Fiber-to-the-desk (FTTD) applications are always of interest with Federal agencies looking to increase network speed, efficiency, and security to desktop PCs, laptops, thin clients, and more. In Federal networks, wireless communications may be prohibited or unreliable, and traditional copper transmission is typically considered insecure. Lantronix fiber PCIe Network Interface Cards (NICs), M.2 NICs, and Scorpion-USB network adapters offer a more secure solution for networks running at 100Mbps, 1 Gbps, and 10Gbps speeds.

Copper-to-fiber media converters are another cost-effective option for extending fiber to the desk, and PoE media converters are particularly useful for connecting VoIP phones or wireless access points (where allowed). With the increased demand for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, media converters can allow the integration of a wide variety of IoT devices, ensuring reliable connectivity throughout the network. Lantronix offers PoE and PoE+ media converters, as well as PoE mini media converters for providing power to connected IP devices in space-constrained applications.

Due to the importance of secure communications, Lantronix unidirectional media converters are another popular solution, particularly with intelligence agencies. A unidirectional device, sometimes referred to as a unidirectional security gateway (or data diode), provides a connection between two or more networks with different security classifications and helps to protect assets by ensuring information is directed only “to” or “from” the appropriate network as designated by the unidirectional media converter.

Hundreds of attendees stopped by the Lantronix booth at the recent Aberdeen Proving Grounds event where as an added bonus, our team handed out some always-popular Lantronix socks along with our advice on handling networking challenges. Many attendees came back the second day wearing their “trending new” Lantronix footwear and also wanting to learn more about the trending new Lantronix AI-driven Out of Band Management Solution, which utilizes AI-driven decision-making to automate routine tasks and make networks more secure and reliable.

Most attendees at the recent events shared their appreciation of the quick response Lantronix provides to their requests for information or quotes, as well as for the high quality of Lantronix FTTD products which are TAA compliant and backed by a lifetime warranty. Under the former Transition Networks brand and current Lantronix brand, we have been providing US Federal Government agencies and Armed Forces with high-quality and reliable products for more than 35 years, and we’re ready to serve again this Federal buying season! 

The post Ready to Serve appeared first on Lantronix.

In a recent report published by Walmart, ‘Adaptive Retail Report 2024’ the major retailer commissioned 2000 US shoppers in order to understand key trends, with one main insight demonstrating that retailers who can predict customers’ needs, provide personalised suggestions and deliver at the right time will succeed. “Advancements in technologies like augmented reality and artificial intelligence are transforming how consumers engage with retailers,” said Richard Kowalski, Sr. Director, Business Intelligence at Consumer Technology Association at the time of the report announcement.

One example of how this was put into practice was provided by Lantronix who published a case study which referred to HY-Line Group’s smart shelf, a digital retail shelf signage solution that provides analytics on customer buying behaviours both online and in-person. Lantronix’s E210 router, SIM connectivity services and IoT Edge solutions platform were all used for the development of the smart shelf solution.

“Lantronix’s proven IoT solutions enabled HY-LINE Group to create a digital retail signage solution that combines the best of online and in-person shopping while giving retail chains the ability to capture insightful analytics on customer behaviours,” said Mathi Gurusamy, Chief Strategy Officer for Lantronix in the press release. 

Real-time tracking 

One of the most significant advantages offered by IoT for the retail industry is the ability to track goods in real-time. IoT devices, such as GPS trackers, RFID tags, and smart sensors, offer continuous updates on the location and condition of products as they move through the supply chain. This real-time visibility allows retailers to monitor shipments closely.

Real-time tracking addresses several common supply chain challenges. For example, it reduces the risk of lost or stolen goods by providing precise location data. It also enhances the ability to respond promptly to delays or disruptions. If a shipment is delayed, retailers can quickly adjust their plans and communicate new delivery times to customers, thereby improving overall customer satisfaction.

Inventory management

Effective inventory management is crucial. Traditional inventory management methods often rely on periodic manual counts, which can be time-consuming and prone to errors. IoT devices automate this process, providing continuous and accurate inventory data.

Smart shelves equipped with weight sensors and RFID tags can detect when stock levels are low and automatically trigger reorders. This kind of automation ensures that products are always available when customers need them, which in turn reduces the risk of overstocking or understocking. Additionally, IoT-enabled inventory systems can analyse purchasing trends and predict future demand, allowing retailers to optimise stock levels and reduce carrying costs.

IoT also enables more efficient warehouse management. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and robotic systems can transport goods within warehouses, reducing the need for manual labour and increasing efficiency. These systems typically work together with IoT sensors that track the location of each item

Data analytics

The data generated by IoT devices provides retailers with valuable insights that can be used to optimise their operations further. Advanced analytics platforms such as these can process vast amounts of IoT data to identify patterns, trends, and anomalies. Alongside identifying buying behaviours, this information can also be used to improve forecasting accuracy, optimise route planning, and enhance overall supply chain efficiency.

For instance, by analysing data from IoT sensors, retailers can identify bottlenecks in their supply chain and implement measures to address them. They can also use this data to evaluate the performance of suppliers and logistics partners.

Conclusion

The integration of IoT into the retail industry has shown how real-time tracking and inventory management have become key advantages for retailers, as well as the data insights offered which enable them to understand trends and behaviours, and target their customers accordingly. By embracing IoT technologies, retailers can ensure their future success.

The post IoT in Retail Industry Includes Analysis of Shopping Behaviors appeared first on Lantronix.

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a system that uses standard Ethernet data cabling to send DC electrical power along with data to remote IP devices, such as cameras, wireless access points, VoIP phones, access control devices and an ever-growing list of other end-use IoT devices. Using PoE to connect and power these devices offers significant advantages over standard electrical powering. Let’s take a look at some of those benefits. 

1. Time and Cost Savings. PoE eliminates the need for separate electrical power cabling and outlets.
   • Reduced Installation Complexity. By combining power and data transmission over a single Ethernet cable, you save time, cost of cabling and installation cost. The installation is less complex with fewer power lines to each device.
   • Fewer Power Outlets Required. Traditional AC power typically requires dedicated electrical outlets for each device. With PoE, you can power multiple devices from a single PoE switch or injector. In addition, consolidating the number of required power outlets reduces the overall cost of installation.
2. Flexibility in Device Placement. PoE allows you to position devices exactly where they’re needed.
   • Ideal Device Location. Often, placing a power outlet in the desired location is not feasible or cost-effective. PoE allows the switch to be located near a power outlet, so the connected devices can be located where needed without concern whether a power outlet is accessible nearby. For example, PoE enables security cameras to be located within 100 meters of the switch without the need for additional power outlets.
   • Easy Repositioning. Modern environments, such as offices, warehouses and retail spaces, often require frequent moves, adds and changes. Since PoE cables are flexible and easy to reroute, connected devices can be repositioned easily as needs arise.
3. Enhanced Safety. PoE meets t IEEE-established standards to ensure the safe transfer of power to devices.
   • Intelligent Power Delivery. PoE includes a power “negotiation” process, through which the powered device communicates its power requirements to the power source, resulting in the delivery of only the acceptable level of power. In addition, PoE switches can monitor the power consumption of connected devices, protecting against overload or underpowering.
   • Installation Assurance. By following PoE standards, devices are also safeguarded from PoE power being sent to a non-PoE device, preventing damage to network equipment.
4. Reliability. PoE power from a centralized switch is more reliable than individual wall adapters.
   • Centralized Power Source. Accessing power from a centralized switch increases reliability because the source of power is not scattered across multiple distributed wall outlets. A centralized switch also simplifies troubleshooting since you can more quickly and precisely locate the power source in the event that a device loses power.
   • Remote Device Control: Lantronix PoE switches empower administrators to remotely and automatically disable or reset non-responsive devices. This eliminates the need for sending a technician to the site in order to reset power on a device, reducing valuable network downtime and costs.
5. Scalability. PoE accommodates easy Ethernet network expansion.
   • Simple Network Growth. Because PoE eliminates the need for additional power outlets, adding new devices to an Ethernet network is easy. As long as the PoE switch has enough available PoE budget, adding new devices is as simple as plugging into a vacant switch port.
   • Future Proofing: As PoE standards evolve, Lantronix switches will continue to support the demand for higher power levels (such as PoE+ and PoE++). This scalability helps ensure your network can accommodate future technologies without the need for a major infrastructure overhaul.

Power over Ethernet is a great solution for IoT networks. PoE offers cost-effective installation and flexibility in device placement as well as the enhanced safety, reliability and scalability needed when adding new devices to evolving networks.

To learn more about Power-over-Ethernet offered by Lantronix, contact us. 

The post Benefits of Power-over-Ethernet appeared first on Lantronix.

Remote Computing Access

What about when it’s a network issue?

So, my wife is still asking… could Lantronix have solved this issue?

The post When there’s no time to be thunderstruck… are you ready for the next Crowdstrike outage? appeared first on Lantronix.

Are Your Network Availability Expectations in Line with Your Business Requirements?

Achieving uptime in a corporate network that even approaches Three Nines is a daunting task requiring less than 8.8 hours of unscheduled downtime over the span of a year across all of the devices that create the network. Rapid recovery from any issue requires network management automation and assistance for network admins to even come close to meeting high availability requirements. Finally, budgets and business requirements for network availability and risk tolerance play into decisions on how networks are designed and managed.

In-Band versus Out-of-Band

Network infrastructure management can be in-band or over various types of out-of-band interactions. Most basic is accessing a network device to change configuration through the production network. That’s in-band. Using SNMP queries from centralized network management software to that device over the network it’s on is also in-band. Connecting a laptop to a device’s console port is considered an out-of-band connection since it’s not over the network.

In most environments, these methods hit challenges relatively quickly that either create more work for already-busy network admins or can result in an unexpected downtime lasting longer than even a three-nine metric allows for several reasons:

• Riding the crash cart | Directly connecting to a managed device over the console port means being onsite, and due to limitations on cable length for serial console connections, typically right there in the network closet or data center rack. This means trained 24/7 onsite staff or factoring in travel time to get highly trained staff onsite.
• Managing the network over the network | Connecting over the production network adds traffic to the network and workload to the infrastructure devices themselves. This is the reason that SNMP queries from centralized network management software are often limited to once every 5 minutes, or even longer intervals. It’s also considered less secure that managing over an out-of-band link because devices must be configured to accept connections from other devices and software.

Centralizing Access to Devices

Next, setting up access to infrastructure devices over a secondary network connection, perhaps through a dedicated management switch on another network does remove some risk. The production network no longer must bear the additional management traffic, and admins can access device management GUIs or CLIs, including server baseboard management.

For many network infrastructure devices like routers, switches, firewalls, and more, accessing them via a network connection requires the device to be operating in a highly functional state to reach them through Layer 4 on the OSI Model. This is the reason for console ports that allow communication with the device at a lower level of functionality on Layer 2 or 3 for basic commands and troubleshooting. Even if the device isn’t able to connect to an IP network, the console port is generally available.

Console Access Increases Reliability, Secondary Networks Increase Resilience

Adding a console server gives access to devices at this level, often providing connections to multiple devices even when there is not a functioning network. Connecting a console server with a secondary communication link like a cellular or POTS modem increases resiliency by allowing for remote access even when the primary network is down. For really remote networks, this could even be a satellite link. If you are counting the minutes during an outage, this can be a big step toward more rapidly solving a problem by connecting remote admins to the gear as if they were there with a crash cart. In addition to providing connectivity, console server management software can integrate with access security platforms to ensure granular access where only trusted people can reach the gear they have rights to work on.

Speeding Up Time to Recovery

Secure remote access can have a big impact on getting people working toward solving issues by removing travel time. The next challenge of progressing toward higher availability is that sometimes it takes a while for a problem to be noticed or officially reported. If centralized network management tools are only poling every 5-minutes, a problem might not trigger an initial alert until after the Five Nines metric has been broken (~5 minutes annually!), and already over a quarter of the time for maintaining Four Nines has passed. Faster monitoring and alerting are required.

It needs to poll at a higher frequency than SNMP, and still be over the console port to keep from bogging down the device. Monitoring needs to move to the edge, in the rack with managed devices. For high availability, a comprehensive view of all network infrastructure is needed. Each device that’s in the critical path for creating the network should be monitored continuously. Why? Because when there is a network issue, recovery goes through four standard phases:

• Unknown | The downtime clock has started ticking, but the problem hasn’t been discovered yet.
• Identification | Monitoring detects the problem and alerts, hopefully through IT methods before user complaints or disruptions to operations.
• Isolation | This is the stage of many questions: Who’s problem is this anyway? Is it an issue with the provider or within IT’s network? Which device in the rack is causing the problem?
• Resolution | Only when it’s known who owns the problem and the root cause is determined can the problem be resolved.

A Platform for Network Management Automation

This is where automation must come in to even consider hitting the Four Nines range of availability. Unlike network management software polling from the NOC, reliable management automation must come from a point of access resilience, like a console server directly connected to managed devices over their console port with a secondary network connection. This is the ideal platform for driving network management automation, by deploying network management software, processing power, and secure onboard storage for configuration and OS files. Here are some of the benefits of this platform:

• Frequent, intensive monitoring | Since the managed devices’ networking functions are not taxed, nearly continuous polling can alert of issues within seconds.
• Sophisticated rules engine | Receiving the feed from the monitoring is local processing of the data to determine if a device is behaving normally or not. This state-awareness feeds decision trees that directly correspond to the network group’s run book can gather more data, look for trends, and trigger automated actions to start the resolution phase in moments reducing downtime by eliminating the delays of a human response.
• An onsite assistant for bigger issues | When an issue exceeds automated responses, like a device that needs replacement, the platform can reduce the challenges on the IT team with functionality like onboard FIPS 140-2 encrypted storage of config and OS files. Just cable up the replacement device and it’s recognized and automatically configured.

A Happy Network is a More Secure Network

Downtime is traditionally the devil’s playground in networking. When the network is down SNMP polling is useless, logging of device access isn’t recorded, and desperate admins trying to get things working again resort to break-glass passwords and ad-hoc procedures.

With a console-based platform for network automation, all interactions with network infrastructure goes through access security, gets logged for both user input and device response, which is handy for post-mortem evaluations, as well as automatically backing-out errant changes.

The post Reducing Unscheduled Downtime: Fighting for Each Additional ‘Nine’ of Network Availability appeared first on Lantronix.

As a quick recap, PoE is a technology that passes electric power over a twisted-pair Ethernet cable to powered devices (PD), such as wireless access points, IP cameras and VoIP phones, in addition to the data that the cable usually carries. It enables one RJ45 cable to provide both a data connection and electric power to PDs instead of having a separate cable for each.

PoE switches are available in a variety of port counts: managed or unmanaged, enterprise or hardened. While this blog doesn’t go into all the various options and benefits of PoE switches, you can find more information on Enterprise and Hardened switches at  https://www.lantronix.com/blog/enterprise-grade-vs-hardened-grade-ethernet-switches-best-project/

When using PoE switches in your video security network, several key elements that will make managing and maintaining that network much easier. Here are some of the features that Lantronix PoE switches offer to ensure that your network stays operational.

Auto Power Reset

Auto power reset allows the switch to monitor PDs and take action if the PD is non-responsive. The switch can be configured to proactively ensure the PD is online and communicating, and the network administrator can configure the “check” time and frequency and then determine what action should be taken if the PD is non-responsive.

Always-on PoE

Always-on PoE ensures that there is uninterrupted PoE power to the PDs even when a switch is upgraded or restarted. This is critical when 24/7 surveillance cannot have any interruptions.

Ultra-Fast PoE

Ultra-fast PoE is focused on smart buildings and other applications to ensure that, in the case of the network switch losing power, the PoE power is provided within 5 seconds of AC power restoral. This is extremely beneficial when using PoE lighting and for video surveillance where uptime is critical.

Device Management System (DMS)

The Device Management System (DMS) enables you to know the exact location of your switches and cameras in a network. DMS has the capability to import a floor map of the building or area in which the security network is located. Using that imported floor map, you can “drag and drop” the PoE switches, cameras and wireless access points onto the map so technicians know exactly how the network was configured.

Another key capability from DMS is an auto-generated topology map on which you can see exactly how the device is connected and to what switch the cameras are connected. This topology map can be saved as a PDF and easily referenced to discover if any topology changes were made after the initial installation.

Video Management System (VMS)

Another key element for video security and surveillance networks is Video Management System (VMS) integration with the PoE switches. Lantronix’s plug-in for Milestone VMS enables Milestone users to integrate Lantronix PoE switches into their overall management. Learn more about our Milestone plug-in at https://www.lantronix.com/products/milestone-xprotect-integration/.

Lantronix also offers Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for its PoE switches so customers can easily integrate the switch into their VMS platform.

To learn more about the Lantronix PoE switch product line and offerings, please visit https://www.lantronix.com/products-class/network-switches/.

The post The Best-Kept Secret in Video Security and Surveillance Applications: PoE Switches appeared first on Lantronix.

While IoT-enabled machines are not people, it is people – different people, often times in different roles – who interact with them. What’s strange is that often in the world of IoT, this concept – the idea that one machine interacts differently with different groups of people – is often forgotten when it comes to IoT software platforms and application development. This can lead to the erroneous assumption that only one portal or application is needed to interact with a machine. OEMs, who follow this path of thinking, risk shortchanging the value they can derive from the Internet of Things, and worse, they risk missing the boat when it comes to positioning themselves competitively in an increasingly connected marketplace.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you’re an OEM building ATM machines. There are multiple stakeholders that will interact with your ATM machine after it is deployed:

• The end-user is the bank which uses the ATM to deliver cash and processing various interactions with authorized card holders. Here, there may be a network administrator, who manages and monitors the bank or store’s ATM network across multiple locations (possibly in multiple geographies) and who is also responsible for assigning data access privileges to the ATM. In addition, there are also likely bank personnel, who are responsible for doing daily interactions with the ATM (such as adding in cash, removing deposits, etc.).
• The system integrator is another stakeholder, who purchases and installs the ATM for various banks and stores. The system integrator may also provide on-going support and maintenance to the ATM machine itself. They may have more than one bank customer that uses the same ATM model, and therefore, need a way to deliver a customized experience to each one, while increasing efficiency in the field, and at the same time, making sure that the proprietary data from multiple bank customers are not compromised.
• Finally, there’s you – the OEM. As part of the warranty or services that you deliver with your ATM, you may need to provide technical support, deliver firmware updates, etc. In addition, you may want to gain additional insight into how your smart connected ATM solutions are performing in the field so you can improve your product design going forward and further enhance the experience of your various customers.

One Machine, Many Different Views = A LOT of Software

In some cases, several of the tasks between these groups are similar (where is the ATM, what is its status, has the relevant firmware update been uploaded) but even in these circumstances, the views must be tailored to the audience asking the question. In other cases, the need for customized streams of data or functions would benefit from being able to develop and deploy these services and apps quickly through a common platform but one that offers different portals or views depending on the audience.

All of this adds up to a lot of software, which can translate into a big headache for OEMs seeking to build their smarter, more profitable connected machine. How can OEMs do this effectively without breaking the bank?

The Two Things You Need to Build Your Killer IoT Application And Get To Market Faster

There is a common myth that all IoT application development needs to be done from scratch by the OEM. Tens of thousands of hours can be spent trying to develop management and other key core service applications that are not central to an OEM’s key strengths and market expertise. At Lantronix, we believe that success in getting to market quickly with your smarter, more profitable connected machine and delivering a robust software experience can be achieved through two key strategies:

1. OEMs should focus software development on their specialized area of expertise and creating a robust end-user experience. Whether you’re a maker of ATM machines, medical devices or industrial security machines, as an OEM, you best know and understand the special needs of your end-user customer audience.
2. Leverage a ready-to-use, multi-dimensional IoT software platform to help you do the rest. There are now a variety of IoT Platforms on the market to choose from, but be assured they are all not created equal. Selecting a modular platform that delivers essential apps and functions that co-exist with an OEM’s existing software can eliminate the need for costly rip and replacement or having to invest in significant re-education of support teams or end-users. Here are some things OEMs should consider when selecting an IoT platform:

• Do the apps and functions allow me to fill gaps within my own platform without throwing away what has already been developed?
• Can they be customized or personalized to support my unique needs, and do I have the flexibility to mix and match depending on my end-user customer or system integrator’s needs?
• Is it built on an open platform or is the system proprietary?
• Is the platform one that is scalable enough to support web-scale or enterprise deployments?
• How easily can it be integrated with my software?
• Can I (or my end-user customer, system integrator) use my cloud service provider of choice?
• Does the platform support multi-tenancy and multiple views?

The Internet of Things provides OEMs with a unique opportunity to go beyond the current traditional product development model and create new opportunities for building business value. But the key is to go beyond mere connectivity and a cool looking end-user GUI. By leveraging the right IoT software platform, OEMs can focus their efforts on creating specialized industry-specific applications and at the same time, deliver a true IoT experience to all of their stakeholders.

To learn more about the myths of OEM IoT application development, download our whitepaper here.

Lantronix is the developer of ConsoleFlow™, a multi-dimensional management software platform designed specifically to enable OEMs to quickly and profitably deliver web-scale IoT applications and services. To learn more, visit www.lantronix.com/consoleflow/

The post One Machine, Many Different Views appeared first on Lantronix.

Enterprise-grade switches are typically rack-mounted or desktop switches, depending on the number of ports. These switches are normally at the edge in the access layer of an enterprise network or used as a standard switch in the small office environment. An enterprise-grade switch is designed to function in a controlled environment where the switch temperature is constant, and the switch is protected from harsh environmental conditions.

Hardened-grade switches are designed for harsh environments in which the switch is likely to be placed in an uncontrolled environment with varied temperatures, dust and other environmental conditions. A Hardened-grade Ethernet switch is specifically designed to work in these harsh environments.

Both enterprise-grade and hardened-grade Ethernet switches contain features such as VLANs, Quality of Service (QoS), Power over Ethernet (PoE) and management via Web GUI, CLI or SNMP. In fact, if you were to log into an enterprise-grade switch and a hardened-grade switch, you would find the same commands, look and feel between the products and likely would not notice any major configuration differences.

What are the differences between enterprise-grade and hardened-grade switches?

1. Form Factor

Hardened-grade switches are typically DIN rail mounted as opposed to rack-mount enterprise-grade switches. The DIN rail installation of hardened-grade switches helps make them more resistant to shock and vibration, which is often required for hardened-switch applications.

Hardened-Grade Switch

Enterprise-grade Switches

2. Operating temperature

Enterprise-grade switches are designed for controlled environments, such as offices. An enterprise-grade switch has a normal operating temperature of 0–50 degrees Celsius. While this temperature works fine in a controlled office environment, it does not work for harsh environments. Hardened-grade switches are designed to work in temperatures from -40–75 degrees Celsius. This makes hardened-grade switches more versatile for uses in factories, outdoor environments and industrial automation.

3. Power

Enterprise-grade switches normally rely on a single power supply within a stable environment in which networks are protected from power failures and only work with AC voltage. Larger port count and higher-end enterprise-grade switches will have the option of redundant AC power supplies.

Hardened-grade switches will have redundant power inputs and operate on DC voltage.

4. Reliability

Hardened-grade switches are not affected by items like ambient temperatures, humidity, dust, vibration or shock. Because of this, hardened-grade switches will have a higher Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF), which means the elapsed time between inherent failures of electronic systems. This is all achieved without maintenance or requiring replacement parts. An enterprise-grade switch MTBF is dependent on the operating temperature and environment in which it is used.

5. Fanless

Hardened-grade switches use a fanless enclosure to dissipate all the heat from the actual hardware while enterprise-grade switches use fans for cooling. Hardened-grade switches are also quieter due to no fan noise. Fanless hardened-grade switches are also beneficial in uncontrolled environments that may be dusty and dirty since fans would require more maintenance due to dust accumulation.

Summary

Enterprise-grade and hardened-grade switches have the same feature and functionality but accommodate different environments. If the switch is going to be in an uncontrolled, dusty or dirty environment, a hardened-grade Ethernet switch will ensure that the network keeps functioning.

The post Enterprise-grade vs Hardened-grade Ethernet Switches — which is best for your project? appeared first on Lantronix.

For the last seven years, Lantronix has been writing in this blog about out-of-band management (OOBM), sharing observations to help network admins and managers keep up with the latest trends. Since the first blog in 2016 on OOBM, the growing number of connected devices exceeded “explosion” status to whatever adjective is above that. Add in cloud-based capabilities and virtual devices deployed on-prem and OOBM is even more important than ever.

The good news is that with the recent acquisition of Uplogix, Lantronix now has the strongest out-of-band portfolio available. With solutions ranging from single-port console servers to high density 104-port in 1 rack U devices, and functionality like Zero Touch Deployment and advanced automation that takes your OOB from a failover access channel to a secure, reliable platform for network management, Lantronix is the OOBM expert.

But first, the bad news. Downtime is still a major issue for networks seven years later. As the number of connected devices continues to grow, so does the financial impact of unexpected downtime. Looking at the Uptime Institute’s 2022 Outage Analysis, it’s not a pretty picture:

• High outage rates are the norm. 80% of data center managers have experienced an outage in the past three years.
• Outages are getting more expensive. Over 60% of outages result in losses of $100,000 or more, which is up from 39% in 2019. But wait – it gets worse. $1M+ outages have increased from 11%-15% over that same three-year period.
• The big three causes haven’t changed: Power, Network Complexity, and People. Power-related problems are 43% of significant outages, but the Survey says that networking-related issues have been the single biggest cause of all IT service downtime incidents. Networks are more complicated, blending cloud, software-defined architectures, and hybrid designs… with many now widely distributed. Still, a key problem is in the mirror — nearly 40% of organizations had major outages attributed to human error. Procedural issues, whether from not following them or processes with flaws make up 85% of those human errors.

What can out-of-band management do for my network?

We know networking is critical to business, but it’s really difficult. As networks have grown more complicated with clouds, virtual devices, security, increased demands for speed, distribution of network gear across data centers, branch offices, remote sites, and home offices, one thing has remained the same: network devices need maintenance and troubleshooting. “Laying hands” on a device, whether directly over a console port connected to a laptop or over a network is still required. Much of the software for network management assumes you can access gear and collects information over the network itself. This is generally OK, unless the network is the problem.

Enter out-of-band management – at its most basic definition it’s a Secondary channel to manage equipment independent of the production network. In most cases, the production network is based on Ethernet connection, but it could also include devices using InfiniBand or fiber, whereas OOBM uses console servers linked by cellular, POTS, satellite or really any secondary network option. The infrastructure needing management is made up of mission-critical routers, switches, servers, firewalls, wireless access points and more existing both as stand-alone hardware, or increasingly, as virtual appliances.

OOB access ensures remote connections to equipment for routine configuration changes and updates, as well as troubleshooting and triaging when there are issues. Platforms like Lantronix OOBM ensure that this access is secure by utilizing encryption, secure tunneling, and integrating with existing security platforms.

Management access to devices is critical for network admins, but that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. The positioning of a console server – connected in parallel to network infrastructure over serial and/or management ports, and with its own dedicated secondary network connection makes it the perfect platform for secure and resilient network automation. Some of the key applications of Lantronix advanced automated out of band management include:

• Zero-Touch Provisioning of new and replacement gear in the field using locally stored configurations and OS files.
• Continuous monitoring of network gear without taxing the production network that can trigger automated responses based on device telemetry data and following runbook procedures – just like a network admin, but 24/7 and within moments, not hours.
• Single pane of glass management of network devices and servers over serial console or a secondary management Ethernet port for faster uploads of device configurations and to access virtual devices, and/or KVM via service processor/baseboard management using port forwarding.

