IT highlights from his career. :) Jeff Mike King m...@mpking.com 4/11/2010 5:46 PM On Sun, Apr 11, 2010 at 8:30 PM, Lee H Badman lhbad...@syr.edu wrote: If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco to swing around, simply based on heft. Based on that line, I had two images pop in my mind: The first one was Lee Swinging two 1142n (one in each hand) like a ninja. Two was Cisco new Marketing campaign. If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. The information in this e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. If you believe this e-mail was sent to you in error and the e-mail contains patient information, please contact the Partners Compliance HelpLine at http://www.partners.org/complianceline . If the e-mail was sent to you in error but does not contain patient information, please contact the sender and properly dispose of the e-mail.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
I always wondered what that WarDriving was all about. I get it now! Philippe, don't bother me or I rotate a Xirrus Array at you, and non of your porcupine will make it, Hanset p.s. This calls for a youtube video! On Apr 12, 2010, at 3:10 PM, Lee H Badman wrote: I did pick up a 1252 off of eBay, and filed it down so it fits my hand just right. I keep it under the seat of my truck... just in case things heat up. The only guy I worry about is someone who shows up with one of them big honkin' BelAir keg lookin' things. -Lee the Redneck -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU ] On Behalf Of Patrick Goggins Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 2:56 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki I believe this would fall under the built-in theft deterrent feature. Patrick Goggins Network Administrator Carroll University -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU ] On Behalf Of Johnson, Bruce T. Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 8:04 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki I'd bring the 1250 to a bar fight. It's more Medieval. Bruce T. Johnson | Partners Healthcare | Network Engineering 617.726.9662 | Pager: 31633 | bjohns...@partners.org -Original Message- From: Jeffrey Sessler [j...@scrippscollege.edu] Received: 4/11/10 10:27 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu ] Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki And as Lee is swinging the 1142s, the song Eye of the Tiger would be playing, along with a slow-motion montage of various IT highlights from his career. :) Jeff Mike King m...@mpking.com 4/11/2010 5:46 PM On Sun, Apr 11, 2010 at 8:30 PM, Lee H Badman lhbad...@syr.edu wrote: If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco to swing around, simply based on heft. Based on that line, I had two images pop in my mind: The first one was Lee Swinging two 1142n (one in each hand) like a ninja. Two was Cisco new Marketing campaign. If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/ . ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/ . The information in this e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. If you believe this e-mail was sent to you in error and the e-mail contains patient information, please contact the Partners Compliance HelpLine at http://www.partners.org/complianceline . If the e-mail was sent to you in error but does not contain patient information, please contact the sender and properly dispose of the e-mail. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/ . ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
I'll bet you none of these AP's could stand up to the Blendtec! Peter M. -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Philippe Hanset Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 3:57 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki I always wondered what that WarDriving was all about. I get it now! Philippe, don't bother me or I rotate a Xirrus Array at you, and non of your porcupine will make it, Hanset p.s. This calls for a youtube video! On Apr 12, 2010, at 3:10 PM, Lee H Badman wrote: I did pick up a 1252 off of eBay, and filed it down so it fits my hand just right. I keep it under the seat of my truck... just in case things heat up. The only guy I worry about is someone who shows up with one of them big honkin' BelAir keg lookin' things. -Lee the Redneck -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU ] On Behalf Of Patrick Goggins Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 2:56 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki I believe this would fall under the built-in theft deterrent feature. Patrick Goggins Network Administrator Carroll University -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU ] On Behalf Of Johnson, Bruce T. Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 8:04 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki I'd bring the 1250 to a bar fight. It's more Medieval. Bruce T. Johnson | Partners Healthcare | Network Engineering 617.726.9662 | Pager: 31633 | bjohns...@partners.org -Original Message- From: Jeffrey Sessler [j...@scrippscollege.edu] Received: 4/11/10 10:27 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu ] Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki And as Lee is swinging the 1142s, the song Eye of the Tiger would be playing, along with a slow-motion montage of various IT highlights from his career. :) Jeff Mike King m...@mpking.com 4/11/2010 5:46 PM On Sun, Apr 11, 2010 at 8:30 PM, Lee H Badman lhbad...@syr.edu wrote: If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco to swing around, simply based on heft. Based on that line, I had two images pop in my mind: The first one was Lee Swinging two 1142n (one in each hand) like a ninja. Two was Cisco new Marketing campaign. If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/ . ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/ . The information in this e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. If you believe this e-mail was sent to you in error and the e-mail contains patient information, please contact the Partners Compliance HelpLine at http://www.partners.org/complianceline . If the e-mail was sent to you in error but does not contain patient information, please contact the sender and properly dispose of the e-mail. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/ . ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
I was about to say a Xirrus XN16 with sharpened edges would trump everything else that could be used as a weapon! Mr Peter Methven, Network Specialist University Information and Computing Services (UICS) Allen McTernan Building, Edinburgh Campus Tel: 0131 451 3516 For IT support queries or requests, please email ith...@hw.ac.uk or phone ext 4045, with full details of your query or request and your contact details. http://www.hw.ac.uk/uics -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Philippe Hanset Sent: 12 April 2010 20:57 To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki I always wondered what that WarDriving was all about. I get it now! Philippe, don't bother me or I rotate a Xirrus Array at you, and non of your porcupine will make it, Hanset p.s. This calls for a youtube video! On Apr 12, 2010, at 3:10 PM, Lee H Badman wrote: I did pick up a 1252 off of eBay, and filed it down so it fits my hand just right. I keep it under the seat of my truck... just in case things heat up. The only guy I worry about is someone who shows up with one of them big honkin' BelAir keg lookin' things. -Lee the Redneck -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU ] On Behalf Of Patrick Goggins Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 2:56 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki I believe this would fall under the built-in theft deterrent feature. Patrick Goggins Network Administrator Carroll University -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU ] On Behalf Of Johnson, Bruce T. Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 8:04 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki I'd bring the 1250 to a bar fight. It's more Medieval. Bruce T. Johnson | Partners Healthcare | Network Engineering 617.726.9662 | Pager: 31633 | bjohns...@partners.org -Original Message- From: Jeffrey Sessler [j...@scrippscollege.edu] Received: 4/11/10 10:27 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu ] Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki And as Lee is swinging the 1142s, the song Eye of the Tiger would be playing, along with a slow-motion montage of various IT highlights from his career. :) Jeff Mike King m...@mpking.com 4/11/2010 5:46 PM On Sun, Apr 11, 2010 at 8:30 PM, Lee H Badman lhbad...@syr.edu wrote: If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco to swing around, simply based on heft. Based on that line, I had two images pop in my mind: The first one was Lee Swinging two 1142n (one in each hand) like a ninja. Two was Cisco new Marketing campaign. If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/ . ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/ . The information in this e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. If you believe this e-mail was sent to you in error and the e-mail contains patient information, please contact the Partners Compliance HelpLine at http://www.partners.org/complianceline . If the e-mail was sent to you in error but does not contain patient information, please contact the sender and properly dispose of the e-mail. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/ . ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.801 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2804 - Release Date: 04/12/10 07:32:00 No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.801 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2804 - Release Date: 04/12/10 07:32:00 -- Heriot-Watt University is a Scottish charity registered under charity number SC000278. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
