Ruckus Wireless Selected by One of Nation’s Largest High Schools

Ruckus Wireless™ today announced that Lyons Township High School (LTHS) District 204, ranked among the top public high schools in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report, has selected Ruckus Wireless to supply advanced indoor/outdoor 802.11n wireless LAN products and technology.

The new high-speed 802.11n wireless network, which includes 250 ZoneFlex dual-band 802.11n Smart Wi-Fi access points (APs) and redundant ZoneDirector 3250 Smart wireless LAN (WLAN) controllers, replaces the previous 802.11g infrastructure – to deliver a four-fold increase in Wi-Fi range and performance.

The school’s Tech Services staff is in the process of deploying the new Ruckus wireless network to support a variety of LTHS’s facilities, including more than 200 classrooms, multiple gymnasiums, auditoriums, libraries, cafeterias, athletic fields, field houses, aquatic centers and administrative office space sprawling across more than three city blocks and 1.3 million square feet. The network is designed to support education programs for the school’s nearly 4,000 students, as well as faculty, guests and visitors that need to connect to the school’s computers, video projectors, printers, laptops and tablet PCs.

“The move to 802.11n on such a large scale looked like a daunting and expensive task,” said Edward Tennant, director of technology for Lyons Township High School District 204. “We weren’t just waiting for 802.11n to be ratified. We were waiting for an 802.11n solution that could support multimedia, provide unified indoor and outdoor coverage under a single management structure and that we could deploy and manage easily and at a reasonable cost. This wish list was hard to fill.”

According to LTHS, after evaluating WLAN systems from Xirrus, Aruba Networks, Cisco, HP and AdTran, LTHS chose the Ruckus ZoneFlex 802.11n system because of its ability to extend Wi-Fi signal coverage with fewer APs, unique support for multimedia, ease of installation and management and its lower overall cost of ownership.

For LTHS, reliable wireless connectivity is essential for curricular instruction within the classroom, allowing teachers greater mobility and the opportunity to better interact with students from anywhere within the classroom.

“Wi-Fi gives teachers much more flexibility to instruct students because they are not tethered to the front of the classroom or lab. They can write or annotate a presentation or access information on a tablet PC and share it directly with a student,” said Tennant. “But the big problem is the expectation for high-speed, reliable connections everywhere with Wi-Fi. We’ve found that 802.11n technology alone wasn’t the be-all, end-all panacea. The Ruckus implementation takes 802.11n where we needed it to go – farther, faster and with fewer APs.”

IP-based video streaming was another important application that LTHS needed to support over Wi-Fi. LTHS is the “injection site” for the local origination for the area’s cable systems, connecting to AT&T’s U-Verse IPTV service and Comcast. Unlike other 802.11n wireless alternatives, the Ruckus ZoneFlex system uniquely supports the distribution of IP-based video through its patented beamforming and quality of service technologies, which is ideal for LTHS’s plans to expand the use of its Wi-Fi infrastructure.
Wi-Fi at School, Then and Now

With some buildings originally constructed in the late 1800s, over the years multiple expansions to its campuses created an “unfriendly environment for Wi-Fi.” Concrete floors, wire mesh in the glass above metal lockers and walls ranging from a few inches to several feet thick caused detrimental attenuation for Wi-Fi signals.

LTHS’s previous Wi-Fi system, based on Proxim 802.11g Orinoco APs and managed with Aruba’s AirWave WLAN management system, was unable to cope with this challenging environment and the changing traffic patterns that increasingly favored multimedia. This forced LTHS to deploy an AP in every room to achieve adequate coverage and performance.

“We set up our original Wi-Fi network almost four years ago and quickly learned that we would have to install an AP per classroom to support our teachers using the new tablet PCs. It worked okay, but as we tried to add more classrooms or additional devices, management and scalability were real problems,” said Tennant.

