Ruckus Wireless Initial Setup
It was pretty straightforward; we got nice support from the Ruckus TAC team.
View full review »The setup is straightforward. The configuration and installation take two days.
View full review »The initial setup was relatively complex. I would rate it four out of ten. Some of the challenges during the initial setup include configuring IP addressing, defining firewall rules, selecting the hosting location, and ensuring adequate resources are available.
View full review »Buyer's Guide
Ruckus Wireless
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Ruckus Wireless. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
767,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.
TC
Tim Cummings
Systems Engineer at JUHSD
It was pretty straightforward. Once we had it kind of configured and dialed out, it was pretty easy. Obviously, different buildings, devices, and things can be complex. There is no blanket setting that works for all places.
On campuses where we have buildings more spread out, it works better. When we have one site that is basically a whole giant building, the WiFi is a little too dense there, and we had to manually change some settings for that.
As far as adding an AP is concerned, it is pretty easy. You plug it in, and it contacts the SmartZone controller and downloads the firmware. After that, it shows up as a new available AP. You just put whatever WLAN or zone that you want it to be in.
View full review »I would rate the easiness of the initial setup a nine out of ten. It is fairly simple. It took approximately 20 minutes to install the outdoor access point.
View full review »TK
Terah Kaggwa
Technical manager at Djamboree
The setup is a little bit complex, but it's slightly easier than UniFi's original setup. When growing the network, it's easier. Working with individual units is easy because I can get more information from them.
The deployment is really, and took just a couple of hours.
View full review »HH
Housni Hammoud
Coordinator of the IT Department at College Notre-Dame
Initial setup was pretty straightforward. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would rate it a 4.
Deployment took a week. We require less than 5% of our staff for maintenance of this solution to be hassle-free.
View full review »JA
Jean-MarcANDRE
CEO at Baconmill
There are no difficulties with installing Ruckus Wireless. However, you have to be certified to install Ruckus wireless equipment.
So, today, there's a key version of Ruckus wireless, which is called the unleashed version, where you have no controller, but you miss lots of features when you do that, so we never use it.
Ruckus Wireless is both an on-premises and cloud-based solution. The antennas are always on-premises, but the management can be done in the cloud.
The time it takes to deploy Ruckus Wireless depends on the complexity of the infrastructure. For a small deployment, it can take about 30 minutes per device.
But it surely depends on the complexities and experience of the person. When you use the cloud controller, it's really a job for an expert, not for the novices.
View full review »AE
Andres Echeverry
Director General at INNOVAR IT SAS
The setup is easy.
View full review »BS
Bill Sheeler
Director Of Technical Operations at GT Church
The initial setup was easy.
View full review »TB
Tim Brumbaugh
Solutions Architect at Golden West Technologies
I've been doing implementations for a long time. If it's brand new to the system, like any system, it can be fairly complex. However, they have great documentation on their website on how to set it up. If a client needs complexity, however, they need help. That's where I come in.
I can go in and configure things securely for guest access and BYOB devices and corporate laptops with 802.1X. I have a stand-alone AP, I just got one office with one AP. I don't need it to be controlled by anything. If I've got one or two SSID, it can still be configured. It's just that you're doing it on the AP or, alternatively, they have what's called Unleashed, which is controller-less. The AP is the controller that can do up to 50 APs all controlled by one AP. If that AP was to die, it doesn't matter, that configuration is saved on all of them.
There are several different interfaces you may run into, to be able to configure everything. However, they're all very similar in how they work and react. The full controller has much more capability than Unleashed and at least has more capability on the stand-alone. In any case, it's all well documented, and all straightforward.
In terms of deployment times, we figure for AP it's an hour and a half, so you can just figure in that as the base amount of time you need for each AP and that includes configuration and installation. Therefore, if you have 20 APs, it's about 30 hours for 25 APs and that's setting up the controller virtual, or Cloud-based, setting up the AP, the SSIDs, passwords, 802.1X., and then physically mounting them.
View full review »TB
Tim Brumbaugh
Solutions Architect at Golden West Technologies
I've been doing it a long time, so for me, the setup is straightforward. If a person is a brand new to the system, like any system, it can be fairly complex. However, they have great documentation on their website on how to set it up. To do very complex things, that takes somebody who knows what they are doing. I've got a very complex scenario that I need to set up then that's what I get paid for - to help set that stuff up. I will go in and configure things securely for guest access and BYOD devices and corporate laptops with 802.1x.
