Ruckus Unleashed

vs Aruba Instant
SOLUTION OVERVIEW

Battle Card

Ruckus Unleashed

Aruba Instant

Controllerless architecture
Maximum capacity with 802.11ac APs

Controllerless architecture
Mix of 802.11ac and 802.11n APs

RF innovation with BeamFlex+

Ease of use, intuitive setup

Transmit Beamforming
Cluttered dashboard

High value solution at low cost, Guest Pass

and Onboarding features built-in

External portal is necessary for

Onboarding and Guest Pass features

Simplified Deployment
What is similar

First AP on the network activates standard
SSID used for provisioning

Navigation from a browser to Master AP or
Virtual Controller via a known DNS name

Subsequent APs added to the network get
configured automatically

What is dierent

Ruckus Unleashed has a step by step
Setup Wizard for Master AP configuration
where Aruba Instant oers GUI screen with
multiple inputs

Aruba Instant has the following options for
auto provisioning
Via Aruba Central which requires a fee
based subscription
Using Aruba AirWave system and Aruba
Activate service

Ruckus Unleashed

Scalability
Up to 25 APs
Up to 512 clients

High resiliency
Master AP
Standby Master AP
All APs can service
clients

Aruba Instant
Aruba Central (optional)

Scalability
Undefined
AP based Virtual Controller

Integration with Aruba
Central cloud based
management solution

What to Consider
Ruckus Unleashed architecture is a perfect fit for small deployments where customers expect to get top
wireless performance with 802.11ac APs, which can be easily configured and managed via single GUI but
without paying for external controller or for excessive features.

Aruba makes a claim for high scalability of Aruba Instant solution without stating its capacity limits, this
may force customers to install a dedicated controller at some stage due to the system capacity
limitations. Enabling advanced features for Guest Access and for Onboarding would require integration
with external portals as built-in functions are limited or not available at all. Aruba Central cloud service
involves annual subscription fee charged per AP making overall solution much more expensive.
RUCKUS WIRELESS PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL

Ruckus Unleashed
vs Aruba Instant
ESSENTIAL DIFFERENCIES

Ruckus BeamFlex+

BeamFlex+ is a custom multi-element antenna

array that adaptively selects the best antenna
pattern(s) for each user and each individual packet.

Improves SNR (up to 9 dB), reliability, and

throughput

Reduces interference from neighbor APs

Fewer radios are required to support a

network

PD-MRC polarization diversity

Works at the same time as spatial multiplexing

Patented and unique to Ruckus

Battle Card

Aruba Tx Beamforming

Chip-based Transmit Beamforming attempts to

optimize transmitted signals by adjusting phase
and amplitude based on client feedback

Relies on client support for calibration and

feedback

Limited support by clients

Without client support, there are no benefits

Max theoretical gain is 3 dB

Sacrifices spatial streams to use TxBF

Static polarization cant adapt to client

changes

Capacity and Performance

BeamFlex+ increases signal quality and data
rates. ChannelFly, client load balancing and
band balancing further improve capacity.
PD-MRC enhances the performance of mobile
devices in any orientation.
BeamFlex+ increases SNR, decreases
errors, and provides seamless coverage
for stable links. Ruckus APs learn about
the RF environment and adapt to changes
and RF interference.

Aruba IAPs support enhancements like band

steering, airtime fairness, and load balancing.
Static omnidirectional antennas and limited
system adaptation in Aruba IAPs cause
unpredictable performance as the RF
environment changes. Poorly designed antenna
create coverage nulls in certain directions,
making coverage and performance inconsistent.

RUCKUS WIRELESS PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL

Ruckus Unleashed
vs Aruba Instant
PERFORMANCE TESTING

Battle Card

RF Coverage Test
What: Ruckus Unleashed R500 AP vs Aruba Instant IAP 205. Both APs are offered as a part
of controllerless solution and are capable of supporting 802.11ac with 2 spatial streams.
How: Validate wireless coverage on 5 GHz from single AP using AirMagnet Survey
Professional. Test location, operating channel number and channel bandwidth were kept the
same for both APs. AP transmit power was not manually limited.
Why: AP with more advanced RF technology will provide reliable connection to clients at
greater distances and with higher access rates. Fewer APs will be necessary to cover the area.

