What's New in 21.01

This section provides a high-level overview of several key features introduced in the RUCKUS Cloud software release 21.01. This release introduces several new system improvements. Updates include:

Cloud Wi-Fi

• MSP Cloud for Any account: MSP Cloud can now be enabled for any RUCKUS Cloud customer that desires to convert to a Managed Service Provider model; previously, only available to Partners and Channel customers, RUCKUS can now offer MSP Cloud to any account.
• MSP Usage Reporting: Managed Service Providers can now create customer usage reports for all their MSP customers, listing number of licenses used and devices assigned daily, with monthly roll-up reporting also available.
• BYO WISPr for MSP: Bring your own WISPr provider (generic WISPr) is now available for MSP Cloud customers as well. This allows for more flexibility in choosing a WISPr provider offering that meets your customer needs.
• Rogue AP Detection: (Phase 1) Rogue AP detection now displays a list of detected Rogue APs. Additional support for rogue visualization and custom Rogue AP policies are coming soon!
• Application Policy: RUCKUS Cloud now supports Layer 7 application policies. Policies can be defined to enforce allow/deny access, rate-limit, or QoS settings on a per application basis, with system defined applications and user defined.
• Auto Cell Sizing: Users can now enable automatic radio power adjustment per Venue on both 2.4 and 5GHz radios.
• Client Session Timeout: Users can now increase (or decrease) the amount of time a client device can remain idle and still be connected to the network. This will improve support for legacy client devices.
• Client Isolation Multicast/Unicast suppression: Wireless Client Isolation, which allows isolation of client traffic from hosts on the same subnet now supports the capability to block multicast and directed unicast packets per client device.
• AP Onboarding Enhancement: Backend system changes have resulted in an improved AP association experience, resulting in more rapid association with Cloud controller.
• AP Serial Number: Additional column in AP view now always populates with AP Serial number, previously only available in the AP Details tab. This allows for easier inventory discovery and management.\
• MAC Authentication + PSK: WLANs now support PSK with MAC Authentication, allowing for another level of security and device accounting.
• MFP/802.11w Support: Management Frame Protection (802.11w) is now configurable per WLAN.
• M510 Port Updates: modified the M510 port labels to clearly identify LAN ports, updated M510 image to include new port labels.

What's New in 20.11

Cloud MSP

• MSP Admin Enhancements: Assignment of MSP Admins to MSP-EC has now been enhanced at creation of a new MSP Admin. New MSP Admin creation now has an option of enabling all, a selection, or none of the existing MSP-EC for administration.
• MSP Logo Enhancement: MSP Portal has been enhanced to support multiple versions and sizes of the MSP logo for different positioning and uses on the respective portal pages and communications.

Cloud Wi-Fi

• T750SE Support: Support for the new T750 Outdoor AP with external antenna.
• 2FA/Multi-Factor Authentication: Prime Administrators can now enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for the organization. This option will require all admin users of the account to set and use MFA. MFA can support Email, SMS, and authentication apps found in the Apple and Google stores. Mobile Apps like Duo, Authy, LastPass Authenticator, and more can be used for secure access validation.
• Bring Your Own WISPr: Captive portal networks now support the ability to define a custom WISPr provider for easy integration with the portal provider of the customer's choice. This is great for customers that want to integrate with WISPr providers not currently offered on the in captive portal menu, or that require custom or nonstandard configurations.
• VLAN Pooling: VLAN Pools can now be created with up to 64 VLANs per pool. VLAN Pools can be applied to any WLAN type.
• AP Packet Capture: Access points can now perform packet captures on their Wi-Fi and wired interfaces. These captures can be filtered for control, management, and data frames, and can be downloaded in the .pcap format for viewing in the capture tool of your choice.
• Blink AP LEDs: Individual APs can now light up like a fireworks display. This is a great feature for AP troubleshooting when APs are unlabeled or unmarked. Enable Blink LEDs on the AP you are looking for and easily find its physical location by following the disco lights. This feature currently does not work if you have "disable LEDs" enabled in the Venue.
• M510 Band Lock: M510 Cloud customers can now lock the SIM to their preferred 3G or 4G band for operation, eliminating band changes in low signal situations or enabling improved speeds if one channel is performing better in a region.
• Access Point UI Refresh: Fixed an issue that was causing APs to lag in displaying their Cloud status. APs that disconnect should now show Heartbeat Lost almost immediately, transitioning to Down after multiple heartbeats have been missed over a 5-minute period.