For network admins, it’s secure access and control to everything everywhere, all at once.

A Partner for Determining Your Out-of-Band Management Needs

The potential of OOBM in your network can be exciting but getting there can be intimidating. Lantronix is not only a solution provider, but also a partner for ensuring you get what you need from your OOBM deployment.

At the evaluation stage, our Field Application Engineers speak your language and can take your networking challenges and use cases to create a proof-of-concept plan to demonstrate the value of the solution. With the largest portfolio of out-of-band products, Lantronix has what you need to connect to all of your devices, in just about any environment, anywhere on the planet.

We’ll be with you through the evaluation and purchase to deployment, where Lantronix Connectivity Services simplifies today’s most common channel for an OOB connection – cellular – with regional and global service plans and easy billing. Throughout the product lifecycle, Level Technical Services provides dedicated networking experts with your success as their key metric.

The Lantronix OOBM Platform

Remote Out-of-Band Access

• Lantronix SLC 8000 Secure Console Manager – Modular console manager that provides secure access to IT equipment
• Lantronix EMG Edge Management Gateway – Edge solution for branch offices, remote locations, retail stores or anywhere an OOB network device gateway is needed and space is limited.
• Lantronix Spider – Distributed remote KVM-over-IP for remote and local access to IT equipment

Advanced Out-of-Band Management

• Lantronix LM83X Local Manager – Modular platform designed to act independently from the network to remotely monitor, manage and control up to 104 devices including a managed power supply. With the Lantronix Control Center, the LM83X delivers advanced out-of-band management and secure, reliable automation.
• Lantronix LM80 Local Manager – a compact platform designed to act independently from the network to remotely monitor, manage and control up to eight devices including a managed power supply.

Software

• Lantronix ConsoleFlow™ – Cloud-based centralized management SaaS solution for console managers with powerful automation, notifications, and smartphone app.
• Lantronix Control Center – Enables advanced out-of-band management by providing a centralized point of control for all Lantronix Local Managers and through this, of managed devices deployed throughout your distributed IT environment.

Let’s Talk Out-of-Band Management

We’d be happy to discuss your OOBM needs and might have some features and considerations you might not even have on your list yet. Please contact us today

The post Out-of-Band Management: What, Why, Where and When? appeared first on Lantronix.

Ethernet is the name for IEEE 802.3 standard based on the Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol, which defines when to transmit and what is to happen if a collision is detected. CSMA/CD also handles endpoint addressing, transmission speeds and the physical media. Ethernet technology is designed to solve the problem of packet collision in a shared network by having network-connected devices follow a set of rules that allow devices to talk to each another without talking over each other. These network-connected devices are physically connected by twisted pair or fiber to an Ethernet switch that then orchestrates the flow of data between devices, applications and the Internet. 

Ethernet switches have also become the common building block technology for most networks. They comprise a common networking device used to connect devices on a LAN, to each other and the Internet. Networking devices on a LAN include computers, printers, servers, Wi-Fi access points, security cameras, PoE lighting and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These devices are connected to the Ethernet switch via copper or fiber cables.

Industry analysts Dell’Oro Group estimate that campus switch revenue will increase from $18.8 billion in 2022 to $20.7 billion in 2027. Looking at 2023, despite concerns about the challenging macroeconomic environment and a tough comparison with 2022, Dell’Oro Group expects campus switch sales to grow by 3 percent, reaching a new record revenue level by year’s end.

How Ethernet Switches Function

Ethernet operates at the physical and data link level of the OSI reference model.

Ethernet switches connect multiple devices together by physically cabling those devices to the same switch or to devices that are connected to another switch on the same network. These connections are made with twisted pair or fiber cable.

Every Ethernet device has a unique identifier called a media access control (MAC) address. The MAC address is assigned by the manufacturer and is hardcoded to the device.  The MAC address is used in the data link layer of the OSI model and cannot be changed.

When Ethernet packets are transmitted to an Ethernet switch, the source device’s MAC address and the port to which it is connected are held in the switch MAC address table. The switch then refers to its MAC address table to see if the destination MAC address is connected to the same switch. If it is, the switch then forwards the packet(s) to the known destination port. If the switch does not recognize the destination MAC address, it will broadcast the packet(s) to all ports on the switch and wait for a response from the destination device.

If the switch is connected directly to the destination device, the device accepts the data packet, responds and completes the transmission. If the device is connected to another switch, the next switch repeats the lookup and forward process until the frame reaches the intended destination.

Summary

Ethernet switches vary in port counts, managed vs unmanaged, hardened vs enterprise, Power over Ethernet (PoE) and other functions. There are switches for specific applications, such as security and surveillance, transportation and smart buildings, as well as access switches, aggregation switches and core switches. The application and requirement determine what type of Ethernet switch is needed.

Since their introduction, Ethernet switches have been essential for enabling network connectivity. Now, Ethernet switches of an even higher importance because of their critical role in making wired and wireless connectivity possible and supporting the growing Internet of Things (IoT).

The post The Importance of Ethernet Switches in Today’s IoT Industry appeared first on Lantronix.

To that end, here at Lantronix we have spent a lot of time including methods to make it easy for people implementing our products to send data securely using well- established encryption and authentication standards such as the recently updated FIPS197 (AES), IPsec and higher-level protocols like SSL and SSH.  Wireless adds another level of concern, but we have spent man-years implementing the latest security methodologies to keep your data safe – even over the air.

As your personal information is placed on a network, it’s nice to know that some nefarious individual cannot decipher the data stream due to solid data security practices that have been put in place.

The post “It’s my data, and I’ll cry if you lose it.” appeared first on Lantronix.

You’ve got SLAs? We’ve got SLV.

We introduced Service Level Verification (SLV) years ago when I was just a tiny little Support Specialist. The goal was to go beyond the simple question of is Apache running and ask instead how well is Apache performing? We can answer this question by simulating an HTTP request, gathering statistics on the response, and taking action if any of those statistics meet certain conditions. The tests run directly from the Local Manager using its primary in-band connection, but it’s not limited to a single LM. You could test your website from any of your datacenters across the country and get a sense of how well it performs regionally.

Let’s take a look at how it’s done.

Note: SLV is an add-on feature that requires a separate license . If you would like to evaluate SLV with a temporary test license, please contact Lantronix Support.

Choose a Target

Since SLV is licensed per-LM, the test must be created on the individual Local Manager itself, but you can still use the Control Center’s web interface to do it. Head over to the Local Manager’s Summary page and click SLV Tests under Automation.

Click Add to create a new test. There are three types of SLV tests  (HTTP, IPT, and TCP), but we’re going to focus on HTTP. Give your test a name and a target. Specify HTTP vs HTTPS in the URL argument. Click Save.

After the next heartbeat, the test should be visible on the Local Manager’s CLI.

Schedule the Test

You can start collecting data by running the config monitor slv command on the Local Manager.

[dverastiqui@LantronixLM]# config monitor slv Lantronix_webserver :60
Validate scheduled monitor(slv)? (This will execute the job now.) (y/n): y
Job was scheduled 18: [Interval: 00:00:60 Mask: * * * * *] rulesMonitor slv Lantronix_webserver 60

The above example will make an HTTP request to the specified target every 60 seconds.

Behold My Data

From the CLI, you can use the show slv stats command to view the data collected by the test.

[dverastiqui@LantronixLM]# show slv stats Lantronix_webserver
CDT       Test           IP Address     Connect     1st Byte     Last Byte     # Bytes     HTTP Response     Message
-----     ----------     -----------     -------     --------     ---------     -------     -------------     -------
09:10     Lantronix_we     45.56.74.20     676         678         685           111362     200 OK                  
09:10     Lantronix_we     45.56.74.20     658         660         667           111352     200 OK                  
09:09     Lantronix_we     45.56.74.20     703         705         709           111362     200 OK    

If we’re just looking for uptime, we might key in on the HTTP response of 200. If we’re more performance-minded, we might look at the time to connect and how long it took to get the first byte versus the last byte. In the above example, we can see that a single call to our website produces 111K of traffic.

Consider a different server:

[dverastiqui@LantronixLM]# show slv stats verastiqui_webserver
CDT       Test           IP Address       Connect     1st Byte     Last Byte     # Bytes     HTTP Response     Message
-----     ----------   -------------     -------     --------     ---------     -------     -------------     -------
09:20     verastiqui     10.10.10.144     41         41           41           7018       200 OK                  
09:19     verastiqui     10.10.10.144     36        37           37           7015       200 OK                  
09:18     verastiqui     10.10.10.144     53         54           54           7026       200 OK                  

Notice it has a smaller root page at only 7K, so its response times are much lower. That’s an example of different servers, but you could also test the same server from multiple locations and compare the results. Maybe the response times are fine in Chicago where the server is located but not as great in Zanzibar where you got assigned because you kept stealing coworkers’ lunches from the break room.

Perhaps a Graph Would Help?

One of the nice things about having all this data is that we can then upload it to the Control Center during the archive process (by default, once every hour) and view it in graphical form. We’ll even create some nice charts to help visualize the data.
 

Are you an Excel guru? We make it easy to download all the data in CSV format so you can create pivot tables and floating point synergy graphs to your heart’s content.

Be In the Know

With SLV and the Lantronix Rules Engine, getting notified when the webserver is slowing down is almost too easy.

[dverastiqui@LantronixLM]# show rule webserverSlow
rule webserverSlow
action alarm GENERIC -a "Webserver Time to Connect TOO SLOW (above 50 ms)"
conditions
slv.timeToConnect max 50
exit
exit

[dverastiqui@LantronixLM]# config mon slv Lantronix_webserver webserverSlow :60
Validate scheduled monitor(slv)? (This will execute the job now.) (y/n): y
Cancelling previous monitor for 'slv Lantronix_webserver'
Job was scheduled 21: [Interval: 00:01:00 Mask: * * * * *] rulesMonitor slv Lantronix_webserver webserverSlow 60

[dverastiqui@LantronixLM]# show alarm
CDT     Elapsed   Device    Context               Message                                                                  
-----   -------   --------   ------------------   --------------------------------------------------------------------------
09:31   0:03                  Lantronix_webserver     Webserver Time to Connect TOO SLOW (above 50 ms)                       

If you’re subscribed to the system resource of that Local Manager, you’ll get an email alert. If you log into the Control Center, you’ll see it listed with other alarms.

A More Controlled Test

A lot of web pages are dynamic, so their file sizes may fluctuate with each request. If you’re trying to get consistent results, you may want to specify a file with a known size instead of the web root. We could ask the question how long does it take to transfer 5MB? Use one of the many online tools available to generate a 5MB file, place it somewhere on your website, and create a test.

Schedule it, let it run and let the Local Manager archive, and then you’ll have yourself a nice graph showing transfer speeds over time.

Now What?

Once you’re feeding data into the Rules Engine, the possibility for automation really opens up. The rules you create to watch the HTTP data can set variables that are shared system-wide, allowing a monitor on a different port to view them. You could have a monitor on Port 1/3 (where your Linux server is) look for a variable to change from false to true. When it does, the monitor could send the command service apache restart to the server’s CLI. Or shutdown -r now. Or service minecraft_server stop. The possibilities are endless.

What’s great about SLV is that it works inside your network on servers that would otherwise be inaccessible to services like Pingdom and Jetpack. With the TCP SLV test, you can monitor other network services like SCP, FTP, SMB, NTP, and all the other initialisms. And if you’ve got SIP phones in your network, you can use SLV to simulate VoIP calls.

Ready to try it out? Drop us a note at Lantronix Support if you’d like some assistance.

The post Is Your Website Working Hard or Hardly Working? appeared first on Lantronix.

Together, we provide customers with innovative solutions and support to help them realize their network’s full potential. Uplogix’s complementary high-end product offering is a timely addition to the Lantronix product portfolio.

Uplogix’s LM83X and LM80 series of products like Lantronix portfolio of OOBM products are designed for the challenges of remotely managing enterprise network infrastructure while reducing cost, complexity and downtime.

Former Uplogix customers will also have access to the Lantronix SLC and EMG series of console managers and our centralized management software solution, ConsoleFlow.  For  end-to-end network connectivity solutions Lantronix also offers a variety of IoT devices, such as switching and media conversion, and end points like Gateways, modems, trackers, and more!

Now with Lantronix, we also offer extensive LTE solutions with our Connectivity Services.

Have questions? Talk to our team to learn more about the new possibilities!

The post Uplogix Now Lantronix appeared first on Lantronix.

With hardware consolidation on the rise, fewer devices are responsible for controlling more functions. Routing, switching, serving, and more are being housed in a single appliance. The uptime of these multifunctional devices is critical. A single issue with one of these devices results in a severe effect on your network because it can take several critical business systems down at once.

Out-of-Band Network Infrastructure Makes Sense

Any device with a console port or web management interface can be managed with out-of-band management. IT teams utilizing out-of-band technology can reach those devices whether your devices are powered on or off, located on- or off-site, or are inside or outside the corporate firewall. Smart out-of-band infrastructure can spot and fix the network and system connectivity issues. As a result, it allows IT Departments to run a more smooth and transparent operation. With out-of-band management, you can remotely manage everything with one tool and easily control it all from one platform — whether it’s networking, compute, storage, or power.

Essential Benefits of Out-of-Band Network Infrastructure

The heightened flexibility to access devices through out-of-band infrastructure enables the business to:

Mitigate or Eliminate Downtime Network

• There is more than one issue that fuels downtime for an organization. In some cases, network downtime is the result of software failure or human error. The most common issues are hardware, power, routing, and configuration. Through out-of-band tools, having the ability to troubleshoot that device remotely instead of dispatching a tech can save the expense of onsite Still, more importantly, the time to resolution is cut dramatically.

Streamline Processes

• It is no secret that the support of both current and especially legacy systems can lead to frustration. With out-of-band infrastructure, businesses can streamline their entire process to detect infrastructure issues before they become critical. The result is that organizations can resolve network issues efficiently and faster. With out-of-band management, the need for equipment to be shipped back to IT for resolution or for technicians to be scheduled onsite is significantly reduced. The result is that network devices can be restored faster, reducing downtime, and boosting productivity.

Low IT Network Management Costs

• Out-of-band infrastructure reduces overall operational costs. The growth of the organization does not need to create the growth of your support team. Out-of-band management creates a better, more efficient IT department.

Resilient Systems

• Out-of-band infrastructure allows companies to minimize expensive network outages. Organizations understand that downtime is costly and can leave a long-lasting impact on productivity. Essentially, out-of-band network tools will enable you to reduce the outage length and help IT administrators conduct a review to reduce the occurrence of the outage in the foreseeable future.

Lastly, out-of-band management isn’t just for hardware failure. When designed and configured correctly, out-of-band allows you to perform functions such as initial server setup, including installing the operating system or installing hardware updates that require you to reboot into a bootable ISO or perform firmware updates. The ability to restore a server from a backup is also a time-intensive task that can be accomplished utilizing out-of-band management.

The Bottom Line

There is not an IT environment that would not experience a cost-benefit of implementing out-of-band technology. Understanding all the benefits of out-of-band management and technology is the key to a successful and stable environment. The IT executives that understand that out-of-band management can optimize business operations and maintain high industry standards while supporting business continuity are the executives that will deliver the most significant success to their organizations.

The post The Benefits of Having an Out-of-Band Network Infrastructure appeared first on Lantronix.

“

When you design for automation, you spend a lot of time looking at edge cases. 95% of the time, a standard approach will work, but for that other five percent, we need to get more creative. That’s how we approached the SMS-initiated PPP feature we introduced several years back. It allows you to remotely activate your out-of-band connection on a Local Manager by sending a text message over the cellular network via the Lantronix Control Center. We needed the feature because some customers weren’t able to use Pulse to automatically enable PPP, and others didn’t have any in-band connections at all. Imagine it: a completely network-isolated Local Manager only called into action by a text message that activates its out-of-band connection.

Wild stuff.

As with any solution, there are holes—edge cases. The biggest one is the Control Center itself. Under normal operation, you can log in and send these SMS messages every day all day. But what happens when the Control Center goes down, or more likely, the network between the user and the Control Center? For security reasons, SMS-initiated PPP uses an encrypted message to signal the Local Manager to turn on its out-of-band connection. Only the Control Center knows how to properly encrypt that message. You can’t just text the word pppOn to any Local Manager in the world and expect it to do something; this isn’t NORAD in the 80s and you’re not Matthew Broderick. 

To that end, we introduced the High Availability Control Center—two separate instances running in (hopefully) different geographic regions. Losing a VM server or network connection at one site is understandable, but two at the same time? Not in your five-nines network!

Except… improbable doesn’t mean impossible, so we have to be ready when the absolute worst happens. When you’re isolated from the Control Center, whether through network failure or because you’re on the road and your VPN isn’t working, you still need to be able to turn on PPP at a remote site when you need access.

This brings us to LMS version 6.2, which added a feature to the rules engine that allows it to read unencrypted SMS messages and take predetermined actions. I did a full write-up on the feature here, but the gist is that because the message is now unencrypted, any device capable of sending text messages can trigger your Local Manager to take action. Want to use your iPhone? Done! Send an email to an SMS gateway using Gmail? Done! Type your message into Microsoft Excel like Kelly Rowland? No, sorry, that doesn’t work (or does it?).

By making the sms.message object part of the rules engine, you can use it to trigger any of the available actions when the rule runs—like a reboot, pull tech, or even pppOn. Now, you’ll probably not want to use a related word like “pppOn” to trigger pppOn; something obfuscated like “operationPandaBear1984” might make more sense. The important thing to remember is that you will configure the rule to look for a specific text string, and that string can be anything. When that string is detected, other actions take place, so it’s not like you can trigger a reboot on a Local Manager by texting it the message reboot. That is, unless you specifically craft a rule like that. Pro-tip? Don’t.

Going beyond the use case of “unencrypted SMS-initiated PPP,” you can start to feed the SMS trigger out to other resources on the Local Manager, allowing the rules engine to take action on different ports when a system-wide variable is set. You could conceivably write rules to power off all routers and switches when the Local Manager receives a test saying “runSilent.” The rules engine is already pretty powerful, and now it has yet another condition it can evaluate.

We’re sure there are still more edge cases out there that we haven’t addressed; it wouldn’t be any fun if there weren’t. But at least now we can cross one more off our list. We don’t expect any customer to encounter the “both Control Centers are down” scenario, but if you do, you won’t be locked out of initiating PPP at remote sites via SMS just because the Control Center isn’t able to send email (hey look, SMTP is another weak link!).

If you’d like to learn more about unencrypted SMS, take a look at my write-up, and if you have any questions, shoot our support team a note.

“

The post Feature Spotlight: Unencrypted SMS-initiated Automation appeared first on Lantronix.

Dial W for War

Just like traditional terminal servers before it, the Lantronix LM-Series provides users with direct console access to network equipment through both in-band and out-of-band channels. If a user can open a terminal session on one of the managed ports, they will essentially have the same access as if they were physically at the site and plugged into the network gear with a laptop and a console cable. With the LM-Series console server sitting on the network, we want to make sure we don’t give this direct console access to just anyone.

Lantronix uses a standard AAA model to define who can access an LM, what they can do once they’re in, and how their actions should be logged. We break out the AAA model in the following way:

• Authentication – local or integrated with existing TACACS, RADIUS, or LDAP environments
• Authorization – role-based, defined locally or through third-party AAA ACL names
• Auditing – local always, offload to third-party Accounting servers available

Authentication and Auditing are pretty straightforward—usernames and passwords are checked, and every action is logged. Where the LM-Series shines is in the definition of role-based Granular Authorization that allows you to specify what a user can do down to a single command. Not only that, you can also specify where that command can be run.

Let’s take a closer look.

Who, What, and Where

If you were to create a user in your LM-Series deployment, give them a username and password, and then immediately try to log in, it would fail. Although the system can authenticate the user, it cannot yet authorize them to do anything. Without authorization (even the authorization to simply log in), the login attempt is denied.

Consider a set of statements like: User X has role Y on resource Z.

These statements define authorization throughout the entire LM-Series deployment.

It breaks down like this:

• User – can be a group or individual user
• Role – a list of allowed and denied commands
• Resource – system, port, modem, all, or server

When configuring your LM-Series deployment to match your security policy, most of the work will be done in the creation and customization of roles.

A Role for Everyone

By default, LMs ship with just two roles: admin and guest. The admin role includes almost every privilege and is intended for initial setup and/or super users. The guest role allows limited, read-only access to the system. Most customers end up creating a couple custom roles to meet their needs.

As shown in the screenshot above, a role is simply a list of permissions that either allow or deny access to a command. Most of the permissions map to specific commands (e.g., config answer), but others like login and use system auth don’t have associated commands. Every command begins with a blanket deny; a user must be assigned an allow permission to run the command.

Roles define which commands can be run. Multiple roles can be combined and evaluated together. For example, if a user is assigned the admin role and a role that denies access to the config answer command, the user will have access to every command in the admin role except config answer, because the deny statement in the second role takes precedence.

If you are new to the LM-Series console servers, you may not know enough about every command to build a new role from scratch. One option would be to assign everyone the admin role and a second role that denies administrative actions like config user or config system management.

Sound complicated? Don’t worry. A Lantronix LEVEL Technical Support Specialist will work with you to understand your security policy and help you configure your deployment to match it. We help every step of the way.

Once your roles are created, you can assign them to users on resources.

We Have the Resources

In the LM-Series world, giving a user a role on a resource is called Assigning Privileges. Privileges can be assigned to the Lantronix Control Center server, Inventory Groups, and individual LMs. We generally assign users or groups a role on the Control Center server and a role on the root Inventory Group so that all LMs can inherit the privileges.

Assigning privileges is as easy as accessing the Privileges section in an Inventory Group or single LM. The menu shown above allows you to choose a Resource, a User/Group, and a Role.

At Inventory Group levels, options for Resource include all, modem, powercontrol, and system. When assigning privileges on a single LM, each of the ports are listed so that some users can be assigned to ports 1/1 – 1/8 while others are assigned to 2/1 – 2/8. Additionally, ports can be labeled throughout the deployment, and those labels will appear in the Resource dropdown, allowing you to assign privileges to all ports labeled with, for example, firewall, in the entire deployment.

Putting it All Together

No two deployments are the same, and we’ve seen customers with just three users give everyone the admin role on every resource, and we’ve seen customers with thousands of users create multiple groups, multiple labels, and give end-users access to their routers or switches and nothing else. Granular Authorization allows you to get as detailed as necessary but isn’t so complicated that you can’t get up and running quickly.

By customizing roles and assigning privileges, we can do a lot of cool things like:

• Limit users to port-passthrough for a managed device (e.g., SSH to IP on port and get to router)
• Use labels to give a group access to all firewalls or switches throughout the deployment
• Limit administrative access by creating roles that deny those tasks and use them in conjunction with the admin role
• Give a user access to just one port
• Give a user access to the system and no ports
• Give read-only access to resources
• Assign privileges to multiple User groups and have user inherit those privileges when assigned to that User group

To summarize: when you add a user, you will be able to define which commands they can and cannot access on every system, modem, and port resource in your entire deployment.

By limiting users to only the commands they need to perform their work, we add an extra layer of protection in the event their account credentials are compromised. Role-based Granular Authorization would limit the exposure to only the resources for which they have privileges.

Essentially, Matthew Broderick isn’t doing anything on your LM-Series console server that you, as the administrator, haven’t given him permission to do. And really, isn’t that why computer security was invented?

The post Simple Yet Powerful: How Granular Authorization Keeps Your Network Secure appeared first on Lantronix.

“

Twenty years ago, out-of-band solutions were just starting to move past the era of plugging a phone line into a Cisco 2811 with octopus cables and hoping it answered when you called it. Today, we not only have more options for out-of-band channels, including cellular, satellite, and secondary Ethernet connections, we also have the ability to manage those channels automatically, bringing them up and down as needed to provide an always-there connection for the user. The end result is a single pane of glass from which the user can click SSH and be connected to their Local Manager, regardless of the state of the network. In this post, we’ll look at how Uplogix accomplishes this through monitoring, automated actions, and reporting.

Checking the Network’s Pulse

From the early days of the Uplogix Local Manager, it became clear that we needed some way to know when the in-band connection went down. As a monitoring platform, we have access to a lot of information that can help us detect an outage, from the line protocol state of an interface on a managed router to the electrical signals on our own management Ethernet port. By triangulating all of this data, we can assess the network’s state and take action if necessary.

As network techs, we all liked that idea, but we had to admit it was a lot of work figuring out the “network down” criteria for each site. We needed a simpler solution, one that could be deployed for 95% of sites and work just fine.

The answer was Pulse. When configured, the Local Manager sends an echo packet to port 7 of a designated target. If that target echoes back, we consider the network up. If too many intervals go by without a response, we consider the network down. To ensure we’re always testing the in-band connection, the Local Manager uses a static route to keep that packet always going out the management Ethernet interface rather than send it out the newly established out-of-band connection where it might succeed (and start to flap).

[admin@UplogixLM]# show system pulse
Use Pulse: true
Pulse Server IP 1: 192.168.1.254
Pulse Server Port 1: 7
Enable Out-of-Band on Pulse Failure: yes
Remain Out-of-Band after Pulse Success: no
Maximum Time Out-of-Band: 0 min

Recalculating Route

Once we are able to determine a network outage, the next step is to spin up the out-of-band connection automatically so that we can reestablish communication with the Control Center and make ourselves available via SSH, which includes reporting back our new IP address. This functionality is limited to mobile-originated out-of-band, that is, when the Local Manager establishes the connection rather than a user dialing from a modem (e.g., POTS or Iridium). While there are many considerations when choosing and configuring your out-of-band connection, once it is in place, the switch between in-band and out-of-band should be transparent to a user.

Now that the out-of-band connection is established, the Local Manager’s routing table is updated to send all traffic through the new path, with the exception of Pulse, which is still tied to the management Ethernet interface via a static route. Whether through a VPN, private APN, or simply an open port on a DMZ router, the Local Manager then resumes communication with the Control Center. In cases where the Local Manager gets an IP in a private network where its connectivity is NATed, it can automatically establish a Reverse SSH tunnel to the Control Center, thereby allowing users to proxy through the Control Center and back down the SSH tunnel.

The primary goal is to give the user the same kind of access they had when the network was up. However, establishing the out-of-band connection is only half of the solution. After all, what’s the point of going out-of-band if you don’t know where on the network the Local Manager ended up?

Forwarding Address

During normal operation, the Local Manager is heartbeating with the Control Center every thirty seconds. This allows the Local Manager to synchronize users, back up config files, and report alarms, but mostly it’s just trading system information and keeping the Local Manager Summary page up to date.

The first line of the Summary page shows you the most important information: status of the LM (using a color-coded Uplogix logo), the hostname, and its current IP address. From the example above, you can see at-a-glance that UplogixLM is in-band and heartbeating normally.

When operating out-of-band, the color of the Uplogix logo will change to orange and the IP will update to reflect the new out-of-band connection, whether that’s a public IP or a private, VPN-assigned internal address.

Although the new IP is displayed to the user, there is nothing they need to do to use it. Clicking on the SSH button works exactly the same when out-of-band as it does when in-band. The applet or terminal application is smart enough to know that it should use the IP that the Local Manager is reporting when the button is clicked. The same would be true if the Local Manager has established a Reverse SSH tunnel. Ultimately, the connection path is transparent to the user. Despite all the complicated things happening in the background, we found that our users just wanted to be able to click a button and establish the SSH connection. How we provide that SSH connection is up to the Local Manager to… um… manage.

