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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco 3504 WLAN Controller

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AThe Cisco 3504 Wireless (WLAN) Controller provides centralized control, management, and troubleshooting for small to medium-sized enterprises and branch offices.N/A

    Portainer

    Score9.8 out of 10
    N/APortainer is a centralized container management platform for containerized apps and IoT device management. It helps accelerate container adoption and reduce time-to-value on Kubernetes, Docker, and Swarm with a management portal, allowing users to deliver and manage containerized applications from the data center to the edge. Portainer helps - Reduce the operational complexity associated with multi-cluster management Bridge the skills gap and facilitate feature…

    $0

    Pricing
    Cisco 3504 WLAN ControllerPortainer
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Portainer Business - 3 Nodes Free
    $0
    Home & Student
    $149
    per year
    Starter
    $995
    per year
    Professional
    $2995
    per year
    Enterprise
    Contact Sales for Pricing
    per year
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco 3504 WLAN ControllerPortainer
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco 3504 WLAN ControllerPortainer
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    No answer on this topic
    Portainer
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    95%
    Would buy again
    18 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    94 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    16 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    87 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    19 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    94 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    94%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    17 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    75 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    18 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    92 Answers
    Features
    Cisco 3504 WLAN ControllerPortainer
    Container Management
    Comparison of Container Management features of Cisco 3504 WLAN Controller and Portainer
    Feature
    Cisco 3504 WLAN Controller
    -
    Ratings
    Portainer
    8.6
    94 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Security and Isolation00 Ratings8.790 Ratings
    Cluster Management00 Ratings8.575 Ratings
    Storage Management00 Ratings8.680 Ratings
    Resource Allocation and Optimization00 Ratings8.183 Ratings
    Discovery Tools00 Ratings8.970 Ratings
    Analytics, Monitoring, and Logging00 Ratings8.690 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco 3504 WLAN ControllerPortainer
    Small Businesses
    WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Mirantis Kubernetes Engine
    Score8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS)
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
    Score9.2 out of 10
    SUSE Rancher
    Score9.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco 3504 WLAN ControllerPortainer
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (21 ratings)
    8.6
    (94 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    8.6
    (5 ratings)
    8.5
    (15 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.4
    (5 ratings)
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco 3504 WLAN ControllerPortainer
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    What I
    like most about the Cisco 3504 WLAN Controller is that its user interface makes
    networking very simple. Shows real-time information about the network which
    helps admins watch the traffic flow and client connections using the dashboard.
    Since it’s so simple, people find it very easy to start using the system. The complexity in setting it up for the first time could hinder
    efficient deployment in fast-paced environments.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Portainer
    Many developers, especially lesser experienced developers, don't have a really good background in setting up containers from the command line. Portainer is invaluable to them. Giving a UI to them gives them much more confidence and allows them to learn properties and capabilities of containers under far less stress. On the flip side of this, giving then a UI on a production system can lead to chaos...never give junior developers access to production servers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cisco
    • Allows an administrator to manage all the wireless access points through a single point.
    • It can accommodate the increase in the size of the network and accommodate other new devices with ease.
    • It has several technological features that make it secure against hackers, especially to corporate networks and data owned by the user.
    Read full review
    Portainer
    • Separating server maintenance with application development, providing a clear user interface for developers who don't want to worry about the underlying server.
    • RBAC for container deployment linked to a SAML IDP, not something particularly easy in a native Docker instance but point and shoot in Portainer, allowing the use of Azure / Okta etc to provide user access.
    • Image management with multiple repositories is super clear and reduces incidents
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • I have been using the Cisco 3504 wlan controller for about 1 years now. I have found it to be very reliable, but cumbersome to setup and configure. The GUI is not very user friendly, but if you configure it a few times you get used to it. It is lacking in some of the latest features that are offered by other vendors. The power usage is pretty good and the amount of AP's you can add is pretty standard
    • Cisco is everywhere. If you are looking for WLAN, Switching, or other related products, Cisco is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. With this in mind, you'd figure that their wireless controller would be their flagship product, right? Unfortunately, this is not the case. For the price point, the 3504 is a pretty lackluster product.
    • I was given the task to setup a new wifi network in a very large building. With many departments and a complicated layout, we needed to have a solid router to handle all of the network traffic and throughput. I was given the task to find a reliable, robust and cost-effective solution. With the Cisco 3504 WLAN Controller, I was easily able to setup an autonomous access point with a few clicks. The cloud based controller software was easy to use and had many features I was able to utilize and control, all other things are perfect .
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Portainer
    • When setting up static IPs for a new container, having the used ones for a specific network at hand would be cool or something like a mini IPAM of some sort...
    • Using the developertools to see "oh, it's a 40x or 500" when something doesn't seem to load because the ui just states "Didn't work" is kinda annoying. expandable toasts or something would be nice.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    We have been using Cisco 3504 Wireless Controller in our network infrastructure for a long time now and it has been a very critical and beneficial addition in our network infrastructure. it has provided us with the tools required to efficiently manage and monitor our wireless network and users. it is a highly reliable and efficient device for any kind of environment.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Portainer
    It is an excellent tool.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Cisco
    The centralized management give a good overview of the Cisco 3504 WLAN Controller. Its rich in security features like advanced security, RF optimization, and scalability. Cisco provides extensive documentation and support, although it can be highly technical. It is easy to configure and setup the Cisco 3504 WLAN Controller. Strong security features, including WPA3, rogue AP detection, and WIPS, enhance network protection.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Portainer
    Accessibility for Non-Experts: even with some people having a bit longer on-boarding it is still very simple Quick setup is insanely useful, we can get it running in 10 seconds after installing docker Portainer has once again super clean UI and is very user friendly. Deployment/monitoring and management are super easy. I can tell just from a glance if something is out of date (watching at you Watchtower not doing your job for some reason)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Cisco
    Cisco TAC is well known and SLA levels are great. Cisco support website and Cisco communities are another help for issues resolution. TAC is always supportive over Webex and helps to resolve issues pretty fast. This is another assurance for people to go with Cisco as the TAC capabilities are proven for all product lines.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Portainer
    One of their staff members jumped on a video call immediately with me and led me through the problem and solution during a quick session of screen sharing. In this day and age that is above and beyond, especially when it comes to software. It took approximately 5-10 minutes to diagnose and fix, including pleasantries!
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Portainer
    It is really easy. Just follow the documentation.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    The main reason why our company chose to opt for the Cisco 3504 WLAN Controller was the magnificent quality-price ratio of the product. It is very easy to handle if you have the appropriate technical knowledge and if not, you will always have Cisco technical support supporting you for whatever you need. Once the product is configured, it works stably without intervention and is fully integrated with the company's other Cisco solutions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Portainer
    Portainer takes the cup in terms of usability and features. It is also more useful for smaller deployments, whereas Kubernetes in our opinion and experience, could probably be more suited to certain other use cases. Portainer is also a fresh feel among all the preexisting container management solutions and brings positivity and a new breeze in the industry.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • Due to the stability of the system, there is practically no incidence of serious problems that require total interruption of the environment.
    • Even with EOL, product support will still continue for a long time, ensuring peace of mind and time to work on a new solution and/or upgrade.
    • Investment in a single wireless network, segmented, without multiple devices from multiple brands.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Portainer
    • Increased productivity: Portainer's user-friendly interface and streamlined container management can help increase the productivity of IT teams.
    • Cost savings: By simplifying container management, Portainer can help reduce the time and resources required to manage container environments, potentially leading to cost savings.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Portainer Screenshots

    Screenshot of Portainer is a universal container management platform to help adopt and manage Docker, Kubernetes, Nomad and Edge environments.