Who has Ruckus?

[nicklowe]

Hi,

 

You're right, of course it does not mean that we will follow, but as that article mentions, this is being considered in concert with the other regulatory bodies, the UK included.

Historically, we have always followed.

 

Nick

Edited February 6, 2014 by nicklowe

[seawolf]

How about the Meru system?

Isn't a Single channel network the future with AC and limited available wider radio frequencies / channels?

We too have been quoted by both. We had meru in and explain how ruckus are playing down AC due to the above.

Has any one else heard anything like this?

 

Personally, I find Meru to be more about talk and marketing than great technology and solid WiFi performance.

 

Have a look at some of the very in-depth, real world conditions testing that Tom's Hardware did a few years ago with some of the most widely known and used WiFi system. Ruckus came out on top, and Meru wasn't tested.

 

Why Your Wi-Fi Sucks And How It Can Be Helped, Part 2 - Welcome To The Wi-Fi Cage Match

 

Meru have always claimed their single channel architecture was superior way before the advent of 802.11ac. However, the problem with the Meru architecture is that all the APs on a "blanket" share the same channel. So, coping with interference is extremely difficult on that "blanket". So, despite Meru's claims, they are going to run into the same problems with 802.11ac although they may achieve higher speeds using the architecture than other APs, they will do so with higher risk of interference as they have had in the past.

 

I have not tested the new Meru APs though, so I could be wrong. But, If I were to build a WiFi network all over again, I would either be looking at Ruckus or Ubiquiti.

[burgemaster]

When I asked the big vendors about Ubiquuti they all claimed their kit wasnt "real" enterprise class hardware?

They also said the controllerless solution was far inferior in control and features than Meru/Ruckus/Meraki etc?

 

It did put me off, also no support? Anyone else had experience?

[nicklowe]

Be careful to pin down what you mean.

 

If there is nothing performing the function of what a physical controller does, it is not enterprise class hardware as you lose features necessary for such environments.

With a company like Aerohive or AirTight they do it in protocol between their APs in a distributed fashion, it's actually far superior than having a physical controller.

[webby74]

Just tried calling you back Andrew but the reception is closed. I've got some guys you can speak to

 

Luke

 

Hi Luke,

 

Already speking to your colleague Graham, and he has given us some very good pricing.

 

Just after some experiences of Ruckus in use.

 

Andrew

Edited February 6, 2014 by webby74
spelling and grammer

[webby74]

Hi all, thank you for all your replies!

 

Interesting comments regarding 802.11n vs ac too.

 

We have considered Meru, but the pricing just doesn't compare.

 

Andrew

[seawolf]

When I asked the big vendors about Ubiquuti they all claimed their kit wasnt "real" enterprise class hardware?

They also said the controllerless solution was far inferior in control and features than Meru/Ruckus/Meraki etc?

 

It did put me off, also no support? Anyone else had experience?

 

I suppose it depends on what exactly you mean by "real" enterprise class hardware. Here's what I suggest, the next time a vendor says that, ask them to explain what they mean and provide some specific examples. If their explanation sounds like b.s. and/or you would require a degree in electrical engineering to understand it - they probably don't know what they are talking about. If they can give you specifics and areas of differentiation in a way that a human can understand it they might have a point.

 

The Ubiquity Unifi solution has a a software controller that can be installed on a server (Linux VM recommended), so it's not really a controller-less system. Look at it this way, they are inexpensive enough to run some real world test in your environment without breaking the bank, and then you can see for yourself.

 

Also, Ubiquity does provide support.

[burgemaster]

Hi all, thank you for all your replies!

 

Interesting comments regarding 802.11n vs ac too.

 

We have considered Meru, but the pricing just doesn't compare.

 

Andrew

 

Ours was the same pricing as Ruckus. Maybe our Ruckus pricing was too high!

[witch]

Ruckus in one school - no complaints - it just works!

Meru in the other - was on offer at the time so came in at the same price as Ruckus. Just works too. Only issue was break point on number of WAPS for additional licensing

[FragglePete]

Ruckus here; have had for some years now. No major grief although the PSU's supplied with a lot of the older WAPs have died on us. We've had a couple of WAP failures as well; the ones covered under a support contract where replaced next day using a swap out. The ones that we don't have under support had to be sent to the Netherlands at our expense and was eventually replaced after about three weeks. These points are minor; it just works.

 

I also recently installed a Ruckus System into a primary school with a bundle of Six WAPs, supplied by CP Ltd. All their problems disappeared and it works with a variety of Learning Pads and Laptops. All good stuff. Ruckus always doing bundles, so jump aboard when one comes up.

 

My only gripe is the the licensing costs. It's a big jump to go to the next number of WAPs supported by your controller.

 

Pete

[catch21]

Ruckus here in Dorset too. 12 months no issues.

[Ed_Pinkman_13]

We have Ruckus!

Installed by Network IT 24

[robjduk]

Ruckus here. Great piece of kit.

[ess2k]

we have had Ruckus in now for almost a year.

