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AirMagnet Survey vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 2, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

AirMagnet Survey
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Network Modeling and Simulation (2nd), Network Troubleshooting (8th)
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
117
Ranking in other categories
Wireless LAN (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

AirMagnet Survey and Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. AirMagnet Survey is designed for Network Modeling and Simulation and holds a mindshare of 36.9%, down 37.8% compared to last year.
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN, on the other hand, focuses on Wireless LAN, holds 13.0% mindshare, up 12.4% since last year.
Network Modeling and Simulation
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

David Olofson - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 12, 2022
It fixes so many problems quickly that we don't regret spending more on high-end tools than most companies
It would be nice to have some more training resources for younger techs. We can use them if we need some assistance, but that usually requires one of us who knows what we're doing to calibrate the programs properly. There's one thing our nXG handhelds do that AirMagnet doesn't do out of the box. The nXG devices can analyze the wired and wireless networks simultaneously and map the networks out. We find it handy. However, if I have that plugged into our older OptiView XG tablets or our laptops, I have no way to analyze both the WiFi and the wired network at the same time and build a single picture with all that data. So far, that's something only our nXG handhelds can do. It would be nice if there were a way to integrate all the network discovery, troubleshooting, and mapping of the WiFi and the wired at the same time. There are almost no products that do that currently. If they managed to do that, they'd probably open up their market pretty quickly.
JoseAlmonte - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 8, 2023
Offers good mobility, stability and scalability
The main company is a hotel resort with around 120 rooms. They have approximately 90 devices deployed throughout the complex, and they haven't had any issues with the streamlined version or established information Cisco offers a service where they provide internet access to clients. This allows…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It is reliable and easy to use (user-friendly). The heat mapping, passive network surveying, and doing the heat mapping of a building's wireless network allows me to see what level of coverage an area has."
"The AirMagnet Survey allows you to see the list of APs in the live view. It only supports certain adapters, which can be limiting, but it's also beneficial because these adapters are more comparable to real-life devices like laptops. With Ekahau, Sidekick needs to be used for full features, but I find the Sidekick too strong, which can hamper results. Therefore, I prefer AirMagnet's approach because the adapters provide more realistic readings."
"The addition of the AirMapper software on the nXG and our AirCheck G2s has helped a lot because we're mostly not drilling down into the data. Local managers only need to see the coverage on their end and whether there are performance bottlenecks. These things are easy enough for us to ascertain with iPerf."
"The most valuable feature is the predictive survey. The antennas' RF patterns are reflected correctly on the drawing when preparing predictive heat maps."
"The predictive survey is the most valuable feature. I use it quite often."
"The heat maps are quite good, and some features are easy to use."
"Clear and easy to use maps."
"The most valuable features are the survey, spectrum analysis, and reporting."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the application visibility, which is one of the main features."
"I think the IoT integration is the most valuable. I started applying IoT solutions 12 years ago on location-based services. Aruba had implemented this at the time. So I think the integration, particularly into the applications and stuff, is pretty interesting in Meraki."
"The most valuable features in Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN are that we were able to see all the registered users for each particular WAP, which is a big help. The roaming allows us to have continuous wireless throughout the building. The signal can carry over from one WAP to another. Which is probably the most important feature."
"What I like best about Meraki is that I can change it from anywhere."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is that it is fast and does the job."
"The solution is trustworthy. I find it easy and secure."
"Integrating with the router, firewall, and Wireless Controller is advantageous."
"Allows for cloud-based management of your Wi-Fi network."
 

