Ruckus Launches SmartCell Gateway for WLAN Management in Cloud

Ruckus Wireless, has unveiled carrier-class virtualized wireless LAN (WLAN) controller, the Ruckus virtual SmartCell Gateway (vSCG), designed to streamline the creation of highly scalable and resilient cloud-based wireless LAN (WLAN) services.

The virtual SCG is a carrier-grade Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) solution for mobile network operators (MNOs), multiple system operators (MSOs), managed service providers (MSPs) and enterprises requiring a carrier-class solution for centralized management of WLAN services that runs in the cloud.

The Ruckus vSCG supports all of the WLAN controller features of the industry-leading Ruckus SCG 200, while enabling operators to more cost-effectively build scalable and resilient WLAN cloud services.

Designed for use with Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi ZoneFlex™ access points (APs), the Ruckus vSCG runs as a virtual application within either the KVM (Kernel-base Virtual Machine) or VMware vSphere virtualization environments. The Ruckus vSCG is the first component in a larger Ruckus solution based on the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) NFV architecture. In addition, Ruckus Wireless plans to provide a virtualized infrastructure and services manager that handles management of Ruckus virtualized appliances. The manager will integrate support for open-source OpenStack, providing a common platform to host the Ruckus virtual appliances from a single pane of glass.

“Mobile network operators are increasingly exploring and evaluating architectures based on the principles of cloud computing and network function virtualization,” said Sathya Atreyam, research manager, Wireless Network Infrastructure, IDC. “Carrier class wireless LAN and the associated managed services model is experiencing a transformational shift from being viewed as vertically integrated hardware and software bundled architectures to solutions that offer the flexibility of a cloud based, scalable and flexible multi-tenant deployment model.”

The Ruckus vSCG stands alone as the only virtual Wi-Fi controller optimized for and able to meet the demands of carrier-class networks. Service providers purchase a license for each instance of the vSCG deployed, and then need only purchase licenses for the number of APs that need to be supported. Additional licenses can be added for a ‘pay-as-you-grow’ model. As more instances of the vSCG are required, additional instances can be easily deployed through management or provisioning utilities. There is no need to order and install additional proprietary hardware appliances.

“One of the challenges of delivering wireless LAN services at scale is having a platform that enables us to turn-up new customers quickly and in a cost-effective manner,” said Allen Miu, CTO of Frontiir, a provider of managed Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services in Southeast Asia.

“Cost is an extremely important factor in Southeast Asia, because the region is a very price-sensitive market. The Ruckus solution allows us to quickly bring up additional virtual SCG instances on the x86 servers in our data centers, which is much more manageable and cost-effective than using specialized hardware appliances. I’m simply not aware of any other platform available today that can provide the scalability and flexibility of the Ruckus virtual SCG,” concluded Miu.