Justin, No heat-related rumors started at all. The point here was that the construction of APs differ from vendor to vendor. We pulled apart every AP we got, and when it came to which would likely be more durable over the long haul, the Cisco devices won. Others may come to a different decision, and that's why careful evaluation is important. Have you pulled apart a Cisco 1142 and a Aruba AP? If not, I highly recommend it. Since I've had the AP's apart, it's my opinion that the Cisco is better built. If I deployed one of each (Aruba and Cisco) in a demanding location, say a moist/lint filled laundry area in a residential area, I'd bet on the Cisco's ventless design every time. Jeff Hao, Justin C j...@austin.utexas.edu 4/11/2010 8:14 PM Uhm, last I checked we have a box of broken 1142s. Everyone's APs fail. But rumors of heat related failure versus actual failure rate are just that. Rumors. I could easily start rumors regarding the auto radio reset and failure rate of some 1142 APs. --- Justin Hao j...@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas ITS - Networking On Apr 11, 2010, at 8:24 PM, Jeffrey Sessler j...@scrippscollege.edu wrote: Lifetime warranty is great, but it still costs time/money to have an IT staff member mount/dismount the AP and send it back for replacement. All things being equal, I'd rather mount the AP once, and the next time I visit it will be when it is life-cycled and replaced with the latest standard. Jeff Todd Lane t...@email.unc.edu 4/11/2010 5:46 PM We don't worry about our Aruba APs. They're covered by a lifetime warranty unlike the Cisco APs we were buying. Aruba Lifetime Warranty* The following Aruba indoor enterprise-grade wireless access points are covered by Aruba’s Lifetime Warranty if purchased after May 21, 2009: ● AP-60 ● AP-61 ● AP-65 ● AP-65WB ● AP-70 ● AP-105 ● AP-120 ● AP-120abg ● AP-121 ● AP-121abg ● AP-124 ● AP-124abg ● AP-125 ● AP-125abg ● RAP-5 ● RAP-5WN * Aruba Lifetime Warranty coverage remains in place for as long as you own the product, up to five years following Aruba announcement of end-of-sale of that product. Todd Lane University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill On 4/11/2010 6:31 PM, Jeffrey Sessler wrote: Ethan, Where I would suggest spending some evaluation time is on the AP construction. Having had time to evaluate both the Aruba and Cisco AP's, there were doubts as to the Aruba's life-span when placed in our residential halls. The design (this was their 802.11n product), relied on venting and convection cooling, and it was unknown what would happen as dust-bunnies and other obstructions settled on those vents. Even in our lab the Aruba AP got hot, so much so that the metal shield on the ethernet connector was uncomfortable to the touch. The Cisco AP's on the other hand were 100% sealed, stayed cool, and the large aluminum casing is the heat sink. Between the two, it was felt the Cisco would be maintenance free while the Aruba might require attention (dusting off) from time to time. Point being, as you look at Aruba, HP, Meru, etc. make sure to keep the AP's design and planned deployment locations in mind. Jeff Ethan Sommersomm...@gac.edu 4/2/2010 6:25 PM As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go with those products. We are on a tight budget, so based on initial pricing we eliminated Cisco and Meru who seemed to be the most expensive (plus we don't like cisco for a number of other reasons). (As an aside, after posting here meru contacted me _and my boss_, which I believe is not allowed under this list's rules. In any case, I told them if they could provide a quote for a 200 dual radio complete system in the same ballpark as the other systems we're looking at, then we'll talk.) Our next steps are * To get quotes * And bring in the systems to do test runs in real life conditions. (We're going to try each out in one of the dorms and the library, each of which currently have 10 APs.) If we aren't in love with any of those systems, we'll widen our search. We have very limited resources, so if one comes in much cheaper than the others the question will be is that system good enough for us. Otherwise we'll pick the system that we think will work best for us. Based on talking with schools running Aruba and Meraki, I think either would be a great move forward for us. I've yet to hear of a school who chose either and regretted it. Ethan Mike Hydra wrote: What I personally find interesting is the wide choice not from a manufacturing point of view but more from a Wi-Fi technology point of view. Aruba – Controller based (aka controller based) All
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
Heh cisco never allowed me to pull one open cuz that violates the warranty. I have seen the innards of a cracked AP125 though. The cisco aps are solidly constructed from what can be told on the outside. And they do seem a lot less likely to suffer from physical damage. The point I was trying to make was that internal chipset temperature cannot be determined by external enclosure (hot to the touch) temperature. Yes, I agree that all things should be considered when making selections, but caution has to be exercised when extrapolating hardware performance from surface examination. Lots of devices rely on convection cooling in harsh environments. And in most cases a hot enclosure means the device is properly wicking heat away from the chipset. If both the enclosure and chipset run consistantly hot the there should be concern. I just don't like the this one feels hefty so it must be more reliable line of reasoning. I would rather see test numbers and chipset operating temperature/etc. I make no claims that one AP is definitively better than the other in that regard as I don't have any of that test info. --- Justin Hao j...@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas ITS - Networking On Apr 12, 2010, at 4:04 PM, Jeffrey Sessler j...@scrippscollege.edu wrote: Justin, No heat-related rumors started at all. The point here was that the construction of APs differ from vendor to vendor. We pulled apart every AP we got, and when it came to which would likely be more durable over the long haul, the Cisco devices won. Others may come to a different decision, and that's why careful evaluation is important. Have you pulled apart a Cisco 1142 and a Aruba AP? If not, I highly recommend it. Since I've had the AP's apart, it's my opinion that the Cisco is better built. If I deployed one of each (Aruba and Cisco) in a demanding location, say a moist/lint filled laundry area in a residential area, I'd bet on the Cisco's ventless design every time. Jeff Hao, Justin C j...@austin.utexas.edu 4/11/2010 8:14 PM Uhm, last I checked we have a box of broken 1142s. Everyone's APs fail. But rumors of heat related failure versus actual failure rate are just that. Rumors. I could easily start rumors regarding the auto radio reset and failure rate of some 1142 APs. --- Justin Hao j...@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas ITS - Networking On Apr 11, 2010, at 8:24 PM, Jeffrey Sessler j...@scrippscollege.edu wrote: Lifetime warranty is great, but it still costs time/money to have an IT staff member mount/dismount the AP and send it back for replacement. All things being equal, I'd rather mount the AP once, and the next time I visit it will be when it is life-cycled and replaced with the latest standard. Jeff Todd Lane t...@email.unc.edu 4/11/2010 5:46 PM We don't worry about our Aruba APs. They're covered by a lifetime warranty unlike the Cisco APs we were buying. Aruba Lifetime Warranty* The following Aruba indoor enterprise-grade wireless access points are covered by Aruba’s Lifetime Warranty if purchased after May 21, 2009: ● AP-60 ● AP-61 ● AP-65 ● AP-65WB ● AP-70 ● AP-105 ● AP-120 ● AP-120abg ● AP-121 ● AP-121abg ● AP-124 ● AP-124abg ● AP-125 ● AP-125abg ● RAP-5 ● RAP-5WN * Aruba Lifetime Warranty coverage remains in place for as long as you own the product, up to five years following Aruba announcement of end-of-sale of that product. Todd Lane University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill On 4/11/2010 6:31 PM, Jeffrey Sessler wrote: Ethan, Where I would suggest spending some evaluation time is on the AP construction. Having had time to evaluate both the Aruba and Cisco AP's, there were doubts as to the Aruba's life-span when placed in our residential halls. The design (this was their 802.11n product), relied on venting and convection cooling, and it was unknown what would happen as dust-bunnies and other obstructions settled on those vents. Even in our lab the Aruba AP got hot, so much so that the metal shield on the ethernet connector was uncomfortable to the touch. The Cisco AP's on the other hand were 100% sealed, stayed cool, and the large aluminum casing is the heat sink. Between the two, it was felt the Cisco would be maintenance free while the Aruba might require attention (dusting off) from time to time. Point being, as you look at Aruba, HP, Meru, etc. make sure to keep the AP's design and planned deployment locations in mind. Jeff Ethan Sommersomm...@gac.edu 4/2/2010 6:25 PM As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go with those products. We are on a tight budget, so based on initial pricing we
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
I just don't like the this one feels hefty so it must be more reliable line of reasoning. I would rather see test numbers and I recall, in a past lifetime, disassembling a TI calculator that felt more substantial and finding a non-functional (except for the weight) steel plate under the keyboard. Mearl
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