1 x Ruckus Unleashed R500

Ruckus Unleashed can cover the floor

with one AP

1 x Aruba Instant IAP205

Area with
very poor
coverage

Aruba Instant will need more than one

IAP205 to cover the floor

How to understand results

IAP205 Access Point is described by Aruba as Most popular wireless in the Instant lineup. This coverage
test demonstrates that it does not produce as good results as Ruckus Unleashed R500 Access Point.

Both APs used in the test support MIMO 2x2:2 technology but only the Ruckus AP has BeamFlex+ dualpolarized multi element directional antenna array with 64 antenna patterns capable to automatically select
best antenna combination for any client location. As a result, clients can operate at extended range and with
higher SNR.

Red ovals on the coverage map show areas where IAP205 signal dropped below -60 dBm while Unleashed
R500 still kept it above -60 dBm. Looking beyond highlighted areas the Ruckus AP produced 2 to 5 dB better
signal strength and higher client access rates across the floor plan. IAP205 has the area of very poor
coverage, which is below -70dBm cuto, in top left corner.

Key Takeaways:
Greater range, higher reliability and faster wireless network connection with the Ruckus AP.
RUCKUS WIRELESS PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL

Ruckus Unleashed
vs Aruba Instant
PERFORMANCE TESTING

Battle Card

AP Throughput - Range vs Rate Test

What: Ruckus Unleashed R500 vs Aruba Instant IAP205 member Access Points
supporting 802.11ac 2-stream clients: Apple MacBook Air and Apple iPad Air2.
How : Test downlink and uplink at multiple distances using Chariot high throughput script.
Why : Maximum per client performance has a direct aect on WLAN service quality. High
throughput at range enables fixed wired clients to transition to wireless only. With the right
solution, mobile devices can have reliable service at all ranges. Ecient airtime utilization
increases capacity and maximizes spectrum resources.

Apple MacBook Air 5GHz TCP 802.11ac

Downlink Mbps

Uplink Mbps
IAP205

362

334
264

231

25 ft LOS

238

50 ft LOS

321

315

75 ft LOS

Unleashed R500
320
266

187

189

186

25 ft LOS

50 ft LOS

75 ft LOS

Apple iPad Air2 5GHz TCP 802.11ac

Downlink Mbps

Uplink Mbps
IAP205

325

309

243

254

25 ft LOS

50 ft LOS

253

292

299

75 ft LOS

Unleashed R500
272

266

183

178

177

25 ft LOS

50 ft LOS

75 ft LOS

Ruckus Unleashed R500 AP delivers 50% higher throughput on average

Points to consider
Ruckus Unleashed R500 AP is capable to deliver much higher maximum data throughput than IAP205 from
Aruba. This is true for both Uplink and Downlink test cases at all distances.

In combination with having extended range and coverage, Ruckus Unleashed R500 Access Points will
provide reliable and ecient Wi-Fi service with fewer APs installed. This will help reducing Total Cost of
Ownership (TCO) and improving Return On Investment (ROI) for the wireless solution.
RUCKUS WIRELESS PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL

Ruckus Unleashed
vs Aruba Instant
FEATURE LIST

Feature

Battle Card

Ruckus Unleashed Feature

Aruba Instant

Adaptive Antenna
(BeamFlex)

Ruckus intelligently adapts transmissions using

directional antenna patterns that maximize signal quality,
minimize interference, and benefit reliability and capacity.

Arubas beamforming is a chip-based option that provides

little-to-no real-world performance gain, requires tradeoffs
with spatial multiplexing, is not supported by11n and many
11ac devices and doesnt work for multi-stream users.

Native User Onboarding

(Zero-IT Activation)

Built-in to the Ruckus solution is an onboarding tool that

auto-provisions client devices with a connection profile.
Easy access with no admin intervention.

There is no onboarding tool which is built-in into Aruba

Instant. Any onboarding automation will require investing
into external solution like ClearPass, increasing total cost
and complexity of the network.

Per-User PSK (DPSK)

Dynamic PSK technology allows Ruckus customers to

provision a unique PSK for each user. Its secure,
scalable, and easy to provision and manage.

Aruba does not offer a per-user PSK option and requires

tradeoffs between PSK or 802.1X.

Polarization Diversity
with MRC

Smart antenna design by Ruckus incorporates by

horizontal and vertical adaptive polarization to match
client device orientation and improve predictability.

Aruba Instant APs lack the optimal multi-polarization

antenna design that contributes to reliability as client
devices rotate and increase distance from the AP.

