Cisco Wireless Reviews

We have an advanced pervasive Cisco wireless deployment across five sites in the US. We are an industrial manufacturer that has a very harsh RF environment. We make powder metal which, when in the air, makes wireless a nightmare.

We use/have used: Cisco 5520, 5508, 4400, 3504, 2504 and NME-AIR (ISR based module) controllers.

• APs today are 2800 and 1500 Series APs.  We have in the past used 1200, 3500 Series APs.
• We do a large wireless VOIP deployment at all sites too using Cisco 7921 and 8821 wireless phones.
• We do OEAP WLC for teleworkers with 1810t APs connected to a 3504 in our DMZ
• We have a MSE server for CleanAir
• Prime for management
• Work group bridges to passive IOT devices (Cranes, network PLCs,  cameras, etc.)
• Bridges to other remote buildings

We have wireless in nearly every inch of our building for voice and data access.  We can deploy our network anywhere we need it to be. It works very well. Our environment as a powder metal manufacturer makes WiFi very hard. It is like a rain storm and headlights. Cisco’s product has made a big difference in our plants.

The detail in the controller is hard to beat.

Always getting the latest and great is important to me. I think as long as they keep staying on top of their product it will be a good thing. No major issues other than the fact that it is not the easiest to use without experience. If you need a simpler setup, look at Meraki.

It is an extremely stable and scalable solution. Their documentation and support are also very good.

There is no technology without room for improvement. The main setback with Cisco solutions, not only with Cisco Wireless, is having to update the OS manually. We are now migrating to Miraki, so we've been able to work that out. 

There is also a small gap in the space of compatibility.

We've been deploying Cisco Wireless in our environment for over 20 years.

It is extremely stable.

It is extremely scalable.

Their support is very good, and their documentation is also very good.

We have only been working with Cisco Wireless. We are a partner and reseller.

Its implementation is not complex. I have trained experts working with me, so it is not at all complex.

Its price is a bit high. It is more expensive than its competitors, but when I look at the return on investment, it is worth it.

If budget is an issue, then you can go for a cheaper option. If you're not planning for a big environment, you don't necessarily need to invest in Cisco because of the price.

I would rate it an eight out of 10. Overall, I am very satisfied with this solution.

The support from Cisco is always excellent. It's often better than other options, including Aruba.

The product has so many features. If there are maybe a hundred features, a typical organization may only need 60 or 65 at maximum. There's a wide variety of options to choose from.  

The stability is great. It's very reliable. 

You can do multiple layers with the new OS that Cisco offers. 

The new OS streamlines the Cisco offering and it's been very good. 

The solution can scale well.

Cisco moved from the 5000 series, which was a different OS, to a newer OS, right. The 9800, for example, practically improved how a wireless switch or wireless controller should work, which was not so good in terms of Cisco in the earlier versions. It's improved a lot, however, if you are using older versions, you are on a different OS, and it's not as good as it is now. 

Older versions used to be hard to deploy. The latest OS, however, has made things a lot easier. While deployment is much better, it could always be even easier. 

The interface could be improved. 

I've been using the solution for five years or so. We used it for a while, then left it, then came back to it. 

The stability is very good. I can't find any fault. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's very reliable. 

The scalability is nice. 

We have about 10,000 to 12,000 or so users on the solution right now. 

I'm not sure if we plan to increase usage. We are already 100% covered. 

Technical support from Cisco is very good. It's always been much better than its competitors in this regard. We are quite satisfied with how helpful and responsive they continue to be. There is no equivalent on the market. They simply will not let you down.

I currently also use Aruba. I also have worked with Extreme. 

There are very similar devices and have the same features for the most part. Both are stable and excellent in terms of capabilities. Cisco, however, does offer better support.

The initial setup is now pretty straightforward. Cisco came out with a new OS that streamlined everything - including the initial setup. Where Aruba used to be easier (in terms of implementation), Cisco, with its newest updates, has very much improved and they are neck and neck in terms of ease of setup.

I can get a Cisco network up and running n 30 minutes. If someone knows how a Cisco controller works, I am sure, even with the HA, that person can build one full working controller within one hour. For me, in a lab set up with a virtual machine, in a maximum of 30 minutes, I can bring it up and make a small network work. Within one hour I can do that setup.

I can handle the initial setup myself using the GUI for the controller. 

We don't really see Cisco as a solution that provides an ROI. It's more of a required service for us. 

The licensing is usually for an average of three years, depending on what we buy.

There may be some add-ons that could cost a bit more. 

While, typically, Cisco is a little bit more costly, the costs also depend on your relationship with Cisco.

I'm a customer and an end-user.

We are using versions six and eight, a mix of both.

We tend to use the on-premises deployment model as we are in healthcare and there are restrictions on what we can do with the cloud and what we cannot do with the cloud.

For those considering the solution, I'd advise them to make sure the support is good in their area or for the solution you choose and that there are knowledgeable people around so that if there are any issues, they can be addressed. 

I would rate the solution at a seven out of ten.

Some of my clients have used this product as a Mobility Express Solution and a Mobility Controller. There are numerous potential use cases for this product.

The ability to make different types of networks, such as land networks, is the most valuable part of the solution.

There are some areas of improvement in roaming and streaming.

In the next release, I would like to see VPN features and the client match feature available in Aruba Wireless. Additionally, I would like a feature to see where a particular client is during roaming and the information about a client should be shared better throughout their connection activity.

