competitive

Ruckus vs. ArubaPRODUCT COMPARISON

Ruckus Core Values

• Reliable applications and wireless connectivity

• RF innovation

• Ease of use

• High performance and capacity

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 it’s easy to use

Aruba Core Values

•Securitycomplianceforfederalaccounts

•Fullycentralizedarchitecture

•Advancedenterpriseconfigurability

• Flexiblesecuritypolicies

RuckusZoneFlex 7982

Aruba 135

130

77

High Density TCP Performance

B I - D I R E C T I O N A LTCP THROUGHPUT1 AP, 3 ROOMS, 90 CLIENTSALL DISTANCES

competitive

Ruckus BeamFlex Aruba Transmit Beamforming

Per-packet adaptive antenna selects the best antenna patternforeachclient—improvesSNR,range,andcapacity,whilemitigatinginterference • Unique to Ruckus • Worksatthesametimeasspatialmultiplexingand

TxBF • 9dBofsignalgainand15dBofsignalrejection • Workswithallclients,stationaryorinmotion • RuckusalsosupportsstandarizedTxBF • Polarizationdiversityadaptstomobileclients

Chip-basedtransmitbeamformingattemptstooptimizetransmittedsignalsbyadjustingphaseandamplitudebased on client feedback • Relies on calibration and client feedback • Noclientssupportittoday • Withoutclientsupport,therearenobenefits • Maxtheoreticalgainis3dB • SacrificesspatialstreamstouseTxBF • Staticpolarizationcan’tadapttoclientchanges

Test Description• PerformedbySyracuse

University

• Results shown in Mbps

• All tests conducted with TCP

• Detailed test scenario and productconfigurationsarepublic

• Focused on real-world environment with repeatable,reproduceableresults

(12 tests)Who Won Multi-Client Tests?

83%

17%

RuckusZoneFlex 7982

Aruba 135

91

63

Single AP, Multi-Client PerformanceB I - D I R E C T I O N A LTCP THROUGHPUT1 AP, 1 ROOM, 30 CLIENTSLONG DISTANCE

60’ (18m)

RuckusZoneFlex 7982

Aruba 135

570

324

Multiple APs, Multiple Clients

B I - D I R E C T I O N A LTCP THROUGHPUT6 A P s , 1 2 0 C L I E N T SWITH NEIGHBOR AP

Ruckus vs. ArubaPERFORMANCE COMPARISON

RuckusZoneFlex 7982

Aruba 135

143

Single AP, Multi-Client PerformanceB I - D I R E C T I O N A LTCP THROUGHPUT1 AP, 1 ROOM, 30 CLIENTSMEDIUM DISTANCE

45’ (15m)

119

competitive

Feature Ruckus Aruba

Ease of Use

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.

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.

Reliability

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.

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.

Security

Ruckus has focused on making enterprise security easier to implement—user onboarding with Zero-IT Activation., industry first per-user PSK solution, native WIPS support, directory integration, device fingerprinting and policy.

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 Aruba’s WIPS feature is also difficult.

Guest Networking

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.

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.

Range and Capacity

Directional antenna adaptation ensures high performance at range and reduces neighbor interference. ChannelFly actively uses, measures, and predicts channel capacity and selects high-capacity channels to increase system capacity.

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.

Interference

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.

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.

Architecture

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.

Aruba’s 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.

Multimedia

Ruckus offers consistent application performance and RF connections with high data rates and low errors/loss, as well as features like multicast-to-unicast conversion, application-aware heuristics, custom QoS algorithms, and admission control.

Aruba has good feature support (multicast-to-unicast conversion, airtime fairness QoS), but the applications depend on the reliability of radio performance. Aruba’s firewall (if licensed) can also be used for voice detection and prioritization.

Cost

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.

Aruba’s solution has high costs because it depends on high-capacity controllers, but “lightweight” APs don’t decrease in price. Feature licensing adds considerable cost and complexity.

