Good Wireless Controller but in the meantime EOL
October 07, 2025

Good Wireless Controller but in the meantime EOL

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller

We don't use the Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller anymore because it is end of Vulnerability/Security Support since January 2025. The replacement product is the Cisco Catalyst 9800 family.
In the past we used the Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller to manage and configure our 500 Access points worldwide. Also for monitoring and troubleshooting purpose the controller was used.

Pros

  • good performance (supports up to 1500 Access points)
  • easy to setup and install
  • high availability feature works great

Cons

  • end of sale and end of vulnerability / security support
  • GUI is very outdated
  • FlexConnect limitations
  • reduced downtime due to high availability
  • high capacity to add new APs on the existing controller (up to 1500)
  • centralized management reduced operational overhead
Overall the usability is ok. The centralized management reduces complexibility and offers bulk features like adding access points to specific groups which automatically applies linked configurations.

On the other hand the GUI is very outdated and some features are not displayed correctly on new browsers. Also automation possibilities are very limited compared to the new 9800 series controller.
Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller has better high availability features compared to the others. Also Cisco has a worldwide service center and is located in nearly all countries to offer fast and reliable support in case of any hardware issue. Also Cisco offers more features, for example AVC, CleanAir and TrustSec which the compotitiors don't. And we could use some of our als Cisco APs with the Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller and didn't need to buy that much new APs.

Do you think Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller's feature set?

Yes

Did Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller again?

No

As already mentioned the controller is end of vulnerability and security support. This means it shouldn't be used anymore.

Besides that the device is well suited for enterprises with up to 1500 access points and 20000 connected clients. The central management plattform for all APs is great.

It's less appropriate for all new technologies like Wi-Fi 6E and WPA3 because the software is outdated and there will be no future updates available.

Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller Feature Ratings

Wireless LAN
6.4
Zero-Touch Provisioning
3
WLAN Performance Monitoring
8
Topology Maps
7
Layer 7 Visibility
6
Wireless Security
8

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