Cloud Switch

• CLI configuration: Users can now make configuration changes* using CLI commands via switch console, Remote CLI or SSH.
• Remote CLI: Provides direct access to switch’s console session from the Cloud WEB UI.
• Configuration Backup and Restore: RUCKUS Cloud takes a backup of Switch Configuration daily. Users can look view, compare, download the backups. Any selected configuration can be restored to the switch.
• DHCP Helper address on Default VE: Allow users to define DHCP helper address for VE of the default VLAN.
• Protected ports: Configure selected port(s) as protected ports. This option is available under port settings.
• Port Settings across multiple switches: Users can now select and make changes to ports across multiple switches under a venue.
• ICX 7550 support: 20.11 introduces support for ICX 7550 Series switches for end users as well as MSPs.

*Users are still required to use a factory default switch (or erase configuration) before connecting the switch to Cloud. After the initial connection and switch status gets updated to ‘Operational’, users can make configuration changes using CLI commands.

Changed Behavior

• CLI access: With 20.11 and ICX 08.0.95b versions, users are no longer restricted to ‘monitor-only’ access on Switch CLI. After the initial onboarding, users can directly access the CLI session using Remote CLI, Console or SSH and make configuration changes.

What's New in 20.08

This section provides a high-level overview of the key features introduced in the RUCKUS Cloud software release 20.08. This release introduces several new features and system improvements. Highlights include:

DPSK- Dynamic Pre-Shared Key - RUCKUS Cloud now supports enhanced DPSK features natively in the Cloud. DPSKs can be automatically generated in bulk or individually added on the clients page. Each DPSK can be assigned a Username and VLAN, and DPSKs can be bulk exported via .csv. DPSK Types supported:

• Bound DPSK – DPSK that requires a MAC address at creation. This creates a unique 1:1 mapping between the MAC address and the DPSK. Only the registered device can use the specified DPSK. This can support IOT devices, wireless printers, scanners, and other devices you need to securely connect to your Wi-Fi network.
• Unbound DPSK – DPSK that does not require a MAC address at creation. The 1st device that uses the DPSK will bind it’s MAC address to the DPSK. Once the first device registers, additional devices cannot use this DPSK. This is a great solution when you don’t know the MAC address beforehand but still want to maintain 1:1 DPSK to MAC mapping.
• Unbound Group DPSK– An Unbound DPSK that can be used with multiple MAC addresses and does not require a MAC address at creation. RUCKUS Cloud supports from 1-50 MAC addresses in an unbound group DPSK. Devices can connect with the DPSK and will dynamically be added to the group until the limit is reached. This is a great solution for providing a single DPSK for a fixed group of devices, for example multiple apartments in a multi-unit building, or different DPSKs for different device types.

EVENTS, ALARMS, and USER VIEW

• Exportable events V Filterable events from the RUCKUS Cloud events log are now exportable directly from the UI. All events can be selected, or event filters can be based on venue, event type, event severity and more. Event exports can be scoped by time range and easily downloaded via .csv.
• Alarm notification aggregation – Notifications for multiple simultaneous alarms or events will now be aggregated before being pushed to the admin via SMS or email. This aggregation will reduce the overall volume of individual messages while still informing admins with timely alarm data.
• Clear all alarms – Administrators now have the ability to clear all outstanding alarms at once at the venue, AP, and switch/stack levels.
• Client detail data – Additional device detail is now available in the Users screen. The additional columns available are hidden by default and include VLAN, Traffic in/out, RSSI, SNR, authentication information, and more.

NETWORK SETTINGS

• Wireless Network Settings – Additional network settings are available for configuration per wireless network. Settings like Proxy ARP, Optimized Connectivity, RSSI join threshold and more are made available for advanced tuning and customization of your wireless networks.
• Cellular Statistics – M510 customers now have the ability to s cellular statistics and update their LTE SIM configuration in the RUCKUS Cloud UI. RUCKUS Cloud is now the perfect solution to manage mobile M510 LTE AP deployments!
• Remote Troubleshooting – Remote ping and traceroute are now supported directly from the AP to remote clients and devices in the Cloud UI. This new capability makes remote troubleshooting even easier.
• Services and Profiles – A new tab has been added to the Venue UI that provides a clear view of the network services enabled in that Venue.
• DHCP/NAT – RUCKUS Cloud makes it easy to segment client traffic and assign IP addresses to both wired and wireless clients by enabling DHCP/NAT service on the AP. This release includes DHCP support for wired client devices, an expanded number of DHCP pools, and the ability to monitor and track usage of the DHCP pools deployed.
• Venue External Antenna Config – Administrators with access points using external antenna can now configure radio gain at the venue level. This is particularly helpful when deploying multiple access points with the same external antenna.

MSP FEATURES

• MSP Feature- MSP Service Deactivation

MSP Administrators now have the ability to activate and deactivate service for their customers. All network elements remain joined to the cloud and managed, only end-user service is interrupted. This allows for a “service pause” in the event the MSP needs to remediate billing or other issues with their customer. Service is easily disabled and re-enabled with no network configurations changed or removed during the service interruption.

