Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller vs Juniper WLA & WLC Series (discontinued)

Likelihood to Recommend

I consider that its implementation is recommended for configurations where the amount of access point 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.

Network Engineer

Cardon IVOil & Energy, 501-1000 employees

Back in the day these were really well priced, and had some amazing coverage. After using newer Cisco gear, while more expensive, they dont shine so brightly anymore. They did have trouble under load as well. I would recommend them to someone only if they were really constrained in their budget for wifi equipment.

Read full review

Verified User

Analyst in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 501-1000 employees

View all 1 answers on this topic

Pros

Promotes and expands mobility.
Portal with authentication for guests and collaborators.
Enables roaming
Automatically controls all access points in our network.

Read full review

João Mauricio

IT-Support

Grupo BoticárioCosmetics, 5001-10,000 employees

View all 9 answers on this topic

Great pricing structure
Licensing was easy and straight forward
Interface was quick and simple

Read full review

Verified User

Analyst in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 501-1000 employees

View all 1 answers on this topic

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

Aaron Oberman

Network Systems Administrator

Foremost Farms USADairy, 1001-5000 employees

View all 9 answers on this topic

Bug patches were always a problem to do
Support was rarely helpeful
It seemed they stopped releasing fixes for many bugs we encountered so we had to live with them

Read full review

Verified User

Analyst in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 501-1000 employees

View all 1 answers on this topic

Likelihood to Renew

Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller 9.1

Based on 1 answer

It works grear and will definately renew.

Read full review

Verified User

Team Lead in Information Technology

Financial Services Company, 501-1000 employees

View all 1 answers on this topic

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Support Rating

Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller 9.7

Based on 10 answers

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. As well there team provides additional guidance if we hit any stumbling blocks. There service has been great.

Read full review

Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology

Retail Company, 201-500 employees

View all 10 answers on this topic

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

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

Girgis Hady

IT Network Manager

WadiDeglaSports, 1001-5000 employees

View all 9 answers on this topic

No answers on this topic

Return on Investment

The 5520 WLC makes the management and configuration of large groups of AP's very easy which has a positive effect on operational costs.
Devices are extremely reliable.

Read full review

Verified User

Professional in Information Technology

Health, Wellness and Fitness Company, 10,001+ employees

View all 9 answers on this topic

A bit more time troubleshooting client disconnects
Money saved on the more expensive hardware
Frustration with support on many occasions

Read full review

Verified User

Analyst in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 501-1000 employees

View all 1 answers on this topic

Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No