Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Juniper WLC Series comparison

Cisco and Juniper are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3, while Juniper is ranked #18 with an average rating of 8.4. Cisco holds a 13.0% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to Juniper’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Juniper users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and Juniper WLC Series are strong contenders in the wireless network market. Cisco Meraki has the upper hand in ease of use due to its centralized cloud management, while Juniper WLC Series excels in performance and security for more technical enterprises.

Features: Cisco Meraki offers centralized cloud management, easy network segmentation, and user-friendly tracking and reporting tools, making it ideal for both small organizations and larger enterprises seeking intuitive solutions. Juniper WLC Series provides high-speed connectivity, strong security, and templates that ensure network consistency, appealing to technically inclined enterprises.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Meraki could improve its error logs, support process consistency, and connectivity to European privacy laws. Pricing and limited customization options are also concerns. Juniper WLC Series needs enhancements in traffic monitoring, ease of use, and security, along with assurance of future development for reliability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki's deployment is straightforward across different cloud environments, with generally reliable technical support. However, some users mention delays. Juniper WLC Series provides on-premises solutions with efficient support, directly connecting users to technical staff, though integration with other products could be improved.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Meraki's pricing is seen as high, with concerns about the subscription model impacting budgets. Despite this, its robust features deliver a positive ROI. Juniper WLC Series, also considered pricey, provides reliability and performance that justify the investment, with upfront and ongoing costs catering to varied business needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Juniper WLC Series Report (Updated: December 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Juniper WLC Series

December 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Juniper Mist Wireless Acces...

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points is 5.7%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is 13.0%, up from 12.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper WLC Series is 0.8%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN

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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Matilda Elwell

Technical Team Leader - Network &Security at STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Offers visibility and cost benefits

The tool has given us more visibility, but I'm not very technical, so I can't comment on specific features. However, the diagnostic tools for identifying system issues have greatly improved, which we appreciate. We still use Cisco ICE for authentication on the Juniper network, as we did before. We've seen cost benefits with the Juniper WLC Series, which was a key factor in our decision-making during the proof of concept. Besides cost improvements, we've also noticed better resolution of issues and faults in our help desk, thanks to the enhanced features.

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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

"It provides private network access, helping us protect our company’s devices."

"The product is quite user-friendly and easy to deploy, so one should definitely consider buying it."

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

"The solution is pretty generic and easy to use."

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

"With Mist, every Wednesday they roll out new features."

"The simplicity is great."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points pros

"The solution is easy to install."

"It is easy to manage and configure. The dashboard of Meraki is easy to use."

"This product has allowed us to easily create custom SSIDs for clients and carve out the necessary bandwidth for clients needs."

"I like the record that is being kept and multiple SSDs."

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

"Multiple access ID capabilities, meshing, and the quality of the product itself are all valuable features."

"The most important feature is flexibility."

"The functionalities are quite professional and complete. It offers good integration with other Meraki products, like switches and the firewall. You can get an overview of all networks and the host. It's really great; nobody else can do that."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pros

"The Artificial Intelligence on offer is very useful."

"The installation process is very easy."

"There weren't any scalability issues, the product did what it had to do."

"It prevents a large number of unauthorized modifications of access point devices."

"Juniper WLC Series is a very high-performance device designed for indoor wireless deployment."

"The installation process is nice and easy."

"The tool has given us more visibility, but I'm not very technical, so I can't comment on specific features. However, the diagnostic tools for identifying system issues have greatly improved, which we appreciate. We still use Cisco ICE for authentication on the Juniper network, as we did before. We've seen cost benefits with the Juniper WLC Series, which was a key factor in our decision-making during the proof of concept. Besides cost improvements, we've also noticed better resolution of issues and faults in our help desk, thanks to the enhanced features."

"It is a very stable solution."

More Juniper WLC Series pros

Cons

"There is room for improvement in terms of support and installation."

"Enrolling into the tool is a tedious process."

"Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series) could improve if the MIST platform had a built-in master key. This would be an advantage."

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

"The product should include adaptive Wi-Fi to show a more accurate location."

