The Ruckus MediaFlex router is the first-of-its-kind wireless multi-
media service platform that reliably distributes multimedia content
over standard 802.11 Wi-Fi to every corner of the home.
The Ruckus MediaFlex router combines innovative, patent-pend-
ing 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.
The First Fully Managed, In-Home
Wireless Services Platform for
Multimedia Distribution
BENEFITS
Unparalleled remote control
Remote visibility into and control over services associated
with each subscriber, real-time monitoring of the in-home
Wi-Fi environment
Dramatic range and performance increases
Smart antenna system with six antennas and 63 unique
antenna patterns ensure optimum signal paths and high
data rates to support up to 3 simultaneous video streams
No more dead spots
Antenna control software monitors the RF and switches
antenna patterns dynamically to route signals farther and
bypass interference for the best coverage and capacity
Highest quality viewer experience
Precision and heuristic QoS management combined with
smart antenna system delivers consistent, reliable bandwidth essential for high-definition TV (HDTV)
Reliable Wi-Fi transmission of multicast IPTV
Unique traffic classification and smart multicast handling
deliver multicast IPTV reliably to one or more set top boxes
Unlike any Wi-Fi system on the market, the Ruckus MediaFlex
router 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 with-
out wires. Meanwhile service providers can accelerate deployment,
minimize installations costs and maximize service potential.
Virtual access point supports multiple SSIDs
Separate wireless domains and security modes segment
service providers traffic, such as IPTV, from home user traffic, such as Internet browsing
Self-installing, auto-configuration
Comprehensive DHCP client and server support for both
the service provider and home users. Port-based classification ensures separation of the data and video traffic
Remote management and automatic upgrades
SNMP for troubleshooting and diagnostics. Auto firmware
upgrades ease deployment and remote management
A complete solution for video-grade, high performance wireless network-
ing, the Ruckus system includes the Ruckus MediaFlex 802.11b/g multimedia
router and Ruckus MediaFlex multimedia Wi-Fi adapter. The system incorpo-
rates patent-pending BeamFlex and SmartCast technologies to guarantee
optimal range and performance for concurrent video and data traffic.
AC power
adapter input
10/100 Mbps
RJ-45 network ports
WAN
port
Factory
resets
CAPABILITIES
• Enables whole-home video distribution without
tedious and expensive wiring
•
Allows media receivers to be located anywhere
in the home, giving consumers more flexibility
and convenience
•
Provides standards-compliant 802.11 wireless
connectivity for Ethernet-equipped media
receivers including set-top-boxes and personal
video recorders (PVRs)
• Enables reliable streaming of IPTV from
broadband gateway to set top boxes without
costly and time-consuming cable installations
•
Extends 802.11b/g range and coverage by up
to 300 percent, maximizes throughput and
minimizes interference
•
Optimizes both unicast and multicast video
•Full routing functionality with DHCP client and
server functionalities
•
Simultaneous video, voice and data traffic
over the same wireless network with heuristic
classification of each traffic type
•Remote management: SNMP and HTTP
•Automatic firmware upgrade via TFTP, FTP, or
HTTP
•Virtual AP support provides segregation of
wireless domains for service providers and users
• Completely standards-based 802.11
system designed for compatibility with
future 802.11 standards
Attached to the broadband gateway, the Ruckus MediaFlex router 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 router supports WAN ports and up to four LAN
ports to also serve as a home gateway. The MediaFlex router has a flexible
architecture that allows multiple ports to be defined as WAN ports to be con-
nected 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 router 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, of-
fering little resilience or diversity in the event of a debilitated signal path. The
Ruckus MediaFlex router is equipped with BeamFlex, a patent-pending MIMO-
G 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 router integrates BeamFlex, a compact, internal anten-
na 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.
Page 3
Six high-gain directional antenna elements
controlled by an expert software system
determines the best antenna pair for any
packet at any given time
With BeamFlex, the Ruckus MediaFlex router is able to reconfigure itself in real-
time, 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 communica-
tions speeds. The massive diversity of the BeamFlex antenna systems allows the
Ruckus MediaFlex router to find and instantly select from many quality signal paths
in a changing environment. This provides the stability and sustained baseline per-
formance essential for voice and video applications.
FEATURES
• Internal 6-element antenna array, with
63 dynamic configurations
• Real time learning of RF, station, network
and application conditions
• IGMP snooping for station-channel multicast
group association detection
• Support for 32 multicast groups and
48 stations
• Wireless multicast optimization with guaranteed packet delivery
Patent-pending SmartCast technology from Ruckus Wireless combines innova-
tive multicast traffic handling techniques, smart QoS and application-aware
traffic classification capabilities to ensure the highest reliability for all transmis-
sions 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
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 manage-
ment 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.
Data
PC
Video
Provider
Network
Simple Installation, Reduced Support Costs
Self-installable, the Ruckus MediaFlex router 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 pro-
vides a wireless video quality indicator that allows “at-a-glance monitoring” of wireless network perform-
ance. 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 support-
ing concurrent data and voice applications.
Page 5
Specifications
Physical Characteristics
Power •External power adapter
• Input: 110-240V AC
• Output: 12V DC, 1A
Physical size • 14.2cm (L), 12.2cm (W), 7.5cm (H)
Weight • 200 grams
Antenna • Internal software-configurable
antenna array with six directional,
high-gain elements and 63 unique
omni antenna patterns
Ethernet ports• 5 ports, auto MDX, auto-sensing 10/100 Mbps, RJ-45
Environmental conditions• Operating temperature: 32oF (0o C) - 104
• Operating humidity: 15% - 95%
non-condensing
o
F (40o C)
Performance and Supported Configurations
Concurrent stations• Up to 48 (for Open, WEB or WPA-AES)
• Up to 22 (for WPA-TKIP)
Target UDP throughput• 15-20 Mbps sustainable throughout a 2500 square foot (230m
Simultaneous video • 2-3 simultaneous MPEG-2 or 4-6 MPEG-4
streams standard definition streams or single
10 Mbps+ HD stream at 50 feet (18m)
with concurrent background traffic
Traffic Management and Quality of Service
Classes of service • Voice, video, best effort and background
Hardware queues • 4
Software queues • 4
Automatic traffic • Automatic type of service tagging for
classification multicast video packets
Heuristic classification • Available
Multicast Video (IPTV)
IGMP snooping• Up to 32 multicast groups
• Up to 48 receiving stations
Multicast optimization• Directs multicast IPTV packets to each receiving station within the designated
multicast group using the optimum
data rate and antenna selection
• Automatic classification into video
queues
• Ensures reliable transmission of
multicast video packets
2
) home
Management
Configuration • Web user interface, CLI (Telnet),
SNMP statistics interface (TR-069 future)
Login
• Admin
Auto configuration
Statistics
• Accessible via Web UI
Software update
• Accessible via Web UI
Other utilities
• Simple support info transfer to provider
• User
• Supported
• LAN, wireless and associated stations
• FTP or TFTP, remote auto available
• Configuration dump (admin only)
Wi-Fi
Standards • 802.11b/g, WEP, WPA (PSK)
Supported data rates
• Atheros SuperG Turbo (108 Mbps)
not supported for video
Channels
• Europe (ETSI X30): 1-13
• Japan X41: 1-13
Auto channel selection
RF power output
• 23 dBm for wireless-G
• Country-specific power settings are
configurable
Transmit power control
Certifications
VCCI (Japan), Telec (Japan), C-Tick (Aus/NZ),
OFTA (Hong Kong), iDA (Singapore),
MIC (Korea), DGT (Taiwan)
Wireless security
Routing • DHCP client support, DHCP server
support, NAT and PPPoE