Cisco Wireless WAN Reviews

We have around nearly 150 access points. We use Cisco access points for our business core systems for the employees. All the users connect through this wirelessly.

Stability is one aspect that I find very valuable. The signal strength is also very strong.

The connectivity is reliable, and it doesn't have many issues.

The console interface is not very user-friendly. It's a bit complex and difficult to navigate. Even some integrations can be challenging. But we can manage eventually.

Therefore, for me, some areas of improvement include integration, pricing, and console. 

Scalability is easy, it is stable, and configuring certain things like Mac filtering is also simple. However, I feel the need to enhance the security aspect, especially for guest connectivity.

I've been using it for around five years.

Stability is really good in Cisco Wireless WAN. I would rate it an eight out of ten. 

There are no restrictions on scalability. It is a scalable product. We have 150 access points, and there are 350 employees.

The support is good. They have a vendor here currently, and their support is good.

Neutral

The initial setup is not difficult. It's easy because we have been using Cisco for a long time.

Moreover, very little maintenance is required. We just perform some checks and minor tasks. There isn't much maintenance required.

It is a bit expensive compared to others. So it's a little costly.

For us, this is an all-in-one product. It doesn't have separate licenses. When purchased, the product comes with a license. It's a one-time purchase.

We were migrating from the on-prem to the cloud version. We made a comparison analysis b/w different technologies.

Cisco wireless on-prem has moved to Cisco Meraki Access, and Cisco Meraki is the better. We can use the cloud solution. The only thing is the price is a little high. Other than that, all the features and security aspects are really good with Cisco.

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten. The overall rating is seven due to the higher price and the need for enhancements in the console and security features. The guest Wi-Fi and non-console options are lacking in the older version, although I believe the new version might address that.

We are satisfied with the product.

The access points and controllers are good and do not give us any issues. In addition, the individual access points are good.

They recently launched the virtual wireless controller and a new CTI. Unfortunately, it is not scalable, and the performance is not good. Sometimes it hangs, and it has a slow response. We don't have a good experience and are uncomfortable with these elements.

The network management system is not great. It is incapable of handling a large number of access points. They are working on it but have not been able to fix it yet.

We have been using this solution for about six years. We are using different models like the Wi-fi 5 model.

The technical support is good because we have a contract with them. They respond whenever we have an issue.

The pricing is okay compared to other products like Aruba and Huawei. However, to be more competitive, Cisco could lower its price.

We have a big infrastructure of about 15,000 to 20,000. So if it works fine for us, it will suit small companies with small networks. We use the controller, and it is fine. I rate this solution a five out of ten, mainly because of the network issues.

Cisco Wireless WAN works well in an enterprise environment.

The most valuable features of Cisco Wireless WAN are the dashboards, security functionality, and Cisco DNA center. The way the solution has integrated within the fabric of the environment with automation is very good.

Cisco Wireless WAN could improve the wireless environment visibility. For example, the information regarding bandwidth use, conditions of the network, and application visibility.

I have been using Cisco Wireless WAN for approximately five years. 

The stability of Cisco Wireless WAN is good.

Cisco Wireless WAN is a scalable solution. You are able to purchase as many licenses as required.

I have worked with this solution in large environments. We have had clients with approximately 2,000 users.

The support from Cisco is good.

I have used Aruba Wireless.

The setup of Cisco Wireless WAN needs an expert. You need someone with experience to be able to work with Cisco Wireless solutions. It took approximately one to two weeks to implement the solution.

The implementation of Cisco Wireless WAN will need at least a field engineer to do the configuration of the appliance.

The license is not subscription-based.

I rate Cisco Wireless WAN a ten out of ten.

The manageability and control are excellent. 

It is stable.

The solution scales well. 

We didn't have any issues setting it up.

Technical support was helpful. 

It needs to increase its strength in capacity. We'd like to cover more areas for WiFi accessibility.

We've been using the solution for more than ten years. It's been a long time. 

The stability has been good. there are no bugs or glitches and we haven't had issues with it crashing or freezing. It's reliable. 

The solution can scale if a company needs it to expand. 

We do want to expand usage. We're looking into 2025 already and are looking for what will meet our future requirements. 

Technical support has been good. We are satisfied with the level of support we receive. 

Positive

We've always used Cisco. We've used Cisco for a long time. However, we are looking for something that offers more features and more options. If that's Cisco, great, if that's something else, we are open to it. 

We also used Aruba and Ubiquiti in the past.

It's an easy initial setup. The process is straightforward. 

We have not witnessed any ROI.

We are a Cisco partner. 

This is a good product and we've had no issues with it. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. 

The most valuable features are CleanAir, Rogue Detection, and the auto-calculation of RF.

There are a number of areas for improvement in Cisco Wireless WAN, including sensitive applications which face issues on wireless stuff and difficulty troubleshooting. In the next release, Cisco should include more troubleshooting features, especially for sensitive applications like Teams and other voice and video applications. There should be easy ways to analyze the wireless network to find where the problem is. 

