Ruckus Wireless Sets New 802.11n Price/Performance Benchmark with the World’s Most Affordable Enterprise-Class Access Point
At Under $1 Per Mbps of Capacity, the New ZoneFlex 7300 Series Delivers Never Before Seen 802.11n Price/Performance with Patented Smart Antennas with Dynamic Beamforming
SUNNYVALE, CA, March 15, 2010 – Ruckus Wireless™, the smart mobile networking company, today announced that it has broken the price/performance barrier for 802.11n wireless networking with the introduction of the new ZoneFlex™ 7300 line of mid-range access points.
Complementing its top-of-the-line Ruckus ZoneFlex 7962, recognized as the industry’s highest performing 802.11n access point, the new ZoneFlex 7300 enters the market as the first-ever, sub-$500 enterprise-class 802.11n solution.
The ZoneFlex 7300 series includes both single-band (7343) and dual band (7363) products, priced at US $499 and $599 respectively. Maximum 802.11n capacity of 300Mbps (single band) or 600Mbps (dual band), makes the ZoneFlex 7300 the industry’s lowest cost, highest performing line of 802.11n mid-range access points available.
One of the first companies to deploy the new ZoneFlex 7300 series is Louisville-based, Rock Bottom Restaurants, a leading casual dining chain. In 2010, Rock Bottom is standardizing on Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi products across 103 of its restaurants across the United States. “Finally, 802.11n performance at 802.11g prices,” said Rob Jakoby, VP of IT of Rock Bottom Restaurants (see separate release).
The ZoneFlex 7300 series are the first Wi-Fi access points in their class to uniquely integrate patented smart antenna array and dynamic beamforming technology that delivers unmatched reliability and performance at any range.
For solution developers and mobile operators, the ZoneFlex 7300 series can be custom ordered with an add-on USB port for value-added applications such as machine-to-machine (m2m) communications or WAN link backup using a 3G/4G/EVDO dongle.
“Enterprises and service providers around the world are trying to deal with a tsunami of Wi-Fi-enabled mobile internet devices in the hands of a growing user population that expects fast and reliable connectivity everywhere, all the time,” said Selina Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless. “802.11n is expected to be the answer, but high prices and inconsistent performance have hampered mass adoption. Ruckus Wireless is breaking down these barriers once and for all.”
Available immediately, the ZoneFlex 7300 Series is ideally suited for:
- Hotels and public venues that must offer “complaint-less” high-speed guest Wi-Fi access that is simple to implement and operate;
- Schools that want to easily migrate to higher capacity wireless infrastructures at the lowest total cost of ownership;
- Retail outlets where cost, aesthetics and reliability are key concerns; and
- Remote controlled hotspots that deliver capacity and coverage despite interference from other APs in close proximity;
- Mid-sized hospitals and clinics looking to migrate to 802.11n;
- Branch offices that need high-speed, low cost, and centrally-managed Wi-Fi services;
- Cost-sensitive enterprises that require high and reliable performance.
Low-End Price, High-End Performance
The ZoneFlex 7300 sets a new standard for price/performance. In comparative, real-world testing, the ZoneFlex 7363 delivered one megabit per second of capacity for less than $4.00. In contrast, leading 802.11n products from Aruba (AP105) and Cisco (1140) were tested to deliver one megabit per second of 802.11n performance at over $6.50 and $13.00 respectively - a premium of 70 to 345 percent.
The ZoneFlex 7363 has been measured to deliver unparalleled throughput of over 200 Mbps at short ranges (10 to 20 feet) and over 120 Mbps at longer ranges (60 to 100 feet) within a typical, walled office environment. In over-the-air, wireless performance testing against high-end competitive 802.11n products from Aruba (AP125) and Cisco Systems (1250) that were twice the price, the new ZoneFlex 7363 consistently delivered up to 40% better throughput at close and long ranges.
More importantly, in performance testing where the client laptops were rotated 360° to emulate mobile and nomadic devices from a variety of directions and orientations, the ZoneFlex 7363 delivered up to a 5x improvement in throughput over the high-end Aruba 125 and Cisco 1250.
Unlike any other 802.11n access points, Ruckus ZoneFlex access points integrate BeamFlex™, a patented software-controlled multi-antenna array that forms and directs Wi-Fi signals over the best performing signal paths in real time, on a per packet basis. As RF environments change, Ruckus ZoneFlex APs are able to automatically select better signal paths to increase performance and minimize packet loss, thereby ensuring good, consistent user experience. In contrast, access points with omni-directional antennas have difficulty coping with obstacles and interference and must resort to dropping their data rate. This degrades performance for all users sharing an access point. “We’ve always expected to see 802.11n prices drop as chips mature and the commoditization curve takes over, just it did with previous standards,” said Craig Mathias, principal at Farpoint Group, a leading wireless consulting firm. “But what we didn’t expect was the level of innovation beyond the chip that adds dramatic improvements in performance, range and reliability from smart antenna systems like those innovated by Ruckus Wireless. Looking ahead, we expect the real value in 802.11n systems to come from technology like this that helps control and optimize the physical layer where all the real problems arise.”
Product Details
The ZoneFlex 7300 series is packaged in a lightweight (0.875 lbs/397 grams), compact and ultra-slim design measuring just 7”x7”x1”. Moreover, the Ruckus ZoneFlex 7300 packs a unique collection of powerful capabilities not found in any other 802.11n access points. These include:
- Integrated smart antenna array with over 300 antenna patterns that enables 4dBi of antenna gain for extended coverage;
- Automatic interference avoidance of -10dB;
- Support for dynamic beamforming to minimize lowering of data rates and packet loss, ensuring consistent performance;
- Patented IP multicast-to-unicast conversion for high quality real time video streaming;
- Smart mesh networking for cable-less deployment, lowering deployment costs;
- Advanced Smart/OS features (when used with the Ruckus ZoneDirector controller) such as dynamic pre-shared keys and guest networking;
- Best in class QoS with automatic traffic classification, per-user rate limiting, airtime fairness and band steering;
- Support for eight BSSIDs per radio;
- Single and dual radio 2x2 11n designs with up to 300Mbps per radio;
- Standard 802.3af power; and
- Wall, ceiling or desktop mounting.
Completely manageable as a standalone access point through an easy-to-use, Web-based graphical user interface, the ZoneFlex 7300 also works in concert with the Ruckus ZoneDirector controller and FlexMaster remote Wi-Fi management platform. ZoneFlex 7300 access points mesh seamlessly with other indoor and outdoor Ruckus 802.11n products.
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