Ken, Phillipe makes some good points in making sure you consider initial capital investment vs. longer-term operational costs. I'm not sure where the two vendors stand in comparison to each other these days. I can say as an Aruba house, I have not been disappointed by their product. We deployed over 4000 AP70s over the last three years with little more than a skeletal deployment and support team. For all intensive purposes - with some help from an external contractor for installation only, we ended up adding a net total of one network engineer to support our wireless infrastructure of close to 5000 APs. Most of the more routine support tasks were able to be easily absorbed into our existing NOC and tech teams without significant impact - and we still haven't purchased Airwave which should reduce that load even further. For the record as an aside to an earlier post, unless something has changed recently the Airwave platform is hardware agnostic and will support almost any legacy devices you have on your network in addition to Aruba or any new products you purchase.
I really think the Aruba feature that deserves the most credit for this operational benefit is the Adaptive Radio Management (ARM). The algorithms behind ARM 1.0 are solid and significantly minimize the amount of design time and all but eliminate the routine RF maintenance required for a WLAN. Although this does take some experience and intelligent design to be most effective. From what we've seen and tested of the ARM 2.0 features, they promise to improve on the original version exponentially. Aside from that, we've had almost 0 hardware issues with the controllers and APs - less than a .05% failure rate. Finally the fact that the controllers are a discreet part of our network and feature adds and bug fixes in the form of routine firmware patches are well spaced out and seem fairly well tested, makes for smooth maintenance windows during upgrades. I haven't worked with latest Cisco products directly, but from some of the stories I have heard or read on this list, it seems Aruba wins in this category, specifically in relation to the WiSMs. All that being said, in my 8+ years of experience in the network world and 14+ in the world of tech. hardware, I've yet to see the perfect product - here's the part where some of the Aruba guys reading this may be cringing - unnecessarily of course :) I think this is just the nature of technology. Specifically cutting edge tech. To say we didn't run into some problems with the Aruba platform would be false and likely undermine the plausibility of my advocacy to my more experienced colleagues. As a customer with one of the largest deployed L3 mobility domains we definitely pushed the scalability limits of their code and products. Furthermore the available documentation on their earlier OS releases was sparse at best. However, what truly makes Aruba shine for me as compared to other vendors I have dealt with over the years, is their willingness to actively address these issues - at their cost and apparently in the interest of building long-term relationships with their customers. I like to think - and this may only be partially true at best - that we here at the UW were somewhat instrumental in some of the enhancements to their new hardware lines as well as many of the changes that went in to the 3.x code. I KNOW we were instrumental in the far more robust set of documentation available for 3.x :) In the end, I think it's this attention to the customer and the detail of the customer's needs by both the local and regional sales staff as well as the development and engineering groups in Sunnyvale that sets them apart from many other vendors I've had the pleasure (or displeasure) to work with over the years. Ken, I hope this helps a little, and feel free to contact me directly if you have more detailed questions. ___________________________________ Jim Galiardi Network Specialist, Network Systems UW Technology University of Washington (206)616-0397 Box 354150 -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:wireless-...@listserv.educause.edu] On Behalf Of Philippe Hanset Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 7:45 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: Comments about Aruba and Cisco???? --Apple-Mail-18--700226682 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed; delsp=yes Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Ken, Factors that we have considered in our wireless vendor analysis and =20 that are beyond the controller but can make a big difference in implementation and =20 cost are: -Form factor of the AP (size of AP, brackets, cost of antennas..) -Power requirements for full 3X3 802.11n capacity (eg: can a off-the-=20 shelve midspan support the AP or does it require a proprietary solution for full 802.11n =20 capabilities) Other factors: -Yearly support cost -Bandwidth capacity of controllers when 802.11n is considered (10 GE capable...) -Power requirements of controllers (Green data centers) -Ease of Management and monitoring (can change your number of FTEs =20 drastically) -Ease of configuration -How good is the self controlled radio management -What are the web-portal capabilities (visitor network etc) Regards, Philippe Hanset Univ. of TN On Jan 27, 2009, at 8:59 PM, Johnson, Ken wrote: > All, > > I am a member of an evaluation team at Florida State University =20 > considering Cisco and Aruba wireless products. We are focusing on =20 > LWAPs and controllers. For evaluation configuration and pricing =20 > purposes, we have requested from the companies information and =20 > pricing relating to configurations with 128 and 1200 APs. The Aruba =20= > LWAP is the AP125 while Cisco LWAP is the recently release 1142. The =20= > Aruba controller is the M3 while the Cisco product is the WiSM. =20 > There are other aspects, too. I know many of you have experience =20 > with Cisco and Aruba and have gone through similar experiences. I am =20= > interested in learning about any observations and experiences you =20 > have that we should consider in our efforts. Please send me your =20 > thoughts. > > Thanks. > > Ken > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > Ken Johnson > > Director, Information Technology > > FSU College of Medicine > > 1115 Call Street > > Tallahassee, FL 32306-4300 > > e-mail: ken.john...@med.fsu.edu > > phone: 850.644.9396 > > cell: 850.443.7300 > > fax: 850.644.5584 > > > > =93Please note: Florida has very broad public records laws. > > Most written communications to or from state/university > > employees and students are public records and available > > to the public and media upon request. Your e-mail > > communications may therefore be subject to public disclosure.=94 > > > > ********** Participation and subscription information for this =20 > EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at = http://www.educause.edu/groups/=20 > . > ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. --Apple-Mail-18--700226682 Content-Type: text/html; charset=WINDOWS-1252 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; = "><div>Ken,</div><div><br></div><div>Factors that we have considered in = our wireless vendor analysis and that are beyond</div><div>the = controller but can make a big difference in implementation and cost = are:</div><div>-Form factor of the AP (size of AP, brackets, cost = of antennas..)</div><div>-Power requirements for full 3X3 802.11n = capacity (eg: can a off-the-shelve midspan support</div><div>the AP or = does it require a proprietary solution for full 802.11n = capabilities)</div><div><br></div><div>Other = factors:</div><div><br></div><div>-Yearly support = cost</div><div>-Bandwidth capacity of controllers when 802.11n is = considered</div><div>(10 GE capable...)