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Cisco Wireless vs ExtremeCloud IQ comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 improves productivity and stability, offering quick returns, cost savings, and reliability for various organizations.
Sentiment score
6.6
ExtremeCloud IQ boosts productivity, reduces costs, simplifies management, and enhances scalability, positively impacting ROI and customer satisfaction.
I managed to support and deploy ExtremeCloud IQ and handle network management without requiring external staffing, thus saving on external hiring costs.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.2
Cisco Wireless support is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though service quality varies by location and engineer expertise.
Sentiment score
7.8
ExtremeCloud IQ is praised for responsive, knowledgeable customer service, despite minor training and escalation improvement suggestions.
The Cisco forum also has good questions that help resolve problems and issues.
The technical support from Cisco is of high quality.
The technical support from Cisco is good.
GTAC receives a score of ten out of ten.
I experienced effective help mainly remotely, though for some issues, a technical person had to assist on-site.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.5
Cisco Wireless scales well for larger users, but smaller organizations may face higher costs and infrastructure challenges.
Sentiment score
7.9
ExtremeCloud IQ is praised for seamless scalability, easy integration, and reliable performance in both small and large deployments.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco Wireless is highly stable, praised for reliability, minimal issues, and quick glitch resolution, making it a dependable choice.
Sentiment score
7.5
ExtremeCloud IQ is generally stable with high performance, though occasional firmware bugs and delays can impact operations.
It requires some time to update, which affects real-time management.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Wireless users seek improved management, lower costs, better interface, stronger coverage, and enhanced Apple and third-party compatibility.
Users seek a simpler interface, improved support, and enhanced features, highlighting issues with bugs, security, and pricing concerns.
We would prefer if we could increase the controller to a 10 gig interface because we want to connect our controller to a 10 gig interface.
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.
Improving documentation with more detailed videos and resources would be beneficial.
This integration aids in resolving problems and issues found in the network and enhances support with the GTAC team of Extreme Networks.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Wireless solutions are costly with complex licensing, but offer high quality and features, making them a premium option.
ExtremeCloud IQ pricing is competitive, offering comprehensive licensing and discounts, appealing to buyers prioritizing quality and reliability.
Cisco generally is expensive.
The price of Cisco Wireless is pretty expensive.
Cisco has provided significant discounts for large-scale deployments.
The licensing was a challenge due to budget constraints, and I used ExtremeCloud IQ without a license for a period.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Wireless offers security, scalability, seamless integration, and excellent support, making it ideal for diverse environments.
ExtremeCloud IQ provides scalable, cloud-based network management with AI analytics, enhancing performance, security, and reducing costs for businesses.
The advantages of Cisco Wireless include helping me aggregate all the access points, managing one point connection for my users easily, controlling rogues, and addressing hotspots effectively.
If one network fails, there is a link between different access points, which ensures network continuity.
When I install it, I can forget about it because there is no need for ongoing maintenance, and no other problems occur.
For networking and access points, it acts as a controller in a cloud environment, eliminating the need for an appliance controller or wireless LAN controller, thus saving on investment and reducing TCO costs.
The automation and information provided by ExtremeCloud IQ, such as connection status and logs, were very beneficial.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Wireless
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
4.9
Number of Reviews
154
Ranking in other categories
Wireless LAN (4th)
ExtremeCloud IQ
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (12th), Network Access Control (NAC) (10th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (21st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Wireless and ExtremeCloud IQ aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Wireless is designed for Wireless LAN and holds a mindshare of 10.6%, down 12.5% compared to last year.
ExtremeCloud IQ, on the other hand, focuses on Network Management Applications, holds 2.7% mindshare, down 2.8% since last year.
Wireless LAN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Wireless10.6%
Aruba Wireless15.0%
Ruckus Wireless13.5%
Other60.9%
Wireless LAN
Network Management Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ExtremeCloud IQ2.7%
Cisco DNA Center19.5%
Cisco Catalyst Center9.8%
Other68.0%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

EvansEsezobor - PeerSpot reviewer
Has enabled centralized user management and improved wireless access point aggregation
To improve Cisco Wireless, the ports on the access points are all 100 Meg, not 1 gig. We have not gotten a gigabyte interface of about 1,000, but the controller we have is just 1 gig. We would prefer if we could increase the controller to a 10 gig interface because we want to connect our controller to a 10 gig interface, which currently limits us to 1 gig. When we want to move higher capacity data via wireless, it limits us to 1 gig.
José Roldan - PeerSpot reviewer
Has improved network monitoring with AI-driven insights and centralized device management
The best features of ExtremeCloud IQ include the integration of different vendors in one dashboard, the evolution of the manager, and any devices in networking. The impact of ExtremeCloud IQ on my organization is positive as the deployment is for a hybrid solution, using third-party vendors and cloud solutions for Extreme devices, switches, IP, and access points or SD-WAN solution devices. My IT team is occupied with other jobs, and ExtremeCloud IQ helps with monitoring networking at low costs. For networking and access points, it acts as a controller in a cloud environment, eliminating the need for an appliance controller or wireless LAN controller, thus saving on investment and reducing TCO costs.
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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
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business76
Midsize Enterprise41
Large Enterprise74
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business46
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise24
 

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 are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeCloud IQ?
The licensing was a challenge due to budget constraints, and I used ExtremeCloud IQ without a license for a period. The documentation and training courses were also costly, impacting how easily I c...
What advice do you have for others considering ExtremeCloud IQ?
I use ExtremeCloud IQ's real-time analytics. In the cloud solution, I get reports, and it works together with machine learning and artificial intelligence for those reports. This tool permits the c...
 

Also Known As

Cisco WLAN Controller
Aerohive Networks, Aerohive HiveManager, HiveManager, ExtremeCloud , ExtremeSecurity
 

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)
Henry Ford Health System, Baltimore Ravens, Brandili, Federal University of Alagoas, CEDAE, Caxias do Sul, UNISC Concurrency, CenturyLink Field, Louisiana College, Cricket Tasmania Stadium, Moscow Internet Exchange
Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ruckus, Cisco and others in Wireless LAN. Updated: October 2025.
873,085 professionals have used our research since 2012.