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

"Improving third-party integration is key for Juniper Mist's next release."

"The pricing should be made cheaper."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points cons

"The customization needs to be improved because it's pretty locked down."

"We'd like to have better mapping to showcase low-coverage areas."

"They're great. If there's anything that they need to change, it is just simplifying the site to which you go to make changes on the admin side."

"If you lose connectivity with the controller, your Wi-Fi network is immediately impacted."

"Meraki leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to the technical capabilities in terms of throughput, spectrum, management, higher-level functions, etc"

"It is not a very stable solution."

"It is not a budget-friendly solution."

"The product's pricing needs improvement."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN cons

"Juniper WLC Series has certain shortcomings in traffic monitoring."

"The solution should create configuration documentation."

"The network coverage of Juniper WLC Series and Cisco is different. We need to add additional access points."

"We would prefer it if the solution could be less expensive."

"There could be a high level of security."

"The solution could offer more integration with other products."

"There could be more information from the controller, and it could be easier to work with the controller lights. It's not easy to bring up the upgrades."

"The biggest issue was that Juniper stopped developing, so we had to look for another solution."

More Juniper WLC Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

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

"The pricing is fair."

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

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

"The solution is expensive."

"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."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points pricing and cost advice

"The price/benefit ratio is great."

"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. It can be for three, five, or ten years. I'm happy with the pricing. You basically pay for what you get. It is that simple. When you look at Ubiquiti or Aruba, Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN far outweighs what you get. If you're in the UK, Ubiquiti gives a three-year or five-year warranty, whereas here in the UAE, they only give a one-year warranty, which is no good to me. Who buys a piece of equipment with only one year warranty on it? It doesn't make sense."

"We pay licensing fees."

"You have to renew your contract every year, or for three or for five years. If you do not pay right away they will suspend your subscription."

"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."

"I would say that they have adequate pricing."

"It is a relatively expensive solution compared to traditional network alternatives."

"It's not super expensive and it's not super cheap."

More Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN pricing and cost advice

"The product is relatively affordable for enterprise companies."

"There is a certain amount that needs to be paid towards the licensing charges associated with the product, but though I am not sure, I feel the licenses that we have in our company are for three years."

"Juniper WLC Series is a bit pricey but worth its cost."

"The licensing cost is quite high, but considering it's an enterprise solution, the complexity justifies the price."

"The solution's pricing is reasonable."

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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

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

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...

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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...

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What do you like most about Juniper WLC Series?

Juniper WLC Series is a very high-performance device designed for indoor wireless deployment.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Juniper WLC Series?

The network coverage of Juniper WLC Series and Cisco is different. We need to add additional access points.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Juniper WLC Series?

Our main uses include corporate connectivity for our 4,500 staff, guest access, Wi-Fi for about 20 public libraries, ...

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

Cisco Wireless vs Juniper WLC Series

Compared 43% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs Juniper WLC Series

Compared 29% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Juniper WLC Series

Compared 21% of the time

Mist AI and Cloud vs Juniper WLC Series

Compared 7% of the time

More Juniper WLC Series 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

Wireless LAN

November 2024

Download Juniper WLC Series 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

Juniper WLAN

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Juniper

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Cisco

Juniper

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.

WLC Series Wireless LAN Controllers deliver and manage wireless local area networks with the highest level of reliability, performance, security, and management in the industry. They integrate secure, wireless LANs with any size wired infrastructures, from small branch offices to the largest enterprise or university campus.

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

Apollo Hotel Papendrecht, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Bajaj Capital, Baloise Insurance, BAS Group, Borealis, Danish Crown, Deloitte Belgium, Jan Yperman Hospital, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, MercaSID, S.A., NHTV Breda University, Parklands College and Christopher Robin Pre-Primary, San Antonio Community Hospital, Sandia National Laboratories, Springfield Public Schools (SPS), St. Catherine University, TalkTalk, The Education Village, University of Copenhagen, University of the Highlands and Islands, University of the West of Scotland (UWS), Valdosta State University, Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), zulily

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Juniper WLC Series

December 2024

Free Report: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Juniper WLC Series

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs. Juniper WLC Series and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.

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