Despite these challenges, LTHS IT staff found they are able to swap out legacy 802.11g APs for Ruckus ZoneFlex 802.11n products at a ratio of 3 or 4-to-1 due to the new AP’s extended range and coverage. Unlike conventional 802.11n technology, Smart Wi-Fi from Ruckus Wireless advances the state of wireless with patented RF routing techniques and sophisticated meshing capabilities. LTHS is now able to deploy a smarter Wi-Fi infrastructure in half the time, at half the cost, while benefiting from three times the performance over conventional alternatives.

“We looked at a lot of gear and found the Ruckus system was the only one that could easily adapt to the changing Wi-Fi environment while supporting multimedia flawlessly,” said Tennant. “We also needed a unified system that could be deployed indoors or outdoors with or without Ethernet cabling. Outside of Ruckus, it was difficult to find a supplier that could provide a comprehensive system within a simple and affordable solution.”

Redundant ZoneDirector 3250 Smart WLAN controllers will manage hundreds of dual-band 802.11n ZoneFlex 7962 Smart Wi-Fi access points throughout the two campuses. The controllers provide sophisticated local management capabilities for smart meshing, advanced security and guest access.

After completing its indoor WLAN 802.11n deployment, LTHS will use Ruckus Smart Mesh Networking technology to deliver Wi-Fi connectivity to athletic fields and aquatic centers. Outdoor Ruckus ZoneFlex 802.11n APs can be easily deployed with no Ethernet cabling available and meshed to indoor ZoneFlex APs. This eliminates the expense of pulling cable to remote locations, enabling LTHS to extend Wi-Fi to areas where it has been impossible to provide service cost-effectively.

“All of this performance at such an affordable price when combined with the simplicity of the system made the Ruckus Wireless system the best value at the lowest overall total cost of ownership. We determined that if we had bought the same number of APs offered by competitors – with no controllers – it would have cost as much as the entire Ruckus system. When you go back and add in the cost of the controllers, AP licenses, feature modules and other incidentals, competitive offerings came at an unfathomable cost,” concluded Tennant.

To Purchase Ruckus Products Visit http://www.ruckussecurity.com

Ruckus Wireless Partners with AeroScout to Deliver Smart Wireless LAN

Ruckus Wireless™ today announced a partnership with AeroScout, a pioneer and market leader in Wi-Fi-based real-time location solutions (RTLS), and the conclusion of advanced integration and interoperability testing.

The partnership opens opportunities for customers looking to deploy an AeroScout solution in the increasing number of Ruckus Wireless installations, where its unique beamforming technology enables consistent and reliable Wi-Fi connectivity over extended ranges. These locations include enterprise sites as well as hospitals and manufacturing facilities where Wi-Fi networks provide many valuable services, which now include the real-time tracking of the location, status and condition of assets and people.

“Despite being a relatively young company, Ruckus Wireless is growing at a tremendous rate with the enterprise wireless LAN (WLAN) market representing nearly half of our revenue,” said Bart Burstein, VP of product management for Ruckus Wireless. “More and more we’re working with customers who want and need a reliable Smart Location Solution to track expensive assets and manage valuable resources and thanks to the extensive compatibility and interoperability testing between Ruckus and AeroScout, we are able to deliver just that.”

Ruckus-patented dynamic beamforming technology advances the state of WLAN location services by adding unique capabilities, including extended signal range, much higher receive sensitivity (to -100dB) and the ability to avoid Wi-Fi interference automatically. Ruckus Wireless now integrates an RTLS solution into its ZoneDirector™ Smart WLAN controller, interoperating with the AeroScout Engine, which enables accurate real-time location determination.

AeroScout uses a tag beaconing method that reduces network traffic and conserves tag battery life. Therefore, a joint Ruckus and AeroScout solution can track and manage tens of thousands of tagged assets with negligible impact on the wireless network. The solution provides high scalability as it enables communication without the tag needing to go through a complete 802.11 association with an access point, helping an AeroScout tag battery last up to eight years.
Advanced Integration Makes Deploying Location Services Ultra Simple and Easy

A simple checkbox within the Ruckus ZoneDirector Smart WLAN controller makes enabling real-time WLAN location services simple and ensures hassle-free deployment. Ruckus ZoneFlex APs listen for “beacons” from AeroScout Wi-Fi RFID tags and add RSSI and noise floor information to the messages, then redirects them to the AeroScout Engine.

