Learning News Feed

By Cradlepoint

If you were running late in the 1980s, you either showed up late or found a payphone and called ahead; today, a quick text — “running late sorry” — does the trick. If you got lost driving in the 1980s, you drove on and on until you got un-lost or stopped at a gas station to ask for directions; today, you have GPS and Google Maps.

It was a different world back then. Today, we are years into a digital revolution. Mobile communication has forever changed the pattern and rhythm of our lives. Technological innovation has been basically nonstop, and it is still going strong. Much vaunted 5G networks, when they finally come online, will deliver super-low latency, impressively high throughput, and incredible connectivity.

Future-facing organizations are trying to predict what the true impact of 5G will be. The question many are asking right now — “Where is 5G, and how long until it can help us?” — is best answered without hype and hyperbole. 5G is coming but it’s not here quite yet.

Companies will pay for 5G
A recent Gartner survey of 200 IT and business leaders indicates that three-quarters of end-user organizations would be willing to pay more for 5G mobile network capabilities, with companies in the telecommunications space being the most willing. However, most companies appear to be struggling to understand 5G, and specifically its potential and its possible effects. A great majority (92 per cent) of organizations asked have no expectation that 5G will lead to a boost in revenues; rather, they look at 5G as a means of naturally evolving their mobile network.

Kinks and misunderstandings
While more than half of those surveyed by Gartner believe they will (or will be able to) use 5G’s enhanced capabilities to drive Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities, 4G will be able to service the majority of IoT requirements for the next five years or so. Companies also appear to be laboring under a misapprehension that 5G will be at full capacity by 2020. In its white paper “State of 5G 2017 and Beyond,” cloud-based network solutions leader Cradlepoint makes it clear that the technology, while getting closer to the mark, is not yet there. In early trials, 5G is excellent for point-to-point, line-of-sight communications between antennas that don’t move. With NSA (Non Stand Alone) architecture and pre-3GPP specifications (adding mobility and interoperability capabilities), today’s 5G can get around interoperability, cell-site handoff, and mobility issues because these deployments are fixed. The data speeds are still tremendous, reaching several gigabits per second and keeping up with fiber speeds.

5G is coming soon
5G is still at least a few years away. In the meantime, organizations around the world are working to make it happen. When 5G finally comes — more than likely in the 2020 to 2022 range — it will be with the noise and fanfare befitting what will amount to a new technological era. On a human level, it stands to be an interesting time, with 5G carriers providing the kind of connectivity and speed and reliability that most in 2017 can only imagine. In everything from streaming video to online gaming to medical device connectivity, the 5G world will be an exciting one indeed.

Cradlepoint is the global leader in cloud-based network solutions for connecting people, places, and things over wired and wireless broadband—and is working with industry leaders to lead the way with 5G. Cradlepoint NetCloud is a software and services platform that extends the company’s 4G LTE-enabled multi-function routers and ruggedized M2M/IoT gateways with cloud-based management and Software-defined Network services.

 Alcatel-Lucent 8068 Deskphone OxE User Guide –

A video user guide of features and abilities of the Alcatel-Lucent 8068 Deskphone OxE system deployed.

VoIP capable, Other Features include:

• 240 x 320 pixel 1/4 VGA, 16.7 M coloros with back light.
• Up to 40 soft keys (multiple screens).
• Alphabetical keyboard
• Bi-directional navigation key for simplified feature access and scrolling
• Full duplex speakerphone with acoustic echo cancellation
• Comfort headset
• Optional Bluetooth Headset
• Two 10/100/1000 layer 2 ports
• SIP standalone option
• Headset connector
• Multiple language support
• IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet or optional external power supply

 Alcatel-Lucent 8028/8029 Deskphone OxE User Guide –

A video user guide of features and abilities of the Alcatel-Lucent 8028/8029 Deskphone OxE system deployed.

8028 Features include:

• offers rich VoIP communications
• outstanding wide-band audio quality
• 64×128 pixel black and white display with back light.
• Up to 68 soft keys (multiple screens)
• Alphabetical keyboard
• Bi-directional navigation key for simplified feature access and scrolling
• Full duplex speakerphone with acoustic echo cancellation
• Comfort headset
• Two 10/100/1000 layer 2 ports
• SIP standalone option
• Headset connector
• Multiple language support
• IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet or optional external power supply

8029 Features include:

• 64 x 128 pixel display with back light
• rich digital communications
• outstanding wide-band audio quality
• 6 soft keys (multiple screens)
• Alphabetical keyboard
• Bi-directional navigation key for simplified feature access and scrolling
• Full duplex speakerphone with acoustic echo cancellation
• Comfort handset
• Headset connector
• Multiple language support

by Chris Stevens, Cradlepoint

How to Address Common Barriers During the Router Rollout Process

Planning a network deployment is a complex process requiring coordination between many vendors and service providers. These challenges compound when the enterprise is under tight deadlines; often, deploying the network is the last thing stopping a company from opening a new location or launching a new revenue stream.

