Ruckus Wireless grows small business portfolio

Ruckus Wireless has announced a new, entry-level 802.11ac access point along with the expansion and enhancement of its family of Ruckus Unleashed access points. The new products and capabilities make it even easier for small businesses to deploy high-performance Wi-Fi that meets their cost, ease-of-deployment and coverage needs.

Three new products expand the range of high-performance Wi-Fi options available to small businesses:

· Ruckus ZoneFlex R310 is an entry-level, enterprise-class 802.11ac access point. The Ruckus R310 has a low-profile form factor and delivers superior dual-band performance

· Ruckus ZoneFlex R310 Unleashed is a controller-less version of the R310. The access point eliminates the need for separate controllers and access point licenses, significantly reducing upfront costs. A simple web interface featuring a step-by-step set-up guide enables non-IT users to configure Wi-Fi in just 60 seconds and deploy in minutes

· Ruckus ZoneFlex T300 Series Unleashed are controller-less versions of Ruckus’ existing T300 access points, which provide dual-band 802.11ac access for outdoor deployments. The T300 series features a lightweight, low-profile design for easy installation, and will now allow small businesses to add outdoor connectivity to a controller-less Wi-Fi environment.

In conjunction with the new access points, new Ruckus Unleashed features to simplify management of controller-less Wi-Fi networks have been launched. The company is introducing its patented SmartMesh technology to Unleashed. With SmartMesh, small businesses no longer have to run Ethernet wiring to all indoor and outdoor access points, saving both money and time. Ruckus Unleashed also now supports SNMP protocols to easily manage and monitor network elements.

Unlike the stripped-down products for small business offered by competitors, the portfolio of Unleashed access points for small business delivers Wi-Fi performance based on Ruckus’ patented BeamFlex adaptive antenna technology and ChannelFly capacity-based channel selection. BeamFlex and ChannelFly work together to provide stronger Wi-Fi signals over longer ranges, while adapting automatically to environmental changes. This yields more stable connections, higher data rates and more concurrent users per access point.

“Small and mid-size organizations increasingly rely on Wi-Fi to engage customers, deliver services and run their businesses,” said Kash Shaikh, VP of marketing and business development at Ruckus. “Our new products help level the playing field for small businesses, local retailers, coffee shops and restaurants, so they can deliver a high-quality Wi-Fi experience indoors and outdoors – with a much lower total cost of ownership.”

The news builds on the October 2015 launch of Ruckus Unleashed, a controller-less Wi-Fi architecture that reduces ownership costs and delivers up to 50% higher Wi-Fi performance* for small and mid-size business environments. Ruckus Unleashed can manage up to 25 access points as part of a single-site network. Businesses can easily plug and play more Wi-Fi access points as their needs grow – and if multiple sites are needed, Ruckus offers an easy migration path to controller-based Wi-Fi, using the same access points.

“Wi-Fi connectivity has become an absolute requirement for customers and employees of small businesses,” said Nolan Greene, IDC Research Analyst, network infrastructure. “Business owners are often challenged to provide reliable, business-grade networks within a limited budget. Solutions like Ruckus’ new access points provide small and medium business owners with more options – covering the range of needs from indoor to outdoor, controller-based to controller-less, and cost-conscious to performance-driven.”

Interested?

Ruckus Unleashed is now available with three indoor access points – ZoneFlex R310 ($495); ZoneFlex R500 ($645); and ZoneFlex R600 ($795) – and one family of outdoor access points (ZoneFlex T300, T300E, T301N, and T301S). ZoneFlex R310 is available now. The Unleashed versions of ZoneFlex R310 and T300 series will be available in March 2016. All of these access points are also available as part of a controller-based network managed by Ruckus’ ZoneDirector and SmartZone controllers. These controller platforms include user access controls, guest networking functions, advanced Wi-Fi security and traffic management.

Ruckus ZoneFlex and Ruckus Unleashed access points are available through Ruckus’ global distribution network.

Interested?

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog post about the launch of Ruckus Unleashed

Hashtag: #SimplyBetterWireless.

Ruckus Wireless rolls out controller-less wireless access points for SMB market

Ruckus Wireless has introduced the Ruckus Unleashed access points, which are custom-designed for small business owners. The new access points feature a new architecture that reduces ownership costs and delivers up to 50% higher Wi-Fi performance* for small business environments. 

With the new 'controller-less' access points, the controller technology is built-in. Separate controllers and access point licenses are no longer needed, significantly reducing upfront costs. Setup is also easy, thanks to a simplified web interface that helps businesses configure Wi-Fi in just 60 seconds. As businesses grow to multiple sites, Ruckus further offers an easy migration path to controller-based Wi-Fi, which can leverage the same Wi-Fi access points.

“Ruckus Unleashed access points level the playing field for local retailers, coffee shops, and restaurants, helping them to deliver a high-quality Wi-Fi experience for customers and employees with much lower total cost of ownership,” said Dan Rabinovitsj, Ruckus’ COO. "We’re excited to help small business owners make high-performance Wi-Fi affordable and simple to install and maintain.”

Each access point delivers Wi-Fi performance at extended ranges for up to 512 simultaneously-connected devices. Unleashed access points feature the Smart Wi-Fi technology that has made Ruckus so popular, including patented breakthroughs such as:

· BeamFlex Adaptive antenna technology;
· ChannelFly capacity-based adaptive channel selection;
· Zero-IT Activation automatic user-device configuration; and
· Dynamic PSK Wi-Fi security.

For retail and hospitality environments, Ruckus Unleashed access points deliver fast and reliable broadband Wi-Fi to engage visitors via their mobile devices and ensure easy guest access. An easy-to-use self-service interface provides business owners with insights on Wi-Fi usage, so they can easily optimise the Wi-Fi experience of employees and visitors without the need for dedicated IT staff. As needs grow, the business can easily add more Wi-Fi access points on a 'plug and play' basis, boosting performance without needing to re-configure the network.

“Smart devices are playing a critical role in influencing consumer decisions and behaviors,” said Nolan Greene, IDC Research Analyst, Network Infrastructure. “Wi-Fi connectivity has become an absolute requirement for customers and employees of small businesses, but business owners are often challenged to provide reliable, business-grade networks within a limited budget. A solution like Ruckus Unleashed access points can provide accessible enterprise-grade functionality to small and medium businesses.”

Interested?

Ruckus Unleashed is immediately available with two models of Ruckus access points – ZoneFlex R500 Unleashed and ZoneFlex R600 Unleashed – priced at US$645 and US$795, respectively. The Unleashed version of these access points have similar prices to the standard R500 and R600 versions so buyers basically receive the controller capability at no additional cost. 

Hashtag: #SimplyBetterWireless

*Up to 50% performance improvement in Ruckus internal testing of radio frequency versus Aruba Instant