Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Reviews & Insights

Score7 out of 10

46 Reviews and Ratings

Community insights

TrustRadius Insights for Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.

Pros

Comprehensive Integration: Users have appreciated the system's comprehensive integration with Radius, stating it enhances network management efficiency.

Scalability and Flexibility: Reviewers have highlighted the system's scalability in supporting over 1000 access points and its flexible configuration options for adapting to changing requirements.

Reliable Performance: The system is praised for its reliable performance, faster network speed, and strong connectivity to cloud resources by multiple users.

Efficient Network Management: Users value the efficient management of multiple access points, ease of pushing out WAP code updates, and seamless deployment of new SSIDs.

Cost-Effectiveness: Customers appreciate the economical pricing compared to modern alternatives without compromising on features or performance.

Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller Reviews

7 Reviews

Professional, Scientific, and Technical ServicesAccounting1Information Technology & Services5Computer & Network Security1

Robust and Reliable Networking Experience

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

October 19, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Cisco routers in our projects mostly because they’re known for better resource management over better wireless connectivity. [The] Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller provides control, management, and diagnosing under one roof for service providers and large project deployments. [The] Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller offers the pliability to support various deployment modes in the same controller. Also, this can be a very economical solution as it provides consecutive connectivity to network databases and other resources in the cloud efficiently with more secure packets.

Pros

Super scalability with the support [of] over 1000 access points and over 15000 clients
Integrated services for application control and transparency and software-based segmentation with accuracy
Ability to develop highly secure mobile server strategy and infrastructure with available services

Cons

Implementation cost is high.
[The] user interfaces seem old-fashioned and can be improved.
Their Software Defined Networking approach is good, but slowly evolving.

Likelihood to Recommend

In general, Cisco routers contain many varieties which cover every possible networking environment and usage. Cisco routers can be used for small companies and office rooms, larger enterprises, industrial data centers, and other cloud service providers. Also, Cisco CCNA is widely popular among networking certifications so many professionals are widely available for service. Reliability and robustness are key features when it comes to networking. I think Cisco is doing a great job by proving over and over becoming the market leader.

Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology (Information Technology & Services company, 1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

1 year of experience

A Pleasure to Use, as well as a Sound Decision!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

October 12, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Since its beginnings, the Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller has served as our router for wireless connectivity to the company's networks. We use it throughout the organization and have solved spare capacity and cloud connectivity concerns for critical components, such as servers and databases. Cisco [8540] Wireless Controller is the most comprehensive and it’s what I’ve been using. As compared with other manufacturer's products, it offers advanced functionality and integration. It comes with excellent documentation and is easy to understand. Even the oldest controllers can still support the latest APs. It works thanks to the Cisco infrastructure. It can deliver high performance when the Wi-Fi tuning is done correctly.

Pros

The installation and maintenance of the wireless network are straightforward and reliable.
It can handle more than a thousand APs simultaneously without compromising network performance. Additionally, it allows us to have full control and flexibility over all access points.
Many cloud connectivity issues have been addressed, including multi-protocol compatibility with security features.

Cons

Wireless range should be extended and pricing should [possibly] be reconsidered for some organizations.
Some complex configurations can be hard to get and set up without professional assistance.
The location of the device can have a significant effect on the wireless signal. Some VPN solutions may be available by default.

Likelihood to Recommend

[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.

Nilufa Hossain

IT Specialist in Research & Development at Lamda I-TECH (Information Technology & Services, 11-50 employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

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A solution which fixes or resolves many problems [that I] definitely recommend!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

May 18, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller has been used by our organization for many years as our main router for wireless connectivity of our employees' systems. It is used by the whole organization and efficiently solved the bandwidth issues and cloud connectivity of major accessories like servers, databases, etc. I had a great experience overall by using it, as I always had a fast connection even at the highest data traffic times.

Pros

It uses the latest wifi 6 specifications, which include improved bandwidth.
It has the capacity of more than a thousand APs at a time without degrading the network capabilities.
It effectively solved many problems with cloud connectivity [and] no major notable issues in our system.

