Wireless controller alternatives to 5508

[kiba99]

We have a Cisco 5508 and 23 APs spread around different buildings. I noticed that the last day of HW support is July 31st 2023. Just to start the planning process, what is a good future proof next step that could replace the 5508? I would love to go virtual as we have a healthy ESXi environment and all hosts have dual 10gbps connectivity to the core. The current 5508 has 4 x 1gbps connectivity to the core. Also with virtualization it can leverage higher availability than our single 5508, ie) vmotion if a server has a failure, backups, vmware replication to another site, etc...

Is there a good option to virtualize the WLC that is future proof for 3500, 3800 and newer upcoming wifi 6 / 6E APs down the road? I'd rather not have another "appliance" to plug in and take up power, generate heat and maintain. Ive been using Unifi at home and that seems to work fine running as software (I know its a completely different animal though).

[Kasun Bandara]

Hi

officially according to your number of APs you can replace hardware box with 3504 WLC. but always check your AP models compatibility with supported OS versions.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/5500-series-wireless-controllers/eos-eol-notice-c51-740221.html

if you are like to go with virtualized WLC, 9800-CL will do the work. always check AP model compatibility.

[balaji.bandi]

i got with Cat 9800

[marce1000]

 - As stated  by others  the road to the future is the 9800 platform with its variants (gives support for the next generation of access points) , virtual controller is good to start , could expand  to physical box  if required by resources in the future (e.g.)

 M.

[Arshad Safrulla]

All the AireOS WLC's 3504,5520,8540 including it's previous generations are announced EOL. So it wouldn't be brainer to invest on AireOS WLC's anymore. 

Going virtual is the best option as it will allow you to navigate through semi-conductor issue which is causing havoc on delivery timelines. 9800-CL supports local mode switching as long as correct resources are available in the hypervisor and importantly it supports HA SSO deployments as well. Catalyst 9800-CL is zero cost, but you have to pay for the support and it supports almost all the new big league hypervisors officially. Remember that you need to disable hyper threading on the server as HT is not supported and make sure that you reserve the resources for the WLC's when you deploy. Official guide for ESXI is as below. 

Cisco Catalyst 9800-CL Wireless Controller for Cloud Deployment Guide - Cisco

If you are planning on migrating some of your old AP's from 5508 to 9800, then you need to buy DNA licenses for them. DNA licenses will come with a perpetual Network license bundled. 

[Scott Fella]

Like what others mentioned, the 9800-CL works well on ESXi and basically you want to do FlexConnect if possible.  You should look at replacing the 3500 and maybe even the 3800's to a newer 9130 or the 9136 (Wifi 6e).  Use the WLC matrix to make sure what you purchase can work with what you plan to keep.  

Cisco Wireless Solutions Software Compatibility Matrix - Cisco