Ruckus Wireless has unveiledZD (ZoneDirector) Remote Control, a new mobile application that now gives IT administrators the ability to remotely manage, monitor and configure Ruckus Smart WiFi LANs, simplifying the maintenance of routine and frequent wireless administration tasks by enabling these from a single mobile device, such as an iPad.
ZD Remote Control frees IT administrators from the tether of an Ethernet cable-connected office site, empowering them with the mobility, flexibility and convenience of managing their wireless LAN (WLAN) from anywhere.
ZD Remote Control, a replacement of its previous ZD Remote program, is the newest mobile management application within a unique suite of Ruckus designed and developed mobile tools.
These include: Ruckus SWAT (SpeedFlex Wireless Assessment Tool), SpeedFlex, and Zapper; realtime wireless assessment and performance testing tools that validate the performance of existing WLAN installations and assist in the planning of new site deployments.
Together, these mobile applications give administrators more flexible control over their wireless infrastructure with a much more complete picture of expected performance, so they can adequately plan for worst-case scenarios, as well as compare the actual performance of Ruckus products, and those of other vendors.
With the new ZD Remote Control mobile app, administrators can now create, configure and edit a variety of wireless LAN functions such as viewing and editing Bonjour rules, configuring WLANs, viewing the number and types of client devices being used on a wireless network, as well as blocking client device access.
An intuitive, graphical user interface (GUI) provides a single dashboard view of the network, with customised dashboard widgets and one-click enabling of various WLAN system-wide functions such as IPv6, DHCP, etc. ZD Remote Control also offers real-time monitoring of Ruckus Smart WLANs to provide stats, client details and live logs.
With ZD Remote Control, administrators can easily bring up a new Ruckus ZoneDirector controller or ZoneFlex access point (AP) without having to carry a laptop or connect to an Ethernet cable in the field, and can monitor one or more controllers and APs.
Ruckus plans to add capabilities to future versions of ZD Remote Control, like the ability to generate Guest Passes and push them out to customers via either e-mail or SMS, plus the ability to view the Spectrum for a 2.4 or 5 GHz radio on any Ruckus ZoneFlex AP.
“This is how wireless management was meant to be,” says Hagai Feiner, president of Access Networks, a premier national provider and integrator of pre-programmed enterprise-grade networking solutions.
“Never mind management in the cloud, this is enterprise management in the palm of your hand. With a single tablet we can now easily manage, monitor and configure our existing wireless infrastructure compared to competitive alternatives. Ruckus has taken the lead in delivering innovative tools that bring wireless LANs and wireless LAN management into the 21st century,” concludes Feiner.
Available immediately on the Apple App Store free of charge, with future Android versions planned in 2014, ZD Remote Control supports the new Ruckus ZoneFlex 9.7 software release on all Ruckus ZoneDirector controllers. For Ruckus ZoneDirector controllers running previous versions of the ZoneFlex operating system, ZD Remote Control functions in monitoring-only mode.
