PACKETPERF

Primary Device

Aruba (HPE) Aruba 9106 Gateway
Aruba (HPE) Aruba 9106 Gateway
★ 4.3 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Wi-Fi Standard: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
  • Spatial Streams (MIMO): 4x4 MU-MIMO
  • Aggregate Throughput: 2.4 Gbps
  • Radios: Dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz)
  • 2.4 GHz Throughput: 574 Mbps (802.11ax)
  • 5 GHz Throughput: 1.2 Gbps (802.11ax)
  • Uplink Port Speed: Multi-Gigabit (10GBase-T capable with optional modules)
  • Max Clients: 250+
  • PoE Requirement: 95W (High Power PoE)
  • Form Factor: Compact wall-mount or ceiling-mount
  • Security: WPA3, 802.1X, Built-in WIPS

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Exceptional Wi-Fi 6 performance with high client density support; Integrated wireless controller reduces infrastructure complexity; Strong enterprise security features with WPA3 and threat detection; Flexible deployment (wall/ceiling mount); Excellent range and coverage
  • ✘ Cons: High power consumption requires robust PoE infrastructure; Limited to wireless access point role, not a standalone gateway/firewall; Expensive upfront licensing for management and analytics; Proprietary controller integration required; May be overkill for small deployments
  • Est. Price: $1,200 - $1,800

Compare Against

Aruba (HPE) 9240 Campus Gateway
Aruba (HPE) 9240 Campus Gateway
★ 3.4 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Firewall Throughput: 40 Gbps (with Gold License) / 20 Gbps (Base)
  • Threat Prevention Throughput: Up to 40 Gbps (includes L4-7 Deep Packet Inspection)
  • IPsec VPN Throughput: 40 Gbps (AES-GCM-256)
  • Max Sessions: 4,000,000 (AOS-10)
  • New Sessions/sec: Not Specified
  • Interfaces: 4x SFP28 (1G/10G/25G), 1x Expansion Slot, 1x RJ-45 Console
  • Form Factor: 1U Rackmount

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Exceptional scalability supporting up to 2,048 APs and 64,000 clients; high-speed 25GbE SFP28 interfaces; flexible performance scaling via Silver/Gold software licenses; integrated L4-L7 stateful firewall with DPI; AOS-10 cloud-native management support.
  • ✘ Cons: Very high initial hardware cost; requires additional recurring licenses for maximum throughput and management; limited port density compared to traditional switches; high power consumption for a 1U appliance.
  • Est. Price: $21,000 - $30,000

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