Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points (discontinued) Reviews and Ratings

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We expanded wireless coverage in our 84 buildings by increasing our AP count from @300 to @1300. The original design was simply for coverage, while our new design is for coverage and density of users, along with bandwidth needs. Most of our APs are either 2802s or 3802s. We also have a stack of 2 C9800-40 controllers, running in HA, to manage the APs.

Likelihood to Recommend

These are great for an enterprise environment, especially where APs will see each other and dynamic channel adjustment would be beneficial. The reason for the mediocre grade is that they are old technology, and will probably be end-of-life soon. They are not WiFi6 compaticle, and Cisco now has newer models available.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Cisco Aironet 1850 models with internal antennas for corporate use in offices and the 1850 model with external antennas in some warehouses and sheds for use with collectors and inventory storage. We've been using them for over 2 years and the experience has been pleasing since the beginning because it solved the connectivity, latency, and signal range issues in the spaces we have across 3 sites. Cisco has a great reliability that attracted us from the beginning of the project.

Likelihood to Recommend

The Cisco Aironet 1850 Series model is versatile, powerful, compact, visually appealing, and provides numerous benefits for the corporate wireless network. In our case, it was appropriate for creating an exclusive network for our employees and another separate one for visitors, especially with security, encryption, and without storing visitor data. I recommend this model for small, medium, and large companies because it supports a relatively high user density without losing performance and avoiding interference.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The Cisco Aironet [2800 Series] Access Points are deployed across the whole school district, in approximately 70 sites. This solution has allowed staff and students to connect to the district network and to the internet with district-issued devices along with any personal device they happen to bring to work with them.

Likelihood to Recommend

A Cisco Aironet [2800 Series] Access Point is an excellent choice for a classroom setting for students to access school resources. They are also very good at getting coverage in auditoriums and gymnasiums for individuals to get connected to a guest network. They are also very aesthetic with the walls and ceilings.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our organization is one of the largest automotive companies here in Pakistan. It was essential for us to implement a centrally managed, high-performance, and efficient wireless network solution for our company. [A] Cisco wireless network solution was chosen after comparing other options in the market and within the solution, Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points were finalized for deployment as they supported the latest 802.11ac wave 2 standards. These access points have been deployed all over the head office, plant, and our remote offices and are working without any hassle.

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco Aironet and Catalyst Access Points are enterprise-class access points and they are made to be used in high user density environments such as big offices, cafeterias, meeting rooms, halls, etc. They are expensive as compared to other access points in the market, so they are better suited for large companies. Smaller companies may find it difficult to adjust their cost in their budget.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We deployed Cisco Aironet 2802 [Series] Access Points along with its controller, Cisco 3504 Wireless Controller, in 2018. Thus far, the wireless infrastructure is working very well. The main highlight of this wireless infrastructure is seamless roaming and client migration from one Access Point to another. We use the MAC Address filtering feature and the system is working well according to our needs.

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points is very well suited for large enterprises and high-density environments. It is not well suited for high ceiling buildings like warehouses and storage places because of low antenna gain. In our main office, it is working very well. For around thirty or so wireless devices this access point works very well and after forty or so wireless devices it starts to suffer.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We have been using the Cisco Aironet 2802i [Series] Access Points with built-in antennas in our branch office environment and the 2802e model with external antennas in the shed to extend the wireless signal to the RF collectors. The Cisco [Aironet] 2800 Series Access Point uses 802.11ac wave 2 (Wi-Fi 5) protocol and has great performance reaching rates of up to 2.6Gbps on 5Ghz radio. These devices are being managed by a WLC 5520 controller and monitored by Prime software. These are hotspots that support many users connected at the same time and still establish good performance, range, and wireless internet from anywhere in the company.

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco [Aironet] 2800 Series Access Points are great for any type of indoor environment and scenarios with low, medium, and high density of connected users. We have models with integrated antennas for offices and with external antennas of the omnidirectional and directional types. They are great access points, well built, robust, and with the reliability of the Cisco manufacturer. They are equipped to last at least 10 years. Cisco support is another great differential and very positive.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our management building wireless LAN is based on 2802i AP's, we are using it with Mobility Express so we does not require additional Wireless Controller.

Likelihood to Recommend

As per my experience, Cisco 2800 AP with Cisco Mobility Express works well with lesser rogue AP's means where there are far less other Wireless Networks available. But in higher number of rogue AP areas like in corporate building etc. does not work properly especially in 2.4 GHz connectivity.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We had requirements around implementing WiFi across our offices in our plant area. Initially, small business WiFi was implemented as there was less demand and fewer users. But, as the organization grew our user base also grew and we needed to upgrade our Wireless infrastructure to support the growing need. After evaluating multiple vendors we decided to go with Cisco Aironet Access points. Since then our wireless infrastructure is working great and we only needed to fine-tune it a bit after initial deployment. In fact, now we have shifted almost all users on WiFi and no one is using cable anymore.

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco Aironet Access Points are enterprise-grade access points and they are designed to handle a large amount of users with high-speed data access. Their hardware is very robust and high performance which lets it handle traffic at high data rates very efficiently. they are perfect for high-density environments lie universities, hospitals, stadiums etc.

They become expensive for a small office environment where there are [fewer] users.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The Cisco Aironet [2800 Series Access Points] are an upgrade from a previous version of the Cisco Access Point line up, so they were specifically purchased due to the age of the previous product. We have a mix of the 2800 and 3000 series from the same line and are very happy with all of them because they solve a lot of issues that our non Cisco AP's had.

Likelihood to Recommend

The reason [Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Access Points is] not a 10/10 in this section is really if you're using another provider for your main network equipment then this may not be the easiest transition. If you're already using Cisco stuff then yes go for the upgrade and get these better units in place. Their range and function outweigh their cost increase.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Mix of AIR-AP2802 and AIR-CAP2602 are used in our customer warehouses and branches, and they act as a primary network access for office computers and warehouse equipment. Depending on location, access points are managed by different hardware revisions Cisco WLC in 8.5 firmware version. In most cases, they are unproblematic, and after installation do not require any physical maintenance.

Likelihood to Recommend

A great example of use would be large warehouses that need network access for scanners and other equipment - use of central management and Aironet Access point would speed up deployment process. A scenario that Cisco AIR AP would not perform so well are small branches.