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Cisco Wireless vs Juniper WLC Series 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
5.2
Number of Reviews
155
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Juniper WLC Series
Ranking in Wireless LAN
17th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 9.2%, down from 11.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper WLC Series is 1.5%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Wireless9.2%
Juniper WLC Series1.5%
Other89.3%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

EvansEsezobor - PeerSpot reviewer
Group IT Head at Euracare
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.
RN
National Marketing Manager at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
AI-driven optimization enhances network management and reduces hardware needs
In my region, access to the product is very difficult and presents a logistical nightmare. Also, pricing is a big problem and a barrier to entry when selling Juniper against competitors. Furthermore, the knowledge of the product's capabilities is not understood properly by those selling it, leading to overselling and overquoting.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The stability is great. It's very reliable."
"Its stability is most valuable."
"It allows us to reduce the cost of cabling and provides mobility of users within the organization."
"Cisco Wireless improves mobility and flexibility. The only case we are working on is with hospitals, focusing on the mobility of doctors within the hospital. Everywhere, doctors need to be connected to the network, even within the operating theater, patient rooms, and even the basement, like the radiology department. As far as the solution goes, the coverage is usually very comprehensive."
"The solution offers very good application visibility and control integration for other analysis software."
"Cisco Meraki is easy to use, and the mesh is flawless over 37 locations."
"Good manageability, and stability."
"It integrates with Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA)."
"The installation process is nice and easy."
"The solution is stable, we have not witnessed any bugs or glitches and it doesn't seem to crash or freeze, it's a reliable product and the performance is good in general."
"It provides reliable and effective Wi-Fi to our clients and it is very scalable for high density installations."
"Customer service is very good, and they have very experienced engineers on the site I worked on."
"Its cloud machine has AI and machine learning, and therefore, it can help ensure IT has good monitoring and quicker response time as well as good troubleshooting capabilities."
"The AI integration with Marvis is very valuable."
"It prevents a large number of unauthorized modifications of access point devices."
"There weren't any scalability issues, the product did what it had to do."
 

Cons

"Right now it just seems like it doesn't have enough power."
"There are a couple of shortcomings in Cisco Wireless right now."
"The reporting tool in Cisco Wireless could improve. If I am trying to receive information about a client or user, it's cumbersome to retrieve the information on the controller system."
"There is room for improvement regarding HA issues and Radius integration."
"However, I wouldn't typically recommend Cisco Wireless."
"The cost model is expensive."
"Because the Cisco architecture is quite complex, you may end up having to add more components and licenses. So, the cost could go up."
"I would like to see less dependency on other products such as ISE and Prime for certain implementations."
"We would prefer it if the solution could be less expensive."
"The solution could offer more integration with other products."
"The support on offer to other vendors switching - like Aruba or Ruckus - could be improved."
"WLCv was a product at the being of its evolution, so there was room for improvement there."
"Juniper lacks a network access control agent similar to solutions like Alubakya Path and Cisco ISE."
"Juniper WLC Series has certain shortcomings in traffic monitoring."
"The solution could offer more integration with other products."
"The support on offer to other vendors switching - like Aruba or Ruckus - could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive product. I would rate the pricing a nine out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"The product is expensive."
"Pricing is a bit on the high side compared to its competitors but we have to consider the support and usages of the solution. Licensing is now RTU and smart licensing. We need three types of licenses. One for each of the: APs, HA, controller."
"The price of Cisco Wireless is in the high range compared to other solutions. The solution could be less expensive."
"It might be around $100 for a license. The internal ones are far cheaper than that."
"Cisco licensing is usually provided on a yearly basis rather than monthly. You can get a hardware SLA or hardware and software SLA for a period of years. Longer terms influence the level of support that you get when it comes to Cisco SLA."
"Cisco WiFi 1572 is very expensive locally and our budget for this year is used."
"Cisco Wireless is a little bit expensive when compared to other solutions."
"The product is relatively affordable for enterprise companies."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable."
"Juniper WLC Series is a bit pricey but worth its cost."
"There is a certain amount that needs to be paid towards the licensing charges associated with the product, but though I am not sure, I feel the licenses that we have in our company are for three years."
"The licensing cost is quite high, but considering it's an enterprise solution, the complexity justifies the price."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Wireless LAN solutions are best for your needs.
885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user212721 - PeerSpot reviewer
President at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
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
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business78
Midsize Enterprise41
Large Enterprise73
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise4
 

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 Juniper WLC Series?
Juniper lacks a network access control agent similar to solutions like Alubakya Path and Cisco ISE. There should be a network access control engine. Some customers find it challenging as they do no...
What is your primary use case for Juniper WLC Series?
I work with Juniper service provider solutions. I have a service provider customer and some enterprise customers in retail.
 

Also Known As

Cisco WLAN Controller
Juniper WLAN
 

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)
Apollo Hotel Papendrecht, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Bajaj Capital, Baloise Insurance, BAS Group, Borealis, Danish Crown, Deloitte Belgium, Jan Yperman Hospital, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, MercaSID, S.A., NHTV Breda University, Parklands College and Christopher Robin Pre-Primary, San Antonio Community Hospital, Sandia National Laboratories, Springfield Public Schools (SPS), St. Catherine University, TalkTalk, The Education Village, University of Copenhagen, University of the Highlands and Islands, University of the West of Scotland (UWS), Valdosta State University, Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), zulily
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless vs. Juniper WLC Series and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.