In the same line of examination you want to pay attention to ap performance and features. Cisco's 1142 does not have orientable antennas and does not support wall mount(vertical) placement. Also note the 2x3 mimo vs the 3x3 mimo between Cisco and Aruba. Cisco's only current option for wall mount 802.11n w/ discrete antennas is the monster 1250. The 1142 is also significantly larger than the AP125. So consider your installation environment and mounting options when selecting your Vendor. --- Justin Hao j...@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas ITS - Networking On Apr 11, 2010, at 5:32 PM, Jeffrey Sessler j...@scrippscollege.edu wrote: Ethan, Where I would suggest spending some evaluation time is on the AP construction. Having had time to evaluate both the Aruba and Cisco AP's, there were doubts as to the Aruba's life-span when placed in our residential halls. The design (this was their 802.11n product), relied on venting and convection cooling, and it was unknown what would happen as dust-bunnies and other obstructions settled on those vents. Even in our lab the Aruba AP got hot, so much so that the metal shield on the ethernet connector was uncomfortable to the touch. The Cisco AP's on the other hand were 100% sealed, stayed cool, and the large aluminum casing is the heat sink. Between the two, it was felt the Cisco would be maintenance free while the Aruba might require attention (dusting off) from time to time. Point being, as you look at Aruba, HP, Meru, etc. make sure to keep the AP's design and planned deployment locations in mind. Jeff Ethan Sommer somm...@gac.edu 4/2/2010 6:25 PM As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go with those products. We are on a tight budget, so based on initial pricing we eliminated Cisco and Meru who seemed to be the most expensive (plus we don't like cisco for a number of other reasons). (As an aside, after posting here meru contacted me _and my boss_, which I believe is not allowed under this list's rules. In any case, I told them if they could provide a quote for a 200 dual radio complete system in the same ballpark as the other systems we're looking at, then we'll talk.) Our next steps are * To get quotes * And bring in the systems to do test runs in real life conditions. (We're going to try each out in one of the dorms and the library, each of which currently have 10 APs.) If we aren't in love with any of those systems, we'll widen our search. We have very limited resources, so if one comes in much cheaper than the others the question will be is that system good enough for us. Otherwise we'll pick the system that we think will work best for us. Based on talking with schools running Aruba and Meraki, I think either would be a great move forward for us. I've yet to hear of a school who chose either and regretted it. Ethan Mike Hydra wrote: What I personally find interesting is the wide choice not from a manufacturing point of view but more from a Wi-Fi technology point of view. Aruba – Controller based (aka controller based) All data goes through the controller, centralized architecture. HP – decentralized (Controller in not directly essential) Data path is separated from the management path. Meraki – Cloud computing Centralized Cloud, not having to own controller hardware inside your own network. All three very different solutions. I’m looking forward to follow this email threat with the comments, thanks for sharing. I would recommend writing down a proof of concept and invite the vendors of your choice. In this way you’ve tested your requirement (out of your proof on concept) therefore convinced around the solution you buy is the right one. Good luck... Mike Hydra Cell: +31 6 29 07 18 96 Tel: +31 252 62 61 20 Fax: +31 252 68 88 37 E-mail: mhy...@2fast4wireless.com Skype: Flying-Wireless-Dutchman Web: www.2fast4wireless.com --- - *From: *Peter P Morrissey ppmor...@syr.edu *Reply-To: *The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU *Date: *Fri, 2 Apr 2010 22:47:26 +0200 *To: *WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU *Subject: *Re: Aruba vs HP vs Meraki OK, so I'll ask. Why did you eliminate Cisco already? Pete M. -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Sommer Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 2:21 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
I have to agree with Jeffrey on this- the Cisco APs are bullet-proof where many of the competitors feel a bit chintzy to the touch (by comparison). I will give it up for both Meraki and BlueSocket as well for their 11n offerings- though they are not as beefy as Cisco, they do have a well-made feel to them. I do not care for the feel of Aruba's 125 (just my opinion) , but their newer105 takes it up a notch. If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco to swing around, simply based on heft. I do concur with Jeffrey on considering how these things cool themselves- none have fans (that I know of) and all rely on a heat sink to cool what is a very hot pair of radios. If that heat sink requires a vented cover to stay free of dust, you can certainly see potential trouble in some areas. (We have switches that look like they have been in a dust storm.) Not sure how you'd prove it short of catastrophic failure, but I do know that heat really can have detrimental effects on radio hardware of any kind. Lee From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Jeffrey Sessler [j...@scrippscollege.edu] Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2010 6:31 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki Ethan, Where I would suggest spending some evaluation time is on the AP construction. Having had time to evaluate both the Aruba and Cisco AP's, there were doubts as to the Aruba's life-span when placed in our residential halls. The design (this was their 802.11n product), relied on venting and convection cooling, and it was unknown what would happen as dust-bunnies and other obstructions settled on those vents. Even in our lab the Aruba AP got hot, so much so that the metal shield on the ethernet connector was uncomfortable to the touch. The Cisco AP's on the other hand were 100% sealed, stayed cool, and the large aluminum casing is the heat sink. Between the two, it was felt the Cisco would be maintenance free while the Aruba might require attention (dusting off) from time to time. Point being, as you look at Aruba, HP, Meru, etc. make sure to keep the AP's design and planned deployment locations in mind. Jeff Ethan Sommer somm...@gac.edu 4/2/2010 6:25 PM As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go with those products. We are on a tight budget, so based on initial pricing we eliminated Cisco and Meru who seemed to be the most expensive (plus we don't like cisco for a number of other reasons). (As an aside, after posting here meru contacted me _and my boss_, which I believe is not allowed under this list's rules. In any case, I told them if they could provide a quote for a 200 dual radio complete system in the same ballpark as the other systems we're looking at, then we'll talk.) Our next steps are * To get quotes * And bring in the systems to do test runs in real life conditions. (We're going to try each out in one of the dorms and the library, each of which currently have 10 APs.) If we aren't in love with any of those systems, we'll widen our search. We have very limited resources, so if one comes in much cheaper than the others the question will be is that system good enough for us. Otherwise we'll pick the system that we think will work best for us. Based on talking with schools running Aruba and Meraki, I think either would be a great move forward for us. I've yet to hear of a school who chose either and regretted it. Ethan Mike Hydra wrote: What I personally find interesting is the wide choice not from a manufacturing point of view but more from a Wi-Fi technology point of view. Aruba – Controller based (aka controller based) All data goes through the controller, centralized architecture. HP – decentralized (Controller in not directly essential) Data path is separated from the management path. Meraki – Cloud computing Centralized Cloud, not having to own controller hardware inside your own network. All three very different solutions. I’m looking forward to follow this email threat with the comments, thanks for sharing. I would recommend writing down a proof of concept and invite the vendors of your choice. In this way you’ve tested your requirement (out of your proof on concept) therefore convinced around the solution you buy is the right one. Good luck... Mike Hydra Cell: +31 6 29 07 18 96 Tel: +31 252 62 61 20 Fax: +31 252 68 88 37 E-mail: mhy...@2fast4wireless.com Skype: Flying-Wireless-Dutchman Web: www.2fast4wireless.com *From: *Peter P Morrissey ppmor...@syr.edu
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
On Sun, Apr 11, 2010 at 8:30 PM, Lee H Badman lhbad...@syr.edu wrote: If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco to swing around, simply based on heft. Based on that line, I had two images pop in my mind: The first one was Lee Swinging two 1142n (one in each hand) like a ninja. Two was Cisco new Marketing campaign. If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
