So we're in a position where we're about to completely replace our wireless infrastructure from the ground up. Reason being is our Cisco Wireless LAN Controller is soon to be EOS and 90% of the hundreds of APs we have are also about to be EOS.
Rewind a few years ago and we used Cisco everywhere. Now we're getting Juniper for routing and switching and using Palo Alto for firewalls and things couldn't be nicer.
If we were to stick with Cisco I know exactly what model WLC and APs I need. However, since we're replacing everything wireless, it got me thinking about alternatives to Cisco. I've personally only ever used a Cisco WLC but I keep hearing aruba pop up here from time to time and would love to try them out too.
At the end of the day, we just want the best possible solution. We toyed around with the idea of aruba in the past but tossed it aside since we didn't have the budget to re-purchase hundreds of access points. Now things are a little different and the current access points must go.
I guess my question is, is Cisco the "best" in terms of wireless? Is Aruba better? Or do they all do the same thing and is it just preference?
Aside from the EOL/EOS issues with the current system, my complaints are the WLC GUI is a buggy piece of garbage and out of the box visibility is meh at best. Other than that, it seems to do everything we need. In terms of requirements of the new system, Enterprise WPA2 / 802.1X, External captive portal for guest access, local switching ( aka flex connect in Cisco terminology), and of course central management for the hundreds of access points (across hundreds of locations, just 2-4APs per location).
I'm in the process of getting some aruba demo units to test drive and I'm very interested in what the community things based on your own experiences.
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