You can have a controller version, or it could be a controller-less. I have a standalone AP, I just got one office with one AP, I don't need it to be controlled by anything. I've got one or two SSIDs, and that can still be configured. It's just that you're doing it on the AP or they have what's called Unleashed, which is controller-less. The AP is the controller and that can do up to 50 APs all controlled by one AP. But if that AP was to die, it doesn't matter that configuration is saved on all of them and the next one in line will just take over as the controller AP. There are several different interfaces you may run into to be able to configure the things, however, they're all very similar in how they work and react. The full controller has much more capability than Unleashed, and Unleashed has more capability than the standalone.
In terms of deployment, we figure for an AP it's about an hour and a half. That's for both configuration and installation. Therefore, if you have 20 APs, it's about 30 hours for 25 APs. That's setting up the controller, virtual or cloud-based, setting up the APs, your SSIDs, passwords, 802.1x, and then physically mounting them.
View full review »DT
reviewer1254228
Networks Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The product's installation phase was easy.
The number of days required to install the product depends on how big of a deployment process is required for a particular infrastructure. It can take you weeks to complete the deployment of 1,000 access points, while a single access point can be deployed in around 10 minutes.
No one has deployed Ruckus Wireless on the cloud since it doesn't provide users with a robust or easy-to-use cloud solution.
Ruckus Wireless has a simple initial setup.
View full review »MY
Menelik Yabowork
General Manager at InfoMed Technologies PLC
The initial setup is very easy. I'd rate the ease of setup ten out of ten. The setup process is the best.
It was quick to deploy. The deployment process itself was very short. We imported the IP and licenses. Then we just did the cabling, connected, and configured everything.
View full review »The initial setup is very simple. I'd rate the process nine out of ten in terms of simplicity. It hardly takes ten to 15 minutes to set everything up. Booting only takes 30 seconds. It's the configuration that may take ten minutes.
We only need one person to handle the deployment. One is enough for any size of deployment.
View full review »JP
JigneshPatel1
System engineer at Colourtex Ind Ltd
It is easy to deploy the solution by referring to the document.
View full review »TB
Tahir-Bashir
Owner at SmartBiz Incubated LLP
The initial setup of Ruckus Wireless was simple. The deployment didn't take long. Each one took us a day to complete.
When deploying the solution, there were several steps involved. Initially, we faced some delays due to the requirement of certain civil works, such as the installation of network cables, switches, and related equipment. This process took us a longer, approximately a week to complete, but with the help of a highly skilled and professional team of engineers, we were able to manage it effectively. In total, the entire deployment process took approximately two weeks to complete and wasn't too challenging to manage, considering the expertise of our team members.
I rate the initial setup of Ruckus Wireless an eight out of ten.
View full review »JO
Jose Luis Ortiz
IT Project Manager at SITWIFI
Personally, I think the deployment is easy. With Ruckus, there is a lot of documentation included to assist you with the initial setup.
I rate Ruckus eight out of 10 for ease of setup. It depends on the size of the deployment, but we can deploy Ruckus for most clients in a day or two. It's straightforward,
Ruckus provides us with tools that help us implement the solution. Also, our engineers are certified to do the design and implementation. We don't have a ready-made software design solution for it. It's all predeveloped from Ruckus. Most deployments are straightforward, but they can be complicated if a high level of integration is necessary.
The time needed to deploy depends on the project and type of setup. For example, it takes about an hour to deploy the controller and AP, so it would take 100 person-hours for a project with 100 APs. The access point sometimes requires cabling, which takes time because you need technicians to do this. You may need one or two system engineers and one after-sales engineer.
View full review »GK
George Karavitis
Owner at DIGITAL HORIZON
I have cloud and on-premises setups. Most of them were straightforward. Some of them were complex. In general, it takes a few hours for a site.
View full review »We attempted to leverage our existing ClearPass solution, but ran into issues with the integration in regards to MAC authentication. We ended up going with the Ruckus Cloudpath solution, which has been a blessing in disguise due to it being much easier to deploy.
View full review »SA
Sintayehu Alemu
Director Of Information Communication Technology at Dire dawa University
The initial setup was not simple. We were installing indoor and outdoor wireless and this is why it took us three months.
