When the alarm goes out, 911 dispatchers in Surrey, British Columbia, have less than 6 minutes to get a team of firefighters to the scene.

The fire department’s dedicated Telco line network was outdated and inefficient at handling the number of calls coming in from this fast growing metropolitan area.

Metric Systems Corporation designed a tailored system that effectively networks the region’s 17 fire halls across 130 square miles. The system integrates a range of radio equipment and technologies, ensuring that calls trigger action almost immediately.

Key features of the system include:

• Wide-area operation covering over 130 square miles TCP/IP, 900 MHz infrastructure network
• Plug-and-play replacement for dedicated 2400 baud line to 19.2 Kbps
• No change to existing PSAP or dispatch software
• In operation for 10 years

Robust Wide Area Water District Network

A North County San Diego water district stretching from the Pacific coast to inland wanted to enhance its existing communications infrastructure to support user growth and network-based process control devices.

The district asked Metric Systems Corporation to analyze their current communications infrastructure and develop a staged deployment plan.

The network design had to meet the following criteria:

• No single communications fault could affect more than one remote site
• Infrastructure must support Ethernet/IP and legacy proprietary serial interfaces – in this case, ModBus
• Infrastructure must minimally impact existing UHF and VHF licensed SCADA networks
• Existing licensed system traffic must be supported by new infrastructure

Key features of the system include:

• Redundant broadband backbone ring
• Adaptation to various geographical topologies
• Concurrent support for Ethernet/IP and proprietary serial protocols
• Network-based concept allows quick and easy system maintenance and network evolution
• Full support for peer-to-peer, VPN, multicast and broadcast traffic
• Full online network monitoring, status and configuration
• Provides transport for VoIP and video services