The Cisco 5520 Series Wireless LAN Controller is a highly scalable, service-rich, resilient, and flexible platform that is ideal for medium-sized to large enterprise and campus deployments.
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UniFi WiFi Access Points
Score 8.7 out of 10
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Ubiquiti Networks in San Jose provides the UniFi wi-fi access points. The enterprise products support 1,000+ client capacity, long-range 6 GHz performance, and 10 GbE PoE connectivity with native high availability architecture for critical enterprise environments.
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Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller
UniFi WiFi Access Points
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Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller
UniFi WiFi Access Points
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Community Pulse
Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller
UniFi WiFi Access Points
Considered Both Products
Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller
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Chose Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller
Cisco Identity Services Engine is well integrated on Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller because the WLC supports a lot of authentication methods and security protocols (such as PEAP, EAP-TLS, Captive Portal redirect). They perform very well with ISE. Cisco ISE is able to manage …
It is chosen mainly for the capacity of users, performance and stability of the equipment. It has the possibility of working in mobility group mode and has the option of redundant sources and high availability configuration.this makes it usable in medium and high density …
The Cisco 5520 Wireless controller was the one that we were able to deploy the easiest between our qty of access points and the location these devices are located in.
Cisco is the most stable company in switching parts including wireless, and it has the most powerful support team with a lot of online documents, community, and market share so when you get stuck, you can find support from anywhere. And usually, you won't need it as its product …
We used standalone Cisco 3850 switches prior to implementing Cisco 5520s. While 3850s are individually a cheaper solution, the limitations [are that it is] only able to manage the access point directly connected to that particular device was too much of a limitation. We also …
[The] best bet is the integration with ISE. Users use their active directory credentials to access the wireless and very simple guest portal to gain access to the Internet. We plan on integrating Cisco DNA Centre in the future that will give us more visibility and improved …
Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers, Cisco VoIP PBX, Cisco Unified Contact Center, Cisco UCS C-Series, Cisco TelePresence Collaboration Room Endpoints, Cisco Small Business 500 Series Wireless Access Points, Cisco Nexus and Cisco Ethernet Switches
Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller has better high availability features compared to the others. Also Cisco has a worldwide service center and is located in nearly all countries to offer fast and reliable support in case of any hardware issue. Also Cisco offers more features, for …
These Cisco 5520 Wireless Controllers were our choice at the time over Aruba's offerings. We went with them for ease of use and how they integrated nicely within our existing, mostly Cisco, network environment.
Before using of Ubiquiti Networks UniFi we were using cisco WAP 150 series.which is not giving good signal strength and also having issue to manage 10different APs individually.so getting every day complain regarding slow internet speed sue to signal strength. we found Ubiquiti …
Ubiquity is easy to configure, first-time installation and management is a lot easier, the controller is free of charge and access points worked well with the software controller.
Cisco is a much more industry standard integrated solution. However with that comes a lot of bloat & a lot of settings that just aren't needed. UniFi is really a great competitor because it's so light that you could use this solution in your house if you really had the drive …
D-link Wireless solution is another one of the cost-effective wireless solutions in the market and it does really well for small businesses. however even a slightly higher traffic load brings the performance of the wireless APs down and sometimes they hang and need to be …
I prefer Cisco Meraki MX when compared to the similar solution from Unify. Cisco Meraki is much more stable and the cloud interface is quite better. Cisco Meraki belongs to a more expensive price range, though. I believe that Ubiquiti Networks UniFi is a good solution for the …
Ubiquiti is overall easier to work with. There is no special training needed to accomplish many of the things required with a Cisco product. Since my time is stretched thin, I need something that I can manage without being weighed down by command-line communications. Also, I am …
Ubiquiti is the worst of all network products I've ever used - with the worst support. Even Netgear - as much of a joke as they are - have better products and support.
Ubiquiti uses profiles to manage their devices, like other vendors, but the functionality, easy of configuration, automated updates make Ubiquiti a better fit for SMB.