I've been using this solution for eight years.

Wireless networks are never stable because they're always impacted by multiple reasons.

Cisco Wireless WAN is scalable.

Cisco's technical support is good - you get instant support, and most of the engineers are good and highly skilled (though not all, so some cases can take longer).

The initial setup is simple for enterprise users, but it's very complex for DYOD and guest networks.

Cisco's pricing is reasonable.

Cisco Wireless WAN is most suitable for enterprise companies. Before choosing this solution, remember that there are other good solutions, including Aruba and Ruckus, so you should explore which solution is best for your organization. I would give Cisco Wireless WAN a rating of eight out of ten.

We use Cisco Wireless WAN 9115s and 9130s. Two are controllers, and the rest, subordinates.

Cisco wireless is stable, easy to use, and simple to configure. They have an outstanding GUI.

You cannot go to different versions or different access points. 9115s cannot interact with 9120s, and 9130s can interact with 9115s. You can add or remove as many subordinates as you want. It's not an issue. It's completely logical.

Cisco support is fantastic. They're knowledgeable and responsive.

Setting up Cisco Wireless is extremely easy. I'm doing one right now, and it usually takes between 15 and 20 minutes.

I rate Cisco Wireless WAN nine out of 10. You need to read the documentation carefully when implementing it because you have to go through a step-by-step configuration. Upgrading can be done in two ways: HTTP from the desktop or TFTP. HTTP is extremely easy. You connect with a console cable and do it.

Most of my customers are demanding a wireless connectivity that seamless and  great mobility for their users. Because modern workplace now requires great collaboration and great collaboration comes from great mobility.

Cisco Wireless LAN has improved a lot of my customers organization. The best part of using wireless solution is the mobility, where my customers can work together like anywhere and anytime. They way they are working also changing after using wireless solution.

Cisco Wireless Solution comes with WiFi 6 capability that provide higher bandwidth and less usage of battery for endpoint. The visibility on the solution also comes in place when it is integrated with Cisco DNA Center. Day 2 operation is much easier because the solution provide wider visibility and analytics.

Apart from the features and benefits that Cisco Wireless LAN Solution has been given, some areas are still need to be improved. For example on part of onboarding the AP. For customer who has old version WLC (AireOS version) and want to migrate their AP to new WLC (IOS XE version) sometime requires extra effort because of DTLS certificate issue or no valid ap manager. 

Working on Cisco Gold Partner as Systems Engineer give me more than 6 years already in delivering Cisco Wireless LAN Solution. From the era of Aironet untill now becoming era of Catalyst Wireless.

Cisco Wireless LAN Solution is stable if you choose the recommended version of firmware.

Cisco Wireless LAN scalability is good. The smallest of WLC can handle up to 250 APs and the highest WLC can handle up to 6000 APs.

Cisco TAC is helpful when assisting us during troubleshooting the issue, one thing that can be improved also from Cisco Wireless Solution is to auto capture the logs and everything that need to be analyzed during troubleshooting for particular user since troubleshooting wireless need to analyze on live session.

Positive

The initial setup is less complex than it used to be and has definitely improved. There's still a way to go. Depending on the customer, deployment can take from two weeks to three months.

We implement the solutions with our implementation team.

Licensing on Cisco Wireless Solution comes in 3 types of subscriptions, DNA Essential, DNA Advantage and DNA Premier. Those 3 types licensing actually has a component which perpetual based. But at first time of buying the solution, Cisco enforced the customers to buy initial license that come with minimum of 3 years subscriptions. After 3 years passed, customer can still use the network even the license is not being renewed because there is a part on the license that perpetual. Digging deeper on to the part of subscriptions license, actually most of the features are can only use if the customer has DNA Center. So if the customer doesn't have DNA Center then mostly those features is unable to use.

Cisco Wireless LAN solutions is good enough to deliver the wireless experience for my customers, but sometimes we need to adjust or tune the configuration before get the best experience. Since Cisco is already has AI capability, I hope that in the future, the configuration will be adjusted with the baseline of customer environment. Suppose that there is learning curve process for 1 week, after that the solution will provide a report that configuration need to be fixed according to the customer environment and according to Cisco Best Practice. This report need to be evaluated by IT Admin and if it is approved, then schedule a downtime in the out of office hour for implementing the configuration.

We have many computers that we have connected to this network device.

In the future, Cisco Wireless WAN could improve its ability to expand.

I have been using this solution for two years.

The solution could be more stable.

I have found the scalability to be good. We have approximately 200 people using the solution in my organization and we have plans to increase usage.

The technical support we have experienced has been good.

I have used Ubiquiti previously and this solution is more stable.

The installation is straightforward.

Our IT department is approximately 50 people and we have a team of five technicians that do the implementation and maintenance of the solution.

There is a license that is needed for the use of this solution.

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Cisco Wireless WAN a seven out of ten.