Cisco Aironet with Mobility Express
March 08, 2019

Cisco Aironet with Mobility Express

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Aironet and Catalyst 1815 Series Access Points

We are using multiple types of APs at the moment, mostly 1815 and in some cases the 1852 and 2800 series. The model depends on the location and type of traffic. Most offices we built with 1815s are controlled by Mobility Express. For some warehousing, we are using 1852 Internal and External access points with directional antennas for great coverage. In the past, I built multiple warehouse networks based on the 2800 series with 5500 series WLCs.



  • Stable APs overall
  • Scalability is great. We also are mixing multiple models with Mobility Express
  • We now have, in total, 55 Mobility Express networks, distributed over multiple offices and customers. With Mobility Express there is no need to buy lots of WLCs
  • On the Mobility Express models, it’s hard to configure all from the GUI, and sometimes the GUI is buggy
  • In Mobility Express, the (virtual) controller is not able to push the right image to the APs. This sometimes results in not joining the APs
  • Some minor issues with firmware
  • It's plug and play with APIC-EM, so there's a low cost for installation.
  • We came from the 1242 series and are now with 1815 and 1852. Deploying and extending is now way quicker.
  • We expect the same life of these devices as we've had with all our other Cisco Aironet devices, so 5 years or more. This is great for our ROI.
I worked with Aruba and Huawei in the past. While Huawei needs a physical controller or standalone, Cisco allows options like Aruba to make more little groups at different locations, all with their own controller. So you have no dependencies on data centers. Combined with the great integrations in our Cisco only environment, (Switches, Routers, UCS, Hyperflex) we have a really stable environment.

1815s are perfect for deploying in offices as they have good coverage and a small form factor. For warehousing, we had to move to the 1852s as they have more power but are also a bit bigger. A good central management dashboard for the 55 (virtual) WLC would be great. As of now, we are managing all (virtual) WLC standalone. For baselining and updates, this takes a little bit more time than we wanted

Evaluating Cisco Aironet and Catalyst 1815 Series Access Points and Competitors

Yes - We are using the Cisco Aironet 1815 and 1852 as a replacement for the Cisco Aironet 1142 series and later this year for the replacement of the Cisco Aironet 2600 series. We deliver wireless-as-a-service to our customers and, since most of the groups are maximum of 35 Als, we can now move to Mobility Express.
No, we are very happy with the choice of the new Cisco Aironet 1815 an 1850 series and I would select the same version again.

Cisco Aironet and Catalyst 1815 Series Access Points Support

ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Kept well informed
No escalation required
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
Problems left unsolved
Yes - We pay for premium support because of our large amount of Cisco devices in the field. If we have an issue, this is possibly an issue for all of our customers. Paying a little for the great TAC support is well worth it.