Lifetime warranty is great, but it still costs time/money to have an IT staff member mount/dismount the AP and send it back for replacement. All things being equal, I'd rather mount the AP once, and the next time I visit it will be when it is life-cycled and replaced with the latest standard. Jeff Todd Lane t...@email.unc.edu 4/11/2010 5:46 PM We don't worry about our Aruba APs. They're covered by a lifetime warranty unlike the Cisco APs we were buying. Aruba Lifetime Warranty* The following Aruba indoor enterprise-grade wireless access points are covered by Aruba’s Lifetime Warranty if purchased after May 21, 2009: ● AP-60 ● AP-61 ● AP-65 ● AP-65WB ● AP-70 ● AP-105 ● AP-120 ● AP-120abg ● AP-121 ● AP-121abg ● AP-124 ● AP-124abg ● AP-125 ● AP-125abg ● RAP-5 ● RAP-5WN * Aruba Lifetime Warranty coverage remains in place for as long as you own the product, up to five years following Aruba announcement of end-of-sale of that product. Todd Lane University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill On 4/11/2010 6:31 PM, Jeffrey Sessler wrote: Ethan, Where I would suggest spending some evaluation time is on the AP construction. Having had time to evaluate both the Aruba and Cisco AP's, there were doubts as to the Aruba's life-span when placed in our residential halls. The design (this was their 802.11n product), relied on venting and convection cooling, and it was unknown what would happen as dust-bunnies and other obstructions settled on those vents. Even in our lab the Aruba AP got hot, so much so that the metal shield on the ethernet connector was uncomfortable to the touch. The Cisco AP's on the other hand were 100% sealed, stayed cool, and the large aluminum casing is the heat sink. Between the two, it was felt the Cisco would be maintenance free while the Aruba might require attention (dusting off) from time to time. Point being, as you look at Aruba, HP, Meru, etc. make sure to keep the AP's design and planned deployment locations in mind. Jeff Ethan Sommersomm...@gac.edu 4/2/2010 6:25 PM As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go with those products. We are on a tight budget, so based on initial pricing we eliminated Cisco and Meru who seemed to be the most expensive (plus we don't like cisco for a number of other reasons). (As an aside, after posting here meru contacted me _and my boss_, which I believe is not allowed under this list's rules. In any case, I told them if they could provide a quote for a 200 dual radio complete system in the same ballpark as the other systems we're looking at, then we'll talk.) Our next steps are * To get quotes * And bring in the systems to do test runs in real life conditions. (We're going to try each out in one of the dorms and the library, each of which currently have 10 APs.) If we aren't in love with any of those systems, we'll widen our search. We have very limited resources, so if one comes in much cheaper than the others the question will be is that system good enough for us. Otherwise we'll pick the system that we think will work best for us. Based on talking with schools running Aruba and Meraki, I think either would be a great move forward for us. I've yet to hear of a school who chose either and regretted it. Ethan Mike Hydra wrote: What I personally find interesting is the wide choice not from a manufacturing point of view but more from a Wi-Fi technology point of view. Aruba – Controller based (aka controller based) All data goes through the controller, centralized architecture. HP – decentralized (Controller in not directly essential) Data path is separated from the management path. Meraki – Cloud computing Centralized Cloud, not having to own controller hardware inside your own network. All three very different solutions. I’m looking forward to follow this email threat with the comments, thanks for sharing. I would recommend writing down a proof of concept and invite the vendors of your choice. In this way you’ve tested your requirement (out of your proof on concept) therefore convinced around the solution you buy is the right one. Good luck... Mike Hydra Cell: +31 6 29 07 18 96 Tel: +31 252 62 61 20 Fax: +31 252 68 88 37 E-mail: mhy...@2fast4wireless.com Skype: Flying-Wireless-Dutchman Web: www.2fast4wireless.com *From: *Peter P Morrisseyppmor...@syr.edu *Reply-To: *The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU *Date: *Fri, 2 Apr 2010 22:47:26 +0200 *To:
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
To your point, Justin- in my mind I still don't feel that Cisco has done a good job of providing clarity about the topic of wall-mounting. Sometimes that's all you can do, and the world doesn't come crashing to a halt. Would be nice to see them change their tune on this. From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Hao, Justin C [j...@austin.utexas.edu] Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2010 8:19 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki In the same line of examination you want to pay attention to ap performance and features. Cisco's 1142 does not have orientable antennas and does not support wall mount(vertical) placement. Also note the 2x3 mimo vs the 3x3 mimo between Cisco and Aruba. Cisco's only current option for wall mount 802.11n w/ discrete antennas is the monster 1250. The 1142 is also significantly larger than the AP125. So consider your installation environment and mounting options when selecting your Vendor. --- Justin Hao j...@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas ITS - Networking On Apr 11, 2010, at 5:32 PM, Jeffrey Sessler j...@scrippscollege.edu wrote: Ethan, Where I would suggest spending some evaluation time is on the AP construction. Having had time to evaluate both the Aruba and Cisco AP's, there were doubts as to the Aruba's life-span when placed in our residential halls. The design (this was their 802.11n product), relied on venting and convection cooling, and it was unknown what would happen as dust-bunnies and other obstructions settled on those vents. Even in our lab the Aruba AP got hot, so much so that the metal shield on the ethernet connector was uncomfortable to the touch. The Cisco AP's on the other hand were 100% sealed, stayed cool, and the large aluminum casing is the heat sink. Between the two, it was felt the Cisco would be maintenance free while the Aruba might require attention (dusting off) from time to time. Point being, as you look at Aruba, HP, Meru, etc. make sure to keep the AP's design and planned deployment locations in mind. Jeff Ethan Sommer somm...@gac.edu 4/2/2010 6:25 PM As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go with those products. We are on a tight budget, so based on initial pricing we eliminated Cisco and Meru who seemed to be the most expensive (plus we don't like cisco for a number of other reasons). (As an aside, after posting here meru contacted me _and my boss_, which I believe is not allowed under this list's rules. In any case, I told them if they could provide a quote for a 200 dual radio complete system in the same ballpark as the other systems we're looking at, then we'll talk.) Our next steps are * To get quotes * And bring in the systems to do test runs in real life conditions. (We're going to try each out in one of the dorms and the library, each of which currently have 10 APs.) If we aren't in love with any of those systems, we'll widen our search. We have very limited resources, so if one comes in much cheaper than the others the question will be is that system good enough for us. Otherwise we'll pick the system that we think will work best for us. Based on talking with schools running Aruba and Meraki, I think either would be a great move forward for us. I've yet to hear of a school who chose either and regretted it. Ethan Mike Hydra wrote: What I personally find interesting is the wide choice not from a manufacturing point of view but more from a Wi-Fi technology point of view. Aruba – Controller based (aka controller based) All data goes through the controller, centralized architecture. HP – decentralized (Controller in not directly essential) Data path is separated from the management path. Meraki – Cloud computing Centralized Cloud, not having to own controller hardware inside your own network. All three very different solutions. I’m looking forward to follow this email threat with the comments, thanks for sharing. I would recommend writing down a proof of concept and invite the vendors of your choice. In this way you’ve tested your requirement (out of your proof on concept) therefore convinced around the solution you buy is the right one. Good luck... Mike Hydra Cell: +31 6 29 07 18 96 Tel: +31 252 62 61 20 Fax: +31 252 68 88 37 E-mail: mhy...@2fast4wireless.com Skype: Flying-Wireless-Dutchman Web: www.2fast4wireless.com --- - *From: *Peter P Morrissey ppmor...@syr.edu *Reply-To: *The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
True, the 1142 is designed to ceiling mount (although it can be wall mounted...maybe...on every third Tuesday?). Then again, I've not found too many areas on my campus where wall mounting was more desirable than ceiling, especially where you want the units out of reach. That said, for those that want wall mount other than the 1250, talk with your Cisco rep. Also, to say that the 1142 is significantly larger that the AP125 is a bit misleading. The 1142 is larger in the sense that if you squashed a AP125 in an attempt to make it look better, it would become thinner but more spread out. So where the AP125 stands out like a sore thumb when mounted, the 1142 with it's tapered edge and sleek vent-less design tends to blend in more with the ceiling. At least that's what a HGTV design guru would probably say. ;) As for the 2x3 vs 3x3 mimo... In our testing, the Cisco AP's consistently performed better with our clients than with the Arubas. In one extreme test, with multiple walls and such in the way, a client was still functioning (well) at 100+ feet from the Cisco AP while the same client with an Aruba AP gave up at about 60-70 feet. Could be any number of factors, including better radio/antenna design, but the bottom line was that the 2x3 vs 3x3 seemed more marketing hype than a true benefit, at least when comparing Cisco's 2x3 vs Aruba's 3x3. Jeff Hao, Justin C j...@austin.utexas.edu 4/11/2010 5:19 PM In the same line of examination you want to pay attention to ap performance and features. Cisco's 1142 does not have orientable antennas and does not support wall mount(vertical) placement. Also note the 2x3 mimo vs the 3x3 mimo between Cisco and Aruba. Cisco's only current option for wall mount 802.11n w/ discrete antennas is the monster 1250. The 1142 is also significantly larger than the AP125. So consider your installation environment and mounting options when selecting your Vendor. --- Justin Hao j...@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas ITS - Networking On Apr 11, 2010, at 5:32 PM, Jeffrey Sessler j...