Net-Ctrl

@Arreks sums it all up pretty well. Request some demo kit from the manufacturers you're interested in, and put each one through it's paces in your environment. Also consider what you will be using the wireless for and make sure each solution ticks all the boxes and has the technology to deliver what you require, not only for right now, but a few years down the line. If you're not already engaged with a Ruckus reseller, i can speak to the sales team and see if we can get some demo kit out for you to test. If you are already engaged with someone, speak to them about getting your hands on some and i'm sure they will help out If you had any questions about Ruckus, please feel free to fire me a PM and i'll aim to get answers back to you asap.

@mjk Looks like you have adopted best practice in restricting outbound traffic, however applications like Ultrasurf, Skype, TOR (plus Backdoors, botnet C&C and APT’s) can still use 80 and 443 – even with valid SSL sessions as they are not only port evasive but protocol evasive. These applications can send valid HTTP and create valid TLS sessions thus disguise or hide their communications within port 80 and 443. This is why you still need full layer 7 deep packet analysis. Unless you use a domain and IP allow on the proxy and block everything else these types of apps will still pass – and they will seriously effect the online learning experience.

@mjk, as smoothwall is a proxy based filter, it does not see lots of port agile traffic that mainly hides in high UDP port ranges. Their response to blocking things like Ultrasurf and TOR is to block pretty much all outgoing TCP/UDP ports on their firewall. However, such apps also happily resort to port 80, 443 etc in such circumstances, and without proper Layer-7 control there is nothing Smoothwall can do about these. @dastrix, a true gigabit throughput L7 firewall device is expensive. Iboss is pretty unique in putting L7 controls into the web filter meaning that you could get away with a cheaper firewall from many of the main vendors, or pfsense if you prefer. In terms of the add on reporter, this is only required where you have a really large network (over 3000 devices) and want to run the Firesphere APT threat solution on the SWG box, or if you have multiple SWG gateway boxes that need to report into a single destination. For most schools the integrated SWG with onboard reporter will be fine. We can help and advise on the specification required for each customer.

If anyone else would like to organise an onsite demo to put the iboss solution through its paces or see some pricing, please PM me and I will get the balls rolling for you Net-Ctrl are an official iboss partner with trained support engineers.

There isn’t much time left to take advantage of Ruckus Wireless’ current promotions on their range of Ruckus Wireless 11ac access points and ZoneDirectors. These are both due to end on the 30th June 2015. The Access Point promotion includes: ZoneFlex R500 Dual-Band 802.11ac 2x2:2 ZoneFlex R600 Dual-Band 802.11ac 3x3:3 ZoneFlex R700 Dual-Band 802.11ac 3x3:3 ZoneFlex R710 MU-MIMO 4x4:4 The ZoneDirector promotion includes: ZoneDirector 1200 series ZoneDirector 3000 series These promotions will provide you with great discounts off the RRP price! Both the R500 and R700 recently outperformed solutions from Aerohive, Aruba, Cisco, Cisco/Meraki, HP, Ubiquiti and Xirrus in an exhaustive head-to-head enterprise performance and capacity testing of 802.11ac and 802.11n indoor access points (APs) conducted recently by the Croatian Academic and Research Network (CARNet). You can download the full report for more info. If you're looking at a new/replacement install, or just in need of a few additional APs to compliment your existing set-up, get in touch. Please be aware in order to get hold off the special pricing we will have to register your interest with Ruckus Wireless. Any questions, please feel free to ask. If you would like some pricing to be sent across, please PM me with your email address, school name and kit list. We will then work on getting some pricing over to you asap.

We also offer a cloud based Ruckus solution. It does make things easier as it will automatically update the firmwares etc for you, as the user you can pretty much plug it in, power it up and let it do its thing. Being Ruckus driven you also get to take advantage of their adaptive wireless meshing, guest networking functionality, rich and real time statistics and advanced reporting and so on. If you had any questions, or would like call/demo about the solution please PM me, and i'll help however I can.

