Cisco Aironet 3800 Series Access Points (discontinued) vs. SonicWall SonicWave Series

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Aironet 3800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Score 10.0 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 3800 Series Access Points (discontinued)SonicWall SonicWave Series
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Aironet 3800 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 3800 Series Access Points (discontinued)SonicWall SonicWave Series
Best Alternatives
Cisco Aironet 3800 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 3800 Series Access Points (discontinued)SonicWall SonicWave Series
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(30 ratings)
6.2
(5 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.9
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Aironet 3800 Series Access Points (discontinued)SonicWall SonicWave Series
Likelihood to Recommend
Discontinued Products
As any Cisco Aironet Access Points, the 3800 model is more for power users than beginners. It is for sure very more complex to maintain and trouble shoot than solutions like Cisco Meraki APs.
By the way, there are a lot of settings that can be customized and it is really interesting for difficult environments like industrial factories.
The 3800 model is also robust so it should stay durable and reliable.
But if you want to use the mesh mode or make a wireless bridge, this model is not appropriate as it is not supported for now.
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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
  • Cisco APs are managed very easily from a Cisco WLC controller.
  • Cisco APs provide lots of enterprise-grade options such as rogue detection and automatic power configuration.
  • Cisco APs have many different mounting options, which makes them very versatile in a healthcare environment.
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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
  • Outdoor capabilities. We have actually blown up a few outdoor units. Water got inside the outdoor units and had visible rust
  • Costs compared to other AP’s in the market. Ruckus and EnGenius work out a bit cheaper
  • Mounting options are limited
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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
We are all happy with Aironet and Prime.
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Performance
Discontinued Products
The Cisco 3802 product performance is excellent. Not only for the speed and range of the wireless it provides, but also for the fact that - when deployed in a large scale environment - the performance does not fail. It provides the same network connectivity for users ranging from 1 to 30-plus concurrent connections.
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Discontinued Products
The usage scenario was different. I don't see this as a benefit versus harm comparison, necessarily. What happened was that, at a certain point, the implementation of the cisco solution was the winner of our public bidding process and with that, we implemented it and have used it ever since.
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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
Contrary to a solution like the Cisco Meraki access points, the Aironet access points like the 3800 are linked to the Controler. And depending on the version of the controller, it will support only some models of access points.
For big sites, it may be difficult to upgrade the controler to support new ap models like 3800 because we still have old access points.
And it is also the same between new access points and old client devices so it is always a bit tricky.
After that, if the access point model is supported by the controller, it is really simple to install a new one
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Discontinued Products
  • Users are able to carry on with their work while moving, changing seats, rooms or having an ad-hoc Skype meeting on the way to lunch. It is always hard to justify the value of connectivity but be assured, when it is not working the business impact is immediate.
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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