Most of the networking gear we check out is primarily focused on the home, and often small homes at that, but if you have a larger premise or a ton of gadgets connecting, it might be time to step it up a notch.
Unfortunately, in the world of wireless networking and security, that basic action of “stepping it up” can often mean high price tags and abnormally complicated procedures, and that’s not for everyone.
Enterprise grade networking company Ruckus has come up with a sort of middle ground solution for this, unveiling “Xclaim,” a WiFi system made for small business and home users who need a little more oomph in their network setup.
The products take enterprise-level performance WiFi and pack it into a small body, removing the controls from the system to make the system work with smartphones and tablets, so that anyone with an Android or iOS product can maintain their network without having to grab a computer, hard wired network connection, and sit for hours trying to work out what the device is doing.
We haven’t seen the easy installation ourselves, but have been told it doesn’t take long, with extra security thrown in to stop rogue clients from surveying your network from afar and gaining access using some nefarious means.
Despite that complicated technology running under its hood, the Xclaim system has been designed to take advantage of both 802.11n and thew faster 802.11ac networks, with strong coverage and performance coupled with a simplicity few network devices come with.
“Ruckus is widely recognised for delivering carrier-class Wi-Fi performance and reliability to mid-market enterprises and global service providers,” said Rob Mustarde, Vice President and General Manager of the Xclaim products Ruckus Wireless.
“With Xclaim, we are now extending this same value to the SOHO and ‘S’ of the SMB market. This segment is experiencing the same mobile internet revolution as everyone else, but hasn’t had reliable, powerful Wi-Fi solutions available that are also simple to operate and manage, and affordable. Xclaim means these businesses no longer need to endure poor, consumer grade Wi-Fi or deal with deployment costs beyond their reach and systems they can’t easily comprehend and manage.”
Pricing for the Xclaim products hasn’t yet been announced in Australia, though it shouldn’t be too long now, and with USD prices of $89 applied to Xclaim’s Xi-1 802.11n access point, $199 for the Xi-3 802.11ac indoor access point, and $299 for an outdoor 802.11ac variant Xo-1, we can’t imagine our prices will be too dramatically different when they do rock up.
