To honor its newly expanded product line of Rhino Box® Integrated Transport and Equipment Shelters, Metric Systems Corporation has received its registered trademark #4,000,969 dated July 26, 2011 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark office to trademark the Rhino Box® catchphrase and logo.

This step to further increase its intellectual property holdings supports Metric Systems Corporation (MSC) as its standardized product line grows to encompass requirements-built wireless networking system solutions that support interoperability and function the world over.

The Rhino Box® shelter is an all-weather environmentally controlled equipment enclosure designed to support the transport and safe operation of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) electronic equipment in harsh environments.

Built around the rugged, field-proven Hardigg® MAC Rack transportable enclosure, MSC adds its 20+ years of expertise in designing, manufacturing, and deploying mission critical communications systems to provide you with an economical and rugged all-weather deployment platform for electronic and communications equipment.

Use the Rhino Box® shelter to pre-stage standalone system solutions and rapidly respond to critical deployment requirements anytime, anywhere.

To learn more, download a Rhino Box® Data Sheet here, or visit us online.

About Metric Systems Corporation

Metric Systems Corporation (MSC), a privately held Vista, California corporation founded in 1992, designs and builds specialty infrastructure and Edge domain wireless networking communications solutions for government, industry, and commercial interests. Its purpose-built, requirement-based terrestrial, satellite, and mobile wireless equipment solutions provide critical multimedia wide-area backbone transport for government and industry uses.

For more information, contact Metric Systems Corporation at 800.549.7421 or visit www.metricsystems.com.

Contact Information:
Metric Systems Corporation
Danielle Reyes-Acosta, 760.560.0348
dacosta [at ]metricsystems.com
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One of the largest Project 25 (P25) networks in the world provides reliable, resilient and secure voice and data communications to the thousands of men and women of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) who patrol and secure the U.S. Southwest frontier. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and other federal officials use the

network as well.

The overall project provides communications capabilities for CBP field personnel in 20 geographic focus areas across the United States.

System Overview

1. Provide 24/7 secure, digital P25 service along the entire length — nearly 500 miles — of the Arizona/Mexico border;
2. Provide continuous two-way radio service in the event critical communications facilities such as radio links, telco hubs or equipment are lost;
3. In the event of a site equipment failure, provide the ability to remotely access the problem site and provide a patch-around capability;
4. Provide a minimum latency transport infrastructure to enable operation of key P25 features such as over-the-air rekeying (OTAR)and programming (OTAP);
5. Full support of non-networkbased appliances on the IP network without affecting radio network traffic performance;
6. Support for all P25 base and repeater equipment interfaces including interfacing to the Motorola Quantar and AstroTac via V.24 interfaces;
7. Provide full online remote access to all Motorola equipment via Motorola’s Radio Service Software (RSS) port, minimizing the need for on-site support personnel;
8. Provide a true mesh least-cost networking capability for nearinstantaneous alternate routing in the event of site or link failure;
9. Allow remote operations for multiagency and disaster operations;
10. Provide the ability to quickly and securely provision the network for special needs and requirements;
11. Support maintenance via a deep ability to remotely diagnose and monitor traffic of all LMR and non-LMR assets;
12. Enable federal, state and other governmental agencies to independently and securely use the network;
13. Minimize site installation and provisioning visits by pre-staging, provisioning and testing each network site prior to installation;
14. Support T1 to DS-3 telco service connections; and
15. Provide support to future broadband wired and wireless media connectivity.

New Concepts Employed

The Arizona CBP digital network upgrade featured several new concepts in logistics, mobile radio IP networking, and techniques of the administration and operations and maintenance (OAM) of large networks

• Pre-staging and provisioning of each site;
• Mix-mode IP transport and packet switching of circuit- and packet-based P25 traffic;
• Using both new and existing legacy infrastructure media such as UHF and microwave;
• Analog and digital telco facilities; and
• Advancing techniques of remote diagnostics, remediation of faults and system provisioning.

