Cisco Wireless vs D-Link Wireless comparison

Cisco and D-Link are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Cisco is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.6, while D-Link is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.1. Cisco holds a 12.1% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to D-Link’s 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of D-Link users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Cisco Wireless and D-Link Wireless are products competing in the wireless networking category. Cisco seems to have the upper hand with its advanced features and robust capabilities, while D-Link stands out for its affordability.

Features: Cisco Wireless offers comprehensive features like advanced security, seamless roaming, and centralized management. It integrates well with Cisco products, making it suitable for complex environments. D-Link Wireless focuses on affordability and ease of use, providing basic performance for less complicated setups.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Wireless could benefit from cost reduction and simplified licensing, along with better interface and cloud capabilities. Enhancing integration with third-party products would also be advantageous. D-Link should improve its stability, support services, and introduce more advanced features to remain competitive.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Wireless is mainly on-premises with some hybrid cloud options, offering strong technical support but can be regionally inconsistent. D-Link is on-premises as well but lacks Cisco's cloud flexibility. D-Link's customer service needs to be more responsive for better reliability.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Wireless is known for high pricing but provides strong ROI due to its reliability and features, making it ideal for enterprises focused on quality and stability. D-Link Wireless is more affordable without annual fees, appealing to budget-conscious buyers in smaller setups with less complex requirements.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Wireless vs. D-Link Wireless Report (Updated: December 2024).

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Cisco Wireless vs. D-Link Wireless

December 2024

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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 Wireless is 12.1%, down from 16.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of D-Link Wireless is 2.4%, up from 2.4% 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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Michael Lees

Production Director at Whitespider

Affordable, resilient, and performs better than other solutions in the market

Assurance capabilities must be improved. There should be more Assurance features on the Wireless LAN Controller. A lot of it is bundled into the DNA Center. Having a little more Assurance regarding what the RF Spectrum looks like will be good. Juniper Mist has a lot of analytical data on the dashboard. The customers would be compelled to look at DNA Center as a longer-term and more comprehensive solution if Cisco were to give them an insight into some of the Assurance capabilities that might be available in DNA Center. The tool must provide something like RF Neighbor. It must enable organizations to receive signal strength and signal-to-noise ratio and see how clients perform in their wireless network. It must have a cap. If we want additional functionality to see our entire network, that's where DNA Center fits in.

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Sivakumar V

Systems Manager at Tata Institute of Social Sciences

A tool that offers a good performance at a good price

Over a period of time, the technologies change, and users may not get the proper things. In general, there is a need to keep changing devices after a period of five years, especially considering that I operate in a university where we don't have closed offices, while the devices' performance level goes down in open spaces. Though in our institution, we tried to make some changes to the product, we know that nothing much is going to change. In our institution, we plan to have indoor and room-based APs, but even then, some of the rooms don't come in a dust-free environment, so there is a need for us to experiment with the product as the degrading of the devices and signals still keeps happening. In our institution, we are making some changes to adopt to an indoor-based system. For certain setups, D-Link Wireless works better and ensures that users get value for their money. If you know how to maintain a technology, then it can help you. I rate the overall tool an eight to nine out of ten.

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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 solution is very secure."

"Mist AI is a very powerful feature. Juniper is the only company that has introduced AI into networking."

"The simplicity is great."

"For the most part, it does what it's supposed to do, and I like it. It's a great product."

"You can easily monitor, manage, and cover all your IT equipment."

"Juniper Mist offers valuable features like comprehensive network insight, granular policy control, fast device setup, strong security, and efficient SSL traffic management."

"The most valuable feature of Juniper Mist is the Virtual Network Assistant, powered by artificial intelligence."

"It's well-detailed in terms of troubleshooting logs."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points pros

"Cisco is one of the leading brands, particularly in the commercial sector. Other brands such as Extreme, cater to different categories at lower levels. Cisco maintains a comprehensive product range across all levels and excels in comparison to other networking sites. They also boast a team of highly qualified professionals, a feature that sets them apart from competitors like Netgear, which lacks such expertise."

"The most valuable features of Cisco Wireless are the level of control and management. I am happy with it."

"We are using Cisco access point 2802, and they are very reliable."

"It always runs, and it's very reliable in terms of performance."

"Good connectivity and easy to configure."

"The technical support is excellent."

"Stability is fine."

"Cisco Wireless is reliable and stable."

More Cisco Wireless pros

"This is an affordable product that offers good performance. This is why it is popular with our customers. It offers good speed and bandwidth."

