Descent Priced Smart Zone Controller

[corey_britton]

Hello,

I am wanting to get around 8 access points and they need to be FIPS compliant. From what I've gathered I would need a SmartZone controller to run them in FIPS mode. Some of the controllers look like way more than what I need. I was just curious if there's a controller you guys would recommend for a small install?

Thanks

[syamantakomer]

Hi Corey,

Only Ruckus SmartZone and virtual SmartZone are capable of FIPS, hence these are the only available options to deploy FIPS APs.

[corey_britton]

@syamantak_omer thank you. I was just trying to see what the most affordable SmartZone controller would be.

[syamantakomer]

@darrel_rhodes need your help on this one.

[DarrelRhodes]

Hi Corey,

FIPS is supported by both hardware and virtualised RUCKUS controller platforms.

By far the most cost effective controller is the virtualSmartZone Essentials (vSZ-E).  The part number for this is: L09-VSCG-WW00

This is for the vSZ 'Right-to-Use (RTU)' license that includes a single AP license, for running on a VM Hypervisor such as VMWare, KVM or Hyper-V. You will also need additional AP and support licenses.

Once you have purchased the vSZ-E RTU you will need to download the FIPS version of the vSZ-E software from the Ruckus support site: https://support.ruckuswireless.com

It appears the lastest version of the FIPS compliant vSZ-E is: 5.1.2.3.1232 - this was released on the 26th of July 2021.

We have previously had FIPS-specific AP models but it appears this is no longer required for our latest Wi-Fi 6 APs as we do not have FIPS specific 802.11ax AP models on our price list.

I hope the above information helps.  I would highly recommend you contact your local Ruckus partner for further assistance:  https://extapps.commscope.com/howtobuy/RuckusChannelPartner

Best,
Darrel.