Solutions Provided

• IP backbone site controllers and networking equipment (SAFARI™ Wireless Networking Controller)
• Integration of backbone networking equipment (SAFARI™ Commander)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rice University Selects Metric Systems Corporation to Provide White Spaces Test Equipment for Houston’s Technology For All Project

VISTA, Calif., February 28, 2011 – Vista, California-based Metric Systems Corporation (MSC) is proud to announce that it has provided a Rice University research team headed by Drs. Edward Knightly and Lin Zhong with the wireless test equipment necessary to explore the use of white spaces for low cost, widespread WiFi-like connectivity. The Technology For All Project, serving Houston’s East End neighborhood, “aims to develop fundamental information technology advances that address the unique needs of underserved communities and developing regions.”

“Using MSC’s patented white space cognitive radio development platform, a.k.a. the WSCR-100, Rice University researchers now have an efficient means to develop and evaluate advanced protocol, modulation, and network concepts,” says Bill Brown, President of Metric System Corporation. “The WSCR-100 provides both standard command line and embedded controls, along with a web-based user interface for setting UHF operating center frequency.”

Aimed directly at fulfilling the needs of academic and industrial research, the WSCR-100 cognitive radio concept was brought to reality following the Federal Communications Commission’s September 2008 decision to open the white spaces spectrum between 300MHz and 400MHz. This unlicensed spectrum, created when the United States completed the HDTV transition from analog to digital television, provides great opportunities to organizations innovating wireless solutions that take advantage of the long-range, obstacle-piercing capability of the spectrum channels.

Consisting of four key components—an UHF up/down 2.4-2.5 GHz translator, a 600 MHz x86 Ethernet processor, two 6 dB directional log periodic antenna, and bundled S-band drivers and Linux wireless measurement tools—the WSCR-100 comes prepared to test networking concepts for not only academic, but also industrial and commercial applications.

For organizations seeking a less comprehensive solution, MSC delivers the UHF to 2.4 GHz up/down converter as a standalone unit as well. Conversely, MSC also provides concept-to-completion product design services for firms and institutions seeking a full service approach to white space system development.

Brown states, “With new FCC rules allowing for the exploration of white spaces, the product development opportunities are limitless. The sheer capabilities of white space-based technologies to extend wireless ranges up to distances of 5-10 Km and penetrate physical impediments is unlike any wireless product the market has seen yet. White spaces really are a game-changer.”

For more information, visit Metric Systems Corporation at http://www.safari-networks.com.

About Metric Systems Corporation (MSC)

MSC, a privately held California Corporation founded in 1992, designs and builds specialty infrastructure and last link wireless networking communications solutions for government, industry, and commercial interests. Its purpose-built, requirement-based terrestrial, satellite, and mobile wireless equipment solutions provide critical multimedia wide-area backbone transport for government and industry uses.

###

Contact Danielle Reyes-Acosta, Director of Marketing, or Bill Brown, President, at info [at] metricsystems.com, or 760-560-0348.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) implements an innovative Project 25 (P25) and mesh network to secure the Southwest.

By William M. Brown

Effective LMR communications are vital to officer safety in the field for border patrol, customs inspection and air/marine operations. One of the largest Project 25 (P25) networks in the world provides reliable, resilient and secure voice and data communications to the thousands of men and women of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) who patrol and secure the U.S. Southwest frontier. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and other federal officials use the
network as well.

The overall project provides communications capabilities for CBP field personnel in 20 geographic focus areas across the United States. The total cost was about $85 million, with $3 million for the two-way radio base station and repeater equipment and another $3 million for the wireless IP backbone equipment including broadband radio links.

The P25 tactical communications modernization project in California, Arizona and New Mexico incorporates a wireless IPv4/IPv6 mesh networking backbone, which integrates into a common, secure infrastructure. Several hundred repeaters, voters and satellite receivers service a 250,000-square-mile area.

System Overview

The Arizona CBP network — conceived in 2006 with phased operations starting in 2007 — is in many respects, the most technically sophisticated regional P25 network deployed to date. The network fuses IP and P25 network equipment into a single, multistate system to maximize operational effectiveness at a reasonable capital deployment cost and operational expense. The completed Yuma and Tucson sector network includes more than 215 repeater and base station networked sites.