When compared to the leader, Cisco, Ubiquiti Networks UniFi cuts costs tenfold and, depending on the needs of the organization, can perform just as well. While not as customizable and feature-full, Ubiquiti Networks UniFi equipment does provide reliability and function at an …
Cost is very competitive as compared to other products that we tested against ubiquity and the availability of hardware in our region is very easy as compared to other products, device was readily provided by vendor for testing purpose, while other devices were not readily …
Cisco is far more enterprise-level, and if your network is already all Cisco, it ties in well. Of course, that means it's as complex as Cisco gear usually is--each feature comes with more to know and understand, whereas the simplicity of Ubiquiti Networks UniFi makes it far …
They are two different animals. One was an enterprise-level CLI-based deployment/management tool I used at VZW and the other is a GUI deployment/management tool fit for small/medium businesses that don't want to devote teams of people to manage it.
D-link wireless solution is another solution in the market. it is a cheap wireless solution. it is well suited for small business environments with fewer users. It does not perform well with a high density of users. Cisco Wireless solution is best for high-density environments …
We studied on Cisco Wireless AP Aironet 2800 series and Ubiquiti products for wireless connectivity plant to remote locations & we chose Ubiquity due to its price range, specification, and durability (radio device best in outdoor), and long-range but smooth connectivity. (We …
Aruba is expensive. Very expensive compared to Unifi. Their power requirements tend to be higher as well. It makes Unifi an easy choice over Aruba. That being said, Arubas are very well made devices. I feel their interfaces are a bit more cumbersome than Unifi. Between …
Cisco Meraki; Aruba; Juniper: I've looked at all of these. I have a ton of experience deploying and using Cisco Meraki. I love their solution. You get such a high level of technology with all the protections afforded by Cisco on the backend. However, the primary reason I choose …
Quality has a cost, it's true ... But in some cases it's unjustified. There are many "famous" brands of switches and network equipment, often with exorbitant costs. Ubiquiti has an honest cost and respectable performance. Few frills, probably a bit immature software than the …
We have compared other lines of wireless APs and have not been able to find a reason to switch. Ubiquiti's pricing model wins compared to Cisco and other's subscription-based models. We cannot find enough functionality in the more expensive lines to justify switching.
Cisco Meraki's solutions closely provide the benefits Ubiquiti provides with a more consumer-level financial accessibility. Ubiquiti has been exponentially increasing its attention and being implemented by home users means gaining a huge market within users that are attentive …
They are massively different but mainly on cost. The APs I was considering with Aruba was about $5K apiece and the APs from Ubiquity Unifi is $100 and I know they would do things differently or so I am told, but I just cannot say that I am suffering and would benefit from the …
One way of looking at network equipment is by grouping all into two categories: Standalone, and Centrally Managed. Most home or SOHO network equipment is standalone, meaning each device is configured individually. If you need to adjust settings off-site, you need to allow it …
Unifi trails the competitors in the switch/gateway category but exceeds all competitors in WiFi and IP cameras. Cisco Meraki equipment is too expensive along with monthly costs. Netgear equipment is fine for simple networks but a small increase in upfront spend will get you …
I consider that its implementation is recommended for configurations where the amount of access points exceeds 50 devices and the performance exceeds 4 Gbps. In environments where the access point density is less than 10 units, we can use the option of Express Mobility.
Ubiquiti is well suited to not just indoor WLAN access, but also outdoors. In fact, the range of the outdoor applications, while maintaining throughput is astonishing. I would say this is not a solution for a 1-5 person small office, due to the costs.
Most of the AP's are highly reliable and can be used indoors or in covered outdoor spaces.
Outdoor Mesh AP's with an external directional antenna can effectively cover outdoor spaces with dual band wifi better than much more expensive APs.
Unifi Protect via the Cloud Key Gen2+ is probably the slickest, most affordable IP camera system on the market right now.
Unifi controller is powerful yet simple to administrate.