iboss uses a layer-2 bridge (like a dumb switch) for filtering which means there is no proxy bottleneck, and it sees all 131,000+ TCP and UDP. The latter means that together with it’s inbuilt layer-7 app controls and the additional threat management license it is able to detect and block true zero day threats based on behaviour based analysis. It also properly manages SSL traffic, with selective inspection/decryption able to handle the expected increase in decryption required once Google goes SSL-only this Summer. In terms of the deployment, like all true SWG appliances, iboss is designed to operate behind a firewall, be it your existing or LA solution or the dedicated iboss firewall appliance. This offers full gigabit throughput as well as fully integrating into the single reporting engine across all iboss products. Finally there is full mobile security/MDM for iOS, Chromebook, Android, OS X etc I understand that they have recently replaced a number of Smoothwall and Bloxx installations and the customers have found the iboss to be easier to use, creates less false positives, and much faster on high speed (100Mbps +) networks. PM me for further details on these and also some key wins against Lightspeed. Happy to give you a web demo of the product, or arrange an onsite eval.

We've recently added iBoss to our portfolio. Really impressed with the solution. As mentioned above, its huge in America and has the majority of school using their solution. If you would like some more information, a play on a virtual box, webex or even loan a box for your site let me know and I will put you in touch with one of the sales team here.

Hi @waltflanagan if you need some Ruckus pricing and you're not already engaged with another reseller, please let me know and we will happily discuss your options, provide surveys and pricing options. We're one of the largest Ruckus partners in the UK and hold the highest partner level with them, one of only a very few UK partners to achieve this level. This means we can get access to the best pricing, and it shows that we have hundreds of other happy Ruckus customers

Hi @Zammo , are you only looking at Smoothwall or are you open to other solutions? We're an iBoss partner. They have some great education pricing and the solution itself is really impressive.We've had a lot of people move from Smoothwall to iBoss with us recently. If it was of interest, please send me a PM and we can discuss it in more detail and if you'd like provide some pricing

Download the Full Report Ruckus Wireless ZoneFlex™ Smart Wi-Fi technology outperformed Aerohive, Aruba, Cisco, Cisco/Meraki, HP, Ubiquiti and Xirrus in an exhaustive head-to-head enterprise performance and capacity testing of 802.11ac and 802.11n indoor access points (APs) conducted recently by the Croatian Academic and Research Network (CARNet). CARNet is a widely respected public institution established in 1991 and based in Croatia, CARNet operates under the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport. To maintain testing integrity, no vendor was allowed to pay for, subsidise or influence the Wi-Fi testing by CARNet. Using industry standard test tools, access points in the tests were stressed in progressive testing scenarios that included 12, 23, 36 and 60 clients, using an increasing number of clients for each test that measured aggregate Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) throughput. Nineteen different Wi-Fi access points from the world’s leading suppliers including Ruckus Wireless, Aerohive, Aruba, Cisco (including Cisco/Meraki), HP, Ubiquiti, and Xirrus were tested at the CARNet headquarters in Zagreb. Suppliers were allowed to bring in their choice of APs without limitation in what model and how many as long as they could be tested in a single day. Each company was also permitted to send an engineer to the test site. Aerohive, Cisco, HP and Ruckus Wireless each sent a representative to CARNet for the tests. The Ruckus ZoneFlex R700 dual-band 3×3:3 802.11ac and ZoneFlex R500 dual-band 2×2:2 802.11ac indoor APs with Ruckus-patented BeamFlex™ adaptive antenna technology outperformed all competitive 11ac APs in the tests. CARNet also accepted and included 802.11n access points from all invited vendors, including Ruckus, Ubiquiti, Xirrus and others. Test results of these products showed that the performance of the Ruckus ZoneFlex 7982 and ZoneFlex 7372 802.11n indoor access points not only outperformed the 802.11n models tested from Ubiquiti and Xirrus, they also beat other vendors’ 802.11ac Wave 1 access points, including those from Aerohive, Aruba, Cisco (including Cisco/Meraki) and HP, in various test scenarios. The results of the CARNet testing conclusively showed that Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi APs consistently delivered the highest levels of performance in all five different real-world test scenarios created by CARNet. Download the Full Report