@scrippscollege.edu wrote: Ethan, Where I would suggest spending some evaluation time is on the AP construction. Having had time to evaluate both the Aruba and Cisco AP's, there were doubts as to the Aruba's life-span when placed in our residential halls. The design (this was their 802.11n product), relied on venting and convection cooling, and it was unknown what would happen as dust-bunnies and other obstructions settled on those vents. Even in our lab the Aruba AP got hot, so much so that the metal shield on the ethernet connector was uncomfortable to the touch. The Cisco AP's on the other hand were 100% sealed, stayed cool, and the large aluminum casing is the heat sink. Between the two, it was felt the Cisco would be maintenance free while the Aruba might require attention (dusting off) from time to time. Point being, as you look at Aruba, HP, Meru, etc. make sure to keep the AP's design and planned deployment locations in mind. Jeff Ethan Sommer somm...@gac.edu 4/2/2010 6:25 PM As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go with those products. We are on a tight budget, so based on initial pricing we eliminated Cisco and Meru who seemed to be the most expensive (plus we don't like cisco for a number of other reasons). (As an aside, after posting here meru contacted me _and my boss_, which I believe is not allowed under this list's rules. In any case, I told them if they could provide a quote for a 200 dual radio complete system in the same ballpark as the other systems we're looking at, then we'll talk.) Our next steps are * To get quotes * And bring in the systems to do test runs in real life conditions. (We're going to try each out in one of the dorms and the library, each of which currently have 10 APs.) If we aren't in love with any of those systems, we'll widen our search. We have very limited resources, so if one comes in much cheaper than the others the question will be is that system good enough for us. Otherwise we'll pick the system that we think will work best for us. Based on talking with schools running Aruba and Meraki, I think either would be a great move forward for us. I've yet to hear of a school who chose either and regretted it. Ethan Mike Hydra wrote: What I personally find interesting is the wide choice not from a manufacturing point of view but more from a Wi-Fi technology point of view. Aruba – Controller based (aka controller based) All data goes through the controller, centralized architecture. HP – decentralized (Controller in not directly essential) Data path is separated from the management
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
And as Lee is swinging the 1142s, the song Eye of the Tiger would be playing, along with a slow-motion montage of various IT highlights from his career. :) Jeff Mike King m...@mpking.com 4/11/2010 5:46 PM On Sun, Apr 11, 2010 at 8:30 PM, Lee H Badman lhbad...@syr.edu wrote: If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco to swing around, simply based on heft. Based on that line, I had two images pop in my mind: The first one was Lee Swinging two 1142n (one in each hand) like a ninja. Two was Cisco new Marketing campaign. If I have to take an AP to a bar fight, I'd want a Cisco ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
Uhm, last I checked we have a box of broken 1142s. Everyone's APs fail. But rumors of heat related failure versus actual failure rate are just that. Rumors. I could easily start rumors regarding the auto radio reset and failure rate of some 1142 APs. --- Justin Hao j...@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas ITS - Networking On Apr 11, 2010, at 8:24 PM, Jeffrey Sessler j...@scrippscollege.edu wrote: Lifetime warranty is great, but it still costs time/money to have an IT staff member mount/dismount the AP and send it back for replacement. All things being equal, I'd rather mount the AP once, and the next time I visit it will be when it is life-cycled and replaced with the latest standard. Jeff Todd Lane t...@email.unc.edu 4/11/2010 5:46 PM We don't worry about our Aruba APs. They're covered by a lifetime warranty unlike the Cisco APs we were buying. Aruba Lifetime Warranty* The following Aruba indoor enterprise-grade wireless access points are covered by Aruba’s Lifetime Warranty if purchased after May 21, 2009: ● AP-60 ● AP-61 ● AP-65 ● AP-65WB ● AP-70 ● AP-105 ● AP-120 ● AP-120abg ● AP-121 ● AP-121abg ● AP-124 ● AP-124abg ● AP-125 ● AP-125abg ● RAP-5 ● RAP-5WN * Aruba Lifetime Warranty coverage remains in place for as long as you own the product, up to five years following Aruba announcement of end-of-sale of that product. Todd Lane University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill On 4/11/2010 6:31 PM, Jeffrey Sessler wrote: Ethan, Where I would suggest spending some evaluation time is on the AP construction. Having had time to evaluate both the Aruba and Cisco AP's, there were doubts as to the Aruba's life-span when placed in our residential halls. The design (this was their 802.11n product), relied on venting and convection cooling, and it was unknown what would happen as dust-bunnies and other obstructions settled on those vents. Even in our lab the Aruba AP got hot, so much so that the metal shield on the ethernet connector was uncomfortable to the touch. The Cisco AP's on the other hand were 100% sealed, stayed cool, and the large aluminum casing is the heat sink. Between the two, it was felt the Cisco would be maintenance free while the Aruba might require attention (dusting off) from time to time. Point being, as you look at Aruba, HP, Meru, etc. make sure to keep the AP's design and planned deployment locations in mind. Jeff Ethan Sommersomm...@gac.edu 4/2/2010 6:25 PM As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go with those products. We are on a tight budget, so based on initial pricing we eliminated Cisco and Meru who seemed to be the most expensive (plus we don't like cisco for a number of other reasons). (As an aside, after posting here meru contacted me _and my boss_, which I believe is not allowed under this list's rules. In any case, I told them if they could provide a quote for a 200 dual radio complete system in the same ballpark as the other systems we're looking at, then we'll talk.) Our next steps are * To get quotes * And bring in the systems to do test runs in real life conditions. (We're going to try each out in one of the dorms and the library, each of which currently have 10 APs.) If we aren't in love with any of those systems, we'll widen our search. We have very limited resources, so if one comes in much cheaper than the others the question will be is that system good enough for us. Otherwise we'll pick the system that we think will work best for us. Based on talking with schools running Aruba and Meraki, I think either would be a great move forward for us. I've yet to hear of a school who chose either and regretted it. Ethan Mike Hydra wrote: What I personally find interesting is the wide choice not from a manufacturing point of view but more from a Wi-Fi technology point of view. Aruba – Controller based (aka controller based) All data goes through the controller, centralized architecture. HP – decentralized (Controller in not directly essential) Data path is separated from the management path. Meraki – Cloud computing Centralized Cloud, not having to own controller hardware inside your own network. All three very different solutions. I’m looking forward to follow this email threat with the comments, thanks for sharing. I would recommend writing down a proof of concept and invite the vendors of your choice. In this way you’ve tested your requirement (out of your proof on concept) therefore convinced around the solution you buy is the right one. Good luck... Mike Hydra Cell: +31 6 29 07 18 96 Tel: +31 252 62 61 20 Fax: +31 252 68 88 37
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
The clarity is provided by the Antenna radiation patten. Which also highlights a shortcoming of the saucer shape of the 1142. The pattern for each spectrum is a lopsided circle viewed from above. Lopsided depeding on which side of the ap each radio is on becase the central body of the ap itself blocks each radio(and there's no easy way to tell which way the antenna are oriented). This skews your coverage, although the effect is minor, it's not what I prefer to see in an omni design. The 1142 also is definately not designed for wall mount. It's vertical plane is flattened (as expected for a ceiling mount ap). As well they don't offer a vertical mount (that I'm aware) of for the 1142. Feel free to ask your Cisco SE For the radiation pattern spec sheets for the 1142. They're also available on the cisco website but are poor visual quality. There should be very little reason for ever mounting an 1142 in a vertical orientation. Unless you just really enjoy buying more Cisco APs to make up for the oddly shaped and sized coverage. --- Justin Hao j...@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas ITS - Networking On Apr 11, 2010, at 8:36 PM, Lee H Badman lhbad...@syr.edu wrote: To your point, Justin- in my mind I still don't feel that Cisco has done a good job of providing clarity about the topic of wall- mounting. Sometimes that's all you can do, and the world doesn't come crashing to a halt. Would be nice to see them change their tune on this. From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Hao, Justin C [j...@austin.utexas.edu] Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2010 8:19 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki In the same line of examination you want to pay attention to ap performance and features. Cisco's 1142 does not have orientable antennas and does not support wall mount(vertical) placement. Also note the 2x3 mimo vs the 3x3 mimo between Cisco and Aruba. Cisco's only current option for wall mount 802.11n w/ discrete antennas is the monster 1250. The 1142 is also significantly larger than the AP125. So consider your installation environment and mounting options when selecting your Vendor. --- Justin Hao j...@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas ITS - Networking On Apr 11, 2010, at 5:32 PM, Jeffrey Sessler j...