Today IP technology IS the alarm industry.
It's simply the best way to communicate
to the central station
 

AES-IntelliNet Mesh Technology

How It Works:
AES-IntellliNet wireless mesh network utilizes the
following principles:

  • There is a remote transceiver used to monitor or control a device such as an alarm panel.
  • Each transceiver relays its data in distances measured in miles, to the central receiver via radio transmission.
  • If the transceiver is too far to reach the central receiver directly, it simply hops the data to the next closest transceiver and that transceiver relays it to the central receiver or to the next closest transceiver to the central receiver.
  • The Central Receiver relays the data to alarm automation software for processing. 
  • If data can not be relayed via one route, the mesh network automatically selects the next best route from a choice of up to 8 available routes at any given time.
  • The network dynamically and automatically adapts to changes in the network caused by weather changes, obstruction changes, the addition or subtraction of other transceivers in the network, etc. so that it is highly redundant and reliable.  

Geographically Separated Networks:
Wireless mesh networks operate very well in areas where there is a relative density of remote transceivers to form the network.  Such as across a campus, city, region, state or even country. However, there are some applications which have pockets of remote transceivers such as 2 separate cities, which may be have great distances (perhaps hundreds of miles between them) which want to benefit from the wireless mesh technology.  In this case, where it might not be practical to add a lot of remote transceivers between the cities to bring the two city-wide networks together, there is Internet technology to bridge the gap.  AES-MultiNet technology, as illustrated in Figure 2, utilizes the same principles as the single wireless mesh network with the following additional principles:

 
  • When the data reaches the edge of the single wireless mesh network, it is collected at a central concentrator called an IP Link.
  • The IP Link receives the wireless data, converts it to TCP/IP and relays it over the Internet to the Central Receiver.
  • The Central Receiver relays the data to alarm automation software for processing.

Wireless Mesh Benefits:
The
results are that a wireless mesh network provides more reliability, more redundancy and faster signal transmission than any wired or wireless network technology available.  Furthermore, since the monitoring transceivers themselves make up the network negating the need for radio towers, the network is self enrolling and managing negating the need for real radio engineering expertise, and the fact that there are no monthly fees paid to a network operator to maintain this network, a wireless mesh network offers the lowest cost of ownership possible.

In the fire and security industry, there is a basic requirement to quickly and reliably transmit alarm data from remote alarm panels to a central monitoring station. This central monitoring station is typically located remotely from the alarm panels that are being monitored.

 

In addition to the requirement for quick and reliable alarm data transmission, the industry also has the following requirements, some imposed by regulations:

Wireless mesh networking, such as AES-IntelliNet, offer unique advantages that serve the critical needs of today's alarm industry. 
 

 

 Requirements  Description
 Transmission Speed  Receive alarm within 2-5 seconds from occurrence.
 Redundancy  Provide multiple communications paths in case one fails.
 2-Way Communications  Assure that each signal is acknowledged.
 Minimize recurring monthly fees  Reduce or eliminate monthly communications fees for alarm communications.
 Installation and maintenance  Minimize cost of ownership.
 Meet compliance standards  Meet all application compliance standards for life safety communications.

 


Wireless Mesh Radio Networks
  provide the most comprehensive offering for the alarm industry by overcoming the drawbacks associated with alternative offerings.

The upfront investment in establishing a wireless mesh network is relatively small compared to traditional communications systems. A typical field installation can be done in one day and is not dependant on third parties. There are no recurring monthly costs, such as those associated with phone or cellular time or leasing radio tower space since a wireless network provides its own communication medium. The network provides high levels of redundancy and reliability at low operational costs. As additional subscribers are brought on line the network naturally expands. Every additional remote site expands the network allowing signals to be "smartly routed" to the receiving center via the most efficient path. Thus, as the network grows it becomes more redundant and reliable. The operator is also the owner and maintains complete control over the network
 

•  Telephone Line - Has the advantage of being available in most places but has a relatively high monthly recurring cost, installation may take weeks, and there is no redundant communications path even if two phone lines are engaged. Neither the end user nor the Central Station operator have any control over the network and are subject to line cuts, weather, and equipment malfunction. With new laws enabling cell phone users to keep their telephone numbers even when they change carriers, many have disconnected their landline based home phones, cutting their connection to the central alarm monitor.

 

•  Direct Wire - An antiquated technology provided by telephone companies, Direct Wire circuits connect a premise to a monitoring station utilizing a supervising current. Direct Wire has limited availability, is expensive by comparison and provides little critical event information.

 

•  Derived Channel - Derived Channel circuits were prevalent in major market centers and established between the protected premise and Telco Central office by use of a poll-response protocol and sub-audible tone on POTS circuits. The telephone companies are currently eliminating Derived Channel offerings due to low customer volumes and technological incompatibilities with multiplexing technologies used today in the ordinary routing of phone calls.

 

•  Cellular - Installation can be done in one day as opposed to standard telephone lines, but this option still has a high monthly recurring cost and network coverage is far from everywhere, particularly in rural areas. Transmission times can often be lengthy as the call traffic is routed through multiple centers prior to arriving at the monitoring sites. Cellular frequencies are publicly known meaning jamming devices may be easily purchased to interfere with signals. Operators have no control over the transmission network.

 

•  Satellite - Network coverage is pretty much everywhere including rural areas, but it has a very high monthly cost and the equipment can be quite costly. There is, therefore, very little implementation in the life safety industry.

 

•  Private Tower-Based Radio - There is a high upfront investment in the receiving equipment at the monitoring site and repeater tower space is prohibitively expensive, as rental fees have escalated dramatically in the last 24 months. Extending geographic network coverage requires significant capital and operating expenses from the licensee as well as a high level of radio and engineering expertise. One-way radio transmission offers no supervision from the operating centers to dispersed network devices. While 2-way private radio towers offers the ability to interrogate network devices, the systems still suffers from the same limitations of single point systems.

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