Ruckus expands high-performance network infrastructure offerings to deliver simply better wired and wireless connections

New Multi-Gigabit Networking Solution Provides Customers and Partners with Cost-Effective, High-Performance Wi-Fi and Switching Combination

SAN JOSE, Calif.—June 13, 2017— Ruckus, a part of Brocade, announced it now offers both wired and wireless networking for enterprise, hospitality, service provider, government and small-and-medium business (SMB) customers worldwide. By combining its industry-leading wireless products with the ICX® wired switching portfolio from Brocade, Ruckus now offers a complete line of high-performance access infrastructure designed to optimize the end-user experience, simplify network setup and management for IT managers, and help business leaders deliver great experiences for their employees, guests and customers. As part of its expanded offering to deliver simply better connections, Ruckus announced a new multi-gigabit solution that delivers more efficient performance while providing flexible scalability and simplified management to meet the needs of businesses and organizations of all types and sizes.

"The expansion of Ruckus to include both wired and wireless products is a tremendous opportunity for us to carry forward the outstanding ICX product line and technology innovation we have gained as part of Brocade," said Dan Rabinovitsj, chief operating officer of Ruckus, a part of Brocade. "Combining the product lines means we can offer our partners a comprehensive set of access infrastructure and meet customers' networking needs beyond simply wireless, without sacrificing performance. Our new multi-gig solution sets the tone for the type of innovation to come."

The new ICX 7150 Z-Series switch and Ruckus R720 access point (AP) together solve the problems associated with increasing device densities and bandwidth-consuming applications by maximizing network access performance with a complete multi-gigabit 802.11ac Wave 2 solution. The Ruckus solution does not require the need to rip and replace existing CAT 5e cabling infrastructure – the switch and AP can simply be dropped into current environments, thus substantially saving costs and installation time while increasing performance.

The latest addition to the Ruckus portfolio also includes Cloudpath Enrollment System software, a security and policy management platform that enables organizations to easily establish secure, policy-based access for all wired and wireless devices. Cloudpath is infrastructure-agnostic, allowing organizations to apply a single unified approach to device security and policy, regardless of client OS or underlying networking infrastructure.

"The announcement that Ruckus will expand its solution set by fully incorporating wired Ethernet switching into its portfolio makes absolute sense and was expected as part of the acquisition announcement from ARRIS earlier this year," said Nolan Greene, senior research analyst, IDC. "With this new multi-gig solution, Ruckus is formally expressing its intent to be a dominant player in the network access infrastructure market for its target segments—education, hospitality, service provider, government and SMB."

Optimizing Wired and Wireless Access

End-user quality-of-service expectations are increasing but IT budgets and time aren’t rising with them. Ruckus has developed two new products designed to work in combination to deliver the performance end users expect with the scalability, manageability and value IT departments require:

• Ruckus ICX 7150 Z-Series Switch. A full-featured layer 3-capable 48-port switch that includes sixteen 2.5 GbE ports and thirty-two 10/100/1000 ports. The 7150-Z includes dual hot-swappable power supplies and fans and is stackable with other switches in the ICX 7150 family. Eight 10 GbE uplink/stacking ports doubles stacking and uplink bandwidth over previous ICX 7150 models.
• Ruckus R720 Access Point. A 4x4:4 dual-band 802.11ac Wave 2 AP with one 10/100/1000 and one 2.5 GbE port. Featuring patented BeamFlex+™ and ChannelFly™ technologies, the R720 is capable of 160MHz and 80+80MHz channelization and is designed for use in high-density indoor applications.

When paired, the new switch and AP uniquely solve the IT challenge of accommodating spiking network traffic—caused by increased device density and bandwidth-intensive applications—while minimizing deployment time and expense.

Partner and Customer Support

"By partnering with Ruckus for wired and wireless networking, we were able to provide an unparalleled Internet connection throughout the Dr Pepper Ballpark that truly elevates the overall fan experience," said Sam Darwish, chief executive officer, Skinny IT."The team made it easy to quickly set up the high-performance network. As a result, the Frisco RoughRiders' future engagement campaign initiatives will be able to utilize fan data collected by the reliable APs located across the stadium."

"Providing Wi-Fi to our fans was a top priority for us this year, but we are also excited to gain a significant amount of fan information from the Ruckus APs that Skinny IT installed throughout the ballpark," said Matt Ratliff, senior director of marketing and promotions, Frisco RoughRiders. “This technology takes our Internet connection to the next level and allows us to have a robust network providing data back to our team for future initiatives."

"At Vology, it is our goal to deliver the best possible wired and wireless products and solutions to our customers. We're able to accomplish this by partnering with technology experts who continue to innovate in these areas," said Keith Archibald, chief technology officer, Vology. "Partnering with Ruckus gives us the opportunity to deploy a unique set of cost-effective products. When connectivity really matters, we know we can rely on Ruckus to provide a seamless experience."

The Ruckus R720 AP is available now and has an MSRP of $1,295 (USD). The ICX 7150 Z-Series switch can be ordered now and is planned to ship next month with an MSRP starting at $6,150 (USD).