Morning all, Ruckus are running a webinar tomorrow that will be looking at their new R710 AP, the industry’s first 4X4:4 multi-user MIMO 802.11ac Wave 2 access point, and how it can future proof your network. I thought it may be of interest to some of you, to hear from Ruckus directly about their new release. There should also be the chance to ask any questions. The sessions is being taken by GT Hill who is the director of product and technical marketing at Ruckus Wireless. He always delivers a great session. Presenter: GT Hill, Director of Product & Technical Marketing, Ruckus Wireless GT’s expertise in computer networking includes Wi-Fi protocol behaviour, network architecture and specialized topics such as dynamic beamforming, 802.11n and RF interference. CWNE Certified, GT is a Certified Wireless Network Trainer (CWNT), and owns his own decommissioned missile launch site. Future proof your network with 802.11ac Wave 2 May 06th 1600-1630 Register Here

If you would like any further assistance with your IP-CCTV design, please let me know. We supply, install and support MOBOTIX IP-CCTV cameras, and have trained in-house system designers and engineers.

Baartholomewe

Hi Alex, if you're not already engaged with a Ruckus partner and would be interested to discuss it some more, or get some rough pricing across please let me know. In addition, if you have some site plans available we could perform a predictive survey for you to give you a predicted AP count, which would help us give you a more accurate project cost.

We supply, support and install MOBOTIX IP-CCTV cameras. If it was of interest, please send me a PM

Hi @Mr_Jiminy, we're a Ruckus reseller If I can be of any assistance, please feel free to PM me.

There are still places available for this event. If you're going to be looking at wireless in the near future, this should be a really informative day about the wireless environment in general and the Ruckus portfolio.

There are still places available for this event Agenda: Agenda 09:30 - 10:00 - Welcome and Registration with Coffee + Pastries 10:00 - 10:20 - Introduction to the Net-Ctrl integrated security portfolio - Who Net-Ctrl are and a look at our integrated security solutions. 10:20 - 11:20 - Meet MOBOTIX and their IP-CCTV and IP Door Station solutions. MOBOTIX introduction, key product insights and a look at the technology that keeps them ahead of the competition. 11:20 - 12:00 - A look at the work Net-Ctrl and MOBOTIX are doing in education – A review of the work that Net-Ctrl and MOBOTIX have completed within education across the Globe. 12:00 - 13:00 - Lunch 13:00 - 14:00 - Ask the experts. 'Open Floor' Q&A. A chance to review how MOBOTIX can solve your security problems.

In addition to the IP-CCTV event i'm organising with MOBOTIX, i'm also running one looking at wireless with Ruckus. Join Ruckus Wireless and Net-Ctrl at the Ruckus UK HQ (High Wycombe, HP10 0HH) as we delve into the Smart WiFi world and look at the Ruckus approach to dealing with common WiFi complaints. We will be joined by Scott Reeves, Ruckus Technical Director in EMEA and Stuart White our very own Senior Wireless Engineer who will both be taking the day's sessions and answering your questions. Join us on the 12th March from 10.00 and learn how to cause a Ruckus the right way. If you would like to attend, please send me a PM and I will reserve you a spot. Key Takeaways: Learn about the latest 802.11ac protocol Understand how Ruckus deals with common WiFi complaints Find out about other solutions that collaborate with Ruckus Take a look at the management platform behind the Ruckus system The Agenda 10:00 - 10:20 - Welcome and Registration. 10:20 - 10:40 - Net-Ctrl Introduction– A brief breakdown of Net-Ctrl and our history with Ruckus Wireless and working within education. 10:40 - 11:15 - Introduction into the wireless environment and 802.11ac protocol. 11:15 - 11:45 - The Ruckus approach to dealing with real world WiFi situations, and the benefits of their “secret sauce” – We will take a look at Ruckus' Smart WiFi technologies and special features that help make them market leaders. 11:45 - 12:10 - Ruckus RIOT partners overview - Ruckus work with industry leaders to help their customers utilise their Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi infrastructure. Find out about all their technology integrators. 12:10 - 12:30 - Net-Ctrl Cloud WLAN with Smart Access Management (SAM) integration - With the help of Net-Ctrl we can take your WLAN into the cloud. 12:30 - 12:45 - Take a look at what’s under the hood – We will be taking a tour through the Ruckus management console and showing you what happens "behind the scenes". 12:45 - 13:15 - Lunch and Networking. 13:15 - Ask the experts your wireless questions in our 'Open Floor' Q+A.

