We have 1200 Meru access points on various controllers. We have just awarded an RFP to Aruba. In our experience the first couple of years were great until we upgraded to the MC 5000 chassis and AP320I aps. Since then we have had lots of controller issues and the AP320 series ap's have a strange radio chipset that reduced there functionality a lot. I loved the idea of single channel but with density becoming an issue I wonder how much that really helps. We have never really gotten virtual cell to work right and we solved a number of client problems by turning it off. I have to say they have bent over backwards to try to solve the issues.
Kevin Grover Utah State University From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John McMillan Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 9:51 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Experience with Meru Thanks everyone for the response. Stability and support issues seem very common, but there are some who are happy overall with the product. I was really hoping to hear how great they were, as some of the things their product promises could resolve some of our nagging issues. From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of Randy Ethridge Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 7:53 AM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Experience with Meru We have Meru in our dorms. We had no issues for the first year and a half where we only had a single type of AP. We added wireless to more dorms using another model of AP and now the controller has bounced twice without explanation from Meru TAC. I agree that we are seeing a better effort put forth in keeping us up to date and support was quick to respond (even if we had to request the 'unknown' issue be pushed up the ladder). From what I've heard from other Meru customers mixing AP models can result in issues. Randy Ethridge Network Engineer V Information Services Eastern Illinois University [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Office Ph. 217-581-7640 Proud to say "I am EIU" EIU THINKS GREEN: Before printing this e-mail think if it is necessary ________________________________ From: "Walter Reynolds" <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 7:25:26 AM Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Experience with Meru I will second the bumpy ride. While I can not say we specifically had problems in dense areas, I think overall stability of controller/AP/Radio's is still problematic. They have made changes and are trying to fix things, but it is a slow go. ------------------------ Walter Reynolds Principal Systems Security Development Engineer Information and Technology Services University of Michigan (734) 615-9438 On Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 12:14 PM, Gonzalo Cervantes <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Hi John, Barnard College has been a Meru shop since 2007. I came on board two years ago and it has been a bumpy ride. We often had controller reboots (sometimes twice in a 24 hour period) and getting answers of the root cause took a long time (if ever found). We have a couple of event rooms that have a high density deployment and have not heard of any issues there. I wish I had some metrics (head bowed in shame and frustration) for you but their reporting tool is not good. I opted not to renew and hold back on trying to do a POC for their latest EzRF Network Manager (reporting tool). They are going back to their secret sauce, virtual cell (for clean hand off between APs), which was neglected because they had to turn their focus on stabilizing their System Director OS and AP hardware. The new APs have a new chip set with new features but we don't have those on our campus. It seems that this will not be a problem for you but if you have two different AP models with the two different chip sets, they will ask you to completely isolate them and create new ESS profiles for them. Their support is average but improving. For what its worth, in the last year they have also gone through some organizational changes at the top. I have seen some significant outreach to us since. If you have some specific questions feel free to email me. Thanks, Gonzalo --- Gonzalo Cervantes Associate Director Network Services Barnard College, Columbia University [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> 212-854-8795<tel:212-854-8795> barnard.edu/bcit<http://barnard.edu/bcit> On Wed, Sep 18, 2013 at 12:30 PM, John McMillan <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Hello all, Has anyone here worked with Meru Networks gear? We've got some client density issues (primarily in auditorium spaces) that our Cisco gear doesn't support very well and we're investigating alternative solutions for those areas. We met briefly with Meru and the technology looks interesting, but I'm curious to hear if it lives up to the hype. Thanks, John McMillan University of South Alabama Computer Services Center ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