Cons

"The surveying features are in need of improvement, along with general usability."
"When you conduct an active survey and then want to use it for design work, it's actually not very useful."
"It would be nice to have some more training resources for younger techs. We can use them if we need some assistance, but that usually requires one of us who knows what we're doing to calibrate the programs properly."
"Printouts are JPEG printouts. The AirMagnet software is proprietary. I can't send my customers a file, because it is AirMagnet file, even for building projects. I can only send JPEGs or screenshots of heat maps."
"AirMagnet Survey doesn't cover certain devices in the system."
"The throughput should be more advanced in the future. They need to add more versions of WiFi than just one."
"The user interface needs a lot of improvement. The auto-placement of access points is not accurate."
"Less time consumed doing the real surveys."
"It would be useful to have a service management platform integrated within this solution where we can measure the customer experience."
"Quality of technical support varies."
"The initial setup could be made easier."
"An area for improvement would be that Meraki doesn't work well in a warehouse environment. The device is too sensitive to other wireless devices, which provokes noise and can require a reboot to erase this."
"Despite being enabled, I've encountered an issue where the alert main dashboard fails to detect when any of the devices go down. Hence, the tool's notification feature should improve. We have also faced issues with integration."
"The price could be slightly lowered to make it more competitive in the market."
"The logging sometimes doesn't give us the granularity needed. Some of the rules are a bit more complicated. The switch ports on the routers are not individually addressable, in the sense that with a switch you can tell what MAC address is on what port but with the security appliances, you can't, which would be beneficial for troubleshooting."
"Licensing is, in my opinion, the least appealing component. It can be difficult to keep licenses up to date in order for the system to function properly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is an annual cost of the solution. There are some additional charges, such as support and maintenance."
"The licensing of AirMagnet Survey is different when compared to Ekahu. It is a third of the cost of Ekahau but there are no dedicated laptops to the Sidekick. AirMagnet allows you to license an adapter and share that adapter."
"For technical support, you need an annual license, but it is not worth it."
"This product is very expensive."
"The moment we began needing more of the vendor's support, the cost became very high; we switched to another solution."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"The tool's pricing is medium."
"The solution could improve the licensing structure and the price is expensive."
"It is a relatively expensive solution compared to traditional network alternatives."
"​If you are wondering if Meraki can work for you, contact one of their representatives because they will do onsite trials where you can set up their system. If it does not work, you can send it back to them for no charge.​​"
"We don't like the licensing model and we think that it needs to be improved significantly."
"At this price point, I would not mind seeing a four-way channel, instead of a 3x3 or a 4x4, like they do in the Cisco Aironet system with their other brand. For the same price point in this other Cisco brand, it is a lot cheaper, and you can get a slightly better throughput than you can with these."
"Negotiate the deal put in front of you!"
"My client has made comments on the price, indicating it is expensive, however you do receive a lot for the money that you did spend on the solution. The price of the annual renewal of the licensing of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is a little high. We wish the price would drop."
"The pricing is on the higher side."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
11%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
21%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AirMagnet Survey?
We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks.
What needs improvement with AirMagnet Survey?
AirMagnet Survey needs to support Wi-Fi 6E otherwise they can lose to the competition. They also need to allow better grouping of SSIDs to one AP, removing the need to filter manually. At the momen...
What is your primary use case for AirMagnet Survey?
We use AirMagnet Survey, for site verifications after the wireless system has been installed. We conduct pre and post-install surveys with it. We have reduced the use since now our customers requir...
What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...
Which is better - Cisco Wireless or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to be very reliable and to consistently run very efficiently. Cisco Wireless helpe...
How does Ruckus Wireless compare to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco’s Meraki Virtual MX is a virtual instance of the Meraki SD-WAN appliance. We liked the Meraki. The Wifi APs are a great feature. The dashboard is a simple interface and easy to learn. It feat...
 

Also Known As

No data available
MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Houston Methodist Hospital, Love's Travel Stops
Advanced Medical Transport, Banco de Guayaquil, Baylor Scott & White Health, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Calligaris, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Del Papa Distributing, Department of Justice, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Hertz, K&L Gates , LightEdge, Lone Star College System, Management Science Associates, Mindtree, NBC Olympics, Quest, Sony Corporation, The Department of Education in Western Australia, Valley Proteins
Find out what your peers are saying about Ekahau, NetAlly, iBwave and others in Network Modeling and Simulation. Updated: October 2024.
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