Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers vs. FortiAP

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.

Incentivized

Any rollout is well suited for a FortiAP - from small office networks, to large warehouse deployments. Adding additional APs to your network is simple and easy. Monitoring is simple with Forticloud monitoring. Configuring the devices can be as complex or as simple as you need. Adding additional Fortinet devices (I have switches and firewalls) makes the network even more secure and easy to manage - all devices working in tandem make monitoring much easier

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• Built sturdy for harsh environments.
• They perform and/or surpass performance levels shown on their data sheets.

Incentivized

• 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"

Incentivized

• Deploying your first AP is a little confusing - you need to register it with Fortinet, and then deploy it. I am a master now, but this took me call to support to understand how to roll these out.
• Adding them in to the correct folders on Forticloud took a little bit of figuring out, but again, once I had it it was simple.

Incentivized

This is an excellent product for an SMB - cost isn't outrageous and deploy is simple. I can monitor my network without breaking the bank.

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

Great contact to Wireless Innovate Program Team and TAC to solve our problems.

Incentivized

Fortinet support is outstanding! They are second to none. They pay attention to details and the needs of the customer.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

FortiAP does not fall short compared to other vendors. They have all the features other vendors offer at a much more competitive price-point, which makes purchasing FortiAP a lot more attractive.

Incentivized

• 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

Incentivized

• Increased overall coverage of wireless for my users - no more calls about dropped wireless (our cell service is very spotty).
• Easy to roll out - no issues here.
• Expensive - you are paying for a business, not a home use devices - sticker shock might happen initially.

Incentivized