The Ruckus MetroFlex Dual Zone (DZ) is two products in one. It acts as a wireless access gateway, providing reliable connectivity to outdoor Wi-Fi networks, as well as an extended range indoor 802.11b/g access point.

The Ruckus MetroFlex DZ is the world’s first customer premise equipment specifically designed and optimized for broadband operators building large-scale metro Wi-Fi networks.

Patent-pending hardware and software let subscribers connect faster and more reliably to outdoor metro Wi-Fi networks – automatically optimizing around changing environmental conditions. Intelligent connection algorithms determine the fastest Wi-Fi mesh node with which to associate based on the highest data rates and best signal strength.

The Ruckus MetroFlex DZ is the only system that provides unprecedented diversity through the use of a unique, dual-polarized antenna array. This provides the largest coverage area possible, the strongest resilience to interference and the highest receive sensitivity.

The Ruckus MetroFlex DZ is equipped with integrated smart- MIMO antenna technology developed to reliably communicate with the metro Wi-Fi nodes. Compatible with standard 802.11b/g metro Wi-Fi nodes, the Ruckus MetroFlex DZ 802.11b/g wireless access gateway extends the metro Wi-Fi coverage to hard-toreach indoor locations.

Introducing the Ruckus MetroFlex

The Ruckus MetroFlex DZ is the first smart-MIMO Wi-Fi gateway that reliably extends metro Wi-Fi signals indoors. The Ruckus MetroFlex DZ is equipped with industry’s first dual-polarized antenna array to optimize communication with metro Wi-Fi nodes. The Ruckus MetroFlex DZ automatically avoids Wi- Fi interference and mitigates multipath fading by selecting the best signal path to the wireless AP. Traditional Wi-Fi systems are equipped with a single vertically-oriented, omni-directional antenna that becomes less effective when the multipath signal arrives out of phase and cross polarized.

The Ruckus MetroFlex DZ integrates patent-pending Ruckus Beam Flex technology that constantly learns the RF environment and automatically adjusts the antenna pattern to steer signals to the optimum path. Just as the other Ruckus products (MediaFlex router and adapter), MetroFlex substantially increases both Wi-Fi performance and range.

The Ruckus MetroFlex DZ seamlessly communicates with metro Wi-Fi nodes by automatically associating with the best outdoor node. This built-in intelligence delivers optimum connectivity upon initial association.

Dramatic Increases in Range and Performance

BeamFlex is the first-of-its kind smart antenna technology that works with off-the-shelf 802.11 silicon to deliver the most cost effective MIMO benefits to 802.11a/b/g devices today. Each Ruckus MetroFlex DZ integrates Ruckus BeamFlex™ technology - a compact, internal antenna array with multiple dual-polarized directional antenna elements capable of combining to form unique antenna patterns for diversity.

BeamFlex expert system control software continuously ranks the antenna patterns for each destination device using the feedback mechanism built into the 802.11 MAC layer protocol. Cognizant of the real time RF conditions, the direction and performance of the communicating devices, network capacity and application types, BeamFlex steers each packet to the optimum signal path, enabling a Wi-Fi device to sustain high transmission speeds and minimize retransmissions.

Simple Installation, Reduced Support Costs

Self-installable, the Ruckus MetroFlex DZ utilizes dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) for automatic configuration with the metro Wi-Fi network. Users simply turn on the Ruckus MetroFlex DZ which automatically connects to the best metro Wi-Fi signal available.

The Ruckus MetroFlex DZ is equipped to be remotely manageable by the metro Wi-Fi service provider’s network management center via HTTP or Telnet. The Ruckus MetroFlex DZ provides extensive statistics to the service provider’s network management center for ease of troubleshooting and monitoring. Multiple clients are supported behind the Ruckus MetroFlex DZ in the metro Wi-Fi network. Integrated NUTTCP support allows providers to conduct performance testing directly from the metro node to the MetroFlex DZ.

The Ruckus MetroFlex DZ is equipped with DHCP server functionality. The MetroFlex supports multiple home PCs by automatically assigning dynamic IP addresses. Network address translation (NAT) is used to give home PCs Internet access.

For flexible in-home management, the MetroFlex DZ supports the ability to act simultaneously as a wireless gateway and an access point. Home users maintain control of the settings of the access point (including the capability to name the SSID and selection of the appropriate security options) while the service provider controls the settings of the remote Access Point to which the wireless gateway will use to connect. This provides the providers fine-grained control over security and management policy

Automatic Interference Avoidance

Unlike conventional wireless devices, the Ruckus MetroFlex DZ dynamically mitigates interference caused by multipath fading, neighbor networks and other wireless devices. A sophisticated interference avoidance algorithm enables the Ruckus MetroFlex DZ to detect the direction of interference from, for example, a neighboring network, a microwave oven or a nearby blue tooth device. In response, the Ruckus MetroFlex DZ is able to select antenna patterns that direct energy away from the direction of interference; thereby attenuating noise to the sending station.