The CBP required 15 operational objectives based on lessons learned from past deployments to achieve its mission and operational goals:

1. Provide 24/7 secure, digital P25 service along the entire length — nearly 500 miles — of the Arizona/Mexico border;
2. Provide continuous two-way radio service in the event critical communications facilities such as radio links, telco hubs or equipment are lost;
3. In the event of a site equipment failure, provide the ability to remotely access the problem site and provide a patch-around capability;
4. Provide a minimum latency transport infrastructure to enable operation of key P25 features such as over-the-air rekeying (OTAR)and programming (OTAP);
5. Full support of non-networkbased appliances on the IP network without affecting radio network traffic performance;
6. Support for all P25 base and repeater equipment interfaces including interfacing to the Motorola Quantar and AstroTac via V.24 interfaces;
7. Provide full online remote access to all Motorola equipment via Motorola’s Radio Service Software (RSS) port, minimizing the need for on-site support personnel;
8. Provide a true mesh least-cost networking capability for nearinstantaneous alternate routing in the event of site or link failure;
9. Allow remote operations for multiagency and disaster operations;
10. Provide the ability to quickly and securely provision the network for special needs and requirements;
11. Support maintenance via a deep ability to remotely diagnose and monitor traffic of all LMR and non-LMR assets;
12. Enable federal, state and other governmental agencies to independently and securely use the network;
13. Minimize site installation and provisioning visits by pre-staging, provisioning and testing each network site prior to installation;
14. Support T1 to DS-3 telco service connections; and
15. Provide support to future broadband wired and wireless media connectivity.

System Design Strategy

CBP staff at the National Law Enforcement Communications Center (NLECC) in Orlando, Fla., along with CBP personnel in the field and the Office of Information Technology (OIT) contributed to the design. The OIT staff managed the implementation, commissioning and cutover to a government-run system. The NLECC personnel designed and implemented the network operations tasks responsible for system networking and monitoring.

Overall IP Network Design Concept

Ad-hoc networking architecture — wireless nodes that directly communicate with each other — is employed in the Arizona network. Operating in ad-hoc mode, all wireless devices within range and through a wireless controller communicate in peer-to-peer fashion without involving a centralized routing or access system. This decentralized approach is ideal for missioncritical applications where central nodes can’t be relied on and fault avoidance is critical. In addition, the ad-hoc methodology makes for a highly scalable network, requiring minimal configuration and allowing for quick deployment suitable for small- to large-sized systems, such as public-safety, industrial and government systems. Adding a dynamic adaptive routing protocol enables ad-hoc networks to form quickly and to react nearly instantaneously to link breaks and faults.

The Arizona CBP P25 backhaul network uses full-duplex wireless links providing a 768 kilobits per second (kbps) payload capacity in each direction — east to west and west to east. An in-depth analysis was undertaken to arrive at a licensed operating band that balanced point-to-point links of 60 plus miles with real tower heights, antenna type and gains, signal reliability, available frequencies and the availability of off-the-shelf data radios. A subsequent spectrum search by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Office of Spectrum Management (OSM) granted multiple pairs of transmit/receive (TX/RX) operating frequencies in the lower microwave spectrum. With nearly two years of operational service, the reliability and robustness of the original spectrum choice has been demonstrated.

Network Routing Element. The key to a robust, decentralized adhoc mesh network is the use of a flexible routing element at each mesh node. In addition to providing the dynamic mesh routing capability, each Arizona routing element provides key additional capabilities for diagnostics and network control and monitoring:

• Physical interface support for Motorola Quantar V.24 synchronous interfaces;
• Physical and support interfaces for up to four independent ad-hoc wireless link radios;
• Multiple secure virtual local area network (VLAN) tunnels to support non-mobile radio network appliances;
• Diagnostic agents and tools to support simple network management protocol (SNMP)-driven network management system and site monitoring analog and digital input/output (I/O) system requirements;
• Ability to remotely and securely access and provision LMR station parameters and provisioning elements with no on-site intervention and minimum off airtime; and
• Tools to avoid or offset the frequency of physically returning to the remote site.

Motorola, Tait Radio Communications and EF Johnson Technologies supplied LMR infrastructure and subscriber handheld units for the network. The CBP, following laboratory and in-field on-the-air evaluations, chose the Safari wireless networking controller from Metric Systems as the core routing element for its Arizona network.

Network Support Devices. CBP decided to standardize an approach to packaging and powering each two-way radio remote and central site. The strategy centered on pre-staging all backbone equipment into a single 14U ruggedized transportable Hardigg case. This approach allowed the systems integrator to pre-wire, provision and live test all components interfaced with the specific two-way radios expected at the site. In addition to the full-duplex fractional T1 radio and Safari controller, five components were added to the pre-staged enclosure to ease site integration and operation. A network-managed AC strip allowed the controlled startup of each remote element, along with the ability to gauge AC current and selectively restart each component if required. The asynchronous serial server enabled maintenance and network management personnel to independently access Quantar RSS ports, along with serial interfaces from nonmobile radio devices.