Whether in a mobile context or at a fixed location, there are several challenges that arise at every stage of network deployment — and there are next-generation ways to solve those challenges.

Deployment Planning Overview

To understand the challenges of network deployment, it’s worth briefly reviewing the deployment process. While each situation will play out with slight differences, the process generally follows these steps:

• Stage 1: Evaluating and vetting solutions
• Stage 2: Setting up equipment and provisioning connectivity
• Stage 3: Actual deployment
• Stage 4: Initial and ongoing monitoring

Evaluating & Vetting Network Solutions

For mobile contexts, or in cases when wired connectivity isn’t available (such as at a street kiosk) LTE generally is the connectivity source of choice. In fixed deployment situations, LTE connectivity might be utilized as failover for a wired network; some leading-edge companies are choosing to go completely wireless even when wired connectivity is available. In any of these situations, choosing the right LTE carrier can be tricky. In some cases, a site survey reveals that no available carrier can provide the level of reliability and service needed for the application in question.

Many of Cradlepoint’s routers offer dual-SIM or dual-modem functionality. Depending on your organization’s specific needs, it may be sufficient to choose a router with two SIM ports, with a single SIM activated at one time. In this case, the IT team can deactivate the primary SIM and activate the card for the secondary carrier, gaining a certain level of flexibility and redundancy without incurring the costs associated with utilizing two cellular data plans simultaneously.

On the other hand, it may be necessary to utilize two modems at once, whereby the router is constantly connected to two carriers, allowing for wireless-to-wireless failover and WAN redundancy. In this case, the switch from the primary carrier to the backup carrier takes place automatically and in mere seconds.

Often our customers come to us after having tried to put in place a solution that at the time appeared inexpensive and easy to deploy. Generally, when IT teams make their solution choices based only on how quickly they believe they can deploy the product in question, they actually end up slowing themselves down with solutions that are not future-proof and don’t last long.

For example, the engineer might not have thought ahead about the need for additional port capacity, or whether he or she might need power-over-Ethernet capability later. As the 2.4 GHz range becomes increasingly saturated, solutions that aren’t compatible with 5 GHz will need to be replaced. In mobile deployments, we sometimes come across enterprises that choose a solution but later realize they didn’t test it for interoperability with their GPS tracking (AVL) system.

Setting up Equipment & Provisioning Connectivity

Perhaps the most common headache when it comes to provisioning a new network is the task of getting wired broadband installed at a new location. Wired-line providers might take two or three months to install a new line once an internet service provider has been chosen and contacted.

Conversely, Cradlepoint routers allow companies to enjoy enterprise-grade connectivity on Day 1. Later in this post, we will cover some of the remote deployment and ease-of-use features that make this possible, but the mere fact that there’s no need to provision a wired line allows customers to seize business opportunities sooner.

Mobile use cases obviously are geared toward wireless connectivity rather than wired. These situations also call for careful consideration regarding how to power the wireless router. It’s important to factor this into planning timelines. For in-vehicle applications, it’s also critical to evaluate what sort of power conversion needs to take place to avoid power surges and eventual damage to the router. For more on this, review our Vehicle Best Practices Installation Guide.

Network Deployment

When it’s time to install router at new locations, organizations typically have two choices: hire a third-party vendor to execute deployment, or send someone from the in-house IT team to the sites. Third-party vendors can be very expensive, while sending someone from the IT team means diverting valuable resources from other important projects. It’s usually critical that someone with technical expertise is on site, given that the routers must be configured and may need firmware updates.

Earlier in this post, we mentioned that Cradlepoint wireless routers enable Day-1 connectivity. Additionally, Cradlepoint’s Enterprise Cloud Manager — part of the Cradlepoint NetCloud platform — makes it possible to get routers up and running without sending anyone with technical expertise to those locations. It’s only necessary that whoever’s on site can plug the router in and turn it on. Back at headquarters, the IT team can load the router configuration, update firmware, and modify settings.

With Cradlepoint’s all-in-one routers, enterprises can use the same router to manage and monitor the wired connectivity once it is installed and ready to use.

Initial & Ongoing Monitoring

As with router installation, initial monitoring and troubleshooting typically requires a third-party vendor. Companies that use Enterprise Cloud Manager, however, can handle manage, monitor and troubleshoot networks in house, even if the IT team is small and stretched thin.

Thanks to the cloud-based management platform’s real-time alerting and reporting, IT teams can be notified of issues as soon as they arise — sometimes even before customers or on-site staff notice anything is wrong. Further, if a Cradlepoint router is being utilized as a failover router, its Out-of-Band Management capability allows organizations to see beyond the Cradlepoint device to remotely diagnose problems and repair the primary router, too.