Remote management of entire networks through a single pane of glass is easy to accomplish with the Unifi controller.
Cloud Key Gen2 solves problems with the first Cloud Key wiht a built-in battery backup.
When you are "full stack" Unifi with wifi, network switches and gateways, the control you can wield over a network in just a few clicks and the amount of data you can glean from a quick glance in the controller is incredibly impressive. It makes an IT guy wish every product/service could be so tightly and well-integrated.
Community support is excellent, Unifi staff monitors their official forums and responds to almost every thread.
[It] can improve on the possibility of using the physical controllers with the virtual one.
[It] can improve on the possibility of having site-to-site failover capabilities, [like in the case of] controllers at production go down and controllers at our DR site take over.
The possibility of an app on your phone for alerts and minor configuration of the controllers.
This equipment from Cisco has been dependable and we are able to easily continue to add access points or make changes easily to the Wi-Fi password settings.
We have been operating this equipment for a number of years and it does not give us any issues.
In the dailies activities it's simple to manage a wireless network and also to perform changes: the GUI is well known and intuitive for engineers that know how to operate on Cisco WLC. It has High Throughput and consolidated features such as CleanAir, Roaming supporting natively Cisco ISE authentication methods and DNA Center. It's recommended for Wi-Fi 5 wireless infrastructures.
Ubiquiti makes great Access points at various tiers provided far better coverage and throughput than consumer-grade wireless repeaters and routers. We have not had any performance complaints from guests or from the administration who use the wifi on a daily basis.
Cisco support is always ready to support and engage in any problem or issue. Starting from the implementation support, troubleshooting any software issue or hardware. Their engineers are engaging whenever we ask for support, keep following up with us, and troubleshoot any problem till we find a solution and be satisfied [with] the service.
Ubiquiti support is minimal, which is said to help decrease the cost of the equipment. However, with many reports of emails going directly to the Ubiquiti support line taking days to hear a response, you're better off either engaging with the community forums for help from fellow UniFi users or reaching out to a reseller that has training on the equipment that can assist.
Just take your time when setting up the HA pairs as those can be tricky. Also take your time setting up AP groups and make sure they are on all the SSIDs you need to be on.
Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller has better high availability features compared to the others. Also Cisco has a worldwide service center and is located in nearly all countries to offer fast and reliable support in case of any hardware issue. Also Cisco offers more features, for example AVC, CleanAir and TrustSec which the compotitiors don't. And we could use some of our als Cisco APs with the Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller and didn't need to buy that much new APs.
I've used Meraki AP and switches in a large-scale organization and Ubiquiti on a smaller scale. There is a big cost difference, and due to the different sizes and scope of the projects, it's difficult to compare or contrast. Both have worked great for each organization.
Implementing the [Cisco] 5520 [Wireless] Controllers offered us a huge improvement in administrative time over our previous Cisco 3850 deployment. Being able to see all of our APs on a single controller as well as centrally manage them is a great benefit. This also removed the need to deploy specific equipment in different IDFs throughout our Industrial locations and instead only requiring switches with Power Over Ethernet (POE) capability.
Wireless performance has improved with the deployment of our 5520s, which allows our plant operators to do their jobs more efficiently while on the move.
Having three Cisco 5520 Wireless Controllers provides tertiary redundancy for our wireless networks. The solution is elegantly simple. Preventing downtime is, obviously, a profound part of our supply chain capabilities.
The solid reliability means we hardly ever have to solve 'Wi-Fi issues'. It's now just one of those things we used to have to do, and now have more time to devote to other tasks.
The relatively long life support for Ubiquiti products, in terms of firmware updates, etc, has resulted in us not having to replace access points half as often as we used to. The Ubiquiti gear in our offices is approximately three years old now and the APs and the Controller keep getting regular updates with useful new features and bug fixes.
Great overall coverage and seamless handover between APs keeps productivity high and allows people to stay connected no matter where they are in the building.
