The difference between Unleashed and Solo AP

[young_joon_kwon]

Hello
You are about to configure the Ruckus AP from the initial setup.
I'm inquiring because I have a question during the configuration.

Ruckus AP knows that there are Unleashed as a virtual controller and Solo APs that act as controllers for H/W appliances such as Zone Director or Smart Zone.

I would like to clarify the difference between the Unleashed and Solo AP.

1. How to distinguish between Unleashed and Unleashed in the same model
2. Firmware Differences Between Solo AP and Unleashed AP
3. Role of Solo AP (Connect to Zone Director or Smart Zone, etc.)
4. How to convert from Solo AP to Unleashed AP

Thanks for reply

[vijaykuniyal]

Hi @young_joon_kwon 

1. How to distinguish between Unleashed and Solo in the same model

Ans>>>> Once you log in to the AP cli, it tells you the firmware type on it.

2. Firmware Differences Between Solo AP and Unleashed AP

Ans>>>>The Solo firmware starts with 11X.X.X.X , 10X.X.X.X while Unleashed firmware starts with 200.X.X.X.

To see feature difference you can follow the release note for them.

eg for Solo.

https://support.ruckuswireless.com/documents/3553-ruckus-access-point-114-0-ga-refresh-2-solo-ap-rel...

3. Role of Solo AP (Connect to Zone Director or Smart Zone, etc.)

https://forums.ruckuswireless.com/conversations/access-points/what-is-the-solo-firmware-for/5f91c3ec...

4. How to convert from Solo AP to Unleashed AP

Ans>>>Login to the GUI of the AP with default user and password and from there you can upload the Unleashed firmware, which you can download from the support portal.


More FAQ for unleashed in the below link.

https://support.ruckuswireless.com/documents/853-ruckus-unleashed-200-0-ga-faq

[eizens_putnins]

There are actually 4 types of firmware -- solo (most limited, AP has only basic features, mainly used to upgrade to different firmware), Unleashed (AP runs controller code too, used for SOHO installatons), SZ firmware (AP is managed by SZ controller), ZD firmware (AP is managed by ZoneDirector controller). Hardware is the same in all cases, and firmware can be changed as needed.

To convert Solo AP to Unleashed, you need upgrade firmware to unleashed firmware. It can be done through WEB interface using local image file or through SSH  using TFTP or ftp server with firmware image on it. Take care to use proper image file (for exactly needed AP model).