@scrippscollege.edu wrote: Ethan, Where I would suggest spending some evaluation time is on the AP construction. Having had time to evaluate both the Aruba and Cisco AP's, there were doubts as to the Aruba's life-span when placed in our residential halls. The design (this was their 802.11n product), relied on venting and convection cooling, and it was unknown what would happen as dust-bunnies and other obstructions settled on those vents. Even in our lab the Aruba AP got hot, so much so that the metal shield on the ethernet connector was uncomfortable to the touch. The Cisco AP's on the other hand were 100% sealed, stayed cool, and the large aluminum casing is the heat sink. Between the two, it was felt the Cisco would be maintenance free while the Aruba might require attention (dusting off) from time to time. Point being, as you look at Aruba, HP, Meru, etc. make sure to keep the AP's design and planned deployment locations in mind. Jeff Ethan Sommer somm...@gac.edu 4/2/2010 6:25 PM As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go with those products. We are on a tight budget, so based on initial pricing we eliminated Cisco and Meru who seemed to be the most expensive (plus we don't like cisco for a number of other reasons). (As an aside, after posting here meru contacted me _and my boss_, which I believe is not allowed under this list's rules. In any case, I told them if they could provide a quote for a 200 dual radio complete system in the same ballpark as the other systems we're looking at, then we'll talk.) Our next steps are * To get quotes * And bring in the systems to do test runs in real life conditions. (We're going to try each out in one of the dorms and the library, each of which currently have 10 APs.) If we aren't in love with any of those systems, we'll widen our search. We have very limited resources, so if one comes in much cheaper than the others the question will be is that system good enough for us. Otherwise we'll pick the system that we think will work best for us. Based on talking with schools running Aruba and Meraki, I think either would be a great move forward for us. I've yet to hear of a school who chose either
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
On Apr 2, 2010, at 11:21, Ethan Sommer wrote: To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? I've deployed Meraki for wireless in the Gates Computer Science building at Stanford. I'd be happy to answer any questions about our experience. No unpleasant surprises to speak of. -- // Miles Davis - mi...@cs.stanford.edu - http://www.cs.stanford.edu/~miles // Computer Science Department - Computer Facilities // Stanford University ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
cross-vendor with multiple MAC addresses on a single switch port or access points tying in correctly with different NAC solutions. ~Patrick From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Mike Hydra [mhy...@2fast4wireless.com] Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 4:01 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki What I personally find interesting is the wide choice not from a manufacturing point of view but more from a Wi-Fi technology point of view. Aruba – Controller based (aka controller based) All data goes through the controller, centralized architecture. HP – decentralized (Controller in not directly essential) Data path is separated from the management path. Meraki – Cloud computing Centralized Cloud, not having to own controller hardware inside your own network. All three very different solutions. I’m looking forward to follow this email threat with the comments, thanks for sharing. I would recommend writing down a proof of concept and invite the vendors of your choice. In this way you’ve tested your requirement (out of your proof on concept) therefore convinced around the solution you buy is the right one. Good luck... Mike Hydra Cell: +31 6 29 07 18 96 Tel: +31 252 62 61 20 Fax: +31 252 68 88 37 E-mail: mhy...@2fast4wireless.comUrlBlockedError.aspx Skype: Flying-Wireless-Dutchman Web: www.2fast4wireless.com From: Peter P Morrissey ppmor...@syr.eduUrlBlockedError.aspx Reply-To: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDUUrlBlockedError.aspx Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2010 22:47:26 +0200 To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDUUrlBlockedError.aspx Subject: Re: Aruba vs HP vs Meraki OK, so I'll ask. Why did you eliminate Cisco already? Pete M. -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Sommer Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 2:21 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDUUrlBlockedError.aspx Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.eduUrlBlockedError.aspx ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. The information in this e-mail is confidential and may be legally privileged. If you have received this e-mail in error, please reply to its sender indicating received in error in the subject line, then delete the e-mail and destroy any copies of it. If you are not its intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on this e-mail, is prohibited and may be unlawful. Internet communications are not considered secure. Information might be intercepted, amended, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or might contain viruses. 2 Fast 4 Wireless and/or 2 Fast 4 Wireless Corporation (USA) will not accept any liability with respect to the contents of this email and its attachments. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
I did look at Meraki early on- you are correct that I saw them before they added rogue detection. I will also add that I am gaining a much better familiarization with BlueSocket's vWLAN architecture (outside of my university duties), which I would describe in simplest terms as living somewhere between Meraki in the cloud and the heavy controller vendors. It is a very interesting system as well, with some distinct competitive advantages, and I would say that if you are open minded enough to be looking beyond the major players, BlueSocket is worth throwing in the mix. -Lee From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of John Rodkey [rod...@westmont.edu] Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 11:19 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki Reading Lee's review of Meraki, it appears that he demo'ed the system prior to their introduction of rogue detection. On Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 8:01 PM, John Rodkey rod...@westmont.edumailto:rod...@westmont.edu wrote: We moved from Aruba to Meraki within the last year. We were able to get considerably more saturation of the campus with wireless using Meraki than would have been possible for the same cost with Aruba. Administration of the access points was much more intuitive with Meraki than our experience with Aruba, and the functionality provided by the cloud-based controller is quite extensive. Deployment is very much plug and play: the WAPs auto-configure themselves. We've also used the mesh capability built into the Meraki products to extend coverage where we have power but no network connections. Meraki has been very responsive to us in dealing with the problems we have encountered. In retrospect, most of the problems were either Radius configuration or client computer problems. The few that weren't client/config problems were addressed quickly and professionally. We're happy with the results. Stats: we have 270 802.11N APs deployed, 2393 distinct clients. On Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 11:21 AM, Ethan Sommer somm...@gac.edumailto:somm...@gac.edu wrote: We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edumailto:somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
Just to add to this- I have looked extensively at AirWave as well, and we use WCS. Pay close attention to gaps between what the central management system can do and show, and what you still need to do directly on the controllers and even APs for config and debug. Sometimes you need to experience pain to get to where these differences are apparent, but the short takeaway: central management is usually not absolute, and it can be surprising and frustrating given the Cadillac price tags on these things. -Lee From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Hao, Justin C [j...@austin.utexas.edu] Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 9:48 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki And in the thread of management and monitoring I highly recommend you take a look at airwave(now owned by aruba). It's a relatively vendor neutral management and monitoring platform that i find really useful (it will manage and monitor a variety of vendors, cisco, Aruba, etc). Ask your Aruba sales contact for an airwave demo if they haven't offered yet. It is comparable to cisco's wcs offering (but better IMO) and lee is right, almost all of those solutions should be transparent to your users. YOU will have to deal with the administration and performance quirks so decide with that in mind. --- Justin Hao j...@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas ITS - Networking On Apr 2, 2010, at 8:30 PM, Lee H Badman lhbad...@syr.edu wrote: As for trying them- from the client perspective they will be indistinguishable if set up right. The big difference will be in management and monitoring- that's where you should concentrate. One man's Oh-Pinion. -Lee From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Sommer [somm...