WINNER: Ruckus ZoneFlex 7942
The drive to provide next-generation wireless technology has proven difficult at times for the IT industry, and the move to an 802.11n standard is not without its own special issues. But the promise of huge performance boosts and new opportunity to deliver value in wireless solutions can't be ignored in this new technology area, and one company that stands apart here is Ruckus Wireless Inc. with its ZoneFlex 7942 802.11n access point.

The Ruckus access point technology uses patent-pending horizontal and vertical polarized antennas that are able to coordinate multiple paths as signal strengths change on a client. The antennas are designed for high performance in semipenetrable walls because they use beam steering to refocus access to connected clients.

The product also has a nice detailed Web management interface, allowing for complete remote management while at the same time avoiding a cluttered look. Ruckus supports a variety of authentication methods—not only RADIUS, but authentication can be set up against Active Directory and other databases, enabling the integration of security from a wired network. The company also has a patented dynamic PSK security solution: Each user is assigned a dynamic PSK key that is revocable.