Hello all, I'm currently organising an education focussed event with one of our partners, MOBOTIX, who specialise in high-res IP-CCTV and IP Video Door Entry systems. It's going to be held on the 19th March from 0930-1400 at the MOBOTIX UK HQ (Stockley Park UB11 1FW). We will be looking at their portfolio of IP-CCTV camera and door station solutions, review the work they have been doing in education, and how they've been solving common CCTV pain points. Most of the sessions are being taken by technical engineers from MOBOTIX. All attendees will also have the opportunity to take the floor and discuss their security problems with our MOBOTIX and security expert speakers. Some of the technologies we will be looking at on the day include: The light-sensitive 5-megapixel camera models, which feature a tenfold increase in light sensitivity compared with older systems, eliminate motion blur even in very dark scenes and deliver low-noise images. The weatherproof MOBOTIX M15D and S15D dual thermographic camera models that sense thermal radiation to detect moving objects in absolute darkness and over long distances. The new, discreet i25 Hemispheric camera that delivers a high-resolution panorama image with no blind spots in indoor locations. The event will be free to attend, but there are limited seats. If anyone is interested in attending, please PM me and I can send the full agenda, answer any questions and reserve some seats.

Yes we can sort the support out for you, no problem at all. All we would need is your ZoneDirector serial number. If you have some site plans available we could initially put them through our Ekahau predictive survey tool and give you a predicted AP count. We can then talk through your options and get some quotes over for you to look at, so you'd have a better idea of the cost implications, and go from there. Ekahau allows us to create a virtual model of your predicted RF environment. Once we have modelled the predicted RF environment of your site we place virtual access points in different location to then estimate your expected signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio and coverage. We will then adjust the AP count and locations in order to create a WLAN designed for your environment. Feel free to send me a PM if you'd like us to take a look at it all for you, and I will get the balls rolling this side

Hi Steve, As mentioned above it will depend on what firmware your ZoneDirector is running. The 3050 is able to support the latest firmware and APs. Your 7962 APs last firmware is 9.8. If your ZD is still supported by Ruckus you will be able to upgrade to that code. If you would like to discuss your deployment and the options available to you, please let me know. We could carry out a survey of your site to calculate the required number of APs, and then look to refresh your APs with some of the latest models. There is currently a really good promotion on the Ruckus R500, 600 and 700 Aps.

Ruckus will again be running a webinar series all about WiFi, where you will hear directly from Wi-Fi thought leaders and Ruckus experts. This series will include: Webinar 1: What's the Ruckus About? - February 11th Webinar 2: Why does high density matter to me? February 25th Webinar 3: How do I deal with interference? March 12th Webinar 4: How to apply unique security policies to different types of users or devices? March 26th About the Presenter: GT Hill, Director Product and Technical Marketing GT’s expertise in computer networking includes Wi-Fi protocol behaviour, network architecture and specialised topics such as dynamic beamforming, 802.11n and RF interference. CWNE Certified, GT is a Certified Wireless Network Trainer (CWNT), and owns his own decommissioned missile launch site. Webinar 1: What's the Ruckus About? This webinar will start with a fundamental overview of Wi-Fi technology and end with a look at how Ruckus technology optimises its products for today's demanding data-driven world. February 11th 10:00 AM - 10: 30 AM Register Now Webinar 2: Why does high density matter to me? Dealing with a high density of devices is still a top concern for most wireless LAN networks. In this webinar, we will discuss the issues encountered by traditional systems and how Ruckus solves the problem. February 25th 10:00 AM - 10: 30 AM Register Now Webinar 3: How do I deal with interference? As more wireless devices proliferate our world, dealing with noise and interference is paramount to maintaining the solid connection users are looking for. We'll dive into the perils of interference and how Ruckus uniquely deals with this growing problem. March 12th 10:00 AM - 10: 30 AM Register Now Webinar 4: How to apply unique security policies to different types of users or devices? A great connection is mandatory but we need to apply security and policies to different set of users. We'll look at how to handle different user types while still maintaining a secure connection for all. March 26th 10:00 AM - 10: 30 AM Register Now For more information on Ruckus or any of the sessions above, please feel free to comment on the thread or PM me.

Have you thought about throwing Ruckus into the mix as well for comparison? At least this way you will have a clear winner with your tests