Year: 2018

The wireless edge of the network has become ubiquitous, and so have been the expectations of a reliable and secure connection. Users have become used to the convenience of connecting wherever and however they want. They tolerate the flaws in a typical Wi-Fi connection – pauses in downloads, occasional drop-outs where we must re-connect, and lengthy waits as we try to join a public Wi-Fi network. For personal browsing, we make a conscious compromise between convenience and reliability because apart from being frustrating at times, no real harm is done. But in a business environment, reliable wireless connectivity can’t be a compromise for critical operations, especially where it can be the difference between life and death. Why multi-channel is not always the best choice Most Wi-Fi networks operate on a multi-channel architecture (aka micro-cell), where each wireless access point (AP) connects to a mobile client using one of several radio channels. To achieve optimal throughput to each client, it’s important to have good signal strength but minimal radio interference by ensuring that the APs are not too close, and the same radio channels do not overlap (called ‘co-channel interference’). However, this can be difficult when there may be physical layout constraints, and there are only a few channels to choose from, and even harder in a multi-tenancy building when your neighbour chooses the same channels as you. To assist with this, tools are used to survey the physical site to plan the channel map for the optimal experience, but these tools can be expensive and time consuming to use effectively. This is how typical Wi-Fi networks are designed, and why they occasionally exhibit reliability glitches. Some years ago, an alternative architecture was proposed that utilised the same radio channel for all APs in the network. In this model, placement of the APs was no longer critical because they all used the same channel, so interference was not an issue. If coverage was poor in one location, then additional APs could be easily deployed without worrying about introducing bandwidth-destroying interference. Although the single-channel architecture solved one of the biggest challenges of Wi-Fi network design, it too had some limitations, the main one being that its total network throughput was usually lower than multi-channel. Since then, multi-channel Wi-Fi has become the predominant architecture and most of the time, it does a great job. However, there are some situations where multi-channel is not the best choice, and alternative solutions can provide a better experience. Applications of this type usually fall into three categories: Dynamic physical environments, like warehouses, where radio coverage is continuously being changed as objects are moved and removed. This makes multi-channel planning almost impossible, so the workaround is to deploy more APs. Unfortunately, this not only increases cost, but it introduces more radio interference, which reduces data throughput. Environments that must have reliable connectivity to mobile devices, like hospitals, where even a momentary loss of data connectivity can have a serious effect. As a wireless client moves, its connection will ‘roam’ to another AP when it perceives a significantly more attractive signal. Unfortunately, this roaming process can sometimes be slow and disruptive as security credentials must be established or re-negotiated. Often this can manifest as an annoying lag on a VoIP call, or random artefacts in video. One solution is to use only wireless clients that support ‘fast-roaming’ protocols, or intelligent bridging devices that handle the roaming on behalf of the client. Both these solutions add complexity and cost. Environments where there are many roaming wireless users, like schools, hospitals, public venues etc. Multichannel struggles to cope in these situations because only one client can talk to an AP at a time. So, having more clients associated with an AP means there is less time for each client to talk, so the effective bandwidth to each client is reduced. Adding more APs doesn’t always help because co-channel interference increases, which also reduces bandwidth. The answer to these challenges is a cost-effective Wi-Fi solution that combines the best features of both architectures – multi-channel’s throughput with single-channel’s easy deployment, and reliable, seamless roaming connectivity. Previously, users had to choose one architecture or another, and where it was desirable to run both multi-channel and singlechannel systems on premises, they had to manage two different networks with different tools. Administration efforts were increased because firmware updates had to be applied twice, and engineers had two different systems to learn and maintain. Today there is a solution that allows the user to select multi-channel, single channel or both, for the optimal Wi-Fi experience. By Scott Penno – Regional Marketing Manager, APAC, Allied Telesis  

Enterprise IT World, the premium CIO magazine has recently organized ‘Enterprise IT TechDay,’ powered by APC by Schneider Electric at Hotel Hyatt, Ahmedabad. The event was an initiative to engage leading business minds and stakeholders with a knowledge forum on datacenter, micro datacenter and edge computing. In lieu of the growing customer data for Indian businesses deploying third platform technologies and connected devices, this was a series of events focusing mainly on absolute knowledge forum for businesses to understand the need for datacenter and micro datacenter optimization of an organization. Enterprise IT World TechDay took place in order to accommodate the future technologies and solutions including Internet of Things, Edge Computing, Artificial Intelligence and many more. ‘Infrastructure Optimization to Accommodate New Age Workloads’ made up as the main theme for the event. The knowledge forums helped the audiences understand the process to churn valuable customer data to get insights in order to help better business decision making. The event in its initial phase is supposed to take place in a number of cities as well. The TechDay events engaged the audiences in panel discussions and open forums to learn and let learn about future trends in the given technologies. The topics covered during the event included – Changing workloads and applications on the edge, the current state of DC infrastructure in Indian business landscape, the need for micro-datacentre at the organization’s edge and the approach of IT Heads and CIOs on choosing the right approach to DC optimization. “With a surge in digitization, our world is increasingly opening up to more robust efficiency solutions across data centers. Moreover, the proliferation of data and its criticality to businesses have given rise to edge computing solutions and other related technology requirements – the CIO has come centerstage in this new scenario where technology is directly impacting the bottom line. Schneider Electric is happy to be part of a platform which is helping facilitate a dialogue on these scenarios,” quoted Venkatraman Swaminathan, Vice President, IT Division, Schneider Electric India. The event witnessed the presence of a series of speakers from reputed organizations including Deloitte, Sintex, Sonata Finance and many more, who came forward to enlighten the audiences on topics including the current scenario of IT organisations, the factors which drive these changes, the data centre optimization scenario. The event also concluded on various verticals discussing the areas where businesses today require real-time decision making, DC related queries which may hamper CIOs in near future. The events were carried out to provide an ideal platform for all CIOs, CTOs, IT Heads, IT Managers, and/ or IT decision makers who are responsible for their internal IT consumption to come and engage with like-minded peers and discuss their challenges and gain a better technology perspective.