"The connectivity is good."

"D-Link Wireless is a tool that is used since it is an easy and user-friendly product."

"The product's initial setup phase is easy."

"It's scalable, user friendly, and easy to manage."

"The system simplifies network management."

"D-Link is a good product that is quite affordable and I recommend it."

"The most valuable feature of D-Link Wireless is its durability."

More D-Link Wireless pros

Cons

"The solution is expensive."

"Supporting multiple protocols would be beneficial."

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

"I need a bit more time with it before criticizing the features."

"Enrolling into the tool is a tedious process."

"Juniper Wireless AP can improve by continually improving its reporting and integration with other systems."

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

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

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points cons

"The current issue with Cisco is I don't have centralized management."

"The installation is not too difficult but the solution could improve by making the configuration easier."

"The product’s interface must be improved."

"The internet speed is high within environments. As you move further away from the access point, there is a decline in speed. Omada or Ruckus don’t have the speed degradation as you move away from the access point."

"Cisco's architecture is becoming complex."

"Even though the tool offers a cloud-based central management option, the product needs to work on improving the security part a bit since it is an area of concern."

"It's end-of-life, it will be end-of-support in the next two years. The APs are also end-of-life."

"The licensing models need to be reviewed in some instances. Obviously Cisco's licensing models are quite challenging, and it can be costly."

More Cisco Wireless cons

"The stability could be a bit better."

"In future, it would also be good to have a switch within D Link that works as well as the Cisco 9200 Switch."

"The solution doesn't have hotspots. Users can't set it up so that visitors can log in via Facebook or social media as they can at, for example, airports. D-Link should include hotspots that offer integration with social media. That way, visitors don't need to be asking people for passwords. They can just use Facebook."

"The performance offered by D-Link Wireless can be a bit problematic at times, owing to which it is an area that can be considered for improvement."

"The support offered by the product needs to be faster with better technical personnel."

"Its interface and support system need much improvement. Sometimes, when we use the interface to reset the password and configure SSIDs, or some other changes, the "Save" option does not show and we have to go to some internal setting and then we can "save" the setting. The “Save” option should be in front of or below of the settings."

"The cloud managed solution needs improvement, and they should focus on the SD-WAN segment with regard to integration."

"Sometimes we configure the SSID with a password but the same AP shows two WiFi connections with the same SSID name (one is protected by a password and another one give access without a password)."

More D-Link Wireless cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"Juniper Wireless AP's price is a little more expensive than other solutions, but you get what you pay for."

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

"The pricing is too high."

"The solution is expensive."

"The pricing is fair."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points pricing and cost advice

"The product could be priced better."

"The price of this solution is a little more than competitors."

"It might be around $100 for a license. The internal ones are far cheaper than that."

"Cisco Wireless solutions should have a price reduction for educations centers. Education centers are there to help people grow and there are not large budgets. The solution tends to be expensive and it can cause difficulties when purchasing them here in Africa."

"However, when you integrate the access point and the controller with the DNAT across multiple sites, you need a DNAT cluster, which is a costly solution. Every site has a controller, and a DNAT cluster is not a good option in a global framework. It's okay for a small office or a few offices. But when you're talking about 500 offices, the cost becomes enormous."

"I rate the tool's pricing a ten out of ten. It is expensive compared to Aruba and Juniper."

"This solution is expensive, but you get value for your money."

"The license is a one-time purchase."

More Cisco Wireless pricing and cost advice

"The product is affordable."

"This solution is more affordable than others on the market."

"D-Link pricing is very competitive when you consider other OEMs."

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the pricing an eight out of ten."

"The cost can range from $100 to $400."

"D-Link Wireless is cheaper than Ruckus or Cisco."

"D-Link Wireless' price is the same as Aruba's. You need to pay one-time costs for the product."

"There is no licensing fee for the solution."

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Comparison Review

it_user212721

President at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Mar 24, 2015

Cisco vs. Aruba Wireless Solutions

Cisco or Aruba Networks? If you are considering wireless access solutions, this is a common question that you are probably asking. You probably have sales people knocking at your door. How do you make sense of all the stories that you are presented with. If you have done any research, you are…

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Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

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Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

University

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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.

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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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Which is better - Ruckus Wireless or Cisco Wireless?

Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user frie...

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How does Cisco Wireless compare with Aruba Wireless?

On the most basic level, Cisco Wireless can offer a rather straightforward initial setup. In the span of about three ...

