Cisco 5508 Wireless Controller has been for long part of enterprise deployments with support upto 500 Access Points. However, with need to have higher performance, improved CPU and memory requirements, next generation model of 5520 has been introduced by Cisco.
5520 model has shown substantial lead in throughput (5508 having 8 Gbps while 5520 has upto 20 Gbps). Infact 5520 can support upto 1500 Access points and support 20000 Clients which is almost 3 times of old 5508 model. Another major enhancement we see is introduction of 10G interfaces with new WLC model. The need for improved 5520 WLC model is triggered by influx of numerous mobile devices especially tablets and smart-phones which are required to on-board users instantaneously with seamless customer experience.
Below table enumerates the difference between Cisco old WLC 5508 and new 5520 models –
