Ruckus AP beats competition in high demand traffic test

Access Point stress testing reveals that similarly specified 4x4:4 Wi-Fi 6 APs perform differently in high-demand environments, says Silicon Valley integrator Packet6.

The evaluation of HPE Aruba, Extreme Networks, Juniper Mist, Cisco Meraki and CommScope Ruckus APs selected by Packet6 from practical applications in numerous projects, and sponsored by CommScope Ruckus, has been outlined in a Packet6 blog published on this month.

‘We were surprised with the findings: performance varied substantially across AP models. While all of the tested APs share the same Wi-Fi 6 specification, vendor implementation clearly yields significant performance differences under high-demand traffic.’ it says.

The blog goes on to describe how the test was organised in ‘a mixed traffic environment that included large and small file transfers, high-definition (HD) video streaming and VoIP.’ It involved, in one room, thirty Dell Latitude laptops with Wi-Fi 6 capability playing 1080p video; five Apple iPads running a bi-directional VoIP test, and five additional iPads running data downloads, and in another room but connected to the same AP, twenty Apple MacBook Pros running downloads of varying data sizes to simulate traffic such as web browsing, email, and file transfers.

The test results, which have been made available free to download, have led Packet6 to conclude that for long-term Wi-Fi connection speed and reliability, the Ruckus AP is ‘a clear winner.’ When it came to network throughput, video streaming and Mean Opinion Score (MOS), ‘the Ruckus AP…was the only access point capable of meeting real-world success criteria - maintaining a good MOS score while simultaneously delivering stall-free HD video streams to 30 clients and maintaining “high” throughput for all data clients.’

Unsurprisingly, Packet6 strongly recommends that integrators ‘stress-test multiple vendor APs in your own environment before deciding on a Wi-Fi 6 upgrade.’

For more on Ruckus Wi-Fi 6 infrastructure and gigabit networking, contact distributor Habitech (01256 638500). For more on Habitech's products and services visit our resource page here.