To cloud or not to cloud the Zone Director?

[Anonymous]

Our ZD1100 and Aps are end of life. We are evaluating the refresh routes. The question we have is what are the pros and cons of using a virtual appliance zone director on-prem vs the cloud service?
Any input is greatly appreciated, thanks.

[Anonymous]

I tried Unleashed vs. ZoneDirector.  Unleashed was fine, but I felt like I was crippled from the ZD options.  Sorry I cannot provide more info. as it's been awhile and I forget the details.  I think if I had maybe 3-5 AP's I'd look more seriously at Unleashed.  I'll also share that I moved to the zd1200 a couple years ago from an zd1100, the 1200 is much quicker and has less finicky issues.... could be code maturity but I'm guessing that newer faster hardware had lent a hand in performance and NO issues.  My ZD1200's have been up for over a year with no issues, code 9.12 & 14 AP's.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing

[Anonymous]

What's a ballpark price on the "virtual appliance" ZD?  We have 4 sites with physical ZDs and at some point it would make sense to consolidate.  I imagine one advantage with something self-hosted is that you're not locked into paying a monthly fee in perpetuity...  that's why we left Meraki.

[Anonymous]

@Bway NOC,

Don't mean to jack the topic but, it looks like I'm being forced into Meraki at my next refresh later this year.  I've demo'ed the equipment and the higher end units seem to perform ok.  I don't like the delay that cloud management brings when trying to make config. changes quickly but that's the biggest complaint I had other than the cost.  Any advice or thoughts about Meraki?
Thanks