Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs iBwave Wi-Fi comparison

The compared Cisco and iBwave solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco is ranked #4 in Wireless LAN , with an average rating of 8.3, and holds a 13.0% mindshare in the category. iBwave is ranked #3 in NM , with an average rating of 8.5, and holds a 14.5% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of iBwave users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 8, 2024

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and iBwave Wi-Fi compete in the wireless networking space. Cisco Meraki provides a more comprehensive solution due to its seamless integration and management tools.

Features: Cisco Meraki features cloud management, consistent security protocols, and scalability. iBwave Wi-Fi provides specialized tools for network design, predicting coverage, and capacity planning.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Meraki could improve in offering more advanced network design tools, heatmap generation, and 3D modeling capabilities. iBwave Wi-Fi could enhance its ease of management, integration capabilities, and offer better suite of security protocols.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki offers an intuitive deployment model with extensive support options, recognized for easy setup and reliable customer service. iBwave Wi-Fi requires more technical expertise for deployment, focusing on detailed planning and integration.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Meraki involves a higher upfront cost due to its comprehensive features but offers a good return on investment through efficient management and scalability. iBwave Wi-Fi, while potentially having a lower initial cost, emphasizes detailed network design, leading to significant long-term savings for technical needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Wireless LAN Report (Updated: November 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Wireless LAN

November 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Juniper Mist Wireless Acces...

Mindshare comparison

Wireless LAN

Network Modeling and Simulation

Featured Reviews

Gyan Sharma

Assistant Programmer at Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha

Offers good performance, good solution and smooth implementation

I do have a suggestion: it would be helpful to have even stronger security features to help protect against interference from other nearby access points that aren't part of our network. If there are access points from other brands installed nearby; they can cause interference and disrupt the range of our Mist access points. So, the security features could be stronger, especially in terms of authentication. The connectivity is excellent, but security needs improvement. In future releases, integrating more AI features would be beneficial. If Mist had stronger AI features, it could provide better security against network threats and cyberattacks. So, this solution still needs to improve its AI capabilities. It would be great if the AI could improve the range of the access points, and auto-protect functionality should be there to avoid interference by other nearby access points and enhance threat detection. In the future, I'd like to see stronger threat detection features integrated with Mist, as well as better detection of nearby access points that might cause interference.

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Danila Fradeani

Strategie, Innovazione e Customer Experience â€“ Analytics & Customer Experience (CEX) Manager at Telecom Italia

Simple-to-use platform with a centralized management system

Deploying Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is relatively easy for our colleagues in the delivery department. They face challenges in planning, learning critical issues, and finding solutions during deployment. However, our team has gained valuable experience handling such deployments over the past three to four years. Currently, I am not directly involved in the configuration, design, or delivery analysis. However, maintenance may present more challenges for us. Our primary proposal for network solutions typically involves Cisco Meraki because our team has a long-standing familiarity and confidence in Cisco technologies. However, we also work with Fortinet, depending on the specific requirements of our customers. We offer both options to ensure we meet the diverse needs of our clients. I rate it an eight out of ten.

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Gopi R S

Senior Radio Frequncy DAS Design Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees

Enhanced accuracy in design projects with advanced three-dimensional modeling and great support

I am using iBwave Wi-Fi for a project where we are designing on campus. It is used for large venue designs such as a university campus, and my work involves optimizing and validating the designs for accuracy before site surveys Using iBwave Wi-Fi, I am able to provide more accurate results for…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the solution is Marvis, the AI-driven network management system."

"The AI capabilities of Mist Wireless are superior to other OEMs."

"The artificial intelligence feature is very good."

"The most valuable feature of Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series) is the ability to troubleshoot ports on the network. Additionally, when there is an update on the APs they are able to reboot quickly reducing downtime. Other solutions have a longer downtime when updates are done."

"The solution is stable."

"Overall, we've been very pleased with the performance."

"The simplicity is great."