@gac.edu] Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 9:25 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go with those products. We are on a tight budget, so based on initial pricing we eliminated Cisco and Meru who seemed to be the most expensive (plus we don't like cisco for a number of other reasons). (As an aside, after posting here meru contacted me _and my boss_, which I believe is not allowed under this list's rules. In any case, I told them if they could provide a quote for a 200 dual radio complete system in the same ballpark as the other systems we're looking at, then we'll talk.) Our next steps are * To get quotes * And bring in the systems to do test runs in real life conditions. (We're going to try each out in one of the dorms and the library, each of which currently have 10 APs.) If we aren't in love with any of those systems, we'll widen our search. We have very limited resources, so if one comes in much cheaper than the others the question will be is that system good enough for us. Otherwise we'll pick the system that we think will work best for us. Based on talking with schools running Aruba and Meraki, I think either would be a great move forward for us. I've yet to hear of a school who chose either and regretted it. Ethan Mike Hydra wrote: What I personally find interesting is the wide choice not from a manufacturing point of view but more from a Wi-Fi technology point of view. Aruba – Controller based (aka controller based) All data goes through the controller, centralized architecture. HP – decentralized (Controller in not directly essential) Data path is separated from the management path. Meraki – Cloud computing Centralized Cloud, not having to own controller hardware inside your own network. All three very different solutions. I’m looking forward to follow this email threat with the comments, thanks for sharing. I would recommend writing down a proof of concept and invite the vendors of your choice. In this way you’ve tested your requirement (out of your proof on concept) therefore convinced around the solution you buy is the right one. Good luck... Mike Hydra Cell: +31 6 29 07 18 96 Tel: +31 252 62 61 20 Fax: +31 252 68 88 37 E-mail: mhy...@2fast4wireless.com Skype: Flying-Wireless-Dutchman Web: www.2fast4wireless.com --- - *From: *Peter P Morrissey ppmor...@syr.edu *Reply-To: *The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU *Date: *Fri, 2 Apr 2010 22:47:26 +0200 *To: *WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU *Subject
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
Ethan, We have a solid Aruba deployment for ~5,000 APs and ~40 controllers. In terms of cost, definitely anticipate licensing costs. However, Aruba recently combined much of their feature set into the base OS and/or 1 or 2 licenses. To get the most of your deployment, you'll definitely want the Policy Enforcement Firewall license (PEF) and if you have a need for IDS capabilities, you'll want the Wireless Intrusion Protection license (WIP). Both of those licenses are sold in terms of number of APs, so you'd be looking at getting a couple controllers, 200+ APs, AP licenses, PEF licenses, and WIP licenses. We played with Meraki a bit. It works. It isn't as applicable for a deployment of our size, but it may be a good solution depending on ROI. Good luck on your decision! == Ryan Holland Network Engineer, Wireless Office of the Chief Information Officer The Ohio State University 614-292-9906 holland@osu.edu On Apr 2, 2010, at 2:21 PM, Ethan Sommer wrote: We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. -- BEGIN-ANTISPAM-VOTING-LINKS -- Teach CanIt if this mail (ID 1020786410) is spam: Spam:https://antispam.osu.edu/b.php?i=1020786410m=a10512335d01c=s Not spam:https://antispam.osu.edu/b.php?i=1020786410m=a10512335d01c=n Forget vote: https://antispam.osu.edu/b.php?i=1020786410m=a10512335d01c=f -- END-ANTISPAM-VOTING-LINKS ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs. HP vs. Meraki
Hi Ethan, After extensive investigation we adopted the Aruba Solution about 3 years ago and have been very pleased. We have a slightly smaller deployment with 160 A/B/G APS deployed and beginning our N role out with 5 N AP-125s deployed. Instead of hidden costs several of the features that were originally paid additions are now included in base licenses. We use Bradford Campus Manager for our student authentication and role based access. We use 802.1X 256/AES encryption using radius from our AD servers for faculty and staff. I can't speak about the other systems but the Aruba Wireless is a set and forget solution. No Regrets at all. Chris Drever - PSU Networking (The opinions expressed herein are my personal opinions and not that of Plymouth State University) -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Sommer Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 2:21 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
OK, so I'll ask. Why did you eliminate Cisco already? Pete M. -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Sommer Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 2:21 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
I have done limited evaluation of Meraki- see this: http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/reviews/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=219500319 Though by day I am in a controller-based world, part of me really sees the appeal of not having to deal with controllers and appreciates what Meraki is doing. If your environment is a good fit, I wouldn't hesitate to consider them. They are a class act. -Lee From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Sommer [somm...@gac.edu] Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 2:21 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
Amen Lee! Just like Ethernet did 20 years ago - get rid of the central core router. Happy Easter! Chad Frisby Xirrus, Inc. 954.707.8855 chad.fri...@xirrus.com On Apr 2, 2010, at 5:55 PM, Lee H Badman lhbad...@syr.edu wrote: I have done limited evaluation of Meraki- see this: http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/reviews/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=219500319 Though by day I am in a controller-based world, part of me really sees the appeal of not having to deal with controllers and appreciates what Meraki is doing. If your environment is a good fit, I wouldn't hesitate to consider them. They are a class act. -Lee From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Sommer [somm...@gac.edu] Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 2:21 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/ . ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/ . ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
Anti-Cisco here for the exact same reasons, among others. We're currently on HP Procurve-based A/B/G wireless gear and controllers (WES modules in a 5412zl switch). This summer, we'll be adding their next-gen controllers that support wireless A/B/G/N and provide a more decentralized approach during normal operation. Over time (2 or 3 years, likely), well phase out the existing A/B/G gear and then take the older controllers offline as well. We considered Xirrus, but liked the more granular approach we'll take with HP and the fact that HP has some other wireless options we can use where necessary. We're small... about 100 A/B/G access points right now and 48 new A/B/G/N access points awaiting installation. Scott Scott Lowe Chief Information Officer Westminster College 501 Westminster Ave. Fulton, MO 65251 Twitter: @scottdlowe From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Sommer [somm...@gac.edu] Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 5:58 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki We are an anti cisco shop. We moved away to hp and didn't look back. Their smartnet philosophy just doesn't work in our environment. We are looking at hp primarily because we use hp swittch gear. Then we chose a sampling of other brands we know other schools are happy with. We are open to considering other brands with good references, who will let us demo 10 aps, that will cost us about 100k for a 200 ap system. -- Sent from my Palm Pre On Apr 2, 2010 5:01 PM, Devin Akin de...@aerohive.com wrote: Ethan, Was the narrowing process done based on specs or perhaps a list of criteria that they had to meet? Obviously there are lots of methods of buying (best of breed, best of brand, bake-off/performance-test, etc)...so I was just curious as to how you narrowed it down (since someone else was asking about 'why not Cisco') thanks! Devin K. Akin Chief Wi-Fi Architect Aerohive Networks E: de...@aerohive.commailto:de...@aerohive.com C: +1.404.483.2681 O: +1.770.854.8554 W: www.Aerohive.com/ischttps://webmail.westminster-mo.edu/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx (See our Infinitely Scalable Controller!) We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edumailto:somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
It's this apparent shifting strategy of HP that would make me nervous. Isn't the new stuff and the old totally incompatible? If we were talking very old gear it might be reasonable but isn't the WES stuff pretty new? And yes we switched from Cisco to the ProCurve WES based models and I was very displeased to learn that it was all EOL shortly after. -James James Gutholm Assoc. Dir. Computing and Communications The Evergreen State College 2700 Evergreen Parkway NW , Olympia, WA 98505 360.867.6635 On Apr 2, 2010, at 4:33 PM, Lowe, Scott wrote: Anti-Cisco here for the exact same reasons, among others. We're currently on HP Procurve-based A/B/G wireless gear and controllers (WES modules in a 5412zl switch). This summer, we'll be adding their next-gen controllers that support wireless A/B/G/N and provide a more decentralized approach during normal operation. Over time (2 or 3 years, likely), well phase out the existing A/B/G gear and then take the older controllers offline as well. We considered Xirrus, but liked the more granular approach we'll take with HP and the fact that HP has some other wireless options we can use where necessary. We're small... about 100 A/B/G access points right now and 48 new A/B/G/N access points awaiting installation. Scott Scott Lowe Chief Information Officer Westminster College 501 Westminster Ave. Fulton, MO 65251 Twitter: @scottdlowe From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Sommer [somm...@gac.edu] Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 5:58 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki We are an anti cisco shop. We moved away to hp and didn't look back. Their smartnet philosophy just doesn't work in our environment. We are looking at hp primarily because we use hp swittch gear. Then we chose a sampling of other brands we know other schools are happy with. We are open to considering other brands with good references, who will let us demo 10 aps, that will cost us about 100k for a 200 ap system. -- Sent from my Palm Pre On Apr 2, 2010 5:01 PM, Devin Akin de...@aerohive.com wrote: Ethan, Was the narrowing process done based on specs or perhaps a list of criteria that they had to meet? Obviously there are lots of methods of buying (best of breed, best of brand, bake-off/performance-test, etc)...so I was just curious as to how you narrowed it down (since someone else was asking about 'why not Cisco') thanks! Devin K. Akin Chief Wi-Fi Architect Aerohive Networks E: de...@aerohive.com C: +1.404.483.2681 O: +1.770.854.8554 W: www.Aerohive.com/isc (See our Infinitely Scalable Controller!) We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
