Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued) vs. Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Score 7.2 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 Wireless LAN Controllers
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Cisco offers wireless LAN.N/A
Pricing
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
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 Wireless LAN Controllers
Considered Both Products
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Chose Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Cisco Aironet Access Points and Wireless LAN Controllers provide more advanced functions, more security options and better interoperability with other Cisco products than Aruba IAPs.
Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Chose Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
The integration with Cisco solutions are excellet, with WLC 9800 plus Cisco DNAC the troubleshoot are made easy, if you have 3D maps on DNAC, you can navigate on the place were the problem is marked and see how the signal are near it. All connections are stable and trustfull.
Chose Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
D-Link Wireless network solution is a good solution for small businesses. It has all the features of an enterprise-class wireless solution. However, it does not perform well with a high number of users and devices. Cisco Wireless [LAN Controllers] Solution, on the other hand, …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Small Businesses
Ubiquiti WLAN
Ubiquiti WLAN
Score 9.2 out of 10
Ubiquiti WLAN
Ubiquiti WLAN
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
Score 9.8 out of 10
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
Score 9.8 out of 10
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
Score 9.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Likelihood to Recommend
7.5
(28 ratings)
9.5
(66 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(3 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Usability
6.6
(3 ratings)
6.4
(2 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(1 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Performance
9.9
(11 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
6.8
(2 ratings)
8.2
(4 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.2
(2 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.9
(11 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
7.3
(1 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
5.5
(1 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
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
In a corporate environment that requires strong security and the ability to block / allow a large variety of users, the Cisco Wireless platform excels. The system is extremely robust and can provide literally a blanket of coverage, with very good performance. They also offer external/out doors access points which provide excellent performance. Because the system is well built and designed, you often go through the lifetime of the product (you really need to apply updates) with very little issues. However, when you reach the end of the support life on the box, it is not cheap at all to upgrade/replace. You really need to keep an eye on the current life cycle and plan accordingly for a replacement date and fund.
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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
  • It's Cisco and like all our other Cisco products, chiefly switches, once you get it set up to your liking, it just runs itself after that. The reliability factor has been huge for us.
  • Ease in deploying new APs has been nice. We have a DNS record (and DHCP Option 43 as a fallback) that helps new AP find the WLC. The WLC takes it from there.
  • Good monitoring of connections, kicking people off, [and] blocking certain MACs are all useful features.
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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
  • Configuring wireless settings is very confusing because various settings are scattered all over the interface in different tabs
  • Lots of settings use Cisco's technical verbiage rather than common phrasing, so it's confusing what a lot of settings will do and requires researching the meaning before modifying the setting
  • The interface could be easier to use to do simple tasks such as reboot an access point
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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
Although it is a very good product, support is easy and can manage by Level 1 support persons and downtime is too much less but still there is a cost factor matters which is consider by each organization. Furthermore, organizations also compare with other competitors so it is hard to pursue and defend the high prices.
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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
As I said before, the only thing we miss in our old model is the fact that the management interface never received an improvement in design. It has the same look and feels since it was launched. It's not that it's hard to use. It's just the case of could be modernized.
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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
Downtime fear is the first fear which IT persons look and want to eliminate as much as they can but eventually you have to face it as nothing is perfect. Cisco Wireless Lan controller are feasible to use and easy to manage and other than this their issue reported are pretty low so you can get the best up time. now it also depends on scenario as well as environment.
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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
Cisco Wireless Lan controller are feasible to use and easy to manage and other than this their issue reported are pretty low so you get the better uptime. if your get the uptime then it means its a stable product in your environment. Product performance also depends on the product management and Cisco Wireless Lan controller management is easy so you can get the great output.
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Support Rating
Discontinued Products
I believe that there is always room for improvement.
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Cisco
As usual, the support from Cisco's TAC (Technical Assistance Center) is lacking. Granted, they always get the job done, but the amount of lead time on a non-emergency is enough to make you just handle it yourself. The good news is that if you ask for Cisco's assistance and forget about it, they'll jump on by the time you've forgotten where you were in troubleshooting it and have it fixed for you.
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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
That was a great experience of having a new project and working on it. Although we got some hurdles and challenges but we overcome all the things and try to work efficiently for this. in this time Cisco support team also helps a lot an give pro tips which help us.
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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
The Aironet access points are used for employee WiFi access, and they integrate well with Meraki. They would offer a separate guest network, too, but the decision was made to physically separate the guest network, so even if a bad actor would gain access to the ethernet port of the AP, they'd still not see any company traffic.
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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
Cisco is a brand name and people trust on it. if any one thing about the networking then Cisco is among those brand which is count as trusted brand and people rely on it. Also it support is good so people can use it. Cisco Wireless Lan controller are easy to use and manage so it requires less effort.
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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
  • Positive impact 1. Our employees are able to move around anywhere in our 12-story building and have access to our corporate network. Employees are not tied down to an office and can easily move around to meetings and stay connected.
  • Because the equipment is so reliable, we do not have any unscheduled outages. Employees come in the building and connect without issues and have a sense that the wireless network "Just Simply Works."
  • When performing network maintenance, I usually have to block out several ours for our maintenance window. Upgrades sometimes do not go as smoothly as planned. This can be frustrating for the engineer.
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