Ruckus Wireless Unveils SmartZone Unified Software Platform for the Wireless Networks of the Future

SUNNYVALE, CA – May 19, 2015 – Ruckus Wireless, Inc. (NYSE: RKUS) announced today the introduction of its new SmartZone™ software platform, a carrier-grade solution developed for and deployed by service providers around the globe, now extended to demanding enterprise customers. This future-ready solution powering Ruckus Smart WiFi products and technologies addresses the growing challenges that enterprises and service providers face in delivering high-performance, reliable WiFi, while also providing them with a clear path to meet constantly increasing network infrastructure performance and service requirements.

The Ruckus SmartZone software platform provides unified software architecture across wireless LAN (WLAN) controllers, for appliance, virtualized and cloud environments offering the ultimate in deployment flexibility. This new WiFi software offers a tremendous level of flexibility: scaling up to 300,000 devices, offering single and multi-tenancy, as well as ‘WiFi-as-you-grow’—the capability for your network to expand with and adapt to the changing needs of your business.

The new SmartZone software incorporates and supports all Ruckus ZoneFlex™ indoor and outdoor access points (APs), managed by a family of Ruckus physical and virtual appliance controllers, including:

NEW Ruckus SmartZone 100 wireless LAN (WLAN) controller – the most affordable, scalable, resilient, and highest performing WLAN controller in its class. The Ruckus SmartZone 100 combines power, simplicity and tremendous scalability with unique Ruckus clustering technology. Supporting up to 25,000 clients, with up to 10 Gbps data throughput, the SmartZone 100 can manage up to 1,024 Ruckus ZoneFlex access points (APs), with support for up to 3,000 APs and 60,000 clients in a cluster. The new Ruckus SmartZone 100 easily integrates with network, security and authentication infrastructure already in place, and is easily configured through a point-and-click web wizard. Ruckus ZoneFlex APs automatically discover and are configured by the SmartZone 100. Redundant and secure, the SmartZone 100 provides WLAN-wide network management within a single, easy-to-use and affordable WLAN system.

Ruckus virtual SmartZone (vSZ) virtualized WLAN controller – designed for small, medium and large enterprises and service providers. Delivering the benefits and easy scaling capabilities of virtualization, the Ruckus virtual SmartZone is designed to provide maximum scalability and flexibility with Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). A vSZ cluster can support up to 30,000 APs and 300,000 WiFi clients.

Ruckus virtual Data Plane with vSZ-D – Ruckus SmartZone virtual Data Plane (vSZ-D) is ideal for enterprise and service provider customers that need to centrally tunnel some or all end-user data. The vSZ-D provides flexible and cost-effective data tunneling that benefits from NFV architecture.  The vSZ-D is manageable via the vSZ while enabling independent scaling of control and data planes.

Ruckus SmartCell™ Gateway (SCG) 200 – the most scalable hardware WLAN controller on the market, supporting up to 10,000 access points (APs) and 100,000 clients (with a capacity of up to 20 Gbps) per appliance in a cluster architecture. The Ruckus SCG 200 is the only platform that integrates 3GPP gateway functions, allowing mobile network operators (MNOs) and managed service providers (MSPs) to integrate Ruckus Smart WiFi into their existing mobile core to leverage infrastructure services such as authentication and billing, already in place. Successfully installed in customer deployments around the world, the Ruckus SCG 200 supports both WLAN controller and WLAN gateway functions.

SmartZone Means Smart WiFi Now and in the Future

The SmartZone software platform provides carrier-class performance, form factor flexibility, and high-performance WiFi that can scale as an enterprise or service provider grows. Enterprises and service providers can choose between multiple physical and virtual products to best suit their needs, with data tunneling or local breakout for maximum flexibility.

Ruckus SmartZone software platform provides many key features and benefits, including:

• Resiliency – including cost-effective, massive scalability, active-active controller clustering, enhanced AP survivability and distributed deployment functionality;
• Innovation – next gen Zero-IT with Hotspot 2.0, Google and Facebook log-on functionality, and Ruckus ChannelFly™ technology with adaptive channel selection;
• Manageability – multi-tenant and multi-site, single pane GUI for easy management of the entire cluster, 30 days of embedded reporting data with data retention, license transfer across the SmartZone controller family, and restful/JSON API.
• Capacity Based Client Admission Control – designed to maintain best bandwidth option between WiFi and Cellular networks, this feature protects the user experience when an AP is under a heavy load, and maintains minimum bandwidth per client;
• Service Provider WiFi Gateway Functionality – this feature supports integration with the mobile packet core using SaMOG per 3GPP Release 11 standards, for trusted WLAN access. Other features include support for subscriber management, other value-added services such as traffic breakout directly to the Internet, and Hotspot 2.0 Release 2 technology, which enables the WiFi connection experience to be as secure and easy to use as 3G/4G LTE.

“Enterprises and service providers that are providing WiFi are under the stress of increasing mobile device proliferation and constantly escalating availability requirements of business-critical applications,” said Greg Beach, vice president of Product Management, Ruckus Wireless.  “As applications evolve and more devices get connected, both of them need to invest in a high performance and high availability network to overcome these challenges today, while investing for their future WiFi needs. With our Ruckus SmartZone software platform, we’re providing them with a solution that is cost-effective and easy to use and manage.”

Pricing and Availability

The new SmartZone family of Ruckus physical and virtual appliance controllers is available now worldwide from authorized Ruckus BiG DOGs partners.  The vSZ-D will be available next quarter. The new Ruckus SmartZone 100 controller starts with an MSRP of $4,995 (USD), plus $100 (USD) per access point license.  The Ruckus virtual SmartZone (vSZ) pricing is $995 (USD) per instance, plus $100 (USD) per access point license.  For Ruckus SmartCell Gateway (SCG) 200 or vSZ-D pricing, contact Ruckus Wireless.