That’s the Way I Like It

Twenty years ago, a network outage meant consulting a list of terminal servers, finding the device you wanted to manage, and opening a telnet connection to an IP address on a specific port. Sometimes the terminal server wouldn’t answer. Sometimes a coworker had changed the VTY password without telling anyone. And sometimes it just plain didn’t work. Having to troubleshoot your terminal server is never fun, but during a network outage? Forget about it. You might as well roll trucks.

Today, our terminal servers have evolved into network management platforms. They can detect a network outage, establish an out-of-band connection, and report back their new address, all before you even get the first email alerting you to a problem. And when you go to use the Local Manager, all you have to do is click the SSH button; we’ll take care of the rest.

When we say Uplogix takes you beyond out-of-band, we don’t just mean technologies like 5G cellular and Iridium satellite modems. We want to change the way you think about out-of-band, or more accurately, we want to make it so you don’t have to think about it.

It’s just there when you need it.

—

Want to talk more about this topic? Have a question for the mail bag? Shoot me a note at hello@uplogix.com and let’s discuss!

“

The post Set it and Forget It: Why the Best Out-of-Band Solution is the One You Don’t Have to Think About appeared first on Lantronix.

In a study Cynerio, maker of a healthcare IoT security platform, found that more than half (53%) of IoT and IoMT (internet of medical things) devices contain critical security risks in healthcare applications. The company analyzed devices from more than 300 hospitals in the US.

Security challenges in IoT devices are nothing new, but risks in medical devices go far beyond HIPAA violations and data theft. Healthcare devices literally provide lifesaving services for patients. For example, the report found that IV pumps make up 38% of a hospital’s IoT footprint and 73% of the pumps have at least one vulnerability that can jeopardize patient safety, data confidentiality, or service ability if targeted by a bad actor.

Patching software on healthcare devices is a challenge also because many are in operation 24/7 and interruptions could have serious consequences for patient safety as well as hospital workflows.

One solution for these challenges in healthcare networks is to move management traffic for medical devices to an out-of-band communications path that is separate from the operational traffic path. This procedure was outlined by the National Security Agency (NSA) in a publication that provided guidelines for using out-of-band management to create a framework that improves network security by segmenting management traffic from operational traffic.

By ensuring that management traffic only comes from the out-of-band communications path, compromised user devices or malicious network traffic is prevented from impacting network operations and compromising network infrastructure.

When it comes to isolating network management traffic from operational traffic, Uplogix is really built for the task. That explains why we field customer questions like how to securely connect out-of-band to a medical device. And devices needing this type of a connection aren’t limited to healthcare — contact Uplogix with your connectivity challenge today!

“

The post Secure access + more for your Internet of [insert industry here] Things appeared first on Lantronix.

We call it Port Forwarding, and it’s built into every out-of-band management Local Manager.

Prime Position

The Lantronix Local Manager (LM) always seems to be in the right place at the right time. In this case, it’s sitting in the private network with your inaccessible web server (though it could be an HP ILO or any other network-based service). We don’t allow outbound SSH connections from the LM for security reasons, so our only option is to use a reverse tunnel through your inbound SSH connection. This works regardless of whether the connection is in-band, out-of-band, or through our Reverse SSH feature. However you connect, we can take a remote port and forward it securely to a local port on your workstation.

In the diagram above, the Local Manager is located in a private network with an HP ILO device that we want to access via Port Forwarding. A NAT prevents us from accessing the HP ILO directly, so we’re going to forward the connection through your SSH connection. The target server can be on the same management network as the LM (option A) and use a virtual port to connect, or it can be connected directly to a Dedicated Ethernet port (option B). This is only a configuration choice, as the Port Forwarding feature itself works the same with either option.

Making the Connection

You can read the full documentation for Port Forwarding here, but it’s as simple as telling the Local Manager which IP and port to forward. Then, when you load the Terminal Applet and click Terminal > Forward, you’ll see the forward listed next to the associated port. Clicking the button will automatically launch another browser window.

In the above example, the target server would be on the same management LAN as the Local Manager. The management IP address of the device on port 2/3 has been set to 172.30.4.225, and under config protocols forward, the port has been configured to forward to the management IP (172.30.4.225) on port 80. Once the button with the globe icon is clicked, the local port turns green and the number goes from random to 80.

Depending on your environment and what you’re trying to connect to, we may need to adjust the settings, but Lantronix Support is standing by 24/7 to do just that.

Why Not Just Forward Ports on the NAT?

Good question, savvy network person. It’s true, you can get around the limitations of NAT by exposing ports and doing forwards and modifying your firewall and taking on all that extra work. People have been doing it that way for years, and who are we to stand in the way of tradition?

Oh, that’s right. We’re Lantronix. We take you beyond tradition(al out-of-band).

Here are some reasons you may want to use port forwarding:

• Access network services that are hidden behind a NAT or firewall, or otherwise cut off from the network.
• Front-end web interfaces or even SSH connections by forcing all traffic through the Local Manager, which requires users authenticate based on your security policies.
• Use third-party software that requires a network connection by forwarding the port and pointing the software at localhost.
• Secure servers by limiting network access to the Local Manager (as in, only the LM can connect to it).

Connect to Everything

Port Forwarding works with both network services and the actual console ports on your managed devices. If the target server isn’t directly connected to the Local Manager somehow, we can use virtual ports to bridge that gap. Having the LM at the site is like putting me in front of a buffet; if I can get my hands on it, I’m going to eat it. Likewise, if the Local Manager can connect locally inside that private network, it can forward that connection back to you. We can get you access to pretty much anything, and we can do it securely regardless of whether the network is up or down.

For more examples of how Port Forwarding can be used, check out the Configuration Guides in our documentation library, specifically:

• C-Com Antenna 
• Checkpoint Firewall 
• Intellian Antenna Controller Unit 
• KG Encryptor 

For a deeper dive into Port Forwarding, drop us a note and we’ll put something on the calendar. Until then: hoard your IPv4 addresses; they will be worth their weight in gold in 2031, mark my words!

The post Using Port Forwarding to Route the Unroutable appeared first on Lantronix.

Later, after you begrudgingly drive out to the site and fix the network, you’ll find that someone tripped over the phone line and disconnected it from the LM; or a small child removed the antennas from the cellular modem to use as drumsticks; or the SIM card was deactivated by your Service Provider. Whatever the reason, the out-of-band connection wasn’t there when you needed it, and that’s just not acceptable in the world of network management.

So what can we do? Dial into the LM every day? Turn on PPP every day?

Yes. That’s exactly what we can do. And by “”we,”” I mean the LM-Series console server, and I mean automatically on a set schedule.

What should I test?

Every out-of-band solution has multiple components. The more of those components we can test, the more we’ll be able to rely on the solution working when we need it.

Consider a typical LTE out-of-band solution and the questions we need to ask:

• Is the physical hardware functioning?
• Is a SIM card inserted?
• Is the SIM card activated and provisioned correctly?
• Do we have good signal quality?
• Is the correct APN configured?
• Can we establish the data connection and get an IP address?
• Can we establish the VPN connection? (if configured)
• Can we send a heartbeat to the Control Center?

Rather than testing each component individually (and we could, if you really wanted to), Lantronix recommends an end-to-end test of the out-of-band solution. After all, the signal quality doesn’t matter if the SIM card isn’t inserted, and the VPN connection status doesn’t matter if we can’t establish the initial data connection and get an IP address.

Here are some options for testing your out-of-band connection.

Out-of-Band Heartbeat Test

Who it’s for: customers using mobile-originated (dial-out) out-of-band that connects the LM back to the corporate network or directly to the Lantronix Control Center (e.g, via DMZ or port forwarding)

What it does: spins up the out-of-band connection, sends a single heartbeat to the Control Center, and records the results

Testing out-of-band heartbeat is as easy as scheduling the outband cycle heartbeat command to run on a regular interval. Because of its low bandwidth usage, you should be able to run this job every day, though we have found most customers prefer to run it once a week. If any component of the out-of-band connection fails, an alarm will be generated. You can then troubleshoot the problem and fix any issues while the in-band network is still in good working order.

The outband cycle heartbeat job can be scheduled from the LM’s CLI with the config schedule command from the modem resource or from the Control Center using the Schedule button on the LM Summary Page.

Out-of-Band Duration Test

Who it’s for: customers using mobile-originated (dial-out) that connects the LM to a public IP address with no access back to the corporate network or Control Center

What it does: spins up the out-of-band connection, gets an IP address, and records the results

If the Control Center is not reachable while out-of-band, the next best option is to schedule a repeating outband cycle duration job. This does everything the heartbeat job does with the exception of sending a packet to the Control Center. It also keeps the connection up for 1 minute (by default). It has the same low bandwidth usage and will alarm if any component of the out-of-band connection fails. 

The outband cycle duration job can be scheduled from the LM’s CLI with the config schedule command from the modem resource or from the Control Center under Schedule on the LM Summary Page.

[admin@LantronixLM (modem)]# config schedule pppCycleHeartbeat -d 86400
Validate scheduled job(pppCycleHeartbeat)? (This will execute the job now.) (y/n): y
Job 11 was scheduled.

Modem Monitors

Who it’s for: customers using mobile-terminated (dial-in) out-of-band, customers who want to query the modem directly to make sure it is working

What it does: sends commands directly to the modem and takes action based on the responses

Modem monitors are a great way to ensure the physical hardware is working. The actual commands sent to the modem will differ based on the technology, but if any of the values are out of line (e.g., NO DIALTONE), an alarm will be generated. At the most basic level, just being able to communicate with the modem is itself a test. If that fails, an ominous UNABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH DEVICE alarm will be generated.

For v.92 modems, you can run the config monitor modem modemBasic command from the CLI on the modem resource. This schedules our default monitor and ruleset, which will check for dialtone and voltage.

For cellular modems, you can run the config monitor modem command from the CLI on the modem resource. While we don’t have a cellularBasic ruleset (outband cycle is a better test), the modem monitor will at least test communication with the modem. Customers using SMS-Initiated PPP should already have an SMS monitor scheduled, and this will be sufficient for testing.

[admin@LantronixLM (modem)]# config monitor modem modemBasic
Validate scheduled monitor(modem)? (This will execute the job now.) (y/n): y
Job was scheduled 8: [Interval: 00:00:30 Mask: * * * * *] rulesMonitor modem none modemBasic 30

Rest Assured

When someone unplugs the phone line, we need to know about it. When a SIM card gets deactivated, we want to get that fixed before it becomes a bigger problem. Regular out-of-band testing makes sure there are no surprises, and the Lantronix LM-Series is more than happy to do just that 24/7/365.

A Lantronix Deployment Specialist should have helped you set up regular out-of-band testing during your initial setup, but if you’re noticing some testing gaps in your deployment, please feel free to reach out to our LEVEL Technical Support department. We’ll look at your setup and recommend some options to keep everything running smoothly.

The post There When You Need It: Testing Your Out-of-Band Connection appeared first on Lantronix.

It was 8^th century French pastry chef Adolfus Xiang who famously said, “A watched pot never boils.” Today, the same could be said for network devices and their interfaces, which only seem to fail when we’re not looking. Every engineer knows this, and that’s why for years, they’ve turned to scripts and software to help monitor the network. There are many options when it comes to how you query network devices, from simple ICMP pings to SNMP and syslog, but whether they are centralized or run locally at remote datacenters, they all have the same weakness: they require the network to be up.

And if the network were always up, we’d all be out of a job.

Using the Network to Manage the Network

There are certain things that just don’t make sense to us here at Uplogix. Foremost, is why there aren’t more restaurants near our offices on Loop 360 in Austin, and secondly, why anyone would want to use the network to manage the network. Centralized management tools that employ SNMP and syslog do just that, relying on the network path to query the end devices. If the network goes down, all visibility is lost. And even when the network is up and working as designed, there are still bandwidth considerations that force engineers to limit the number of times they poll each device. Five minutes may not sound like a lot of time between queries, but in some cases, the Uplogix Local Manager can detect, alert, and fix an issue in less than five minutes, often before typical network management systems even notice there’s a problem.

This is possible thanks to 4K HDR UHD high-resolution monitoring.

R(eliable)S(table)-232(times better than TCP/IP)

Instead of connecting to a managed device over the network, an Uplogix Local Manager attaches directly to the management console port, which allows communication even when the network is down, for example, if the device is stuck in ROMMON mode. Having this direct connection also means bandwidth considerations go right out the window; we can happily send one command after another to line con 0 without so much as a blip in the device’s CPU utilization. With the Local Manager sitting in the rack with the device, there’s not much that can break our line of communication except maybe a wild card employee with a pair of wire cutters (and we’ll detect that too). 

Essentially, the Local Manager is a virtual employee who has pulled up a rolling chair next to your telco rack and connected their laptop to your network device. You could pull every network cable from your router or pull its flash card, and the Local Manager would still be able to monitor it.

Now we’re ready to do some real work.

Let’s Start with the Essentials

We’re often asked, “What kind of things can I monitor with the Uplogix Local Manager?” Thanks to our drivers and a rules engine that allows us to write in our own commands, the answer is pretty much anything. Before we get into that, let’s take a look at some of the basics you get just by turning on advanced drivers with a Cisco router.

After initializing a port, we will automatically schedule default monitors and jobs. These include:

• A chassis monitor to pull CPU and memory statistics
• A syslog monitor to pull device messages into the Local Manager
• A deviceinfo job to check IOS version and uptime
• Configuration backup jobs to monitor changes in the startup and running configuration files
• An OS backup job to monitor changes in the operating system

These monitors and jobs run at different intervals, but you can see them working by running terminal shadow from a configured port. Common output shows the Local Manager checking its privilege (show privilege), turning off paging (terminal length 0), and checking the CPU usage (show processes cpu | include cpu).

A Hidden (but Immediate) Benefit

In the grand scheme of things, it’s not what we’re monitoring that’s actually important—it’s that we’re monitoring at all. To be able to send commands and receive output, the router has to be in a good state. If it loses power and stops communicating, we’ll detect that within seconds, not because we are specifically looking for “loss of communication,” but because every monitor and job expects a response, and if it doesn’t get one, we throw an alarm and alert the authorities. If the router reboots and comes up in ROMMON mode, we’ll detect that because we’re looking for the hostname prompt every time we run a command, and if we don’t see it, or if it has reverted to the default Router, we know something is wrong.

Any monitor or job can lead to the detection of a problem, and just by having the defaults scheduled, you can rest assured we’re going to let you know when something goes wrong with the core functionality of the router.

Put Interfaces Under a Microscope

Router interfaces are not monitored individually by default, but turning on that functionality is as easy as running the config monitor interface command from the port.

[super@UplogixLM (port1/1)]# config monitor interface GigabitEthernet0/1

Validate scheduled monitor(interface, GigabitEthernet0/1)? (This will execute the job now.) (y/n): y

Job was scheduled 15: [Interval: 00:00:30 Mask: * * * * *] rulesMonitor interface GigabitEthernet0/1 30

Once configured, the Local Manager will now run a show interface command against the router on the prescribed interval:

AUS-CORE#show interface GigabitEthernet0/1
GigabitEthernet0/1 is up, line protocol is up (connected)
Hardware is Gigabit Ethernet, address is e804.62a8.cd81 (bia e804.62a8.cd81)
MTU 1500 bytes, BW 1000000 Kbit/sec, DLY 10 usec,
 reliability 255/255, txload 1/255, rxload 1/255
Encapsulation ARPA, loopback not set
Keepalive set (10 sec)
Full-duplex, 1000Mb/s, media type is 10/100/1000BaseTX
input flow-control is off, output flow-control is unsupported
ARP type: ARPA, ARP Timeout 04:00:00
Last input never, output 00:00:00, output hang never
Last clearing of ""show interface"" counters never
Input queue: 0/75/0/0 (size/max/drops/flushes); Total output drops: 0
Queueing strategy: fifo
Output queue: 0/40 (size/max)
5 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
5 minute output rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
 53 packets input, 4926 bytes, 0 no buffer
 Received 53 broadcasts (53 multicasts)
 0 runts, 0 giants, 0 throttles
 0 input errors, 0 CRC, 0 frame, 0 overrun, 0 ignored
 0 watchdog, 53 multicast, 0 pause input
 0 input packets with dribble condition detected
 3391364 packets output, 300885748 bytes, 0 underruns
 0 output errors, 0 collisions, 1 interface resets
 0 unknown protocol drops
 0 babbles, 0 late collision, 0 deferred
 0 lost carrier, 0 no carrier, 0 pause output
 0 output buffer failures, 0 output buffers swapped out

The output from the show interface command is then stored on the Local Manager. You can view the data with the show interface command on the port:

[super@UplogixLM (port1/1)]# show interface GigabitEthernet0/1
Displaying Interface Config
--------- --------- -----
Found 1 config entries for interface in the database.
Admin Status: up Arp Timeout: 04:00:00 
Arp Type: ARPA Autonegotiation: N/A 
Bandwidth: 1000000 Delay: 10 
Description: N/A Encapsulation: ARPA 
Full Duplex Mode: N/A Hardware: Gigabit Ethernet 
Input Flow Control: false Ip Address: N/A 
Keep Alive Set: true Loopback Set: false 
Mac Address: e804.62a8.cd81 Media Type: 10/100/1000BaseTX 
Mtu: 1500 Output Flow Control: N/A 
Queueing Strategy: fifo Timestamp: 2021-07-22 08:34:16 CDT 
-----
Displaying Interface Statistics
---------- --------- ----------
Found 1 statistical entries for interface in the database.
Boolean 1: N/A Boolean 2: N/A 
Boolean 3: N/A Double 1: N/A 
Double 2: N/A Double 3: N/A 
Input Aborted Packets: 0 Input Alignment Errors: 0 
Input Broadcast Packets: 53 Input Bytes: 4926 
Input CRC Errors: 0 Input Dribbles: 0 
Input Errors: 0 Input Frame Errors: 0 
Input Frames: 0 Input Giants: 0 
Input Ignored Packets: 0 Input Lack Of Resource Errors: 0 
Input Late Collisions: 0 Input Load: 0.004 
Input Multicast Packets: 53 Input Overrun Errors: 0 
Input Packets: 53 Input Pause: 0 
Input Queue Drops: 0 Input Queue Flushes: 0 
Input Queue Max: 75 Input Queue Size: 0 
Input Rate bits/second: 0 Input Rate packets/second: 0 
Input Replenish Misses: 0 Input Restarts: 0 
Input Runts: 0 Input Throttles: 0 
Input Unicast Packets: 0 Input Watchdog: 0 
Last Clearing Counters: N/A Last Input: N/A 
Last Output: 00:00:00 Last Output Hang: N/A 
Line Protocol Status: up Load: 0.000 
Long 1: N/A Long 2: N/A 
Long 3: N/A Looped: false 
Operational Status: up Output Babbles: 0 
Output Broadcast Packets: 0 Output Buffer Failures: 0 
Output Buffers Swapped Out: 0 Output Bytes: 300889499 
Output Collisions: 0 Output Deferred: 0 
Output Errors: 0 Output Excessive Collisions: 0 
Output Frames: 0 Output Interface Resets: 1 
Output Late Collisions: 0 Output Load: 0.004 
Output Lost Carrier: 0 Output Multicast Packets: 0 
Output Multiple Collisions: 0 Output No Carrier: 0 
Output Packets: 3391407 Output Pause: 0 
Output Queue Drops: 0 Output Queue Max: 40 
Output Queue Size: 0 Output Queue Threshold: 0 
Output Rate bits/second: 0 Output Rate packets/second: 0 
Output Single Collisions: 0 Output Underrun Errors: 0 
Output Unicast Packets: 0 Reliability: 1.000 
Timestamp: 2021-07-22 08:35:16 CDT 
-------
Displaying Alarms for Interface
---------- ------ --- ---------
Found 0 alarms for interface in the database.

With all of this data now stored on the Local Manager, we can use our Rules Engine to examine it, evaluate it, and take action if necessary. Have an old router that needs to be reloaded every time its FastEthernet0/0 takes too many errors? We can do that. Need an alert sent when Output Rates Bits per Second exceeds a certain threshold for five minutes? We can do that too.

Or what if someone simply unplugs the Ethernet cable?

[super@UplogixLM (port1/1)]# show alarms
CDT Elapsed Device Context Message 
----- ------- -------- ------------------ ------------------------
08:41 0:02 AUS-CORE GigabitEthernet0/1 Protocol state down. 
08:41 0:02 AUS-CORE GigabitEthernet0/1 Operational state down.

The above alarms are generated from default rules. You can write your own (and we can help!) to evaluate pretty much any of the data we collect with the monitor.

Let’s Get Arbitrary

The more you explore our Rules Engine, the more you discover just how powerful it can be. With our execute action, we can send arbitrary text sequences (commands, arguments, carriage returns) to your router.

These commands can be simple in the vein of something like show version, or they can get really advanced:

action execute -raw -pattern ""#"" -command ""ennn""
action execute -command ""show info"" -pattern ""Status: (DDDDDDD)"" -setValue monitor ShowInfo $1
action execute -raw -pattern ""#"" -command ""ennn""
action execute -command ""sh interface lan0_0 brief"" -pattern ""Link: (DD)"" -setValue monitor ShowIntLan $1
action execute -command ""sh interface inpath0_0 brief"" -pattern ""Up: (DD)"" -setValue monitor ShowInpath $1
action execute -command ""sh interface wan0_0 brief"" -pattern ""Link: (DD)"" -setValue monitor ShowIntWan $1
action execute -raw -pattern ""#"" -command ""term leng 0nn""
action execute -command ""sh stat ala"" -pattern ""Alarm linkstate: (DDDDD)"" -setValue monitor LinkState $1
action execute -command ""sh stat ala"" -pattern ""Alarm bypass: (DDDDD)"" -setValue monitor ByPassState $1

This type of functionality is often used with native and enhanced drivers to build automation for devices for which we don’t have an advanced driver. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use them with Cisco or Juniper or any of our full-service drivers. You know your network and devices best; if there’s something we haven’t thought of, we’ll help you add it in!

Consistency is Key

Whereas other network management solutions are relying on the network and only querying at a respectful five-minute interval, the Uplogix Local Manager is in constant contact with your devices. By virtue of checking the CPU usage, we also check the device’s ability to simply respond to a query. We monitor constantly, regardless of the network state. When the network is down, we establish an out-of-band path back to your HQ so you can still have access (read: visibility) to the data we are diligently collecting.

But wait, there’s more!

Once the Local Manager has reconnected to the network via cellular or satellite modem, it can forward data to your other centralized, network-based management solutions, giving them visibility despite the break in the network.

We’re not greedy when it comes to keeping tabs on your network, and we happily integrate with your existing management solutions. SolarWinds, Splunk, Earl’s custom syslog server—we can keep them all fed during a network outage, all thanks to our consistent, network-independent monitoring.

Ready to see it in action? Drop me a note at hello@uplogix.com and we’ll set up a demo!

“

The post Network Device Monitoring, Now in Stunning High-Resolution appeared first on Lantronix.

Oh, and if you are using the 490000 model of the XYZ SynergyDynamics Router, then it doesn’t even have a serial port for us to connect to—just a web interface running on port 80. Well, if that router is isolated behind a NAT at a remote location, we can get you access to it through Port Forwarding and reverse tunneling… but that’s a topic for another day.

For now, let’s meet our drivers.

Advanced Drivers

If (like me) your version of knowing how to do a password recovery on a Cisco router involves a first step of Googling cisco router password recovery, then our advanced drivers are the killer feature you’ve been looking for. Uplogix Device Integration Specialists have worked tirelessly to take all the guesswork out of managing a suite of network devices, including Cisco routers and switches, Junipers, SeaTels, and more. Enabling advanced drivers is as easy as configuring the Local Manager with a username and password. After that, a whole host of features become available.

For example, enabling our Cisco Advanced Driver turns on:

• Automatic configuration backup for both startup and running configurations
• Automatic vlan.dat backup (where applicable)
• Automatic operating system backup
• Automatic recovery in the event of configuration loss or corruption
• Automatic ROMmon recovery
• Password Recovery (requires managed power)
• Configuration Rollback
• Chassis monitoring
• Log monitoring
• Alarm notifications
• Event notifications
• Terminal access
• On-demand servers: FTP, TFTP, SCP
• Serial transport protocols: xmodem, ymodem, zmodem (where supported)
• Port locking
• Terminal shadowing
• and more…

This list is what we mean when we say Uplogix takes you beyond out-of-band. This isn’t just access; this is monitoring and management beyond anything you’ve seen before. Advanced drivers are a jumping off point to full automation of your network.

But what about your XYZ Router? The one we don’t have an advanced driver for?

Glad. You. Asked.

Native Mode

We work hard to make sure we have advanced drivers for all of the most popular network devices out there in the world today, but it’s a never-ending game of catch-up as new gear is released. If the device you want to manage is too new (or too old) but has a serial port, then the native driver is the one you’re looking for. It may not be as exciting as the advanced driver, but it does give you secure, reliable access to your managed devices.

Native drivers are a great option when you’re looking for other things you can connect to your Local Manager. We may not be able to pull the running config (if it even has a running config), but having it connected gives us both access and insight. For example, link lights are driven by electrical signals coming over the cable from the end device. If that device loses power, the link light goes out. That’s something the Local Manager can detect, alarm on, and send email notification about.

As shown in the screenshot above, the show serial command contains useful information about the serial link between the Local Manager and connected device. DSR and CTS are used as a software-based link light, while RX and TX show you how many bytes are coming across the link. Lots of TX but no RX? The device may no longer be connected, or the baud rate is wrong. So even if we’re not doing any management, we can still get a ton of value out of our native driver.

If advanced versus native sounds too “”night-versus-day”” to you, then we’ve also got something in the middle that might work better.

Enhanced Driver

It would be a shame to connect your XYZ 390000 and not take advantage of the unique position of having a computer connected to your device at all times. Luckily, if you want to add some automation and we don’t have a specific advanced driver, we can use what we call the enhanced driver. After all, what is a driver beyond knowing how to log in, recognize a prompt, and run a command? If you know those things and which commands you want to run, we can start doing some really interesting work.

If the Advanced Driver’s requirement is tell us what it is and how to authenticate, then the Enhanced Driver’s is tell us how to log in/out and what the prompt looks like. The goal of the Enhanced Driver is to get the system to the point where it can run arbitrary commands, even commands that back up the configuration or check the voltage on an outlet or check a certificate’s expiration date. You could essentially build an advanced driver using the Enhanced Driver and a suite of rules and rulesets. We’ve configured Enhanced Drivers for many devices over the years, so check out our Configuration Guides section of the Local Manager User Guide for examples.

Finish Line

We would love to make monitoring, backup, and automation a breeze for every make and model of every system out there, but in the meantime, we can still leverage the Local Manager’s unique position and build custom automation for devices we don’t have advanced drivers for yet. And since you’re using an Uplogix product to do it, you’ll have full access to our Technical Support and Professional Services teams who will help you every step of the way.

We’ve said it a thousand times, and we’ll say it a million more: getting you access to remote equipment is just the beginning.

At Uplogix, we really do go beyond out-of-band.

The post If It Has a Serial Port, We Can Manage It appeared first on Lantronix.

