fourDscape® Surveillance Technology helps First Responders Access Events in Real-time.

fourDscape^® is a patented four dimensional, integrated visualization technology providing situational awareness and command & control in a single easy-to-use interface. fourDscape's browser/server architecture, has been designed to be a modular, open, and easy to use, and provides interactive visualization capabilities which make it an ideal technology to integrate into the data center and facilities environments.

The fourDscape^® solution integrates user-generated data from disparate sources, including live smart sensors, into actionable information. The information can be displayed in a fourDscape^® browser that effectively presents the data in a single visual scene or common operating picture, providing automated situational awareness for Incident Commanders, First Responders, Law Enforcement, Security Personnel and anyone else that is responsible for Securing and Protecting Infrastructure and/or Human Assets.

The layered system architecture works by refining raw sensor data as it propagates up each layer until it is visually represented in a fourDscape^® browser as a temporally-spatially correlated set of dynamic objects in a 4D scene. This scalable, network-based architecture is capable of managing large arrays of surveillance, scanning and tracking sensor suites. The natural user interface delivers full contextual and interactive situation awareness and control.

fourDscape^® is a modular system conceptually similar to internet browsers/servers, except that websites exist in 2D space, whereas 4D Portals utilize the entire expanse of 4D time and space. fourDscape^® 4D browser users can navigate into the 3D virtual reality of a 4D Portal and move back and forth through the fourth dimension of time to effectively analyze many correlated real-time sensor datasets, both inside the data center and within the surrounding facility.

Related products: TailgatER Mobile Commander Visuality Solutions

Contact Us

Office No.: +65 6509 9600
Fax No.: +65 6509 9667
Info & Sales: sales@progreso.com.sg

S'pore Needs Science and Technology to Enhance Security

SINGAPORE: Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said Singapore will need to constantly leverage on science and technology to enhance operational capabilities in homeland security.

One way is to work with youths and tertiary institutions to get them to take "a serious role" in helping to make Singapore safe against security threats.

A group of polytechnic and university students have topped the Novel Automobile Barrier Challenge, which was first launched in September last year. They beat 26 other entries to emerge as the top three winners.

The challenge requires participants to come up with a kind of barrier that will effectively stop a moving vehicle travelling at 60 kilometres per hour, from crashing into a building or a facility.

It is understood that this is the first time that the Home Affairs Ministry has organised such a challenge with a tertiary institution and it said it is the first of many to come.

The winning team from the National University of Singapore walked away with a cash prize of S$8,000. One of the team members, Mr Tan Chun Liang, who is a PhD student from the School of Design and Environment, explains how the barrier works.

Mr Tan said: "The design is extremely portable, and we actually designed it so it does not look like a barrier...car hits metal, metal hits ground and ground hits spike. Car stops."

Some of the other ideas received may also be adopted by the ministry but feasibility studies will still need to be conducted.

Dr Lee Fook Kay, Chief Science and Technology Officer with the Home Affairs Ministry, said: "We have barriers but a lot of the barriers are fixtures that we put in the building. Those which are more portable are not so effective, so that's why we are reaching out to the students to see whether they can come up with good solutions. And I think students also tend to look at the economical way of looking at the problem. So they may not be very expensive solutions but they work.

"If you look at events, people do put barricades but some of these are pretty heavy to transport and they are quite a burden. So the ideas that the students have come up with are really very novel. They are deployable and very portable. Students tend to really think out of the box."

A Memorandum of Understanding with NUS is also on the cards to facilitate sharing of information and ideas in science and technology.

Mr Shanmugam said: "MHA aims to stay ahead of evolving security threats, and ensure that the Home Team is always prepared in the face of an ever-changing security environment. A strong partnership with our educational institutions facilitates capability, expertise development and promotes mutual interest."

Mr Shanmugam added that such partnerships will take Singapore's homeland security capabilities to the next level.

-CNA/ac (

PROGRESO Networks Homeland Security Solutions:

Encryption Solution Military Solutions Video Surveillance

Contact Us

Office No.: +65 6509 9600
Fax No.: +65 6509 9667
Info & Sales: sales@progreso.com.sg

Media Converters in the MAN and Beyond

Most Local Area Networks have migrated to a Gigabit or at least a Fast Ethernet backbone with switched 10/100 connections to clients, printers and file servers. Fast on the inside, but slow on the outside, many U. S. businesses rely on copper T-1 and T-3 connections, or fiber ATM / SONET circuits for WAN connectivity. These connections were designed for voice but were never intended to handle the exponentially growth of Internet and data traffic, applications or the protocols typically used in today's LAN. What's more, provisioning and maintaining these circuits, or upgrading from a T-1 to a T-3 connection is an expensive and time-consuming proposition for both the service provider and the customer. It also requires significant capital investment at both the Point of Presence (POP) and the customer premises.  Ethernet is the dominant LAN protocol with the highest market penetration. Ethernet equipment is readily available at reasonable prices, and provides a migration path from 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps to Gigabit Ethernet. And with the 10, 40 and eventually, 100 Gigabit Ethernet standard, the application space for Ethernet will logically expand from the LAN to the MAN, and eventually to the WAN.


Media Converters are Flexible

Connecting copper switch ports to modular media converters for optical access enables service providers to fully benefit from the flexibility and distance offered by media converters. Media converters support multiple types of media from copper to multi-mode and single-mode fiber, and support 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps and Gigabit Ethernet.  Single-mode converters routinely cover distances of 20, 40 and 80 kilometers with 1310 nm optics, and even up to 130 kilometers with 1550 nm optics.

Media converters can also greatly enhance the consistency of service. With modular media converters, the network administrator can troubleshoot one circuit while the other customers' connections remain up and running. On the customer side, a standalone media converter can be used to provision an optical demarcation point, resulting in more cost savings and simplicity because the Telco router can be eliminated. Behind the media converter on the network edge, a Layer 2 LAN switch can be used to interconnect the public and private networks. Advanced protocols such as 802.1q, 802.1p, Quality of Service, and Network Address Translation can be handled at the POP switching router.

Benefits of Media Converters in the MAN

Tried and proven in the LAN, Ethernet is well positioned to become the protocol of choice for the transport of data, voice and video also outside the LAN.

Protocol transparency — service provider supplies the customer a standard Ethernet interface

Bit rate transparency — customer can connect to the service provider network at 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps or Gigabit Ethernet

Ethernet simplifies the network design — a traditional Telco router can be replaced with a remotely managed media converter

Customers can use the bandwidth they need, when they need it, without the wait associated with legacy services

Using media converters with Ethernet-based services minimizes the cost of provisioning and maintaining optical circuits

Coming Soon! Magnum 10ETS Configurable Ethernet Terminal Server

The Magnum 10ETS Configurable Ethernet Terminal Server, coming soon, will be GarrettCom's latest "Next-Generation" product in the Magnum 10-Series. The Magnum 10ETS is built on the same chassis design, and contains the next-generation hardened industrial-grade features of the Magnum 10KT Managed Switch. Like the 10KT, the 10ETS is an IEC 61850-compatible networking device with the extra hardening required for substation applications designed in, and the only dual hot-swappable power supplies in the industry.

The Magnum 10ETS offers up to eight Ethernet ports--which may be switched or routed, OR 32 serial ports. Each Magnum 10ETS may also be configured with an IRIG-B Timing Card to provide precision time synchronization for Protection and SCADA and other devices.

Features

• Configurable Ethernet Terminal Server with up to eight Ethernet ports or 32 serial ports
• Dual hot-swappable power supplies in a 1U rack-mount package
• Configurable IRIG-B Timing Modules available for precision timing to Protection & SCADA devices
• MNS-DX Software Supports Switching or Routing on all Ethernet Ports
• Substation-hardened, IEC 61850-3 compliant, no fans

Dual-rate Media Converter HET-3012

Connection Technology Systems (CTS) HET-3012 series media converter are the Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000 Base-TX to 1000Base-X media converter. The HET-3012 series media converter converts traditional twisted-pair RJ45 cable into various fiber media including multi-mode, single-mode, SC connector, bi-directional wdm, or a SFP slot for pluggable fiber transceiver. The traditional transmission distance of 100m over RJ45 copper can be extended from 550m to 80km over fiber.

HET-3012 series media converter is fully compliant with IEEE 802.3, 802.3u, 802.3ab & 802.3z standards. Besides, it is equipped with some switching features including ow control and store and forward.  The installation and operation are simple and straightforward.  The operation status can be monitored through a set of diagnostic LED indicators on the front panel. It is especially designed for network operators, metro Ethernet providers, enterprises, SMB, who have the need of implementing ber optical Ethernet networks over long distance, for FTTX solutions, and are looking for an effortless and reliable 1000Mbps media converter.

Features

Easy To Install And Use

With Auto-MDI/MDI-X and 10/100/1000Mbps auto-senses support. If network device connected to the CPE Switch is never need crossover cables and adjusts running at 10/100/1000Mbps speed

9K Bytes Jumbo Frame Size

Support jumbo frame size 9K bytes to ease the network traffic loading and facilitate IPTV service

Built-in Cable Tray

Keep excessive fiber inside the box. Save extra cost of buying a separate cable tray as well as saving installation space

Timing Systems - How do they work?

The Timing System receives a signal from a trusted time source, such as GPS. Other time sources could be terrestrial signals such as MSF (transmitted from Anthorn, England) and DCF (transmitted from Frankfurt, Germany),  or even timecode signal inputs, e.g. RS232, RS422, IRIG, AFNOR and NASA timecodes.

The signal then calibrates the internal clock in the master timing system. The internal clock, or oscillator, provides stability to the overall system if the GPS signal (or other synchronisation source) is interrupted for any reason. Many grades of oscillator are available, according to the stability grade required.

