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Advisor at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Top 5
Mar 21, 2024
An expensive solution for monitoring functionalities with security features
Pros and Cons
  • "The product’s stability is great."
  • "The internet speed is high within environments. As you move further away from the access point, there is a decline in speed. Omada or Ruckus don’t have the speed degradation as you move away from the access point."

What is our primary use case?

We have some clients with hotels who use Cisco wireless systems. Others have entertainment centers that use Cisco wireless systems. Additionally, we have retail businesses utilizing Cisco wireless systems. However, we are primarily transitioning towards TP-Link Omada systems because they do not require subscriptions, which is cost-effective for our customers.

What is most valuable?

The features include maintenance and monitoring functionalities. Additionally, knowledge-based data is available for implementation and installation scenarios. Currently, Cisco systems are highly robust but need to catch up slightly compared to Ruckus and Omada systems regarding innovation. Using alternative suppliers can be advantageous as they provide cutting-edge innovations and detailed information about roadmaps.

What needs improvement?

The security and encryption features of Cisco Wireless are robust but need to be updated compared to other providers. Cisco offers enterprise-grade encryption. Setting up a radio server based on networking filtering may require some effort to configure profiles. Once established, Cisco provides clean and straightforward possibilities for configuring functionalities like setting up a radio server system.

The solution's pricing is high. Pricing, features, and innovation are the fundamentals of choosing a provider or supplier. Despite the higher price, we migrated to other profiles like Ruckus and Omada because they offer more robust solutions. If you look at benchmarks, you'll see that Ruckus is one of the top-tier providers, with Cisco falling behind.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cisco Wireless for 5 years.

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Cisco Wireless
January 2026
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product’s stability is great.

The internet speed is high within environments. As you move further away from the access point, there is a decline in speed. Omada or Ruckus don’t have the speed degradation as you move away from the access point.

I rate the solution’s stability a seven out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is suited for medium-sized businesses.

I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

We sometimes need second-line agencies because the first-line agencies may not have sufficient expertise to address complex issues.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup depends on the complexity of the infrastructure, ranging from hours to days.

I rate the initial setup a 7 out of 10, where 1 is difficult, and 10 is easy.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The product is nearly too expensive in terms of quality. It varies depending on the project’s scope and specific requirements. Prices range from around 5000 euros to 30,000 for larger, more complex implementations.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I rate the solution a seven to eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller
PeerSpot user
Radek Skrivanek - PeerSpot reviewer
Department Leader: Project Leadership Production Compact at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Jan 29, 2024
A product that offers great stability from a technical perspective along with good scalability features
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it can be integrated into other solutions in a particular environment, including where there are wired and wireless connections."
  • "The coverage provided by the solution is an area of concern in some cases, making it an area where improvements are required."

What is our primary use case?

I use the solution in my company to cover complex spaces. The tool can be useful to connect some devices to the ethernet.

How has it helped my organization?

For end users, the tool must be easy to connect and use. Technical stability is important for my company, and I haven't seen any problems with the product.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it can be integrated into other solutions in a particular environment, including where there are wired and wireless connections.

What needs improvement?

The coverage provided by the solution is an area of concern in some cases, making it an area where improvements are required.

From an improvement perspective, the product could be made cheaper.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cisco Wireless for a few years. I don't remember the version of the solution.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution.

A few hundred people use the product in my company.

My company will probably increase the number of users for the tool.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Apart from Cisco Wireless, I have used some other solutions in my company only for testing purposes.

How was the initial setup?

There are no major problems in the area of the product's initial setup phase.

The solution is deployed on the cloud.

The solution can be deployed in a week.

Around ten people in my company take care of the product's deployment and maintenance.

What about the implementation team?

The product's deployment phase was done with the help of my company's in-house personnel.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The product is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

My company has no problems with the performance offered by the product.

Cisco offers the best solutions in the market.

To those who plan to use the solution in the future, I would say that it is a tool that needs to be completely integrated into an infrastructure.

I rate the overall product a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
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Cisco Wireless
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Wireless. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
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Abubakar Bello - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Administrator at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Jan 24, 2024
A robust and easy-to-manage solution that is compatible with a lot of mobile devices
Pros and Cons
  • "The product is compatible with a lot of mobile devices."
  • "The security must be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for switching and routing. We also have access to resources around the local area network.

What is most valuable?

The product is compatible with a lot of mobile devices. It is easy to manage and administer.