I have been using the solution for approximately four years.

The stability is very good.

The solution is scalable. It is great because if you have an enterprise, you can deploy the solutions with the network controllers physically or with the Mobility Express you can make a cluster without the controller. We have 20 to 30 clients and at our main office, we have 200 employees which use the solution wirelessly.

The technical support is great, I never had any problem with them. When I needed support or to make a ticket they always responded to me.

My clients, and I, have used Ruckus networks previously. My clients wanted to move to Cisco because they know the value Cisco offers and are thinking of implement some IoT solutions in the future, they wanted top quality. Later they also found Cisco is a little bit easier to implement.

I did not have any problems doing the installation. I had enough step by step information from Cisco to follow and with the troubleshooting.

It took me approximately three months to deploy the solution, but this involved going to different parts of Ecuador to fully implement it. The deployment took two engineers to put the AP physically into place.

The price is a little high. However, you get what you pay for. The quality of the product is high, you will find it is worth the money. There is some additional cost, for example, customer support.

I have evaluated Aruba Wireless in the past, they had some features Cisco does not that were useful.

I recommend this product because it is easy to implement, and it has good performance with utilities that are needed within the office.

I rate Cisco Wireless a nine out of ten.

We are primarily using the solution for wireless connectivity and expedience.

The basic features of the solution are excellent. 

The product has very good internet and internal systems for general applications.

Technical support is pretty good.

We've found the product to be fairly stable.

The solution can scale.

The initial setup is pretty straightforward.

For the customer, it would be ideal if the solution had more global reach. It's a bit complicated to explain, however.

The documentation can be a bit confusing. It would be better if it was easier to follow.

We're hoping that the solution will work well with 5G.

In Latin America, Cisco is very expensive in comparison to other technologies.

I've been using the solution for maybe one year at this point.

The solution is very stable. There are issues with bugs or glitches. It's reliable. It doesn't crash or freeze at all.

The solution is extremely scalable. Cisco makes it very easy for a company to expand the offering if they need to. It's a good selling feature.

I would say 60% of the technical support team are very experienced in the solution. They are quite good to work with, for the most part. We're quite satisfied with the level of support we get from them. That said, I wish that the documentation provided by the company could be better.

The initial setup is not complex at all. Cisco makes the implementation very, very easy.

I'm not an IT technician and therefore don't know exactly how long a deployment takes. I don't install the solution personally by myself.

The cost of the solution is quite high in our region. It would be better if they could take cost into consideration in Latin America to make it more reasonable for local companies.

We're a partner with Cisco. We aren't just a customer.

Overall, I would rate the solution eight out of ten. If it was more reasonably priced for the local market, I might create it a bit higher.

Survey/design and deploy Cisco Wireless (3500/3600/3700) in hospitals/universities.  The object was 100% coverage with RTLS support.

The challenges are RF propagation control and saturation with RRM. Another is future-proofing capacity. In the 3700 series, ATF was the limiting factor in Cisco’s solution.

Compared to other solutions, captive guest network is one of the best isolation and tunneling. All other features of RF are average.

• The ability to disable RRM or set hybrid RRM. This provides a more granular design of RF in the environment.
• CLI controller/RF debugging.

• RRM
• ATF
• Ortho-Polarization
• AP concurrent client processing

No issues with stability.

Performance issues.

I would rate tech support 7.5 out of 10 on the RF side. Overall, it’s what you would expect for Cisco.

Switched to Cisco because of upper-level decision.

Pretty straightforward if you understand RF and what the options mean on the WLC.

Expensive.

Aruba, Aerohive, Ruckus, UBNT, Mikrotik.

I’ve been working with Cisco Wireless since 2008. Although CPI and controllers have come a long way, the AP is the limiting factor. There are a lot of assumptions in the controller algorithm.

Don’t just conduct a passive survey. Set up three APs and do an active survey with RRM enabled among three.

Cisco’s wireless solution is a seven out of 10, in my experience, compared to other solutions. It has limitations on the polarization processing.

We use Cisco Wireless for wireless connection.

The most valuable feature of the solution is reliability.

The solution could be cheaper and have a better web interface.

I have been using Cisco Wireless for ten years.

I rate the solution ten out of ten for stability.

I rate the solution a nine out of ten for scalability.

The solution’s technical support is average.

The solution’s initial setup is complex, and an average user will not be able to do it. You need to know the command line to deploy Cisco Wireless.

Users have to pay a yearly licensing fee for Cisco Wireless.

The solution can be deployed both on-premises and on the cloud. You need to be very technical to deploy and maintain the solution. I would recommend the solution to other users.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

There are some features I would like to have in Cisco Wireless, such as Telemetry and other IoT. However, they are available in the new version of the solution.

I have been using Cisco Wireless for approximately 15 years.

Cisco Wireless solutions are highly scalable.

The solution is highly scalable. I have about 60 access points and it is scalable with a thousand access points.

The technical support from Cisco is good.

The initial setup of Cisco Wireless is easy.

The process involves taking the Cisco Wireless device and adding it to the network. You connect the device to the controller, and then the controller can be configured. It's very quick and easy.

The price of Cisco Wireless equipment is expensive.

Cisco has introduced a subscription pricing model where you have to always pay and renew.

I plan to change to a Catalyst 9800 next year.

If companies already have Cisco wireless infrastructure, the deployment of this solution will be easy.

I rate Cisco Wireless a nine out of ten.