Document Revision What s New in ZoneFlex Software Release 9.8 Rev Date Change Description 1.0 March 17, 2014 Original Release Document for LCS This application note describes the new features available in Version 9.8 of the Ruckus Wireless ZoneFlex family. This document assumes familiarity with the Ruckus ZoneFlex product line and the features of earlier releases including version 9.8. Highlights of this Release ZoneFlex software release 9.8 provides Enterprises, HotZone Operators and Managed Service Providers a higher performing, more reliable, and easier to deploy and use way of providing wireless access to diverse groups of users across multiple locations. The few features and enhancements in this release include: Support for ZoneFlex R700 Application Recognition and Control Guest Access Improvements Smart Positioning Technology (SPoT) Support Bonjour Gateway on AP Role Based Access Control Zero-IT for Mobile Devices Enhancement Device Registration Enhancement 802.11r & 802.11k Support Client Band Balancing Intelligent Band Steering Walled Garden Enhancement for DNS Entries Support for LEAP Authentication Enhanced Syslog Message for Firewall Integration Flexible Radius MAC Authentication Formats DHCP Option 82 Sub-option 151 and 152 Support Configurable LDAP Group Search Graceful Radius Failover & AAA Server Statistics Support Entitlement Checking ZoneDirector Remote Control 9.8 Support Including Spectrum Monitoring FlexMaster Improvements Supported Platforms FlexMaster v.9.8 ZoneDirector Remote Control 9.8 ZoneDirector 1100 Smart/OS v.9.8 ZoneDirector 3000 Smart/OS v.9.8 ZoneDirector 5000 Smart/OS v.9.8 ZoneFlex R300 802.11n Dual-band Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex R700 802.11ac Dual-band Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 2942 802.11g Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7025 802.11n Wired/Wireless Wall Switch v.9.8 1
ZoneFlex 7055 802.11n Dual-band Wired/Wireless Wall Switch v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7321 802.11n Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7321-u 802.11n Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7341 802.11n Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7343 802.11n Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7351 802.11n Dual-band Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7352 802.11n Dual-band Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7363 802.11n Dual-band Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7372 802.11n Dual-band Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7372-E 802.11n Dual-band Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7962 802.11n Dual-band Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7982 802.11n Dual-band Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 2741 802.11g Outdoor Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7761-CM 802.11n Dual-band Outdoor Access Point with Cable Modem v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7762 802.11n Dual-band Outdoor Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7762-S 802.11n Dual-band Outdoor Access Point with Sector Antenna v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7762-T 802.11n Dual-band Outdoor Access Point with High Gain 2.4 GHz Omni Antenna v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7762-AC Dual-band 802.11n Outdoor Access Point v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7762-S-AC Dual-band 802.11n Outdoor Access Point with Sector Antenna v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7781-CM 802.11n Dual-band Outdoor Access Point with Cable Modem v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7782 Dual Band 802.11n Outdoor Access Point with Omni Antenna v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7782-S Dual Band 802.11n Outdoor Access Point with Sector Antenna v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7782-E Dual Band 802.11n Outdoor Access Point with External Antenna v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7782-N Dual Band 802.11n Outdoor Access Point with 30 deg. Narrow Sector Antenna v.9.8 SmartCell 8800-S Dual Band 802.11n Outdoor Access Point with Sector Antenna v.9.8 ZoneFlex 7441 802.11n Access Point for In-Building Distributed Antenna Systems v.9.8 2
1. Introducing the Ruckus Wireless ZoneFlex R700 802.11ac Dual-band Access Point The ZoneFlex R700 combines Ruckus-patented RF technologies with the new IEEE 802.11ac standard to provide best-in-class WiFi performance. The R700 brings 802.11ac support to the most demanding environments such as mobile-device-heavy wireless networks in a powerefficient design that eliminates the need to upgrade PoE infrastructure. Ruckus-patented BeamFlex+ adaptive antennas on board the ZoneFlex R700 allow for over 1,000 unique antenna patterns in each of the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. BeamFlex+ works seamlessly with the 802.11 standards to provide superlative RF coverage and interference mitigation in the most challenging wireless environments. By directing signals optimally for each client device s location, BeamFlex+ allows the R700 to deliver 802.11ac rates at further ranges than APs with non-adaptive antennas. Polarization diversity, built into the BeamFlex+ antenna system, allows the R700 to adapt to each client device s physical orientation. This ensures the best possible performance for client devices of different and changing physical orientations, making the R700 an ideal access point for