We tested the Ruckus system in our wireless media facility, a combination entertainment and work environment that is completely wireless, except for the AC power coming into the room. We chose a subjective test (perceived video quality) and an objective test (measured throughput) to get a complete picture of the Ruckus system's capabilities.

We compared Ruckus with another popular multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO)-based wireless LAN system that uses a Linksys WRT54GX router (used only as an access point in our test) and a Linksys WMP54GX SRX PCI adapter. Our test geometry involved a linear distance of only about 15 feet, but it did go straight up through two floors and assorted wooden furniture.

The access points and a Dell 4150 server connected to a Linksys EZXS 16W switch. The Dell server was used to host the freeware VLC streaming-video client and server (available at www.videolan.org/), which we used to test video and audio on both systems.

We used the free Iperf benchmark, also installed on the Dell Server, for the raw throughput tests. Throughput was tested by running an Iperf test for two minutes three times.

We tested TCP performance, and left all parameters at their default settings, other than the length of the test. The wireless client adapters were attached to a Dell 4500 PC connected to a projector. A DVD in the server streamed wirelessly across the network to the client PC, and we tested subjective video quality, looking for dropouts, latency and other artifacts.

While we normally test wireless clients using turntables (to minimize the possibility of dead spots), there was no need for this, because the system continually tunes itself for the best antenna combination (see previous MIMO test we ran). LEDs on top of each unit lit up as the transmission pattern continually changed and adapted.