RE: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
As for trying them- from the client perspective they will be indistinguishable if set up right. The big difference will be in management and monitoring- that's where you should concentrate. One man's Oh-Pinion. -Lee From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Sommer [somm...@gac.edu] Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 9:25 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go with those products. We are on a tight budget, so based on initial pricing we eliminated Cisco and Meru who seemed to be the most expensive (plus we don't like cisco for a number of other reasons). (As an aside, after posting here meru contacted me _and my boss_, which I believe is not allowed under this list's rules. In any case, I told them if they could provide a quote for a 200 dual radio complete system in the same ballpark as the other systems we're looking at, then we'll talk.) Our next steps are * To get quotes * And bring in the systems to do test runs in real life conditions. (We're going to try each out in one of the dorms and the library, each of which currently have 10 APs.) If we aren't in love with any of those systems, we'll widen our search. We have very limited resources, so if one comes in much cheaper than the others the question will be is that system good enough for us. Otherwise we'll pick the system that we think will work best for us. Based on talking with schools running Aruba and Meraki, I think either would be a great move forward for us. I've yet to hear of a school who chose either and regretted it. Ethan Mike Hydra wrote: What I personally find interesting is the wide choice not from a manufacturing point of view but more from a Wi-Fi technology point of view. Aruba – Controller based (aka controller based) All data goes through the controller, centralized architecture. HP – decentralized (Controller in not directly essential) Data path is separated from the management path. Meraki – Cloud computing Centralized Cloud, not having to own controller hardware inside your own network. All three very different solutions. I’m looking forward to follow this email threat with the comments, thanks for sharing. I would recommend writing down a proof of concept and invite the vendors of your choice. In this way you’ve tested your requirement (out of your proof on concept) therefore convinced around the solution you buy is the right one. Good luck... Mike Hydra Cell: +31 6 29 07 18 96 Tel: +31 252 62 61 20 Fax: +31 252 68 88 37 E-mail: mhy...@2fast4wireless.com Skype: Flying-Wireless-Dutchman Web: www.2fast4wireless.com *From: *Peter P Morrissey ppmor...@syr.edu *Reply-To: *The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU *Date: *Fri, 2 Apr 2010 22:47:26 +0200 *To: *WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU *Subject: *Re: Aruba vs HP vs Meraki OK, so I'll ask. Why did you eliminate Cisco already? Pete M. -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Sommer Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 2:21 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
And in the thread of management and monitoring I highly recommend you take a look at airwave(now owned by aruba). It's a relatively vendor neutral management and monitoring platform that i find really useful (it will manage and monitor a variety of vendors, cisco, Aruba, etc). Ask your Aruba sales contact for an airwave demo if they haven't offered yet. It is comparable to cisco's wcs offering (but better IMO) and lee is right, almost all of those solutions should be transparent to your users. YOU will have to deal with the administration and performance quirks so decide with that in mind. --- Justin Hao j...@austin.utexas.edu University of Texas ITS - Networking On Apr 2, 2010, at 8:30 PM, Lee H Badman lhbad...@syr.edu wrote: As for trying them- from the client perspective they will be indistinguishable if set up right. The big difference will be in management and monitoring- that's where you should concentrate. One man's Oh-Pinion. -Lee From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Sommer [somm...@gac.edu] Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 9:25 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki As I said in another post we selected our finalists based on what others colleges seem happy with (which by a wide margin seems to be mostly cisco, aruba, and meru) and HP because we already have a HP infrastructure. My assumption is that all of you are smart and there is a reason you all chose to go with those products. We are on a tight budget, so based on initial pricing we eliminated Cisco and Meru who seemed to be the most expensive (plus we don't like cisco for a number of other reasons). (As an aside, after posting here meru contacted me _and my boss_, which I believe is not allowed under this list's rules. In any case, I told them if they could provide a quote for a 200 dual radio complete system in the same ballpark as the other systems we're looking at, then we'll talk.) Our next steps are * To get quotes * And bring in the systems to do test runs in real life conditions. (We're going to try each out in one of the dorms and the library, each of which currently have 10 APs.) If we aren't in love with any of those systems, we'll widen our search. We have very limited resources, so if one comes in much cheaper than the others the question will be is that system good enough for us. Otherwise we'll pick the system that we think will work best for us. Based on talking with schools running Aruba and Meraki, I think either would be a great move forward for us. I've yet to hear of a school who chose either and regretted it. Ethan Mike Hydra wrote: What I personally find interesting is the wide choice not from a manufacturing point of view but more from a Wi-Fi technology point of view. Aruba – Controller based (aka controller based) All data goes through the controller, centralized architecture. HP – decentralized (Controller in not directly essential) Data path is separated from the management path. Meraki – Cloud computing Centralized Cloud, not having to own controller hardware inside your own network. All three very different solutions. I’m looking forward to follow this email threat with the comments, thanks for sharing. I would recommend writing down a proof of concept and invite the vendors of your choice. In this way you’ve tested your requirement (out of your proof on concept) therefore convinced around the solution you buy is the right one. Good luck... Mike Hydra Cell: +31 6 29 07 18 96 Tel: +31 252 62 61 20 Fax: +31 252 68 88 37 E-mail: mhy...@2fast4wireless.com Skype: Flying-Wireless-Dutchman Web: www.2fast4wireless.com --- - *From: *Peter P Morrissey ppmor...@syr.edu *Reply-To: *The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU *Date: *Fri, 2 Apr 2010 22:47:26 +0200 *To: *WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU *Subject: *Re: Aruba vs HP vs Meraki OK, so I'll ask. Why did you eliminate Cisco already? Pete M. -Original Message- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Sommer Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 2:21 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2
Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Aruba vs HP vs Meraki
We moved from Aruba to Meraki within the last year. We were able to get considerably more saturation of the campus with wireless using Meraki than would have been possible for the same cost with Aruba. Administration of the access points was much more intuitive with Meraki than our experience with Aruba, and the functionality provided by the cloud-based controller is quite extensive. Deployment is very much plug and play: the WAPs auto-configure themselves. We've also used the mesh capability built into the Meraki products to extend coverage where we have power but no network connections. Meraki has been very responsive to us in dealing with the problems we have encountered. In retrospect, most of the problems were either Radius configuration or client computer problems. The few that weren't client/config problems were addressed quickly and professionally. We're happy with the results. Stats: we have 270 802.11N APs deployed, 2393 distinct clients. On Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 11:21 AM, Ethan Sommer somm...@gac.edu wrote: We are considering replacing our 200+ AP wireless infrastructure with a controller based 802.11n system. I believe we have narrowed it down to Aruba, HP Procurve (we use HP switch gear), and Meraki. I have two questions: 1. Are there any hidden costs we should watch out for with any of these (particularly Aruba.) Will we hit major costs other than the up front cost for the APs and the controllers? 2. I know a lot of schools are very happily using Aruba, but I haven't heard of any schools using HP and very few using Meraki. Are there any schools who have gone with Aruba and regretted it? If so, why? Are there any schools out there using HP Procurve (formerly Colubrius) or Merkai? What do you think of them? Did you have any surprises after you deployed? Ethan -- Ethan Sommer Associate Director of Core Services 507-933-7042 somm...@gustavus.edu ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