"The solution is very secure."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points pros

"I really don't have any problems with the stability of the product."

"The solution ensures seamless connectivity as users move within the office. Six installed Meraki APs provide excellent coverage for around three hundred users, offering reliable speeds. Additionally, the system allows guests and users with priority devices to connect using their SAP ID. The traffic is managed through D and G controllers to meet the specified requirements for continuous connection and speed."

"It makes the process much easier by providing visibility and centralized control over the network."

"The monitoring device enables you to see the network health."

"The most valuable feature is the stability. It works and doesn't stop."

"The solution is fast."

"It's simple to manage when there's a problem."

"Cloud managed wireless LAN product that's stable and scalable. It's an easy to deploy and easy to troubleshoot solution."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"The solution's 3D imaging is amazing."

"The most valuable features of iBwave Wi-Fi include the critical three dimensional modeling capabilities, which are necessary for tasks like locating access points, determining their height, and cable routing."

"The stability and feature set of the application are top notch and can't be matched."

"It can speed up design."

"Compared to other tools, iBwave Wi-Fi provides 95% accuracy and generates heatmaps."

"The 3D Coverage is a good feature that shows the signal propagation in three dimensions."

"I find the high-quality Heatmap generation, multi-floor, and wire mapping features to be most valuable."

"iBwave Wi-Fi's tech support is great. They pick up their phones. I have no complaints."

Cons

"If you want to do more specific stuff, it's a bit limited."

"It would be helpful to have even stronger security features to help protect against interference from other nearby access points that aren't part of our network."

"Improvement is needed in the user-friendliness of Juniper Mist, particularly in enhancing the interaction with AI features."

"The solution is expensive."

"The price could be better."

"Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points’ support services need improvement."

"The pricing is very high in the Indian market."

"Supporting multiple protocols would be beneficial."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points cons

"The issue primarily revolves around failure to renew the license on time, leading to service termination."

"They could also add some more controls for guest access. For example, when you have a captive portal, it would be nice to limit the amount of time users can stay connected per day. Right now, you can only configure the splash frequency. And you can set the connection for one hour, but you have to use the billing feature."

"The integration options with third-party applications need enhancement."

"The licensing isn't very customer-centric. They may have improved it, but previously, if you forgot to pay on a certain day, your service would be shut off."

"Its price should be reduced."

"Updating the equipment and the scheme they use to bill for the license could be improved."

"The way Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN groups certain things, as far as the devices for either monitoring and or configuring them should be done better. They should be grouped a little bit differently because if I want to configure something, a different setting on an SSID, I have to go to their specific area where I would have thought it should be clumped as a dropdown menu in another area."

"There is only one particular thing that needs improvement. Sometimes, for example, when you need to open a ticket, although it's under the umbrella of Cisco, you still need to go to the Meraki support."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

"The cost of the solution could be improved. It's extraordinarily expensive."

"iBwave Wi-Fi doesn't have a distributor feed platform."

"iBwave Wi-Fi could be improved by adding a plot for overall improvement, allowing us to see where we are failing in design parameters, similar to features in Ekahau."

"It would be good if we could involve a visual while designing the backhaul."

"I would like to be able to see two buildings at the same time so that you can create a campus view."

"Areas of improvement would include more functionality in the Mobile App, expanded reporting features, and some shortcut features."

"It would do iBwave well to become more involved with their clients."

"I am currently looking for an alternative due to my reluctance with the reliability of this product."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the pricing an eight out of ten."

"I rate the product price as a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is inexpensive, and ten is expensive. It is a reasonably priced tool."

"We pay maybe 1000 SEK per year, per access point."

"I rate Juniper Mist's pricing a ten out of ten since it is expensive."

"If a customer has a budget of around five lakhs in Indian currency, they can afford Juniper products."

"The pricing is something Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series) can work on. The pricing is very high compared to the competition."

"The solution is expensive."

"The pricing is too high."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points pricing and cost advice

"We don't like the licensing model and we think that it needs to be improved significantly."

