Cisco Aironet and Catalyst Access Points vs Cisco Mobility Express

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco [Aironet Access Points] are well suited in offices where they can be managed by a wireless LAN controller (WLC). Using them in this way allows the APs to be well managed and security policies can easily be enforced down to users connecting to these APs for wireless access. Scenarios, where Cisco [Aironet Access Points] are less appropriate, are in small-office-home-office (SOHO) situations because of price and licensing costs to use a WLC to manage them. Thus, using them, in this case, would be that the APs would have to be in Autonomous mode, and the technical know-how in converting a lightweight AP to an Autonomous one is not straightforward.

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Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Oil & Energy Company, 501-1000 employees

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As it provides virtual WLC functionality, it has incredibly amazing built-in features that perfectly suit small to medium companies. It has the capability to manage the entire organization network seamlessly. It might be possible that it won't work smoothly and elegantly for large firms where there is a bulk amount of data bandwidth used.

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HASAN SARFRAZ

T24 Technical Analyst

Khushhali Microfinance Bank LimitedBanking, 5001-10,000 employees

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Pros

Outdoor mesh bridging of access points brings significant cost savings to many of our production facilities. Deploying mesh APs is a significant cost reduction over trenching conduit to connect remote areas via fiber.
Cisco APs are extremely resilient, with a failure rate of below 5% in some of our harshest environments.
Cisco APs have the intelligence to identify wireless interference sources with Clean Air technology

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Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Utilities Company, 10,001+ employees

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Easy to setup
Less maintenance
Less disconnection

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JK Nosis

System Administrator

Infinite ComputeInformation Technology & Services, 11-50 employees

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Cons

In the facilities where we operate, we had to put a reinforcement on the ceiling to avoid problems due to the weight of the access point.
On the appearance, it could be smaller and lighter.
As for the hardware, I think it's incredible, I don't see any points to improve.

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Gleison Leandro Rodrigues

Networking Coordinator

NetshoesInternet, 1001-5000 employees

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Honestly, I haven't found very many issues since we started using it, and I'm glad for that!

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Verified User

Administrator in Human Resources

Utilities Company, 201-500 employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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Reliability and Availability

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Cisco Mobility Express 8.4

Based on 5 answers

We are using it 24x7 and it never hangs or create problems in connectivity.

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Ahmed Mujeeb

Assistant Manager Infrastructure

Artistic MillinersConsumer Goods, 501-1000 employees

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Performance

No score

No answers yet

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Cisco Mobility Express 8.1

Based on 5 answers

After initial configuration and fixing minor issues with the firmware, the system worked really well, without any downtime. We were also satisfied with the throughput and range.

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Consumer Electronics Company, 201-500 employees

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Alternatives Considered

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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Roni Peterson Alvarenga

Diretor de Tecnologia da Informação e Telecomunicação

Câmara Municipal de CampinasGovernment Administration, 501-1000 employees

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Cisco Mobility Express is far better than other products. It is a renowned brand in network products, and they are reliable and efficient as compared to other products that I have used so far. It is highly recommended.

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HASAN SARFRAZ

T24 Technical Analyst

Khushhali Microfinance Bank LimitedBanking, 5001-10,000 employees

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Return on Investment

Obviously, these things aren't cheap. But we do believe that with the functionality we get, we are getting a good return on productivity.
These things are really reliable, we don't spend a lot of time troubleshooting or replacing them.

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Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Hospital & Health Care Company, 201-500 employees

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It has given our IT team time back from not having to fix issues everyday with the network.
It makes it easy for visibility of the network and allows those who are new to it to learn it quickly.

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Verified User

Administrator in Human Resources

Utilities Company, 201-500 employees

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Cisco Aironet and Catalyst Access Points vs Cisco Mobility Express