A Unique Position

Over the years, we’ve described our product as everything between a terminal server on steroids and a virtual technician in a box. The phrase that resonates most with me, though, is automated crash cart. It brings to mind the image of a datacenter and a simple rolling cart with a monitor and keyboard on top of it. Or, if you’re managing routers and switches, there might just be a laptop with a console cable. Someone might even leave the cart and equipment hooked up so they can come back and check on it later.

But what if that person simply stayed there? What if they were in the middle of a DDOS attack and needed to know when the router’s CPU got above 90% utilization? What if there was an older switch that needed to be rebooted whenever it took too many errors on its FastEthernet0/1 interface? If that person were always there, always checking, and always reporting back, you would know the second something went wrong.

If you automate that monitoring, you get the Lantronix Local Manager.

Satisfying Requirements

Network management may not be the type of tough job Bleicher imagined in 1947, but every Network Admin knows that with enough requirements and large enough scale, even the most mundane task can become unwieldly. Say you need to back up the configuration of a router. Pretty easy, right? Log in, run the copy command to send it to some FTP or SCP server, and you’re done. But what if you needed to do that multiple times a day? Or on 500 routers? 5,000? A single fully configured Local Manager can back up the configurations of up to 104 routers as often as you’d like, all day, every day.

Need both the startup and running configs saved? We do that. Need the OS image and vlan.dat file backed up? We do that too. Need all of those files offloaded to a secondary site in case the datacenter goes up in flames? Yep, you guessed it: we even do that, automatically.

Backing up files is all about preparing for disaster, whether that’s a typo in the latest config someone tried to push or a complete hardware failure of a router. Most companies have a disaster recovery policy in place, and Lantronix helps satisfy those requirements by always being ready for the worst-case scenario.

Did you know? If you’re managing a router and it simply dies in the rack, you can drop-ship a new factory-fresh router to the site, plug it into the Local Manager, and we’ll automatically detect the loss of configuration and restore it? We call it Bare Metal Restore, and it’s available on every Local Manager.

Dynamic Response

Our automation is powered by a Rules Engine that can read data from any resource on the Local Manager. All of this data can be combined to trigger automatic responses to specified conditions. When it comes to out-of-band, we often start with Pulse, a feature that automatically spins up the out-of-band connection when it detects a network outage. But what if a network outage isn’t as simple as not receiving an echo packet back? What if a true network outage in your environment is an AIS alarm not just on a router’s interface but on a related switch’s interface too? We can write rules that look at both of those values and take action.

We can look at packet errors on multiple routers. We can check bandwidth usage on multiple switches. All the diligent automated monitoring we do creates a vast array of actionable data, and our Rules Engine takes advantage of that. If you have a scenario that is unique to your site, we can help you build rules that would look at the things you would look at and take the actions you would take.

Preprogrammed automation may try to be one-size-fits-all, but there’s no replacement for your experience and intelligence. Our Rules Engine allows you to leverage that resource and make the Local Manager an extension of yourself.

Let’s Get Arbitrary

Going back to the crash cart analogy, it’s clear we can’t have someone standing in the racks all day because A) it’s probably really cold in there and B) it’s not a good use of time. So you automate some actions, pull some running configs, and write some rules that look at data we’re already collecting. But what about the edge cases? What about a device that’s not a router, switch, firewall, etc.? Well, we’ve got you covered there too.

With our Rules Engine, you can run any command you want, gather a response, and take action based on that response. You can essentially automate any command on any device with a console port and a CLI. No more standing in the cold datacenter. Write the rule, schedule the monitor, and sit back—we’ll take care of the rest.

Reclaim Your Time

When you consider the breadth of automation available on an Lantronix Local Manager, you can start to see how all of these little things we do add up to one result: more time for you to focus on something else. We’ll back up the configs, we’ll push them down if the router gets wiped out. We can seek out gear running old versions of OS code and upgrade them automatically. Enable enough of these features, especially the ones that take corrective actions, and you’ll see how Lantronix allows you to manage more efficiently, be more secure, and provide accurate automation powered by you.

So what are you waiting for? Put us to work today, and start reclaiming your time tomorrow.

The post When You Have Too Much To Do, Automation Is Everything appeared first on Lantronix.

Coverage

First, you must think about coverage. At a basic level, is there cellular service at the site? What about when deploying across multiple sites? Will you need more than one provider? What about international sites? If you are going global, you’ll almost certainly have to work with different providers.

Even once you have the provider questions answered, you’ll need to determine what cellular options you have at your locations. The cellular industry is fraught with a mix of well-known marketing names, lesser-known standards and legacy technologies. 5G, 4G, LTE, EVDO, CDMA, HPSA+, GPRS, GSM… it’s helpful to have a partner like Lantronix that can help you cut through the noise to deploy the right cellular modems to be successful in all your locations.

Sometimes, coverage is available, but challenging. At Lantronix we’ve helped customers achieve viable signal strengths by deploying secondary high gain antennas, or by placing a directional YAGI antenna oriented to the heading of a local cell tower. We also offer a CAT M1 modem option. These were developed for IoT applications and M2M links where connectivity and reliability are more critical than high speeds. Think data centers and basement MDFs.

What about if you really have no connectivity options? No problem. Solutions include just about any option you might have for a secondary network connection: a v.92 phone line, a fiber link to a secondary fiber optic network, maybe an ISDN modem… If you are in the middle of an ocean or anywhere else on the planet, Lantronix can connect through an Iridium satellite link. It’s something we do all the time for oil & gas customers. For most, network locations just aren’t that exotic and cellular is a great option.

Connectivity

Once you know there is coverage at your sites and know what types of modems you’ll need, the next consideration is how you’ll connect to the cellular network. Data connections aren’t the same as the connection you make for a call. First, you’ll need to know what kind of APNs (Access Point Names) you’ll be connecting to. An APN is an IP gateway between the mobile network and another computer network and can be delivered by the provider or set up as a private APN.

So now that your modem has IP there are more questions. Do you want the IP address to be dynamic (DHCP) or fixed? Should it be a public IP address or private? There are pros and cons for each. How you use cellular out-of-band might have an impact on what you choose. Will your cellular connection be always-on? Or will it come up when the primary network fails? Maybe you only want the link available when you trigger it to come up through something like an SMS message?

At Lantronix we’re fans of bringing up cellular as needed. It greatly reduces your chances of attack if the link doesn’t exist for most of the time. One method Lantronix recommends uses to avoid knee-jerk responses to network issues is called pulse. You can set up to three pulse servers that Lantronix will send an echo request to when the primary network fails. After no echo response for three attempts over about 90 seconds, Lantronix will open the out-of-band connection. When the primary network has been restored, Lantronix will tear down the cellular out-of-band connection after five minutes of successful echo requests.

When it comes to private or public IP addressing, it’s your choice. With a private IP address, you VPN back into your network or use a private APN. With a public address, you can connect with a local password, or use our preferred method where the Lantronix appliance will create a reverse SSH tunnel through the cellular network to a NAT-ed address for your Lantronix Control Center through your firewall to the Control Center itself. Users authenticate into the Control Center using your preferred AAA and have secure communications to the remote site through the RSSH tunnel. When they are done working, the tunnel is torn down and the cellular connection closed.

Creating a Reverse SSH Tunnel from the Uplogix Appliance Back to the Uplogix Control Center Provides a Secure Link Between Sites Over the Cellular Network.

Buying a Plan

Most of us have had the pleasure (NOT!) of contacting a cellular provider. When it comes to buying a business cellular data plan, other providers will try to sell you the world, often looking to include high data volumes and speeds and maybe even an entirely separate network for out-of-band. This really isn’t all necessary. What you need is a data plan akin to what you’d buy for an iPad. It should include SMS, as it’s a useful way to initiate out-of-band or use in automated alerting. Data between sites can be shared and the small volume of network management traffic means that a plan of 10GB/month should support up to 100 sites managed by Lantronix.

With Lantronix Connectivity Services we can provide secure out-of-band connections using our cellular platform to simplify connecting all your sites worldwide. Our easy-to-use cellular management platform provides built-in analytics to help you uncover SIM usage and key trends. Run the extensive diagnostic features to help troubleshoot any issues that may arise.

Most important of all: Reliability

While an out-of-band platform like Lantronix provides value when the network is up and running, its key responsibility is to be there when you need it. When it hits the fan. Historically out-of-band solutions weren’t very reliable due to human factors:

• Someone unplugged a modem line to connect something else, say a fax machine. The network goes down and a remote IT admin tries to dial-in to the remote site only to encounter a friendly fax machine trying to receive.
• Maybe the console connection to a device was unplugged for an onsite admin to push a change from their laptop last month, but it didn’t get plugged back in, or plugged into the right port. Again, this kind of error could sit unknown until that link is needed.
• It’s not always someone with access to the networking closet that can impact reliability. Say someone in finance is auditing cellular bills and comes across a plan that doesn’t seem quite like the others. They inquire with the sales team, find no answers and promptly shut down the plan to save money, leaving a timebomb ticking until the next network outage when cellular out-of-band just doesn’t work…

These are all scenarios that we’ve run across at Lantronix and have built in safeguards to ensure your cellular out-of-band solution is there when you need it. One example is that Lantronix appliances can automatically test the out-of-band connection as often as you’d like, and then alert when there are issues so you can deal with it on a day when the network is up and running just fine. Same for console connections. Automated monitoring of managed devices ensures that if you lose a console connection, you’ll know it.

When it comes to troubleshooting cellular problems, Lantronix has your back. Cellular modems use cryptic commands to initiate as well as transfer all kinds of useful information about the modem and cellular network. The challenge is they aren’t easy to interpret and are easy to mess up. Lantronix has basic commands to send appropriate AT commands to the cellular modem and then parse out the return information into an easily human-readable format that makes it easier to troubleshoot issues. Specific values like modem type and carrier, as well as qualitative values like signal strength give you the information needed to ensure the best cellular out-of-band connection.

Cellular is great when it works

Cellular makes a great out-of-band option, but like anything, has its own quirks. Partnering with a company like Lantronix that has been in the trenches of cellular networks for more than a decade and has developed a solution designed to make out-of-band management easier to deploy and more effective is a great first step. We can walk you through each of the considerations we’ve covered here and find the right solution for your network.

The post Cellular out-of-band: 4 things to consider appeared first on Lantronix.

It was 18^th century English poet and prophetic futurologist Alexander Pope who once said, to err is human, but to take down the network is unforgiveable. This is one of the reasons why backing up configurations is so important. In the dark times, backups were kept in a central repository through telnet-based programs like RANCID. If someone made a mistake, the backup configuration could be transferred back to the device, either by TFTP or pasting into the CLI. In the case of blowing away an ACL, the remediation is pretty simple: just paste in the access-list lines from the backup config.

But what if something worse happens?

What if you are trying to change the subnet mask on GigabitEthernet0/1 but instead of typing ip address… you type shut?

As Alexander Pope would say: you done goofed. 

Fortunately, you have Lantronix, and Lantronix has your back.

A Safety Net

There are so many bad situations that can be mitigated by having some kind of advanced remote network management platform directly connected to the console port of your network device. The Lantronix Local Manager, for example, pulls the running config on a schedule and every time it detects a change during a terminal session. This means the last known-good config is always there, waiting to be redeployed if something goes wrong.

[super@LantronixLM (port1/1)]# show directory
Type Version Name
------- --------- ------------
Config
 Running*
 current running-config
 previous running-config

 Startup*
 current startup-config
 previous startup-config

 Running-Undo*
 candidate running-config-undo3405771268234537483.img
OS
 current c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin
 previous c2960-lanbasek9-mz.122-44.SE6.bin

Post
 current readPost

As useful as this is, it’s still just a net that catches you when you fall. You still have to do the manual work of climbing out of the net and making your way back up the rock wall. If you just took down the network, then every second counts. You don’t have time to wait for the out-of-band connection to spin up automatically so you can log in and push the last known-good config down.

Fortunately, you have Lantronix, and Lantronix not only provides a safety net, but a bungee cord too.

A Bungee Cord

The access-list scenario is pretty tame compared to accidently shutting down an interface on a router, the very same interface providing network connectivity to the entire site, including the Local Manager you’re using to make the changes to the router. We call this the ol’ taking down the network while we’re using it scenario, and it’s something we’re built to handle with grace and aplomb .

Surgical Rollback works in tandem with a feature called Automatic Rollback. It’s actually AR that detects when a user disconnects uncleanly (e.g., when they shut an interface they shouldn’t have). If changes to the running config are detected, then Surgical Rollback is called in to undo them. The last thing we want to do is simply push down the previous config and hope for the best.

A, that’s just inefficient. And 2, as we know, Cisco configurations are cumulative. This comes into play with commands like shutdown, as there is typically no command in the previous config that can undo it (no shutdown would be a default). If you shut an interface and push the previous config, it simply won’t fix it.

That’s where Surgical Rollback comes in. It analyzes the changes and issues the appropriate configuration lines to undo the previous work.

AUS-CORE#conf t
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
AUS-CORE(config)#int GigabitEthernet0/1
AUS-CORE(config-if)#shut
AUS-CORE(config-if)#
*May 26 19:05:38.666: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface Vlan1, changed state to down
*May 26 19:05:40.663: %LINK-5-CHANGED: Interface GigabitEthernet0/1, changed state to administratively down
*May 26 19:05:41.669: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface GigabitEthernet0/1, changed state to down

Above is an example of issuing a shut on an interface. If the shut causes the network to drop out from under you, you won’t see the console messages—you’ll just be disconnected. You can simulate this in a lab by simply closing the Terminal (or your SSH application) window. That’s when the magic happens.

1. The Local Manager detects the abrupt disconnect
2. It logs the user out and logs back in using its functional / service account
3. It pulls the running config and compares it to the previous
4. If changes are found, it builds a snippet of config to undo the changes
5. The snippet is pushed down and merged with the running config

You can see the process using terminal shadow.

AUS-CORE#more flash:/staging-running-config
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
no shutdown
end
^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^Z^
AUS-CORE#copy flash:/staging-running-config running-config
Destination filename [running-config]?
128 bytes copied in 0.025 secs (5120 bytes/sec)
AUS-CORE#delete flash:/staging-running-config
Delete filename [staging-running-config]?
Delete flash:/staging-running-config? [confirm]
AUS-CORE#

By using the exact commands necessary to undo changes, we ensure nothing else is touched. Just like me at my first job, the Local Manager’s personal motto is at a minimum, break nothing.

When this network-down scenario happens in production, Automatic Rollback and Surgical Rollback will undo the changes and bring the network back up in less than 60 seconds, a full minute sooner than Pulse can detect the network outage and spin up an out-of-band connection.

Often, the Local Manager can restore access in the time it takes the user to realize what they’ve done, hang their head in shame, take a sip of coffee, and restart their SSH session.

Even if you fall, we pick you up and put you right back where you were before you slipped.

Always Watching

The best thing about Surgical Rollback (and its sibling, Automatic Rollback) is that they’re always watching, always waiting. Sure, they may snicker at your typos, but they’ll restore configs while they’re doing it. The Local Manager’s only concern is keeping that device running the way you want it running. If you don’t tell it I meant to shut that interface, it will undo your change for you.

Before we go, let’s return to access-lists for a moment. It’s important to note that the Local Manager sees change by looking at the differences between two running configs, one pulled before your session and one pulled after. Running a no access-list 301… command would result in the loss of the entire 301 ACL. The Local Manager wouldn’t know specifically which command you ran to make that change, but it does know how to restore it.

Disconnecting ...
Logging out of device...
Retrieving running-config from device ...
Failed to transfer 'running-config' via TFTP
Could not retrieve running-config.
Unable to retrieve configuration via network.
Attempting to retrieve configuration using the console...
Complete. running-config pulled.
running-config saved to archive as current.

Changes made in current terminal session:
-access-list 301 permit tcp host 10.10.10.1 any
-access-list 301 permit tcp host 11.11.11.11 any
-access-list 301 permit tcp host 12.12.12.12 any

That list of changes is what we use to turn around and put lines back into your router. We don’t push the entire config; we only undo what was changed.

These days, blowing away an ACL is no big deal. Simply exit the terminal session, answer R(ollback) to the prompt, and the Local Manager will take care of the rest. When it’s done, you can terminal in and try again.

Surgical Rollback makes a great demo , so if you want to see it in action, shoot us a note and we’ll put something on the calendar.

The post Feature Spotlight: Surgical Rollback appeared first on Lantronix.

That’s right. No more rolling trucks to flip a switch. No more calling Earl in the middle of the night to run down to the datacenter to power cycle a router. No more getting out of your chair to walk into the lab.

Now you can do it all from the LM-Series.

By the power of Greyskull, you have the power.

Smart Power

Let’s be clear. We’re not talking about simple power strips like you find on the shelf at Target. These things are smart, with embedded interfaces that know which outlets are on and how much voltage is being used. They often come with serial ports for direct, out-of-band management, but newer models also support TCP connections and have web interfaces.

We have Advanced Drivers available for several PDU brands, which gives the LM-Series the ability to log into the CLI, check the status of each outlet, see how much current they are drawing, and turn the outlets on and off as needed. And since we’re directly connected over the serial port, we can still control power at the site even if the network goes down.

Show Your Routers Who’s Boss

You know the routers I’m talking about. They like to throw errors on their interfaces. Sometimes they pretend to be out of memory. And occasionally, usually when you need them the most, they’ll just stop talking on their console ports. They think the silent treatment will save them, since you’re in Austin and they’re down ‘Pulco. Little do they know that you’ve got a fully integrated power controller at the site, so giving that router a little kick in the pants is as easy as changing to the power controller port and issuing off and on commands.

[super@LantronixLM (port1/8)]# off A1
Powering off port1/8 outlet(s) [A1]
[super@LantronixLM (port1/8)]# on A1
Powering on port1/8 outlet(s) [A1]

When you issue the off and on commands, the LM-Series takes care of logging into the PDU to issue the equivalent commands. So, no matter which brand of power controller you use, the interface on the Lantronix side will always be the same.

Map it Out

Unless you set up the site yourself and have the world’s most perfect memory, you’re probably not going to remember which device is plugged into which outlet on the PDU. That’s where outlet mapping comes into play, and you’re prompted to do it immediately after initializing the power controller port.

Outlet mapping means telling the LM-Series that outlets A1 and A2 (the outlet names vary across manufacturers!) are associated with port 1/1. This one piece of knowledge not only allows you to confidently issue power commands, but it also opens the door to some awesome Lantronix LM-Series automation.

[super@LantronixLM (port1/8)]# show outlets
No outlets are mapped to this device.
Outlet A1 goes to interface port1/1
Outlet A2 goes to interface port1/2

Because really… typing power off and power on is a lot of work.

Let’s see if we can simplify the human contribution. (Spoiler: we can)

Automated Power Cycling

When a router or switch is giving you trouble and the command line is not responding, you flip the power switch on the back, wait a few seconds, and then flip it back on. Then what do you do? You watch the POST. You make sure that router came back up the way it was supposed to. Then, once you have a login prompt, you get back to work.

Wouldn’t it be a shame if all the LM-Series did was cut and reapply power (he asked, fully aware the LM-Series does much more than that)?

Since we’re directly connected to the router, we can watch the output on the console port both before and after the power cycle. That means we look at the electrical signals on the port to let you know the status of CTS and DSR. Then we cycle the power. As POST begins, we capture that information and store it in our local port directory for later reference. If there are any problems booting, such as a loss of startup config, we’ll handle that by pushing down our last known-good version. Once the router has fully booted and we’re able to start monitoring, we’ll report success.

The interface looks like this:

[super@LantronixLM (port1/1)]# power cycle
1/8: Powering off port1/8 outlet(s) [A1]
1/8: CTS was active.
1/1: Reading post
1/8: Powering on port1/8 outlet(s) [A1]
1/1: done Initializing Flash
1/1: Image decompressed
.1/1: Started
1/1: Post complete.
Serial link (CTS) is active.
getting device uptime
Hostname : AUS-CORE
Serial Number: FOC1432X2N5
Make : cisco
Model : WS-C2960G-24TC-L
OS Type : IOS
OS Version : 15.0(2)SE11
Uptime : 1 minute
System image file is "flash:/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin"
start time was : Tue May 25 15:58:55 UTC 2021
start time is now : Tue May 25 16:02:27 UTC 2021

As you can see, the LM-Series keeps tabs on everything. To you and I, the term power cycle means a flipping of a switch. To the LM-Series, it means carefully managing a power loss scenario and ensuring the device is running as expected.

Keeping Communication Open

One of the best qualities of the Lantronix LM-Series is that it adjusts to your comfort level. We can sit quietly and watch, or we can alert, or we can take pre-approved actions. We can even take the last-resort action of power cycling a router that stops responding on its console port. If that sends chills down your spine, don’t fret—you have to very explicitly enable that feature.

Automatic Console Recovery is a good example of what the LM-Series can do when it controls both the console and the power. The status of one informs the other. That means we can watch the console port, see that CTS and DSR are still high (link light active), but the router just isn’t responding. We’ll cut power, reapply, watch the POST, and verify everything comes back to a nominal state.

If you have a router that locks up randomly in the middle of the night, Console Recovery could be just the feature you’re looking for.

Automatic Password Recovery

I love this feature. Mostly because I never remember the exact sequence for performing a password recovery on a Cisco router. Or maybe it’s the config register that I get hung up on. Either way, I don’t have to worry about it anymore. If I find myself locked out of a router (or if the LM-Series is locked out too), then all I have to do is run the recover configuration command. The LM-Series knows what the passwords should be, in that they are defined by the last known-good startup config. All it needs to do is push down that config.

But… if it can’t log into the router, how can it push down the config?

Easy. Cut power. Send a break signal at exactly the right moment. Change a config register. Boot to empty config. Push down startup. Reload. Change config register back. Boot. Verify startup config. Resume monitoring.

[super@LantronixLM (port1/2)]# recover configuration
This process can take about 5 minutes.
Attempting to revert startup configuration to current from 25 May 14:52
1/8: Powering off port1/8 outlet(s) [A2]
1/8: DSR was active.
1/8: CTS was active.
1/8: Powering on port1/8 outlet(s) [A2]
Attempting to break into ROMmon mode.
Break into ROMmon successful.
Reading post
Image decompressing
Image decompressed
Post complete.
Transferring file ...
Sent startup-config (452 bytes) at 594 B/s.
Issuing 'reload'
Reading post
Bootstrap posted
Image decompressing
Image decompressed
Started
Post complete.

Trying ping to check that network is working
pinging 10.10.10.1 was successful, round trip time was 4.0 ms
testing credentials.
Succeeded.

And what will YOU do while that is happening? Whatever you want. Go get some coffee. See if there are any donuts left in the kitchen. When you get back, that router will be running the correct configuration with all of its expected usernames/passwords back in place.

It really is just that simple, but it wouldn’t be possible without a managed power controller.

Like a Light Switch

I recommend managed power to every customer for every site. Even if you have personnel at the site who can just run over to the lab or data closet and flip a switch, in a network-down situation, every second counts. There is no time to wait for Earl to finish his hand of solitaire. We need to get on the road to Network Good as quickly as possible.

You can do that with an LM-Series console server. Or it can do it for you.

The post Feature Spotlight: Power Control appeared first on Lantronix.

Thanks to Phinneas’ vision, we can confidently say even if it doesn’t have a serial port, we can manage it.

In today’s Feature Spotlight, we’re taking a look at Virtual Ports!

What is a Virtual Port?

A virtual port is just like a standard port on a Local Manager except that instead of being directly connected via an RS-232 serial cable, we connect over the network to the end device using a variety of protocols like ssh-vty, ssh, telnet (RFC-2217), and even a USB to serial adapter. All you have to do is tell the Local Manager where to go (IP address, TCP Port), which protocol to use (SSH / Telnet), and how to log in (username / password), and it will start maintaining that connection as if it were plugged in directly. The virtual port connection becomes transparent to the user, and they can manage the device without worrying about how they’re getting there.

An example of a Local Manager connecting over the LAN to devices using virtual ports (blue) and console connections (orange).

Why would I use a Virtual Port?

Aside from simply running out of physical serial ports on a Local Manager (why do you have so many network devices?), there are several reasons why you might want to use a virtual port.

Distance – Did you know there is only so far you can run a standard shielded Cat5 cable? After a certain point, the signal degrades so much that communication becomes impossible. While there are other solutions like powered RS-422, sometimes it’s just not practical or possible to run a cable to the end device.

Existing Connection – What if the end device’s console port is already in use or connected to an existing console server? A physical Lantronix Local Manager (or a VM Local Manager which is all virtual ports) can integrate with existing console servers and piggyback on those serial connections, basically adding automation, monitoring, and security to what you already have.

Virtual Local Managers were specifically designed to integrate with existing solutions

No Serial Port – Times are changing, and we’re already seeing manufacturers drop RS-232 serial ports completely in favor of USB. But if the only connection a device provides is TCP, then we will gladly use that instead.

Are there any drawbacks?

Since the dawn of Lantronix, we’ve tried to limit our reliance on the network by connecting directly to devices via an out-of-band serial connection. Even when Local Managers are connected to the in-band network, we prefer IP addresses over hostnames and private, dedicated Ethernet connections over routing traffic through the LAN. Our solution doesn’t depend on tools like SNMP, ping, or syslog simply because you can’t reliably manage the network over the network.

Ultimately, it comes down to questions of fault tolerance and acceptable risk.

For example, if the Local Manager is in Austin and it has a virtual port configured to a device in El Paso (a mere 576-mile, 9-hour drive away), then you have to think about the dozens, possibly hundreds of individual pieces of network equipment that connection is going through. Any failure along that path would cause the virtual port to stop working; management and visibility functions would be lost.

On the other hand, if the Local Manager and the end device are in the same rack and plugged into the same switch, then that’s less risky. You still have the same problem if the switch goes down, but most likely, we’re managing that switch anyway, so you can get it back up and running quickly and restore that virtual port connection.

Virtual ports may come with reliance on the network, but the risk is manageable.

Are there any limitations?

Virtual ports rely on the network being up, which includes every network device between the Local Manager and the end device. The end device must also be in a state where it can pass traffic over the network (i.e., not in ROMMON mode). When these requirements are not met, several features become unavailable.

• Out-of-band connection (LAN independence)
• Bare metal restore
• ROMMON recovery
• Password/configuration recovery where boot loader configuration is required
• POST data collection
• Automatic Rollback
• xmodem and ymodem file transfers

Other than that, the same advanced drivers that work on physical ports still work on virtual ports. We can pull and back up configs, manage access, and monitor the device.

How do I get started?

If you’re ready to get started with virtual ports, check out our documentation here: Virtual Ports.

A few notes:

• A license is required for virtual ports. If you’d like a test license so you can evaluate the feature, please let us know.
• The Lantronix LM80/LM83X supports a maximum of 16 virtual ports.
• The Virtual Local Manager supports a maximum of 48 virtual ports.
• Virtual ports will appear on Slot 5 of an LM80/LM83X

Like regular ports, only not.

Virtual ports are great because you can connect to anything that is reachable over the network and put the Local Manager’s automation, monitoring, and security to work even at a distance. While we tend to focus on network-independent management, our only real goal is to make sure you have all the tools you need to manage your network efficiently and securely.

Be on the lookout for our next feature: Quantum Ports. Scheduled for release on 4/1/2025, quantum ports won’t require a serial or network connection, but will instead rely on quantum entanglement to back up configs and operating system images. Of course, simply querying the end device changes its state, but our engineers are hard at work trying to figure out a way around that.

