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 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/. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > 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. 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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/. > -- 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/.
