Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers vs. Cisco Mobility Express (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
Score 9.8 out of 10
N/A
The Cisco Catalyst 9800-80 is a modular wireless controller with optional 100 Gigabit Ethernet (G) modular uplinks boasting seamless software updates for large enterprises and campuses, and security with ETA and SD-Access.N/A
Cisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Cisco Mobility Express was a controllerless wi-fi solution, used by businesses to quickly deploy a wireless network without requiring substantial IT resources. The product is discontinued.N/A
Pricing
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless ControllersCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless ControllersCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
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 Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless ControllersCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless ControllersCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Small Businesses
Ubiquiti WLAN
Ubiquiti WLAN
Score 9.3 out of 10
Ubiquiti WLAN
Ubiquiti WLAN
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Cisco Meraki Wireless Access Point
Cisco Meraki Wireless Access Point
Score 9.6 out of 10
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Meraki Wireless Access Point
Cisco Meraki Wireless Access Point
Score 9.6 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 Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless ControllersCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(35 ratings)
8.0
(5 ratings)
Availability
8.0
(34 ratings)
8.0
(5 ratings)
Performance
7.9
(35 ratings)
7.9
(5 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless ControllersCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
If we are thinking about replacing old Cisco AireOS controllers with a new technology, we can only choose Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers. Configuration based on Profiles and SiteTag is convenient and easier compared to the previous configuration. You can see that the entire controller has been designed from scratch. Support for new AccessPoints in Wifi 6 offers great possibilities.
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Cisco
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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Pros
Cisco
  • Easily manages a large number of APs.
  • It can push out settings or a new OS to a large group of APs at once.
  • The GUI is very intuitive, and follows the model Cisco has created for many of their products.
  • It integrates well with our ISE environment for handling RADIUS requests.
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Cisco
  • Easy to setup
  • Less maintenance
  • Less disconnection
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Cons
Cisco
  • add more sub-genres to the main menu
  • make the product easier for people to use, that aren't working with it all day
  • make the initial setup menu, where policies can be attached to Tags etc. more accessible
  • When selecting APs from the Landing Page, make it possible to rename them immediately without having to switch to "Configuration" -> "Access Points"
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Cisco
  • Honestly, I haven't found very many issues since we started using it, and I'm glad for that!
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Reliability and Availability
Cisco
The availability of the cisco 9800 wireless lan controller depends on several factors including deloyment mode of the controllers itself, network size and architecture and the maitenance and support factor. It is designed to meet the needs of a large enterprise and together with a cisco support contract any outages will be covered
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Cisco
We are using it 24x7 and it never hangs or create problems in connectivity.
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Performance
Cisco
Fully robust and well-built solution. The solution fully is able to support a full campus WiFi environment without having any issues. There is no slowness to setting up a WiFi solution or any delays when changes are made. The product [can handle] beyond the listed specifications, but Cisco has kept performance and throughput to allow for a robust and smooth experience.
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Cisco
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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Support Rating
Cisco
Great contact to Wireless Innovate Program Team and TAC to solve our problems.
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Cisco
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco
We original worked with a Linksys based wireless system. Cisco improved our network reliability and speed which were the key reasons we upgraded our hardware in the first place. It appears that Cisco is better suited in a Business environment than its competitors are. I look forward to completing the network and to see it fully functional.
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Cisco
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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Return on Investment
Cisco
  • We did replace several WLCs in our site with a redundant [Cisco Catalyst 9800-L Wireless Controller] and saved the cost
  • [Cisco Catalyst 9800-L Wireless Controller] with IOS-XE enable us to manage APs in our branches easily, easier than AireOS
  • ISSU enable us to do firmware upgrade with minimum downtime, a site with 24/7 activity will not be interrupted anymore
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Cisco
  • 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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ScreenShots