In the meantime, if you’d like to talk more about Virtual Ports, drop us a note online! Already a customer? Our support team is standing by 24/7/365 at support@Lantronix.com and 888.663.6869.

The post Feature Spotlight: Virtual Ports appeared first on Lantronix.

IoT Security is always a concern when developing your IoT projects and Network World’s Bob Violino has developed 7 security practices you may not have considered, in his article, “7 Steps to Enhance IoT Security”. These practices range from big moves to small adjustments to ensure network, systems, data, and devices are protected. As we read his article, a thought came to mind – How do Lantronix embedded IoT products “stack up”?

But before we look at what makes up these 7 practices for IoT security, let’s look at how the IoT device manufacturers are being challenged by legislation in Californian (senate bill # 327) and the United Kingdom as an example. In California, a bill went into effect January 1, 2020, that requires manufacturers of internet-connected devices to increase their security capabilities to better protect consumer data transition through their devices. This has had wide-sweeping effects on the sales of Internet of Things (IoT) devices impacting many everyday products.

The California IoT legislation has seriously impact manufacturers of IoT devices not just in California but across the United States. The first step in analyzing whether the law is applicable to your company is to determine whether your company produces “connected devices.” If your company does manufacture such devices that connect directly or indirectly to the Internet, and those devices are sold or offered for sale in California, then this IoT legislation is applicable.

Following in California’s footsteps, the United Kingdom has instituted similar IoT security legislation that has become law. The UK legislation mandates:

• IoT device passwords are unique and not re settable to any universal factory default (as is the case in the California law);
• Manufacturers of Internet-connected devices provide a public point of contact as part of a vulnerability disclosure policy to enable issues to be reported to the manufacturer; and
• Internet-connected devices are capable of being securely updated, and manufacturers must explicitly state the minimum length of time for which a device will receive software updates.

These two examples clearly show that manufacturers need to take additional measures to ensure the security of their products and the components that make up the intricate platforms of IoT devices. So, let’s look at the 7 practices you can implement today to provide better IoT security for your products according to Network World:

1. IoT security – start by thinking small – Laura DiDio principal at research and consulting firm ITIC states, “The majority of IoT devices are very small. Therefore, the source code tends to be written in the ‘common tongue’—C or C++ and C# languages, which frequently fall victim to common problems like memory leaks and buffer-overflow vulnerabilities. These issues are the network equivalent of the common cold.”
2. Deploy context-aware access controls – Controlling access within an IoT environment is one of the bigger security challenges companies face when connecting assets, products, and devices. That includes controlling network access for the connected objects themselves.
3. Hold vendors accountable for their IoT equipment – Companies should apply the controls outlined in common security frameworks to IoT devices. For example, include security functional requirements in your contracts; request recent vulnerability scans or assert the right to scan them yourself; obligate the vendors to provide timely updates to address identified weaknesses; and rescan the devices after any firmware updates to ensure that identified issues have been resolved and that no new issues have been introduced.
4. Defend against IoT identity spoofing – Hackers and their techniques have become more proficient over the years, and this can represent a significant threat for IoT security. That makes it imperative that businesses and their security and IT departments verify the identity of the IoT devices that they’re communicating with, and ensure that they are legitimate for critical communications, software updates, and downloads.
5. Establish one-way connections for IoT devices – Companies should limit the ability of IoT devices to initiate network connections, and instead only connect to them using network firewalls and access control lists. Enterprises can also force connections to IoT devices to go through jump hosts and/or network proxies.
6. Consider using a segregated network – Many types of control devices, such as thermostats and lighting controls, connect via wireless. Most enterprise wireless networks require WPA2-Enterprise/802.1x.
7. Insert security into the supply chain – IoT endeavors typically reach across multiple partners in a supply chain, including technology vendors, suppliers, and customers, and security must take that into account.

These are some great tips for improving IoT Security but how does this translate into real-world scenarios and what should developers and designers such as project engineers, systems integrators and OEM manufacturers be looking for in secure IoT modules and gateways. As an example, let take the Lantronix offering for embedded products (the xPico and XPort family) and breakdown the IoT security components that encompass InfiniShield™ Security – Lantronix’s built-in security software.

InfiniShield provides:

• Secure Boot – this feature ensures the only authorized firmware, approved by the OEM, can be loaded so even if someone gets physical access to the device, your trusted firmware cannot be replaced.
• Controlled Access – role-based access control allows for multiple users, each with a role that gives different access rights. This provides access for your team but differentiates the level of admin privileges.
• Encrypted Storage – of credentials and configurations. Certificate storage establishes a root of trust to be able to identify servers and the devices itself with client certificates for specific enterprise security standards.
• Secure Communications – support for security protocols and ciphers with embedded gateway applications. (TLS1.2, AES 256-bit, SHA-2)
• Secure Firmware Updates – reliable updates of authorized firmware done remotely. Plus, ongoing support to keep your device secure and monitor it for critical vulnerabilities.

These are just a few of the security features of the new Infinishield™ built-in software, but this gives you a roadmap of what to look for when designing in module gateways or any embedded product to ensure end to end security. Our final recommendation is to find and work with partners who (as Tip 7 explains) insert security into your supply chain whether they are technology vendors, suppliers, system integrators, or resellers.

To learn more about Lantronix, the Infinishield™ built-in security software and our award-winning line of embedded products go to www.Lantronix.com or https://www.lantronix.com/support/infinishield-security/ or check out our whitepaper for a deeper drive into Security in the IoT Age at https://www.lantronix.com/blog/security-in-the-age-of-iot/ .

The post 7 IoT Security Practices for IoT Projects! appeared first on Lantronix.

At Embedded World 2022, we are displaying the Open-Q 5165RB development board powered by Qualcomm QRB5165 for 360-degree facial recognition and real-time facial detection. These analytics are shown in an office dashboard with AI inferencing which also could be used for people counting, identifying unknown persons, and traffic detection such as performing safety-zone detection, and sending notifications when people cross the safety zone. This is powered by the Qualcomm QRB5165 robotics processor enabling AI, ML, heterogeneous computing, enhanced computer vision, and multi-camera concurrency with advanced ISPs while supporting industrial-grade temperature range and security at every layer.

Product Spotlights

G520

The G520 series offers LTE CAT 4 and 5G cellular gateways to protect your long-term IoT application investment. Designed for industrial applications with built-in security to help prevent cyber-attacks, the G520 delivers a robust and reliable solution for the most mission-critical applications.

Learn More

Open-Q™ 5165RB SOM (System on Module)

Based on Qualcomm® QRB5165 System-on-Chip with Ubuntu Linux OS

• Develop with the smallest QRB5165 SOM module in world
• Production ready
• Dev kit designed with longer lifecycle accessories

Learn More

The post Our Open-Q 5165RB SOM and G520 Gateway in Action appeared first on Lantronix.

Learn More about our Integration

The post Transition Networks PoE Switches with DMS Integrate with Milestone XProtect VMS Smart Client appeared first on Lantronix.

It’s time for your lighting to do more than switch on or off. Did you know your building lighting can provide benefits beyond just light? Smart lighting use Power over Ethernet (PoE) to operate energy-efficient LED lights, sensors, and controllers that can perform actionable analytics to better serve those who use each space.

What makes PoE lighting different?

PoE lighting leverages new or existing network cabling installed throughout buildings to connect and power lights. PoE lights utilize low-voltage DC power, making them safer, faster, easier, and less costly to install than traditional lighting. Because PoE lights are IP-addressable, they can also be integrated with access control, HVAC, and other networked systems to make buildings smarter, as well.

Transition Networks has many PoE, PoE+, and PoE++ switches supporting PoE lighting, including plenum-rated switches that are ideal for safe installation and operation above ceilings or under raised floors where communications cables are located.

What are plenum-rated switches?

Plenum-rated switches are designed with materials that are non-combustible and have smoke characteristics that are non-toxic and prevent fire-spreading. This special rating allows them to be placed in air handling spaces to safely and conveniently deliver power and connectivity for IP-enabled devices throughout buildings.

What other features make Transition Network switches ideal for PoE lighting?

Several of our features make maintenance of the entire network of lights, switches, and other connected devices easy.  Most Transition Networks switches have Device Management System (DMS) software for simplified configuration, installation, and troubleshooting of switches, lights, and other connected IP devices within the network. The DMS software helps lower overall cost, reduces downtime, and streamlines management and maintenance of the entire PoE network.

When a device malfunctions, sometimes a simple reset will get the device back on track. Our switches include Auto Power Reset (APR) functionality which enables monitoring and remote resetting of the connected, powered devices. This simple feature reduces service calls and downtime for your lighting and other devices on the PoE network.

Ready to make your lights do more for your spaces? Contact us now

Related Products

SISPM1040-582-LRT

SM24TBT2DPA

SESPM Series

The post What is PoE Lighting? appeared first on Lantronix.

Transition Networks’ PoE+ switches easily integrate with Verint’s network video solutions offering the following features:

• Automatic recovery of issues with IP cameras
• Remote switch firmware updates and health monitoring
• Per port data throughput and power consumption dashboard
• Port lockdown for network security

Related Products

SM8TAT2SA

SM16TAT2SA

SM24TAT2SA

The post Transition Networks Partners with Verint for Cost-Efficient Security Platform appeared first on Lantronix.

Why This New Network is Needed for Smart Buildings

The post uLAN Best Practices appeared first on Lantronix.

Smart street lights may have features such as:

• Solar power capabilities
• Digital signage
• Environmental condition monitoring
• Traffic monitoring
• Push to talk
• Electric charging

Read more by checking out our article in Smart Cities Dive

The post Turning Everyday Street Lights into Smart City Superstars appeared first on Lantronix.

The ION Platform offers flexibility with modular or stand-alone units as well as 1-slot, 2-slot, 6-slot, or 19-slot chassis options for low- or high-density applications. A variety of slide-in interface devices and converter modules support Layer 1 and Layer 2 Ethernet networks (100Base, 10/100, 1000Base, 10/100/1000, and 10G Ethernet) and TDM networks (DS1 – T1/E1/J1 and DS3-T3/E3 ).

The ideal system for network extension and secure management within a building or campus, the ION Platform allows network managers to:

• Integrate fiber and overcome distance limitations of UTP cable
• Optimize install multimode fiber within buildings
• Capitalize on distance advantages of single mode fiber between buildings
• Optimize installed fiber infrastructure with bi-directional single strand fiber
• Integrate variable data rates on one fiber cable
• Navigate system interfaces for secure network management throughout the system
• Save money by getting the most out of existing equipment and infrastructure and making cost-effective additions as needed

By integrating copper and fiber equipment and infrastructure, the ION Platform equips networks for the bandwidth, distance, and security demands of today, tomorrow, and every point in-between.

Related Products

Media Converters & Device Servers » Chassis

The post The ION Media Conversion Platform appeared first on Lantronix.

Related Products

SISPM1040-362-LRT

SISPM1040-384-LRT-C

SISPM1040-582-LRT

SM8TAT2SA

SM16TAT2SA

SM24TAT2SA

SM24TBT2DPA

SM8TAT2SA

SISPM1040-3166-L

The post Transition Networks PoE Switches with DMS Integrate with Siemens Siveillance™ Video Client appeared first on Lantronix.

Related Products

LIB-4424 Series

Ax6 OTDR Series

The post Net2Edge’s New Home appeared first on Lantronix.

• Extend networks beyond the traditional 100m Ethernet cable limitation
• Power connected devices even when no power outlets are available
• Accommodate increased bandwidth for enhanced services and intelligent devices at the network edge
• Provide services in legacy buildings or historical sites having restrictions on new installations

Using your existing cable infrastructure to bring power along with data networking to cameras and other IP devices offers a cost-effective method for deployment. Our Ethernet Extender solutions are easy to use—connecting directly to your existing coax, UTP or 2-wire POTS cable that is being abandoned with the implementation of newer technologies such as digital cameras and IP phones—and can save as much as 40% on installation cost and result in faster time to service.

Transition Networks’ Ethernet over Coax Extender with PoE+ and Ethernet Over 2-Wire Extender With PoE+ are some of the most flexible products on the market. Both accept multimode and single mode fiber Ethernet inputs, as well as standard CATx Ethernet cable, transfer data at near Gigabit speeds, and provide full PoE+ power to the end device. Features such as Auto Power Reset (APR) allow simple remote rebooting of the powered device, ensuring any necessary site visits by technicians are “intelligent” truck rolls and not wasted trips due to basic power resets. A web GUI allows simple and secure access, allowing you to configure the devices for optimal use in your specific application. The extenders offer a simple plug-and-play solution, reduce network implementation time, and are a cost-effective alternative to running new CAT5/6 cable to upgrade or expand an Ethernet network.

Related Products

TN-EOT-XX Series

EO2Px Series

EOCPx Series

The post Extending Your Network or Adding Devices Without Re-cabling appeared first on Lantronix.

As we look further into 2022 and the trends shaping customer service and the customer experience (CX) in the Tech World, Bernard Marr of Forbes said it best is his article, The 5 Biggest Customer Experience (CX) trends in 2022, “Over the next year, brands will build on their successes (and learn from the failures), leveraging technology-driven solutions to the challenges of building deeper connections and relationships with their customers.”

At Lantronix, we believe that delivering exceptional customer service is the key to ensuring that our products and services are utilized in the most efficient and technologically advanced manner. Whether it’s for our end-user customers or channel community, we know that responsive and solutions-focused customer service is integral to our customers seeing us as a trusted and valued resource.

Your Way. 
Our customers can receive customer service in the format that works best for them. We offer chat, phone and email customer service, all with fast response times and accurate information

Responsiveness. 
What really sets apart our customer support from the competition is our exceptional responsiveness on the platform of their choice.

Calls.
Our reps pick up within three rings. According to a study by American Express, the average amount of time callers waited for customer service by phone was 13 minutes.

Live Chat.
We have an average response time of 30–45 seconds for live chat. The industry average wait time is 2 minutes and 40 seconds, according to a study of live chat support by SuperOffice, which also found that 21 percent of chat support requests are simply not answered.

Emails.
We typically respond within an hour for email requests. According to a SuperOffice report on email customer service, the average time for a response to customer service emails is 12 hours and 10 minutes. Even more alarming, the report found that 62 percent of companies completely ignore customer service emails.

Knowledgeable.
Our reps have the knowledge and resources to resolve our customers’ challenges. Our reps understand the features and best-use applications of our solutions, which include our intelligent IT and Internet of Things and connectivity offerings as well as our Qualcomm®-backed System on Module, System on Chip and Development Kit offerings.

Access.
If customers have a challenge that goes beyond our reps’ experience, they can transition customers to our sales engineers or tech support reps.

Lantronix Won LiveHelpNow Best of 2021 Customer Service Award

Don’t take our word for it! Our customer service team recently won a LiveHelpNow Best of 2021 Award. Based on the LifeHelpNow Challenge, this award program’s winners are based on real-world customer service results and feedback. Awards are based on 12 novel metrics from 50 different criteria, including customer survey results, visitor volume, operator responsiveness and much more for a wide variety of industries.

When you contact Lantronix customer service, you can be assured that the response will be quick, and your problem will be resolved.

The post Customer Service in the Tech World – The Year Ahead 2022 appeared first on Lantronix.

According to the United Nations, the world’s urban population is expected to double by 2050, reaching nearly 6.7 million people. Cities will face unprecedented challenges to manage issues with sanitation, traffic congestion, urban crime, and environmental pollution.

IoT has the potential to address many of the challenges of urban growth with smart city solutions. For all its potential, building and maintaining smart cities is not without its own challenges. Xavier Dupont is the Senior Director Product Line, at Lantronix, and highlights what these challenges are and how to overcome them.

IoT in Smart Cities

Large populations consume a lot of resources. Growing populations will need access to water, environmentally friendly and efficient transportation, practical sanitation, and clean air, all of which are a struggle with population density.

With the use of IoT technology and smart city practices, cities can meet the increasing demands of residents without disrupting processes. Connected devices can create smart, data-driven solutions that can solve problems and improve quality of life for its residents, such as smart lighting, smart traffic, and smart sanitation.

Components of a Smart City

Infrastructure

Smart infrastructure is the foundation of a smart city. Optimized for performance, a smart infrastructure reduces waste and saves on energy consumption. The result is an energy-efficient city that’s environmentally friendly.

An example of this in practice is a motion-activated streetlight, which reduces energy consumption when the streets are empty. Smart lighting can also improve traffic, increase public safety, and reduce energy costs.

Air Management

Air pollution is a growing concern for cities, especially as they become more crowded. In fact, air pollution accounts for roughly $900 billion annually, according to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A smart city has the ability to analyze air pollution data and make emission forecasts.

For example, a city can use air quality sensing and geofencing to switch the fleet of hybrid vehicles to electric-only mode temporarily when the air quality is poor. These insights can also be used to redirect pedestrians and drivers to alternate routes.

Traffic Management

Perhaps one of the most valuable components of a smart city is optimized traffic management. A smart city can put technological parameters in place for a traffic control solution.

For example, integrated sensors can be programmed to provide updates on real-time traffic flow. Once analyzed, the program can adjust the traffic lights to mitigate heavy traffic conditions.

Parking

Parking can be challenging, especially in large cities. Smart cities can use sensors in parking lots to record when drivers come and go, and to alert drivers of free parking areas. All of this can be done via smartphone, allowing drivers to choose the most practical parking options.

Waste Management

Inefficient waste management is rising in costs and challenges. According to the World Bank, the amount of waste is expected to rise from 1.4 billion tons today to 2.4 billion tons by 2025. The costs associated are expected to hit $375 billion. This isn’t even considering the environmental toll.

Smart cities can improve the efficiency of waste collection and reduce operational costs, especially as urban populations grow. This can be achieved with sensors on waste containers that relay messages when the waste reaches a certain level, so it can be emptied as needed.

Video Surveillance

Smart video surveillance has already been in use, especially on busy roads and highways. Law enforcement uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras for traffic control, auto theft, tolls, and crime prevention.

As surveillance cameras become more advanced, they may be able to be used to predict crimes before they happen and identify pedestrians. Unfortunately, the public is wary of the privacy and personal data on surveillance cameras, which is one of the more concerning security challenges with IoT.

Implementing Efficient and Scalable IoT Architecture for a Smart City

No matter how a city uses smart technology, it’s vital to have a strong foundation. If the city wants to expand the services or implement smart technology in more areas, the existing architecture can be upgraded easily without a full rebuild.

IoT-based Smart City Platform

Smart city implementation begins with basic architecture, which includes:

• Network of smart things: Smart things have sensors to collect data and transfer it to a cloud management platform, and actuators to make changes based on data, like restricting water flow or adjusting lighting.
• Gateways: Field gateways allow data gathering and compression by processing and filtering data before it moves to the cloud. Cloud gateways ensure secure data transmission between field gateways and the cloud.
• Data lakes and warehouses: Data lakes and warehouses are used to store data. Data lakes preserve data in its raw state, then pass it to the warehouse, which is a repository for structured data. The warehouse also contains contextual information about connected things.

Monitoring and Analytics

Data analytics allow monitoring of a device environment and establish rules for applications to carry out commands. Cities can govern the sensors and actuators across devices, implementing conditions that must be met for when the actuator does or does not perform an action.

Deep Analytics

IoT-generated data yields greater insights than conventional monitoring and analytics. Deep analytics provides advanced insights like patterns and hidden correlations with machine learning. In practice, this can be a traffic light that can adapt to real-time traffic scenarios and improve congestion and vehicle speed over time.

Smart Control

Smart city control is possible when applications send commands to actuators to solve a problem or complete a task. Applications can be rule-based or machine-learning-based – the former is based on manual definitions, while the latter is based on machine-learning algorithms, providing better control and automation.

User Applications

Users have significant value in the smart city. User applications allow citizens to connect to the platform to control IoT devices or receive alerts and notifications. For example, this can apply to traffic alerts via smartphones, which notify drivers of traffic jams and suggest alternate routes. Users can also send traffic alerts to the traffic control center via smartphone.

Integrating Solutions

Smart cities aren’t just built and left alone. Refining, updating, and scaling the technology is an ongoing process. By implementing smart city solutions now, cities can consider what IoT technologies they may wish to implement in the future. Plenty of solutions can be implemented together to form whole solutions, like a traffic management platform that works with automated smart lighting and air quality sensors to direct traffic to the safest and least congested areas.

Building toward a Connected and Sustainable Future

Automated streetlights, self-altered traffic patterns, and continuous air quality monitoring would’ve been unimaginable just a few decades ago, but they’re now a vital component of a successful smart city of the future. As the world population grows, IoT solutions in cities can mitigate the effects of high energy costs, diminishing natural resources, and increased waste, crime, and air pollution.

For more information check out additional articles, videos and case studies on streetlights, traffic management, smart parking, and video surveillance.

Infrastructure: 
Turning Everyday Street Lights into Smart City Superstars 

Traffic Management:
Lantronix Enables Fiber Optic Connectivity at Nearly 500 Traffic Signals as Part of County’s Advanced Traffic Management System Update

Parking:
Lantronix Powers Camera & Wireless Radio as Part of Park Assist Parking Guidance & Security System at Mall of America 

Video Surveillance: 
Powers Outdoor Smart City Applications with Lantronix’s Self-Enclosed Switch 

Monitoring and Analytics:
Actionable Intelligence for Smart Cities with Device Management System (DMS) Software

Integrating Solutions:
Lantronix PoE Switches with DMS Integrate with Milestone XProtect VMS Smart Client

About the Author:

Xavier Dupont 
Senior Director Product Line
Lantronix

Xavier Dupont is the Senior Director Product Line, at Lantronix, a global provider of turnkey solutions and engineering services for the internet of things (IoT). Xavier’s and Lantronix’s goal is to enable IoT and their clients digital transformation by providing technology block from sensing, to data collection and visualization.

The post Why IoT and Smart City Technology Will Make It Possible to Sustain Growth While Providing Data to Inform Solutions appeared first on Lantronix.

Lantronix recently introduced the Open-Q 610 µSOM and Development Kit, based on the Qualcomm QCS610 system-on-chip (SoC), and this article provides detailed instructions on how to install and run a couple of demos to show off the powerful capabilities of the platform out of the box. The QCS610 is built specifically for advanced IoT vision intelligence applications, with exceptional power and thermal efficiency, advanced image signal processors, digital signal processor, connectivity, and security. The QCS610 platform is designed to support the following key capabilities:

• Multiple options for AI inference engines
• Heterogeneous computing (CPU/GPU/DSP) for on-device machine learning
• Dual ISPs and 4K ultra-HD video
• RTSP streaming and effortless connectivity using Wi-Fi or native Ethernet interface.

The platform SW is a Linux release based on Yocto Thud (v2.6) with built-in support for the GStreamer multimedia framework, including Qualcomm-added GStreamer elements for control of QCS610 specific features, such as camera source, HW encoders and decoders, Wayland display sink, and various AI-specific elements.

As described in the Qualcomm blog post, “On-device AI with Developer-ready SW Stacks”, the Qualcomm QCS610 includes powerful AI capabilities, right out the box. Combining this full-featured SW with the Lantronix Open-Q 610 µSOM Dev Kit and available camera and display accessories enables demonstration of the AI framework with minimal effort.

This article explains how to set up the Open-Q610 µSOM Dev Kit with camera and LCD accessories, how to connect it to your network, and how to run a couple of GStreamer demos to show how easy it is to get started with multimedia and AI use-cases on the Open-Q 610 µSOM Dev Kit.

Video

This Tech Talk demonstrates the ease with which users can get started on vision AI projects with the QCS610 SoC and Linux AI software stack, with the Lantronix Open-Q 610 µSOM Dev Kit and accessories.

Tech Talk: On-device Artificial Intelligence

Setup and Demo Instructions

1. Prerequisites

• Lantonix Open-Q 610 µSOM Development Kit with the OpenQ-610_Linux-v1.1 software release installed.

• A PC with ADB utilities installed (either Windows or Linux)

• A PC, phone, or other device with VLC video player installed (https://www.videolan.org/)

2. HW Setup:

• Connect the two camera accessories to the dev kit CAM1 and CAM2 connectors

• Connect the USB cable between the Type-C connector on the dev kit to your PC

• Connect the 12V power adapter to the dev kit

See Figure 1 below for a picture of the setup with Dev Kit, LCD, two cameras, and a Linux PC for the ADB connection.

Figure 1: Demo Setup with Two Cameras Attached

3. Connect with ADB and prepare target filesystem:

Assuming you are starting with a new Open-Q 610 dev kit with freshly installed OS SW (either fresh from the factory or if you have reinstalled it), a few steps are required before we can copy files to it or make other changes:

• Confirm that you can connect to the 610 dev kit with ADB – should list the serial number of the SOM on your dev kit:

$ adb devices

List of devices attached

085300001   device

• Next, a few steps are required to disable DM-Verity security (this must be done only once on a freshly installed OS):

$ adb root

$ adb disable-verity

Slot is _a

Verity disabled on /

Now reboot your device for settings to take effect

$ adb reboot

• After it has rebooted, remount the target filesystem as read-write so that you can copy files to it:

$ adb shell

/ # mount -o rw,remount /

/ # exit

$

• Now it’s ready to copy files from your PC onto the target device.

4. Copy required scripts to target device

Four shell scripts are used for this project and they are available online from the Lantronix Open-Q 610 Embedded Compute Portal at: https://tech.intrinsyc.com/projects/open-q-610-usom-dev-kit/files

Open-Q_610_Streaming_Demo_Scripts.zip

• After downloading and unzipping these scripts, you should see the following files:

dspl_init.sh

wifi_st_init.sh

dual-cam_prv.sh

dual-cam-tflite_to_rtsp.sh

• Copy these four files onto the 610 dev kit:

$ adb push dspl_init.sh /home/root/

$ adb …

• Do the same for all four files.
• Now make these files executable on the target device:

$ adb shell

/ # cd /home/root

/ # chmod 755 dspl_init.sh

/ # chmod …

• Do the same for all four files.

5. Wi-Fi Setup:

• Open an adb shell on your PC:

$ adb shell

/ #

• Edit the wpa_supplicant.conf file to correspond to your Wi-Fi access point SSID and passphrase, then save it.

/ # vi /etc/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf

network={

ssid=”YOUR_SSID_NAME“

proto=RSN

key_mgmt=WPA-PSK

pairwise=CCMP

group=CCMP

psk=”PASSWD”

}

• Next, run the Wi-Fi initialization script to connect to your access point and start the dhcp client:

/ # cd /home/root

~ # ./wifi_st_init.sh

• You should see something like this (details will depend on your specific Wi-Fi access point):

Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant

udhcpc: started v1.29.3

udhcpc: sending discover

udhcpc: sending discover

udhcpc: sending select for 10.0.0.32

udhcpc: lease of 10.0.0.32 obtained, lease time 86400

/etc/udhcpc.d/50default: Adding DNS 10.0.0.1

~ #

6. Display Initialization:

• To start the LCD display run the dspl_init.sh script to initialize the Weston display server

 ~ # ./dspl_init.sh

• After a lot of messages in the terminal you should finally see this message at the bottom and see the LCD panel change from black to a gray pattern.

Create output successful

Disable tool bar

~ #

7. Dual Camera Preview on LCD:

Now that the basics are initialized, we can demonstrate a dual concurrent camera use-case that uses a gstreamer pipeline to stream video from each camera, combine them into one stream using the qtivcomposer gstreamer plugin, and then display the combined video on the LCD panel.

Figure 2 below shows a flow chart of the gstreamer pipeline created by this script.

  Figure 2: Dual Camera Preview Flowchart

• Start the demo by running the dual-cam_prv.sh script:

~ # ./dual-cam_prv.sh

• After a few seconds and a bunch of messages in the terminal you should see two images side-by-side on the LCD – one from each camera.

• Stop the script with Control-C

• See Figure 3 below for the expected 

Figure 3: Dual Camera Preview Display on LCD

8. Dual Camera Tensorflow Lite Streaming Demo:

Taking things a few steps further, the next demo takes the video streams from the two cameras, runs them through a Tensorflow Lite live camera inferencing model, adds object boxes and labels, combines the two video streams into one, and streams the result over the network via rtsp. The resulting stream can be viewed using the VLC video player on another device connected to the network.

Figure 4 below shows a flow chart of the gstreamer pipeline created by this script.

  Figure 4: Dual Cam TF-Lite Flowchart

• This demo uses an example TF-Lite model from Google (https://www.tensorflow.org/lite). First, we need to download the model files and copy them onto the 610 dev kit.

• Download the coco ssd mobilenet model onto your PC from here:
https://storage.googleapis.com/download.tensorflow.org/models/tflite/coco_ssd_mobilenet_v1_1.0_quant_2018_06_29.zip

• Unzip coco_ssd_mobilenet_v1_1.0_quant_2018_06_29.zip.

• Copy the model and labels files onto the target device:
adb push detect.tflite /data/misc/camera/.
adb push labelmap.txt /data/misc/camera/.

• Now start the demo script to set up the gstreamer pipeline and start streaming. It will stream at the IP address of your Wi-Fi interface on port 8900.

$ adb shell
/ # cd /home/root
~ # ./dual-cam-tflite_to_rtsp.sh

Ctl-C to stop

Gbm_create_device(156): Info:backend name is: msm_drm
Stream ready at rtsp:// <dev kit IP addr>:8900/live
…
…
Gbm_create_device(156): Info: backend name is: msm_drm

• Note the address output above that you will need to receive the stream in the next step.

• Now you can connect to the stream from a PC, phone, or tablet connected to the same network as your 610 dev kit, using the VLC video player.

• Select “Open Network Stream” from the “Media” menu and enter the following:
rtsp://<dev kit IP addr>:8900/live

• You should now see something like the below image from the VLC player – two separate video streams with objects detected and labeled.

Figure 5: Dual Camera TensorFlow Lite Demo Output

9. Summary:

This article has shown how quick and easy it is to get started with embedded on-device AI applications using the Lantronix Open-Q 610 µSOM Dev Kit and accessories running the Qualcomm QCS610 AI SW stack. We have seen how multimedia and AI use-cases can be prototyped quickly using a few lines to set up a gstreamer pipeline. Many different configurations can be set up similarly with different example TensorFlow Lite models from Google, such as image classification, pose estimation, segmentation. The QCS610 SW stack also supports executing ML models from the Qualcomm Neural Processing SDK to provide the flexibility of developing your models on a variety of industry standard frameworks such as TensorFlow, TensorFlow Lite, ONNX, and Caffe2.

If you do not yet have an Open-Q 610 µSOM Development Kit you can get yours here:

https://shop.intrinsyc.com/products/open-q-610-usom-development-kit

10. References:

• Open-Q 610 µSOM Development Kit web page:
  • https://www.lantronix.com/products/open-q-610-usom-development-kit/
• Open-Q 610 µSOM Development Kit documentation:
  • https://tech.intrinsyc.com/projects/open-q-610-usom-dev-kit/documents
  • (Development Kit purchase and registration required)
• “QCS610/QCS410 Linux Platform Development Kit Quick Start Guide”
  • Qualcomm doc # 80-PL631-300
  • Available from https://www.qualcomm.com/products/qcs610/documentation with www.qualcomm.com login.

 Author: Russell Fretenburg, Technical Product Manager, Lantronix, Inc.

The post Open-Q 610 On-Device AI Demo appeared first on Lantronix.

Hastened by the global pandemic, Internet of Things (IoT) cloud computing has become the new normal. As a result, enterprise adoption of Microsoft Azure is exploding. According to Microsoft’s 2020 Annual Report, 95 percent of the world’s Fortune 500 rely on Azure to stay up and running to support critical workloads.

According to Microsoft, as reported in Forbes.com, there are now more than 1,000 global enterprises — about 63 percent of all enterprises worldwide — using Microsoft Azure to simplify hybrid management and run Azure services across sites on-premises, multi-cloud and at the edge.

The stellar growth of Microsoft Azure is projected to continue with 61 percent of enterprises expecting to increase their investments in Microsoft Azure, according to the Flexera 2021 State of Tech Report.

Jumpstart Your Embedded Product Design with Lantronix IoT Support

Lantronix’s xPico 250 Series embedded IoT gateway and its accompanying xPico 200 Series Software Development Kit (SDK) deliver a game changer for companies designing embedded products for the IoT bandwagon. When integrated with Microsoft Azure, xPico 250, along with the SDK, makes it simpler for enterprises to get started with IoT implementations through pre-configured solutions that derive business value.

Lantronix’s solution gives enterprises a jumpstart to end-to-end IoT implementation by orchestrating the required Azure services. Specifically, the SDK enables integration with Microsoft IoT Hub, Event Hub, Notifications Hubs, Web apps and Logic apps to form pre-configured solutions.

Transform Every Facet On-Premises, in a Hosted or Private Cloud or Hybrid Combo

Supporting a wide variety of operating systems and devices, the SDK enables quick interconnection of assets and facilitates analysis and visualization of huge quantities of data to support real-time and predictive analytics. It easily integrates existing devices and services and is extensible with programming languages that developers already know, integrating seamlessly with the back-end platforms that are already deployed. The solution can run on-premises, in a hosted or private cloud or a hybrid cloud/on-premises combination, delivering the Internet of Your Things. 

Extend the Power of IoT to the Very Edge of the Network

With the recent enhancement of Lantronix’s SDK, users can extend the power of IoT and advanced analytics beyond data centers in the Microsoft Azure cloud to the very edge of the network where many assets and devices are connected.

The modular architecture of the SDK enables developers to string together individual pieces of logic, creating solutions that transform data at the edge of the network. Whether through encryption, filtering, annotation or performing custom analytics, data is processed close to the devices that create it, so only truly necessary pieces are sent to the cloud for further processing.

IoT for Every Industry, Including Critical Businesses Such as Oil and Gas, Retail and Smart Cities

Especially critical in industries such as oil and gas, retail and smart cities, Lantronix’s xPico 250 gives companies the ability to run real-time computations in the field, often in disparate geographic locations.

In some cases, devices at the network’s edge may not have sufficient bandwidth to leverage data analysis in the cloud, which is why it’s important to use edge computing capabilities on gateways to run analytics on-premises.

A Complete IoT Ecosystem That Delivers Greater Flexibility

Creating a complete IoT ecosystem with the extension of Microsoft Azure using Lantronix’s xPico IoT Gateway SDK, Lantronix’s solution delivers even greater flexibility for the design and deployment of the Internet of Things. 

Real-Time Management With Intelligent, Predictive Analytics

With IoT assets connected using Lantronix’s xPico IoT gateway, enterprises capture vast troves of real-time data to track assets, products and day-to-day operations. Such insights can further assist in remote asset monitoring, real-time supply chain visibility, security and fraud detection, which can translate to improved operations and increased revenues.

These IoT solutions are built around the real-time data, using machine learning techniques and further help enterprises in enabling intelligent business operations and predictive analytics.

With Lantronix’s support, enterprises have a smooth path to the many benefits offered by Microsoft Azure in a variety of settings and situations, enabling them to take full advantage of the Internet of Things.

For more information, email us at sales@lantronix.com  

# # #

The post Jumpstart Your Embedded Product Design with Lantronix IoT Support for Microsoft Azure appeared first on Lantronix.

FOX3 Tracker

Together, we provide customers and partners with innovative solutions and products to help them realize their network’s full potential. Our broader IoT connectivity solution will take any network to the next level.

Our network connectivity solutions, such as switching and media conversion, have now expanded to include a variety of IoT end points like Gateways, modems, trackers, and more!

Our embedded solutions, like NICs, CWDM, and SFPs, have also expanded to include SOM development kits, Embedded RF Modules, and Engineering Design Services.

SLC Series

Remote Environment Management has also expanded with our latest Secure Remote Access (SRA Series) solution in addition to the SLC Series for Data Centers, with the EMG 7500 Series and SLB Series for Branch Offices and Remote Sites.

ConsoleFlow

Now with Lantronix, we also offer extensive network management solutions through ConsoleFlow as well as LTE solutions with our Connectivity Services.

Check out our press release on the acquisition

Looking for Transition Networks Product?

Network Switches	Media Converters	Network Adapters (NICs)
CWDM Modules	Small Form-Factor Pluggables (SFPs)

Have questions?

Talk to our team to learn more about the new possibilities!

The post Transition Networks Now Lantronix appeared first on Lantronix.

According to the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) October 2020 “FutureScape” report, smart city investment by communities, utilities, telecom providers and consultants will increase to $203 billion by 2024. The report predicts that by 2025, 30 percent of cities will adopt IoT, artificial intelligence and digital twins to create a hybrid physical/digital solution to improve remote management of critical infrastructure and services.

The report also states that by the close of 2021, almost half (45 percent) of communities will transition to hybrid workforces that depend on cloud-based apps, digital collaboration tools and mobile technologies. To accomplish these lofty goals, by 2023, 20 percent of midsize urban areas plan to hire staff specifically tasked with moving the municipalities in the direction of digital transformation and innovation.

In addition, according to a 2020 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) survey of chief information officers and chief technology officers who work at cities and municipalities, more than half (55 percent) of those surveyed have sped up and increased adoption of resources in the cloud. Fifty-one percent have increased adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning while 52 percent have accelerated 5G adoption.

Cities’ increase in the speed of adoption of cloud-based and remote environment management adoption is in great part due to the COVID-generated shift to work-from-home, which resulted in a flood of personal devices into the workplace.

Whether it’s for remote workers or neighborhood safety, Lantronix software, hardware and connectivity services provide cities with a secure path to smart IoT and cloud-based solutions.

# # #

Lantronix Case Study: Flock Safety Automated License Plate Recognition System

Created by Flock Safety, the automated license plate recognition (ALPR) system supports citizens and law enforcement in fighting non-violent crime in their communities. Using 24-hour wireless cameras, the ALPR system gathers license plate information that can be used by local police to investigate crime. To bring its solution to market, Flock Safety worked closely with Lantronix.

Challenge: Create an Automated License Plate Reader Camera Solution

To make the ALPR device both functional and affordable for the application, the Flock Safety team utilized Lantronix’s Open-Q^TM 624A System on Module (SOM). Flock Safety’s designers worked closely with Lantronix’s engineering team for SOM customization and benefited from the engineers’ experience with cloud connectivity and edge compute technologies.

Solution: Lantronix Open-Q 624A SOM and Development Kit

Utilizing Lantronix’s Open-Q 624A SOM, its Development Kit and a custom carrier board designed by Lantronix’s engineers, the Flock Safety team was able to quickly and cost-effectively build a purpose-built core platform for its safety system. The ALPR system features wireless camera technology with remote device management and a long-lasting battery.

Security features include secure access by authorized users and assurance of privacy for neighbors. The SOM’s FCC/IC pre-certified Wi-FI®/BT module saved time and money to create a prototype and quickly go to market.

Results: Flock Safety Cameras Fight Crime With Technology

Utilizing Lantronix’s Open-Q 624A SOM and engineering expertise, the Flock Safety design team created its breakthrough ALPR system that combines powerful processing with security. Utilizing Lantronix’s technologies helped Flock Safety contain development costs, quickly build a prototype and go to market with a powerful yet affordable safety device.

Each camera can capture 15,000 vehicles per day and send real-time alerts to law enforcement with information including the license plate number, state, color of the car and if it is on the FBI’s NCIC list of stolen vehicles.

Flock Safety’s camera systems are currently being used in more than 700 cities across 38 states to help solve crimes. Law enforcement agencies have reported reductions in crime as high as 60 percent or more.

“Utilizing Lantronix’s Open-Q 624A SOM and Development Kit helped us affordably develop a prototype and quickly bring our Flock Safety system to market.”

Matt Feury, Founder & CTO

Flock Safety

“Lantronix’s custom modules provide a great platform for fast-tracking product development of high-performance embedded devices.”

Matt Feury, Founder & CTO

Flock Safety

For more information, click here to view the full case study.

# # #

Sidebar:

Trends in Smart City Technology Adoption

According to IDC’s “FutureScape” report, smart cities are rapidly adopting new technologies and introducing automation as they move to a cloud-based environment, resulting in the following trends:

1. Increase in Cybersecurity Concerns. In 2021, a disturbing 20 percent of digital devices deployed by urban governments will be compromised by malware and ransomware. The report advises using artificial intelligence and machine learning to redesign IoT ecosystems and to monitor and protect energy grids and water networks from attacks.
2. Move to Digital Tools. By 2022, 40 percent of police agencies will use digital tools, such as video streaming and shared workflows, to improve community safety. IDC expects a shift of emphasis away from violent crimes to the lower-level crime, requiring greater investment in core technologies to handle with these issues.
3. More Private Transportation Options. Forty percent of cities with 500,000 or more residents plan to adopt technologies to increase private transportation strategies. These services could include mobility-as-a-service providers, car-sharing services, bikes and electric scooters.
4. Eliminate the Digital Divide. An overwhelming 75 percent of cities will intervene to end the digital divide in their communities by 2025. This will likely be built on high-speed connectivity designed as a public utility.  To provide delivery of 20 percent of municipal services and products by 2026, cities will turn to digital and hybrid digital/physical environments.

Sources:

https://sfmagazine.com/technotes/february-2021-tech-trends-for-smart-cities-in-2021/

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=US45831620

The post Delivering on the Promise of Smart Cities With IoT Technologies appeared first on Lantronix.

According to Research and Markets, the global data center market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 2 percent during the period 2019–2025. In the U.S. alone, the data center market is expected to reach revenues of more than $69 billion by 2024.

With data center growth driven by the Internet of Things and cloud storage, data security becomes an important topic. While today’s data centers are constructed with a high regard for physical security and efficiency, there is an ongoing cost for each visitor that enters the site.

With secure Remote Environment Management (REM) solutions from Lantronix, users can reduce footfall, which mitigates costs, decreases security risk and increases your satisfaction.

The Problem: Extensive Security for Every Visitor 

When visitors are allowed into the data center, extensive security requirements are inherent with costs and heightened risks. A typical data center security check list includes parking checks, identification checks, security authentication, search and inspection, secure data area access, rack access and staff to manage guests.

The Solution: Remote Environment Management Solutions  

To reduce the footfall in your data center, Lantronix’s SLC 8000 advanced console server integrated with ConsoleFlow™ provides centralized management software. Lantronix’s ConsoleFlow cloud-based management platform provides a single pane of glass from which you view and control your devices.

Since security is paramount, the SLC 8000 console server is FIPS 140-2 certified and provides remote console access for up to 48 ports. This will significantly reduce the time-to-resolution for solving problems, cutting out the need to be directly connected to the console port of the equipment.

Together, this Remote Environment Management solution provides operations, automation and control benefits, including:

Operations 

• Aggregated directory status view of all devices and ports 
• Ability to search and create device groups for OTA operations 
• Secure, remote access to edge-connected devices 
• Ability to log file and device configuration backup 

Automation 

• Zero-touch provisioning for firmware and configuration updates 
• Device telemetry data monitoring for event-driven notifications 
• Ability to create and run Python scripts for automated NetOps management 

Control 

• Remotely administer and management portals, tenants, users and services 

The Results: Reduced Footfall Saves Money, Increases Security 

Reducing footfall at your data center saves money, increases security, decreases risks and increases your satisfaction that your data center is being handled securely and appropriately.

Sidebar: 

SLC 8000 Console Manager  

As part of Lantronix’s Remote Environment Management out-of-band solution, the SLC™ 8000 console manager provides resilience and intelligence across all deployments. It provides secure access to IT equipment with RS-232 and USB console while minimizing deployment headaches and time.

The SLC 8000’s Remote Power Management (RPM) function allows remote control of multiple PDU or UPS equipment.

More than 140 different vendors are supported. The connection can be SNMP, Network, RS232 serial or USB. RPM allows users to remotely restart or cold boot equipment without having to go on site.

The SLC 8000 is unique in that it supports both RS232 and USB console ports and is modular so it can expand to meet requirements without having to modify the rack.

Data center operators can provide the SLC 8000 console manager as part of the DC facilities, such as power, cooling, security, etc.

Sidebar: 

ConsoleFlow Management Platform 

ConsoleFlow™ delivers a feature-rich product portfolio with centralized asset management. It utilizes a full-stack approach, from data collection through control, empowering customers to get to market quickly with complete solutions. Analytics, insights, predictions and automation enable you to focus on business logic and operational efficiency to drive successful outcomes.

For more information, visit www.lantronix.com.  

# # # 

Sources:   

1. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/02/17/2177296/0/en/The-data-center-market-by-revenue-is-expected-to-grow-at-a-CAGR-of-4-5-during-the-period-2021-2026.html 

1. https://www.gray.com/insights/the-data-center-industry-is-booming/  

The post Remote Environment Management Helps Reduce Security Costs of On-Site Visitors in Your Data Center appeared first on Lantronix.

By: Victor Gonzalez, Senior Director of Engineering at Lantronix Inc. 

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is exploding in a variety of markets, including automotive, healthcare, security and consumer electronics. As a result, the demand for voice-enabled devices has increased significantly. In fact, Fortune Business Insights predicts that the speech and voice recognition market will grow at a CAGR of 19.8 percent from now until 2026 to reach $28.3 billion in annual revenues. 

For engineers responsible for developing voice-enabled solutions for the AI market, it is paramount to choose the right components and to understand the different features that are available. To aid in the development of voice-activation products, Qualcomm® Technologies’ Snapdragon 800 processers come equipped with Snapdragon Voice Activation (SVA) features. In collaboration with Qualcomm, Lantronix brings this advanced voice activation technology to OEMs with its Open-Q™ 800 System on Module (SOM) solutions, including the Open-Q™ 865XR. 

Exceptional Power Management Capabilities 

Lantronix’s Open-Q SOMs support development of voice-activated devices with power management benefits, including: 

• Ability for intelligent devices to conserve energy in low-power mode while waiting for a trigger word or phrase to awaken and begin processing audio input. 
• A flexible technology that enables customized words or phrases. 
• Powerful on-board CPUs that stay in sleep mode until a wake-up word is heard– particularly beneficial for battery powered devices with constrained power availability. 
• Audio Digital Processing System (aDSP), which allows for advantageous power conservation while the rest of the system is asleep. Until the wake word is recognized, the rest of the system will be in low-power mode.

Word-Recognition Sound Models 

There are two common types of word-recognition sound models. Each model is dependent on how the audio modelling data samples were captured to differentiate between the voice of one or more users: 

• User-Independent Voice Models: The most commonly used model–it allows for any voice to wake the device. For example, smart home assistants allow the voice input of any user to be used as triggers for word recognition. 

• User-Dependent Voice Models limit the operation/trigger/recognition to a single user’s voice. By further training the modelled data input, it can match the characteristics of a single user’s voice samples to make it user-dependent. 

Setting up Customized Keywords 

Utilizing Lantronix SOMs, engineers can set up a customized keyword User-Dependent Model (UDM) or User Independent Model (UIM) file comprising of several samples of the same keyword. Depending on the use case, either UIM or UDM can be desirable for product development. For example, UIM is typically mandatory in many devices. 

At Lantronix, we have created a UIM based on samples provided by our customers in a proper database of spoken keywords. This involves many speakers and voice samples recorded according to specifications and lab environment. Proprietary tools are used to generate a UIM from the database of samples. From there, the model is integrated onto the device. 

Alternatively, for demonstration purposes, there is a sample Voice Activation application, which allows the set-up of a limited set of wake words. This sample application is a good evaluation option, as it provides a few pre-built UIM keywords. It also allows the collection of at least five recordings of the keyword phrase from the primary end user in order to provide the phrases as a UDM to Qualcomm’s SVA ListenEngine API. When the sound model is loaded and recognition is started, the ListenEngine configures the required hardware, and the software blocks begin detecting keywords. 

Barge-In Considerations 

Another consideration for SVA is the use case of barge-in. Barge-in describes a circumstance where the device may be playing audio but still needs to be able to listen and detect keywords from users. This feature is also needed for voice-command processing in cloud-based engines where the wake word and voice commands may run together. 

When recognition is started for any Sound Model in non-barge-in mode, Microphone Activity Detection (MAD) hardware continuously listens for sounds near the microphone. In this case, the sounds are then matched against the sound model. If there is a match, ListenEngine notifies a callback associated with the app, waking up the CPUs from sleep mode. 

By default, voice activation runs in the WCD audio codec module DSP (WDSP) (part of the Qualcomm Aqstic™ audio codec) and moves to the aDSP during an active playback. Once the audio playback activity is done, the detection moves back to the WDSP. 

 
Sample Voice Activation Application 

After using the application to select the keyword, you will see that SVA is up and running: 

You can set up an application to be triggered by the wake-up word using the same tool:

To start the ListenEngine at the proper time, the MAD block needs to be set up. This can be accomplished via a software implementation on the aDSP, or by using the additional hardware vis-à-vis the WCD codec, depending on the product hardware design/configuration. 

 The following diagram shows some of the processing blocks involved for wake-word detection: 

MAD hardware enables the system to run in a power-efficient mode by filtering out low-level noises. MAD hardware on the codec compares the energy level on the microphone over a 20-ms period 10 against a predefined threshold. If the energy level is higher than the threshold, it interrupts the Low Power Audio Subsystem (LPASS). MAD hardware is only capable of receiving input from one microphone. In this case of noise reduction, it would be the main microphone.

The above image shows SVA Engine (SPE) components. If SoundTrigger audio capture is enabled during startRecognition, the application is expected to read the contents of the audio buffer when detection occurs. 

Guidelines for selecting a custom keyword that is suitable for identification under SPE include: 

• Must contain at least 4 syllables. 
• Must contain no more than 8 syllables. 
• Must be at least 1 second long (even when spoken quickly). 
• Should not be a phrase common in everyday conversation. 
• Should maximize diversity in sound between each syllable. 
• Should alternate vowel and consonant sounds for greater distinction. 
• Must use the most significant distinct syllables at least 200 ms after the start of the phrase. 
• Should meet the minimum confidence level for User Defined Keyword (UDK), which should be set to 69. However, if the missed detection rate is unacceptably high, drop the minimum confidence level to 65 or 61. 

Lantronix is a great resource for developers and OEM engineers that are producing voice- enabled solutions for the AI market. We are able to help define and tune keyword identification and leverage the ability to define key words.  

To learn more, check out the Open-Q865XR and development kit, along with all of our embedded-compute solutions at  www.lantronix.com. 

The post Maximizing Artificial Intelligence for Voice Activation and Control appeared first on Lantronix.

While there are multiple processes to modify a firewall to allow access, taking it down at all opens up your customer’s network to the risk of a data breach. The last thing you want to do is be the reason a customer has a data breach when your job is to safeguard their networks. It’s likely why it isn’t a current offering for your team. It’s time to change that.

Whether it’s to manage physical security systems, HVAC systems, controllers, or servers, I’d like to share a couple of ways you can safely access your customer’s network and add remote login to your list of services to not only help with network problems but also proactively monitor.

Let’s review some options to find one that will best fit your network, budget, and security needs.

Single-use VPN (Virtual Private Network) into remote desktop

This option allows you to log into the network via a private connection created by the customer. While it will allow you into the network, it requires coordination at the customer will have to accept VPN requests each time it is needed. This means you won’t be able to enter the network proactively to install updates, restore data or create backups for your customer.

Additionally, the hassle of accepting VPN requests means this option doesn’t scale well as you’ll need that person on-site to establish the connection each time at every location.

MPLS

Multi-protocol label switching or MPLS is another type of private network that allows a direct link by connecting to a service provider’s device that labels the device attempting to access the network as a “safe” device.

While it is an effective option, it has high costs to implement because it requires a service provider to implement, resulting in high fees for hardware and support.

SD-WAN with load balancing

A cost-effective response to MPLS, SD-WAN uses public internet versus private with MPLS. However, using the public network means more security issues because the technology alone does not monitor any data sent through the network. It is much more vulnerable to a data breach as it relies on public networks, so you’ll need robust security measures in place to review what’s being sent or requested from in the network.

Secure Remote Access

Our team considered all the pros and cons of the solutions above and thought there must be a continually secure, easy to use, and cost-effective solution. That’s what brought us to create our newly announced Secure Remote Access (SRA) solution. The solution consists of two units:

One device (MAP) installed on your local network and another device (RAD) installed at the remote customer site.

When two network devices recognize the MAP and RAD are connected, it creates an encrypted bi-directional VPN tunnel.  A single MAP accepts secure connections from many remote site RADs.

SRA provides a simple and secure way to access and manage distributed network devices and endpoints such as network security cameras without requiring changes to an enterprise firewall. Users can either configure complete local network access or limited access to specific devices to rapidly deploy without typical disruptions such as changes to an enterprise firewall.

Instead of creating individual VPN connections, paying expensive service provider contracts, and opening your customer to increased security risks, take a look at our SRA solution. You’ll have a solution that simple to deploy, cost-effective, requires less from your customers and allows you to offer more.

To learn more about our SRA solution, check out our solution overview, or connect with our team to learn more.

The post Ways to Remotely Access Your Clients Network appeared first on Lantronix.

With the recent release of our PCIe 10 Gigabit Ethernet Fibre Network Interface Card, we’ve added yet another option for optimizing your FTTD implementation and installation. But deciding on the ideal FTTD solution means pairing it with the device needing connection, its available plugin slots, and the amount of space available in the work area.

Here’s what we recommend:

Traditional PCs:  PCIe Network Interface Cards (NIC)

• Desktop PCs typically have PCIe slots available to securely mount a NIC
• PCIe cards are available with multiple fibre adapter types for Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet transmission
• PCIe NICs are also available with Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) capability to power VoIP phones

Laptop or Tablet: Scorpion-USB Network Adapters

• Portable computing devices also don’t have PCIe slots but do offer USB ports, so we created Scorpion-USB adapters that can plug into the USB port for a simple and easy fibre Ethernet connection
• These compact solutions are ideal for temporary or portable fibre access in university and lab settings or other flexible work spaces

Small Workspaces: Media Converters

• Media converters and mini-media converters are small, economical, plug and play solutions that convert from copper to fibre and easily fit behind a computer or under a desk surface
• PoE media converters connect the PC to the fibre network and provide power over existing copper cabling to network devices such as VoIP phones

Small PCs and Thin Clients: M.2 Fibre Network Interface Cards 

• Small form factor PCs don’t have enough space for traditional PCIe slots, so we created M.2 Ethernet Fibre NICs to securely mount inside micro or mini PCs
• Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet M.2 Fibre NIC versions are available

Whatever device you need to connect, this quick guide offers affordable and easy-to-use solutions that provide the security, bandwidth, and reliability benefits of fibre transmission.

What’s Next?

• Dig deeper with our FTTD Application Note
• Connect with our sales team. Discuss with our network experts your needs and we’ll do the work to create the right plan for your connected devices

The post Perfect Pairings: A Guide on Choosing the Best Fibre to the Desk Solution appeared first on Lantronix.