View full review »PS
PhilipSlaughter
Independent Consultant - Wireless
The initial setup is not straightforward per se. You really have to know what you're doing. At my house, I use a commercial-grade solution. I loaded this special software onto the product (that they have on their website) to make it like a standalone product with their own small standalone network. I have basically programmed everything myself. You have to really be pretty smart at it, to be honest with you. It's not just something somebody can just pick up. However, I've worked with it for ten years, so I know the equipment inside and out.
In terms of deployment, for what I had to do, at the locations I'm speaking of, it was very simple. The only thing is that the house is that I have a porch on the second floor overlooking the pool, and then it looks into this wooded area behind my house. It's got a pretty good set up. I have an AP sitting on a tree out there and I'm running power to it. It's like filling in that whole area, mesh unit, wireless swings, so I can get power to it from the pool. It's just awesome to have wifi everywhere.
View full review »The installation of Ruckus Wireless was quite fast, taking a few months, depending on the project.
View full review »Setting up Ruckus Wireless is probably quite intuitive. I haven't set it up myself, but it looks forgiving from what I've seen.
View full review »FS
Fahmi Suhendra
Assistant IT Manager at Fraser
It is very easy. The setup or configuration of a new access point takes only 10 minutes.
View full review »GL
reviewer1521144
Information Technology Consultant at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
I logged into the system to look at it. That was a number of years ago, so my memory is vague. The only thing I really changed when I looked at it was to set up a separate sub-network for the students. They had a guest network already set up and they already had the staff networks. I set up a student WiFi network to segregate them from the staff.
View full review »TR
reviewer1610064
Executive Director at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
I did not install this solution, we had outside help.
View full review »NT
Ndaba Tshuma
Professional Engineer at Telone Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd
The number of people required for the tool’s deployment depends on the circumstances.
View full review »JP
JigneshPatel1
System engineer at Colourtex Ind Ltd
Depending on the setup or configuration, the implementation can be complex. Some access configurations can be difficult.
If an engineer is familiar with the product and knows the requirements, they can deploy the product in a matter of minutes. Only a few would be required during setup.
View full review »The initial setup is straightforward.
View full review »IK
InnocentKurehwa
VAS Technician / Wireless Technician at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
It is a straightforward setup. There is documentation for the system, which makes it easy.
View full review »ST
Scott Tunis
Vice President at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
It is set up as a public cloud, with the vendor's controller on its cloud. All of the equipment is on-premises but managed remotely through the cloud.
AM
reviewer1886709
Ingeniero de redes at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Ruckus is a little bit complicated. They weren't using the cloud at the beginning. Later, they included a cloud platform, so it became an easier deployment.
SM
Stephen Moreau
Managing Director at Dataway
The initial setup isn't complex. It's pretty straightforward.
Obviously, you have to mount access points and in the right locations. You've got to screw holes in the wall and stick it to the wall or ceiling or whatever. Once the physical installation is done and it's connected to the network/internet, which, again, is part of any kind of hardware deployments. It takes about 20 minutes to deploy a new access point from scratch.
View full review »ML
reviewer1291698
Director of Product Management at a comms service provider with 5,001-10,000 employees
The initial setup was complex although it wasn't a problem with Ruckus, it was our problem.
We're not using any of the Ruckus cloud features.
We're completely integrated into our own kind of a management portal and our own management system, so the issues are on our side, not theirs.
View full review »PS
Paul Sagal
Managing Member at PJSSYSTEMS, LLC
The initial setup is pretty straightforward. Getting improved coverage is often just a matter of moving the devices around.
View full review »For Ruckus Wireless, the setup is simple. The time for deployment has been increased somewhat. And deployment also depends on the quantity, but the solution is very easy to implement overall. Physically installation and configuration are simple. The access point is also much lighter than other solutions.
View full review »The initial setup is extremely simple and straightforward. It's not overly complex or difficult. Typically, one access point can be deployed in 15 minutes.
The solution doesn't really need much maintenance. We have used it for seven or eight years without incident.
View full review »HC
reviewer1640196
Wireless Network Engineer at a insurance company with 51-200 employees
The initial setup was straightforward.
View full review »SK
Stephen Kirby
Founding President at Cambio Broadband, LLC.
I have an extensive technical background with Ruckus, especially on an enterprise level. I was able to figure the implementation out easily. It was pretty simple. To set it up is easy, however, to work with it is more complex. It takes a while to understand all the features.
