why ruckus vs meraki-usletter5
TRANSCRIPT
Why Ruckus?An Executive Comparison with Meraki
Wi-Fi networks deployed today must be ready to support 3x
more clients and harsher RF conditions in just one year. Ruckus
is laser-focused on innovative Wi-Fi products that take the
guesswork out of RF expertise in an easy to configure, simple
to manage and high performance solution. Sophisticated
features such as adaptive antenna arrays, smart RF mitigation
and optimization techniques put Ruckus products years ahead
of any other Wi-Fi vendor and ensure wireless you can count on
for years to come.
Great TCO vs. Out of Control CostsRuckus offers the best Wi-Fi that money can buy at an af-
fordable price. With a performance advantage that typically
requires up to 30% fewer APs, Ruckus starts out at a great price
point and furthers that with streamlined pricing that provides
a rich feature set with no additional licensing. A great Total
Cost of Ownership (TCO) means your Wi-Fi network is paid and
amortized within just a short time after purchase.
Meraki customers, on the other hand, must purchase cloud
management; Meraki network cannot not function otherwise.
This means the equipment purchase is not a one-time capital
expense but rather expensive, ongoing licensing fees, paid
year over year. Customers do not own their wireless network,
they rent it from Meraki.
Unimpressive PerformanceRuckus offers proven performance and reliability that satisifies
the most demanding customers and the toughest environ-
ments. The Meraki solution is centered around management,
not performance. But low performance is a massive contribu-
tor to connectivity and other user problems as well as network
stability and reliability. Endless complaints from users simply
adds to the overall costliness of this solution.
No Guarantees and No Safety Net When a company buys a wireless network, they expect it to
function for as long as they choose to keep it. This is not true
with a Meraki network. What happens if Meraki goes out of
business? There is no alternative solution available for their
custmers who will be left hanging with a useless network.
The Bottom Line• Outrageous costs - you have to buy your network and
then pay a large annual fee forever for the right to use it
• Pitiful performance - consumer-grade Wi-Fi masked as
enterprise quality
• No service guarantee - Read their Ts&Cs – “Meraki
makes no guarantees as to the continuous availability of
the Service”
• No safety net - if Meraki goes out of business, your Wi-
Fi network is out of business
• Lightweight support - You have to rely on their 24/7
Cloud Controller but they only offer 5/7 telephone sup-
port
Page 2
Why Ruckus?
The Meraki marketing literature makes a lot of claims that are,
at best, optimistic and at worst misleading. The rest of this
document is a deeper look at these statements and claims.
The Hidden Cost of the CloudThe difference between cloud controllers and premise-based
is very simple: rent vs. buy. This is rarely pointed out and those
who don’t understand this will pay and pay. Where a premise-
based controller is paid for once and quickly amortized into a
lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), a cloud controller has to
be purchased again every year and is never paid off. This has a
huge impact on TCO.
For example, using Meraki’s price calculator from their web
site, the following prices out a 10 AP network with enterprise
licensing:
5 Year TCO for Meraki and Ruckus
Meraki
MR24
Meraki
MR16
Ruckus
ZF7363
10 APs $11,990* $6,490* $5,990
10 Enterprise Licenses $4,500 $4,500 $0
Controller $0 $0 $2,000
Support $0** $0** $1,699
Total Initial Cost $16,490 $10,990 $9,689
Recuring Costs $4,500 $4,500 $1,699
* Prices shown are list price (North America)
** Meraki support is standard, 9/5 instead of 24/7 (not available)
At list price, the MR24 is still almost twice the cost of Ruckus
and the lower end MR16 a bit more than Ruckus. But note the
recurring yearly costs are nearly 3x the cost of Ruckus regard-
less of hardware. The longer a Meraki installation is kept, the
higher these yearly operating expenses will grow.
Ruckus’ higher AP performance will likely only require 6 Ruckus
APs to deliver the same or better coverage and density as 10
Meraki APs. With only 6 Ruckus APs that reduces the initial
Ruckus cost to $7,233 and yearly support to just $1,339.
It’s Not Your Network That’s Up 99.9% of the Time
This is touted consistently and con-
stantly, but what does it mean? A
close reading of their Service Level
Agreement (SLA) contract states
“Meraki Cloud Controller web
interface will be operational and
available to Customer at least 99.9%
of the time in any calendar month”.
