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Ruckus Wireless awarded patent essential to reliably running video, voice and other multimedia applications over Wi-Fi

United States Patent Office and European Patent Office grant Ruckus Wireless patent for IP multicast-to-unicast conversion

Ruckus Wireless today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) have each awarded the company a landmark patent on conversion of multicast-to-unicast transmissions. Originally filed in November 2004, this is the 14th US patent granted to Ruckus Wireless in the area of wireless networking technology with several others granted throughout the world. Thirty-five other US patent applications are currently pending before the USPTO and are awaiting approval.

Multicast, a one-to-many transmission technique for broadcasting multimedia traffic over data communications networks, is a popular technology for simultaneously delivering digital information to a group of destinations.

Multicast-to-unicast conversion ensures a more predictable performance of IP-based video (IPTV), voice, tele-presence, and other delay-sensitive multimedia applications that are transmitted over 802.11 Wi-Fi networks.

The Ruckus multicast-to-unicast patent is particularly significant to the wireless networking industry given the explosive use of IP-based streaming video, voice, and other multimedia over Wi-Fi. As the demand for transmitting multimedia traffic over computer data networks rapidly increases, the need for more predictable transmission of these applications over wireless networks becomes essential to business operations.

What problems does multicast-to-unicast conversion solve?

Many video applications transmit digital information to receiving devices using IP multicast. When transported over 802.11 networks, these multicast transmissions typically use a best-effort technique that requires no acknowledgement from the receiving devices. Without acknowledgments, the wireless system has no way to determine if traffic was successfully delivered, no basis for retransmitting the packet if it was not properly received, and no mechanism to select the optimal physical layer data rate with which to transmit the packet.

Because delivery of multicast traffic is inherently unreliable due to the lack of acknowledgements, most APs simply transmit multicast packets at the lowest physical layer data rate (e.g. 1 mbps) in an attempt to increase the probability of error-free reception. This leaves the multicast traffic more susceptible to interference due to the increased transmission time.

Wi-Fi networks are particularly problematic for multicast due to the higher rate of dropped packets caused by interference, obstacles and other problems. Consequently, multicast transmissions are often rendered unusable over traditional Wi-Fi networks. This is due to constantly changing environmental conditions and the inability of wireless systems to cope with these changes while guaranteeing successful delivery of multimedia traffic at the best speed.

Conversely, Wi-Fi unicast transmissions require acknowledgements from receiving devices. These acknowledgements can be used to determine the success of transmissions and hence drive 802.11-layer retransmissions while optimising the physical layer data rate being used for communication.

By converting multicast or broadcast packets into one or more unicast packets, as described in the Ruckus patent, Wi-Fi systems can now leverage the powerful 802.11 acknowledgment feedback mechanism. This built-in feedback helps to achieve extremely low packet loss rates for multicast traffic while increasing the number of multicast streams that the system can reliably transport.

When combined with intelligent antenna arrays, multicast-to-unicast conversion enables highly-adaptive Wi-Fi systems that automatically cope with changes in the Wi-Fi environment. Unicast acknowledgements can now be used as one of many decision criteria to automatically ‘steer’ Wi-Fi transmissions over the best performing signal paths in real-time.

Ruckus Wireless has commercialised Smart Wi-Fi solutions and remains the only Wi-Fi supplier with systems deployed in hundreds of thousands of locations around the world supporting the distribution of high-definition IP-based television over standard Wi-Fi.

"This patent fundamentally improves the quality of service that can be delivered over Wi-Fi networks," said Bill Kish, Ruckus Wireless CTO, co-founder and one of the named inventors. "New applications for Wi-Fi are quickly appearing as performance and reliability increase. There is incredible demand for wireless that is as reliable as a wire. Ruckus is taking it there."

The multicast-to-unicast conversion, part of the Ruckus SmartCast quality of service engine, is integrated at no cost within Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi products. SmartCast comprises a variety of traffic handling and quality of service technologies specifically developed to dramatically improve the transmission of delay-sensitive traffic over 802.11 networks.

About Ruckus Wireless, Inc.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Ruckus Wireless is a manufacturer of advanced "Smart Wi-Fi" technology and wireless LAN (WLAN) systems used by enterprises and carriers around the world.

Ranked as the top telecom company in the 2009 Inc. 500 list and named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, Ruckus has developed patented technology that uniquely extends signal range and allows for consistently reliable distribution of delay-sensitive multimedia content and services over standard 802.11 Wi-Fi. Its flagship product line, ZoneFlex, is the first centralised wireless LAN system to combine state-of-the-art Wi-Fi smart antenna arrays and wireless meshing to deliver maximum range and reliable performance at the lowest cost. Leading broadband operators use its MediaFlex multimedia routers to extend wireless digital services such as IPTV throughout subscribers’ homes worldwide.

Ruckus has raised approximately $51 million from premier investors such as Sequoia Capital, Focus Ventures, Sutter Hill, Motorola, T-Ventures, Telus, Mitsui and others. Ruckus Wireless is led by Ms. Selina Lo, president and chief executive officer. For more information, visit Ruckus Wireless at http://www.ruckuswireless.com