Extreme has APs that can be cloud or controller based. (and transferred back and forth) I participated in the pilot for the cloud based offering and it worked well. We were considering that for a satellite location and would have used it when our Meraki AP license lapsed, but that building is currently unoccupied. We currently use controllers (physical and virtual) and are happy with that. The controllers are not difficult to setup and provide a lot in the way of features and management. The management cost difference between the two offerings wouldn't sway me personally to go cloud based. I highly recommend at least considering the controller route. Cloud based could be the right option for you, but it might be a mistake to consider it a hard requirement. The good news is that with Extreme, if you start cloud based and change your mind, you can with the same APs. You can ask sales for a a trial of the virtual controller. Support is great, and it was great when we were using the cloud firmware also. Our favorite AP is the 3912i because it works very well in residence halls, which had been our biggest headache previously.
Greg Briggs Network Manager Pacific Lutheran University On Thu, May 17, 2018 at 2:24 PM, John Rodkey <[email protected]> wrote: > Those are good words to put in my mouth. In addition to these operational > benefits, there is a strong philosophical commitment at the C-level to > cloud-based services whenever it is feasible, so we don't go with on-prem > unless there is no feasible way to do it with cloud. > > I am very appreciative of the comments so far. Thank you all for your > input! > > I will say we are currently Meraki, have been Meraki since their very > early days. We are generally pleased with Meraki's controller > capabilities, and not terribly excited to go to something else, but since > this is a large investment and new game-changing players have come on the > scene since 2008, it is a matter of due diligence to look at the options. > Pricing is a real factor, and we have had some issues with support since > the transfer to Cisco. We have also had enough 'weird' problems with > multiple clients being unable to maintain a reliable connection that we are > looking at the possibility of global change (to get a whole new set of > bugs, no doubt) in hopes of removing these problems. > > John > > On Thu, May 17, 2018 at 1:38 PM, Enfield III, Charles Albert < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> I don’t want to put words in John’s mouth, but operating controllers >> requires time and effort beyond what’s required to manage configurations. >> Scaling, security, software upgrades, etc., all require resources but >> contribute nothing to the user experience. For us the benefits of hosting >> our own controllers is worth it, but I understand that isn’t true for >> everybody. I’m not even sure it will always be true for us. When the >> benefits of controllers as traffic aggregators can be easily replaced with >> SD fabrics, I’ll probably want cloud controllers too. The details will >> matter, but it’s where I think we’re going. >> >> >> >> Chuck Enfield >> Manager, Wireless Engineering >> Enterprise Networking & Communication Services >> The Pennsylvania State University >> 119L, USB2, UP, PA 16802 >> ph: 814.863.8715 >> fx: 814.865.3988 >> >> >> >> *From:* The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv < >> [email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Peter P Morrissey >> *Sent:* Thursday, May 17, 2018 4:30 PM >> *To:* [email protected] >> *Subject:* Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Wireless Options >> >> >> >> Same here. I was also curious as to why it would be limited to cloud >> based solutions. I would drill down a layer into the perceived benefits of >> cloud based, and define it that way. Easier management requiring less staff >> time and thus lower TCO and more ability to accomplish other activities? >> Etc. Maybe. >> >> >> >> One of the disadvantages of cloud based solutions besides losing some >> control and visibility is the ongoing costs. We love Meraki as much as >> anyone, but the annual recurring licensing costs are rather steep and >> should be carefully weighed against the benefits. >> >> >> >> Pete Morrissey >> >> >> >> *From:* The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto: >> [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Jake Snyder >> *Sent:* Thursday, May 17, 2018 2:26 PM >> *To:* [email protected] >> *Subject:* Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Wireless Options >> >> >> >> I’m curious about the requirement that controllers be “cloud based” and >> what business requirement that maps to. >> >> >> >> Trying to understand what a cloud based controller give your business >> that an on-premises controller does not. How that translates to better >> experience, happier students or faster connectivity. >> >> >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> >> On May 17, 2018, at 12:13 