Cisco Catalyst 9120 Access Point vs Cisco Embedded Wireless Controller

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco Switches are most suited to larger organizations. Small networks would not really benefit from the large cost outlay and would be better off with a switch from a lower tier of Cisco's product line, or something from another manufacturer. For the 9120 range of Access Points, I would say that if you are an organization that has hardware that supports the latest WiFi 6 or the 802.11AX standards, then it is definitely worth considering getting these.

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Muhammad Mulla

Systems Administrator, Core Infrastructure & Microsoft Systems

Cancer Research UKNon-Profit Organization Management, 1001-5000 employees

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Unless you're a mega corporation, most mid size to large companies could use a few of these guys around to balance the wireless load a bit. I could recommend it to someone looking for a relatively cheap set of devices that can alleviate some of the strain on the network backbone that services your wireless systems.

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Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 501-1000 employees

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Pros

First off, the overall physical design. Slim, light, and can be mounted anywhere. Blends into ceilings/walls and is easy to mount. (Clients are very picky with overall look sometimes).
Easy to deploy and configure, making the setup very quick, minimizing any potential downtime during installation and/or maintenance upgrades.
Fast and reliable at a decent price point for the clients.

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NAKIA EPLEY

Network Field Technician

Z Networks Computer Services CorporationComputer Networking, 11-50 employees

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They seem solid and well built, hardly ever fail
Once you get a hand of the setup they're easy to add/remove
Automatic failover is seamless and super helpful

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Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 501-1000 employees

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Cons

The Cisco Catalyst 9120 Access Point is very different from traditional AireOS devices so there is a higher learning curve.
Bugs in some of the codes.
Getting it to join a legacy Wireless LAN Controller is harder.

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Verified User

Manager in Information Technology

Mining & Metals Company, 501-1000 employees

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Some bugs in the interface.
Issues with licensing and Cisco DNA integration.
Frequent software patches needed,

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Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 501-1000 employees

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Usability

Cisco Catalyst 9120 Access Point 10.0

Based on 1 answer

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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Verified User

Manager in Information Technology

Mining & Metals Company, 501-1000 employees

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No score

No answers yet

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Support Rating

Cisco Catalyst 9120 Access Point 10.0

Based on 1 answer

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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Verified User

Manager in Information Technology

Mining & Metals Company, 501-1000 employees

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No score

No answers yet

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Alternatives Considered

I have briefly evaluated the Brocade range of switches, and although they are very good value, I found that they didn't have the same range of compatibility and available expertise from other vendors in order to be able to troubleshoot issues.

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Muhammad Mulla

Systems Administrator, Core Infrastructure & Microsoft Systems

Cancer Research UKNon-Profit Organization Management, 1001-5000 employees

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No answers on this topic

Return on Investment

Solid connectivity for clients and their vendors.
Ability to grant guest access for several different client scenarios.
High level of security.

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NAKIA EPLEY

Network Field Technician

Z Networks Computer Services CorporationComputer Networking, 11-50 employees

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Intelligent configuring cuts out much time required to deploy access points
Mobile app has given us more (and faster) control over each departments devices
Having a well functioning wireless network encourages departments to keep adding devices!

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Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 501-1000 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

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No