Diagram: example of how an airport timing system interfaces with different legacy systems







The time signal is then converted into outputs, which can be in many different formats, such as serial, parallel, NTP and industry-standard time codes such as IRIG, and AFNOR. Many standard systems are unable to cope with a multi-vendor requirement, where many different output interfaces are required.  This requirement is especially evident with legacy systems. We have overcome this by producing a range of flexible modular timing systems together with a wide range of output modules to interface with whatever systems the customer requires.

Time & Frequency Solutions recommend the use of a 'dual-redundant system' whereby a changeover unit links two timing systems with the ability to switch the signal from one to the other if a failure occurs. Sometimes a triple-redundant system is more appropriate, linking three timing systems.

Unsecured communications can put your business and your life at risk.

Government and private individuals and organizations have all the tools and technology needed to intercept voice and data communications traffic. If you are concerned about your business secrets, or the health and safety of yourself and your loved ones, you absolutely must take the steps necessary to protect your sensitive communications.

Gold Lock 3G^TM is the preferred solution for thousands of users around the world.

Here's why:

Licensed by the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Gold Lock 3G is a world-class software-based solution providing military-grade encryption for voice and data communications.

Gold Lock's triple layered security scheme turns your PC/laptop, Nokia phone or Windows mobile device into a military grade encrypted communicator, protected against any interception attempt by private, governmental or military entities.

You can depend on Gold Lock 3GTM to instantly encrypt your calls, file transfers and text messages even when making International calls. No VOIP provider is necessary. Protection is provided across all methods of Internet access including 3G, EDGE, GPRS, WI-FI and more. Plus, Gold Lock 3G^TM is easy to use and the keys are auto- managed with no user intervention required.

If you're not protecting your vital communications, you're transmitting financial, business and personal information in the clear. This opens you and your organization up to infiltration by criminals including industrial spies, kidnappers, terror organizations and other entities that do not have your best interests at heart.

Moving IPv4 to IPv6

As we all know, the usage of the Internet has been growing by leaps and bounds especially over the past few years. Information transfer is all important now, with more and more people hopping onboard the World Wide Web and an enormous number of gadgets also becoming Internet enabled.

Now imagine that with the explosive growth of the Internet, IPv4 addressing system imposes a limitation on the number, possibility of IP addresses could result in stalling the growth of the Internet in all its aspects. The new addressing system IPv6 is based on a 128-bit which vastly enhances the number of addresses. Experts have made it clear that a gradual transition to the new protocol is inevitable. In fact, countries like China and Japan have made rapid progress in launching IPv6.

Advantages of Using IPv6 over IPv4

The following advantages are immediately obvious in the new scheme of things:

Larger address space

Support for mobile devices

Simplified address auto-configuration

Improved address management

Built-in security with end-to end IP Sec

Enables more levels of hierarchy for route aggregation (Route aggregation on the Internet is similar to the ZIP code system used by the postal department. For e.g., mail addressed with ZIP codes 9xxxx are directed to the West coast. Regional and local post offices on the West coast then sort the mail by looking further into the ZIP code. For example, 98xxx letters are sent to Washington while 97xxx letters are sent to Oregon.)

Makes it possible to upgrade functionality as needed, e.g., multicasting, QoS and mobility features. Quality of Service (QoS) is a technology that helps ease the congestion in packet-switched networks. QoS provides for network traffic to be divided into different classes during times of congestion, and helps in prioritizing information transfer.

On the IPv6 platform, billions of new devices such as cell phones, PDA's, appliances and even cars can be IPv6 enabled;

The Internet can extend its reach to billions of new users in densely populated regions of the world;

The protocol makes it possible for "always on" access technologies like xDSL, Cable or Ethernet connectivity.

Mobility

With IPv6, mobile access of the Internet becomes simplified to a great extent, as it incorporates a specific protocol, called Mobile IP to support mobility. In an IPv6 environment, there is support for roaming between different networks.

Security

In addition to supporting mobile devices, security is a matter of increasing concern. IPv6 incorporates Internet Protocol security (IPsec), which provides for authentication, encryption, and compression of IP traffic. IPSec is a set of open standards meant for the protection of data communicated over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It achieves this protection through the use of cryptographic security services. IPsec supports network-level peer authentication, data origin authentication, data integrity, and data confidentiality (encryption), and replay protection. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) IPsec Working Group has developed the standards for IPSEc.

Multicasting

A large part of the TCP/IP communications involves the sending of messages from one source device to one recipient device, and this is referred to as unicast communication. It is also possible to send a message from one device to a set of recipients, otherwise known as multicasting. Multicasting support is a standard feature of the IPv6 protocol, making the process of communication faster, easier and more reliable.

RFC's

The Requests for Comments (RFCs) consist of a series of notes that relate exclusively to the Internet. RFCs discuss many aspects of computer communication, focusing on networking protocols, procedures, programs, and concepts. RFC 2460 is the document that covers the Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification in detail.