Cons

[It doesn't] have built-in VPN protocols.
[I would appreciate] per-device usage logs of particular applications.

Likelihood to Recommend

This is best suited where we want to work [and] in an environment that does not cause us to lose our unsaved work due to irregular internet connectivity outages. Also, it is made on a very secure platform. It is less appropriate where we have a small number of devices [as] the price does not justify the use of such a powerful solution.

Raman Sehgal

Network Specialist in Information Technology at Orange (Information Technology & Services, 10,001+ employees)

Vetted Review

4 years of experience

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One fantastic wireless controller for the enterprise--Cisco 8540

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

December 21, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller is high speed controller for networking mostly for large organizations.With flex connect, it is used with access points for many big groups in our organization. Its highly secure wireless and guest access is very secure. Its interface is very easy to adapt and is very secure. It allows for deploying multiple access points, which is a great pro for a WLAN.

Pros

Supports a large number of access points that help us quickly manage Cisco configurable points and resolve technical issues.
We can have a Cisco-supported WAN with maximum customization in its configuration; if the connection for the servers is down, it would not be too much trouble to navigate the system controller.
It supports smart networks, which is also an excellent quality of this wireless controller.
We have multiple units--one is active and others are for backup. We are able to control entire wireless network without any interruptions. Everything is implemented automatically and optimally.

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.

Likelihood to Recommend

It's well suited where the company or the organization has a large group of access points. The controller should be compatible with other groups also. The secured system for guest access is also great.

Verified User

Analyst in Information Technology (Information Technology & Services company, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

8 years of experience

Give a boost to your business with this controller

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

December 18, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller is one of the best things to get a good wireless experience on Windows, iOS, and Android. I have worked mostly on Windows for last four years and never experienced any compromise on speed for all the access points. This can be a more valuable way to monitor any access point and manage it. It has a leading position in the queue due to flexible RF settings. When we use the second-layer redundancy, we are unable to connect to a secondary wireless LAN controller over UI.

Pros

Wireless management
You can upgrade different modes within the same controller
Interface is user friendly

Cons

This is quite expensive
Most of the time if errors occur, it gives very few details about them

Likelihood to Recommend

We can see the traffic flow to the wireless LAN controller and can get full details about the user and at which frequency and AP they are connected. It is user friendly to most of the configurations (e.g., HA configuration, global configuration of AP, etc.). Sometimes it needs more than one refresh to get the data populated in some browsers.

Verified User

Employee in Information Technology (Information Technology & Services company, 1001-5000 employees)

Vetted Review

5 years of experience

You know what you get from Cisco, but you pay for it

Rating: 7 out of 10

Incentivized

December 7, 2020

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use the Cisco 8450 Wireless Controller to manage and monitor all the Wireless Access Point across the offices. This is up to 50 AP's across two wireless controllers.

Pros

Managing Wireless Networks
Preventing Rogue APs
Segregating Wireless Networks

Cons

Expensive
Cumbersome to manage

Likelihood to Recommend

While you can never go wrong with Cisco you pay a hefty price just for the brand and there are other products out here that do the same job equally if not better.
The security on the units is top notch but the management (as with anything Cisco) leaves a lot be desired in term of streamlining.

Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology (Accounting company, 1001-5000 employees)

Vetted Review

5 years of experience

The best of the best wireless solutions from Cisco

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

November 20, 2019

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

It is an amazing product by Cisco with high performance.

Pros

It uses the protocols 802.11BGN/AC/AX with technology 6.0.
The roaming solutions are amazing, a great experience for users, on Mac and Windows.
No need for infrastructure replacement; it is robust for this solution.
It is the best solution wireless for on-premise, with controller.

Cons

The education is only functional with some methods of authentication.
I can use the solution with restricted bandwidth Internet.

Likelihood to Recommend

For industry manufacturing for heat ambients

Carlos Zacarias Hernandez

Gerente de Noc and support in Engineering at EVCON GROUP (Computer & Network Security, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

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