First Look: Ruckus ZoneFlex

Small businesses face a catch-22 when it comes to installing Wi-Fi. Many try to wing it, scattering a bunch of low-cost consumer routers around the office or building, and hoping that WEP or WPA encryption keys will suffice to protect their networks. Others hire expensive consultants to install high-end managed systems (such as those from Aruba, Cisco, or Trapeze) that run thousands of dollars. What has been missing is a product that combines the ease of consumer equipment with the security, features, and performance of enterprise-level systems, all at a reasonably affordable price.

Ruckus Wireless aims to fill that gap with its ZoneFlex system, which shipped this summer and consists of a ZoneDirector 1000 management unit ($1200 to $3500) together with up to 25 802.11g ZoneFlex access points ($259 to $349 each). An entry-level system with six access points would cost you $2754. That's not cheap, but it's an excellent value for a secure system with business-class features such as multiple SSIDs, support for VoIP and IP video streams, rogue access point detection, and user authentication.

In fact, the company cites the increasing use of VoIP as a key reason for small businesses to upgrade their Wi-Fi networks. VoIP saves telecom dollars, but won't run reliably on older wireless systems, which don't prioritize voice and other streaming data. In contrast, Ruckus says, just one ZoneFlex 2925 access point can support up to 20 simultaneous VoIP calls, more than a dozen video streams, and 50 data clients.

ZoneFlex's key attraction for many businesses will be its ease of installation and management. Ruckus claims that a system can be installed and configured in minutes, no IT manager or consultant necessary. You simply connect the unit to your existing ethernet network and then run a setup wizard that prompts you to create SSIDs for both private and guest networks, enable WPA-PSK encryption, and create passwords for the administrator and the first user account. You then place the access points around the office and connect them to your ethernet network, where the controller will automatically discover and configure them.

Finally, you'll log back in to the controller via the Web-based utility to add user accounts and perhaps customize a few settings, but that's the basic installation. The full manual is only 57 pages and no harder to follow than that of a consumer router. If you want to use 802.1x authentication for the best security, you can forward log-in requests to your existing Radius or ActiveDirectory server, or use the ZoneDirector's built-in EAP (extensible authentication protocol) server. You can also create special SSIDs for workgroup LANs, and assign users to them.

ZoneDirector's map tool helps you position access points.Ruckus even provides a convenient utility for optimizing placement of your access points, which can be the hardest part of the install process for non-IT people. Instead of requiring site survey consultants and signal-monitoring equipment, the ZoneDirector has a clever map tool that lets you import a picture of your floor plan and click to designate the locations of your access points. You can then generate a "heat map" showing areas of high and low coverage, add or drag access-point icons around on the floor plan to eliminate dead spots, and use the virtual plan as a guide to moving physical access points. Repeating the process allows further refinement. Ruckus says that each access point can cover a radius of 30 to 50 feet, depending on obstructions such as walls and floors. The company claims a greater range than that of typical 802.11g access points, citing "beam-forming" technology that directs signals toward clients at varying power levels as needed.

Among the other useful features of the ZoneDirector is the ability to allow some or all authorized users to generate day passes for visitors--a handy way to provide encrypted guest access, and to set up Web-based authentication for hotspot-type log-ins. This option redirects all users to a Web portal page where they must enter an ID and password before they can access the network. You can customize the portal with your own logo, and it's useful for hotels, conference centers, and other hotspot-type environments, although it includes no payment system.

The ZoneFlex system is also scalable and meshable. If you start with the six-access-point ZoneDirector and find that you need to add more access points, you can upgrade through software to the 12- or 25-access-point versions without having to buy a new controller unit. And if you buy the ZoneFlex 2925 Lite Mesh Gateways, you can extend the range of your system to areas without ethernet access. The mesh gateways will automatically connect to the nearest regular access point, and act as wireless repeaters. This arrangement is a huge advantage for many small businesses, such as hotels, which may have only one ethernet drop per floor in a vertical cable run. Soon, Ruckus will also roll out 802.11n access points.

While several other business-class Wi-Fi systems are in the same price range as Ruckus, none offer similar ease of use or meshing features. Netgear's ProSafe Smart Wireless Controller WFS709TP ($2900) can control up to 48 access points costing $210 to $249 apiece, while D-Link's inexpensive DES-1228P ($530) can manage up to 24 "thin" access points ($100 each) and 200 users. Like the Ruckus ZoneFlex devices, both the Netgear and D-Link access points get their configuration information from the central controller, and both systems support 802.1x authentication. But you'll need a consultant or IT person to deploy them properly.

Small-business Wi-Fi is becoming a big business for vendors, so we expect an increased focus on this segment over the next year, with more plug-and-play systems that nonexperts can install. In the meantime, the Ruckus ZoneFlex is simply the easiest Wi-Fi product around that also provides the security and features small businesses need.