Ruckus vs. ArubaFEAtuRE COMPARISON

competitive

Ruckus Flexible Centralized Aruba Fully Centralized

Ruckus’controller-basedarchitectureisengineeredforflexibility.Withcentralizedmanagementandcontrolandflexibledataforwardingoptions,Ruckus’architectureisbalanced,scalable,expandable,andcosteffective.It’seasytoupgradeandeasilyadaptableforfutureRuckusfeatures.

Aruba’sarchitectureisfullycentralizedandbuiltfordatatunnelingthroughthecontroller,whichisinefficientandexpensiveinmostnetworks.Heavydataloads(802.11n)requirehighcapacitycontrollersandconnections,whileAPcostsremainhigh.Controllers become a potential bottleneck and require more/fasterwireduplinks.

Feature Ruckus Aruba

Adaptive Antennas X

ChannelFly X

Zero-IT Activation X

Per-user PSK X

Adaptive Mesh X X

Polarization Diversity X

Application-detection Heuristics X X

SpeedFlex X

Multicast Conversion X X

Spectrum Analysis X X

TxBF X X

Airtime Fairness X X

Flexible Architecture X

No Feature Licenses X

Measuring Wireless Innovation

Ruckus ChallengeDon’ttakeourwordforit.Setupoursystemandputourrhetorictothetest.

• Inyour environment

• With your applications

• To meet your business requirements

Investment Awareness• Doimportantfeaturescomestandard,or

dotheyrequireadditionalfeaturelicensing,support,orseparateappliances?

• DoesyourITstaffhavetime(andbudget)tolearnhowtouseAruba’sproducts?

• Are you factoring product lifespan and total cost ofownershipintoyourpurchaseplans?

Control

Management

Data

ZoneDirector3000

Internet

AP AP

ControllerController

Control

Management

Data

Internet

APAP

Ruckus vs. ArubaSOlutION COMPARISON

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

www.ruckuswireless.com

competitive

IntheheartofNewYorkCity,BaruchCollegechoseRuckusWirelessover10competingWi-Fisupplierstomeetthewirelessneedsofacampuswith17,000students.Tochooseaproduct,BaruchformedacommitteeofITstaff,faculty,andstudentstoassessthewirelessexperiencebasedonweek-longlivefieldtests;reliability,speed,mobility,accessibility,andeaseofusewereamongtheirtopevaluationcriteria.

DependableWi-FiaccesshelpsBaruchattractandretainstrongstudentsinacompetitivehigher-educationlandscape.Studentsandstaffneededsolidconnectivitytoenableeducationalinitiativeslikemultimediastreaminginclassrooms,student-teachervideochat

sessions,high-densityauditoriums,andtheperennialneedforanywhere,anytimeaccessbydemandingstudentusers—eachwithmultipledevices.

Baruch’sCIOlamentedthattheir“previousWi-Finetworkdidnotmeetourneeds,sostudentsandfacultystartedbringingintheirownAPsorpoachingoffanylocalWi-Finetworktheycouldfind.”Butwith802.11n350APsmanagedbyRuckusZoneDirectorcontrollers,studentandstaffproductivityandsatisfactionarenolongeranissue. 

Baruchnotedthat“goodWi-FiinNewYorkinanycontextjustisn’teasy,”butdespitetheRFhurdlesandbandwidth-hungrystudents,theystillneededfewerRuckusAPstogetthejobdone.

Ruckus Satisfied Customers

Ruckus Facts• Formed:June2004

• Revenuegrowthfrom2009-2012:CAGR65%(profitable)

• Customers:16,000andcounting

• Solutionpartners:5300

• Fastest growing of the world’s top5WLANsuppliers(IDC,Gartner)

• Over4,400newcustomersinthefirsthalfof2012

Copyright © 2012, Ruckus Wireless, Inc. All rights reserved. Ruckus Wireless and Ruckus Wireless design are reg-istered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Ruckus Wireless, the Ruckus Wireless logo, BeamFlex, ZoneFlex, MediaFlex, FlexMaster, ZoneDirector, SpeedFlex, SmartCast, SmartCell, ChannelFly and Dynamic PSK are trade-marks 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 vs. ArubaIN tHE REAl WORlD