The N Crowd: Wireless N Put To The Test

The Bottom Line
After a review of testing results and work with the management interfaces of both products, the scope of vendor offerings became clear: For smaller outfits, Ruckus provides an innovative, vigorous solution that allows for comprehensive, centralized management, while Meru's product is targeted more for midmarket to enterprise-level customers. Management is detailed and feature-rich, but there were still issues with products approaching the full bandwidth 802.11n promises.

Ruckus and Meru have a strong standing in the 802.11n space, but wireless-N is a new field, and vendors are still testing and tweaking their goods. VARs should keep watching this competitive area, as vendors compete, and demand for faster and more scalable wireless access continues to grow.

-Jennifer Hagendorf Follett & Andrew R. Hickey contributed to this article.

Six Key Players in Enterprise 802.11n Wireless Networking

COMPANY: Bluesocket Inc.. Burlington, Mass. (781) 328-0888 www.bluesocket.com KEY PRODUCT: Bluesocket Blue Secure Access Point 1800. CHANNEL POINTS: Three partner levels: Authorized, Select and Premiere. All partners recieve regional sales and sales engineering support, access to demo units at 50% off list price and access to end-user evaluation program. Margin is up to 27%. Training and certification provided.

COMPANY: Cisco Systems Inc. San Jose, Calif. (408) 526-4000 www.cisco.com KEY PRODUCT: Cisco Aironet 1250 Series. CHANNEL POINTS: Four certification levels and multiple specializations offered. Extensive channel partner program includes sales, technical and marketing support. Works cooperatively with partners in identifying and targeting prospects. Qualified partners receive low-interest financing, SPIFs, rebates, deal registration, loaner, loaner/demo units, price protection plans, discount promotions and MDF.

COMPANY: Colubris Networks Inc. Waltham, Mass. (781) 684-0001 www.colubris.com KEY PRODUCT: Colubris Intelligent Mobility Solution, including its MultiService Access Point 625. CHANNEL POINTS: Three partner levels: Authorized, Select and Premiere. This partner level structure enables resellers of all sizes to participate in the channel program. All partners receive regional sales and SE support, access to demo units at 50% off list and access to end-user evaluation program. Margin is up to 27%. Training and certification provided.

COMPANY: Meru Networks Inc. Sunnyvale, Calif. (408) 215-5300 www.merunetworks.com KEY PRODUCT: Meru AP320 access point. CHANNEL POINTS: Meru's two-tier channel program provides discounted demo equipment, joint sales engagement, product promotions and competitive trade-in promotions. On-demand training, software downloads and an online knowledge base are also available to all partners. Top tier partners are eligible for demand generation and MDFs.

COMPANY: Ruckus Wireless Inc. Sunnyvale, Calif. (650) 265-4200 www.ruckuswireless.com KEY PRODUCT: XRuckus ZoneFlex 7942. CHANNEL POINTS: Big Dog Partner Program offers three levels: Silver, Gold and Distributors. All VAR partners begin with Silver status. Requirements include minimal number of staff trained on ZoneFlex products (Web-based training) and attendance at regular Web updates. Training and sales tools provided. Gold level offers more benefits, and comes with additional requirements. Distributor status is restricted to partners that sell exclusively to VARs and dealers.

COMPANY: Trapeze Networks Inc. Pleasanton, Calif. (925) 474-2200 www.trapezenetworks.com KEY PRODUCT: Trapeze Mobility Point MP-432 Mobility Point. CHANNEL POINTS: Trapeze has sales requirements for preferred partners. Potential partners can expect to retain double-digit margins, due to restricted distribution. Partners have a variety of support options: free access to Trapeze Technical Assistance Center, locally based pre-sales support and access to Trapeze Support Portal and Support Portal. Partners are required to complete sales and technical training courses.