• MSP Feature- MSP License Expiry Notifications

MSP Administrators will now be notified of licensing expiration events via multiple channels. Notifications via email, SMS and mobile push for paid licenses are triggered 30 days before expiration and weekly thereafter. For trial licenses one notification is sent 7 days prior to expiration.

Switch Features

What's New in 20.05

This release introduces exciting new features along with system improvements.

• Cloud management for M510 mobile-wireless AP with LTE backhaul

  The RUCKUS M510 mobile-wireless access point (AP) is designed to leverage LTE networks as a backhaul and connect wirelessly back to any network without the need for an Ethernet cable connection.

  Due to the wireless LTE backhaul capability, the M510 addresses multiple deployment scenarios not previously served. This flexibility is helping communities and schools to add additional internet bandwidth or provide a backup WAN connection during these challenging shelter-in-place situation while managing it from the cloud. Use cases include mobile “in-vehicle” Wi-Fi ("mobile AP"), rapid Wi-Fi deployment for pop-up retail or first-responders and temporary Wi-Fi deployments at a construction site.

• AP DHCP/NAT service

  RUCKUS Cloud makes it easy to segment traffic, assign IP addresses to the clients connecting from wireless SSIDs or wired ports of the AP by enabling DHCP/NAT service on the AP. In this mode AP continues to receive its own WAN IP address from external DHCP server while acting as the NAT gateway to its clients. Clients connecting to mobile-wireless access point, M510, get DHCP IP addresses from the AP which are then appropriately translated and forwarded through the LTE backhaul link.

• One click DHCP service for guests

  In many distributed sites with lean IT, it is not always feasible to have dedicated DHCP servers maintained only for guests connecting over Wi-Fi. This is because number of guests connecting over Wi-Fi can vary widely making it a chore to revisit DHCP scope configuration.

  DHCP/NAT service when offered as part of the access point simplifies guest internet connectivity while segmenting and isolating guest traffic from rest of the network. Since all access points offer this service, client load is easily shared among the APs. RUCKUS Cloud offers an intuitive network creation wizard with "Enable RUCKUS DHCP service" check box to offer DHCP/NAT service to guests. Guests are assigned IP addresses from a reserved IP address range and a reserved VLAN.

• Social login filtered by user email domain

  DHCP/NAT service when offered as part of the access point simplifies guest internet connectivity while segmenting and isolating guest traffic from rest of the network. Since all access points offer this service, client load is easily shared among the APs. RUCKUS Cloud offers an intuitive network creation wizard with "Enable RUCKUS DHCP service" check box to offer DHCP/NAT service to guests. Guests are assigned IP addresses from a reserved IP address range and a reserved VLAN.

• Audit log of config events

  With this release, customers can audit configuration changes made to the system my administrators managing the account. Admin events are generated for configuration change, AP and switch addition or deletion along with information on when the change was made and by whom.

• Display connected device info in Panel View

  Admins can now interact with the front panel view of a switch. Hovering over a port displays connected device MAC address, PoE usage and PoE Device Type to quickly understand the neighbor information.

• Rapid switch status update

  Admins can now see switch configuration status update rapidly on the User Interface when changed.

• Mobile App tools to conveniently test performance– Integrated SpeedFlex

  Mobile App users can now use the powerful built-in SpeedFlex capability to test network performance from the client to any AP. Mobile App users can easily see the network speed in uplink and downlink direction along with RSSI and channel. Ability to save, search and sort test results makes it a handy troubleshooting tool.

• Mobile App support to view, edit and filter single or multiple switch ports

  Mobile App allows network admin to conveniently view switches in the network from the app. Admin can now quickly search for a switch and zoom in to specific ports filtered by attributes such as VLAN or port status. Common attributes such as Port Enable, PoE enable, PoE class, Port Speed and Tags can be directly edited from the mobile app. This operation can be performed on a single port or on multiple switch ports.

• Comparison Report

  Comparison report is a powerful tool for admins for comparing data sets across different parts of the network. It allows admins to define filters to select portions of the network and compare 20+ attributes across them.

• Ability to Save Filters

  Filters allow admin to focus their investigation to a specific portion of the network. Filters are essential in daily troubleshooting. These filters can now be saved and reused thus eliminating unnecessary steps and speeding up investigation.

What's New in 20.04

• Cloud managed R850 / R550

  This release introduces simplified cloud management option for the stellar Wi-Fi 6 APs announced recently.

  Customers looking for ultra-high-density performance, maximize client connections, multi-gigabit access speeds while maintaining the simplicity of cloud management can choose the option of cloud managed R850. R850 with 12 spatial streams, (8x8:8 in 5GHz and 4x4:4 in 2.4 GHz) dual radio, dual-concurrent Wi-Fi6 options can efficiently manage up to 1024 client connections with increase capacity, improved coverage and performance in ultra-high dense environments.