Ideal for hospitality, healthcare, education and warehousing environments that need to track thousands of high-value assets constantly, the Ruckus and AeroScout solution provides reliable and robust location services.

AeroScout products that are interoperable with the Ruckus ZoneFlex Smart WLAN system include AeroScout Wi-Fi Tags, AeroScout Engine, AeroScout Exciters and AeroScout MobileView.

To Purchase Ruckus Products Visit http://www.ruckussecurity.com

CWNP and Ruckus Wireless Team on Nationwide “Pimp My Wi-Fi”

Ruckus Wireless™ today announced it has joined forces with CWNP (Certified Wireless Network Professional), the recognized industry standard for Wi-Fi training and certification, to sponsor a nationwide CWNP educational series called “Pimp My Wi-Fi.”

CWNP and Ruckus developed the free seminars to educate IT professionals and administrators on new advances in Wi-Fi technology that can help them lower the cost and improve the performance and reliability of their new 802.11n wireless LANs.

“IT administrators and network managers just don’t have the time to become RF or wireless experts – understanding the nuances of how Wi-Fi signals propagate or deal with interference,” said David Callisch, VP of Marketing at Ruckus Wireless.

“The recent ratification of 802.11n is driving massive new investment over the new two years by companies upgrading to this new wireless standard. It’s essential that companies better understand its limitations and some of the new technology advancements that are now available to minimize cost, maximize performance and simplify the deployment of 802.11n.”

The half-day CWNP “Pimp My Wi-Fi” road shows feature in-depth education on the newest technical advancement in Wi-Fi such as transmit beamforming, interference mitigation, adaptive meshing, maximal ratio combining, channel bonding, dynamic pre-shared keys and more.

The seminars also include live demonstrations that show how to transmit IP-based HD video over Wi-Fi reliably, simple ways to generate pre-shared encryption keys automatically and install them on client devices without IT intervention. Attendees will also learn about new tools that better enable IT administrators to troubleshoot client performance problems remotely.

Space at the “Pimp My Wi-Fi” seminars is limited to 100 people per city on a first-come, first-served basis. The seminars run from October through December in the following locations:

* Oct. 27: Newark, NJ
* Oct. 29: Boston, MA
* Nov. 10: Chicago, IL
* Nov. 12: Dallas, TX
* Dec. 1: Phoenix, AZ
* Dec. 8: San Francisco, CA
* Dec. 10: Los Angeles, CA

To Purchase Ruckus Products Visit http://www.ruckussecurity.com

Wireless Digital TV in the Home Hits U.S.

Ruckus Wireless today announced Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ:CNSL), a U.S. incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC), has selected and is actively deploying the Ruckus “Smart Wi-Fi” multimedia system as its in-home connectivity standard, enabling wireless IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) for its subscribers. Consolidated Communications includes the Ruckus MediaFlex™ gear at no additional charge as part of its popular Digital Video Service.

Consolidated Communications is one of the first broadband providers to offer the in-home wireless IPTV option on a large, multi-state scale. Enabled by recent Wi-Fi technology breakthroughs, consumers throughout Illinois, Texas and Pennsylvania are now able to apply the freedom of wireless connectivity – as they have with their Wi-Fi enabled laptops and handheld devices – to their television viewing.

“Smarter Wi-Fi solutions deliver three important benefits: it accelerates new service and revenue opportunities, cuts in half the time and cost associated with traditional cabling required to enable television services and gives our customers the freedom, flexibility and control they’ve always wanted,” said J.J. Hollie, product manager for Digital Video Services at Consolidated Communications. “Historically, because of range and reliability issues, using Wi-Fi wasn’t even really considered a valid alternative. But that’s all changed.”