"It is super expensive for what you get. You also have to buy a license every year. Otherwise, it stops working."

"The platform is more expensive than other solutions."

"I would say that they have adequate pricing."

"The price of the product could be cheaper."

"Users have to pay a yearly license fee for the solution."

"The cost of both the hardware and licensing is high, and it is more than what I would prefer to spend currently."

"The price of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN could be improved, it is too expensive. We pay for the solution on an annual basis."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"I advise others to treat the cost as you would any tooling cost and use the monthly option as needed."

"The solution's pricing is cheap."

"iBwave Wi-Fi is an expensive solution, but it is worth the cost."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

20%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series)?

The solution is very secure.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series)?

Juniper Mist is cheaper than Meraki, placing it in the middle of the pack.

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What needs improvement with Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series)?

Supporting multiple protocols would be beneficial.

See all answers

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 h...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about iBwave Wi-Fi?

Compared to other tools, iBwave Wi-Fi provides 95% accuracy and generates heatmaps.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iBwave Wi-Fi?

Both iBwave Wi-Fi and Ekahau are costly tools. They're considered high in cost because the license needs to be renewe...

See all answers

What needs improvement with iBwave Wi-Fi?

iBwave Wi-Fi could be improved by adding a plot for overall improvement, allowing us to see where we are failing in d...

See all answers

Comparisons

Aruba Wireless vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 18% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 15% of the time

Cisco Wireless vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 4% of the time

Fortinet FortiAP vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 4% of the time

Ubiquiti WLAN vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 4% of the time

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points Competitors

Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 32% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 10% of the time

Mist AI and Cloud vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 7% of the time

Ubiquiti Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Wireless vs Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN Competitors

Ekahau Site Survey vs iBwave Wi-Fi

Compared 74% of the time

AirMagnet Survey vs iBwave Wi-Fi

Compared 9% of the time

RedSeal vs iBwave Wi-Fi

Compared 9% of the time

Forsk Atoll vs iBwave Wi-Fi

Compared 6% of the time

More iBwave Wi-Fi Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

December 2024

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points report

Download Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN

December 2024

Download Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN product report

Buyer's Guide

Network Modeling and Simulation

November 2024

Download iBwave Wi-Fi product report

Also Known As

Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series), Mist Access Points

MR18, MR26, MR32, MR34, MR66, MR72, Meraki Wireless LAN, Meraki WLAN

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Juniper

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Cisco

iBwave

Overview

Juniper Wireless Access Points work in conjunction with Juniper Mist Cloud Services and Mist AI to deliver premier wireless access capabilities. The Juniper Mist Edge extends microservices to the campus to bring agility and scale while enabling new applications at the edge.

Cisco Meraki access points are built from the highest grade components and carefully optimized for a seamless user experience. The outcome: faster connections, greater user capacity, more coverage, and fewer support calls. The Cisco Meraki dashboard gives visibility into the network users, their devices, and their applications. Armed with rich analytics, administrators can quickly create access control and application usage policies, optimizing both the end-user experience and network security.

iBwave has been the industry standard software for designing indoor wireless network for over 13 years. Used by hundreds of operators, OEMs, enterprises and system integrators around the world. The iBwave Wi-Fi Suite is a powerful Wi-Fi network design solution that gives you a significantly more productive way to design carrier-grade indoor Wi-Fi networks. Consisting of a mobile app, a powerful PC based software and 10GB of cloud connectivity to easily share and synchronize project information.

Key Features include:

Advanced 3D Predictive design
Advanced capacity planning
Calibrated prediction for extremely accurate prediction results
Ability to model incline surfaces
Comprehensive reporting
Cloud connectivity to easily share and access projects anytime
Free read-only project viewer for customers and project partners

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

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

ARRIS

Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Aruba Networking, Ruckus, Cisco and others in Wireless LAN. Updated: November 2024.

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We monitor all Wireless LAN reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.