</div><div>-Power requirements of = controllers (Green data centers) </div><div>-Ease of Management = and monitoring (can change your number of FTEs = drastically)</div><div>-Ease of configuration</div><div>-How good is the = self controlled radio management</div><div>-What are the web-portal = capabilities (visitor network = etc)</div><div><br></div><div>Regards,</div><div><br></div><div>Philippe = Hanset</div><div>Univ. of TN</div><div><br></div><br><div><div>On Jan = 27, 2009, at 8:59 PM, Johnson, Ken wrote:</div><br = class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type=3D"cite"><span = class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; color: = rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: = normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: = normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: = 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: = 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; = -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: = auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div lang=3D"EN-US" link=3D"blue" = vlink=3D"purple"><div class=3D"Section1"><p class=3D"MsoNormal" = style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; = margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: = Cambria, serif; "><span style=3D"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; = color: rgb(99, 36, 35); ">All,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal"= style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; = margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: = Cambria, serif; "><span style=3D"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; = color: rgb(99, 36, 35); ">I am a member of an evaluation team at Florida = State University considering Cisco and Aruba wireless products. We are = focusing on LWAPs and controllers. For evaluation configuration and = pricing purposes, we have requested from the companies information and = pricing relating to configurations with 128 and 1200 APs. The Aruba LWAP = is the AP125 while Cisco LWAP is the recently release 1142. The Aruba = controller is the M3 while the Cisco product is the WiSM. There are = other aspects, too. I know many of you have experience with Cisco and = Aruba and have gone through similar experiences. I am interested in = learning about any observations and experiences you have that we should = consider in our efforts. Please send me your = thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-top:= 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; = line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; "><span = style=3D"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(99, 36, 35); = ">Thanks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-top:= 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; = line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; "><span = style=3D"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(99, 36, 35); = ">Ken<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-top: = 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; = line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; "><span = style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: = rgb(99, 36, 35); ">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<o:p></o:p></span></p><p = class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; = margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: = 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; "><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; = font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(99, 36, 35); ">Ken = Johnson<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-top: = 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; = line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; "><span = style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: = rgb(99, 36, 35); ">Director, Information = Technology<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" = style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; = margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: = Cambria, serif; "><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri, = sans-serif; color: rgb(99, 36, 35); ">FSU College of = Medicine<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-top: = 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; = line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; "><span = style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: = rgb(99, 36, 35); ">1115 Call Street<o:p></o:p></span></p><p = class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; = margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: = 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; "><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; = font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(99, 36, 35); ">Tallahassee, = FL 32306-4300<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" = style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; = margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: = Cambria, serif; "><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri, = sans-serif; color: rgb(99, 36, 35); ">e-mail:<span = class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><a = href=3D"mailto:ken.john...@med.fsu.edu"; style=3D"color: blue; = text-decoration: underline; = ">ken.john...@med.fsu.edu</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" = style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; = margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: = Cambria, serif; "><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri, = sans-serif; color: rgb(99, 36, 35); ">phone: = 850.644.9396<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" = style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; = margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: = Cambria, serif; "><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri, = sans-serif; color: rgb(99, 36, 35); ">cell: = 850.443.7300<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" = style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; = margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: = Cambria, serif; "><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri, = sans-serif; color: rgb(99, 36, 35); ">fax: = 850.644.5584<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" = style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; = margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: = Cambria, serif; "><span style=3D"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; = color: rgb(99, 36, 35); "><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p = class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; = margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: = 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; "><i><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; = font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(99, 36, 35); ">=93Please = note: Florida has very broad public records = laws.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-top:= 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; = line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; = "><i><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; = color: rgb(99, 36, 35); ">Most written communications to or from = state/university<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" = style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; = margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: = Cambria, serif; "><i><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: = Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(99, 36, 35); ">employees and students = are public records and available<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p = class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; = margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: = 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; "><i><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; = font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(99, 36, 35); ">to the = public and media upon request. Your e-mail<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p = class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; = margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: = 11pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; "><i><span style=3D"font-size: 10pt; = font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(99, 36, 35); = ">communications may therefore be subject to public = disclosure.=94<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=3D"MsoNormal" = style=3D"margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; = margin-left: 0in; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: = Cambria, serif; "><o:p> </o:p></p></div>********** Participation = and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group = discussion list can be found at<span = class=3D"Apple-converted-space"> </span><a = href=3D"http://www.educause.edu/groups/"; style=3D"color: blue; = text-decoration: underline; = ">http://www.educause.edu/groups/</a>.<div><br = class=3D"webkit-block-placeholder"></div></div></span></blockquote></div><= br></body></html>= ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. <p> --Apple-Mail-18--700226682-- ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