Over the last three years, carriers around the world have embraced smarter Wi-Fi technology for use with their standard and high definition IPTV services. Since commercializing its smart Wi-Fi technology in March of 2005, Ruckus Wireless has shipped over 1.5 million Wi-Fi units to hundreds of carriers including Belgacom, Deutsche Telekom, Swisscom, SingTel, Telecom Austria, Telenor, Telefonica Del Sur (Chile), Pioneer Telephone, and many others. To date, the Ruckus MediaFlex Smart Wi-Fi products remain the only Wi-Fi system supporting commercial IPTV services for hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
Why isn’t Wi-Fi More Popular in the U.S.?

Wildly popular outside the United States, IPTV does not require a cable or satellite feed to deliver digital television channels. Instead, service providers encapsulate content using the Internet Protocol and stream it over DSL lines into the home. Often confused with television content viewable over the Internet, IPTV is a paid digital television service often bundled with Internet access and voice over IP, typically referred to as the “triple play.”

According to iSuppli, a market research firm, IPTV is on track to grow 56 percent in 2009 to reach 33.3 million subscribers worldwide. This is up from 21.3 million in 2008. By 2010, iSuppli estimates that IPTV will register 52 million subscribers growing to more than 115 million by 2013. The vast majority of IPTV subscribers remain outside the U.S., over half of which are in Europe.

In the U.S., IPTV has languished due to relatively weak broadband penetration, a legacy cable infrastructure largely used for the distribution of television and slower broadband speeds into the home unable to support the bandwidth requirements of IPTV. In addition, potential users are dispersed over millions of square miles.

“When it comes to IPTV, there’s no question that the U.S. has lagged. It is getting here, bit by bit, but in order for it to really take off not only does it have to be innovative, it must come with a lower opex for carriers and service providers to deliver and install it,” said Jeff Heynen, senior research analyst at Infonetics. “The MediaFlex products provide both. IPTV subscribers have the flexibility to view HD video anywhere throughout their homes while suppliers benefit from shorter installation times and fewer truck rolls.”

“Until now, to install IPTV, we’ve had to wire or rewire customer homes with Ethernet cabling which can take anywhere from 3 to 6 hours,” said Hollie. “Customers don’t like the disruption and prefer a more elegant wireless solution, but only if it is as reliable as a wire. The Ruckus MediaFlex system delivers wire-like stability and, as a result, we have eliminated the need for in-home wiring, cutting installation times in half. Unlike any other wireless system we’ve seen, Ruckus Wireless designed the MediaFlex system for this exact application.”

Consolidated Communications delivers its Basic, Select and Expanded IPTV services over its ADSL 2+ network using MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 compression. It offers Broadband speeds up to 35 Mbps to support standard definition streams, delivered at data rates of 3 Mbps and high definition streams, delivered at 7 Mbps.
How Does Smart Wi-Fi Work?

Advanced beamforming technology patented by Ruckus Wireless and dubbed “smart Wi-Fi,” quadruples the range of Wi-Fi signals by focusing them only where they are needed. In addition, Smart Wi-Fi technology automatically steers signals around obstacles and interference such as microwave ovens, cordless phones and Bluetooth headsets, to ensure flicker-free TV.

As it experiences any type of hindrance, Smart Wi-Fi continuously routes and re-routes Wi-Fi signals over the best and highest performing paths, effectively “steering” the signals around the interference. This enables Smart Wi-Fi systems to adapt to the changing Wi-Fi environment and support real-time, delay-sensitive applications such as streaming digital video. With Smart Wi-Fi, Consolidated Communication’s customers now have the power and freedom to place or move their televisions anywhere in the home without cumbersome or costly cabling.

To Purchase Ruckus Products Visit http://www.ruckussecurity.com

Ruckus Wireless Selected to Outfit the Historic Queen Mary

Ruckus Wireless, today announced that it was selected to supply advanced, Smart Wi-Fi products and technology for the Queen Mary, one of the world’s most historic ships, now permanently docked and serving as a luxury hotel and convention center in Long Beach, California.

Hotel Internet Services (HIS) and Queen Mary IT staff have selected and deployed Ruckus ZoneFlex Smart wireless LAN (WLAN) products, enabling wireless connectivity from any of the hotel’s guestrooms and common areas in order to support the ship’s more than three million yearly visitors.