Guest access

Ruckus Unleashed has fully integrated guest services

with easy user connectivity, simple guest access control
and provisioning, and client traffic isolation. Wide range
of options for Guest Portal customization is available
built-in into product
Authenticated access with Guest Pass
Access without authentication
Customizable Web Portal logo
Onboarding with Zero-IT device registration from
Guest Portal
Guest Pass delivery via Email or SMS
Generation of multiple Guest Passes

Aruba Instant APs offer only basic features available builtin for guest access and splash page generation
Splash page options for guest network include:
Internal Authenticated
Internal Acknowledged
No splash page
External captive portal page
Advanced features like Guest Pass generation with SMS
or email delivery would require additional services from
external portal

Application recognition
and reporting

Ruckus Unleashed Application Recognition and Control

(ARC) will automatically recognize and display top 10
applications and top 10 port numbers. Additional
applications can be added to the list with classification
based on TCP or UDP port numbers.
Configurable application denial policies are supported
and can be set using either domain names or port
numbers.

GUI look and feel

Staring from a Wizard based configuration screen that

invites user to create Master AP, Ruckus Unleashed GUI
design follows the lines of simplicity. It has streamlined
configuration flow. Using PC or tablet to configure
Unleashed Master is quick and easy. All configuration
screens are easy to locate and follow.

Arubas AppRF feature is available in the later models of

Aruba Instant access points. It can detect hundreds of
applications using deep packet inspection and web
classification. Enabling the feature during lab testing
demonstrated measurable impact on Aruba Instant AP
performance. AP maximum achievable throughput
reduction ranging from 10% to the much higher numbers
was observed consistently when AppRF was switched on.
Arubas AppRF looks as an over engineered solution for
such platform.
GUI of average complexity with multiple configuration
areas and some link activated menus. Users will have to
find location of appropriate configuration menu first, these
do not lead from one to another and can be scattered
around the screen. Such GUI design is functional and it
works well for engineers who are well versed in
configuration of complex Wi-Fi equipment but for users
with limited networking experience it may look too complex
and confusing.

Summary
Ruckus Unleashed Access Points oer excellent performance and come with well balanced feature set for small deployments. Guest
Pass generation and onboarding with Zero-IT features are built-in.

Aruba Instant APs come with with many wireless controller features but the solution looks over-engineered for such platform i.e.
enabling some processing intensive features penalizes AP performance. Additionally, having no clearly stated limits on scalability of
virtual controller raises even more questions. At the same time IAP built-in Guest Access options look very basic, no Guest pass
generation, no onboarding features at all i.e. enabling them would require deploying an external solution like ClearPass.
RUCKUS WIRELESS PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL

Ruckus Unleashed
vs Aruba Instant
VALUE PROPOSITION
Ruckus Unleashed

Battle Card

Aruba Instant

Comments

Total Cost of
Ownership (TCO)

Ruckus solution requires fewer

APs to cover same area yet
provides higher data throughput
Ruckus Unleashed has built-in
rich features for Guest access,
Zero IT for easy device onboarding
Aruba Instant would require
external solution (ClearPass)
with additional cost

Dynamic PSK (DPSK)

Ruckus DPSK technology

uniquely encrypt over the air
traffic for every client.
Aruba Instant does not offer
such option.

Onboarding (BYOD)

Ruckus patented built-in Zero IT

solution enables customers to
onboard devices securely and
easily.
Aruba Instant does not have a
built-in solution for onboarding
and external solution (ClearPass)
is complicated

Guest Access

Ruckus has built-in rich features

for Guest access such as logo
customization, guest pass that
can be emailed or texted
Aruba Instant has basic Guest
features

Both solutions are easy to use.

However, Ruckus Setup wizard
makes it easier for initial
deployment

Higher data throughput with

Ruckus Access Points

Aruba will need more APs to

provide coverage and same level
of performance for multiple users

Ease of use

AP performance
AP density

Excellent value, features available built-in

Average value, some features are present
or can be made available with an external solution
Features are not available
Copyright 2015, Ruckus Wireless, Inc. All rights reserved. Ruckus Wireless and Ruckus Wireless design are
registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Ruckus Wireless, the Ruckus Wireless logo, BeamFlex+,
ZoneFlex, MediaFlex, FlexMaster, ZoneDirector, SpeedFlex, SmartCast, SmartCell, ChannelFly and Dynamic PSK
are trademarks of Ruckus Wireless, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in
this document or website are the property of their respective owners. September 2015.