SUNNYVALE, CA  – August 3, 2009 – Ruckus Wireless™ today announced that its ZoneFlex™ 802.11n Smart Wireless LAN (WLAN) system achieved the best value for the money in a new competitive WLAN cost analysis entitled “The Real Cost of 802.11n in the Enterprise.” 


The multivendor WLAN price/performance comparison was based on publicly available US list pricing and compiled and written in conjunction with a third party.  The report compares the required infrastructure components and costs for WLAN solutions for two common enterprise 802.11n wireless deployments using products from Aruba Networks®, Cisco Systems®, HP/Colubris®, Meru Networks and Ruckus Wireless.



The two common scenarios include:
1)    Wireless coverage only for a 500,000 square foot facility serving 1,000 users, and
2)    Wireless coverage and performance for a 500,000 square foot facility serving 1,000 users with a minimum of 10Mbps of throughput per user.

The comparisons account for the frequently inconsistent elements required among vendors to achieve comparable coverage and per-user capacity. Such components, including different licensing schemes and the need for greater controller-based resources in centralized forwarding architectures, are often not apparent when making top-line cost comparisons. As such, they can represent hidden costs that come as a surprise to enterprise customers.
 
Because of its unique WLAN implementation, which combines patented dynamic beamforming, smart meshing technology, and an “out of the data path” controller architecture, the Ruckus ZoneFlex system ranged from $30,000 to $380,000 less than competitive WLAN solutions. 
What’s more, through the use of a high-gain, directional smart antenna array integrated into every AP, the Ruckus ZoneFlex system required 40 percent fewer access points to provide the same or better coverage while delivering 10Mbps of wireless capacity to 1,000 users.


Outfitting Two Common Enterprise WLAN Scenarios Reveals Big Differences

Comparing the cost of competing 802.11n WLAN solutions for two common enterprise scenarios revealed significant differences in price/performance among wireless vendors.

First, the report examined the necessary wireless equipment and related software needed by each vendor to support complete coverage only for an enterprise Wi-Fi network of 1,000 users across a 500,000 square foot, non-line-of-sight (NLOS) space of cubicles and common areas. 

Due to the use of a high-gain, directional smart antenna array in every APs that provides extended range, the Ruckus ZoneFlex system required 40 percent fewer access points to provide complete coverage. And because the Ruckus ZoneDirector doesn’t require all wireless traffic to flow through it, only a single controller was needed. Competitive WLAN systems required 140 APs and some required more than one controller.

Using the new dual-band 802.11n ZoneFlex 7962 and the ZoneDirector 3100 Smart WLAN controller, the infrastructure cost to support this topology was about $130,000 from Ruckus Wireless.  Equivalent WLAN solutions from Aruba, Cisco, HP/Colubris and Meru ranged from about $160,000 to $300,000, which represents a 19% to 57% premium over Ruckus costs.

For the second network infrastructure scenario, the report examined the equipment needed for both Wi-Fi coverage and a minimum of 10Mbps of capacity per client with fully redundant controller support for high availability. The results revealed that the cost to deliver the requisite capacity and coverage from the Ruckus ZoneFlex system remained at about $130,000 while competing solutions from Aruba, Cisco, HP/Colubris and Meru ranged from $172,000 to over $510,000. The additional infrastructure required from Ruckus’ competitors represented premiums for capacity that ranged from 25% to 75% more than Ruckus costs. In one case, the added costs represented a a 42% premium of the competitor’s own infrastructure when enhanced to support minimum 10Gbps capacity in addition to basic coverage.

“Anyone who has spent any serious time trying to understand the pricing structures and feature sets available on all the different wireless vendor products knows that it’s gotten absolutely ridiculous,” said David Callisch, VP of Marketing at Ruckus Wireless. “Vendors quote low prices yet most require additional software licenses, controllers, gigabit Ethernet adapters, video service modules and wireless control systems.  This causes the ultimate price tag to skyrocket.”

In response, Ruckus Wireless has focused on keeping things simple – delivering a smarter wireless LAN system that delivers more reliable signal coverage and consistent performance at longer distances – at the most compelling price possible.

To view the free WLAN competitive report, which includes a detailed breakdown of the infrastructure variables required for each vendor, visit http://www.ruckuswireless.com