Not one problem so far!, we went for the education bundle with 7982 AP's and the 5 years support included. (Don't think we will use it)

 

It was installed in a tight time frame by the guys @NetworkIT24, Bryan knows his stuff!

 

It was either Meru/AeroHive or Ruckus, a good friend at a local school had Meru and is still having problems after a year of being installed and numerous tech visits from the installers.

Put us off big time, don't have the time to be diagnosing wifi issues every day of the week, we have over 120 netbooks/laptops.

[foofighterjim]

I have only had previous experience with Meru and it is not something I am willing to go through again. I am currently reviewing our options and I am leaning towards Areohive, I have had an in depth demo of how it works and I do feel that it is pound for pound the best system for my needs. The ability to have separate keys for individuals with concurrency limits and have said key define what VLAN the device goes on also appeals for internet filtering based on VLAN. Plus with Areohive what you pay is what you pay; you get all of the features no additional buy in for guest access or the like.

 

I have had a quote for Ruckus that does look appealing but the company concerned just did the quote based on site maps, as a result I know that the number of APs is too low for our site. Representatives of the company were supposed to come to my site for a meeting to further understand our requirements but they failed to show. I then got an email 45 minutes after the meeting should have started to tell me they weren't coming. Needless to say I did not respond but they have not followed it up at all. My issue is now that I would like another company to quote for Ruckus but because this other company quoted first Ruckus gave them preferential pricing. Not impressed at all!

[timbo343]

@Net-Ctrl @CPLTD

 

I have only had previous experience with Meru and it is not something I am willing to go through again. I am currently reviewing our options and I am leaning towards Areohive, I have had an in depth demo of how it works and I do feel that it is pound for pound the best system for my needs. The ability to have separate keys for individuals with concurrency limits and have said key define what VLAN the device goes on also appeals for internet filtering based on VLAN. Plus with Areohive what you pay is what you pay; you get all of the features no additional buy in for guest access or the like.

 

I have had a quote for Ruckus that does look appealing but the company concerned just did the quote based on site maps, as a result I know that the number of APs is too low for our site. Representatives of the company were supposed to come to my site for a meeting to further understand our requirements but they failed to show. I then got an email 45 minutes after the meeting should have started to tell me they weren't coming. Needless to say I did not respond but they have not followed it up at all. My issue is now that I would like another company to quote for Ruckus but because this other company quoted first Ruckus gave them preferential pricing. Not impressed at all!

[hardtailstar]

I've been at one school for nearly four years now and ruckus has been installed for a few years before I arrived, No problems, Ive not even had to look in the management panel (I probably should do!) since ive been here.

 

The second school I work in has just had it installed and its been there for about 13 months and no problems at all.

[seawolf]

@foofigherjim You should contact Ruckus directly and state exactly what you have said on here. If you explain that they are 100% going to lose the business because of a dodgy supplier then they will allow another company to provide "preferential pricing". What you say about the Aerohive system also applies to Ruckus and you don't have to pay extra to gain additional features (it's not a "freemium" license model).

 

We have used Ruckus for 3 years and I cannot speak highly enough about it. You might also be surprised in that you might really need less APs than you think for your site. We have 25 APs and our campus is spread over 13 bulidings across 25 acres of land. And, we have seamless coverage walking inside or outside between buildings and even on the far end of a football field.

[dave.81]

We've had a growing Ruckus system for almost 5 years now but am looking at replacing it with Unifi AC units. The ongoing cost of Ruckus is high and now cannot upgrade firmware due to older AP's on our system so 2/3rds of the system needs replaced to actually use the support we are paying for. Dont get me wrong Ruckus has sat and done exactly what we want but TCO (i hate the phrase!) is too high for us.

[snagrat]

We've had a growing Ruckus system for almost 5 years now but am looking at replacing it with Unifi AC units. The ongoing cost of Ruckus is high and now cannot upgrade firmware due to older AP's on our system so 2/3rds of the system needs replaced to actually use the support we are paying for. Dont get me wrong Ruckus has sat and done exactly what we want but TCO (i hate the phrase!) is too high for us.

 

Interesting. We have found that these cheaper AC devices are still not as good as the Ruckus 11n APs

 

Not sure what your layout is but you can get a new controller, 25 APs and 5 years support for around £11k with Ruckus until the end of this month. That is a good price and some of your existing APs could still be used by the sounds of it.

[dave.81]

It's a lot of kit for the money i agree the thing that has put me off is that 3 years into that 5 they'll discontinue firmware updates for the AP's you've got and you've got 2 years of support with no updates. And for the money i could get 40+ AP's with Unifi, although we are still testing and could well decide the money is worth spending on Ruckus.

[Net-Ctrl]

I wanted to pass on some reassurance in terms of firmware availability with the 7372 APs included in the bundles at present. If we look at the older 7363 AP they have been running for at least 5-6 years and shouldn't be going EOL for another year or so at least, with firmware updates still available as far as i'm aware. So based on this I would say the 7372 will be supported for many yeas to come (6-8 approx). So you should be fine buying the bundles