The information technology teams tested and ultimately chose Ruckus Wireless products and technology due to its unique ability to extend signal range and overcome wireless challenges such as RF interference and impenetrable obstacles. Previously, metallic walls and other unfriendly RF obstacles on the Queen Mary made the deployment of Wi-Fi effectively impossible.

“Visitors are now coming on board with all kinds of wireless-enabled handheld devices and expect a Wi-Fi signal,” said Edgar Stevens, IT systems analyst for the Queen Mary. “Having previously tested Wi-Fi aboard ship, we were unable to get it to work properly without having to deploy a huge number of APs. The Queen Mary is effectively a massive box built with metal walls and all sorts of nooks and crannies. This makes using any kind of wireless technology extremely challenging.”
The Queen Mary and Wi-Fi – A History of Frustration

The Queen Mary, which had crossed the Atlantic Ocean 1,001 times, before docking permanently in 1967, now serves as a luxury hotel and convention center. Amenities include restaurants, exhibits, tours and 14 Art Deco salons. Entered into service in 1936, ship builders considered its design and electrical system to be state of the art. Today, in its role as one of the world’s best known attraction and hotel destinations, these same design and electrical attributes cause unique, and previously insurmountable problems for providing high-speed Internet access services for the ship’s business and leisure guests.

With more than a million square feet of space, 314 guest rooms, conference facilities, restaurants, meeting rooms and other common areas, the Queen Mary has only been able to offer broadband access through its existing power infrastructure on the ship. This requires guests to check out special powerline adapters to connect laptops and other devices.

“We looked long and hard at Wi-Fi but found it would have required more than 90 APs from competitive vendors just to support the hotel and conference space,” said Gary Patrick, president and CEO of Hotel Internet Services, a leading provider of wireless systems and integration services across the hospitality industry. “To be honest, given the high performance and ability of Ruckus Wireless products to overcome interference, and our previous experiences with Ruckus deployments, we expected them to test out well. When our testing showed we could set up the entire Wi-Fi network using one-third the number of APs, we were pleasantly surprised.”

HIS designed, installed and provides ongoing management and maintenance of the Queen Mary’s Wi-Fi infrastructure. “Having a reliable wireless network eliminates a lot of the headaches for front desk staff who previously had to check powerline adapters in and out, as well as dealing with customer support issues. Beyond that we’ve seen an increase in revenue in the very short time the Wi-Fi service has been available,” added Patrick.

According to HIS, in the first two weeks after deploying the Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi system, the Queen Mary saw the connection rate double compared to its existing powerline solution, and without advertising the availability of the Wi-Fi service.
Deployment Details

HIS and the Queen Mary are now offering high-performance Wi-Fi connectivity to all hotel guests, conventioneers and visitors. HIS conceived and installed the ship’s wireless solution, using a third of the number of Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi access points at the fraction of the cost of other solutions.

HIS installed 33 Ruckus ZoneFlex 2942 802.11g Smart Wi-Fi APs across three decks of the Queen Mary to provide complete coverage to all guest rooms, convention areas, meeting space, and other public areas. Redundant ZoneDirector 1000 controllers provide easy administration of the entire wireless environment from a central point.

The Ruckus ZoneFlex Smart Wi-Fi solution installed on the Queen Mary automatically steers Wi-Fi signals around interference to provide extended range and higher capacity coverage. The system delivers consistent performance, enabling visitors, guests and the numerous shops and services on the ship to access the Internet without the worry of limited range, performance or interference. The Ruckus system constantly readjusts Wi-Fi transmissions to overcome obstacles in the surrounding environment to provide the best throughput for each user.

To Purchase Ruckus Products Visit http://www.ruckussecurity.com

Net-Ctrl Sees Education Sales Rocket with Ruckus

Adaptable and Affordable Wireless LAN Solutions from Ruckus Wireless Allow Reseller to Target the Education Sector. Ruckus Wireless today announced that gold partner, Net-Ctrl, has been its top performing reseller in the UK this year, boasting particular success in the education sector as the demand for simple, reliable and affordable Wi-Fi networks increases. Net-Ctrl has seen wide demand for the Ruckus ZoneFlex wireless LAN (WLAN) solutions, which are capable of delivering up to three-to-four times the performance and reliability over conventional Wi-Fi technology and are easily scalable to support the rapidly growing number of mobile devices used for teaching in today’s schools.