What needs improvement?

The security must be improved. The vulnerabilities are easily exploitable. Security features must be added.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for 13 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The tool is very stable. I rate the stability a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The tool is easy to scale. I rate the scalability an eight out of ten. We have 2000 users in a single location. A user can have four to five devices.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were using another solution, but it was incompatible with the Identity Services Engine we deployed. So, we switched to Cisco Wireless.

How was the initial setup?

I rate the ease of setup a seven out of ten. The time taken for deployment depends on the number of access points we want to connect. It takes a week to deploy the tool for 1500 to 2000 devices.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The product is expensive. I rate the pricing a ten out of ten. We are dependent on the dollar. There is a global economic issue.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend people use the solution even if it means that they have to start small. Initially, the investment can be expensive, but the product is robust and enduring. We can use it for a very long time. Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Pratik Kadam - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Specialist at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Sep 14, 2023
The product can be deployed and scaled easily, but it is costly, and the interface must be improved
Pros and Cons
  • "Cisco's support team is the best in the industry."
  • "The product’s interface must be improved."

What is our primary use case?

I work for a manufacturing company.

What is most valuable?

We can support clients over wireless networks. We get free and easy roaming.

What needs improvement?

The product’s interface must be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for the last ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The tool is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The tool is easily scalable. Smaller companies would not be able to afford the solution. They should choose products like Aruba and Meraki. I don't recommend Cisco for smaller companies.

How are customer service and support?

Support is excellent. Cisco's support team is the best in the industry. I rate support a seven or eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy. The deployment doesn’t take much time. We can deploy the tool in three to four hours if the configuration is ready.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is very costly.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Cisco has collaborated with Meraki. Meraki products are much more economical than Cisco Wireless. Meraki’s interface is better. It’s a plug-and-play solution.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise people not to choose Cisco Wireless. They should choose Meraki Wireless. It is also a Cisco product. It is much better and easier to operate. Overall, I rate the solution a seven or eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Network engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Nov 6, 2022
Easy to deploy with a user-friendly GUI, but can be expensive
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is scalable."
  • "The current issue with Cisco is I don't have centralized management."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for wireless connectivity.

What is most valuable?

You don't have to meddle around with licenses, considering they're onboard with the access points. That took a load off when creating a build of material for a new wireless deployment. 

We didn't exactly dig deep into these yet. However, they're fairly easy to deploy. We have been using the virtual machines, the 1900 CL virtual controller. 

They're pretty stable, pretty good.

The solution is scalable. 

I like the new troubleshooting mechanism. With a couple of clicks, you can get a PCAP file, pick up the traffic from a client, and analyze it in Wireshark notepad.

I like the new way the wireless is getting built right now, so you have groups with policies that you simply apply to an access point, or you apply a group with all kinds of features like RF policies, and SSIDs to a certain access point and the back point, that access point gets those features up and running immediately or directly after a reboot.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see centralized management, something like what Aruba offers. The current issue with Cisco is I don't have centralized management. For example, we're building wireless controllers that are basically standalone, and something like a centralized, single management pane would be nice. Something like Cisco Prime, or rather, an improved version of that would be very, very good.

The initial setup can be difficult for beginners. 

It is a pricey product.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Cisco since 2012 and the new OS since 2021.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable and easily expands. 

We have been coving entire countries with a single deployment. We have a huge number of devices - likely tens of thousands. There's a swarm of incoming IoT devices, plus everyone who has a corporate phone is basically connected to the wireless.

How are customer service and support?

I haven't contacted technical support. Considering we don't have a subscription, we're on our own. Cisco support is unlike Aruba, where it's free as far as I can tell. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I also use Aruba. I've been working with Aruba for the past two years, sporadically now and then.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not something a beginner can deal with; it's not Cisco Meraki. Cisco Meraki is easy to deploy, yet limited in abilities. 

With this solution, you need to have some knowledge about wireless. The new Cisco IOx is an improvement over the IOS. The command line interface is good, and you can use it to deploy. 

I'd rate the ease of setup a three out of five.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Cisco is on the expensive side. 

I'd rate the product a three out of five in terms of affordability of the product.

They could improve their lead times. The wait time for their equipment is very long now and the pricing is very steep for Cisco.

What other advice do I have?

I'm a customer. I'm an engineer in a midsize enterprise that employs 40,000 people. It's a global company spread throughout the world. Scalability and wireless is something that we are looking for right now.

