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Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers vs. UniFi Cloud Gateways

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers

    Score9.1 out of 10
    N/ACisco offers wireless LAN.N/A

    UniFi Cloud Gateways

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/AUbiquiti Networks supports enterprise network security and wireless WAN via the WiFi integrated UniFi Cloud Gateways, including the Dream Router 7, and the UniFi Express 7.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco Wireless LAN ControllersUniFi Cloud Gateways
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco Wireless LAN ControllersUniFi Cloud Gateways
    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 Wireless LAN ControllersUniFi Cloud Gateways
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    Chose Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
    D-Link Wireless network solution is a good solution for small businesses. It has all the features of an enterprise-class wireless solution. However, it does not perform well with a high number of users and devices. Cisco Wireless [LAN Controllers] Solution, on the other hand, …
    Incentivized
    Ubiquiti Networks
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    96%
    Would buy again
    64 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    11 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    56 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    11 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    65 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    11 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    98%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    57 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    11 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    58 Answers
    91%
    Implementation went as expected
    10 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco Wireless LAN ControllersUniFi Cloud Gateways
    Small Businesses
    WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
    Score9.1 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Forcepoint SWG
    Score8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Skyhigh Secure Web Gateway
    Score8 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco Wireless LAN ControllersUniFi Cloud Gateways
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.2
    (89 ratings)
    9.0
    (12 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.3
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.9
    (26 ratings)
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    Availability
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (5 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco Wireless LAN ControllersUniFi Cloud Gateways
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    I believe that Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers are well suited for the enterprise environment for medium sized to very large companies. While there are smaller WLC appliances for smaller sized businesses, a case can be made for simpler or more cost effective wireless licensing solutions (e.g. Cisco Meraki). Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers are extremely well suited for dense deployments like stadiums, arenas, hospitals, theaters, and large offices because of their ability to support a large number of APs with a very diverse technology feature set.
    Incentivized
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    Ubiquiti Networks
    Ubiquiti's wireless WAN solution is suitable for usage in businesses of all sizes. Smaller businesses may not profit as much from the integration of Wi-Fi devices due to the high expense of doing so, hence the cost-benefit analysis favors larger businesses. In big and medium-sized businesses, having access to such tools improves network security and administration by allowing for several, conceptually separate networks to be managed and made available from a single Wi-Fi access point.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Cisco
    • The cisco wireless controller allows for very granular access to internal and external systems.
    • The system allows for allowing special needs uses (medical, security, guest) very easy.
    • The system allows for various levels of bandwidth to a variety of users.
    • The security, flexibility and ease of use is phenomenal.
    Incentivized
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    Ubiquiti Networks
    • Automatically load balances based on band. Makes it simple to spread out users.
    • Updates can be set to automatic or manual. Automatic uses rolling updates, happens every time we update the controller.
    • Continually add new features and improvements with their FREE software upgrades
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • 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
    Incentivized
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    Ubiquiti Networks
    • Supply can be a problem, especially for new products. We have had to sometimes wait for months for supply to come in.
    • No phone support. Only email/chat. can be frustrating sometimes just texting someone, but have not had to contact them very often.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Ubiquiti Networks
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Cisco
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Ubiquiti Networks
    The interface is user friendly and the ability to access cloud interface from anywhere in the world is a solid plus for UniFi Cloud Gateways.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Cisco
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Ubiquiti Networks
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Cisco
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Ubiquiti Networks
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Cisco
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Ubiquiti Networks
    We have not needed to contact support, except to replace one device that was damaged in shipping. The company immediately issued an RMA without delay, and we had our replacement product within a week
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    Originally, when we deployed our first controller it was on a very limited basis. We only deployed it to our administration building and our High School. It was pretty straight forward. Because this was new to us we leaned heavily on our Cisco partner to assist us. With our last upgrade, we upgraded the controllers, added redundancy and expanded the building count along with new SSID's and restrictions. It went much easier, but again, we did rely on Cisco TAC and our partner to clarify and assist as needed. Having already been familiar with the product help tremendously.
    Incentivized
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    Ubiquiti Networks
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    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
    Ubiquiti Networks
    In the past, we used D-Link wi-fi devices, where centralized management was not possible, distributing the same SSID through several devices. Which cost configuration time and instability in the use between one point and another, because eventually, this transition between a device and another by a client was not transparent and functional as it is today with the Ubiquiti solution.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Cisco
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Ubiquiti Networks
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • We have had our [Cisco Wireless LAN Controller] 5508s for a very long time now and although they are getting dated, they have earned us our money's worth with consistency, stability, and ease of use. Users have minimal wireless complaints and when they do seldom are they WLC-related.
    Incentivized
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    Ubiquiti Networks
    • Huge cost savings. Buy it once and you are done, no annual renewals.
    • Extremely reliable and scalable. We went from 0 to 900 Chromebooks in 2 years.
    • Very little maintenance, set it and forget it. Allows us to focus on other tasks.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots