Ruckus vs.

Aruba
PRODUCT COMPARISON

competitive
Ruckus Core Values
 Reliable applications and wireless connectivity RF innovation  Ease of use  High performance and capacity

Aruba Core Values

 Security compliance for federal accounts  Fully centralized architecture  Advanced enterprise configurability  Flexible security policies

High Density TCP Performance

130
BI-DIRECTION AL

TCP THROUGHPUT

1 AP, 3 ROOMS, 90 CLIENTS

ALL DISTANCES

77

Ruckus ZoneFlex 7982 Aruba 135

Why Ruckus?
 We create stable wireless connections in any RF environment  We deliver your business applications without a glitch  We improve range and capacity with fewer APs and lower cost  We adapt to and overcome RF interference and reduce support calls and help desk headaches  Everything comes standard and its easy to use

Ruckus vs. Aruba

PERFORMANCE COMPARISON

competitive
Aruba Transmit Beamforming

Ruckus BeamFlex

Per-packet adaptive antenna selects the best antenna pattern for each clientimproves SNR, range, and capacity, while mitigating interference Unique to Ruckus  Works at the same time as spatial multiplexing and TxBF  9 dB of signal gain and 15 dB of signal rejection  Works with all clients, stationary or in motion Ruckus also supports standarized TxBF Polarization diversity adapts to mobile clients

Chip-based transmit beamforming attempts to optimize transmitted signals by adjusting phase and amplitude based on client feedback  Relies on calibration and client feedback  No clients support it today  Without client support, there are no benefits  Max theoretical gain is 3 dB  Sacrifices spatial streams to use TxBF  Static polarization cant adapt to client changes

Single AP, Multi-Client Performance

BI-DIRECTION A L

Multiple APs, Multiple Clients

570
BI-DIRECTION AL 6 A P s , 12 0 C L I E N T S

91

TCP THROUGHPUT
60 (18m)

1 AP, 1 ROOM, 30 CLIENTS

TCP THROUGHPUT
WITH NEIGHBOR AP

LONG DISTANCE

63

324

Test Description
 Performed by Syracuse University  Results shown in Mbps

Ruckus ZoneFlex 7982 Aruba 135

Ruckus ZoneFlex 7982 Aruba 135

 All tests conducted with TCP  Detailed test scenario and product configurations are public  Focused on real-world environment with repeatable, reproduceable results

Single AP, Multi-Client Performance

BI-DIRECTION A L

Who Won Multi-Client Tests?

(12 tests)

143

TCP THROUGHPUT

1 AP, 1 ROOM, 30 CLIENTS

MEDIUM DISTANCE
45 (15m)

119

17%

83%
Ruckus ZoneFlex 7982 Aruba 135

Ruckus vs. Aruba

FeaTUre COMPARISON

competitive
Aruba
Designed for Fortune 500 with large, dedicated wireless staff; long feature lists add configuration complexity. Wizards are available, but product learning curves are still long and steep. Feature licensing adds further confusion. GUI is clumsy. Data forwarding relies on a single, central point, which could fail. Static antennas are not adaptable to RF changes, and they create nulls and inconsistent coverage patterns. Good enterprise feature support with device policies and a stateful firewall (requires a license), but most organizations already have purpose-built firewalls at key traffic segmentation points. Proper setup of Arubas WIPS feature is also difficult. Captive portal and access control for guest policies. Guest traffic segmentation with the firewall is also possible, but requires additional feature licensing. Other guest features (account provisioning) may require ClearPass as well. No unique features to enhance range. High density deployments rely on static antennas, which cause interference and increase installation time. More APs are required to meet customer requirements, adding cost. Aruba has spectrum monitoring tools if customers pay for extra software license modules. When interference is present, Aruba ARM has limited system adaptability. Changing channels is their primary response. Arubas architecture is designed to be fully centralized, which requires high capacity controllers and adds cost. Aruba Instant is also a feature-constrained option for small networks. Aruba has good feature support (multicast-tounicast conversion, airtime fairness QoS), but the applications depend on the reliability of radio performance. Arubas firewall (if licensed) can also be used for voice detection and prioritization. Arubas solution has high costs because it depends on high-capacity controllers, but lightweight APs dont decrease in price. Feature licensing adds considerable cost and complexity.

Feature
Ease of Use

Ruckus
Intuitive interface for the IT generalist; smart features that self-optimize; RF innovations that reduce connection headaches. Built-in tools for easy monitoring and troubleshooting. BeamFlex increases SNR, decreases errors, and provides seamless coverage for stable links. Ruckus APs learn about the RF environment and quickly adapt to changes. Mesh failover creates sustained connections when wired links fail. Ruckus has focused on making enterprise security easier to implementuser onboarding with Zero-IT Activation., industry first per-user PSK solution, native WIPS support, directory integration, device fingerprinting and policy. Fully integrated guest services with easy user connectivity, simple guest access control, and client traffic isolation. Leader in secure public and SP hotspots with Hotspot 2.0 (802.11u) and WISPr. Directional antenna adaptation ensures high performance at range and reduces neighbor interference. ChannelFly actively uses, measures, and predicts channel capacity and selects highcapacity channels to increase system capacity. Integrated spectrum analysis tools aid in spectrum monitoring and troubleshooting. BeamFlex, rate adaption, and ChannelFly work to create optimal connections, with or without interference. As conditions change, the system adapts. Ruckus architecture is designed to be flexible. Centralized management and control with either distributed or centralized data flow based on the needs of the network and the applications. Ruckus offers consistent application performance and RF connections with high data rates and low errors/loss, as well as features like multicast-tounicast conversion, application-aware heuristics, custom QoS algorithms, and admission control. Ruckus range and capacity benefits reduce the number of APs. Our architecture is also balanced and cost effective with no feature licenses or added components for advanced features.

Reliability

Security

Guest Networking

Range and Capacity

Interference

Architecture

Multimedia

Cost

Ruckus vs. Aruba

SoLUTion COMPARISON

competitive
Aruba Fully Centralized
Internet

Ruckus Flexible Centralized

Internet

Controller
Zone Dir 3000 ector

Controller

Management Control AP AP Data

Management Control Data

AP

AP

Ruckus controller-based architecture is engineered for flexibility. With centralized management and control and flexible data forwarding options, Ruckus architecture is balanced, scalable, expandable, and cost effective. Its easy to upgrade and easily adaptable for future Ruckus features.

Arubas architecture is fully centralized and built for data tunneling through the controller, which is inefficient and expensive in most networks. Heavy data loads (802.11n) require high capacity controllers and connections, while AP costs remain high. Controllers become a potential bottleneck and require more/ faster wired uplinks.

Measuring Wireless Innovation

Feature
Adaptive Antennas ChannelFly Zero-IT Activation Per-user PSK Adaptive Mesh Polarization Diversity Application-detection Heuristics SpeedFlex Multicast Conversion Spectrum Analysis TxBF Airtime Fairness Flexible Architecture No Feature Licenses

Ruckus
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Aruba

Investment Awareness
D  o important features come standard, or do they require additional feature licensing, support, or separate appliances? D  oes your IT staff have time (and budget) to learn how to use Arubas products?  Are you factoring product lifespan and total cost of ownership into your purchase plans?

Ruckus Challenge
Dont take our word for it. Set up our system and put our rhetoric to the test. In your environment With your applications To meet your business requirements

X X X X

Ruckus vs. Aruba

IN THE REAL WORLD

competitive

In the heart of New York City, Baruch College chose Ruckus Wireless over 10 competing Wi-Fi suppliers to meet the wireless needs of a campus with 17,000 students. To choose a product, Baruch formed a committee of IT staff, faculty, and students to assess the wireless experience based on week-long live field tests; reliability, speed, mobility, accessibility, and ease of use were among their top evaluation criteria. Dependable Wi-Fi access helps Baruch attract and retain strong students in a competitive higher-education landscape. Students and staff needed solid connectivity to enable educational initiatives like multimedia streaming in classrooms, student-teacher video chat sessions, high-density auditoriums, and the perennial need for anywhere, anytime access by demanding student userseach with multiple devices. Baruchs CIO lamented that their previous Wi-Fi network did not meet our needs, so students and faculty started bringing in their own APs or poaching off any local Wi-Fi network they could find. But with 802.11n 350 APs managed by Ruckus ZoneDirector controllers, student and staff productivity and satisfaction are no longer an issue. Baruch noted that good Wi-Fi in New York in any context just isnt easy, but despite the RF hurdles and bandwidthhungry students, they still needed fewer Ruckus APs to get the job done.

Ruckus Satisfied Customers

Ruckus Facts
 Formed: June 2004  Revenue growth from 20092012: CAGR 65% (profitable)  Customers: 16,000 and counting  Solution partners: 5300  Fastest growing of the worlds top 5 WLAN suppliers (IDC, Gartner)  Over 4,400 new customers in the first half of 2012

Copyright 2012, Ruckus Wireless, Inc. All rights reserved. Ruckus Wireless and Ruckus Wireless design are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Ofce. Ruckus Wireless, the Ruckus Wireless logo, BeamFlex, ZoneFlex, MediaFlex, FlexMaster, ZoneDirector, SpeedFlex, SmartCast, SmartCell, ChannelFly and Dynamic PSK are trademarks of Ruckus Wireless, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document or website are the property of their respective owners.

Ruckus Wireless, Inc. 350 West Java Drive Sunnyvale, CA 94089 USA (650) 265-4200 Ph \ (408) 738-2065 Fx

www.ruckuswireless.com