Cisco Embedded Wireless Controller vs. SonicWall SonicWave Series

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Embedded Wireless Controller
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
The Cisco Embedded Wireless Controller on Catalyst Access Points (EWC-AP) is a next-generation Wi-Fi solution, combining an advanced controller – the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers – with a Wi-Fi 6 access point – the Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points – to create a wireless experience for evolving and growing organization.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 Embedded Wireless ControllerSonicWall SonicWave Series
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Embedded Wireless ControllerSonicWave 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 Embedded Wireless ControllerSonicWall SonicWave Series
Best Alternatives
Cisco Embedded Wireless ControllerSonicWall SonicWave Series
Small Businesses
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
Score 9.2 out of 10
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Score 8.5 out of 10
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Score 8.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
Score 9.0 out of 10
Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
Cisco Meraki MR Wireless Access Points
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco Embedded Wireless ControllerSonicWall SonicWave Series
Likelihood to Recommend
9.9
(3 ratings)
6.2
(5 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Embedded Wireless ControllerSonicWall SonicWave Series
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
Overall I could see myself recommending these to others if they have the right set of circumstances at their place of business. Those would be like ours, if they had a location that couldnt be served by a WLC. Once setup they are easy to manage and self healing as in they wont go down when one is offline.
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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
Cisco
  • Offers enterprise-class security that keeps the network protected
  • Cost-effective connectivity
  • Deploying WiFi 6 network without complexity or added expense
  • Controlling access points and clients
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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
Cisco
  • Some bugs in the interface.
  • Issues with licensing and Cisco DNA integration.
  • Frequent software patches needed,
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SonicWall
  • Detailed setup instructions
  • Auto Setup Feature for mesh
  • Provide filters without a yearly subscription
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Usability
Cisco
Giving this rating as i have recommended and configured EWC for many customer where they don't needed much AP and on-prem controller was also not needed. most of features available on 9800 WLC is also available on EWC
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SonicWall
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco
Cisco EWC is better to all its competitor as it provide same robust solution which is available to its hardware based controller, Customer experiences are similar to what other 9800 hardware based devices provides.
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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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Return on Investment
Cisco
  • Makes having remote sites less problematic when it comes to managing AP's
  • Saved money on managed AP's as they're found cheaper
  • Takes more time to manage additional controllers versus a WLC
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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