Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller vs. Cisco Small Business 100 Series Wireless Access Points

[Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller's] software quality has been shed in recent years. The only problem I have with it is its inability to work with older Cisco Access Points. However, that's to be expected for any deployment. While the controller's UI works well, some areas could be improved. API integrations lack flexibility. [I feel] it's time for policy redesign. It can be a little difficult to determine coding quality.

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As an IT technician I was involved in the deployment and configuration of some access points. Work was easy to attach it to the ceiling and connect to the CAT6A network cable. The controller located in the main building transmits all settings remotely in less than 15 minutes to the access point and it is already operational. The WAP 150 has a compact style and looks great on the ceiling because the antennas are internal and radiate omnidirectionally to users. We created three networks, one 2.4Ghz, the second 5Ghz and the other exclusively for patients.

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• 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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• Compact access point with internal antennas and easy ceiling mounting.
• They are reliable and fast access points that work on the 802.11ac wave protocol with speeds of up to 1.2gbps at 5ghz. But they also work at 2.4 GHz.
• Allows you to create a cluster of up to 4 access points on site and thereby manage radio frequency, power, and other network resources.
• Access points can be managed on management and monitoring platforms with Cisco FindIT Network Management.
• Allows to be installation easily with ethernet network cable.

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• 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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• I see that this model does not have the ability to mitigate strong interference at 2.4 GHz.
• It is a model that does not serve auditors.

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Overall, we have been very happy with the results.

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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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It is a better product. The evolution is positive.

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We have [done] some work before with the Cisco 3504 product, but the more recent Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller provides a wider range of capabilities for managing the wireless network and each individual device [and] also being able to handle more users. Unfortunately, we didn't test and deploy equivalent products from other concurrent companies.

The products of the Cisco Small Business 100 Series Wireless Access Points family are an excellent option within the segment in which they compete. We provide many enterprise-level features with costs close to entry-level. It allows us to maintain centralized administration, scale easily, and not lose observability, and it maintains the quality and robustness that Cisco has accustomed us to.

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• The Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller allows you to reduce your hardware footprint of wireless controllers deployed in your environment. Instead of having a controller per site deployed, you can have a couple of 8540 controllers in your data center that can handle up 6000 Access Points.
• Some of the savings on hardware cost is offset by the cost of redundant WAN circuits. The access points will continue to function when connectivity to the Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller is unreachable, but it will not allow any new connections in that wireless environment.

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• Increased productivity with the use of notebooks and tablets.
• Mobility and allowed to work from home during the pandemic.

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