Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller vs. Cisco Mobility Express (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
The Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller is a highly scalable, service-rich, resilient, and flexible platform. It provides centralized control, management, and troubleshooting for high-scale deployments in service provide, enterprise, and large campus deployments.N/A
Cisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Score 5.0 out of 10
N/A
Cisco Mobility Express was a controllerless wi-fi solution, used by businesses to quickly deploy a wireless network without requiring substantial IT resources. The product is discontinued.N/A
Pricing
Cisco 8540 Wireless ControllerCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco 8540 Wireless ControllerCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco 8540 Wireless ControllerCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Best Alternatives
Cisco 8540 Wireless ControllerCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Small Businesses
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
Score 9.5 out of 10
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
WatchGuard Secure Wi-Fi Cloud
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Score 9.8 out of 10
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Points (discontinued)
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Score 8.7 out of 10
Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points
Score 8.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco 8540 Wireless ControllerCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
7.9
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco 8540 Wireless ControllerCisco Mobility Express (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
I recommend using Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller as an economical solution for assurance of best wireless connectivity across departments and cloud resources. It can resolve most of the networking and cloud connectivity-related issues. It can also eliminate the issues related to bandwidth. It can provide uninterrupted connectivity to cloud resources and databases at high speed with security.
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Honestly, I think it is well suited in any environment. May it be work, campus, universities, malls. It is a reliable, controller-less solution, simple and easy to use, and easy to maintain. It doesn't require much support from professionals. You install it easily. It provides an uninterrupted connection, and you can easily connect to it.
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Pros
  • The GUI on the Cisco 8540 WLC is much better designed than other Cisco products. Its easy to navigate between the different settings to find what is needed.
  • The AP groups allows touching multiple APs at one time.
  • It also allows us to create standard SSIDs that can be used at all sites that connect back to it, this saves a lot of time instead of hitting each site with a local controller.
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  • Interference mitigation
  • New update provides bandwidth control at all levels
  • Radius integration
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Cons
  • Code quality is a bit hit and miss. This will be great for a while, then things will be bad for a while, then we'll do it again. The UI of the controller works, but could do with a refresh, and I would like to see some improvement on layout and organization.
  • The constant code/firmware upgrades and the QA of new code could be better.
  • Maybe the compatibility with old Cisco Access Points could be improved, but it's normal in all kinds of deployments.
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  • There were some minor issues, but were solved with a firmware update.
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Usability
Very feature rich, easy enough for beginners to understand layout and initial setup. Need a good training (online, Cisco Leaning Network, etc.) to fully understand all features and product capabilities. Strict power requirements for APs are only major drawback for our specific implementation.
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No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
To be honest, I have not faced any sort of application error or unplanned outages till now. [In my experience], I had faced a reduction in internet speed, which was later identified [to be the fault of] the internet service provider.
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Performance
No answers on this topic
It provides a seamless connection, but sometimes it kicks me out, and [I] need to reconnect. Luckily it will connect you to the next one available if kicked out.
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Support Rating
It is a better product. The evolution is positive.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco products offer an unrivaled experience that outperforms the majority of other alternatives. This is a long-term investment that will provide a great return on investment. The Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller, on the other hand, is more powerful and has more features for managing each device and the wireless network.
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Cisco Mobility Express is far better than other products. It is a renowned brand in network products, and they are reliable and efficient as compared to other products that I have used so far. It is highly recommended.
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Return on Investment
  • Network engineers find it easier to [manage] high-stress levels since they're more reliable and robust.
  • Their initial cost is very high compared to other router providers, such as Juniper.
  • Their hardware dependability can be a big drawback if you run on a budget.
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  • It has given our IT team time back from not having to fix issues everyday with the network.
  • It makes it easy for visibility of the network and allows those who are new to it to learn it quickly.
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ScreenShots