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Portman
Asked: 2010-07-03 17:43:44 +0800 CST

Why do some Wireless Access Points cost so much more than others?

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Here are three different Wireless Access Points with similar specs:

There's a 17-fold different in price between the cheapest and most expensive. All three support 802.11n and WPA2. The TP-LINK does not support PoE but the others do.

With networking equipment, I'm used to "getting what you pay for"... but I can't understand who is purchasing $875 WAPs and what they are using them for.

What am I missing?

networking wifi

4 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    One of those gets rebooted weekly, another works perfectly fine for most people, and another has the capability to take part in huge wireless mesh topologies that work together to cover entire campuses, allowing seamless handoff, load balancing, etc etc etc.

    • 12
    • VLAN trunking for multiple wireless SSIDs
    • AAA (including TAC-ACS) support [authentication, authorization and auditing]
    • Support, Features, Warranty (as mentioned by Chris S)
    • Reliability (as mentioned by Matt Simmons)
    • 4

  3. They're meant for different markets. The Cisco WAP is an enterprise class WAP and is undoubtedly engineered to much more exacting specifications then the other two. The other two I would consider SOHO market.

    Why does a Cadillac cost more then a Cobalt? They both have similar specs. I can't understand who is purchasing a $42,000.00 car and what they are using it for.

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  4. The more of each, the higher the price. You get what you pay for.

    1. Support
    2. Warranty
    3. Features
    4. Brand Name (per Evan)
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