  Customers can also enjoy cloud management option for the mid-range indoor Wi-Fi AP R550 that supports four spatial streams (2x2:2 in 2.4 and 5 GHz) that supports peak data rates of 1774 Mbps and efficiently manages up to 512 client connections.

• Asia cloud data center

  RUCKUS Cloud customers in Asia can now enjoy low latency connectivity to cloud resulting in better overall network experience. Asia customer data is securely stored in Asia data center helping with in-region compliance requirements. Cloud customers should whitelist the IP range shown in the Venue--> Firewall Settings page, to ensure APs and switches can connect to Asia cloud instance.

• BYOD Device OS policy

  RUCKUS Cloud admin can simply, conveniently and cost-effectively allow, restrict, rate limit or isolate user owned devices. These policies are a powerful way of exercising control over wireless clients by device / OS type. Policies can allow, block, rate limit or assign a specific VLAN to a wireless client, based on device and OS type match. These policies can be conveniently applied to a network and be operational across multiple venues in seconds.

• Network creation wizard with Network Scheduler

  Customers can make foundational configuration such as creating and activating networks on venues, enabling on radios (2.4/5 GHz), broadcasting at specific time(s) of the day and day(s) of the week in one seamless wizard guided workflow. This new capability dramatically simplifies the task of scheduling WLANs across properties.

• Simplified guest pass distribution

  Mobile phone country code is automatically detected based on the venue location making guest pass creation fast for majority of domestic guests. Country code can be manually entered to issue guest passes to international guests.

• Front panel port view enhancements

  This release adds enhancement to the switch front panel view. By hovering mouse over a port, you can now see information about connected device, PoE usage and PoE device type and so on Hover over ports in the front panel to quickly view VLAN, port state, port speed, connected device, PoE Usage and PoE type.

• Honor 7150 license for 7150-C08P

  Cloud subscription for 7150 switch now addresses 7150-C08P switch type as well reducing administrative burden. The ICX 7150 licenses (CLD-S71M-x001) will now be honored for the ICX7150-C08P switches as well. However, users still have the option to purchase subscription using the CLD-S08M-x001 licenses.

What's New in 20.03

Ease of Troubleshooting: APs and Switches establish an HTTPS session to the cloud controller. IT teams need to allow IN to OUT traffic to the cloud controller IP address. This IP address is now shown in the venue page.

Ease of Guest Access in European Union (EU): In support of Digital Single Market and Gigabit society as envisioned and defined by the European Council, WIFI4EU option is now available in the guest portal.

Ease of Accounting: As Wi-Fi clients roam across access points, a single session ID for RADIUS Accounting is maintained

RESTful APIs: RUCKUS Cloud APIs provide complete access to all RUCKUS Cloud functionality via a user-friendly RESTful Open API. They are partitioned into two namespaces for Wi-Fi and Tenant. Sample working example is also available along with rich API documentation.

What's New in 20.02

There are no changes since RUCKUS Cloud Release 20.02.

What's New in 20.01

RUCKUS Cloud version 20.01 introduces Switch Management for the very first time providing a single pane of glass management solution for your Wi-Fi and Wired networking needs.

The new RUCKUS Cloud by CommScope now manages Wi-Fi6 (802.11ax) and 802.11ac access points, ICX switches 7150, 7650, 7850 and includes long-term reporting as well as ML/AI based analytics. RUCKUS cloud along with the switches and access points it supports is an IoT ready solution and introduces several exciting features. These are offered at cloud scale with high performance, reliability and 24x7 support.

• Single pane of glass management for Unified Wired, Wireless and Analytics
• RUCKUS Cloud Analytics (Existing cloud customers get a free trial)
• New and enhanced Managed Service Provider (MSP) friendly licensing with custom MSP URL and custom mobile app
• Scheduled Cloud Software Update allowing customers to choose their own software upgrade schedule
• Modern RESTful Northbound Public APIs that enable customers/partners to automate and innovate around RUCKUS Cloud
• 30+ Reports with double the storage up to 12 months
• With RUCKUS Analytics, a full BIG data explorer solution is available to the customers to slice and dice data and can create nearly limitless visualizations of data
• RUCKUS Cloud is built around modern Kubernetes and micro-services architecture to provide cloud scale, performance and reliability
• New mobile app - RUCKUS Cloud by CommScope - is now available in Apple App Store and Google Play Store

Beginning this release, you will be able to manage all ICX 7150, 7650, and 7850 series switches. The switch management includes both monitoring and configuration.

Monitoring:

In addition, all the existing features like floor plans for a venue, adding administrators, access to network clients, are all extended to include switch information.

Configuration: