Faucet vs HPE Aruba Networking Fabric Composer
Faucet
faucet.nzHPE Aruba Networking Fabric Composer
arubanetworking.hpe.comSide by side
| Figure | Faucet | HPE Aruba Networking Fabric Composer |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 6 |
| Spec score · Software-Defined Networking Software | 7.3 (#10) | 7.3 (#11) |
| High availability | The maker describes high availability by running redundant controllers on separate hardware with the same configuration, without state sharing between them. | It can be installed as a single instance or as a highly available three-node cluster. |
| Integrations | The documentation lists integrations including doveSnap, pipette, Poseidon, DAQ, Forch, and a GNS3 Faucet appliance. | Supported integration packs include HPE Aruba Networking NetEdit, HPE iLO Amplifier, ODIM, HPE SimpliVity, Nutanix Prism, Pensando PSM, VMware NSX-T, VMware vSphere and vSAN, and VMware Cloud Foundation SDDC Manager. |
Plans
HPE Aruba Networking Fabric Composer
- Device Management Service Tier 3 Switch 1y Subscription E-STUPrice not published
- Device Management Service Tier 3 Switch 3y Subscription E-STUPrice not published
- Device Management Service Tier 3 Switch 5y Subscription E-STUPrice not published
- Device Management Service Tier 4 Switch 1y Subscription E-STUPrice not published
- Device Management Service Tier 4 Switch 3y Subscription E-STUPrice not published
- Device Management Service Tier 4 Switch 5y Subscription E-STUPrice not published
In their own words
Faucet
Faucet is a free, open-source OpenFlow controller for network operators managing production networks and OpenFlow hardware. It moves routing, neighbour discovery and switching algorithms into vendor-independent server software with a centralised control plane. Faucet controls OpenFlow 1.3.x switches with multiple tables and group tables, supporting VLANs, IPv4 and IPv6, static and BGP routing, access control lists, port mirroring and switch stacking. Policy-based forwarding can offload processing to external systems, including 802.1X through hostapd. YAML provides network configuration, with a documented command for checking configuration before loading it. Installation options include pip3, apt-get and Docker; the guide places Faucet with Gauge, Prometheus and Grafana, while InfluxDB supplies time-series statistics. TLS can protect the switch control channel, and fail-secure or fail-standalone modes are available. High availability uses redundant controllers with matching configuration but no shared state. Faucet runs on Linux and self-hosted deployments and is licensed under Apache-2.0.
HPE Aruba Networking Fabric Composer
HPE Aruba Networking Fabric Composer is a paid, API-based orchestration solution for day-to-day operations across rack-scale compute and storage infrastructure. It provides unified network and security management for HPE Aruba Networking CX platforms, including switch configurations and firewall policies. Guided workflows automate discovery, leaf-spine deployment, VSX, BGP or OSPF underlay, BGP EVPN overlay, VLAN groups, VRF, EVPN, firmware services, and micro-segmentation. Version 7.4.0 supports up to 500 switches. Integration packs include NetEdit, HPE iLO Amplifier, ODIM, HPE SimpliVity, Nutanix Prism, Pensando PSM, and VMware environments. Fabric Composer centrally orchestrates segmentation, stateless ACLs, and stateful distributed-firewall policies, with separate NetOps and SecOps roles for Aruba CX 10K switches. It is delivered as an ISO or virtual-machine OVA for virtual or physical hosts, running as one instance or a highly available three-node cluster. Audit logs record actions, users, roles, endpoints, and session details.