k-strider Posted July 3, 2018 Posted July 3, 2018 About 5 years ago we got a wireless network professionally installed and it was quite a large slice of budget... now i'm getting to the point where i need to start to think about replacing the APs and the Controllers. My ZD is a 1100 we have 32 access points we will get more as we build new buildings but i don't envisage it will be huge number more. so naturally i was just looking at the ZD 1200 but i wanted to know if anyway has done this and is it easy to move the config.. or has anyone gone from ZD to smart Zone or ruckus cloud wifi? i was considering trying to replace the controllers first then the access points rather than doing everything all at once.. and doing it myself instead of getting a wifi company in as i will just replace the APs one for one as the coverage was mapped out when we got them installed 5 years ago.. i have AP wise mostly zf7982 but a handful of R700s in our newest building... i was thinking of replacing them over 2 years rather than in 1 budget year cycle...
Net-Ctrl Posted July 3, 2018 Posted July 3, 2018 Hello, Splitting your purchase sounds like the best way forward. In regards to management, you have a few options, like you say move to the ZD1200, or if you support a virtual infrastructure, to look at the virtual SmartZone. Your 7982s and R700s are both support on the latest ZD FW. With the SmartZone the FW has a different version series, you would be able to go to version 3.6, which has only just been superseded. Short term you could look at getting your new controllers, both will support yoru current infrastructure, in addition, both controllers have an incremental licensing model, so everytime you add an AP, just would just add the required number of licenses. You can also move the config from your 1100 to 1200. There are a few things you would need to do, which your partner could help you on. If you're not currently engaged with anyone, we can help with this.
k-strider Posted July 6, 2018 Author Posted July 6, 2018 Hi thanks for the reply... i've started to look at the smartzone manual it looks like a more feature rich product than the ZD... i do have Hyper-V servers 2016 though and all the ruckus documentation just mentions 2012..
Net-Ctrl Posted July 6, 2018 Posted July 6, 2018 As far as i'm aware there aren't any problems running on that Hyper-V server. I will double check with the engineers and let you know. For your AP count, the recommended resources are 2 core, 13GB Ram and 100GB disk. The SmartZone has been pretty on-par with the ZD, however since the latest FW release, 5.0, it is now getting some features and functionality that the ZD won't get. SmartZone is the platform, moving forward, that will get the bulk of the R&D.
JackCPickup Posted July 6, 2018 Posted July 6, 2018 Have you compared to the cost of replacing with Unifi APs? You'd probably save a ton of money for 0 quality trade-off.
k-strider Posted July 6, 2018 Author Posted July 6, 2018 Yes i have seriously looked at ubiquity. But I’m conserned our current layout was done with ruckus and they are best for lower number of aps to coverage so if I did a 1 for 1 replacement I may have poor or dead spots I don’t have now..
DrCheese Posted July 6, 2018 Posted July 6, 2018 Yes... but the money you'd save allows you to put in additional points where needed.
Blue_Cookeh Posted July 7, 2018 Posted July 7, 2018 (edited) If your coverage was mapped out, the likelihood is you'll get good enough coverage so long as you pick an access point that meets your requirements. Considering you're looking at Ruckus again your budget could easily stretch to Ubiquiti UAP AC Pro access points. You'd be doing your budget a massive favour. Edited July 7, 2018 by Blue_Cookeh
Net-Ctrl Posted July 9, 2018 Posted July 9, 2018 Looking at your situation right now, you have R700s, a damn fine AP, that will serve you for years to come, the 7982s are a little old in the tooth, aren't AC, but do support the latest FW. These APs are workhorses. We still have a lot of clients using them. Your ZD last supported FW was 9.10, so is something that makes sense to swap out. I would expect that if you moved to Ubiquiti you would need more APs that what you're currently using. The reason you pay more for the likes of Ruckus is for the technology behind the badge. Ruckus has always been able to do more with less, in terms of AP count. Adding in more APs may mean more cable runs, more ports etc. In your position right now, I think it makes more sense to stick with Ruckus. If you were in need of a whole network overhaul, then certainly worth reviewing the market, testing different solutions, engaging with people that know the solution in order to plan your install. In your situation right now you have a great AP base, some of which isn't that old at all and will last for years to come.
JackCPickup Posted July 9, 2018 Posted July 9, 2018 Looking at your situation right now, you have R700s, a damn fine AP, that will serve you for years to come, the 7982s are a little old in the tooth, aren't AC, but do support the latest FW. These APs are workhorses. We still have a lot of clients using them. Your ZD last supported FW was 9.10, so is something that makes sense to swap out. I would expect that if you moved to Ubiquiti you would need more APs that what you're currently using. The reason you pay more for the likes of Ruckus is for the technology behind the badge. Ruckus has always been able to do more with less, in terms of AP count. Adding in more APs may mean more cable runs, more ports etc. In your position right now, I think it makes more sense to stick with Ruckus. If you were in need of a whole network overhaul, then certainly worth reviewing the market, testing different solutions, engaging with people that know the solution in order to plan your install. In your situation right now you have a great AP base, some of which isn't that old at all and will last for years to come. Do you sell Ubiquiti hardware?
Net-Ctrl Posted July 9, 2018 Posted July 9, 2018 No we don't, but if you're suggesting that it is down to this reason that I put the above, then you are wrong. This is my opinion and advice for this situation, to get the most out of the investment that has been made by the school.
DrCheese Posted July 10, 2018 Posted July 10, 2018 I think you need to weight it up a bit - i.e Keeping Ruckus simply because you have it now might hurt costs long term. Could you pull back your Ruckus equipment & deploy it in say, one building & then use unifi elsewhere? That way you aren't losing your Ruckus investment totally & can slowly phase it out over time.
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