Ruckus Wireless Reviews

It is generally deployed in hotels and sometimes for VIP customers.

In my experience, Ruckus devices are much more reliable than other vendors when it comes to consistency, coverage, and client density. Ruckus is very simple to configure and troubleshoot.

I've been using Ruckus Wireless for almost six years.

The stability of Ruckus Wireless is better than other solutions. I never hear complaints about coverage, connectivity, or speed. I've worked in the wireless field for almost 17 years, and I've only received one call about Ruckus. During the same time, I've received four calls about other solutions from other vendors.

I've deployed in JW Marriott Hotel with almost 900 access points. And I deployed it in one house with just 20 access points. So working with both big and small projects, I've had good customer feedback. Since I'm not receiving any complaints, I feel like it is working fine on any scale.

In one of the hotels, it stopped broadcasting SSIDs, so I opened a ticket with Ruckus support. They upgraded the software of the controller and performed some configuration modifications, then it worked fine. I only faced that one issue, but this was their own issue. It was delayed too for the RNA. 

For Ruckus Wireless, the setup is simple. The time for deployment has been increased somewhat. And deployment also depends on the quantity, but the solution is very easy to implement overall. Physically installation and configuration are simple. The access point is also much lighter than other solutions. 

We sell both Ruckus and Aruba. Aruba is more complicated to use and less reliable than Ruckus, but it's also much less expensive. When we're quoting prices, we'll send the customer two quotations, one for Ruckus and one for Aruba. So for example, if a project costs $2,000 with Aruba, the same project will cost around $3,200 or $3,500 with Ruckus. It is very difficult to convince the customer to choose Ruckus because of the price. 

I would rate Ruckus nine out 10. I'd also point out that Ruckus Wireless is high speed. And with Ruckus, you can use standalone or cloud-based. Standalone is much better. 

Ruckus has been deployed in our most demanding site, which has roughly 3400 associated clients per day. We are also leveraging Cloudpath to provide the WISPr guest portal with MAC authentication.

It should be noted that this site was previously serviced by another vendor. Due to the demands of wireless and the inability for the other vendor's deployment to meet our needs, we switched to Ruckus. It's been rock-solid since the implementation.

More recently we have moved our initial deployment to our elementary buildings. We have Ruckus implemented in about 25 sites currently.

The Ruckus solution was brought in to meet the higher than normal demands that we placed on our wireless network. After the minimal effort to get the system up and running, we've seen most if not all of our major wireless headaches disappear.

With the Cloudpath integration, our guest experience has been greatly improved. Our guests are now able to be self-sufficient in registering on our guest wireless network with a more streamlined and simple approach. The software was very easy to deploy and set up, which was a huge improvement over our previous solution.

Their Bonjour Gateway setup is also built into the product and has been helpful in bridging services from our wired network to our wireless network.

• Ease of management - the system is very easy to manage and learn.
• Cloudpath - this allows us to deploy captive portals that are advanced in nature to meet every need we can dream up.
• Hardware antenna array - this is the secret sauce to why Ruckus is above their competition. They built the antenna array from the ground up, allowing them to achieve higher rates for clients and a more solid connection.
• Bonjour gateway - built in Bonjour gateway to allow sharing services from one or two different VLANs.

Sometimes doing mass changes on their products can be challenging. Ruckus should spend more time developing methods to give enterprises more control over making needed changes quickly and easily. Their documentation also needs to be improved.

About four years.

In the past year, we've seen issues on their platform in regards to slow speeds if you use firmware later than December 2018. They are working through it, but it does give pause for concern. Their recommended vSZ is actually older, so we are pushing the limits with our versioning. 

No, their solutions are built with scalability in mind.

Customer service is by far one of the best outcomes of this product, I've been getting significantly better customer service than our previous vendor (Aruba).

We've had to engage both Ruckus and Cloudpath on a few things that have come up and the level of resolve they have shown is outstanding.

The previous solution was Aruba, but after many issues with the performance of their solution, we were forced to make a needed change.

• Clients would be kicked off randomly
• Slow wireless network
• APs would randomly reboot
• Complicated management
  

We attempted to leverage our existing ClearPass solution, but ran into issues with the integration in regards to MAC authentication. We ended up going with the Ruckus Cloudpath solution, which has been a blessing in disguise due to it being much easier to deploy.

We implemented this solution with in-house resources, as well as Ruckus itself, and a vendor. The Ruckus level of expertise was far greater than the vendor.

We haven't calculated it, but with this implementation it would be in the thousands (for just one building). Less wiring was needed (fewer AP locations), less hardware was needed, and less licensing was needed.

