ZD1200 migration, unleashed vs cloud vs smartzone? Please advise

[johan_castro_a]

Hi, we have one ZD1200, I would like to have some sort of redundancy.

We are small, we have 25 APs and 14 ICX 7150 switches, we will add another 5 APs this year (maybe), and a couple more switches. I want a solution where I can manage my APs and switches.

As far as I know, unleashed can't manage more than 8 switches so that's a no. So my options are, buying a 2nd ZD 1200 and that will take care of the redundancy problem but it would not give me any switch management capabilities, the other options are Ruckus Cloud or SmartZone.

Any advice you could give would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[sunny_gupta · Accepted solution]

Hi Johan,

Your best bet would be Cloud here.  It gives you the most options and flexibility along with anywhere management and access to Ruckus Analytics.

If you don't like the subscription fee, then Unleashed is good too but like your ZD solution you will be limited on the switch management.  Depending on your installation, you could deploy multiple unleashed instances to get more switch management but that's not the cleanest option.

Smartzone is the most capable platform but you would need to maintain a server(s) and there is some licensing/support costs to be aware of.

You could always start with Cloud and consider moving to vSZ later if it doesn't work for you...  but that's the easiest, most balanced option in my opinion.

[syamantakomer · Accepted solution]

Hi Johan,

I would suggest you to use Ruckus Cloud WiFi, because it will take care all your worries.

• Your existing APs will work with it (if current AP models are supported)
• It has redundancy so no need to worry about buying two controllers for redundancy.
• It is scalable when it comes to number of APs and SWs.
• It also comes with inbuilt Ruckus Analytics with it which will give you more insights on network traffic.

[sunny_gupta · Accepted solution]

Hi Johan,

Your best bet would be Cloud here.  It gives you the most options and flexibility along with anywhere management and access to Ruckus Analytics.

If you don't like the subscription fee, then Unleashed is good too but like your ZD solution you will be limited on the switch management.  Depending on your installation, you could deploy multiple unleashed instances to get more switch management but that's not the cleanest option.

Smartzone is the most capable platform but you would need to maintain a server(s) and there is some licensing/support costs to be aware of.

You could always start with Cloud and consider moving to vSZ later if it doesn't work for you...  but that's the easiest, most balanced option in my opinion.

[syamantakomer · Accepted solution]

Hi Johan,

I would suggest you to use Ruckus Cloud WiFi, because it will take care all your worries.

• Your existing APs will work with it (if current AP models are supported)
• It has redundancy so no need to worry about buying two controllers for redundancy.
• It is scalable when it comes to number of APs and SWs.
• It also comes with inbuilt Ruckus Analytics with it which will give you more insights on network traffic.

[DarrelRhodes · Accepted solution]

Hi Johan,

I totally agree with Sunny's comments - Ruckus Cloud would certainly be the best solution for you here, with virtual SmartZone as the next-best option if you don't want a subscription model.

Just note that tunelling user data isn't (currently) supported on Ruckus Cloud, so if you utilise this feature on your ZD then my recommendation would change to use  SmartZone 144 appliances.

If you contact your local Ruckus representative it's possible to arrange a free-of-charge trial of the Ruckus Cloud product, so you can check the look and feel of the interface and performance of the APs. A great feature we have at Ruckus is our APs work on all of our management platforms, so whether you go ZD, Cloud or SZ your APs will work and you're not tied to any one platform.

I hope that helps!
Darrel.

[johan_castro_a]

@darrel_rhodes thank you! when you say tunneling user data are you referring to this option:

Tunnel Mode:

Tunnel WLAN traffic to ZoneDirector

(Recommended for VoIP clients and PDA devices.)