Cisco Wireless vs Fortinet FortiWLM comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Wireless and Fortinet FortiWLM based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Wireless LAN solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiWLM Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Q&A Highlights
Question: Which wireless controller has maximum client connectivity and high throughput?
Answer: Cisco has maximum client connectivity and high throughput.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The AI capabilities of Mist Wireless are superior to other OEMs.""With Mist, every Wednesday they roll out new features.""It provides private network access, helping us protect our company’s devices.""In terms of reporting, in terms of all the user reports, it's very rich.""The artificial intelligence feature is very good.""You can easily monitor, manage, and cover all your IT equipment.""The solution is pretty generic and easy to use.""The most valuable feature of Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series) is the ability to troubleshoot ports on the network. Additionally, when there is an update on the APs they are able to reboot quickly reducing downtime. Other solutions have a longer downtime when updates are done."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points Pros →

"Cisco Wireless always has the latest technology that supports WiFi 5 and 6.""Setting up Cisco Wireless is pretty straightforward. It takes about an hour or two, and we can handle it in-house. To deploy one project, it takes two to three for a single controller.""Wireless access has enabled users to be mobile and as a result, more productive.""I like many of the features that Cisco Wireless has to offer.""It is a stable solution. The performance was good.""Cisco Wireless technology allows us to logically segregate networks, to segregate the traffic between multiple types of endpoint devices, connected to the network. For example, corporate laptops are connected to one network, corporate iPhones will go through a different network.""Cisco has good support services.""Wireless connectivity is the main feature. It is also securely integrated with ISE, which is valuable because, in the banking industry, we also cover the security aspect. This Wi-Fi controller integrates with the ISE system that we have. Every user that comes on the wireless needs to log in with the domain. If they don't, it will not allow the user to join the network. This is the key feature of this solution."

More Cisco Wireless Pros →

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the management.""I found that It's really good when comparing it to any other product or it is much better in terms of features that the customer requires.""The most valuable feature is the ability to connect and broadcast to different networks without using a VLAN or a layer two switch, which allows you to easily create guest networks.""The firewall integration is very important for the security of the connection.""The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLM is the single management pane and integrated controller inside the firewall.""Although there are a few steps, the initial setup is pretty straightforward.""Seamless roaming by leveraging Virtual Cell is a major advantage which reduces roam times and issues related to roaming. Code stability has been excellent and the hardware quality is second to none.""I use Fortinet FortiWLM for wireless communication and the internet."

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Cons
"Juniper Wireless AP can improve by continually improving its reporting and integration with other systems.""The solution is expensive.""There is room for improvement in terms of support and installation.""The price could be better.""Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points’ support services need improvement.""I need a bit more time with it before criticizing the features.""The pricing is very high in the Indian market.""They should include SD-WAN features to it."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points Cons →

"The media stream and Mojo settings are not sufficiently supported.""If they could offer better coverage, we'd be much happier.""It's very scalable, but when you shift gears sometimes, you have to do more work than people anticipate.""The new GUI interface and the newer version OS are a little bit more complex than the older version, however, it just might take some getting used to.""The current issue with Cisco is I don't have centralized management.""The GUI could be made more user-friendly. There should also be a dashboard where it can showcase how many end-users are connected to a particular access point.""The biggest reason why we could no longer continue with Cisco Wireless was because of the high cost to upgrade everything. It was disappointing that Cisco treated us as just another big company, and did not offer any leeway on their pricing given that we are an educational institute. And although the system we had in place from Cisco Wireless was good enough over the last ten years, it started to show its age when pushed to its limit during the pandemic.""Cisco Wireless needs to improve pricing. I understand that Cisco products are typically more expensive than other vendors. Therefore, I believe that adjusting the pricing could potentially be beneficial. Discounts may be available depending on the customer or type of purchase, which could help offset the higher costs."

More Cisco Wireless Cons →

"There is very little publicly available information about Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture. Promotion of the overall technology is limited as well. Being more vocal about a product that has many advantages would go a long way to eliminating a lot of the confusion and negative perception about Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture.""The range needs some improvement and also the stability.""The solution should improve user capacity.""The interface could certainly do with some improvement. We have other customers with WiFi networks, and they always use Ubiquiti. With Ubiquiti, it's a much better user interface, and it is much easier to configure.""They need to do more with their marketing. That's what's wrong with them. Nobody knows they do all this other stuff. I love the product. For an enterprise-level system, you never have to explain why you're recommending Fortinet, whereas you might have to do that if you want to use the Ubiquiti Professional or the new Netgear line, but you don't have to explain Fortinet. It has been remarkable to work with.""Technical support is very poor. We are not satisfied with the technical support because there is not any direct person from Fortinet for any troubleshooting, which we expected.""Areas for improvement would be the compatibility with Apple products and cross-platform integration.""One of the main features that I see as lacking in any of the Fortinet products is the reporting. If you want to have proper, end-to-end reporting, you must purchase the FortiAnalyzer... If Fortinet could offer some better, built-in reporting, that would be a point of improvement."

