Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued) vs. SonicWall SonicWave Series

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
SonicWave Series
Score 6.6 out of 10
N/A
SonicWall offers the SonicWave series of WiFi access points. The SonicWave is available in the SonicWave 200 and SonicWave 400 series.N/A
Pricing
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)SonicWall SonicWave Series
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)SonicWave Series
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)SonicWall SonicWave Series
Best Alternatives
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)SonicWall SonicWave Series
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 Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)SonicWall SonicWave Series
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(28 ratings)
6.2
(5 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
6.6
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(11 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.8
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(11 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
7.3
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
5.5
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued)SonicWall SonicWave Series
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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SonicWall
Helps ensure a better user experience by designing a wireless network optimized for your environment. The wireless network's safety and satisfaction are improved for the company. Even more important is the need to protect the information that travels over it and that is where SonicWALL wireless network security, in a nutshell, provides a solution with true excellence.
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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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SonicWall
  • The problem we are addressing with SonicWall SonicWave Series is security over our network. We handle information and have to keep everything confidential. So we use SonicWall SonicWave Series to keep our network safe from intrusion and anybody who may want to try to get into our system to do harm
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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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SonicWall
  • Detailed setup instructions
  • Auto Setup Feature for mesh
  • Provide filters without a yearly subscription
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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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SonicWall
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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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
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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SonicWall
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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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Discontinued Products
I believe that there is always room for improvement.
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
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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SonicWall
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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SonicWall
We evaluated Aruba and then evaluated SonicWall. SonicWall had fewer features, but it was cost-effective and suitable for our budget. Aruba, on other hand, was a dedicated WiFi solution and it was way costlier than SonicWall firewall and access point together, hence we selected SonicWall Sonicwave for our branch offices and Aruba for our head office where user count is more, and even management users are present in head office.
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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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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
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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SonicWall
  • SonicWall has an intuitive user interface that allows you to manage all the sound waves in a piece from a single pane of glass.
  • In addition, it is easy to register and onboard access points with SonicWall.
  • As simple as scanning the QR code, the API is automatically added to the network infrastructure once you have registered your new access points and the SonicWALL Wi-Fi Planner tool.
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ScreenShots