The Meraki End User License Agreement (EULA) also states
“Meraki makes no guarantees as to the continuous availability
of the Service or any component thereof.” Even worse!
This is not a statement of wireless network uptime, it’s not even
a statement of any type of controller functionality uptime but
merely a guarantee that the web interface is available 99.9% of
the time. In cases where it is not, the customers sole recourse
and compensation is a service credit (licensing) for a maximum
of 15 days. This is great deal for Meraki - if a customer is late
paying their cloud licenses, they get to charge interest for an
unspecifed/unlimited time (see Meraki EULA).
Of course a customer has to submit a request for these credits
- they are not given automatically for system failures. Therefore
the onus is on customers to monitor Meraki’s system for them
just to protect their own interests.
A 99.9% uptime means the service is unavailable for no more
than 74 minutes per month. But Meraki upgrades its software
roughly ever month - a downtime of at least 2 hours. Some-
thing customers cannot opt out of or prevent.
Customer WAN failures are also not included in downtime and
of course these represent a significant risk to system avail-
ability. Meraki only guarantees their web interface is available
99.9% of the time - if you can’t reach it, too bad. Moreover, this
does not count as a service downtime and therefore the cus-
tomer is not eligible for any recompense from Meraki.
If the cloud is unvailable, who do you call? Meraki’s technical
Under the Hood: What to Know Before You Buy
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Why Ruckus?
support is only business hours, 9/5 rather than 24/7. If some-
thing happens outside of tthese hours, the customer is stuck.
The Meraki web site claims to have 24/7 support but it is not on
their price list and is, apparently, a series of one-off deals with
no real description of the service, a concrete and comprehen-
sive SLA, etc.
For off-hours, Meraki offers an online-knowledgebase. A quick
check shows how difficult this is to use. Searches constantly
bring up articles that have little or nothing to do with the
search keywords. Only the most determined user can find real
answers.
All Ruckus ZoneDirector Wi-Fi controllers are simply and easily
configured and can operate from any data center. No Internet
or WAN connectivity is required. Ruckus also offers 24/7 sup-
port for all customers. For customers looking to reduce their
operating costs even further, different levels of support are
available on a per unit basis. This empowers customers to pick
and choose the level they wish to pay for different equipment.
This is unlike Meraki with its “one size fits all” approach; forcing
customers to pay the same level of support for all equipment,
regardless.
It’s Not Your Network Anymore
Ruckus offers wireless controllers that are easy to configure
and simple to use. Each ZoneDirector controller is wholly
owned and controlled by the customer: no grey areas of doubt
or uncertainty or potential finger-pointing if problems arise.
Administrators are in the driver’s seat and know exactly what is
happening at all times.
With cloud-based services, there is always the question of
control: who decides when to upgrade your network? Who has
physical access to the hardware and how is it protected? How
much of our data is visible to people outside of your company
and control? This may not be a big deal when purchasing vid-
eos on Amazon.com, but it is a huge issue for any enterprise.
One glaring issue is software management. Most enterprises
are used to controlling their own network and decided when
and how to upgrade it if they find it necessary. Indeed, many
organizations tend to find a version that works and stabilize on
it for long periods of time. Others prefer to run the new candi-
date software in a lab first, before releasing it
onto a production network.
This is not an option with Meraki. They decide
when and what to run on your network. Cust-
mers have the option to specify preferences
for when upgrades will happen, but cannot completely block
it. There is no way to opt-out completely. Perhaps even worse,
upgrades are system-wide so there is no chance of testing new
software in a lab prior to deployment. In this way, production
networks are completely at the mercy of Meraki.
Bottom line: Meraki owns your network, not you.
Cloud-based management is just another way of paying some-
one else to own and operate the hardware that runs your net-
work. There is nothing magical about a controller in the cloud
that couldn’t be done with an appliance in the customer data
center. Unless of course you have a business model like Meraki
in which constant payments by its customers to relicense their
network over and over again is major portion of revenue.
Meraki will never make a customer-owned premise version
of their controller. It would kill their profit. If they did create
a premise-based controller, customers would quickly realize
the Meraki solution is no different from anyone else’s - except
more expensive and lower performance.
RF AnalysisThe single most important factor in Wi-Fi performance is local
RF environment. Once a packet is transmitted by the radio it’s
too late to do any more improvement. Optimization has to hap-
pen at the AP and with the Wi-Fi system.
