Item: Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Rating: 9
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We currently have an old 5508 that is long overdue for replacement. We also recently added 9800-40 controllers to replace these and have slowly been migrating all of our access points to this new controller. The controllers have been used to monitor usage of the wireless along with providing insights into the wireless network. We have also used the controllers while troubleshooting wireless issues.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Application usage
Radio frequency assignment
Centralized management of the wireless access points

Cons

License level services
Issues with Apple products
Sometimes roaming can be an issue

Return on Investment

It has been easier to manage so it has freed up time for the wireless engineer that supports it.
Guest users have been extremely happy with service which has been a value add.
Some older devices that only support 2.4Ghz and smart devices have had a few issues.

Usability

I give this rating because the controller itself has been extremely easy to use. The only real issue has been when I had to replace the 9800-L controllers with the 9800-40 controllers as there was some slight issue with transferring over the config which we were able to work out.

Alternatives Considered

Aruba Instant Wi-Fi Access Points

These were extremely difficult to initially configure and get online. Once they were online we had no real issues with them. Cisco deployment has been much easier as well as having a much deeper configuration available. We also like the quick deployments we are able to do with Cisco that I was not able to do with the instand APs.

Key Insights

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

Other Software Used

SolarWinds Engineer's Toolset, NETSCOUT AirMagnet Enterprise

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers are well suited to deploy wireless in buildings where wireless is a must. In one instance we use it in a building where a large number of wireless users are present and it is an absolute must that it works without issue. This building also needs a dense client buildout, which Cisco has done extremely well. We have had some difficulty in the solution supporting a large parking lot where wireless was requested though this was more due to physical constraints.

Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers Feature Ratings

Comments

Please log in to join the conversation

Wireless with Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers 9800

Software Version