“We’ve been working with Ruckus Wireless for just over a year now, and have deployed the ZoneFlex kit across a wide range of environments,” said Mark Power, wireless security specialist at Net-Ctrl. “In the last eight months, we’ve closed more than 70 deals in the education sector alone – that’s almost half a million pounds of revenue from products and services.”

With In-Stat predicting that there will be more than one billion Wi-Fi enabled devices by 2012, plus the fact that in the education sector laptops and mobile devices are increasingly seen as integral learning tools, the need for reliable wireless networking is obvious. Furthermore, with electronic registering soon to be compulsory for some schools, there are significant opportunities for partners that can offer the right technology at the right price. For Net-Ctrl, the ability to deliver robust solutions while minimising time spent on both initial deployment and support means the company has seen revenues grow despite the economic climate.

Net-Ctrl has recently completed deployments at Cleeve Primary, Bordesley Green Junior and Infants School and Kingsbury School and Sports College. Using Ruckus solutions, Net-Ctrl replaced Cleeve Primary’s existing consumer-grade router with a robust wireless network capable of supporting the growing number of laptops within the school. At Bordesley Green, staff members tested the ZoneFlex kit before committing to buy, and were so impressed with the reliability and value of the solution that they recommended it to nearby Kingsbury School and Sports College. In each case, the flexibility of the Ruckus products allowed Net-Ctrl to tailor a solution quickly, meeting the exact needs of its customers at a price they could afford.

“ICT now plays a prominent role across all areas of the National Curriculum and despite limited budgets, Wi-Fi is now an integral part of the teaching environment,” continued Power. “Since the Ruckus products all come with a lifetime guarantee, it’s easy for us to show our customers that we all have the utmost confidence in the technology. What’s more, despite the global recession, we’ve experienced no slow down at all in Ruckus sales. In fact, the opposite is true - especially in education.”

Net-Ctrl is also making good headway in the healthcare, hospitality and construction sectors with Ruckus products. For example, at Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, a state-of-the-art cancer research facility in Cambridge, the ZoneFlex solution is providing reliable coverage to every area of the building, despite the challenges of thick structural walls and difficult-to-reach cold rooms.

“Net-Ctrl’s thorough understanding of the WLAN market has helped the company to leap from strength to strength, particularly within the education sector,” said Jim Calderbank, director of enterprise sales EMEA at Ruckus. “With the ZoneFlex solution, we use fewer APs than competing products to reliably cover the same area, so we can drive prices down for customers without compromising on coverage. This has enabled resellers like Net-Ctrl to successfully target new markets, and because the ZoneFlex is so easy to install and manage, our partners also have extra time to work on other projects and secure more deals.”

The Ruckus ZoneFlex Smart WLAN combines technical advances in RF signal routing and adaptive antenna array with centralised WLAN management. The solution can manage anything between one and 250 access points, and is ideal for organisations with limited IT staffing and budgets that still require a secure WLAN that can deliver voice and data, wide-ranging coverage and reliable performance. The simplicity of ZoneFlex gives partners such as Net-Ctrl the ability to deploy robust WLANs in a shorter period of time while significantly reducing the cost of delivering high-quality services to their customers.

To Purchase Ruckus Products Visit http://www.ruckussecurity.com

Ruckus Wireless Defeats Cisco and Aruba in First ComprehensiveProduct Tests

Ruckus ZoneFlex Smart WLAN System Performed Up to 16X Faster Than Competitors’, Exposing Their Weaknesses in Delivering Sustainable Performance Using Conventional RF Technology. Ruckus Wireless today announced that it handily defeated leading wireless LAN (WLAN) vendors in a series of rigorous “open RF” 802.11n WLAN tests conducted by Tom’s Hardware, one of the Internet’s premiere resources for unbiased reviews, news and information on technology.

