Do I need a zone director?

[jason_sparrow]

Hi all,

I am just about to install 2 X r600 aps in my house and was wondering if I needed to buy a done director console to fine tune the aps?

They will be used in a soho environment, however I would like to ensure roaming etc is fine tuned and I can get the best out of them.

If so, would I be able to use a single licence version as this is quite cheap?

http://www.wifigear.co.uk/ruckus-zone...

Would I need to renew the licence each year?

I'm new to the ruckus fold and so I have no clue as to what I need.

Thanks in advance.

[john_d]

Hi Jason,

You don't need a ZoneDirector, but it's a nice bonus. As we talked about in the last thread, if you have a ZoneDirector, you can get FW 9.12 and 9.12.1 and beyond, which gets you DFS support for the R600's, which is nice.


The main benefit of getting the ZoneDirector is that you get one centralized interface for configuration and monitoring rather than having to log into each AP and define the SSID, password, and try to piece together all the info yourself about which clients are on which AP's, and how they are roaming, etc.

It's not required for your setup, though. You will get slightly faster roams (virtually instantaneous versus a few hundred ms of hiccups) thanks to 802.11r/k on supported devices, etc. Plus you get a turnkey solution for a captive portal based guest WLAN for when you have folks visiting. 


If you get a ZoneDirector, you'll be required to purchase Ruckus support contracts. The license that you linked to is not a support contract — it's to add an additional AP to the ZD1200. (For example, the ZD1205 is by default licensed for 5 AP's. If you were to add a 6th AP, you would need to buy one additional copy of that license)

The 1 year support contracts are indeed a yearly licensing cost. When you stop paying for it, you will not be allowed to apply future firmware upgrades. If you're happy with your setup at the end of your first year contract, you technically don't have to renew. But if you want new firmware, then of course you'll have to renew.

[jason_sparrow]

Hi again John,

I didn't realise that was just the licence!

Looking at the cheapest zd will push me way over budget, which I have already done with the r600's

If I can pick up a second hand unit, can I purchase a 1 year license to start with?

[john_d]

You're very unlikely to find a ZD1200 second-hand, but yes, you can purchase a license for a second-hand unit.

Honestly, I would start with the R600's and then consider adding a ZD later on if that's really something you want to do.


The primary use case for a home user getting a ZoneDirector IMO is if you need Ruckus SmartMesh (e.g. wireless AP to AP bridging for homes without ethernet connectivity) capability.

[jason_sparrow]

Ok point taken.

Whilst on the subject would a zd1000 be suitable?

Found one reasonably cheap on ebay uk..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ruckus-Wireless-ZoneDirector-1000-901-1025-UK00-licensed-for-50AP-w-pwr-su...