A purpose-built user shelf provided a positive connection scheme for interfacing the Motorola Quantars V.24 and RSS ports. The user shelf also provided four high-speed, switched Ethernet ports, which together with the controller provided eight additional Ethernet ports for IP-based P25 repeaters and nontwo- way radio devices. This overall modular design has been proven in more than 80 remote installations. Typical site integration and turnaround time is less than an hour given that the backbone radio antennas are up and correctly aligned.

Network Diagnostics and Commissioning Tools Once a site was installed and commissioned, effort was taken to avoid a maintenance visit unless necessary. About 20 percent of the sites are accessible only through airlift or long drives over dangerous desert and mountain roads. Costing time, dollars and personnel safety, the technical objective was to provide a robust set of diagnostic and commissioning tools that allow all responsible personnel the ability to request and observe the range of communications and site parameters available to correctly ascertain system operation or faults.

The utility and value of delving into a network’s traffic flow and interpreting packet types and protocols is paramount. About 10 percent of Arizona sites are remote solar powered sites, on mountaintops and accessible only by helicopters costing $5,000 per hour to operate. So it’s imperative that as a site buildout is completed, it is unambiguously certified as operating. Networking all available site parameters, such as communications, security and power, facilitates check out.

This requires that all network devices receive a unique IP address and device identifier. Hundreds of IP addresses are required in the Arizona network. Duplicate IP addresses cause serious problems. In the final days of a large-scale system commissioning exercise demonstrating interoperability among multiple P25 repeater vendors, a rogue device on the network responding as an LMR device was quieting other two-way radio repeaters. All diagnostics led to a specific vendor. If true, that vendor’s equipment would have been removed from the network with negative consequences for further deployment.

The controller’s capability to simultaneously monitor traffic at multiple sites and at multiple network device interfaces involved testing the duplicate IP address hypothesis by monitoring traffic at the suspected offending devices. While this didn’t exonerate the suspected devices, it pointed to an unexpected problem source — an Ethernet network interface card on a non-mobile radio power device at another remote site. With the rogue card removed, the commissioning processes continued to an acceptable conclusion. Total time to track and verify the problem was an hour.

Because of the network’s size and complexity, the overall commissioning strategy was to leverage the network’s space ad-hoc architecture into a tool that would allow standing up networked sites as they became operational. Executing this strategy required five key events:

1. Verify that the intersite wireless link antennas were installed correctly and path statistics were verified and acceptable;
2. Install pre-staged network package and verify physical layer wireless link operations as required;
3. Conduct stress-traffic tests between local and remote nodes;
4. Verify network connectivity with non-LMR site elements; and
5. Verify connectivity among all P25 equipment.

A set of wireless controller-based embedded HTML administration, monitoring and provisioning tools allowed a radio technician to declare a node operational and externally networked. When network segments were physically completed, they were easily integrated into the total network and readied for mobile communications operational validation.

While the networking hardware often attracts the center of interest in designing networks, software validation tools are playing an increasingly key role in managing limited labor and time resources. Working with the CBP, the monitoring tool was tailored to meet three key needs not served by SNMP management tools:

1. A summary and in-depth look at the viability and overall traffic status of all P25 assets connected at each backbone and telco T1 POP. This view provided an end-to-end view of a “nailed down” V.24 wireless circuit;
2. A summary and detailed look at the backhaul wireless radio status; and
3. The ability to remotely reconfigure and re-provision the network and network support assets such as V.24 power systems and sensor devices without risking the integrity of the system.

From the beginning, the Arizona CBP digital network upgrade featured several new concepts in logistics, mobile radio IP networking, and techniques of the administration and operations and maintenance (OAM) of large networks, including the following:

• Pre-staging and provisioning of each site;
• Mix-mode IP transport and packet switching of circuit- and packet-based P25 traffic;
• Using both new and existing legacy infrastructure media such as UHF and microwave;
• Analog and digital telco facilities; and
• Advancing techniques of remote diagnostics, remediation of faults and system provisioning.