PM, Norton, Thomas (Network Operations) < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >> I highly recommend looking at Aruba as well. >> >> >> >> *T.J. Norton* >> >> *Wireless Network Architect* >> *Network Operations* >> >> *Office: (434) 592-6552 * >> >> >> >> [image: Image removed by sender. >> http://www.liberty.edu/media/1616/40themail/wordmark-for-email.jpg] >> >> >> *Liberty University | Training Champions for Christ since 1971* >> >> >> >> *From:* The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [ >> mailto:[email protected] >> <[email protected]>] *On Behalf Of *Trenton Hurt >> *Sent:* Thursday, May 17, 2018 2:11 PM >> *To:* [email protected] >> *Subject:* Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Wireless Options >> >> >> >> https://www.mist.com/ >> <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mist.com%2F&data=02%7C01%7Ctnorton7%40liberty.edu%7Cc75bdb0477514218a00c08d5bc21c019%7Cbaf8218eb3024465a9934a39c97251b2%7C0%7C0%7C636621775498942781&sdata=LxLmDpwl3h17su4HEiv9evWnHBODxMCN0tmzXxYir0w%3D&reserved=0> >> >> >> >> On Thu, May 17, 2018 at 2:10 PM John Rodkey <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Our college - about 40 buildings, 1200 students, 3500 wireless clients >> per day, currently 310 WAPs - is considering a major upgrade in WAPs, >> replacing a number that are 9 years old and no longer supported. >> >> >> >> We could replace with the latest model of our existing vendor, but want >> to consider all the feasible alternatives. We have a hard requirement that >> the controller be cloud-based, the system deal well with Mac clients, >> understand VLANs and an enterprise quality network, and have a rich set of >> configuration, logging, monitoring, and troubleshooting tools for dealing >> both with clients and access points. Responsive support is also required, >> and unsurprisingly total system cost is a significant issue. >> >> >> >> 3 vendors come to mind: Meraki, Ubiquiti, and Aerohive. >> >> >> >> Questions: >> >> 1) do other vendors come to mind that play well in this space? >> >> 2) what are your positive experiences with any of the above? >> >> 3) what are your negative experiences? >> >> 4) have you recently gone through this analysis, and if so, what were >> your conclusions? >> >> 5) what issues have you experienced with PoE capacity requirements with >> these devices? >> >> >> >> John Rodkey >> >> Director of Servers and Networks >> >> Westmont College >> >> ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE >> Constituent Group discussion list can be found at >> http://www.educause.edu/discuss >> <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.educause.edu%2Fdiscuss&data=02%7C01%7Ctnorton7%40liberty.edu%7Cc75bdb0477514218a00c08d5bc21c019%7Cbaf8218eb3024465a9934a39c97251b2%7C0%7C0%7C636621775498942781&sdata=RZw%2BuDWNMmZ2RQ%2FKQ9jNKuVi0oTVJQFpIXR2vXwf1fU%3D&reserved=0>. >> >> >> ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE >> Constituent Group discussion list can be found at >> http://www.educause.edu/discuss >> <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.educause.edu%2Fdiscuss&data=02%7C01%7Ctnorton7%40liberty.edu%7Cc75bdb0477514218a00c08d5bc21c019%7Cbaf8218eb3024465a9934a39c97251b2%7C0%7C0%7C636621775498942781&sdata=RZw%2BuDWNMmZ2RQ%2FKQ9jNKuVi0oTVJQFpIXR2vXwf1fU%3D&reserved=0>. >> >> >> ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE >> Constituent Group discussion list can be found at >> http://www.educause.edu/discuss >> <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.educause.edu%2Fdiscuss&data=02%7C01%7Ccae104%40psu.edu%7C4c193ac9ffad43aec1be08d5bc3503a1%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C636621858238487660&sdata=Y2Ud%2Fiql66oxdFFDcTLs3v5o89HvjFdB36dKKy3YrsE%3D&reserved=0>. >> >> >> ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE >> Constituent Group discussion list can be found at >> http://www.educause.edu/discuss >> <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.educause.edu%2Fdiscuss&data=02%7C01%7Ccae104%40psu.edu%7C4c193ac9ffad43aec1be08d5bc3503a1%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C636621858238487660&sdata=Y2Ud%2Fiql66oxdFFDcTLs3v5o89HvjFdB36dKKy3YrsE%3D&reserved=0>. >> >> >> ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE >> Constituent Group discussion list can be found at >> http://www.educause.edu/discuss >> <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.educause.edu%2Fdiscuss&data=02%7C01%7Ccae104%40psu.edu%7C4c193ac9ffad43aec1be08d5bc3503a1%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C636621858238487660&sdata=Y2Ud%2Fiql66oxdFFDcTLs3v5o89HvjFdB36dKKy3YrsE%3D&reserved=0>. >> >> ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE >> Constituent Group discussion list can be found at >> http://www.educause.edu/discuss. >> >> > ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE > Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/ > discuss. > > ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/discuss.
