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Cisco Wireless vs Huawei Wireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
151
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Huawei Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 11.5%, down from 15.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Huawei Wireless is 6.0%, up from 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Q&A Highlights

SS
Feb 08, 2021
 

Featured Reviews

GulfrazAhmad - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrates with ISE, and is secure, reliable, and easy to deploy
The main concern is the length and overlapping. We have to put on four to six access points on the same floor, and we face the issue of overlapping areas. If Cisco can extend the range of their indoor APs, we would need to install just one or two access points, and it would eliminate the problem of the overlapping area. They should provide built-in features for safe authentication. Right now, we integrate with ISE and FortiClient for this feature. We first check the NAC, and after the NAC and before the domain, a token password installed on their mobile or a physical token is required to join the network. If Cisco had built-in authentication, we would be able to eliminate one product from our network.
Umer  Farooq - PeerSpot reviewer
Customizable and has many unique features, such as encryption, spatial streams, and smart antennas
The initial setup for Huawei Wireless is easy, so it's a nine out of ten for me. It takes six to eight weeks to deploy the product. Initially, as I'm in pre-sales, I generate RFPs and the response when a customer has issued a published tender. I'll check the requirement, and then I'll map it to the Huawei product. I'll then make the Statement of Compliance (SOC) and select the proper model. Next, I'll send the information and document to Huawei for technical vetting. After technical vetting, I'll request Huawei to share information on costs and other vetted documents I need to complete, and once completed, I'll submit the documents. It'll then take approximately ten to fifteen days. Deploying Huawei Wireless requires teamwork because the deployment process involves different people and teams, such as the project manager, post-deployment, and pre-sales teams, to deploy the product completely.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"For me, the most valuable thing about Cisco Wireless is its ease of use and stability."
"Good manageability, and stability."
"Cisco Wireless technology allows us to logically segregate networks, to segregate the traffic between multiple types of endpoint devices, connected to the network. For example, corporate laptops are connected to one network, corporate iPhones will go through a different network."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its security"
"The product enables mobility and centralized control."
"The most valuable feature is the coverage."
"With Cisco Wireless we have DNA technology for the frequency in which it operates, so that in case of any frequency interference it can look for and switch to another frequency, where there no interference."
"The solution is easy to use and its stable."
"It can scale."
"I am impressed with the tool's seamless integration."
"The solution's most valuable feature is mobility or seamless roaming."
"The most valuable thing about Huawei Wireless is that it is one of the cheapest WiFi 6 systems. Its price is very nice. The other WiFi systems cost about 15% more."
"The best feature of Huawei Wireless is the quick and fast setup."
"The solution's roaming feature is very nice. When you move to another place it automatically changes the access point. It's one of the most valuable features."
"The most valuable features of Huawei Wireless are WiFi coverage and ease of use."
"It is based on 802.11ax, which is a new technology. There are several valuable things, such as its speed and mobility. There are options for self-organizing networking so that it can perform operations and maintain itself. Its three interfaces are very good and user friendly."
 

