Background
Wireless for small businesses is a demanding market. With the rise of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), Wi-Fi has become almost essential for both customers and employees. Businesses want a cost effective and easy to install system. This article will compare two wireless systems, from Ubiquiti Networks and Xclaim Wireless.
Ubiquiti UniFi has been at the forefront of small business wireless for a number of years now. UniFi is a Wi-Fi system that provides unlimited scalability, enterprise performance and a central management controller at a cost effective price. UniFi is plug and play and allows for networks to be expanded with hundreds of devices across multiple locations. There are numerous models in the UniFi range that are tailored for different deployment requirements.
Xclaim Wireless have arrived on the entry level wireless market with a number of access points, looking to provide reliable and cost effective Wi-Fi to small businesses that have little or not IT experience. Xclaim are powered by the well established Ruckus Wireless as a separate business venture, and is designed to be installed and managed by organisations that have little to no IT experience.
In this article, we will compare the different models of the Ubiquiti UniFi range and the Xclaim range.
The Models
The first model we will look at is the Ubiquiti UniFi AP. The UAP is an access point with a maximum throughput of 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band. The UniFi AP has a range of 400ft and supports up to 100 concurrent users. Ubiquiti also offer the Ubiquiti UniFi Long Range, which comes with the same throughput and concurrent users as the UAP, but comes with an extended range of up to 600ft.
Xclaim offer the Xi-1 as their entry level model. The Xi-1 also has a maximum throughput of 300Mbps and 100 concurrent users but is dual band, compared to the UAP.
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The next model in the UniFi series is the UniFi AP Pro. The UAP-Pro is dual band and has a maximum throughput of 450Mbps. The Pro has 200 concurrent users and dual Gigabit Ethernet ports that allow for PoE passthrough and daisy chaining of access points.
The Xclaim Xi-2 has a maximum throughput of 600Mbps, 100 concurrent users, 802.11n certification and dual band connectivity on dual radios.
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Next up, we have the UniFi AP-AC. The UAP-AC takes advantage of the latest ac wireless standards, meaning the most modern wireless devices can take advantage of the best speeds available. The AP-AC supports 200 concurrent users, has a range of 400ft, has dual gigabit ports and offers throughput of up to 1.3Gbps.
The Xclaim Xi-3 also is ac certified and has a single gigabit ethernet port, offering throughput of up to 1.167Gbps with 100 concurrent users.
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Finally we will look at the outdoor models from Ubiquiti and Xclaim. Ubiquiti offer the UniFi AC-Outdoor, featuring dual band, ac standards, a range of up to 600ft and throughput of 1.3Gbps. The AC-Outdoor has 100 concurrent users and dual gigabit ethernet ports.
The Xclaim Xo-1 is also ac, dual band and has 100 concurrent users. The Xo-1 has a single gigabit ethernet port and throughput of up to 1.167Gbps.
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The Software
The UniFi controller software gives you full control over your network, also offering 4 SSIDs per access point. You can access the software using any web browser to provision thousands of access points, map out networks and manage system traffic. The UniFi controller features zero handoff roaming which enables users to maintain connections as they switch to the nearest AP on the move.
Harmony for Xclaim is a free application that enables network managers to configure and monitor multiple access points from their smartphone. Harmony enables up to 4 separate SSIDs to be created per access point, meaning multiple business requirements can be supported on different networks. Harmony is specifically designed to be user friendly. Wi-Fi networks with multiple Xclaim access points can be set up in a matter of minutes, leaving you more time to focus on your business.
Conclusions
Currently, the Ubiquiti range is more substantial than Xclaim. This means users will be able to find exactly which product fits their deployment. It will be interesting to see whether Xclaim add additional models to their product line, such as a long range model like the UAP-LR and an entry level outdoor AP like the UAP outdoor+.
Xclaim are aiming to provide a reliable solution that anyone can install without any hassle. Ultimately, it will be people with wireless network knowledge that install and manage these networks in small businesses. When considering ease of use, UniFi is also notoriously easy to setup and manage, with little network experience required.
Ubiquiti UniFi products are proven in the field and have been paving the way in this market for a long time. The price to performance ratio offered by Ubiquiti has not yet been beaten, and their products are solid performers with intuitive software.
Xclaim is new to the market, but has great potential and will continue to grow. With the experience of Ruckus behind them, Xclaim is looking highly promising and it will be interesting to see how the series develops over time.
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