Cloud Managed Networks

Just finished watching the Webinar introducing the new 7xx Access Points. They look pretty nice, though it will probably be a while before we would start looking at them. One thing they didn't mention, but that someone asked the question of, was if AOS10.x was the only supported version and if Aruba Central would be absolutely required to manage these APs. The answer... was YES.

The sites I work with require features and security a bit beyond what the Instant On products offer, but are relatively small. I've been using Central for some of them, and find it 'okay'. But it's way over-powered for what I use it for, and then not all that often. It also takes me just as long to complete a task in central as it does to reach out to a Remote Management PC and use the console. So those clients would appreciate the savings of not having to 'pay for' the licenses since there is no real benefit.

Announcements like this give me pause, though. Even with Aruba (sorry... HPE Networking/Aruba!) proclaiming how their experience is 'subscription-free', is there any indication this is a future direction they will be taking with most, if not all, of their products?

You know there is Instant APs as well. Instant APs are different from InstantOn and they can be managed by Aruba Central or not.

Most of the APs do support Instant and they can also be upgraded to AOS10 as well.

Just finished watching the Webinar introducing the new 7xx Access Points. They look pretty nice, though it will probably be a while before we would start looking at them. One thing they didn't mention, but that someone asked the question of, was if AOS10.x was the only supported version and if Aruba Central would be absolutely required to manage these APs. The answer... was YES.

The sites I work with require features and security a bit beyond what the Instant On products offer, but are relatively small. I've been using Central for some of them, and find it 'okay'. But it's way over-powered for what I use it for, and then not all that often. It also takes me just as long to complete a task in central as it does to reach out to a Remote Management PC and use the console. So those clients would appreciate the savings of not having to 'pay for' the licenses since there is no real benefit.

Announcements like this give me pause, though. Even with Aruba (sorry... HPE Networking/Aruba!) proclaiming how their experience is 'subscription-free', is there any indication this is a future direction they will be taking with most, if not all, of their products?