RF is the thing that is typically out of an organization’s control.
The option to change neighboring Wi-Fi networks’ behavior is
practically impossible. RF changes every day and sometimes
in unpredictable ways. The only way to stay on top of this is a
system that is capable of automatically tuning and optimizing
itself as well as offering a rich set of RF analysis information for
performance visibility and troubleshooting.
What to Expect from an Enterprise-class System
Within the wireless industry, RF analysis has a specific mean-
Meraki
Networks
Page 4
Why Ruckus?
ing: the ability to view what is happening in the RF spectrum.
This typically includes information such as capacity and usage,
identification of heavily loaded channels and identification of
foreign RF sources. Over the air packet capture is another com-
mon feature. This information is typically provided from the
central management/controller system.
Meraki’s concept of RF analysis is quite different:
• RF analysis information is only available from a web page
that can only be accessed by a wireless device currently at-
tached to a Meraki AP. No remote troubleshooting options are
available - a laptop must be on-site and able to associate to the
Meraki network. None of this information is sent to the cloud or
available from the cloud interface.
• The “analysis” consists of a single graph showing a per-
centage of channel usage - but only for the channel the AP
occupies. Even with background scanning enabled, no other
channel information is available.
• No other RF information is available
• No over the air packet capture is available
In contrast, Ruckus offers a well-planned and easy to use RF
troubleshooting tools such as remote packet capture from any
AP. This gives administrators a precise view of exactly what
is happening in their network. Best of all, this information is
available from the central interface on the ZoneDirector. Once
the packet capture is launched, an administrator can view the
over the air traffic from anywhere with network connectivity: a
remote location, office, home or on the road. No time consum-
ing, costly on-site service calls are required.
This is how an enterprise troubleshoots their network - cleanly
and efficiently.
RF Meltdowns
Wi-Fi is extremely popular. It is difficult to find any location with
no neighboring Wi-Fi or any other kind of RF transmissions.
This harsh RF landscape will only get worst as more networks
are deployed with higher numbers of clients and densities.
Because wireless performance is so dependent on the local RF
conditions, optimization is critical. Once a packet is transmitted
by the AP radio there is nothing that can be done to make it
faster or better. RF optimization must occur at the AP and it has
to be smart and agile enough to cope with quickly changing
enviornments.
The list of RF optimizations available to Meraki customers
includes:
• Change channels (1, 6, 11 only) due to Wi-Fi interference
• Band-steering
That’s it. In constrast, compare what Ruckus’ deep RF knowl-
edge and expertise provides:
• Channelfly - a interference and capacity-aware channel
selection method that uses Wi-Fi, non-802.11 and capacity
potentials to optimize channel section and performance across
the entire radio spectrum
• Client load-balancing - balances large device populations
Ruckus vs. Meraki RF Troubleshooting:
Which one do you think says more about
your network?
Meraki Spectrum Analysis Tools (on-site only)
Ruckus Centralized Spectrum Analysis & Packet Capture Tools
(RF reports available in 9.5)
Page 5
Why Ruckus?
across multiple APs to improve performance and lower conten-
tion
• Band-steering - helps ensure dual-band clients connect to
5 GHz (802.11an); easing congestion on the crowded 2.4 GHz
(802.11bgn) spectrum for single band devices
• Airtime Fairness - ensures each device gets a chance to
transmit rather than allowing a few devices to grab all of the
bandwidth
• BeamFlex - dynamic adaptive antenna arrays with over
4,000 antenna combinations connects clients at the highest
transmit rates over the greatest distance while mitigating RF
interference by up to -17 dBm
These kinds of features are essential for any kind of Wi-Fi
performance. They are particularly valuable as more and more
Wi-Fi devices connect to the network. The ability to keep per-
formance high for every client becomes critical.
60 Simultaneous Clients (TCP Downlink)
Enterprise-class Wi-Fi Security
802.1X is the authentication method of choice for enterprises to
securely connect employees, VoIP phones, etc. to their wireless
network. Although it is the most secure option, 802.1X suffers
from a reputation for being difficult to configure and setup.
With Ruckus 802.1X is simple - it’s as easy as configuring the
ZoneDirector as a NAS client on the RADIUS server. Just one
device, done once for the life of the network.