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise is introducing its hybrid communications blueprint to help businesses adopt Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS). Rainbow™ Connected Platform, the ALE “relationship machine”, is an overlay service that connects ALE and third-party communications platforms in a hybrid approach, enabling businesses to protect and leverage existing systems while accessing new unified communications services.

The new Rainbow Connector links any PBX (ALE or non-ALE) to the cloud and extends Rainbow UC capabilities (IM, Voice, Video, Screen and File sharing) as it enables calling via the PSTN, with Rainbow assuring call completion beyond the Rainbow community.

ALE is introducing OTEC-S, a multi-tenant cloud-based offer aimed at providing small and midsized companies with the benefits of Telephony as-a-Service coupled with Rainbow’s UCaaS capabilities. This expansion of the Alcatel-Lucent OpenTouch® Enterprise Cloud (OTEC) offer further extends the ALE strategy to deliver connected platforms by enabling enterprises of any size to take advantage of new subscription-based models. Large enterprises have benefited from the OTEC multi-instance architecture since its introduction three years ago. All OTEC customers benefit from the latest release with no upgrade costs, while the providers help manage the subscription from their data center.

In parallel, ALE will introduce OTEC Flex, a unique offer delivering cloud flexibility to Large and X-Large customers. OTEC Flex enables these customers to deploy communications in a flexible and adaptable private cloud environment from one location to another, while dramatically reducing the cost of resources, operations and maintenance.

Rainbow also acts as a CPaaS platform, where everything connects, by using APIs to integrate with business processes and in-house and third-party apps, allowing multiple customers to access the platform at the same time within a separate secure environment.

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Business Partners who deliver Rainbow services can offer applications that create greater value in communications via Rainbow Hub APIs portal. For example, a school district can take advantage of a broadcast lockdown and response application in a crisis, a hotel can leverage the Rainbow services integrated into their customer loyalty program application, or a bank can use Rainbow to integrate messaging and notifications over their customer relationship applications.

Did you know that most of companies want to find other ways to engage with their business community and, by doing so, develop creative solutions together?

In Cradlepoint’s new State of the Network 2017 Business Intelligence Report, one trend is quite clear: Legacy WANs, which are predominately based on wired lines, hardware-defined, and resource-intensive infrastructures, can’t keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of today’s lean and agile connected enterprise.

This report, featuring data from more than 100 surveyed enterprise decision-makers, explores how companies of all sizes are being challenged to expand their networks to more people, places, and things. Several key findings emerged from the research, including:

Approximately 60 percent of IT pros indicated they were already deploying LTE as a WAN connectivity solution.

Our research — and experience — indicates that the majority of enterprises have indeed deployed LTE for primary or backup WAN connectivity. But what that looks like can vary across industries as well as within a company itself. Individual departments may be setting up applications for lead generation or customer analytics as they work to determine how to better engage customers and create a better customer experience.

For example, because marketing departments have such an impact on company revenue, a marketing team’s IT budget often is separate from the IT department’s budget. Sometimes referred to as “Marketing IT,” this type of arrangement can be beneficial for the entire company. A bank can set up a physically separate and secure network connection using 4G LTE to deploy digital signage throughout its branches without requiring the IT department to go through a lengthy security review, because the application is on a separate network. With 4G LTE, marketing teams can quickly, cost-effectively, and securely set up customer-facing applications that directly drive additional revenue.

This type of deployment doesn’t necessarily mean a company or department is bypassing IT or giving short shrift to security; it simply means everyone is using technology solutions to increase profits and efficiency for the company.

The 40 percent of IT teams who, according to our research, indicated they are not yet deploying LTE as a WAN connectivity solution may simply not realize that such a deployment is possible or how much easier LTE depoyment has become in recent years. Many customers discover the benefits of LTE as WAN after speaking with their wireless carrier representative.

Many of the 40 percent who are falling behind aren’t constrained by technology barriers, but instead a lack of up-to-date information. Staying competitive requires staying informed on wireless broadband solutions.

Many CIOs have built their networks around traditional connectivity. Many of them are using legacy MPLS networks, which are fairly expensive wired connectivity solutions with constrained throughput. The throughput offered through MPLS may have seemed impressive 10 years ago, but it’s no longer adequate to run all of the new data-hungry applications, including video and customer WiFi.

As companies add new applications to their networks, CIOs often classify them into two key areas: core applications and noncore applications. Those classified as core traditionally involve the essentials for keeping a business up and running, such as processing credit card payments.

As the amount of noncore applications continues to grow, a company’s legacy WAN network faces increasing pressure. Applications such as security systems, video surveillance, and customer WiFi all strain bandwidth. Yet if a company looks to increase bandwidth on its MPLS, the costs can be significant.

