Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued) vs. Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Score 7.3 out of 10
N/A
Currently supported by Cisco, but no longer sold, Cisco recommends migration to the Cisco Catalyst 9100 Family of Access Points, which offer greater performance and flexibility.N/A
Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
The Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points includes the 9115 and 9117, and designed to meet high demand network access.N/A
Pricing
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Considered Both Products
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)

No answer on this topic

Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Chose Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
The Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points are way better for implementation and supports more features that we can use for our customer.
Chose Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
We are migrating from Aironet platform to Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points. That's more flexible, and we do it to sync switching, SDWAN, and wifi under one family.
Chose Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Cisco access points have always provided us with the performance and flexibility we need so it was an easy decision to purchase the next release.
Chose Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
We selected the 9100 access points because the wi-fi 6 coverage and throughput that they delivery.
Chose Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Better antenna gain
Best Alternatives
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Small Businesses
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
Score 9.1 out of 10
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Score 9.8 out of 10
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Score 9.1 out of 10
Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(28 ratings)
8.7
(70 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
6.6
(3 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(11 ratings)
8.7
(63 ratings)
Support Rating
6.8
(2 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(11 ratings)
9.0
(63 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
7.3
(1 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
5.5
(1 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Likelihood to Recommend
Discontinued Products
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points is very well suited for large enterprises and high-density environments. It is not well suited for high ceiling buildings like warehouses and storage places because of low antenna gain. In our main office, it is working very well. For around thirty or so wireless devices this access point works very well and after forty or so wireless devices it starts to suffer.
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Cisco
Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points are well suited for dense Client solutions. We have used these in areas where we have a large number of guests that need top-notch connectivity without ever losing connection. The one area where we do have difficulty is in outdoor deployment, where large areas need to be covered, but we do not have physical connectivity in order to get the access points connected. This is not an access point issue but more of a physical connectivity limitation.
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Pros
Discontinued Products
  • They are rock solid in terms of reliability (we rarely have to replace them).
  • They are easily managed from the controller. It's easy to push new settings out, like RF profiles, etc...
  • They are fairly easy to install using the included mounting brackets.
  • They seem to be compatible with pretty much everything, although occasionally we will have roaming issues with Apple devices.
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Cisco
  • So this product actually helps in healthcare facilities where we have a wireless, we call this WOW monitors. It's Wireless On Wheels. So we use those monitors to the patient's room to room. So in that case, rather than connecting it to wire, so it really helps us to connect through the WIFI and access the patients whenever we be needed.
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Cons
Discontinued Products
  • CleanAir - Put this technology into all the APs.
  • GPS Tracker - I can't understand why only the Cisco 1570 has this option as well as larger Cisco 3800 APs. Why can't this be in all APs so they can be easily mapped in Google for positioning and later plotted for the coverage zone.
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Cisco
  • They could definitely download their code faster. When we first get them out of the box and join them on the network, it takes probably 20, 30 minutes per access point to download the new code from the wireless controller and then reboot itself and then come back online.
  • When you're configuring it on the controller, if you want to switch access point groups, we have them broken out per site. Every time you add it to one of those groups, it also has to reboot. That's like downtime for us. That could be improved, I think.
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Likelihood to Renew
Discontinued Products
Because until now I haven't had any issues or cases where I needed to create a ticket with Tac from Cisco related to their performance or availability. They have a small size that permits or allows you to install it in each place that you need to mount it, their design is small and appropriate for every kind of office.
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Cisco
No answers on this topic
Usability
Discontinued Products
Lately we had less issues. Most probably because we reduced the number of Wireless LAN controllers. So less trouble for upgrades as well. We don't have any access point in stand alone mode. It's something I don't suggest, unless it's just for a small office and not for a larger company with different sites.
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Cisco
The Cisco Catalyst 9120 Access Points have been a solid deployment for me. Using their interface is a mix of new and old. They run IOS, so if you know the CLI, you can easily navigate around them. You can join them to an older controller if it supports a certain version, you can join it to a new 9800 controller--very straight forward--and you can run the embedded wireless controller on them directly. I've found this to be very useful at smaller sites. The Cisco Catalyst 9120 Access Points are not limited to feature sets like the older generations' mobility express platform.
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Reliability and Availability
Discontinued Products
This access point does not usually randomly shut off. It can't happen but it's generally due to a power over ethernet failures which would could be considered a user error.
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Cisco
No answers on this topic
Performance
Discontinued Products
Performance wise [Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points] are among of the best pieces of technology we have on premise. I don't say that lightly, we have a lot of cool tech. But if you consider how many users are connecting to these day in and day out without a single blip when they're downloading large files, roaming to new AP's or needing a boosted signal at a far end of the range then these are unmatched.
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Cisco
Using Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points you can expect good performance, if not excellent. Coupled with other tools and managment systems you can easily gain good insight and ease of management. Flexible deployment variations help you adopt the equipment to work for most any required scenario you could think of. It's a well designed and evolved product.
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Support Rating
Discontinued Products
I believe that there is always room for improvement.
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Cisco
Cisco has been very good at correcting early issues with their code. Their TAC support has been fantastic when I would open a case with issues I was facing. Even though the hardware was new, they were very familiar with the interfaces and issues I was having. In the past I've been concerned about adopting a new product right away because of support issues. That was not the case here. Once I had the deployment up and running, they have had a good run of reliability.
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Implementation Rating
Discontinued Products
Make sure to get a professional wireless assessment before purchasing AP's. That way you will only purchase what you need and know where the wiring infrastructure will need to be to streamline the installation and tuning process.
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Cisco
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Discontinued Products
D-Link Wireless network solution was being used previously in [a] few areas of our plant and it was working well with [a] low number of users but as the company grew, and user base started to grow we started seeing hanging, disconnection, and very low-performance issues in our wireless network. We replaced the entire network with Cisco Aironet Access Points and since then the issues have been resolved and [the] wireless network is working with great performance.
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Cisco
We are migrating from Aironet platform to Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points. That's more flexible, and we do it to sync switching, SDWAN, and wifi under one family.
Read full review
Scalability
Discontinued Products
When it comes to deploying the Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points in locations around the school district it has become easier as you get used to putting 4 screws in the mounting plate to the bracket and then slide the access point onto the bracket.
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Cisco
These access points offer flexibility in deployment scenarios, supporting both standalone and controller-based architectures. Organisations can choose the model that best suits their current needs and scale as their requirements grow. Cisco Aironet Access Points are compatible with Cisco's Wireless LAN controllers, allowing for centralized management and monitoring of a large number of access points across the network. With the recent changes, it will even support cloud base controllers.
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Return on Investment
Discontinued Products
  • There are cost savings in buying a separate WLAN network controller because the 1850 Access Point already has this integrated feature.
  • It allows for remote management and saves time on administration.
  • The return on investment is achieved in a short period of time.
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Cisco
  • problem with delivery time for the product - 12 months
  • we extended our WiFi network - is easy with Cisco AP
  • Connection new area\sites with AP is easy, we have got same location with only WiFi access - no wired cables
  • increase secutity
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ScreenShots

Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points Screenshots

Screenshot of C9117AXI-B Catalyst 9117AX Access PointScreenshot of C9117AXI-B Catalyst 9117AX Access PointScreenshot of C9117AXI-B Catalyst 9117AX Access PointScreenshot of C9117AXI-B Catalyst 9117AX Access Point