Cons

"There needs to be an access point that is compact and more suitable for small and medium-sized businesses."
"The licensing models need to be reviewed in some instances. Obviously Cisco's licensing models are quite challenging, and it can be costly."
"Cisco is costlier relative to other solutions."
"Room for improvement wise, the wireless coverage of Cisco's equipment could be better for the price position. That is, I think that the radius for the coverage could be better to make it worth the price that we pay for it."
"The product could be improved with interference reduction. Because wireless frequency interferes with microwave or Bluetooth technologies, this causes issues. A lot of users still use legacy wireless adapters and black box and they do not experience the speed that they could get using the latest technologies. The number of devices on the market makes wireless communications complex. If the problem of interference could be resolved it would further improve utility and ease of system design."
"The price could be improved."
"The software quality could be improved, in particular for the new Cisco Aironet Series 2800/3800 Access Point which is pretty Linux-based."
"The technical support could be better. They aren't as helpful as they need to be when we run into issues."
"Huawei Wireless has a small technical problem. When you use a power injector, it needs to be specially configured for the switch to which it is connected. It tries to take power not from the power injector but from the switch. The funny thing when you look at it is that you have three switches or maybe four or five that are theoretically capable. However, the port on these switches is disabled. When you connect the access point to a power injector, the access point checks for features from the switch, but on this port, the switch doesn't do power. So, the access point changes these features to energy save mode and cuts off some features, especially WiFi 6. It took me two weeks to find out what's going on and how to mitigate this sort of problem. It is very easy to fix. You need to disable LLDP on the port on which you connect the access point to the power injector. Power injectors aren't quite commonly used, but I have 54 access points, and I have used about 27 power injectors. So, about half of the access points were working at reduced speed, not full speed, for two weeks."
"As such, there are no problems. It has been good. There were some issues with the network design, but that is not specifically related to the product. We had to make some improvements in the network design. The product as such is fine, and there are no big issues. We are using the latest version having most of the features available in the industry, so the specs are very high. If something new comes up new in the industry, it needs to be incorporated into the product."
"There was one time I had a problem with their centralized licensing. I called the Indian call center, but the response was not that good. One guy attended this call and he told me, "Definitely, I am forwarding your call to the next level. I'll let you know." After that, it took between 10 to 15 hours before I got a call back. By then, we had already resolved the issue. Therefore, they could improve the local support; there should be at very good Tier 1 and 2 support in India. They should be both proactive and reactive."
"I have already integrated the radius system with Cisco and Huawei products, but it can be further improved to be more user-friendly and easier to use."
"The manageability could be improved."
"Huawei Wireless can improve the signal, sometimes it becomes weak."
"The solution could be easier to use."
"While I am fine with the current licensing price, I would appreciate it to be more cost-effective."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is a bit on the high side compared to its competitors but we have to consider the support and usages of the solution. Licensing is now RTU and smart licensing. We need three types of licenses. One for each of the: APs, HA, controller."
"Pricing is a little higher for Cisco Wireless than all other vendors. Cisco should work on improving the pricing because there are some other vendors out there in the market which may have the same features or equivalent features that Cisco has at a lesser price."
"There are no subscription fees."
"It is an expensive product. I would rate the pricing a nine out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"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."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The price of Cisco Wireless is expensive and there is an additional cost for support."
"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."
"Its price is very good. This wireless system totally costs about 30,000 euros, and some of the other solutions cost about 45,000 euros. It is a difference of 15,000 euros, which is quite a lot of money."
"It is not monthly. It is a kind of perpetual licensing. We pay once depending on the kind of services we need to deliver. There are no licensing fees."
"I would rate the tool's pricing a seven out of ten."
"The platform is less costly than one of its competitors. I rate the pricing a three out of ten."
"Huawei Wireless is one of the cheapest options in the marketplace."
"Right now, my company made a one-time purchase of Huawei Wireless. It depends, but in most of the projects where customers buy hardware with some software, it's a one-time purchase. Customers pay a yearly fee for other projects for support and additional software features, such as email protection firmware updates for cybersecurity. You'll also receive information about the latest attacks and get more protection if you pay an additional fee apart from the standard license fee. You'll also get an additional warranty for Huawei Wireless, a yearly contract."
"We don't have any control on the pricing. This comes from Huawei in India. Pricing-wise, Huawei is very aggressive and competitive if you compare them to competitors, like Cisco, Aruba, and Ruckus. The Indian Huawei team tells us, "Just pick up the order and design the infrastructure. If there are any pricing challenge, we'll work on that and we will try to match things 100 percent.""
"I pay monthly for the solution."
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Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
 

Answers from the Community

SS
Feb 8, 2021
Feb 8, 2021
All are good selections, and this question is difficult to answer without knowing your throughput requirements, as each vendor has multiple models within there series. Personally I recommend looking at Arista Networks’ cognitive Wifi, where controllers are a thing of the past.
2 out of 7 answers
AT
Feb 17, 2020
Hi, It is all dependent on the size of the controllers in question. Though I would suggest getting a cloud base technology so you are limited by any controller and have much better redundancy. Take a look at Arista Cognitive Wireless
IA
Feb 17, 2020
Hi, Every one of the mentioned solutions is good but you need to check the needs which are security since the firms you are working with need protection and tracking of data. For this reason, I recommend: - if you have FortiGate installed then go for Fortinet Wireless since they can be integrated with the Fortigate without buying a controller and they work perfectly together and you will get the advantage of applying rules to the client himself whether mobile or computer, easily managed & monitored, more visibility over your network and incident notifications. If the above doesn't apply then you can go with the best one that fits your budget and security needs which for me doesn't fall on the mentioned solution but to go with ARUBA Instant Access Wireless Solution and the reasons are as such: - Cisco is too much expensive and you got to pay smart support with some complexity in configuration and you need to buy a controller - Ruckus is good but when you want to have the security you need to buy a controller with licenses and it won't give you the security needed since it is just a wireless solution - Huawei is not a stable company since it had many ups and downs and they can reach with you to have all the solutions nearly free so that you install their brand. Whereas Aruba you don't need a controller in the Instant access points and you will get the minimum security with radius integration and what is important a lifetime warranty on the access points. In addition, if the number of access points increased and you want more detailed management and more advanced configurations, you can buy a controller either on-premises or on-cloud with Aruba. The above information is based on my experience with all the solutions and their POC. If you need any more details and consultancy, kindly feel free to contact me. Regards.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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 friendly. This user-friendly quality also renders it easy to learn how to use and ma...
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 hours, the basic framework can be set up. Step-by-step instructions are availabl...
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 be very cost effective. As a wireless solution, it is simple and its user interf...
What do you like most about Huawei Wireless?
The reliability has had a positive impact on our operations.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Huawei Wireless?
For SMB customers with limited wireless users, Huawei Wireless may not be suitable due to the lack of multiple access points and the need for a centralized SSID. However, for large-capacity custome...
 

Also Known As

Cisco WLAN Controller
Huawei WLAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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)
Anhui Agricultural University (AAU), China Everbright Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless vs. Huawei Wireless and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.