In a battery of range and performance tests across five different locations, the Ruckus ZoneFlex 802.11n Smart WLAN system posted impressive throughput gains ranging from 36 to 180 Mbps over equivalent WLAN systems from Cisco and Aruba. The testing included, for the first time, a review of Cisco’s newest chip-based beamforming technology.

According to Tom’s Hardware: “The future of video-capable Wi-Fi depends on a directional signal-boosting technique called beamforming…[the] Ruckus approach to on-antenna beamforming could prove revolutionary in inspiring the next wave of wireless networking designs.”

Unlike many wireless LAN tests where access points (APs) are placed in a controlled RF chamber with the antennas detached to eliminate any test ambiguities caused by changes in the environment, Tom’s Hardware was the first to conduct a comprehensive review of 802.11n products in a real-world, “open air” environment where obstacles, interference and distance play a crucial role, affecting consistent performance at different distances.

“We welcome and encourage this type of wireless testing because it reflects how customers actually deploy and use wireless products,” said Steve Martin, VP of Engineering for Ruckus Wireless. “This testing was particularly significant because it measured performance using different traffic types, multiple frequencies, distance, obstacles and even client rotation. These are exactly the kinds of issues that customers wrestle with every day.”
Test Methodology and Tools

For the comparative WLAN testing, Tom’s Hardware reviewed the following products:

* the Aruba AP 125 and Aruba 3200 controller (firmware 3.4.0.1)
* the Ruckus ZoneFlex 7962 AP and ZoneDirector 1006 controller (firmware 8.0.1.0) and
* the Cisco Aironet AIR-LAP 1142N AP and the Cisco 4402 controller (firmware 6.0.182.0)

To mimic a real world enterprise experience, Tom’s Hardware measured both UDP and TCP wireless performance in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrum across five different locations ranging from ten to 105 feet. Tom’s Hardware used a multi-story business park in 7,000 square feet of standard office space to conduct the tests.

While the vast majority of wireless testing reports the average throughput (data-grade) that wireless clients can expect to see 50 percent of the time, Tom’s Hardware also tested for sustained (video grade) throughput that a user would experience 99.5 percent of the time. This is particularly important for applications that require continuous bandwidth, to deliver voice without dropouts or high-quality video without artifacts, for example. It also gives IT managers a more accurate assessment of how their WLAN will perform in a “near worst case” scenario.

For the testing, Tom’s Hardware used the industry-standard IxChariot test tool to simulate real-world TCP data traffic and a sophisticated traffic generation tool to simulate UDP video traffic. To simulate real world Wi-Fi user behavior, tests were repeated with the orientation of the client devices rotated a quarter-turn each time and the results were then averaged.
Competitive Test Results

In all UDP and TCP testing in both the 2.4 and 5GHz bands, the Ruckus ZoneFlex system significantly outperformed all devices under test, delivering dramatic performance increases across all five locations.

In the closest location, separating the AP and client by 10 to 15 feet, the Ruckus ZoneFlex system delivered TCP/UDP data-grade performance of 133 and 236 Mbps respectively within the 5 GHz band - 95 to 180 percent faster than the nearest competitor. In the 2.4 GHz band, the Ruckus ZoneFlex system delivered TCP/ UDP data-grade performance of 67 and 134 Mbps respectively - 27 to 95 percent faster than the nearest competitor.

As distance was increased and obstacles began obstructing the Wi-Fi signals, performance changed dramatically. At the most difficult location, separating the AP and client by 95 feet and six walls, the Ruckus ZoneFlex system delivered TCP/UDP data-grade performance of 62 and 141 Mbps respectively within the 5 GHz band – 58 to 116 percent faster than competitors. In the 2.4 GHz band, the Ruckus ZoneFlex system delivered TCP/UDP data-grade performance of 36 and 78 Mbps respectively – 77 to 110 percent faster than the nearest competitor.

To Purchase Ruckus Products Visit http://www.ruckussecurity.com