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Which wireless solution would you choose - Huawei or D-Link?

Huawei wireless is a strong and solid product that has a lot of features - and for all that it offers, it happens to ...

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What do you like most about D-Link Wireless?

The tool supports new technologies.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for D-Link Wireless?

The tool’s pricing is good for the functionality it provides. It is a one-time purchase. The cost can range from $100...

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Comparisons

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 44% of the time

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

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 Wireless

Compared 37% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 25% of the time

Huawei Wireless vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 6% of the time

More Cisco Wireless Competitors

Huawei Wireless vs D-Link Wireless

Compared 58% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs D-Link Wireless

Compared 12% of the time

Ubiquiti WLAN vs D-Link Wireless

Compared 12% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs D-Link Wireless

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs D-Link Wireless

Compared 2% of the time

More D-Link Wireless Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

December 2024

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points report

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Buyer's Guide

Cisco Wireless

December 2024

Download Cisco Wireless product report

Buyer's Guide

D-Link Wireless

December 2024

Download D-Link Wireless product report

Also Known As

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

Cisco WLAN Controller

D-Link WLAN

Learn More

Juniper

Cisco

D-Link

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 Wireless is a comprehensive suite of wireless solutions designed to deliver secure, high-performance connectivity for enterprises of all sizes. Offering a range of access points, controllers, and advanced management tools, Cisco Wireless ensures seamless and reliable network access, enhancing mobility and productivity.

Cisco Wireless solutions provide robust, scalable wireless networks capable of supporting high-density environments and diverse applications. With features such as seamless roaming, advanced security protocols, and detailed analytics, Cisco Wireless addresses the needs of modern businesses. The solutions include the Cisco Catalyst and Aironet series access points, wireless LAN controllers, and the Cisco DNA Center for centralized management and automation.

What are the key features of Cisco Wireless?

High-Density Performance: Optimized for environments with a high number of devices, ensuring reliable connectivity and performance.
Advanced Security: Incorporates robust security measures such as WPA3, Secure Boot, and segmentation to protect data and devices.
Seamless Roaming: Enables uninterrupted connectivity as users move across different areas within the network.
Centralized Management: Cisco DNA Center provides a single pane of glass for managing and automating wireless networks, enhancing operational efficiency.
Flexible Deployment Options: Supports various deployment models, including on-premises, cloud-managed, and hybrid solutions.

What benefits should users look for in reviews when evaluating Cisco Wireless?

Improved Mobility and Productivity: Users often highlight how Cisco Wireless enhances user mobility and productivity through reliable and consistent connectivity.
Scalability: Reviews frequently mention the scalability of Cisco Wireless, making it suitable for growing businesses.
Ease of Management: Many users appreciate the centralized management capabilities, which simplify network administration and troubleshooting.
Enhanced Security: The advanced security features are often noted for providing peace of mind and compliance with industry standards.
User Experience: The overall user experience, including ease of use and seamless integration with other Cisco products, is a common point of praise.

Cisco Wireless solutions are implemented across various industries, including healthcare, education, retail, and manufacturing. In healthcare, they support critical applications like patient monitoring and electronic health records. Educational institutions use Cisco Wireless to provide reliable internet access for students and staff. Retailers benefit from enhanced customer experiences through in-store connectivity, while manufacturers use wireless networks to improve operational efficiency and automation.

Pricing and licensing for Cisco Wireless solutions are typically based on the scale of deployment and specific product selections. Cisco offers various support plans, including 24/7 customer service, technical support, and access to software updates and patches.

In summary, Cisco Wireless provides robust, scalable wireless networking solutions that enhance connectivity, security, and management for diverse enterprise environments.

D-Link Wireless offers a wide range of robust wireless Access Points (APs) operating in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency bands, supporting the latest wireless standards including 802.11ac and 802.11n. These access points can be managed independently as standalone devices, or collectively by using Central Wi-Fi Manager, a free centralized controller software that can be installed on a Windows server or PC.

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Aegean Motorway, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Brunel University London, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Chartwell School, Children's Hospital Colorado, Cisco Live Milan, City of Biel, City of Mississauga, Dundee Precious Metals, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Erickson Living, Goldcorp, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS)

Metropolitan Public Defender, Mission Motorcycles

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Wireless vs. D-Link Wireless

December 2024

Free Report: Cisco Wireless vs. D-Link Wireless

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless vs. D-Link Wireless and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.

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