1. Home
  2. Wireless LAN Tools
  3. Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers Reviews
  4. User Review of Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers - More Bang for the Buck! A Worthy Solution!
February 09, 2023

Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers - More Bang for the Buck! A Worthy Solution!

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

Software Version

5508 Wireless Controller

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers

In our environment, we have over 6000 students and 1900 staff users that require access to the internet and network resources. We brought on the Cisco wireless solution originally to accommodate staff laptops and notebooks. Eventually students notebooks were requiring wireless connectivity too. With the expansion of the 1 to 1 plan, and BYOD (bring your own device) our wireless environment has expanded. With a strong secure wireless solution we can also accommodate visitors, students and support technicians much easier.
  • 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.
  • On 5508 and 5520's it is possible to drill down to specific users, but can be tedious.
  • Some of the security regarding rogue access points can be difficult to tweak when dealing with neighborhood homes with wireless. If you fully implement the block rogue option, you can easily disable neighboring wireless systems.
  • Uptime is the most important thing we
  • Bandwidth control, along with flexible security.
  • Ease of managing WAN
  • Ease of monitoring clients accessing / connecting to AP's
  • The Cisco Wireless LAN controller investment is sizeable, but we have found it well worth the money.
  • A solid well versed technical support team can be handy at times.
  • Cisco SmartNet is painful and can be a limiting piece for smaller organizations.
We looked at Meraki, Ubiquiti and Aruba along with Cisco. At the time, all of the systems were decent well designed systems. Cisco was decided upon because of the depth of products, the support and recommendations of others. We are very happy with the system, and plan to stick with it. While on the high end of the cost spectrum, we have found it to be worth the cost.

Do you think Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers's feature set?

Yes

Did Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers again?

Yes

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.