Competitive test: Aruba 10-times faster than Cisco Meraki

Cisco Hardware Quotes Call Toll Free 877-549-2680 or 828-277-7272

Brad Reese speaks out
Learn more about Brad Reese...
Archive

Aironet

Competitive Lab Tests

Tech Forums

How-to Tutorials

CCIE Gossip

Products tested

Products Tested	Quantity	Spatial Streams
Aruba Instant 135	1	3x3:3
Cisco Merkai MR24	1	3x3:3
Aerohive AP330	1	3x3:3

Source: Aruba Networks

Client devices tested

Client Devices	Quantity	Spatial Streams
Laptops: Dell 6300 and MacBook Pro	20	3x3:3
iPad 2	20	1x1:1
iPhone	20	1x1:1

Source: Aruba Networks

Test bed setup

Source: Aruba Networks

Download speeds at high density

With smartphones, Aruba was 10-times faster than Cisco Meraki and more than two-times faster than Aerohive. With a mix of clients, Aruba Instant is more than two-times faster than both competitors.

Source: Aruba Networks

Video streaming (5 Mbps)

The max number of laptops connected before video quality degraded was 33 for Instant, 21 for Aerohive, and 15 for Meraki — that's 50% more than Aerohive and 100% more than Cisco Meraki.

Source: Aruba Networks

Performance with spectrum scanning (Mbps)

While the Cisco Meraki AP could not serve clients while scanning, the Aerohive AP eked by with just 19 Mbps streams, while the Aruba Instant maintained 235 Mbps.

Source: Aruba Networks

Self-healing from interference

The Aruba Instant AP changed from Channel 1 to Channel 6 within 30 seconds of turning on the interference source.

All Cisco Meraki APs were rendered unusable by the presence of a non-802.11n video bridge interference source. The Wi-Fi client connected to the AP lost connectivity to the network and was unable to reconnect within 60 minutes.

The Aerohive AP disconnected Wi-Fi clients and remained unusable for about two minutes until the AP changed channels.

Aruba Instant vs. Cisco Meraki and Aerohive performance test summary

Test Case	Aruba Instant	Aerohive	Cisco Meraki
TCP downstream throughput for 20 iPhones in 2.4 Ghz (Mbps)	31	15	3
TCP downstream throughput for 20 iPhones, 20 laptops, 20 tablets on one AP (Mbps)	100	48	45
Multicast 5-Mbps video stream to max. number laptops on the network	31	21	15
Performance when spectrum scanning is enabled while sending TCP downstream to a single laptop (Mbps)	235	19	0
Self-healing — Does the AP change channels to avoid interference?	Yes	Yes	No

Source: Aruba Networks

View Aruba's entire test results.

For quotes on Aruba's new cloud Wi-Fi products:

Email Reggie Grant or call Reggie directly at 828-277-7272.

Aruba Central is available now and is priced at U.S. list $140 per access point, annually.

The Aruba Instant 155 is available now with pricing starting at $895, U.S. list.

The Instant 225 is available starting in October 2013 and prices begin at U.S. list $1,295.

The new Aruba Instant OS version 3.3 software is available now, free of charge for existing Aruba Instant customers.

The Aruba S1500 Mobility Access Switch 24- and 48- port models are available now and the 12-port model will be available in late 2013, with pricing starting at $1,595 U.S. List.