Likelihood to Recommend 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.
Read full review In a corporate environment that requires strong security and the ability to block / allow a large variety of users, the Cisco Wireless platform excels. The system is extremely robust and can provide literally a blanket of coverage, with very good performance. They also offer external/out doors access points which provide excellent performance. Because the system is well built and designed, you often go through the lifetime of the product (you really need to apply updates) with very little issues. However, when you reach the end of the support life on the box, it is not cheap at all to upgrade/replace. You really need to keep an eye on the current life cycle and plan accordingly for a replacement date and fund.
Read full review Pros Easy to setup Less maintenance Less disconnection Read full review It's Cisco and like all our other Cisco products, chiefly switches, once you get it set up to your liking, it just runs itself after that. The reliability factor has been huge for us. Ease in deploying new APs has been nice. We have a DNS record (and DHCP Option 43 as a fallback) that helps new AP find the WLC. The WLC takes it from there. Good monitoring of connections, kicking people off, [and] blocking certain MACs are all useful features. Read full review Cons Honestly, I haven't found very many issues since we started using it, and I'm glad for that! Read full review Configuring wireless settings is very confusing because various settings are scattered all over the interface in different tabs Lots of settings use Cisco's technical verbiage rather than common phrasing, so it's confusing what a lot of settings will do and requires researching the meaning before modifying the setting The interface could be easier to use to do simple tasks such as reboot an access point Read full review Likelihood to Renew Although it is a very good product, support is easy and can manage by Level 1 support persons and downtime is too much less but still there is a cost factor matters which is consider by each organization. Furthermore, organizations also compare with other competitors so it is hard to pursue and defend the high prices.
Read full review Usability As I said before, the only thing we miss in our old model is the fact that the management interface never received an improvement in design. It has the same look and feels since it was launched. It's not that it's hard to use. It's just the case of could be modernized.
Read full review Reliability and Availability We are using it 24x7 and it never hangs or create problems in connectivity.
Read full review Downtime fear is the first fear which IT persons look and want to eliminate as much as they can but eventually you have to face it as nothing is perfect. Cisco Wireless Lan controller are feasible to use and easy to manage and other than this their issue reported are pretty low so you can get the best up time. now it also depends on scenario as well as environment.
Read full review Performance 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.
Read full review Cisco Wireless Lan controller are feasible to use and easy to manage and other than this their issue reported are pretty low so you get the better uptime. if your get the uptime then it means its a stable product in your environment. Product performance also depends on the product management and Cisco Wireless Lan controller management is easy so you can get the great output.
Read full review Support Rating As usual, the support from Cisco's TAC (Technical Assistance Center) is lacking. Granted, they always get the job done , but the amount of lead time on a non-emergency is enough to make you just handle it yourself. The good news is that if you ask for Cisco's assistance and forget about it, they'll jump on by the time you've forgotten where you were in troubleshooting it and have it fixed for you.
Read full review Implementation Rating That was a great experience of having a new project and working on it. Although we got some hurdles and challenges but we overcome all the things and try to work efficiently for this. in this time Cisco support team also helps a lot an give pro tips which help us.
Read full review Alternatives Considered 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.
Read full review The Aironet access points are used for employee WiFi access, and they integrate well with Meraki. They would offer a separate guest network, too, but the decision was made to physically separate the guest network, so even if a bad actor would gain access to the ethernet port of the AP, they'd still not see any company traffic.
Read full review Scalability Cisco is a brand name and people trust on it. if any one thing about the networking then Cisco is among those brand which is count as trusted brand and people rely on it. Also it support is good so people can use it. Cisco Wireless Lan controller are easy to use and manage so it requires less effort.
Read full review Return on Investment 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. Read full review Positive impact 1. Our employees are able to move around anywhere in our 12-story building and have access to our corporate network. Employees are not tied down to an office and can easily move around to meetings and stay connected. Because the equipment is so reliable, we do not have any unscheduled outages. Employees come in the building and connect without issues and have a sense that the wireless network "Just Simply Works." When performing network maintenance, I usually have to block out several ours for our maintenance window. Upgrades sometimes do not go as smoothly as planned. This can be frustrating for the engineer. Read full review ScreenShots