More Fortinet FortiWLM Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "We pay maybe 1000 SEK per year, per access point."
  • "Juniper Wireless AP's price is a little more expensive than other solutions, but you get what you pay for."
  • "The pricing is something Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series) can work on. The pricing is very high compared to the competition."
  • "The pricing is too high."
  • "The solution is expensive."
  • "I rate Juniper Mist's pricing a ten out of ten since it is expensive."
  • "I rate the pricing an eight out of ten."
  • More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "It is an expensive solution."
  • "Expensive."
  • "As far as I know Cisco is very competitive, price-wise. Talk to your third-party vendor. It all depends on the company size - how many employees, how big the building is. If it's wireless, and you have only 50 employees but you're using a large building floor, in that case you need many access points. But if you have 50 employees using two or three rooms, then you probably don't need it and it's going to be high density, so there is a different design. So you need to talk to a subject matter expert. Talk to them and design accordingly."
  • "Cisco is more on the expensive side, as compared to Aruba, but I must say Cisco's quality is unmatched, for sure."
  • "I am not a fan of Cisco's software pricing model. Their management software is far too expensive."
  • "The pricing is high. It could be cheaper."
  • "Never pay the full GPL price."
  • "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."
  • More Cisco Wireless Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Licensing has become easier. There is no longer a per-AP license needed on the controller."
  • "If a customer already is a FortiGate customer, the cost to go to the FortiAP is incredibly affordable, because you already have the controller."
  • "For indoor access points, there is a one-time cost, upfront, whereas outdoor access points have an annual fee."
  • "Fortinet would do something with their pricing model to attract smaller business users and eliminate the mandatory service contracts."
  • "There is a perpetual license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."
  • "Support contracts typically cost approximately $100.00 per year."
  • "To save yourself from increased setup and maintenance costs, I highly recommend undertaking a proper site survey from the beginning."
  • "Licensing costs are reasonable. There are so many different types of licenses with Fortinet, but the licensing and the 24/7/365 support are so reasonable that I automatically include it with every transaction. I never line item it without it. There are no additional costs."
  • More Fortinet FortiWLM Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Comparison Review
    Anonymous User
    Answers from the Community
    Suresh Sharma
    AlanTran - PeerSpot reviewerAlanTran
    Real User

    All are good selections, and this question is difficult to answer without knowing your throughput requirements, as each vendor has multiple models within there series.


    Personally I recommend looking at Arista Networks’ cognitive Wifi, where controllers are a thing of the past.

    Jim Rousseau - PeerSpot reviewerJim Rousseau
    User

    Ruckus virtual smart zone will be your best bet allowing up to 300k connected devices and 30k access points. furthermore, Ruckus has time and again proven best in speed, throughput in high density environments by independent studies. I have over a decade of working with this product and none of the other competitors can beat the layer 1 connectivity of Ruckus WiFi

    Imad Awwad - PeerSpot reviewerImad Awwad
    Real User

    Hi,

    Every one of the mentioned solutions is good but you need to check the needs which are security since the firms you are working with need protection and tracking of data. For this reason, I recommend:

    - if you have FortiGate installed then go for Fortinet Wireless since they can be integrated with the Fortigate without buying a controller and they work perfectly together and you will get the advantage of applying rules to the client himself whether mobile or computer, easily managed & monitored, more visibility over your network and incident notifications.

    If the above doesn't apply then you can go with the best one that fits your budget and security needs which for me doesn't fall on the mentioned solution but to go with ARUBA Instant Access Wireless Solution and the reasons are as such:

    - Cisco is too much expensive and you got to pay smart support with some complexity in configuration and you need to buy a controller
    - Ruckus is good but when you want to have the security you need to buy a controller with licenses and it won't give you the security needed since it is just a wireless solution
    - Huawei is not a stable company since it had many ups and downs and they can reach with you to have all the solutions nearly free so that you install their brand.

    Whereas Aruba you don't need a controller in the Instant access points and you will get the minimum security with radius integration and what is important a lifetime warranty on the access points.

    In addition, if the number of access points increased and you want more detailed management and more advanced configurations, you can buy a controller either on-premises or on-cloud with Aruba.

    The above information is based on my experience with all the solutions and their POC.

    If you need any more details and consultancy, kindly feel free to contact me.

    Regards.

