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Cisco Wireless vs ExtremeWireless comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
Cisco Wireless delivers fast ROI with improved productivity, security, and connectivity, valued by both profit and non-profit organizations.
Sentiment score
8.5
ExtremeWireless provides scalable, cost-effective solutions with 30% ROI savings, easy deployment, and excellent support for long-term use.
The monitoring access and excellent support provide significant value.
The best ROI is achieved over a three-year term.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.8
Cisco Wireless customer service is highly rated for prompt, knowledgeable support, despite some regional variability in quality.
Sentiment score
7.2
ExtremeWireless support is helpful but inconsistent, with slow response times and limited availability affecting user satisfaction. Ratings vary.
The technical support from Cisco is of high quality.
The technical support from Cisco is good.
I rate their support as a nine because they are very helpful when we need assistance and they strive to help, even if not the fastest.
The response time and quality could be better, and updates can be troublesome at times.
I would rate the customer service as a ten.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
5.9
Cisco Wireless offers efficient scalability for various business sizes, though costs and controller limits may pose challenges.
Sentiment score
6.7
ExtremeWireless is scalable and adaptable for medium to large enterprises but may face stability issues at higher user thresholds.
The Extreme access points handle high-density connectivity needs very well, managing lots of traffic efficiently.
ExtremeWireless is suitable for companies with a user base below three hundred.
The scalability of ExtremeWireless is average.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Cisco Wireless is highly stable and reliable, performing well across environments with minimal issues and high user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
7.0
ExtremeWireless is praised for its stability and reliability, though some encounter challenges with firmware updates in high-density environments.
They work well without failures.
I experienced issues during firmware upgrades, as some devices required a physical restart, which affects system stability.
The stability of ExtremeWireless is somewhat weaker compared to previous solutions, like Motorola before its acquisition.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Wireless faces cost, configuration, usability, security, cloud integration, and compatibility issues, requiring improvements across features, UI, and support.
ExtremeWireless must enhance affordability, integration, security, support, and performance to improve competitiveness and meet small business needs.
Sometimes, integration with other Cisco products requires manual intervention for tasks such as firmware upgrades, which should be automated.
In the long term, there could be a cost reduction because it does not require much maintenance.
I wish for ExtremeWireless to optimize the roaming capability between access points, especially for IoT devices.
Another area that could use enhancement is the clarity and implementation of updates, as they can be troublesome sometimes.
They should develop more troubleshooting tools for system management.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Wireless offers premium, high-quality solutions with complex licensing, perceived as costly but justified by reliability, security, and performance.
ExtremeWireless provides good value with both free and paid options, despite medium-high pricing and substantial hardware costs.
Cisco has provided significant discounts for large-scale deployments.
The price of Cisco Wireless is pretty expensive.
The licensing of Cisco Wireless is competitive.
Each customer typically buys around 100 APs, which makes it quite expensive.
Initially, the switch from Cisco to ExtremeWireless was financially favorable due to attractive pricing.
The pricing is a weak point for Extreme; it is very high.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Wireless excels in security, scalability, integration, ease of installation, and management, offering reliable connectivity and advanced features.
ExtremeWireless offers cloud management, strong security, seamless integration, and stability, making it ideal for security-focused sectors.
If one network fails, there is a link between different access points, which ensures network continuity.
Cisco Wireless is easy to configure.
When I install it, I can forget about it because there is no need for ongoing maintenance, and no other problems occur.
A single license can be used for on-premises, hybrid, or cloud, allowing for easy transition between solutions without losing investment.
The most valuable features of ExtremeWireless include the management through the one dashboard management with ActionCloud IQ, integrated with Site Engine.
Extreme access points perform very well in high-density environments, and we use them at sites with our customers.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.1
Number of Reviews
154
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ExtremeWireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 11.0%, down from 14.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeWireless is 1.8%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Theesula Majuwanagamage - PeerSpot reviewer
Bridging capabilities ensure network continuity and reliability in large-scale deployments
The most valuable feature of Cisco Wireless ( /products/cisco-wireless-reviews ) is the bridging capability. If one network fails, there is a link between different access points, which ensures network continuity. Additionally, Cisco offers significant discounts for large projects. The reliability and robust solution are also key aspects, as there have been no errors or failures. The implementation is straightforward, and the user interface connection is easy.
Seungho Yang - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced employee access with effective wireless monitoring and seamless roaming
Our use case for ExtremeWireless is to allow our employees to access the company systems The monitoring systems in ExtremeWireless have been very effective, and they are cheaper than other products. It provides better monitoring logs and detailed logs compared to Cisco Wireless. The most…
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 24, 2015
Cisco vs. Aruba Wireless Solutions
Cisco or Aruba Networks? If you are considering wireless access solutions, this is a common question that you are probably asking. You probably have sales people knocking at your door. How do you make sense of all the stories that you are presented with. If you have done any research, you are…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Cisco Wireless or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to be very reliable and to consistently run very efficiently. Cisco Wireless helpe...
Which is better - Ruckus Wireless or Cisco Wireless?
Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user friendly. This user-friendly quality also renders it easy to learn how to use and ma...
How does Cisco Wireless compare with Aruba Wireless?
On the most basic level, Cisco Wireless can offer a rather straightforward initial setup. In the span of about three hours, the basic framework can be set up. Step-by-step instructions are availabl...
What needs improvement with ExtremeWireless?
There are concerns regarding the stability of ExtremeWireless. It could be an area of improvement, especially when compared to previous solutions such as Motorola before their acquisition. Another ...
What is your primary use case for ExtremeWireless?
We mainly use ExtremeWireless ( /products/extremewireless-reviews ) for the warehouse, specifically for the Zebra handheld devices and printers.
 

Also Known As

Cisco WLAN Controller
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Brunel University London, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Chartwell School, Children's Hospital Colorado, Cisco Live Milan, City of Biel, City of Mississauga, Dundee Precious Metals, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Erickson Living, Goldcorp, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS)
St. Xavier High School, Americatel, Diamond Light Source
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless vs. ExtremeWireless and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.