Ruckus was much cheaper than their enterprise competition (Aruba, Cisco, etc.). We've found that Ruckus can handle the client density load with greater success than Aruba, so leveraging Ruckus has allowed us to lower our purchasing needs since we would need to procure fewer APs. Cloudpath would be an added cost if you wanted to deploy that solution.

We did not evaluate other options as our previous experience using Ruckus was positive.

This solution is absolutely amazing! What they tout is very accurate and will work with your network/IT teams to develop a proven and well-catered solution to meet your every need.

I would highly recommend this product in high-density environments such as schools, universities, and hospitality settings. With the ease of setup, lower cost, and record of success, this is a slam dunk for schools that need to stretch their resources further.

Our clients use Ruckus as a controller base in active-active mode or active-passive mode depending on their needs. We work primarily with universities that have over 30,000 users. 

Ruckus Wireless is reliable. The most valuable features are BeamFlex technology, Wi-Fi 6, and channel management.

I have been providing Ruckus for seven years.

I rate Ruckus six out of 10 for reliability.  Mostly, we face issues with this port.

I give Ruckus nine out of 10 for scalability.

I rate Ruckus support seven out of 10. We have experience in this field, so we don't need vendor support, but my customers say the support is excellent. 

Neutral

I rate Ruckus eight out of 10 for ease of setup. It depends on the size of the deployment, but we can deploy Ruckus for most clients in a day or two. It's straightforward,

I rate Ruckus Wireless seven out of 10. Some customers have issues with the price because it's more expensive than Ubiquiti, but they can accept the cost because it's reliable and has more features.

I rate Ruckus Wireless nine out of 10. I would recommend it.

We are an integrator working primarily with government healthcare providers and clients in the education sector. We have multiple deployment modes, including on-premise, direct permission, and layer-to-layer. We have also cloud-based and virtual deployment.

Wireless is an essential technology these days. People use it on their phones or tablets. It works for many clients and numerous number of employees in different locations and in centralized board as well.

Since we became a Ruckus partner, we've managed to increase our sales, and it has helped us deliver better solutions for our clients. It's highly competitive with American and Chinese products, like Huawei and Aruba.

Ruckus features a centralized architecture solution with ultrasound technology, which helps us with communication and roaming.

The switching could be improved. The active component requires a data center. Cisco and HPE have a complete solution for data centers. Ruckus has a core solution, but the data center aspect needs to be improved.

I've been using Ruckus Wireless for five years.

Ruckus' stability is excellent. Aruba is good as well, but Ruckus is better in my opinion. We receive fewer calls and tickets. Their sales and warranty are superb. 

Ruckus Wireless is scalable. It's an IP-based process that's interoperable, so you can deploy it in any environment. 

We are a tech support provider for Ruckus. We take calls and open tickets. 

We were previously an Aruba partner, but we switched to Ruckus because it's better. We've been in business for 15 years, and we have used Cisco, HPE, Extreme, Juniper, and several other vendors in that time.

Ruckus provides us with tools that help us implement the solution. Also, our engineers are certified to do the design and implementation. We don't have a ready-made software design solution for it. It's all predeveloped from Ruckus. Most deployments are straightforward, but they can be complicated if a high level of integration is necessary. 

The time needed to deploy depends on the project and type of setup. For example, it takes about an hour to deploy the controller and AP, so it would take 100 person-hours for a project with 100 APs. The access point sometimes requires cabling, which takes time because you need technicians to do this. You may need one or two system engineers and one after-sales engineer. 

I can't give precise figures. Some partners or resellers get benefits from using these wireless in a hospitality setting. In our job, the ROI is clear.

It is affordable. We get special codes from the vendor, so we can compete with others in the market. There are no hidden costs. The pricing is transparent. 

I rate Ruckus Wireless nine out of 10.

We use Ruckus Wireless for network security.

Ruckus Wireless supports the most recent technologies. We can trace every individual and what kind of traffic they're using on our campus. It is very helpful.

I have been using Ruckus Wireless for approximately five months.

The stability of Ruckus Wireless is very good.

Ruckus Wireless is scalable.

We have approximately 1,800 users using the solution indoor and outdoor we are supporting approximately 50,000 users.

We have not had any problem with the solution. We have a warranty with the solution which is good.

We use Ruckus Wireless in parallel with Cisco because it is less expensive than Cisco.

The initial setup was not simple. We were installing indoor and outdoor wireless and this is why it took us three months.

The implementation of the solution was done by the vendor. The time of the implementation took approximately three months.

We have 10 system administrators for the support of this solution. They check all activities on the campus.

The price of Ruckus Wireless is less expensive than other solutions, such as Cisco.

We have licenses for 500 access points.