ISC West brings together thousands of security and public safety professionals and hundreds of exhibitors with products and solutions across access control, biometrics, video surveillance, IoT-enabled devices, IT, cybersecurity, public safety, drones, and robotics.

The show provides an excellent opportunity for our team to share how our solutions can simplify the power, connection, and management of your security and smart city projects. Visit us at booth 7095.

So what can you expect when you stop at our booth?

We will showcase the newly announced Secure Remote Access (SRA) solution. This solution allows rapid deployment of encrypted bi-directional VPN tunnels between a network operations center (NOC) and remote sites. SRA provides a simple and secure way to access and manage distributed network devices and endpoints such as network security cameras without requiring changes to an enterprise firewall. Users can either configure complete local network access or limited access to specific devices to rapidly deploy without typical disruptions such as changes to an enterprise firewall.

Also on display will be another recently announced solution, a Passive Power over Ethernet (PoE) Module, a new accessory that adds even greater flexibility to our award-winning Self-Enclosed Managed Hardened Gigabit Ethernet PoE++ Switch (SESPM). While the SESPM already includes four ports capable of IEEE 802.3bt power, the Passive PoE Module enables it to also provide 24VDC power to devices that do not follow IEEE PoE standards. The optional Passive PoE Module is safely and securely mounted inside the switch. Without it, non-standard devices such as wireless radios using 24VDC power would require a separate power source externally mounted to the pole or wall, presenting challenges for access, maintenance, and even permitting.

We’ll also be ready to do demos of our Device Management System (DMS) software – a tool to simplify the management of all connected network devices.

What can you do to get ready for your trip to ISC West?

• Reserve your free pass to the Expo Hall today and take advantage of the many networking and educational opportunities ISC West provides.
• Request a meeting with our team during the show.

We can’t wait to see you there!

The post ISC West 2021: What We’ll Showcase appeared first on Lantronix.

All Partner Programs are not equal. Here’s how to identify the right ones for your business.

As Lantronix celebrates the first anniversary of its new SmartEdge Partner Program, it is time to take a closer look at channel partner programs and ask, “How are these programs useful to our value-added resellers, system integrators and distributors?” Let’s start with the definition of a Channel Partner Program: “A Channel Partner Program is a strategy to motivate and engage channel partners to create more value for customers.”

Today’s channel partners are looking for much more than motivation and engagement. They want a manufacturer partner that can provide them with hardware, software and services to support them in delivering a one-stop-shop to their customers. They also want partners who will enable them to be perceived as thought leaders to their customers. Rather than just seeking a product source, today’s resellers want a true partnership with the manufacturer that will enable them to better serve their customers and be more profitable.

In this true partnership, the manufacturer needs to provide the channel partner with:

1. Service and Support: Professional resources with quick-and-easy access
2. Education: Product training and expert support, both pre- and post-sale
3. Sales Tools: Easy-to-use resources, including presentations, battle cards and competitive comparisons that are conveniently available in an easy-access portal
4. Rewards Program: Benefits for the VAR or Distribution salesperson to incentivize and compensate their efforts in winning new customers

To make this partnership a success, the channel partner needs to take advantage of programs offered by the manufacturer including:

1. Training: Become knowledgeable on the products and services and clearly understand the differentiators.
2. Vertical Markets Expertise: Learn product/service uses in a variety of vertical markets as well as the benefits for each industry. Tip: Review case studies and application spotlights.
3. Participate: Engage in free webinars, promotions or spiff programs and watch your business grow.

Here are our promises to our channel partner relationships:

1. Loyalty and Engagement: We promise to deliver loyalty and engagement with our channel partners, and we value their efforts to build strong relationships with our mutual customers.
2. Trust: We promise strong communication that builds trust between our team and our channel partners and increases everyone’s success.
3. Productivity: We promise easy access to educational and sales materials as well as training to help our partners sell Lantronix solutions to our mutual customers.
4. Consistency: By syncing our sales efforts, we promise consistency to our channel partners and our mutual customers, helping ensure they get the right products to meet their needs.

The result is increased Profitability. By taking care of our channel partners, they take care of our mutual customers, resulting in increased profits for everyone.

“There is a wide variety of partner programs, but few deliver true partnerships to their channel partners. At Lantronix, we understand what your team needs, and we are committed to building a true partnership for mutual success,” said Doug Spinella, director of Worldwide Business Development and Tactical Marketing at Lantronix.

As you review partner programs, please take a moment to check out the Lantronix SmartEdge Partner Program to see if it is a fit for your organization.

Sidebar:

“The Lantronix’s SmartEdge Partner Program has attracted the industry’s top channel partners,” said Jonathan Shipman, VP of Strategy at Lantronix. “With our SmartEdge Program, our channel partners offer Lantronix’s integrated offering of software, hardware and service solutions, providing their customers with everything they needed to build robust, secure, connectivity-based solutions.”

SmartEdge Partner Program Award Winners Are Tech Data, SHI, Presidio, Atlantik, Arki, Data Equipment, Acromax, Rahi System India and Enthu Technology Sdn. Bhd.

The winners of the Lantronix SmartEdge™ Partner Program Awards were announced at Lantronix’s 2021 SmartEdge Partner Summit, which was held virtually on June 23, 2021. The SmartEdge Partner Program Awards were given to winners in three categories: Distribution, StrategicEdge Partners and Edge Partners covering three regions: North America, Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia Pacific.

And…drumroll, please… the winners are:

North America

North America Distributor of the Year: Tech Data

North America StrategicEdge Reseller of the Year: SHI

North America Edge Reseller of the Year: Presidio

Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA)

EMEA Distributor of the Year: Atlantik

EMEA StrategicEdge Reseller of the Year: Arki

EMEA Edge Reseller of the Year: Data Equipment

Asia Pacific (APAC)

APAC Distributor of the Year: Acromax

APAC StrategicEdge Reseller of the Year: Rahi Systems, India

APAC Edge Reseller of the Year: Enthu Technology Sdn. Bhd.

“Congratulations to the SmartEdge Partner Program winners, all of which have exceeded our program requirements and expectations in driving sales and building long-term relationships with our mutual customers,” said Doug Spinella, director of Worldwide Business Development and Tactical Marketing at Lantronix.

Sidebar:

Lantronix Named to CRN Partner Program Guide

Lantronix’s SmartEdge Partner Program has been named to the industry’s leading partner program guide, the CRN Partner Program Guide. Published by CRN^®, a brand of The Channel Company, this annual guide provides a conclusive list of the most distinguished partner programs from leading technology companies that provide products and services through the IT Channel. The 2021 Partner Program Guide is online at www.CRN.com/PPG.

Sidebar:

About the SmartEdge Partner Program

Lantronix’s SmartEdge™ Partner Program was designed to help Value-Added Resellers (VARs) and Systems Integrators (SIs) drive revenues by differentiating their offerings with Lantronix’s innovative Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), Remote Environment Management (REM), Out-of-Band Management (OOBM) and Mobility/Connectivity solutions.

For more information on the Lantronix SmartEdge Partner Program, visit www.lantronix.com/partners.

# # #

The post What Makes a Channel Partner Program Great? A True Partnership appeared first on Lantronix.

Extending Fiber with New Installations

But for some service providers, enterprises, or government entities that have exhausted their available fiber infrastructure and now need to deliver more broadband connectivity, the obvious solution may be to implement new fiber. However, this can be an intensive and costly process.

Some industry estimates put the cost of an underground fiber installation somewhere between $15,000 – $18,000 per mile, with those estimates increasing to $25,000 per mile following the COVID-19 pandemic and increased demand and materials costs. Those costs cover digging trenches, installing conduit and cable before filling in the trench, and repaving (if necessary). Not only is this a costly process, but trenching fiber can mean digging up roads, which involves the cost and time to obtain permits, and then building around underground obstacles like tree roots, sprinkler systems, and utility pipes and wiring.

Depending on location, there can be additional challenges. For example, at a military base, trenching fiber could mean shutting down and digging up runways, which is a major disturbance to base operations. In a city, trenching fiber can mess with road conditions, impacting traffic flow and driver and pedestrian safety conditions. Overall, trenching fiber can be a very costly, time-consuming hassle.

And while it’s less expensive to implement fiber cabling above ground, it’s not the preferred method due to poor aesthetics and the potential for cabling to be exposed and damaged due to harsh environmental elements or human error.

We have a solution that can increase capacity 16x per pair of fiber runs.

CWDM Offers an Alternative

In locations where there is already a fiber installation, there is a way to maximize that installation for increased broadband throughput while avoiding the costs and issues associated with trenching and installing new fiber.

Coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM) is a cost-effective method to maximize existing fiber by transporting multiple network data flows simultaneously over a pair of fiber using different wavelengths. Since CWDM is a passive technology, it allows for multiple speeds and any protocol to be transported over the link, as long as it is at a specific wavelength.

Transition Networks Solutions

Transition Networks offers CWDM Mux/Demux devices and CWDM small form-factor pluggables (SFP) to extend fiber connections. Transition Networks CWDM solution can accommodate network modifications and growth, providing 100Mb to 10G speeds.

Transition Networks CWDM Mux and Add/Drop Mux systems (CWDM-A2A8xxLCR-B Series) provide a simple and affordable way to maximize existing fiber. By implementing CWDM Mux/Demux or CWDM Mux and Add/Drop Mux devices, service providers, enterprises, and government entities can multiply the bandwidth on a single fiber pair providing more throughput without the extraordinary price tag of a new fiber cable run. With Transition Networks CWDM systems, a single fiber pair can carry up to 16 different bandwidth channels, saving thousands of dollars per mile while still achieving the bandwidth and distance benefits of a direct fiber connection.

Transition Networks CWDM SFPs are Multi-Sourcing Agreement (MSA) compliant, ensuring interoperability with all other MSA-compliant networking devices.

Contact our federal team today to customize a plan and learn more about the benefits CWDM will provide for your network.

The post Exhausted Your Fiber Connections? Maximize your Fiber Capacity 16x with CWDM appeared first on Lantronix.

Up to this point, network servers have mostly remained at 1 Gigabit. This has made the server connection a bottleneck for many bandwidth intensive applications, meaning government agency workers are not able to reap the full benefits of the high bandwidth applications they’re trying to access.

Government agencies may also be looking to consolidate server rooms for space, budget and power reductions.

As government agencies see their bandwidth needs grow from Fast Ethernet to Gigabit Ethernet and now 10 Gigabit Ethernet, they’re in need of a solution that meets this growth while keeping the crucial standard for information protection and intrusion prevention. Agencies also need a solution that meets the bandwidth needs of today, while being able to scale as inevitably necessary.

Let’s take a closer look at 10 Gigabit Ethernet and its purpose for federal agencies.

What makes 10 Gigabit Ethernet a great option for federal agencies?

When 10 gigabit ethernet is implemented in the data center, federal agencies can experience a number of benefits at the desktop. Personnel can view and compile 4K and higher resolution surveillance images at the desktop more quickly and streaming of all levels of video (both low and high resolution) will be faster. In audio visual (AV) applications, increased bandwidth with 10 Gigabit Ethernet lowers latency for better quality. The 10 Gigabit Ethernet connection also enables federal agencies the ability to quickly edit or view multi-cam video feeds and provide faster response to Artificial Intelligence applications.

Our Solution: PCIe 10 Gigabit Ethernet Fiber NIC

Transition Networks has introduced a new PCIe 10 Gigabit Ethernet Fiber Network Interface Card (NIC) that supports a 1Gbps/10Gbps link. The N-TGE-SFP-02 includes open small form-factor pluggable (SFP) slot that can be used with either 1000Base-X SFPs or 10GBase-SR/LR SFP+ modules.

The NIC provides up to 20 Gbps full-duplex bandwidth capacity to support high-end servers. In addition, with advanced functions like VLAN filtering packet processing, link aggregation, smart load balancing, failover, and Wake-on-LAN, the adapter provides enhanced performance, flexible configuration and secure networking for users in a standard-based environment. Two LED indicators (LINK/ACT and SPEED) on the bracket will help to oversee the board link, activity status and connection speed.

The NIC fully complies with all IEEE 802.3ae and 802.3z standards.

Even for agencies that do not yet need the full 10 Gigabit Ethernet bandwidth today, the NIC positions federal agencies to grow and innovate as needed.

As networks get faster, bandwidth requirements continue to increase, and security concerns remain high, Transition Networks can help your agency evolve. Transition Networks has been trusted by government agencies for over 30 years, giving the company a strong understanding of government networks, challenges and applications.

For more information on Transition Networks solutions for government agencies, contact our Federal team.

The post How 10 Gigabit Ethernet Can Benefit Federal Agencies appeared first on Lantronix.

On the topic of offices: While many are still closed, employers are beginning to think about how the office should operate once it is safer to do so. A large part of that decision process is employee attitudes on flexible work location due to the COVID-19 pandemic: According to a survey by JLL, “72% of employees want to continue working from home post-crisis, and a majority want to do so an average of 2 days a week.”  What can employers do to create the right environment that will bring employees back into the office?

This is one of many questions answered last week when Igor invited me to speak at their panel, “Smart Offices with IoT Technology.” Along with Igor and Walsh PoE, we discussed how the IoT-connected devices using Power over Ethernet could make office spaces smarter, healthier, and more productive.

If you’re considering making a move to a smart office, here are four takeaways from the webinar to get you started:

• Employee safety and control is paramount
• Figure out what the owner wants
• Smart lights are just the beginning
• Choose trusted partners

Employee Safety and Control is Paramount

Our discussion began with how companies can bring employees back into the office, and my answer was, “The only way to get employees back is to make them feel safer within that environment.” I then discussed multiple scenarios where IoT-connected devices can provide that assurance so employees can focus on their job. It also signals that by implementing IoT technology, the employer is committed to creating a safe office environment.

With the comforts of home, John Jung, Project Manager at Walsh PoE, believes IoT is a way to allow employees to customize aspects of their workspace as they can at home. He mentions lights as an example: “The beauty of a smart lighting system is that every employee can change their own experience with color tuning or the dim of their fixture.”

Figure Out What the Owner Wants

Where you see value in a smart office, the final decision maker may not. How do you get them on your side?

The great news about smart offices is that there are incentives for everyone in this situation. You just need to find the right one and show how IoT technology can achieve their goal, says Cheyo Rogers, Director of Business Development at Igor. “Maybe they have certain initiatives they are looking to target. A lot of owners today are looking for more sustainability.”

Smart Lights are Just the Beginning.

While many employers may begin their foray into the smart office via lights, we all agreed there are plenty of IoT-connected devices that will provide immense value to employers and employees. If you already have the network set up, it is easy to continue adding more devices, but lights are a great start.

Choose Trusted Partners

When asked what makes for a successful execution of an intelligent office, my advice is that you want to work with others who have solid relationships with other vendors. It is imperative to make sure you work with vendors who know the ins and outs of all the components to execute a smart office, including the technology and hardware they don’t provide. This will ensure a project is done on time and adheres to local regulations.

This was just a snippet of the great conversation we had with Igor and Walsh PoE. There’s, even more to learn about this important topic as you put together your smart office plan or wonder if it might be the right course for your office space. Watch the entire webinar on the benefits of IoT and expert advice from our panel.

Check out the Webinar On-Demand

The post Webinar Recap: Bringing IoT and Employees to the Office appeared first on Lantronix.

• Emergency medical/police/fire departments
• Sporting events/concerts/fairs
• Cities/counties/municipalities
• Pedestrian/vehicle safety
• Other public or private areas

Here’s how this solution can make your life easier.  First, the Outdoor Cabinet Assembly Bundle Series offers one ordering number for our outdoor-rated cabinet combined with some of our most popular PoE switches, power supplies, and accessories. That means you save time researching and placing orders for various components from multiple vendors. The whole kit is conveniently ordered and shipped as a single part number consolidated in one box, simplifying your inventory management.

Once on the job site, the OCA Bundle Series also simplifies installation. The polycarbonate cabinet is high impact resistant to keep contents protected, and it is lightweight for easy handling. The hinged door opens to 225° or can be easily removed, providing quick and easy access during installation and maintenance. The cabinet also includes a magnetic door contact switch which can be wired to digital input/outputs on Transition Networks switches or our optional Enclosure Door Contact Alarm to provide immediate notifications if/when the enclosure door has been opened. Our cabinet is deeper than most and includes fiber management to protect optical cable bend radius and prevent downtime due to broken or pulled fibers. Two DIN rails are mounted in the cabinet with a ground terminal block on each rail to protect against lightning or other surges in power to the enclosure. AC mains and low-voltage DC terminal blocks are also pre-mounted on the rails to save additional time during installation. There are plenty of entry ports included with cord grips pre-installed for routing power wires and data cables, with hole plugs to cover unused ports. Finally, the cabinet is equipped with a vent plug to prevent condensation inside the cabinet and keep equipment operating.

You know the old expression, “Time is money.” Our Outdoor Cabinet Assembly Bundles can help save you both! Skip the headaches of multi-sourcing and speed up deployment of your outdoor network with bundled cabinet components, switches, and power supplies from Transition Networks.

View our current Outdoor Cabinet Assembly Bundles or contact us to learn more.

The post Time is Money: How to Quickly and Cost-Effectively Deploy an Outdoor Network appeared first on Lantronix.

Augmented Reality Smart Glasses in the industrial market are providing efficiencies in the manufacturing and maintenance process. The global smart glasses market should reach about $20.0 billion by 2022 from $340.4 million in 2017 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 125.8 percent from 2017 to 2022 as reported by BCC Research. This is no longer space-age fantasy but real and practical applications of today’s technology. In this review on Lantronix’s case study on smart glasses development by Youbiquo, the Talen Holo product showcases today’s embedded technologies in innovative applications.

Created by Youbiquo, the Talens Holo Augmented Reality Smart Glasses give maintenance and construction technicians a powerful tool to improve the speed and quality of their work. Using Youbiquo’s smart glasses, technicians can access documentation, log relevant data and remotely communicate with others via video conferencing, all without disrupting workflow. Targeting a global market, Italy-based Youbiquo turned to Lantronix to jumpstart the design and quickly go to market.

Challenge: Create Comfortable and Functional Augmented Reality Smart Glasses

To be truly effective, augmented reality smart glasses need to be lightweight and simultaneously bring both the technician’s task and computer into the field of vision while also enabling remote communication. Challenges included incorporating the sensors, camera and microphone into the glasses with the necessary on-device processing power and wireless connectivity while ensuring secure remote communication.

Solution: Lantronix Open-Q 626 μSOM

To create the Talens Holo Augmented Reality Smart Glasses, the Youbiquo designers chose the Lantronix Lantronix Open-Q™ 626 micro System on Module (μSOM), which is based on the Qualcomm® APQ8053-Pro System on Chip (SoC) integrated with the Qualcomm® APQ8053-Pro SoC processor. The result delivered the ideal balance of advanced processing power, heat dissipation, wireless connectivity and power efficiency in a small, lightweight form factor for the smart glasses design. Its built-in software solutions include 3D rendering, computer vision and natural language processing.

Results: Smart Glasses Improve Speed and Quality of Complex Work

Utilizing the Lantronix Open-Q 626 μSOM, Lantronix’s IES team helped Youbiquo developers jumpstart the design and quickly deliver to market its Talens Holo smart glasses. Lantronix’s contributions, including helping Youbiquo quickly build a market-ready prototype, reduce development costs and get a globally certified solution to market faster.

“Utilizing Lantronix’s unique micro SOM technology, Youbiquo’s innovators were able to create Talens Holo Augmented Reality Smart Glasses to help improve the speed and quality of work done by maintenance and construction technicians.”

Pietro Carratu, CEO, Youbiquo

Success Highlights

• Support development of augmented reality smart glasses
• Provide support to deliver a market-ready prototype
• Supply advanced μSOM technology
• Provide an affordable solution to help contain development costs
• Help facilitate the product’s quick entry to market

For more information, click here to see the full case study.

The post Bringing Augmented Reality Smart Glasses to Market appeared first on Lantronix.

One of the key design considerations for network engineers when developing fiber-optic network architectures is determining SFP and SFP+ transceivers’ link budgets. Understanding this is critical for capacity planning as engineers need to ensure that the link budget of the SFP is higher than the total link loss to ensure a successful fiber link connection.

Network device manufacturers, such as Transition Networks, typically state the link budget on the product datasheets. However, if a manufacturer does not explicitly provide the link budget, but does provide detailed technical specifications about the SFP, then you can still calculate the link budget. The key parameters required to compute the budget include values for the Minimum Transmit Power, Maximum Transition Power, Minimum Receive Sensitivity, and Maximum Receive Sensitivity.

Use this simple calculation to determine how much power budget of the SFP is available:

Link Budget,L=Minimum Transmit Power (min.Tx)-Minimum Receive Sensitivity (min.Rx)

The link budget calculation below uses the Transition 1000Base-LX single-mode SFP as an example:

In this case, the link budget = (-9.5) Min. Tx Pwr – (-21.0) RX Sensitivity = 11.5 dBm

Or make it easy on yourself and choose Transition Networks SFPs because with every SFP, we provide a detailed product datasheet that includes the link budget. There is no need to delay or second guess your purchase—you’ll know you’re getting the right SPFs for your project.

If you have any questions about our SFP and SFP+ products, please reach out to us at sales@transition.com.

The post How to Calculate SFP Link Budgets appeared first on Lantronix.

To prepare, employers and building owners are investing in IoT technology as they look for ways to ensure occupant health and safety, comfort, and productivity. In fact, industry analyst firm Gartner found that 47 percent of businesses plan to increase their investment in IoT technology.

Role of Power over Ethernet and Smart LED Lighting

Power over Ethernet (PoE) and smart lighting are two key pieces enabling technologies in smart building IoT.

PoE plays a key role in delivering the connectivity, bandwidth and power required by connected devices behind smart building IoT implementations. Transition Networks offers various PoE switches, including PoE, PoE+, and PoE++, that can enable building owners to connect and power IoT devices wherever needed.

Smart LED lighting can be used to enable motion detection, daylight sensing, and UVC to combat COVID-19 and to guide security events with color-coded lighting.

Through sensors and timers now embedded into Smart LED lighting and powered by PoE, other building factors can be monitored and modified, including air quality, temperature, sound, and more, to provide new levels of environmental comfort and actionable information. For example, the sensors can provide information on when a room was used and when it was last sanitized with UVC to ensure COVID-19 safety compliance.

Free Webinar on Smart Office IoT

On Thursday, April 22 at 1 p.m. CT, Transition Networks will join Igor and Walsh PoE for the panel “Smart Offices with IoT Technology.” The Q&A style discussion will explore how IoT-connected devices using PoE can make office spaces smarter, healthier, and more productive. You’ll be able to ask questions as the panel explores the smart building IoT technology that’s drawing employees back into the office.

I’ll be speaking along with Cheyo Rogers, Director of Business Development at Igor and John Jung, Project Manager at Walsh PoE.

Click here to register to attend the free Zoom webinar.

The post Transition Networks to Join Igor, Inc. to Discuss Internet of Things (IoT) in Offices appeared first on Lantronix.

To address these challenges, IT professionals need to have reliable and simple yet powerful tools to effectively manage their network environments.

There are multiple ways to provide these management capabilities – customers may choose to use a vendor-provided device management tool, a third-party management software, or use the network device’s built-in capabilities. User preferences for accessing device management functionality also vary – some prefer graphical interfaces with intuitive workflows, yet others are more proficient on command-line interfaces (CLI). In addition to the diversity in how organizations manage their networks, consumption models for IT applications have also been rapidly evolving over the last two decades. Initially, cloud management for network devices was targeted at smaller organizations that didn’t have in-house IT personnel. However, new cloud management capabilities have caught the eye of medium-sized organizations and enterprises wanting network management software delivered as a service.

Transition Networks believes in advancing our product portfolio to meet customer challenges, making it easier for them to run their businesses and focus on what they’re passionate about. Until now, our customers have managed their primary devices in two ways – directly via the CLI and, for certain models, via the Device Management System (DMS) Software. DMS is an embedded tool that makes it easy for administrators to automatically discover and build topologies of connected devices, monitor device health, and performance, and manage key capabilities such as Power over Ethernet (PoE) settings for network switches. We are  proud to extend this line of management options to introduce the Transition Networks Cloud (TN Cloud) to add cloud-based management to our portfolio of products to simplify the management of distributed networks for our customers.

While the CLI and DMS are powerful tools for network management, they require the administrator to have local access to their environment. The TN Cloud solution provides a single pane of glass for administrators to manage distributed networks.

TN Cloud Features include:

• Simply view device inventory, where each connected device is within a building and its connected switch
• Closely monitor alarms and tasks to see device outages
• Remotely reset malfunctioning devices with Auto Power Reset
• Automatically detect any new devices added to the network
• Quickly arrange software deployments across the network with scheduled firmware upgrades

Together, these cloud features add significant value to you by offering flexibility for managing deployments of any size and scope, backed by a secure, reliable, and scalable cloud infrastructure.

And there’s more to come: We have a rich roadmap of features and capabilities that we’re actively working on and will continuously deliver upon over the next several weeks.

Is TN Cloud the right solution for you?

The TN Cloud is well suited for enterprises, both large and small, with dedicated IT teams focused on managing their networks’ day-to-day operations. In addition, organizations offering managed services to their customers can also add additional value by providing complete network visibility to their customer’s deployment environment. We look forward to working with our channel partners and end customers to introduce these new capabilities to their organizations.

Are you ready to bring your management to the cloud?

Learn more and request a demo today

The post Introducing TN Cloud: Cloud Management for Transition Networks Devices appeared first on Lantronix.

According to a recent Statistica report, the number of Wi-Fi® connected devices being used globally is projected to grow to 22.2 billion in 2021. This expansive growth in Wi-Fi adoption not only includes consumer Wi-Fi usage, but it also includes Wi-Fi usage in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In fact, global management consulting firm Bain & Company predicts that IIoT will grow into a $200B market by 2021, according to its 2019 Beyond Proofs of Concept: Scaling the Industrial IoT report.

The Bain report cites that the main adoption barriers to Wi-Fi in IIoT are implementation risks, including technical expertise and integration, including system and data transition and data portability risks. Among the barriers to IIoT Wi-Fi adoption is ensuring secure Wi-Fi roaming in challenging industrial IoT environments, including the growing number of devices that rapidly move among access points, such as robots, forklifts, hospital equipment and test instruments.

Security Challenges to Successful IIoT Wi-Fi Deployment

In order to successfully and securely deploy wireless devices in IIoT applications, there are multiple domains that must be considered including:

• Secure Boot: This includes securing the device itself, which requires implementing the right capabilities to prevent unauthorized firmware from being deployed.
• Access Control: End-to-end encryption is necessary to secure the data transmission from the device to the access point.
• Certification Storage: Wireless connections need to be secured, which requires Enterprise Security standards (802.1x).

Solution: Lantronix Fully Certified, Secure Wi-Fi Modules and Security Suite

Powered by the Cypress embedded security software suite (CYW43907/CYW20707), the Lantronix xPico270 is an embedded IoT gateway solution with 802.11ac Dual-Band Wi-Fi System-on-Chip and embedded application processor (see sidebar).