YS
reviewer1611858
Senior Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
The initial setup is not complex or overly difficult. It's quite straightforward and pretty simple. A company shouldn't have any issues with the implementation.
View full review »AW
Anders Wall
CIO at Vätterleden Invest AB
The initial setup was quite straightforward. It was quite easy to set it up and get it working.
View full review »KR
Kent Rustad
President at AIC Partners
For somebody who knows what they're doing, the initial setup is very straightforward.
Sometimes, people take an easy approach to implementing the system, but it is not as efficient as it could be. Generally, I find that you can put it in the easy way or the right way, and you need to have a little more skill than just plugging it in to get it working efficiently.
View full review »RM
Rama Mogadi
student at Westcon
The initial setup was quite straightforward. There is an initial need to arrange a lot of the setup on the user side such as setting up the controller and setting up the access point, but all in all, things are straightforward.
Deployment depends largely on project size. If you are talking about a small office, using ten to twenty access points could take between one to two weeks. We provide the initial setup, then we set up the controller and all the access points. When the unit is in place that's it for us on the client end. The only thing left is to set up the back end; the controller to connect to the user's network.
The work is managed by engineers and technicians.
Pretty straightforward, if you know what you’re doing with wireless. The only thing that is tricky is understanding that the controller does not get installed on a trunk port (different than most other solutions).
View full review »EO
EmilioOgando
Integration Manager at Newcom
The initial implementations have been standard and straightforward. It's not overly complex or difficult.
View full review »DC
reviewer1026921
ICT Manager/Systems Administrator at a university with 201-500 employees
The initial setup is very easy and it's quite a straightforward process. It's not overly complex or difficult. If you run into any issues, in any case, their support is right there to help.
The installation process doesn't take too long. It's only about a couple of hours or so if you are doing a setup from scratch.
We have two admins and four engineers that can assist with any deployment or maintenance.
View full review »AB
Abdul Basit
Network Design Engineer at Comstar - Information Systems Associates Ltd.
The initial setup is not complex. It's pretty straightforward. A company shouldn't have any issues with the implementation.
We deployed almost 420 pieces and in total it only took us about a month and a half.
View full review »EO
EmilioOgando
Integration Manager at Newcom
The initial implementation was easy. We had already deployed Ruckus for the client previously, and we were just doing another new deployment. It was very straightforward.
The deployment took about a month due to the fact that we needed the client to deploy the cable network. They had to finish the network before we could really finish our portion of the implementation. In another deployment, for a different client, it only took us two weeks.
View full review »The initial setup is straightforward, it did not take very long to do. All you need to do is plug it in.
View full review »SI
Subagio Istiadi
Infrastructure Manager at HIT
It was straightforward. The deployment took one week or two weeks.
View full review »MB
reviewer1644681
Founder, Director at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
The solution is straightforward. It can be done in a short period of time.
View full review »WA
Wael Awni
Management Board Member and Network Engineer at NewLogics
The deployments are fast. It takes a maximum of one hour to deploy an on-premises version and less than 30 minutes if you are deploying to the cloud.
You only need one or two people to manage the deployment and maintenance of the solution. The implementation typically requires a network engineer.
View full review »DH
Dániel Halmai
Head of IT Network Division at Panorinformatika
The time it takes to install the solution depends on the number of the EPs. We are speaking about the settings, not the manual installation. If we are speaking about the configuration, it takes one day in most cases.
We have a team of ten that can handle deployment and maintenance tasks. They are all engineers.
View full review »NM
chiefnet966021
Networking Engineer at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
It was okay. I didn't need any training for the setup. You simply go through the manual. I saw a video just once and then installed it.
View full review »BW
reviewer1001358
Director of Applications Development at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
The initial setup was pretty straightforward. My network guy ]is the one to test it and he did the setup and got it up and running pretty quickly. He switched out our old system with multiple access points all around pretty quickly.
View full review »It's very straightforward.
View full review »VC
reviewer1377378
Analyst Programmer at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
The initial setup was very easy, it's just a matter of configuring the access point.
It's recognized by the controller, and when you onboard it on the wireless network everything is done automatically. One access point takes about 10 minutes to deploy. Other than for the software, there is no maintenance required.