As a network professional, and an IT manager in a university, the Ruckus product is working with all the vendor's standards. There are common standards, they can be called something different based on the vendors. Ruckus Wireless, in Ethiopia, is not popular, including Huawei. However, Cisco is popular.

This solution is very good and they should introduce it to their network because they could see many benefits.

I rate Ruckus Wireless an eight out of ten.

Our clients use this solution for hotel and restaurant management, stadium management, and other forms of retail — typically for large environments. Still, for clients that don't have the resources for this type of hardware, we are looking for a cheaper solution or another enterprise-level access point.

Our clients are typically large businesses. They consist of a lot of major hotels; they all require huge deployments. We're talking hundreds, if not thousands of users. 

We have access points with EOL (end of life) — actually, they are working very well nowadays. Still, with the new technology, we need to improve these agreements because the new data rates need to be parallel with the new technology. That's the only reason the old access points are working so well.

Performance-wise, it's great. The throughput of the speed base and the capacity when it's operating in a high-density environment is outstanding. 

As an elite Ruckus partner, we get a big discount. That said, the analytics could be improved. Some of our engineers prefer the IQ platform in Extreme. They like the analytics and all of the information that they can validate from its cloud platform.

It would be nice if there was a way to compare access points and hardware so you can always get the same level of performance.

The platform that we have with version 5.12 has only just begun supporting R320. This makes things a little slow, especially in regard to the cloud menu. The analytics or maybe the kind of information that we can get about it could be better. We should be able to click on an icon for more graphics and less text.

The company I work for has been using Ruckus Wireless for roughly 12 years. Personally, I have been using this solution for six years. 

Stability-wise, Ruckus Wireless is great. 

Scalability is good. The SmartZone controllers have been working well. We know that they had a manufacturing issue with the first order as they had a lot of problems with the hard disks, but they seem to have resolved that problem. With the cloud, our clients have the capacity for a lot of systems.

We haven't had any issues with the technical support.

Personally, I think the deployment is easy. With Ruckus, there is a lot of documentation included to assist you with the initial setup. 

We are the owners of the equipment. We rent out services to our customers. We pay for all of our devices and rent them out. We have contracts from anywhere from 36 months to five years. 

Many of our customers also test and evaluate the analytics of Meraki. Analytics is very important to our customers. Ruckus has the ability to connect and get analytics, but you need to pay for that. With other platforms, we can get a lot of information for free. With Meraki, you need to pay for a license on a year-to-year basis.

With Ruckus, even if you have a big environment, you can get great performance with only one access point. 

Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of nine.  

We are a Credit Union with over 100 employees. We utilize the Ruckus Virtual SmartZone appliance and about 25 R600 access points to provide a secure wireless solution across five branch locations. The Ruckus solution is used as a guest network for third-party vendors while onsite, as well as by staff members to access corporate data.

With a quality enterprise wireless solution, our employees are more mobile than ever. They experience significantly better performance at longer ranges with the R500 access points, compared with our previous wireless solution. Information Technology staff can quickly issue guest passes for vendors and the instructions are very straightforward, requiring very little effort to get connected.

Our staff maintain a wide gamut of products and we needed a wireless solution that works reliably and has all of the features we needed (walled garden, client isolation, 802.1x with dynamic VLAN, guest passes, etc.) at a cost that wouldn’t break the bank (literally). The quality of the hardware and low cost of maintenance are primary driving factors, and Ruckus exceeds in this space by providing great hardware and a low annual operating expense. 

The Virtual SmartZone appliance is easy to use and quick to deploy, which helps to ensure our staff is focused on actionable results instead of constantly fiddling with wireless configuration or contacting support to resolve troublesome issues.

While the Virtual SmartZone appliance has improved in the last few years, it isn’t without issue and the performance of the Web page leaves something to be desired.

Additionally, Ruckus seems to have removed the built-in help from the appliance, urging the user to log on to the support web site to obtain it. This is simply a nuisance if one wishes to look up what a particular field on the configuration page does, for example.

The tool is expensive.

I have been using Ruckus Wireless for three years.

The solution is stable but have some issues. I rate it five out of ten on stability.

100-150 users are using this solution.
I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

Support sometimes provides delayed response.

Neutral

I have used Cisco and Aruba. We switched to Ruckus because it is cheaper than Cisco.

The initial setup is not easy and takes few days to complete. Professional teams find it difficult. I rate it two out of ten.

We use some integrators for the infrastructure enhancement.

The tool is very appropriate for high-density environments. We use it for outdoor areas and factories. It’s been useful for our dense environments.

Different WiFi routers are cheaper and cover areas quite well. They work in different environments. They have cellular connectivity.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.