Ruckus Wireless says it's improving the wireless experience for service provider customers and retail, hospitality, education and enterprise with the launch of two new wireless access points (APs) and upgraded management software that double Wi-Fi client density and data rates over previous generations.
Ruckus notes that it was first to market with Wave 2 APs in April of last year, and now it will offer the industry's broadest Wave 2 portfolio. The two new APs are based on the 802.11ac Wave 2 standard that features multiple user-multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) technology, which can simultaneously transmit multiple client streams to different devices on the same RF channel.
The new products include:
- Ruckus ZoneFlex T710 access point – An outdoor version of the industry-first Wave 2 R710 AP delivering multi-gigabit Wi-Fi performance and "unprecedented" client capacity. The T710 includes four dual-band antennas -- using BeamFlex+ adaptive antenna technology -- along with interfaces for Ethernet and fiber backhaul, plus built-in GPS for location and inventory management. It's geared toward enterprise and service provider outdoor deployments.
- Ruckus ZoneFlex R510 access point – A Wave 2 version of Ruckus' most popular indoor access point (R500). The company says the R510 is a competitively priced AP for mid-market customers, featuring two dual-band anntennas (also using BeamFlex+ technology) that combine MU-MIMO to service more devices with the highest efficiency. The R510 can work with existing 802.3af-capable Ethernet switches.
A spokesperson told FierceWirelessTech that 11 percent of Ruckus' shipments over the past two quarters have been Wave 2. The bulk of that has been for enterprise, but the company expects that will shift with the addition of these new products.
The Wave 2 product Ruckus is currently shipping – the one that was announced over a year ago as the first enterprise Wi-Fi vendor to launch Wave 2 – was the fastest-moving product in Ruckus history.
"Wave 2 is quickly becoming the high-performance Wi-Fi standard, especially when combined with patented Ruckus innovations like BeamFlex+ technology," said Greg Beach, vice president of product management at Ruckus, in a press release. "The early adopters across retail, hospitality and education are seeing tremendous benefits as they rely on Smart Wi-Fi to engage customers, deliver services and run their businesses. With today's new indoor and outdoor access points, we're excited to take Wave 2 mainstream for any enterprise or service provider deployment."
Brocade, a major player in the NFV and SDN scene, this week announced it had completed the acquisition of Ruckus in a deal that was valued at around $1.2 billion.
Ruckus say the R510 and T710 will be available by the end of June.
For more:
- see the press release
- see this Evangel University case study
Related articles:
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Ruckus seeks to shake up the market with 802.11ac Wave 2 access point