BeamFlex
The Smart Wi-Fi Antenna Technology That Steers Signals to High-Quality Paths.
For greater speed, fewer errors, and instant bandwidth delivery, BeamFlex offers first-of-its-kind smart antenna technology that maximizes signal coverage, throughput, and network capacity. It delivers MIMO benefits to 802.11a/b/g/n devices, to further increase MIMO diversity gain and maximize spatial multiplexing potential—at minimal cost.
BeamFlex consists of a smart, compact antenna array with multiple elements, which can be combined in real time to form unique antenna patterns. The advanced BeamFlex system software continually learns the environment with all its hostilities and interference sources, including disruptive RF conditions, numerous communicating devices, network performance issues, and application flows. Then, it selects the optimum antenna pattern for each communicating device in real time, while actively avoiding interference and minimizing noise to nearby networks and devices.
BeamFlex offers:
- Over 3X increase in performance and range
- 8X expanded coverage
- Stabilized wireless network performance, for picture-perfect video streaming and crystal-clear voice communications
- Maximized power efficiency
- Interference mitigation
Unlike omni-directional antennas that radiate signals in all directions, BeamFlex directs transmit energy towards the best path to the receiving device. And unlike fixed-positioned directional antennas, BeamFlex dynamically configures its "beam" on a per-station, per-packet basis, to achieve omni-directional coverage.
The first of its kind smart antenna system that delivers extended Wi-Fi range and coverage, stable connectivity and higher performance.
BeamFlex is an agile antenna array with multiple high-gain, directional antenna elements that are combined in real time to offer an exponential increase in performance. With N number of high-gain, directional antenna elements, a BeamFlex smart antenna provides 2n-1 unique radiating patterns to maximize range and coverage. For example, a 19-element antenna array offers over 4,200 unique antenna patterns to a given client.
Completely standards based, the BeamFlex smart antenna system works with any off-the-shelf 802.11a/b/g/n chipset and is integrated into every RUCKUS MediaFlex and ZoneFlex Smart Wi-Fi access point.
How it works
Unlike omnidirectional antennas that radiate signals in all directions, BeamFlex directs transmit energy towards the best path to the receiving device. And unlike fi xedpositioned directional antennas, BeamFlex dynamically configures and re-configures its “beam” to achieve omnidirectional coverage with directional performance within a given environment.
The BeamFlex smart antenna is controlled by expert system software that automatically reconfigures the antenna array on a per packet basis, selecting the best performing and highest quality signal path and optimum data rate for each receiving device.
BeamFlex takes advantage of 802.11’s built-in acknowledgement mechanisms using 802.11 acknowledgements to continually ascertain the quality and performance of a physical RF link.
The expert software system within BeamFlex extracts important information from all 802.11 packets received such as the sender’s performance, the optimum data rate, RSSI, error rates and approximate location. It then ranks the optimum antenna patterns for each communicating device keeping track of the best performing signal path at any time for any given client.
What’s the big deal?
Consistent Performance
By continuously steering transmissions to high quality signal paths, BeamFlex maximizes and sustains Wi-Fi transmission speeds while minimizing transmission errors. BeamFlex stabilizes wireless network performance to enable consistent throughput at range.
Extended Range
And because BeamFlex enables high-gain, directional Wi-Fi signals to clients, it delivers a three- to-four-fold increase in range over any other Wi-Fi access point.
Stable Connections
Through antenna diversity and dynamic adaptation, BeamFlex ensures that the best performing and most reliable signal path is used at any given time thereby minimizing erratic Wi-Fi behavior such as dropped connections.
Interference Avoidance and Rejection
BeamFlex is able to select antenna patterns that focus RF energy away from the direction of interference; thereby attenuating noise to the receiving station. This enables remarkable improvements in signal gain while at the same time reducing noise. Using these interference rejection and avoidance techniques, a single ZoneFlex AP can realize up to 9 dBi in signal gain and 17 dB in interference mitigation. An interference avoidance algorithm enables the BeamFlex software to detect the direction of interference from, for example, a neighboring network, a microwave oven or a nearby Bluetooth device. In response, BeamFlex is able to select antenna patterns that direct energy away from the direction of interference, thereby attenuating noise to the receiving station.
Better RF Neighbor
Because BeamFlex only focuses RF energy where it’s needed, it interferes less with other Wi-Fi access points and clients.
Automatic Adaptation
Dynamically confi guring the Wi-Fi “beam” hundreds of times each second, BeamFlex can adapt in real-time to environmental changes — steering signals around obstacles, interference and other hazards that would otherwise negatively affect performance.
BeamFlex effectively allows each RUCKUS AP to deliver high gain directional Wi-Fi signals in 360º while simultaneously minimizing noise to nearby networks, devices and other APs.
