MediaFlex Router
The Ruckus MediaFlex is the first-of-its-kind wireless multimedia service platform that reliably distributes multimedia content over standard 802.11 Wi-Fi to every corner of the home.The Ruckus MediaFlex combines innovative, patent-pending smart antenna and traffic management technologies to break down the barriers that have prevented a single Wi-Fi network from simultaneously supporting voice, video and data in the home.
The Ruckus MediaFlex gives broadband operators a single system that reliably extends multimedia services throughout the home over standard 802.11 Wi-Fi while giving them unprecedented visibiilty into and control over subscriber Wi-Fi environments all the way down to end devices.
Unlike any Wi-Fi system on the market, the Ruckus MediaFlex constantly monitors the wireless environment, steering RF signals around interference and prioritizing different traffic types for transmission over the air. With the Ruckus MediaFlex system, consumers now have complete freedom and flexibility to distribute and enjoy multimedia content anywhere in their homes - all without wires. Meanwhile service providers can accelerate deployment, minimize installations costs and maximize service potential.
Introducing the Ruckus MediaFlex
A complete solution for video-grade, high performance wireless networking, the Ruckus system includes the Ruckus MediaFlex 802.11b/g multimedia router and Ruckus MediaFlex multimedia Wi-Fi adapter. The system incorporates patent-pending BeamFlex and SmartCast technologies to guarantee optimal range and performance for concurrent video and data traffic.
Attached to the broadband gateway, the Ruckus MediaFlex optimizes all 802.11b/g devices in the home while enabling wireless video applications. The Ruckus MediaFlex adapter provides video-grade, 802.11b/g connectivity to any Ethernet-equipped video server and video receiver, including set top boxes, personal video recorders, media centers and media center extenders.
Flexible System Architecture
The Ruckus MediaFlex supports WAN ports and up to four LAN ports to also serve as a home gateway. The MediaFlex has a flexible architecture that allows multiple ports to be defined as WAN ports to be connected to the multi-port broadband gateway. Many service providers have designed their network to separate the video traffic from the data traffic by pre-configuring the broadband gateway to send out video traffic on one port and the data traffic on a separate port. The MediaFlex architecture allows the home users to plug in the MediaFlex directly to the broadband gateway using separate video and data ports.
Most off-the-shelf Wi-Fi products are equipped with one or two antennas, offering little resilience or diversity in the event of a debilitated signal path. The Ruckus MediaFlex is equipped with BeamFlex, a patent-pending MIMOG smart antenna system. BeamFlex enables client devices to communicate over longer distances at higher speeds than consumer-grade 802.1 products - delivering unprecedented reliability and diversity.
Each Ruckus MediaFlex integrates BeamFlex, a compact, internal antenna array with six high-gain, directional antenna elements capable of forming 63 unique antenna patterns for massive diversity. Expert system control software continuously ranks the antenna patterns for each receiving device, using the inherent feedback mechanism built into the 802.11 MAC layer protocol.
With BeamFlex, the Ruckus MediaFlex is able to reconfigure itself in realtime, detecting and adjusting for both spectral and multi-path interference as well as neighboring network noise. By selecting the optimum antenna pattern for each receiving device, BeamFlex enables extended Wi-Fi range and higher communications speeds. The massive diversity of the BeamFlex antenna systems allows the Ruckus MediaFlex NG to find and instantly select from many quality signal paths in a changing environment. This provides the stability and sustained baseline performance essential for voice and video applications.
Patent-pending SmartCast technology from Ruckus Wireless combines innovative multicast traffic handling techniques, smart QoS and application-aware traffic classification capabilities to ensure the highest reliability for all transmissions over Wi-Fi.
SmartCast differentiates and manages multicast video frames separately from all other traffic types. This provide a robust wireless transport for IPTV streams from the broadband gateway to the set top box. SmartCast detects a receiver tuning to an IPTV channel and then directs the associated multicast video packets to each receiver using the optimum data rate and signal path for that receiver. This ensures the best performance possible while enabling reliable delivery of IPTV packets.
Multimedia optimized traffic management algorithms guarantee performance for multiple broadcast quality video streams while maintaining adequate bandwidth for data applications. SmartCast automatically classifies all traffic based on UDP/TCP port and other application attributes, and manages each traffic type (voice, video, data) according to its classified priority and characteristics.
Automatic type-of-service (ToS) tagging eliminates complex QoS configurations, while automatic management of lower speed 802.11b devices assures bandwidth availability for prioritized video applications. Four priority queues per station result in high granularity of traffic prioritization and precision for multiple concurrent video streams. All packets are queued/de-queued by specialized schedulers optimized for the corresponding traffic type. Each scheduler takes into account the delay/jitter tolerance and bandwidth requirements of the traffic and the changing performance characteristics of each station on the WLAN to ensure the best user experience.
InTune is an innovative wireless service management technology that provides access to vital statistics, performance and RF information necessary to manage triple play services. InTune uniquely provides the ability to perform inventory audits for all the devices within the home wireless environment. Multi-tiered user and provider management domains delivers complete customization and the utmost flexibility. In-Tune also provides remote execution of diagnostics from within the home. InTune provides two distinctive management views for every device. The service provider view delivers detailed information on logging, statistics, quality of service, status of the device for the IPTV streams delivered to the household. The home user view provides simple to use, Web management for configuring basic wireless data networking for home PC’s.
Simple Installation, Reduced Support Costs
Self-installable, the Ruckus MediaFlex and adapter attach to their respective modem or media devices using standard Ethernet. A Web UI allows easy configuration as well as firmware upgrades. Three LEDs provide status information on power, Ethernet connectivity, wireless association. A fourth LED provides a wireless video quality indicator that allows “at-a-glance monitoring” of wireless network performance. Remote management provided through Telnet, SSH, HTTP, or SNMP and TR-069 (future).
Proven Performance
A Ruckus-powered multimedia network is optimized to ensure transmission of 20 Mbps of guaranteed throughput for streaming video throughout a typical 2,500-3,000 square foot (230 square meter) home. The Ruckus MediaFlex 802.11g system supports up to three simultaneous DVD-quality standard definition (SD) MPEG-2 IPTV video streams, six MPEG-4 SD streams or one to two HD-quality WMV streams while supporting concurrent data and voice applications.