Texas State Fair uses mesh for surveillance

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: JOANIE WEXLER ON WIRELESS IN THE
ENTERPRISE
09/12/05
Today's focus: Texas State Fair uses mesh for surveillance

Dear security.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Mesh finds increasingly innovative uses
* Links related to Wireless in the Enterprise
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus: Texas State Fair uses mesh for surveillance

By Joanie Wexler

Applications for mesh networking continue to crop up. Mesh is
being used to affordably scale municipal networks, as noted in
this newsletter's recent discussion about the new Strix-based
network going up this month in Tempe, Ariz.

And next week, we will likely hear about the delivery of
mesh-based services in a couple of Silicon Valley cities from
MetroFi, a wireless ISP using mesh gear from SkyPilot.

And mesh has also proven to be a good fit for hard-to-wire
environments and networks with topologies that change
frequently. These include temporary events and construction
sites, where a network of a certain size and topology is needed
for a period of time, then is dismantled and moves on.

Last week, for example, mesh vendor Firetide noted that its gear
is in use at this month's Texas State Fair in Dallas, covering
277 acres. The application: real-time video surveillance. The
Firetide mesh network is reportedly replacing a point-to-point
microwave system of past years, which was said to occasionally
be compromised by electrical interference generated by fair
activity.

The mesh video surveillance system reportedly works as follows:
The Dallas Police Department establishes a command center on the
Dallas fairgrounds. In addition to off-duty police officers
walking the grounds, AgileMesh video servers and software reside
in the command center, and video surveillance cameras around the
park plug into FireTide HotPort wireless mesh nodes via Ethernet
cabling. Four video cameras were reportedly installed along the
Midway and two, with full pan, tilt and zoom control, were
placed on top of the Cotton Bowl facility. Cameras receive power
over Ethernet, eliminating the need for additional power supply
and cabling.

As with any mesh architecture, the mesh nodes automatically
discover one another over the air and auto-configure themselves,
enabling the network to scale simply as nodes are added with no
wiring required. In this way, remote cameras can be added
without the need for costly network cabling back to a central
site; cameras simply plug directly into a mesh node, and the
mesh nodes backhaul content wirelessly.

According to Firetide, the surveillance network has already
helped police nail vandals and a thief stealing valuable
landscaping plants.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Google hacking <http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir6814>

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<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir6536>

3. Cisco warns of another IOS bug
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir6815>

4. Firefox upgrade offers improved usability, security
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir6816>

5. 2005 salary survey <http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir3867>

_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Joanie Wexler

Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology
writer/editor in California's Silicon Valley who has spent most
of her career analyzing trends and news in the computer
networking industry. She welcomes your comments on the articles
published in this newsletter, as well as your ideas for future
article topics. Reach her at <mailto:joanie@jwexler.com>.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Nokia
Empowering Your Mobile Enterprise

Nokia believes that business mobility will fundamentally change
the way work gets done-and for the better. To allow the entire
organization to get the most from this paradigm shift in
productivity, Nokia Enterprise Solutions focuses on delivering
increased efficiency through enhanced mobility. Learn more by
downloading this white paper today!
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=112911
_______________________________________________________________
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FEATURED READER RESOURCE

GARTNER'S SECURITY HYPE-O-METER

What is hype and has it influenced your network security
efforts? At a recent Gartner security summit, analysts described
what they say are "The Five Most Overhyped Security Threats,"
risks that have been overblown and shouldn't be scaring everyone
as much as they seem to be. For more, click here:

<http://www.networkworld.com/weblogs/security/009180.html>
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