Likelihood to Recommend I consider that its implementation is recommended for configurations where the amount of access points exceeds 50 devices and the performance exceeds 4 Gbps. In environments where the access point density is less than 10 units, we can use the option of Express Mobility.
Read full review Any rollout is well suited for a FortiAP - from small office networks, to large warehouse deployments. Adding additional APs to your network is simple and easy. Monitoring is simple with Forticloud monitoring. Configuring the devices can be as complex or as simple as you need. Adding additional Fortinet devices (I have switches and firewalls) makes the network even more secure and easy to manage - all devices working in tandem make monitoring much easier
Read full review Pros It has the ability to manage all Cisco access points that we have, regardless of the model. The limit is 1500 pieces of equipment. The WLC enables roaming functionality in the localities, this helps with collections, wireless IP phones, and access with notebooks. The WLC manages the quality of the "air" and "signal" of the 2.4ghz frequency, avoiding noise and interference. The WLC has an interesting feature of visibility of the traffic of the internal network. Read full review Built sturdy for harsh environments. They perform and/or surpass performance levels shown on their data sheets. Read full review Cons We have had some issues with access points losing their configurations and going offline. This is not a common issue and we are not entirely certain if it is a fault of the controller or the individual APs. That said, the controller does not appear to retain the knowledge of the offline AP which can be a management headache. Read full review Deploying your first AP is a little confusing - you need to register it with Fortinet, and then deploy it. I am a master now, but this took me call to support to understand how to roll these out. Adding them in to the correct folders on Forticloud took a little bit of figuring out, but again, once I had it it was simple. Read full review Likelihood to Renew It works great and [we] will definitely renew.
Read full review This is an excellent product for an SMB - cost isn't outrageous and deploy is simple. I can monitor my network without breaking the bank.
Read full review Support Rating Cisco is always available if we need support. If they are unable to solve the problem right away, they will reach back to us in a timely manner and advise what we need to do. Their team provides additional guidance as well if we hit any stumbling blocks. Their service has been great.
Read full review Fortinet support is outstanding! They are second to none. They pay attention to details and the needs of the customer.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Cisco is the most stable company in switching parts including wireless, and it has the most powerful support team with a lot of online documents, community, and market share so when you get stuck, you can find support from anywhere. And usually, you won't need it as its product is very stable and reliable.
Read full review FortiAP does not fall short compared to other vendors. They have all the features other vendors offer at a much more competitive price-point, which makes purchasing FortiAP a lot more attractive.
Read full review Return on Investment [It provides] centralized management. Implementing the [Cisco] 5520 [Wireless] Controllers offered us a huge improvement in administrative time over our previous Cisco 3850 deployment. Being able to see all of our APs on a single controller as well as centrally manage them is a great benefit. This also removed the need to deploy specific equipment in different IDFs throughout our Industrial locations and instead only requiring switches with Power Over Ethernet (POE) capability. Wireless performance has improved with the deployment of our 5520s, which allows our plant operators to do their jobs more efficiently while on the move. Having three Cisco 5520 Wireless Controllers provides tertiary redundancy for our wireless networks. The solution is elegantly simple. Preventing downtime is, obviously, a profound part of our supply chain capabilities. Read full review Increased overall coverage of wireless for my users - no more calls about dropped wireless (our cell service is very spotty). Easy to roll out - no issues here. Expensive - you are paying for a business, not a home use devices - sticker shock might happen initially. Read full review ScreenShots