Does Central have to be replaced to use Avalon?

No. The two can coexist: Central for radio monitoring and the Aruba estate, Avalon for configuration, backups, compliance and service deployment across every brand.

Does Avalon manage Wi-Fi access points?

No, it does not configure them: there is no access point driver and no wireless management. What Avalon does handle is the port the access point hangs on, which is often where the work actually is: the port mode, the VLANs it carries, and the propagation of those VLANs along the whole switch chain up to the core. The catalogue also carries a WLAN controller device type, so the controller appears on the map in its own right.

Do devices need to be replaced to use Avalon?

No. Avalon queries and configures existing equipment through its native interfaces. There is no agent to install and no hardware to replace.

Does Avalon work without internet access?

Yes. The deployment is designed to run entirely on site, including in isolated environments.

An Aruba Central alternative for estates that are not all Aruba

HPE Aruba Networking Central manages an Aruba network well, and since 2025 it also installs on your own site, air-gapped environments included. Hosting is therefore no longer the subject. Two things are still worth a look before committing: what happens to the part of the network that is not Aruba, and who decides how your infrastructure is described.

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The service does not stop at the access switch

Opening a network service for a new use means touching the access port, the transport links and the perimeter security. The firewall is rarely the same brand as the switches, and neither are the uplinks to the core.

A vendor platform stops at the edge of its catalogue. The rest of the path falls back on the team, by hand or in scripts. Avalon models the path end to end, firewall included, and deploys the service across the whole switching and routing part of it.

Aruba CX, standalone as well as VSX and VSF
HP Comware and HP ProCurve, the rest of the HPE estate
Cisco Catalyst on IOS and Nexus on NX-OS
Huawei VRP, including stacks and virtual chassis
Hirschmann for industrial networks
Palo Alto and Stormshield firewalls, recognised and placed on the map

Not seeing yours? Support for a new vendor usually takes five to ten days of development and is handled case by case. Tell us which one.

You stay in charge of your architecture

Avalon imposes no hierarchy, no structure and no operating process. It discovers the network as it is, builds its topology, and lets you organise it along your own criteria. No modelling work is required before deploying a first configuration.

That matters particularly where an integrator designed the architecture: it stays theirs and yours, and the platform aligns with it rather than rewriting it.

Engineering rules rather than templates

A template describes a configuration and you decide where to apply it. An engineering rule describes an intent and the conditions under which it applies, based on filters over device model, interface type, VLANs or port names.

Network access control is the best example: you express a rule that makes deployment conditional on the operational state observed, and it applies across the whole relevant estate in minutes, whatever the brands along the way.

A light platform, quick to put to the test

The Avalon appliance consumes 4 vCPUs, 8 GB of memory and 160 GB of disk. It boots in a few minutes, and discovering an estate of several hundred devices is measured in hours.

The evaluation licence is free for 30 days and covers up to 500 devices, on your own infrastructure.

Frequently asked questions

Does Central have to be replaced to use Avalon?: No. The two can coexist: Central for radio monitoring and the Aruba estate, Avalon for configuration, backups, compliance and service deployment across every brand.
Does Avalon manage Wi-Fi access points?: No, it does not configure them: there is no access point driver and no wireless management. What Avalon does handle is the port the access point hangs on, which is often where the work actually is: the port mode, the VLANs it carries, and the propagation of those VLANs along the whole switch chain up to the core. The catalogue also carries a WLAN controller device type, so the controller appears on the map in its own right.
Do devices need to be replaced to use Avalon?: No. Avalon queries and configures existing equipment through its native interfaces. There is no agent to install and no hardware to replace.
Does Avalon work without internet access?: Yes. The deployment is designed to run entirely on site, including in isolated environments.

Offers

Avalon is available under a transparent yearly subscription, based on the number of managed IP devices alone.

Yearly subscription, no hidden fees
One license per device (switch stacks count as a single license)
Decreasing cost per device as your network scales
Guaranteed price stability, with no unexpected increases year over year
Every feature included, no add-on modules

Designed with network engineers

Benefit from a platform shaped through real-world deployments and continuous collaboration with network teams.

Real customers!

University Hospital of Limoges — Olivier H. Network Administrator

Airbus Atlantic — Mathieu S. Network & Security Architect

Compare it on your own network

Thirty days, up to 500 devices, on your infrastructure, with no meeting first. You will see what Avalon discovers of your estate before you decide.