# Cisco Meraki SD-WAN vs HPE Aruba EdgeConnect: which do AI models recommend for SD-WAN, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, SD-WAN. Three of fourteen models named Cisco Meraki SD-WAN first on the direct prompt; two named HPE Aruba EdgeConnect. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/network/sd-wan/cisco-meraki-sd-wan-vs-hpe-aruba-edgeconnect/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco Meraki SD-WAN | 19% | #2 of 10 | 19% | 43 | 13 of 14 |
| HPE Aruba EdgeConnect | 4% | #5 of 10 | 13% | 30 | 12 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Grok 4.1 Fast: cisco meraki sd-wan first (first choices: Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: cisco meraki sd-wan first (first choices: Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: cisco meraki sd-wan first (first choices: Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, FatPipe SD-WAN, HPE Aruba EdgeConnect)
- Mistral Small: hpe aruba edgeconnect first (first choices: HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN) (alternatives: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN)
- MiniMax M2.5: hpe aruba edgeconnect first (first choices: HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cisco Meraki SD-WAN)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Cato SASE Cloud, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN)
- Kimi K2: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named (first choices: Cato SASE Cloud) (alternatives: Aryaka, Comcast Business, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, MetTel, Windstream)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN) (alternatives: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither named (first choices: Cato SASE Cloud) (alternatives: Barracuda SecureEdge SD-WAN, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN)

## What the models said about Cisco Meraki SD-WAN

- "Unlike competitors (like Cisco Meraki or VeloCloud), you do not need to pay a premium bandwidth-based or SD-WAN-specific license" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "Great for ease of use and unified Wi-Fi management, though slightly less granular control than the dedicated players above." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, scale prompt, soft negative)
- "there is no escape valve. Once you commit to Meraki licenses, you will pay their price increases indefinitely" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "I would generally recommend Cisco Meraki SD-WAN if you want the best balance of simplicity, fast deployment, and reliable midmarket fit" (Perplexity Sonar, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "Cloud-managed, dead-simple setup (zero-touch provisioning), great for distributed B2B sites... Meraki/Fortinet shine for ease/cost" (Grok 4.1 Fast, direct prompt, first choice)
- "If your budget is tight right now and you cannot afford large upfront hardware purchases, Meraki is arguably the best option." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about HPE Aruba EdgeConnect

- "What to Avoid: Silver Peak (now Aruba/HPE) - Not recommended for mid-market due to high price point and locked hardware" (MiniMax M2.5, paraphrase prompt, hard negative)
- "HPE's history of discontinuing products or rebranding means that an SD-WAN controller you love today could become unsupported" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Historically, Silver Peak (now part of HPE) and Citrix/VMware SD-WAN solutions had critical vulnerabilities" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Instead, consider platforms like Fortinet Secure SD-WAN or Aruba EdgeConnect" (Mistral Small, negative prompt, first choice)
- "Similar capabilities, also recommended for mid-market" (MiniMax M2.5, direct prompt, first choice)
- "VMware SD-WAN and Aruba EdgeConnect are top choices" (Mistral Small, direct prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.