Ruckus Networks - Ruckus vs Cisco

May 31, 2019 Marcel Zimmer
Ruckus

The manufacturer Cisco is a known quantity in the IT and network industry and therefore perfect for a comparison with your own system, our partner Ruckus thought so too and has published a comparison report from April 2019.

What did Ruckus test?

In the 16-page report, Ruckus compares the features of...

...Ruckus Unleashed with Cisco Mobility Express
...Ruckus Unleashed + UMM with Cisco Mobility Express + Cisco Prime Infrastructure (managing APs)
...Ruckus SZ100/300 or vSZ + vDP with Cisco Wirless LAN Controller (Centralised/tunnel mode)
...Ruckus SmartZone (all) with Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (FlexConnect Mode)
...Ruckus SZ100/300 or vSZ + vDP with IOS XE (Centralised mode only)
...Cloudpath with Identity Services Engine (ISE)
...Ruckus SZ100/300 or vSZ + vDP with Cisco DNA (Analytics, MML) + Cisco Prime (reporting)
...SPoT with Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences (CMX)

What do the results show?

For controller-based networks, it was clear that Cisco is placing more emphasis on larger enterprises. Network architectures are more complex and therefore require more cost and effort to operate. Ruckus shows itself to be more cost effective with adaptability in this regard, the SmartZone and ZoneDirector are freely scalable for network sizes and the Ruckus SmartZone OS 5 firmware update provides simplified centralised management of access points, whether they are wired or wirelessly integrated into the network.

Even with the controllerless network structure, Ruckus has many advantages over Cisco. While the complexity of Cisco control makes it easy to lose the essential overview, Ruckus Unleashed has simple control. In addition, Ruckus offers the possibility to include mesh APs in the network, which Cisco does not offer in this area.

In terms of device access, Ruckus Cloudpath was compared with Cisco ISE. The Cisco solution can be purchased as hardware or as a virtual appliance and is now also integrated into the DNA Center of the Cisco analysis platform. Ruckus Cloudpath is accessible via a public cloud service and, in contrast to Cisco, offers the option of installing on-premise VMs. In addition, Cloudpath uses Ruckus' patented Dynamic PSK for smooth operation of the Ruckus BYOD solution.

In terms of access point performance, Ruckus scores points for their ability to maintain a secure and fluid connection even in environments with high WLAN signal smoke, whether indoors or outdoors. This is made possible by their patented BaemFlex+ technology with purpose-designed antennas. Cisco Aironet achieves connectivity with a purpose-built chipset, but so far only a few models use it.

Author: Marcel Zimmer

Marcel Zimmer is the Technical Managing Director of EnBITCon. During his time in the German Armed Forces, the trained IT developer was able to gain numerous project experiences. His interest in IT security was significantly awakened by his service in command support. Even after his service, he is an active reservist in the Bundeswehr.

His first firewall was a Sophos UTM 120, which he had to set up for a customer project. Since then, his interest in IT security has grown steadily. In the course of time, various security and infrastructure topics have come into his focus. His most interesting projects included, for example, WLAN coverage in an explosion-proof area, as well as a multi-site WLAN solution for a large