This product is great for someone who is looking to improve their connectivity. Of course, new users should check whether or not this is suited for the company. There are some cheaper, smaller solutions that they could use - even Cisco's Meraki. 

The solution we are using is big due to the fact that we have 300 or 400 access points per country, so we are using 80% of its features. We are tweaking everything from RF policies, and we're using advanced-style SSIDs like 802.1X authentication via radius, on the external radius server. We are using simple pressure key authentication. We are also using captive portal authentication with Cisco ISE. And we are also currently trying to implement a more advanced form of pressure key ossification, a segmented policy-based pressure key based on Cisco ISE, which is going to be used for the IoT devices. We get a lot out of Cisco.

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten.

There were some issues during the initial installation. You need to be very careful of the images for some reason. For example, the GUI can trick you. That's my beef with them. Sometimes not everything gets displayed correctly in the graphical user interface. One example would be I would load an image and upgrade the cluster, the virtual virus control cluster, and it would go through everything. And then after the reboot, I would see it basically didn't do anything. It didn't upgrade it. Therefore, I have to stop using the  GUI and revert to CLI. That's my concern, especially during the configuration part.

Of course, for somebody who's new to the product, the GUI is the way to go since you have everything nicely presented in the graphical user interface they really did upgrade from the previous version. They've done a good job of making the user interface somewhat friendlier and better composed than the previous versions. Yet, that's small considering that sometimes they don't display the real situation and that can be sometimes very confusing. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Peter Arabomen - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Sep 15, 2024
Stable, documentation readily available and easy to setup
Pros and Cons
  • "Stability is fine."
  • "The pricing could be better. It could be cheaper."

What is our primary use case?

Most of the routers are in the enterprise network for connections and branches. We used to use them in the data center, but we stopped.

What is most valuable?

The signal at the branch is good and has been the most valuable aspect for network management. The documentation is readily available and accessible.

What needs improvement?

The pricing could be better. It could be cheaper.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it for about ten years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability is fine.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten. There are about 4,000 end users. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. The documentation is available.

Normally, we start with a proof of concept for a certain environment. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate it an eight out of ten. I would recommend others to use it. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Network Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 20
Sep 3, 2024
Has easy installation which can be completed in a day
Pros and Cons
  • "I find the tool to be 99 percent stable."
  • "The main disadvantage of Cisco Wireless is its cost - it's expensive. Its interface is not easy. However, I like it since I am an engineer."

What needs improvement?

The main disadvantage of Cisco Wireless is its cost - it's expensive. Its interface is not easy. However, I like it since I am an engineer. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the product for ten years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I find the tool to be 99 percent stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Meraki is more scalable than Cisco Wireless.

How was the initial setup?

For Cisco Wireless installation, we usually need two people. The whole deployment takes about one day. Maintenance is good for engineers, but I'm unsure about regular users. It's easy, but we need about four people to maintain the product.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I rate the tool's pricing a nine out of ten. 

What other advice do I have?

I prefer Aruba over Cisco Wireless. It is cheaper and easier to deploy, and the Aruba system is easier to install than Cisco solutions. I rate it an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Information Technology Infrastructure Team Lead at a mining and metals company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Dec 27, 2023
The enterprise environment seamlessly integrates with it
Pros and Cons
  • "All the features of the solution are good. The enterprise environment seamlessly integrates with Cisco Wireless. I have contacted customer service and support about licenses and other technical aspects. I have not faced any issues. The solution is good for our environment."
  • "The solution's pricing should be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution because we consistently upgrade the laptops and desktops to ensure synchronization with the SIP set.

What is most valuable?

All the features of the solution are good. The enterprise environment seamlessly integrates with Cisco Wireless.

What needs improvement?

The solution's pricing should be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?


How are customer service and support?

I have contacted customer service and support about licenses and other technical aspects. I have not faced any issues.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

In my latest company, we use Aruba Networks and Cisco Wireless on-site. We use Aruba for IPs on Azure, while Cisco Wireless is used on Azure as well due to the high cost of data processing. For Aruba, we use models like the 5747 and the latest 370 series. In addition, there are other services like the 7200 controller and the 5700 series used across various rooms.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is a bit high, and I would rate it a six on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most expensive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?


What other advice do I have?

The solution is good for our environment. Overall, I rate it a perfect ten.

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
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