competitive

Ruckus vs. CiscoPRODUCT COMPARISON

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

Ruckus Core Values• Reliable applications and wireless

connectivity

• RF innovation

• Ease of use

• High performance and capacity

Cisco Core Values• Unifiednetworking

• Trustednameinrouting/switching

• Wirelessadd-ontowirednetwork

• Partnerecosystem,professionalservices,techsupport(TAC)

RuckusZoneFlex 7982

Cisco 3602i

130

56

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 Cisco ClientLink

Per-packetadaptiveantennaselectsthebestantennapatternforeachclient—improvesSNR,range,andcapacity,whilemitigatinginterference • UniquetoRuckus • Works at the same time as spatial multiplexing and

TxBF • 9dBofsignalgainand15dBofsignalrejection • Workswithallclients,stationaryorinmotion • RuckusalsosupportsstandarizedTxBF

Attemptstophase-aligntransmittedsignalswithoutclientcalibration or feedback • Proprietary form of transmit beamforming • Cannotdospatialmultiplexingwithsameradio

chains • Does not work with clients in motion • Maxtheoreticalgainis3dB • Does not work without calibration or feedback • Real-worldtestsshownobenefit

Test Description• Performed by Syracuse University

• Results shown in Mbps

• All tests conducted with TCP

• Detailed test scenario and productconfigurationsarepublic

• Focusedonreal-worldenvironment with repeatable,reproduceableresults

(12 tests)

Other

Who Won Multi-Client Tests?

83%

17% 0%

RuckusZoneFlex 7982

Cisco 3602i

228

107

Single AP, Single Client Performance

B I - D I R E C T I O N A LTCP THROUGHPUTFOR DUAL BAND CLIENTSLONG DISTANCE

105’ (32m)

RuckusZoneFlex 7982

Cisco 3602i

143

71

Single AP, Multi-Client Performance

B I - D I R E C T I O N A LTCP THROUGHPUT1 AP, 1 ROOM, 30 CLIENTSMEDIUM DISTANCE

45’ (15m)

RuckusZoneFlex 7982

58’ (17.7m)

Cisco 3602i

275

159

Single AP, Single Client Performance

B I - D I R E C T I O N A LTCP THROUGHPUTFOR DUAL BAND CLIENTSMEDIUM DISTANCE

Ruckus vs. CiscoPERFORMANCE COMPARISON

competitive

Feature Ruckus Cisco

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 staff; feature bloat adds complexity; some features require add-on systems that create additional complexity.

Reliability

BeamFlex increases signal-to-noise ratio, decreases errors, and provides seamless coverage . Ruckus features are statistically optimized and immediately adapt to RF changes.

TxBF techniques don’t add signal gain. Static dipole antennas create signal nulls and inconsistent coverage. CleanAir may detect interference, but system adaptation is limited.

Security

User onboarding with Zero-IT Activation. Industry first per-user PSK solution for simple security. Native WIPS support, user directory integration, device fingerprinting and policy.

Advanced features—device policy and onboarding, wIPS, location services, CleanAir—require additional costly appliances (ISE, ACS, NCS, MSE). No per-user PSK option.

Guest Networking

Fully integrated guest services with flexible user connectivity and simple guest access control and isolation. Leader in secure public and SP hotspots with Hotspot 2.0 and WISPr.

Cisco supports a similar range of guest features in their controller and is a primary competitor to Ruckus in SP hotspots. Cisco’s preferred guest model is to tunnel traffic to an anchor controller in the DMZ.

Range and Capacity

Directional antenna adaptation ensures high performance at range and reduces neighbor interference. ChannelFly measures true capacity and selects channels accordingly.

No unique features to enhance range. High density relies on static antennas and more APs that cause interference and add to cost and deployment time. RRM is based only on short, passive airtime samples on each channel.

Interference

Ruckus’ channel selection and rate adaptation measure actual capacity and quickly adjust as RF conditions change. BeamFlex also helps to either avoid or overcome interference. Native spectrum analysis tools also aid spectrum monitoring.

CleanAir is a nice spectrum visibility tool, but its benefits are restricted to monitoring. Spectrum visibility with device classification does not fix spectrum problems, nor can Cisco’s APs overcome interference.

ArchitectureRuckus’ architecture is designed to be flexible. Centralized management and control with either distributed or centralized data flow.

Cisco’s architecture is designed to be fully centralized, which requires high capacity controllers and adds cost.

Multimedia

Ruckus offers consistent application performance and RF connections with high data rates and low errors/retries, as well as unique features like muliticast-to-unicast conversion, application detection heuristics, and custom QoS algorithms.

Cisco has some of the same multimedia features, like multicast detection and coversion and standardized QoS, but these features are built on less reliable and consistent radio performance.

Cost

Ruckus’ range and capacity benefits reduce the number of APs necessary for consistent application delivery. Our architecture is also balanced and cost effective without added components and confusing licensing.

As a result of their big business, Cisco charges a premium for all wireless equipment. Their architecture is ineffecient and overly expensive, and they often need multiple added components and licensing for full feature functionality.

Ruckus vs. CiscoFEAtuRE COMPARISON

competitive

Ruckus Flexible Centralized Cisco Fully Centralized

Ruckus’controller-basedarchitectureisengineeredforflexibility. With centralized management and control and flexibledataforwardingoptions,Ruckus’architectureisbalanced,scalable,expandable,andcosteffective.

Cisco’sarchitectureisfullycentralizedandbuiltfordatatunnelingthroughthecontroller,whichisinefficientandexpensiveinmostnetworks.Heavydataloadsrequirehighcapacitycontrollers($$$)andconnections,whileAPcostsremain the same.

Feature Ruckus Cisco

Adaptive Antennas X

ChannelFly X

Zero-IT Activation X

Per-user PSK X

Adaptive Mesh X

Polarization Diversity X

Application-detection Heuristics X

SpeedFlex X

Multicast Conversion X X

Spectrum Analysis X X

TxBF X X

Airtime Fairness X X

Flexible Architecture X

Measuring Wireless Innovation

Ruckus ChallengeDon’t take our word for it. Set up our system and put our rhetoric to the test.

• In your environment

• With your applications

• Tomeetyourbusinessrequirements

Investment Awareness• Doimportantfeaturesrequireextralicensing,

support,hardware,orothercosts?

• DoallAPssupportallfeatures?CleanAir,ClientLink,Mesh

• Are you factoring product lifespan and total cost ofownershipintoyourpurchaseplans?

Control

Management

Data

ZoneDirector3000

Internet

AP AP

Controller

Control

Management

Data

Internet

Controller

AP AP

Ruckus vs. CiscoSOlutION 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,andeaseofusewere among their top evaluation criteria.

DependableWi-FiaccesshelpsBaruchattractandretainstrongstudentsinacompetitivehigher-educationlandscape.Studentsandstaffneededsolidconnectivitytoenableeducationalinitiativeslikemultimediastreaminginclassrooms,student-teachervideochat

sessions,high-densityauditoriums,andtheperennialneedforanywhere,anytimeaccessbydemandingstudentusers—each with multiple devices.

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. CiscoIN tHE REAl WORlD