For those who are not ready to use 802.1X, Ruckus also offers
Dynamic PSK and Zero-IT. Dynamic PSK is a highly secure
version of Pre-Shared Key networks that allows IT to provi-
sion each client with its own unique key. These keys cannot be
shared; making the network more secure. They also support
expiration dates and immediate administrative revokation.
Both Dynamic PSK and 802.1X client configuration is also a
breeze with Ruckus’ patented Zero-IT software. Zero-IT is a
simple program that can be run on a wireless client (Mac OS,
Windows, Android, iPhone, and more). The program will au-
tomatically configure the client to connect to whichever SSIDs
they are authorized to use. This makes deployment of 802.1X
and D-PSK networks even more simple, faster and less prone to
trouble or helpdesk calls.
Although the Meraki system supports 802.1X authentication,
There are huge limitations.
• Each Meraki AP must be configured on the RADIUS server
as a NAS client rather than just one controller like Ruckus
• Adding new APs means touching RADIUS every time
• APs need static IP addresses to work correctly with RA-
DIUS
• Readdressing APs means touching RADIUS every time
This kind of clumsy implementation is most definitely not
considered enterprise class and will severely hobble any Meraki
802.1X implementation.
SummaryInvesting in a Wi-Fi network is an investiment in time as well as
money. The balance of cost and usability is strongly affected by
initial cost, yearly costs, future-proofing for growth and reliabil-
ity (helpdesk/maintenance costs). No one likes to have to go
back and ask for more budget to pay for an existing network or
upgrade it.
Ruckus Wi-Fi products are designed to support hundreds of
devices per AP and work around the most difficult RF problems
automatically.
Meraki fails to even complete a test with 60 simultaneous clients
(Data courtesy of Tom’s Hardware)
Page 6
Why Ruckus?Page 6
Why Ruckus?
Ruckus Wireless, Inc.
880 West Maude Avenue, Suite 101, Sunnyvale, CA 94085 USA (650) 265-4200 Ph \ (408) 738-2065 Fx
w w w. r u c k u s w i r e l e s s . c o m
Additional Reading
Tom’s Hardware Part 1 - an explanation of wireless performance
Tom’s Hardware Part 2 - performance testing and multi-vendor bakeoff results
Wired Magazine - Ruckus smart antennas may be the key to natiowide Wi-Fi
Everything Wireless: Talks from the Experts - 802.11ac, BeamFlex, client load balancing, airtime fairness and much more
(www.ruckuswireless.com/library)
ZoneDirector Demo on Demand - quick, easy demonstrations of the Ruckus product line
Key questions to ask:
• Exactly what errors and conditions are considered down-
time?
• What visibility does a customer have into these errors from
Meraki’s side?
• What kind of performance metrics are guaranteed for
latency, responsiveness of the system, etc.?
• How much control do I have over my network? Can I opt
out of software upgrades if I don’t want them?
• How much downtime are current customers experiencing
due to mandatory software upgrades?
• How will the system perform in real-world environments
with lots of clients, obstacles, interference, etc.?
• What can the Wi-Fi network do to help me understand
and troubleshoot my RF issues? Can it do it remotely without
requiring an on-site visit?
• What does the system do to select optimize channel selc-
tion?
• What can it do to load balance clients in high density situ-
ations?
• Can the system make sure all clients get airtime access
without allowing bandwidth hogs or starving clients?
• How does the system help automatically reduce and miti-
gate RF interference?
Meraki consistently fails to provide an enterprise-class experi-
ence for its customers. The Meraki solution appears cheap and
simple but hides significant underlying costs and maintenance
pains. All of this is provided with low to average performance
that fails to meet the demands of an ever more challenging
RF landscape, higher performance clients or growing density
populations.
Ruckus Wireless is laser focused on building the best Wi-Fi
networks bar none. A Ruckus network provides the enterprise-
class tools and control administrators expect in a simple inter-
face that makes configuration a breeze. This is complemented
by a rich and robust set of RF optmization features that quickly
respond to changing RF conditions for the best possible
perfomance and reliability. As demand for Wi-Fi increases
only Ruckus offers future-proof deployments that easily meet
current demands and provide headroom for future growth. A
well designed Ruckus wireless network can provide excellent
service for years with minimal effort and a great TCO.