Consequently, companies are instead looking to add multi-WAN capabilities. They may still choose to keep MPLS for critical functions, such as processing credit cards, but also are looking to offload noncore applications to the traditional internet. This reduces bandwidth pressure while allowing you to offload these applications to lower-cost WAN options such as LTE.

Approximately 57 percent of IT pros cite security as the most important feature they would look for in an SD-WAN solution.

Many IT teams are paying for MPLS networks because they have the perception of being secure, and because it’s the way things have been done for quite some time. Yet using SD-WAN — i.e., using multiple WANs at the same time and securely steering traffic based on application-specific policies — can leverage lower-cost, higher-bandwidth broadband Internet while maintaining high levels of security.

Solutions such as Cradlepoint NetCloud leverage the Internet and virtual technologies to extend the traditional enterprise network. This integrated platform provides an entirely new way to build, secure, control, and manage end-to-end private networks in the cloud using wired and wireless broadband Internet services.

Half of IT pros said increased flexibility/agility gives LTE an advantage over traditional wired connectivity solutions, while 39 percent said efficiency is another key advantage.

Flexibility/agility, redundancy/reliability, and efficiency are interconnected. As LTE networks evolve, the speeds that companies can get out of their LTE networks have surpassed the speeds they get from traditional wired networking. As standards continue to evolve every 18 months or so, speeds continue to increase significantly.

Actually, companies can make the entire connectivity process more efficient. Enterprises with multiple locations — such as convenience stores or banks with branches — may end up contracting with dozens of wired line service providers. Switching the entire company, including these remote branches, to wireless 4G LTE eliminates the problems associated with wired connections, minimizes the number of monthly invoices, and reduces the number of support calls while improving reliability in the process.

In the past, few IT analyst firms  anticipated LTE’s rapid rise as an enterprise WAN option. Today, however, some of the top enterprise IT research firms are actively recommending 4G LTE for the enterprise.

Multifunctional entry level access point for medium density and small business

OmniAccess® AP1101 indoor Wi-Fi access points provides high throughput wireless connectivity, seamless user experience and simplified management required by small enterprise WLAN deployment.  Featuring enhanced RF Radio Dynamic Adjustment™ (RDA) technology, AP-Group architecture design and user-role based management, OmniAccess AP101 delivers plug-and-play WLAN deployment ideal for any small and medium business.

OmniAccess AP1101 is a dual-radio, 5 GHz 802.11ac and 2.4 GHz 802.11n 2×2 MIMO, indoor wireless access point. Powered by multi-core CPU processor, the OmniAccess AP1101 has the fast encoding and decoding capability and provides reliable multiuser access. It supports up to 1.2Gbps wireless data rate and up to 64 simultaneous clients association.

Benefits: OmniAccess AP1101

• Plug-and-play deployment, part of a simple LAN+WLAN+UC turn-key solution designed specifically for SMB
• High performance access points with ability to fine-tune quality of service (QoS) delivered to each application
• Competitively priced product with lifetime warranty gives peace of mind

Features: OmniAccess AP1101

• Quality of service for real-time applications
  • VoWLAN support with QoS for each application (Voice, Video, Collaboration, etc..)
  • Seamless roaming for real-time applications
• Integrated simple guest management
  • Built-in customizable captive portal
  • Support of role-based management access (Admin, Viewer and Guest Manager)
  • Simplified guest account creation & management, with no need of IT skills
• Enhanced RF technology – Radio Dynamic Adjustment with DFS/TPC to deliver reliable, high-performance WLAN access

– See more at: http://enterprise.alcatel-lucent.com/?product=OmniAccessAP1101&page=overview#sthash.SmDeCFl4.dpuf

Cloud models and services have emerged as a transformational opportunity to reduce the burden on IT of building and managing infrastructures. Companies can increase their focus on strategic business value and begin to shift to a scalable service model. The cloud offers rapid deployment, flexible and elastic cost structures, advanced applications and service delivery with improved user experience.

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise doesn’t force customers to rip and replace their whole existing infrastructure. Instead they can embrace the cloud transformation at their own pace with a fully flexible consumption-based model.

So for small, medium and large enterprises who want to provide their employees with next generation communication tools that improve their productivity, the shift to the cloud represents an immediate opportunity to capitalize on state-of-the-art technologies and respond with agility through flexible business models. It means no upfront investments, reducing capital expenses and TCO.

OpenTouch Suite for Cloud is available in following versions:

• OpenTouch Enterprise Cloud
• OpenTouch Personal Cloud

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise also provides Rainbow, a cloud-based, enterprise-grade, Communication Platform (CPaaS) that connects people and systems.