    Amin Amor - PeerSpot reviewerAmin Amor
    User

    Hi Imad,
    Thanks for your input. Do you have any POC data for Cisco and Aruba?
    Thanks in advance

    OscarLage - PeerSpot reviewerOscarLage
    User

    Boa tarde
    As soluções cada solução que você indicou tem pormenores que podem impactar tanto no funcionamento quanto em caso de disaster recovery.
    Fortinet: Possui bons access points, aliado às funcionalidades de segurança do próprio UTM, porém será mais um serviço para o appliance gerenciar, e dependendo do que está rodando nele, corre-se o risco de degradar a performance da funcionalidade principal "segurança", por que tambem está gerenciando uma rede wireless, além do fato se houver alguma pane no appliance Fortinet, tanto os itens de segurança quanto a rede wireless irão ficar indisponível. Dê a Cézar o que é de Cézar, deixe a fortinet focada em segurança, que é o que ela faz de melhor.
    Ruckus: Excelentes Access points, confiáveis e com alta performance, possui no mínimo 4 opções de gerência, sendo, controlerless Unleashed, appliance virtual, appliance hardware e cloud, ambas as opções não trará prejuizo à performance da rede wireless, porque não há tunelamento de dados para elas, além de possuir várias funções de segurança inerentes à rede wireless. licenças são perpétuas.
    Cisco: Excelente access points, porém solução muito cara para aquisição e renovação.
    Huawei: Pelo que conheço, tem bons access points, e controladoras virtuais e appliance físico, mas conheço poucas redes com esta solução.
    É lógico que uma tem um recurso extra a mais do que a outra, mas considero mera perfumaria, pois o básico para uma rede wireless segura todas atendem.
    Eu já atendi a mais de 40 universidades federais no Brasil, todas com Ruckus, e não há reclamação da solução.
    Como recomendação pessoal, vá de Ruckus.

    AlanTran - PeerSpot reviewerAlanTran
    Real User

    Hi,
    It is all dependent on the size of the controllers in question. Though I would suggest getting a cloud base technology so you are limited by any controller and have much better redundancy. Take a look at Arista Cognitive Wireless

    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:You can easily monitor, manage, and cover all your IT equipment.
    Top Answer:I rate Juniper Mist's pricing a ten out of ten since it is expensive.
    Top Answer:The pricing is very high in the Indian market. Eight to nine OEMs are also available in the market, giving you their… more »
    Top Answer:Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to be… more »
    Top Answer:Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user… more »
    Top Answer:On the most basic level, Cisco Wireless can offer a rather straightforward initial setup. In the span of about three… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series), Mist Access Points
    Cisco WLAN Controller
    FortiWLM, FortiAP, Fortinet AP/OAP, Meru Wireless LAN
    Learn More
    Overview

    Juniper Wireless Access Points work in conjunction with Juniper Mist Cloud Services and Mist AI to deliver premier wireless access capabilities. The Juniper Mist Edge extends microservices to the campus to bring agility and scale while enabling new applications at the edge.

    With Cisco Wireless you will successfully plan, deploy, monitor, troubleshoot, and report on indoor and outdoor wireless networks - all from a centralized location.

    Consolidate security and wireless LAN management with our integrated wireless solutions. Single-pane-of-glass management for security and access without the need to add point products simplifies deployment and reduces management complexity. These solutions are highly scalable to support even the largest organizations and distributed enterprises.

    Sample Customers
    Information Not Available
    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)
    Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
    Top Industries
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Government7%
    Educational Organization6%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider13%
    Government11%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Computer Software Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Government7%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider22%
    Educational Organization22%
    Construction Company11%
    Computer Software Company11%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Comms Service Provider12%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Retailer6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business42%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise42%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business30%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise53%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business38%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise40%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise59%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business70%
    Midsize Enterprise5%
    Large Enterprise25%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business31%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise54%
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiWLM
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiWLM and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Cisco Wireless is ranked 2nd in Wireless LAN with 143 reviews while Fortinet FortiWLM is ranked 15th in Wireless LAN with 22 reviews. Cisco Wireless is rated 8.2, while Fortinet FortiWLM is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Cisco Wireless writes "Allows us to deploy a wide range of wireless products with stable WiFi". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Fortinet FortiWLM writes "Impressive manufacturing quality, highly durable, and very easy to deploy". Cisco Wireless is most compared with Aruba Wireless, Ruckus Wireless, Ubiquiti WLAN, Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and Omada Access Points, whereas Fortinet FortiWLM is most compared with Aruba Wireless, Ruckus Wireless, Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN, Ubiquiti Wireless and Omada Access Points. See our Cisco Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiWLM report.

    See our list of best Wireless LAN vendors.

    We monitor all Wireless LAN reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.