Enterprise WLAN Competitive Testing

Performance Results of Industry?s Top Seven 802.11g Wireless LAN Systems for Mid-Sized Enterprises

Executive Summary

Jones-Petrick and Associates (JPA) recently conducted a technical evaluation for Ruckus Wireless of the latest generation of enterprise wireless LAN (WLAN) controllers and access points in a real world office environment.

While the industry has converged on a centralized WLAN model to deploy, manage and secure Wi-Fi® networks within large corporations, innovations have mostly focused on the security and manageability aspects of the WLAN residing on intelligent WLAN controllers. Little has been done to solve the fundamental issue of sustaining wireless connectivity and performance in the face of interference, increasing distance and obstructions.

As Wi-Fi becomes more prevalent and WLAN controller technologies mature, the focus is now on fixing the neglected RF component.

The biggest complaints about WLANs today are no longer about management or security – rather, they center around RF problems that manifest weak Wi-Fi coverage, unstable signals and performance fluctuations. Without the ability to maintain reliable wireless connections and predictable performance, even the best WLAN security and management system is moot.

We found the test results to be impressive. The testing revealed that WLAN systems that focused only on security and management and lacking RF optimizations were unable to provide consistent performance levels across all locations.

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