The 15th Municipalika Exhibition & Conference in Mumbai has expanded as a 360 degree event on city development, with the addition of Construction, Architecture & Planning Exhibition (CAPEx) and India International Property Mart (IIPM) – the first of its kind B2B forum for real estate. The three-in-one international conference and exhibition at the Bombay Exhibition Centre was organised under the banner of ‘Future Cities’ – an exposition of technologies, products and services for urban development. Municipalika 2018 was inaugurated by Mahendra Jain, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department, Government of Karnataka, and Divya Kush, President, Indian Institute of Architects. H.E. Nadir Patel, High Commissioner for Canada to India, was also present at Municipalika’s inaugural session, sharing Canada’s experience in building world-class cities and underscoring Canada’s commitment to India. The event had participation of over 200 delegates in the conference segment, from over 300 Indian cities and towns and abroad, and professional visitors in the exhibition segment including ministers, mayors, municipal commissioners, urban local bodies, CEOs of smart cities and parastatals, along with technology providers, professionals and all urban stakeholders. Faculty and students of architecture, engineering, technology and management institutions also attended to get exposure on the latest trends. The 15th Municipalika 2018 provided a mega-networking forum for governments, experts, entrepreneurs and service providers to collectively find solutions to urban challenges. Municipalika provides a platform to evolve, evaluate and share policies, strategies, cutting-edge technologies and innovations towards smart and sustainable living in cities. Canada, the Partner Country, brought an array of technological best practices for possible use in India’s city development missions. To explore collaboration opportunities with Indian businesses in the infrastructure and smart cities sector, 28 leading Canadian urban infrastructure, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence companies visited the event. The mission has been organised by the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) of Global Affairs Canada, in collaboration with the Government of Ontario, the Government of British Columbia, the Government of Alberta, Air Canada and the Indo-Canadian Business Chamber. Nadir Patel said, “Canada is globally recognised for its excellence in urban infrastructure and smart cities which includes high-level project management, specialised technical skills and for developing environmentally friendly technological solutions combined with innovative design. This is a great opportunity for Canadian companies to learn about the exciting developments and plans for transformation in India’s urban infrastructure and smart cities. I look forward to further collaboration to support India in achieving its smart cities objectives.” There was a special session on fire and public safety, which had the participation of chief fire officers, fire engineers and professional institutions deliberating about the fire regulations for all types of buildings and their enforcement in-line with the National Building Code of India. The three-day long conference also included sessions on Resilient and Secure Cities, Healthy Cities, Green Cit ies, Connected Cities, Digital Cities and on Integrated Cities for self-contained cities.’ The Decision Maker’s Conclave, a special buyer-seller meet, provided a great opportunity for solution providers to meet architects, builders, green building consultants, EPC project heads and material procurement heads from large corporations. The event was organised with JLL as the Knowledge Partner. JLL is cocurating the sessions with Good Governance India Foundation.

FICCI has recently released the seventh edition of FICCI-Pinkerton ‘India Risk Survey 2018 Report.’ Speaking on the occasion, Madhur Verma, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Delhi underscored the need for a regulatory mechanism to facilitate access of information for detection of crimes perpetrated through the misuse of social media. Mr. Verma said, “Businesses today, especially those engaged in international operations, have to contend with cybercrimes relating to transfer of money through fake e-mails, and this throws up a huge challenge for the enforcement agencies in detecting frauds.” He added that the Delhi Police had created a separate cell for dealing with cybercrimes and was trying to create awareness on the nature and the enormity of crimes, especially those channelized through the social media, by reaching out to schools and the community at large. Cmde Sujeet Samaddar, Senior Consultant (Industry), NITI Aayog categorised the new age risks as business, economic, legal and compliance, and technology risks. He underlined the need for predictability, credibility and stability of the legal and compliance regimes in order to make businesses viable and sustainable. The biggest risk to business is to take the business-as-usual approach rather than a transformational and disruptive one. “The new digital environment and the multiplication of technological options have raised challenges and risks for which businesses should prepare themselves,” said Rahul Chaudhry, Chair, FICCI Homeland Security Committee. Rohit Karnatak, Managing Director India, APAC & EMEA – Global Screening, Pinkerton said, “In today’s time, policy makers and business leaders can truly fulfil their role by timely anticipating risks. Pinkerton utilises a data driven comprehensive approach to corporate risk management, aiming to use tools like artificial intelligence to anticipate risks, their probability and their potential impact to businesses.” According to Venkat Ramana, CoFounder & Director, Valuepitch E Technologies, “The crime rate in India can be lowered with the help of technology and training. Discovering previous antecedents along with real time situation monitoring without invading privacy is the challenge that needs to be addressed.”