LK
reviewer1802343
Solutions Architect at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
JM
reviewer1307619
Ing Preventa (Sales Engineer IBW) at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Its initial setup was easy. If we are using a common line, it is not difficult to deploy Ruckus Wireless.
The deployment duration depends on the size of the company. For a small company, we can deploy this in minutes. For a large company, it can take a lot more time.
View full review »AA
Anton Adriaanse
Senior Technician at Imply IT
The initial setup is straightforward. I give the setup a ten out of ten. The deployment takes up to 15 minutes to complete.
View full review »The initial setup is not straightforward.
RK
RajeshKumar3
Store Associate at a engineering company with 11-50 employees
The difficulty or ease of set up depends largely on a client's environment and infrastructure.
It takes, at maximum, one day to deploy. You can get it up and running pretty quickly. If the network is there, I can configure any IP from anywhere.
View full review »BR
Badar Raqeeb
Team Lead at Comstar - Information Systems Associates Ltd.
The initial setup is not straightforward. It's pretty complex. We found it to be a bit challenging.
The deployment itself takes about two to three hours.
View full review »IK
Innocent Kurehwa
Wireless Technician at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
The initial deployment was straightforward.
View full review »NM
chiefnet966021
Networking Engineer at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
It was easy for me to set up.
View full review »NB
Nimesha Balasuriya
Engineer - Network Security Operations at SLT Visioncom Pvt Ltd
We have to extend the access points and the controllers which was not a big issue to implement in this project. But when implementing the access points, the problem was when installing a new access point in a new location. Because we have to send a person to that place. And we have to put to the configuration on that access point and then needed to work with the controller. In the new Ruckus platform, we already accommodate using some kind of barcode reader, so that problem was resolved.
View full review »I am in love with Ruckus because it's very easy to configure. Even after the demo and installation, it is easy for me to convince the customer, and sometimes, they can even do it on their own.
OA
reviewer1621110
NETWORK PRODUCT MANAGER at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
The initial setup is very easy and most customers handle it themselves. They can do the setup and configuration as it is not overly complex or difficult.
View full review »AM
Antonis Mathioulakis
Owner at M&A Solutions IKE
The initial setup is pretty easy. Deployment only takes a few minutes.
View full review »WA
Wael Awni
Management Board Member and Network Engineer at NewLogics
The initial setup is straightforward and it's not a complex solution at all. It is almost plug-and-play. For the Ruckus Unleashed solution, the deployment depends on the topology but it should take about 15 minutes to complete.
YS
reviewer938022
Lead Presales at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
As integrators, we have to know how to install it, and about configuration, as well as how to handle portal access and everything. We have to install it in our own organization first before putting it in the customer space. That's why we have the capabilities to implement it and it's not too hard for us.
It was a straightforward installation. Actually, other than Ruckus, all other installations are a little bit tricky. Ruckus was really good when I installed it five years back. Recently, if you go for Cisco or even Aruba and Huawei, they have some tricky configurations. With a controller, there is a different configuration. If you wanted to use it as a standalone solution, there is a different configuration as well.
Specifically, Cisco is very bad when it comes to installations. It can take three to seven days to sort out issues, to convert to emails, and to put in a support request, then they will help and everything. Though you will get good support from Cisco support, the process is not good. Aruba is definitely good. Ruckus is the easiest.
We have 4% of our team dedicated to Wi-Fi and Network. We that three engineers, that include me, plus a manager.
View full review »MZ
reviewer1470231
Asst. Manager Technical at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The initial setup is not complex at all. It's very easy and very straightforward.
It's very user friendly, so it's not hard to set everything up and deployment is pretty quick.
View full review »FI
reviewer1376448
Project Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
For me, the initial setup is really straightforward. Some people, however, find it a little bit tough. The controller is a little bit difficult to work with until you have some experience.
View full review »MK
Monzurul Karim Khan
Managing Director at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
The initial setup was complex because we were doing it for some restricted areas with some specialized applications. On the other hand, the customer is also quite sensitive in terms of security because that's an essential part.
View full review »WW
Wesley Wang
DevOps System Engineer at Monash University
It was easy to set up and install Ruckus Wireless. The time to install and deploy depends on the size of the project. But for a LAN AP installation, it takes around ten to 15 minutes.
View full review »Buyer's Guide
Ruckus Wireless
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Ruckus Wireless. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
767,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.