wireless networks serving mobile & handheld client devices. Designed with a strong emphasis on power efficiency, the ZoneFlex R700 is compliant with 802.3af PoE under all modes of operation, with no caveats. This means customers can upgrade their networks to support 802.11ac without having to upgrade their PoE infrastructure to PoE+ (802.3at) or sacrifice access point performance. The R700 is a dual radio, 3 spatial stream access point capable of concurrent band operation. The 5 GHz 802.11a/n/ac radio is capable of physical layer rates of up to 1300 Mbps, and the 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n radio offers an additional 450 Mbps of physical layer throughput. BeamFlex extends the range of 11ac rates in downlink. Mobile Ready with Polarization Diversity (BeamFlex+) to maintain uplink rates across client orientations No need to upgrade PoE switches. The R700 operates with no restrictions under 802.3af PoE. 2. Application Recognition and Control The Application Recognition and Control feature allows ZoneDirector to collect and display application usage statistics for many types of traffic. Data is collected and displayed for both online and previously online clients, and is displayed on dashboard charts as well as an enhanced client monitoring display with a rich set of application usage tables. In addition to the pre-defined Applications, administrators can create user defined Applications by IP address or port number and can create custom application deny policies based on DNS names or port numbers. Access restrictions can be deployed on a per-wlan basis. Supported APs: R700, 7982, 7372/52, 7055, 7782, SC-8800 series. Easily visualize what type of traffic and applications are utilizing bandwidth on your wireless network. Block unwanted traffic types and applications from your wireless network. 3
3. Guest Access Improvements The Guest Access feature set has been improved to provide more control over deployments and offers enhanced guest pass generation options. ZoneDirector users can now crate multiple guest access templates and deploy them to any WLAN, reducing the limitation of one Guest Access network configuration per ZoneDirector. To support the need for guests to connect multiple wireless devices, one guest pass can now support multiple devices. In addition to customizable printed guest passes, e-mail and SMS Guest Pass delivery options simplify guest networks operation and guest information logging. To further simplify operations, ZoneDirector Remote Control 9.8 fully supports all the new and existing features for Guest Access. Supports multiple Guest Access networks on one ZoneDirector. Flexible Guest Pass delivery via print, e-mail and SMS for easy delivery and guest logging. Simple lobby admin solution using ZoneDirector Remote Control 9.8 for full Guest Access management. 4. Smart Positioning Technology (SPoT) Support This release introduces support for Ruckus Smart Positioning Technology (SPoT) location-based service. Ruckus SPoT is the industry s first cloud-based location technology suite that enables carriers, service providers and enterprises to deliver a wide range of location-based services. The solution works with Ruckus ZoneDirector and ZoneFlex Access Points to track foot-fall usage and provides an API to accurately pinpoint user locations in real time. Accurately pinpoint, in real time, a user s location in any indoor or dense urban environment. Enables real time tracking of user movement and historical analysis of footfall trends. Provides data to a set of APIs that power a new generation of mobile apps giving them Location Intelligent features for user location and target messaging. 5. Bonjour Gateway on AP This release adds the ability to offload the Bonjour Gateway service from ZoneDirector to a specified AP. Offloading the Bonjour Gateway service to the AP supports flexible deployment options to support larger and more complex networks with Layer 3 isolation between ZoneDiretor and the access points. Supported Access Points: R700, R300, 7982, 7372/52, 7055, 7782, SC-8800. Supports large scale routed network topologies. Allow discovery of Bonjour devices across a router boundary while providing broadcast control to only the desired devices and services. 4
6. Role Based Access Control Role Based Access Control allows multiple clients to be able to connect to the same SSID with different access privileges. Administrators can apply VLAN, rate limiting, permitted device type and service schedule policies to different users based on their roles within the organization without having to create separate SSIDs for different sets of users. Easy to configure group based user connection control built into the ZoneDirector. High performance yet simple two SSID network setup for BYOD onboarding, Guest Access and multiple secure network/vlan access. 7. Zero-IT for Mobile Devices Enhancement Improved user experience for Zero-IT installations on Android, ios and Windows Phone clients and improved the way the Zero-IT package is installed and run on mobile devices. Enhanced user experience for true Zero-IT onboarding experience. Improved handling of unsupported devices for easy Zero IT self configuration. 8. Device Registration Enhancement Enhanced BYOD Onboarding Portal options to enable the user to customize the onboarding screen to include Guest only, Zero-IT activation only, or both options. This makes configuring the Zero-IT workflow extremely easy. Simplified setup of Zero-IT onboarding SSID. Support Zero-It onboarding and Guest access over one open SSID. 9. 802.11r & 802.11k Support The addition of support for 802.11r and 802.11k, adds two 802.11 amendments designed to provide faster and more reliable roaming for mobile devices. Application performance and client Wi-Fi experiences are greatly improved with the combination of 802.11r s fast transition method 802.11k s ability to send Wi-Fi clients the best potential access points for roaming. Seamless voice roaming support for 802.11r client devices. Improved client roaming decisions for mobile devices and high density environments. 5
10. Client Band Balancing Intelligent Band Steering Clients are steered towards the less-utilized radio band on a dual-radio access points to achieve better throughput. This option is configurable and allows optimal use of Wi-Fi spectrum by load balancing across the 2.4 and 5 GHz radios. Higher throughput for dual-radio access points. Interoperates with cross AP load balancing for network wide performance optimization. 11. Walled Garden Enhancement for DNS Entries Added the ability to permit unauthenticated clients to access domains serviced by many IP addresses. This enhancement improves the Hotspot Walled Garden functionality to allow multi- IP domains such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to be successfully used. These are often used when providing authentication with social media accounts. Improves social media hotspot services. Support for multi-ip based login services like Facebook, Twitter and Google+. 12. Support for LEAP Authentication ZoneDirector provides authentication support for LEAP clients on Windows 7 and Juniper Odyssey Access clients on Windows 7 and XP, along with other tested mobile handsets. Easy integration of Ruckus Wireless equipment into existing LEAP based networks. Allows upgrading and modernizing aging wireless networks with out having to replace the back end authentication infrastructure. 13. Enhanced Syslog Messages for Firewall Integration With this release, ZoneDirector will generate syslog messages upon acquisition, update or deletion of IP addresses by wireless stations, allowing station information to be delivered through log messages that can be retrieved by firewalls to implement client-specific security rules. This provides a rich set of client tracking data to be collected including IP address, MAC address, user name, access point and device type. Syslog data for integration with firewall vendors. Allows seamless operation between wireless network and firewalls requiring username to MAC to IP correlation. 6
14. Flexible Radius MAC Authentication Formats This enhancement adds support for up to six MAC address formats for MAC authentication to provide simplified interoperation with various RADIUS vendors. Easier integration with various Radius AAA vendors 15. DHCP Option 82 Sub-option 151 and 152 Support ZoneDirector has added support for Cisco specific DHCP option 82 sub-options. These are useful to provide integration into Cisco based network environments for DHCP Relay Agent configuration and allow the insert additional information to identify client s connection environment. Integration with Cisco based network environments. 16. Configurable LDAP Group Search A new option is provided in the AAA service for LDAP. This allows users to disable look-up against user role (user-group) while conducting web authentication against LDAP sever. This can help to improve the AAA request time for LDAP servicers with many groups or large amounts of users. Faster LDAP authentication request times. Lower the impact of AAA request to LDAP servers. 17. Graceful Radius Failover & AAA Server Statistics Improved options are available for controlling failover to the backup RADIUS server. Configuration enhancements allows network administrators to configure the max number of consecutive dropped packets before failover. This provides a more forgiving AAA environment for large scale networks. Reduces unnecessary AAA server failover events in very large networks. 7
18. Support Entitlement Checking A notification service has been implemented in ZoneDirector to verify if a support contract has been purchased for an individual ZoneDirector. The ZoneDirector will remotely connect to a Ruckus Entitlement Server and retrieve an "entitlement file" from Ruckus that provides current active/expired status of the ZoneDirector Support Contract. If the support entitlement is not found or expired a warning message will be presented to the user with instructions on how to resolve the issue. Easily determine if ZoneDirector has a valid support contract. Guided instructions on how to resolve any missing support entitlements. 19. ZoneDirector Remote Control 9.8 Support Including Spectrum Monitoring ZoneDirecor 9.8 interoperates with ZoneDirector Remote Control 9.8 to provide the industry s simplest, easiest to use WLAN controller interface. New in ZoneDirector Remote Control 9.8 is the ability to control and visualize spectrum data from supported Access Points as well as continued additions to configuration support including guest access. Simplifies managing ZoneDirector settings. Easy visualization of spectrum data. 20. FlexMaster Improvements New statistics and usability improvements have been incorporated into the latest release of FlexMaster. New Improvements Customized column settings saved in browser cookies. New statistics have been added. Improved alarm e-mail delivery options for event filtering and severity. 8