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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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Wireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
153
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ExtremeWireless
Ranking in Wireless LAN
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 11.4%, down from 14.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeWireless is 1.7%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

GulfrazAhmad - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrates with ISE, and is secure, reliable, and easy to deploy
The main concern is the length and overlapping. We have to put on four to six access points on the same floor, and we face the issue of overlapping areas. If Cisco can extend the range of their indoor APs, we would need to install just one or two access points, and it would eliminate the problem of the overlapping area. They should provide built-in features for safe authentication. Right now, we integrate with ISE and FortiClient for this feature. We first check the NAC, and after the NAC and before the domain, a token password installed on their mobile or a physical token is required to join the network. If Cisco had built-in authentication, we would be able to eliminate one product from our network.
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 most valuable feature of Cisco Wireless is the bridging capability."
"The most valuable features of Cisco Wireless are the level of control and management. I am happy with it."
"Cisco Wireless is one of the more stable products so their products are scalable."
"The product offers educational licenses that are priced very reasonably."
"The product is easy to manage."
"The ability to make different types of networks, such as land networks, is the most valuable part of the solution."
"This increased mobility has helped our organization. We can talk to one another from different locations and stay in constant contact and with employees across the enterprise. Everyone has access to up-to-the-minute communications and all documents and applications on our network."
"The product's price is competitive. It is an impressive and reliable product."
"The most valuable features of ExtremeWireless include the management through the one dashboard management with ActionCloud IQ, integrated with Site Engine."
"The most valuable feature is the cloud-managed aspect."
"ExtremeWireless is a flexible solution."
"ExtremeWireless is a powerful solution with good integration. It works perfectly for us."
"The technical support from Extreme Networks is perfect."
"The central control is valuable."
"The most valuable feature is stability."
 

Cons

"There are some features I would like to have in Cisco Wireless, such as Telemetry and other IoT. However, they are available in the new version of the solution."
"And from an administration point of view, it is a very tedious job to check on each and every control. We have around 30 or 40 controls in our network."
"The solution's pricing should be improved."
"It would be better if some utility lets us know the best place to install the system. Every time we install it, we have to change it, and we have to add more access points. This is a problem we have all the time. It would be better if it integrated seamlessly with products from other vendors. It'll also help if they included a device diagnostics feature in the next release."
"The price could be better."
"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."
"Sometimes I've seen some issues come up with the interference. That's an issue users face at times. It becomes very complex when you have a lot of wireless interference in the area, or in your office. It's because of the environment of Cisco. Maybe, in the future, they can work on this area, and fix this issue."
"The product could be improved with interference reduction. Because wireless frequency interferes with microwave or Bluetooth technologies, this causes issues. A lot of users still use legacy wireless adapters and black box and they do not experience the speed that they could get using the latest technologies. The number of devices on the market makes wireless communications complex. If the problem of interference could be resolved it would further improve utility and ease of system design."
"They could provide different product models. Additionally, there could be a feature to manage devices."
"ExtremeWireless should fix some general bugs and make the user interface more user-friendly."
"There is some delay in firmware upgrades for access points. When there is a problem with the firmware of one access point, the correction might be too late."
"The performance of the access points could be improved."
"The onsite controllers are not as good as the cloud controller. I would also like ExtremeWireless to add web filtering on the access point. This feature is available from other vendors but not ExtremeWireless."
"The solution needs to improve its portfolio."
"They should develop more troubleshooting tools for system management."
"The solution must include integrated IoT solutions on their wireless APs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's expensive. The pricing is an obstacle."
"The product could be priced better."
"Cisco Wireless is a little bit expensive when compared to other solutions."
"The price of Cisco Wireless is in the high range compared to other solutions. The solution could be less expensive."
"Cost is one of the reasons why we are switching to Aruba. Aruba is significantly lower than Cisco in price. We do the licensing on a three-year basis. Cisco makes licensing very difficult."
"Because the Cisco architecture is quite complex, you may end up having to add more components and licenses. So, the cost could go up."
"There is no license required to use Cisco Wireless solutions."
"The solution is a little expensive compared to other brands."
"We pay approximately $30,000 per year."
"The price of the solution overall is expensive. Additionally, the controller and license are expensive. We pay for an annual subscription."
"I rate the price of Extreme Wireless a three out of five."
"The purchase of 350 access points cost approximately $250,000 USD."
"ExtremeWireless isn't budget-friendly. The hardware costs around 20,000 Indian rupees. We're still using an older controller, so it doesn't require a license, unlike the newest versions of the ExtremeWireless controller."
"Our access points device is at its end of life. I can buy one more and then I must buy a new device, but if it is a new device it will not support the old virtual appliance. I would need to upgrade our virtual appliance to the next version or build a new virtual appliance with new devices, and it's not good for us. The overall licensing subscription could be better."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"The license cost per AP is about $150 USD."
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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
16%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
11%
Non Profit
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 is some delay in firmware upgrades for access points. When there is a problem with the firmware of one access point, the correction might be too late.
What is your primary use case for ExtremeWireless?
We work with some end customers, and we use ExtremeCloud IQ ( /products/extremecloud-iq-reviews ) for the administration of the wireless platform. We use Wi-Fi 6 E for many users.
 

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: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.