Hi Eugene,
Hope things are going well for you :) I thought that this was an excellent question.
These Q & A really outline the differences between the Small Business Cisco Mobility Express Solution of which the AP521G is the only supported AP, and the Enterprise Cisco Unified Wireless Network;
Q. How do these products differ from the existing Cisco Unified Wireless Network?
A. The Cisco Mobility Express Solution is built to address the needs of SMBs (<250 employees), whereas the existing Cisco Unified Wireless Network (for example, Cisco 2106 and 4400 Series Wireless LAN Controllers and Cisco Aironet 1100 and Aironet 1200 Series Access Points) is primarily designed for midmarket and enterprise customers. The Cisco Mobility Express Solution provides many of the benefits of the feature-rich enterprise solution, but with less flexibility and more simplicity.
Q. Can the Cisco Mobility Express Solution be used with the Cisco Unified Wireless Network solution?
A. Access points from the Cisco Mobility Express Solution can associate only with controllers within this solution. The Cisco SBCS was built with the needs of SMB customers in mind. Because these needs are different from those of enterprise customers (for example, simplified network management), the two solutions were intentionally designed differently.
Q. What WLAN standard is supported by the Cisco Mobility Express Solution?
A. The Cisco Mobility Express Solution supports the 802.11b/g standard, that is, the standard widely available on the vast majority of client devices (for example, laptops).
Q. What about dual-band?
A. Because most customers use clients with the 802.11b/g standard, dual-band is not supported in the Cisco Mobility Express Solution. Any potential interference benefits associated with 802.11b/g are mitigated in the Cisco Mobility Express Solution with the available RRM feature, which automatically configures the access points with the optimal power and channel settings to minimize interference.
Q. Can the Cisco IOS command-line interface (CLI) be used to manage the Cisco Mobility Express Solution?
A. Because the objective of the Cisco SBCS was to create a simplified management system and interface for SMB customers, the CLI is limited to troubleshooting (SHO/DEBUG) commands only and cannot be used for configuration.
Q. What is the difference between deploying a Cisco 2106 Controller and six access points versus deploying a Cisco 526 Mobility Controller and six Cisco 521 Access Points?
A. The Cisco Mobility Express Solution has been designed with the needs of the SMB customer in mind. The Cisco 2106 Controller is part of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network and is primarily designed for midmarket and enterprise customers. Following are some of the benefits of the Cisco Mobility Express Solution to an SMB customer relative to deploying the Cisco 2106 Controller and six access points:
Lower total cost of ownership (TCO): The Cisco Mobility Express Solution offers a 30- to 40-percent lower TCO than the Cisco Unified Wireless Network.
Management: The Cisco Configuration Assistant is specially designed to be SMB friendly and offer integration across different technologies such as unified communications and mobility.
Capacity requirements for the future: The Cisco Mobility Express Solution has a maximum capacity of 12 Cisco Wireless Express Access Points-unlike the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, which has no limitations in terms of access points.
Features set: The most advanced features, such as location-based services, are currently offered only on the Cisco Unified Wireless Network.
From this good doc;
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps7319/products_qanda_item0900aecd8060c860.shtml
Hope this helps! Cisco has really aimed this product at the Small Business Market and has priced it as such.
Rob