As the CBP builds its digital secure network, lessons learned in the intense two-year effort have been transformed into a series of best practices to collectively benefit the two-way radio community and subsequent CBP deployments. ■

William M. Brown is president and founder of Metric Systems. He previously held positions with Motorola and Raytheon. This article was written with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) technical staff. E-mail comments to editor@RRMediaGroup.com.

This article was originally published in MissionCritical Communications in August 2010. Download it here.

Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. is a Healy, Alaska, operation that provides coal to a range of North-American energy providers.

The region’s climate and topology often make it hard for engineers to be on site. The company had devised a SCADA information management system to provide real-time, 24/7 monitoring of their major dragline operations. What was missing was a way to transmit that data to the company’s head office.

Metric Systems Corporation developed a mobile wireless networking system based on our packaged Mavric™ Explorer and RAMM™ 2000 solutions. The system transmits data via a relay (repeater) station to the control office, allowing Usibelli engineers to make split-second decisions and adjust practices out in the field as necessary.

Key features of the system include:

• Unlicensed 900 MHz/2.4 GHz operation
• End-to end Ethernet connectivity
• Conversion of non-Ethernet data to Ethernet/IP compatible data
• 100 % 24/7 system monitoring
• Cold temperature survivability -40°C to 85°C operation
• Vibration resistant
• Expandable to multiple remote vehicles/platforms (trucks, portable units, etc.)
• Throughput of 115 Kbps

Tactical Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN)

Customer

Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) is a leading provider of advanced weapon and space systems. In addition, ATK is the world’s leading supplier of solid rocket motors and the nation’s largest manufacturer of ammunition.

Project Objective

Design and manufacture a NetCentric UHF COTS-based Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) system to provide wide area connectivity to ATK Mobile Ground-to-Air Radar Jamming System (MGARJS) shelters deployed over hundreds of square kilometers. Deliver production quantities in six months ARO.

System Solution Approach

To meet ad hoc mesh and redundancy requirements, a multiple radio configuration approach was chosen. This physical link architecture coupled with a highly efficient multi-cell Media Access Control (MAC) scheme, together with a MANET proactive routing scheme met the ATK requirement for a flexible, redundant fixed and mobile wide area wireless network.

Equipment Description

SAFARI™ DCR900 Controller

The SAFARI™ DCR900 Controller is at the core of the NetCentric WWAN system, with each controller consisting of two independent high speed RF spread-spectrum frequency-hopping modems for operation in two independent bands. Each modem is independently configurable to support multiple hop patterns per band. The SAFARI™ DCR900 WWAN supports multiple physical link topologies, including peer-to-peer, peer-to-multipoint, and ad hoc mesh configurations. A robust network management and embedded diagnostics suite provides real-time local and remote system and network monitoring.

SAFARI™ DCR900 Amplifier

The SAFARI™ DCR900 Amplifier shelf provides the additional RF power required to punch through noise and reach out for more than 100+ km.

TacNET Mission Planning and Network Administration and Monitoring Application

TacNET is a Windows®-based network design and real-time verification software tool that enables mission commanders to graphically design SAFARI™ networks and subsequently verify operations in the field. Individual network configuration files can be uploaded directly to fixed or mobile nodes via Ethernet or over the air.

End-to-End System Solutions

Metric Systems can provide you with a tailored communications system to meet your specific networking and environmental requirements.

Options

• Power amplifier output options — 10 to 100 watts

• Security — The SAFARI™ DCR900 comes standard with 64/128-bit WEP/TKIP/AES-CCM/802.1x, WPA security features.

• Frequency bands — single or multiband support available
  • Military 30 MHz to 6 GHz
  • Federal, state and local government 30 MHz to 6 GHz
  • International unlicensed bands — 400 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz

• Data rates supported
  • 64 kbps to 10 mbps +

• Network topologies supported
  • Point-to-point, peer-to-peer, bridge
  • Point-to-multipoint, ad hoc, ad hoc mesh

• Physical link redundant options
  • Auto-rerouting
  • Predefined recover links
  • Tandem links

Typical Configuration

TacNET screenshot

SAFARI™ DCR900 WWAN Data Sheet

To learn more about the capabilities of the SAFARI™ DCR900 WWAN, please download our data sheet (PDF, 209 kb), or to discuss your specific requirement, please contact us.