Among this solution’s security benefits are:

• Secure Boot:
  • Ensures that only trusted firmware runs on the device
  • Establishes a root of trust for secure identification of servers and the device itself

• Access Control:
  • Allows for multiple users, each with a role that gives different access rights
  • Admin level, which is the only level that can configure users
  • Allows users to have different privilege levels and passwords, limiting their access to applicable data while protecting sensitive configuration changes

• Certification Storage:
  • TLS certificates required to encrypt data sent to servers and to identify devices with client certificates for certain enterprise security standards
  • Storage for certificates, which are securely stored in xPico 200 flash
  • Ability to store multiple certificates for secure communications with multiple servers
  • Updates for certificates that can be updated via standard configuration methods (e.g., via ConsoleFlow™ or over the air)

ConsoleFlow®, xPico 200 series, (xPico 240,250 & 270) and SGX 5150®

The Lantronix Approach:

1. Identify customer need
2. Consider the Full Stack Perspective: Control, Comprehend, Compute, Connect, Collect
3. Deliver turnkey solutions:

• Remote Environment Management: Data Center, Remote Office/Branch Office, Unmanned Site, Automated development
• External IoT Gateways and Servers: Industrial Automation (IAIot), Logistics (LIoT), Healthcare (HIoT)
• Embedded IoT: Smart and secure connectivity, edge computing

Sidebar:

Lantronix xPico 270 Embedded IoT Gateway

Delivering seamless and secure Ethernet, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, the Lantronix xPico 270 line of embedded IoT gateways enables OEMs to build and deploy smart connected products with lower risk and accelerated time to market.

Ideal for a variety of applications, including industrial automation, medical devices, responsive retail and resource management, xPico 270 embedded IoT gateways deliver:

• Integrated Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/Ethernet in a Compact Design
  • 11ac-compliant Wi-Fi
  • Dual mode Bluetooth Classic & BLE 4.2
  • Bluetooth/WLAN coexistence
• Security & Authentication
  • Infinishield™ Security software with Secure Boot, Secure Firmware-Over-the-Air (FOTA) Updates
  • AES/CCMP and TKIP encryption, WPA/WPA2 Personal
• Global Certifications & Rugged Industrial Design
  • FCC, IC, RED, Japan, AU/NZS, China, Taiwan, India, Mexico)
  • Industrial-grade design for operation in extreme environments (-40 C to +85 C)
• Cloud-based Remote Management of Connected Devices
  • ConsoleFlow, which offers a single pane of glass for centralized management to monitor, manage and troubleshoot your IoT assets
  • Fully operational awareness of any size deployment
  • Over-the-network remote management and maintenance

Sidebar:

Lantronix InfiniShield™ Comprehensive Device Security Framework

 Exclusively from Lantronix and included in xPico 270 embedded IoT gateways, InfiniShield features a comprehensive suite of built-in device security applications, including:

• Secure boot
• Secure firmware upgrades
• Secure network attach
• Secure communications
• Secure storage
• Fine-grained service controls
• Controlled access
• Ongoing support and updates

Sidebar:

Case Study: Building Connected Smart Robots for Logistics and Warehousing

The Challenge:

A leading provider of intelligent robot solutions known as Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) needed an industrial grade and reliable enterprise Wi-Fi solution for building an advanced robotics offering with AI technologies to address the growing connected logistics and warehousing market.

As a highly mobile solution, the robots must be able to transition quickly between Wi-Fi access points and maintain always-on reliable communications in a wide-range of environmental conditions.

Essential Requirements:

• Fast roaming capability
• Dual-band Wi-Fi
• Enterprise grade Wi-Fi connectivity and data security
• Industrial grade design
• Ease-of-deployment
• Cost-effective

The Solution:

With dual-band Wi-Fi, antenna diversity and industrial-grade wireless connectivity management, the xPico 200 series gateway delivered the robust performance the OEM needed to ensure that their logistics robot would be able to operate reliably in a noisy industrial warehouse environment. The gateway’s compact industrial-grade footprint allowed it to be easily designed into the logistics robot’s PCB and ensured reliable performance in extreme environmental conditions.

The Results:

• Faster time-to-market
• Best-in-class enterprise grade dual-band Wi-Fi ensures reliable and robust field performance
• Built-in network communications engine reduced application development time
• Compact footprint makes integration into the product design easy
• Industrial grade specifications enable the device to operate in a wide range of environmental conditions

A Global Manufacturer of Industrial and Commercial Weighing Scales

# # #

The post Ensuring Secure Wi-Fi Roaming in Challenging Industrial IoT Environments appeared first on Lantronix.

By Guido Voigt

Keeping your network safe and protected from cyberattacks is crucial, and a thorough network assessment is essential to eliminate any security vulnerabilities. However, this assessment is not only for preventing security issues. A full network analysis also reveals your system’s efficiency and its overall effect on your bottom line. In fact, a strong network not only supports your company, it is your company, which makes network management particularly critical to your business. As reliability or efficiency issues are discovered, it is important to address the concerns effectively and completely.

This blog explains how to debug reliability or stability issues you may have on your Wi-Fi network as well as measure the roaming behavior of the clients in a multi-AP Wi-Fi Network.

With its long history in the deployment of networking products, Lantronix equipment has been used to replace and/or interact with many legacy systems. Our equipment has been installed in various network-challenging environments, including sites with varying radio frequency (RF) limitations. These can include industrial locations with RF bandwidth saturation at varying time-based and load-based infrastructure. Additionally, the plethora of networking protocols can force control plans as well as data plans to struggle to compete for bandwidth usage.

In modern IoT and Industrial Wi-Fi setups, the roaming performance and handover timeout are essential.

Some of the Lantronix products that we have helped achieve exceptional performance and reliability include our xPico 200 series.

Once you have a good topology configured and have good communication established, you may want to analyze network performance by observing packet transmission, logging and “sniffing” data packet transmission.

Hardware

This is the hardware we recommend for Wi-Fi sniffing:

ext. Wi-Fi via USB 

• CSL USB 2.0 WLAN Adapter 300Mbit (2,4/5GHz)

• Bild
• Optional AirPcap NX
• Optional Octoscope Device

This hardware is based on a Chipsatz: Ralink RT5572, is Dual Freq. 2.4 and 5 GHz and has RP-SMA Antenna Connectors. The standard Linux Kernel Driver has a built-in Monitor Mode, which is needed to retrieve all Wi-Fi Traffic. When using another Wi-Fi Stick/Module, make sure you have a Driver with Monitor Mode available.

Laptop Internal M.2 or mPCIe Card

For use with an INTEL-based card, such as:

– AC 9260 for up to 802.11 AC – AX200 for up to 802.11 AX

These modules are well-supported by the Linux Kernel drivers with activated Monitor Mode. It may be a bit tricky to get the Antenna cable + R-SMA Connector out, but these modules are an excellent choice.

Software

• Linux OS, such as an Ubuntu 20.04-based Linux 64bit
• Wireshark 3.2.5
• Other tools that can generate *.pcapng or *.pcap logfiles that can be analyzed

Lantronix provides a script to automatically set up and configure the Wi-Fi hardware driver, the Linux Network Subsystem and Wireshark with all the necessary parameters.

Test Setup

• Set up APs and DUT with WPA2-PSK CCMP/CCMP security with the same key
• Configure both APs with 50ms beacon intervals
• Set up both APs and the DUT on the same channel and same bandwidth (20MHz)
• Isolate as much as possible from other Wi-Fi networks or RF noise; it is best to locate all inside an isolation chamber

   Roaming settings:

• Scan Interval: 8 seconds
• RSSI Delta (2.4 GHz): 9 dBm (may not applicable in this testing)
• RSSI Delta (5 GHz): 8 dBm
• Roam Threshold (2.4 GHz): -50 dBm (may not applicable in this testing)
• Roam Threshold (5 GHz): -50 dBm

Generate Data Traffic 

• Set up Receive System (Linux PC/Laptop/Server)
• Set up iperf command (example: iperf -s -u -i1)
• Set up Sender System (Linux PC/Laptop/Server)
• Set up iperf command:

iperf -c<IP of Receiver> -u -b<data rate in Mbit/s>M -i1 -t<how long in s>

• Example:

iperf -c192.168.1.2 -u -b1M -i1 -t900

Notes 

• Use the Wi-Fi interface of the selected hardware phy#*
• Check this by type without the new hardware installed iwconfig
• Connect the new hardware to your computer and run iwconfig again; a new device should appear wl*

wlxdc4ef4086948  IEEE 802.11  ESSID:off/any
Mode:Managed  Access Point: Not-Associated   Tx-Power=20 dBm
Retry short  long limit:2   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
Power Management:off

wlp3s0 IEEE 802.11  ESSID:”FALINT”
Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.422 GHz  Access Point: 18:A6:F7:F4:D2:48
Bit Rate=300 Mb/s   Tx-Power=22 dBm
Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
Power Management:on

• Start the script and choose the phy#* with the interface name wl*

phy#2
Interface wlxdc4ef4086948
ifindex 8
wdev 0x200000001
addr dc:4e:f4:08:69:48
type managed
txpower 20.00 dBm

phy#0
Interface wlp3s0
ifindex 3
addr 7c:5c:f8:e4:5d:e6
type P2P-device
txpower 0.00 dBm

• You need to have root access on your Linux system to be able to configure the Network Layer.
• After starting Wireshark, use the already marked interface, mon0, by clicking on the blue left top shark icon.
• Activate the Wireless Toolbar and go to the Wireshark Menu Bar: View -> Wireless Toolbar and click to activate.
• In the Wireless Toolbar, mon0 should be shown as the Interface, and the channel you want to analyze should be shown.
• Use the drop-down box to select the needed channel.
• If you are not able to change the channel, your setup is not correct.

The Wi-Fi packages should show in the View like this:

• Generate PSK from SSIS+passphrase converter

Procedure of Full Valid Analyze 

1. Set up both AP on: 

• Same Wi-Fi channel
• Same bandwidth
• Same mode (a/b/g/n)
• Same SSID
• Same WPA2-PSK

2. Set up the Client device:

• Same WiFi channel (like both AP)
• Same bandwidth (like both AP)
• Same mode (a/b/g/n) (like both AP)
• Same SSID (like both AP)
• Same WPA2-PSK (like both AP)

3. Set up the Sniffer analyzer: 

• Same Wi-Fi channel (like both AP)
• Same bandwidth (like both AP)
• Same mode (a/b/g/n) (like both AP) (if needed; throttle mode down)
• Set up the PSK in the analyzer tool (see generate PSK above)
• If PSK is NOT setup correctly, you will not be able to decode the Wi-Fi packages and see underlay IP data stream

4. Set up both variable Attenuator:

• 25 dB per step
• Dwell time ~250ms
• One with start at 0 and end with 60dB
• 2nd with start at 60 and end with 0dB
• Set up with ~1dB per second and 60dB, which will result in ~1 roam per minute
• Don’t start Attenuator now; keep both at 0dB!
• Start Sniffer / Analyze
• The analyzer will need to catch all 4-way attachment handshakes from the Client to one AP
• Start an iperf receive on a device in AP backend network (iperf -s -u -i1)
• Start/restart Client now to attach one of the AP
• Wait until you see any UDP/IP package like

8845 100.120437221   192.168.222.59  192.168.222.255 UDP 186 5448 → 1027 Len=92

• If you do not see this after 3–5 minutes and your Client is connected and can ping the desk, reconnect the Client again
• The sniffer/analyzer may not catch the PSK handling
• Create data traffic via the Wi-Fi by starting an iperf on a device connected to the client (iperf -c192.168.1.2 -u -b1M -i1 -t900)
• Set up the needed speed you prefer
• Start not both Attenuator of sweeping
• Log all traffic in a file
• Let it run for about 10min to be able to catch a min. of 10 roaming events. To analyze the roaming time, find in the logfile:
  • Last UDP package to AP1 (via MAC address)
  • First UDO package to the AP2 after the roam
  • Calculate the time different of both packages

The post Wi-Fi Analyzing/Sniffing appeared first on Lantronix.

By Zeenath Venkata

Essential for home networking, public Internet connectivity and the Internet of Things, Wi-Fi® is also indispensable for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT). For example, a leading developer of intelligent robot solutions utilizes a Lantronix Wi-Fi gateway to connect smart robots for logistics and warehousing applications. With its powerful built-in network communications engine, the Wi-Fi gateway ensures reliable and robust performance in a wide range of environmental conditions. Best of all, it reduced application development time, speeding time-to-market.

With the global economic value of Wi-Fi expected to reach nearly $3.5 trillion USD by 2023, billions of Wi-Fi-certified devices, including Lantronix’s Wi-Fi gateways, are shipped each year. This is a testament to the success of the WFA’s dedication to ensuring Wi-Fi interoperability across vendors around the globe and to the WFA’s vision of “connecting everyone and everything, everywhere.”

What does it mean to be Wi-Fi certified, and why is it a big deal?

Formed in 1999, the WFA created its Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ program in 2000. Today, it is an internationally recognized seal of approval for Wi-Fi products, indicating that they have met industry-agreed standards for interoperability, security and a range of application-specific protocols. To become Wi-Fi certified, products must undergo rigorous testing by the WFA’s independent Authorized Test Laboratories.

Attaining Wi-Fi certification means that a product has been tested in numerous configurations to validate interoperability with other Wi-Fi CERTIFIED equipment operating in the same frequency band. It also serves to improve product quality by exposing software bugs.

When a product successfully passes testing, the manufacturer or vendor (which must be a WFA member) is granted the right to use the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo.

What is involved in Wi-Fi Certification?

Wi-Fi certification involves three key areas of testing:

• Interoperability is the primary target of certification. Rigorous test cases are used to ensure that products from different equipment vendors can interoperate in a wide variety of configurations.
• Backward compatibility must be preserved to allow for new products to work with existing equipment. Backward compatibility protects valuable investments in legacy Wi-Fi products and enables users to gradually upgrade and expand their networks.
• Certification programs allow newer technology and specifications to come to market.

How do Lantronix products get Wi-Fi CERTIFIED?

Lantronix Wi-Fi products are tested as specified by the WFA test plans at Authorized Testing Labs. These tests include vendor chipset and product interoperability, adherence to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) specifications and an overall positive user experience.

Following the tests, logs are gathered, and any bugs are repaired. Then the tests are re-run to ensure that bugs were correctly repaired and that the Lantronix products will receive a passing result. Then, the product is submitted to a WFA for certification. Once the product aces the WFA tests, the Lantronix product is officially Wi-Fi CERTIFIED.

Advantages of Being Wi-Fi CERTIFIED

Certified Wi-Fi interoperability provides benefits to everyone in the value chain, including lower return rates, reduced support costs, higher user satisfaction and increased sales volumes. It also ensures interoperability across the more than 50,000 products that have been Wi-Fi certified since the program launched in 2000.

Among the thousands of Wi-Fi-certified products are Lantronix’s xPico 200 series of embedded Wi-Fi gateways. Some of the advantages of using a Wi-Fi-certified Lantronix gateway module in your product design include:

• Cost Savings. Saves on lab costs and certification fees.
• Time Savings. Speeds up the product development process, meaning a faster time to market.
• Improved Product Testing. Wi-Fi Certification on Lantronix IoT gateways helps companies with their own Wi-Fi testing by helping to ensure that their products can meet the WFA’s rigorous testing methods.

Bottom line, Wi-Fi certification is important because it gives you the confidence that the embedded Wi-Fi product you choose has met the WFA’s stringent testing standards, including delivering the interoperability it claims. As a result, you won’t need to test every smartphone, laptop and tablet to see if it can connect to your wireless Lantronix IoT gateway modules.

Lantronix Certified Embedded IoT Gateways

Lantronix manufactures and sells a wide range of gateways with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, all of which are Wi-Fi certified. Our xPico 200 series, which includes the xPico 240, xPico 250 and xPico 270, are ideal for a wide variety of applications, including industrial automation, medical devices, retail and resource management.

For example, the XPico 240 is used in industrial weighing scales that deliver smart connectivity at grocery stories to communicate accurate weight and pricing information on hundreds of items to point-of-sale systems. For more, see the case study here.

As Wi-Fi capabilities expand, so will those of Lantronix’s gateway products. In fact, the WFA recently deemed that the Lantronix xPico 200 series has met the required criteria and was officially granted the Wi-Fi certificate that supports both personal and enterprise security.

With Lantronix’s dedication to Wi-Fi certification for all its products, you can rest assured that all Lantronix products will be reliably and securely interoperable for years to come.

# # #

Benefits of Wi-Fi Certification

Source: Wi-Fi Alliance: https://www.wi-fi.org/certification/benefits

The post Why Wi-Fi Certification Is Important to Your Success: appeared first on Lantronix.

The post Running OpenCL Sample Application on Open-Q™ 820 System on Module, powered by Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 820 SOC appeared first on Lantronix.

To revolutionize the safety of industrial workers, the innovative creators of the Guardhat Communicator re-envisioned the hardhat into a smart wearable device. To make the hardhat a communicating device, the Guardhat team turned to Lantronix to enable remote monitoring of and communication with the wearer — and help quickly create a prototype and shorten time to market.

Challenge: Create a Communicating Hardhat to Increase Worker Safety

Challenges to creating a smart hardhat included incorporating sensors, a camera and microphones along with wireless connectivity for remote communication. It also required secure boot for secure updates and the necessary on-device processing power to make it all work. And, all of this had to be accomplished without making the hardhat too heavy or cumbersome for workers to wear.

Solution: Lantronix Open-Q 626 μSOM and Development Kit

The Guardhat designers chose the Lantronix Open-Q™ 626 μSOM (micro System on Module) based on the Qualcomm® APQ8053-Pro SoC (System on Chip) as well as its companion Lantronix Open-Q 626 µSOM Development Kit. The Open-Q 626 µSOM delivers the ideal balance of advanced processing capabilities for the camera, audio and wireless capabilities along with power efficiency.

With the support of Lantronix, Guardhat built several technologies into the hardhat:

• Board Support — The BSP was customized to include support for USB, serial port, SD card, Wi-Fi, GPS and specific Bluetooth low-energy profiles.
• Camera — A 13-megapixel camera uses the image signal processor (ISP) in the APQ8053-Pro SoC to capture images and video.
• Audio — Lantronix helped incorporate support for microphones, stereo, the audio jack on the carrier board and Qualcomm® Noise and Echo Cancellation and noise suppression for loud industrial environments.
• Wireless — NFC and RFID capabilities are integrated into the hardhat.

Results: Guardhat Communicator Smart Hardhat Connects Remote Workers

The Guardhat Communicator smart hardhat monitors the workers’ environment, sending warnings and alerts in case of imminent danger, and applies wearable technology to overcome hazardous conditions. It enables remote communication, including audio and video calls and the ability for the wearer to push a single button for help. It also provides a real-time decision-making and data analytics platform that connects industrial workforces through situational awareness.

Pull quotes:

“Guardhat shares information about the worker’s location with the home base while comprehensive communications options enable voice and video calls.”

                                                        Anupam Sengupta, CTO and Co-founder

                                                        Guardhat Inc.

“With the Lantronix team’s knowledge and unique micro SOM technology, Guardhat’s innovators were able to reinvent the hardhat, making it a communicating device that helps keep workers safely in touch.”

                                                                      Victor Gonzalez, Senior Director, Engineering

                                                                      Lantronix Inc.

Success Highlights

• Aid in the development of a wearable IoT hardhat
• Provide support to deliver a market-ready prototype
• Supply advanced μSOM technology
• Contribute to secure remote device communication
• Provide an affordable solution to help contain development costs

 Awards: Best Inventions of 2020 by TIME Magazine. Read story HERE 

For more information, click HERE to see the full case study.

The post Revolutionizing the Safety of Industrial Workers appeared first on Lantronix.

Created by Embodied Inc., an industry-leading robotics and artificial intelligence company, Moxie is a revolutionary new companion robot for children. Moxie was designed to promote development of social, emotional and cognitive development through play-based learning. To make Moxie safe for at-home use by children, Moxie’s designers turned to Lantronix Engineering Services.

Challenge: Create a Secure AI-Based Robot for Children
Privacy and security are key considerations in robotics, especially those designed for use by children. Lantronix engineers were challenged to help develop a secure operating system with advanced privacy, security and camera technologies to ensure that Moxie would be safe for use by children.

Solution: Lantronix Engineering Services

The Lantronix engineering team helped deliver the most appropriate options for privacy and security to facilitate features, including secure over-the-air operating system updates and secure boot. As well, they worked with Moxie’s team to implement advanced camera technology that enables Moxie to interact while adaptively adjusting to scene changes, such as dim lighting conditions.

Results: Secure Robot Helps Children Develop Meaningful Skills

With the support of Lantronix’s Engineering Services, the Embodied team created Moxie, the first-ever animate companion robot for children.

Pull quotes:

“Lantronix’s solutions contributed greatly to giving Moxie the security, privacy and interactivity features needed for in-home use by children.”

– Paolo Pirjanian, CEO and Founder, Embodied

“Exceptional camera technologies supplied by Lantronix ensure that Moxie can interact in a variety of environments, including dimly lit rooms.”

– Paolo Pirjanian, CEO and Founder, Embodied

Success Highlights:

• Contributed to creation of Moxie, a companion robot for children
• Delivered exceptional privacy, security and camera technologies
• Helped support creation of a market-ready prototype
• Provided services that helped contain development costs
• Helped facilitate Moxie’s quick entry to market

Sidebar: Moxie’s Security & Privacy Features

• Secure Boot, ensuring that the only initial software that can be run on the device is authorized, safeguarding a secure boot sequence/chain.
• Android™ Verified Boot, verifying that the Android kernel and filesystems are authenticated cryptographically
• Secure external interfaces, ensuring no ports are susceptible to backdoor intrusion
• Secure device software updates, enabling application of security patches and future features

Sidebar: Moxie’s Advanced Camera Features

• Auto-exposure library that provides the ability to adaptively adjust to scene changes with varied lighting environments, particularly in dim lighting conditions

Awards: Best Inventions of 2020 by TIME magazine! Click HERE to read about the success story!

For more information, click HERE to see the full case study,

The post Bringing Moxie to Life appeared first on Lantronix.

Lantronix’s newly launched Open-Q 865XR SOM and compatible Development Kit deliver powerful System on Module (SOM) capabilities that help developers quickly and affordably jump-start development, create prototypes and get products to market quicker.

Beyond Augmented Reality /Virtual Reality applications, the new Open-Q 865XR SOM is not your daddy’s SOM. It’s built to expand Internet of Things (IoT) development into Intelligent Edge Computing products in a variety of industries.

In fact, according to a September 2020 research report by The Research Process, the application areas of embedded computing have expanded well beyond PCs and into industries such as energy, automotive and healthcare, with robotics in particular driving the SOM marketplace.

Advanced robotics require compact and highly powerful embedded systems. As well, the need for minimization of errors and improving of productivity and efficiency are driving the demand for robotic systems with accurate computing and scalable architectures. Lantronix’s SOMs give robotics manufacturers the design flexibility, sustainability, security, small format and power management required in harsh industrial environments in addition to Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality capabilities.

A Long and Productive Relationship with Qualcomm

Lantronix’s first SOM was based on the Qualcomm® APQ8060A in 2012. Since then, Lantronix has given developers the ability to leverage the power of Qualcomm’s powerful, secure and efficient System on Chips (SoC). Lantronix’s SOCs and SOMs have been incorporated into numerous products showcasing intelligent edge solutions, including drones, robots, videoconferencing products, medical devices, digital signage, multimedia products and many other device categories.

Building upon the strength of Lantronix’s 800-series SOMs, its new Open-Q 865XR SOM uses Qualcomm® Technologies’ heterogenous compute SOC built on 7nm technology, including:

• Kryo™ 585 Octa-core 64-bit CPU: 1 Kryo Gold prime @ 2.84 GHZ + 3 Kryo Gold @ 2.42 GHz + 4 Kryo Silver @ 1.81 GHz
• 5^th generation AI engine (NPU230) — twice the performance of the previous generation with up to 15 TOPS
• Dual Qualcomm® Spectra 480 ISP — supporting up to 64MP cameras
• Qualcomm® Adreno 650 GPU — 5^th generation UHD video processing with power efficiency
• Qualcomm® Hexagon 698 DSP — vision processing and machine learning
• Adreno 665 VPU — high-quality, ultra HD video encode and decode.
• Secure processing unit (SPU240) – enabling advance security use cases

Even with its ultra-compact size (50mm x 29mm), the Open-Q 865XR SOM provides a powerful and advanced set of processing capabilities, wireless and wired connectivity features and I/O, including:

• 6GB LPDDR5 RAM + 64GB UFS 3.1 Flash
• 3x MIPI CSI camera ports
• 2x MIPI DSI display ports and touch I2C
• 1x 2-lane PCIe Gen3 interface
• USB Type-C with DisplayPort v1.4
• USB SuperSpeed Type-A
• Wi-Fi 6: 802.11ax 2×2 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi / BT 5.1
• Supports WCD938x audio codec and WSA881x speaker amp
• 4-bit SD 3.0, UART, I2C, I3c, SPI, configurable GPIOs, Sensor Core IO
• Power Management including low power suspend, battery management and charging support

Built for So Much More Than Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Applications

The Open-Q 865XR SOM is not only well-suited for Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality applications, it’s fully capable of driving development for a larger set of Intelligent Edge-connected product categories, including:

• Robotics and drone products
• Medical devices
• Gaming products
• Advanced video conference systems
• Professional grade cameras
• AI and machine vision platforms
• Advanced high-resolution multi-display systems.
• Smart-Cities and Smart-Home applications
• Retail products such as Point of Sale terminals

Android 10 Default Makes Jump Starting Development Faster and Easier

To make jump starting product development faster and easier, the Open-Q 865XR SOM Development Kit ships with Android™ 10 by default. Android 10 provides a ubiquitous, high-level operating system with a strong ecosystem of development tools and highly integrated accelerator libraries to leverage the power and performance efficiencies afforded by the SoC. Being a premium-tier and leading-edge SOM, the Open-Q 865X SOM includes many advanced and critical technology capabilities that can be leveraged, including security and power efficiency.

Expanded Security Features for IoT Product Design

The new Open-Q 865XR SOM leverages all those capabilities for best-in-class security features and builds in the new SPU240 core with support for Secure Boot 3.0, key provisioning, TrustZone, Qualcomm Trusted Execution Environment v5, hardware-backed KeyStore and other capabilities. The hardware-based security features allow for use of secure boot chain, secure peripherals, DRM, in-line crypto engine and file-based encryption among the many security related options for IoT products.

Exceptional Power Efficiency, Especially for Battery-Powered Portable IoT Products

Power efficiency is key, particularly with battery-powered portable IoT products. Just as Lantronix’s past SOMs have a rich history of power-efficient operation, the new Open-Q 865XR SOM is no exception. With the new 7nm processing node, Qualcomm’s SoC affords excellent power efficiency in its operation. Coupled with the ability to enter low-power retention modes, the heterogenous nature of its cores, the platform allows for a dynamic set of power-efficient modes. Availability and use of a sensor core and low-power island allows for independent operation of the power-efficient Hexagon DSP for processing sensor data while higher power subsystems can remain in low-power suspend at the same time, waking up only when needed.

Support for Complex Camera-Use Cases for Advanced Edge-Processing Products

The Open-Q 865XR SOM leverages the Qualcomm SoC’s advanced ISP to support a multitude of complex camera use-cases, including multiple concurrent cameras, advanced image processing and enhancement, and the possibility for computer vision and neural network processing.

Together with the wide range of high-speed I/O options, these features make the Open-Q 865XR SOM an ideal engine for the most advanced edge-processing products. With the SOM market anticipated to be worth more than $3.5 billion by 2025, diversification and quick-start development solutions are crucial, and Lantronix is ready.

# # #

The post New Lantronix Open-Q™ 865XR SOM Jumpstarts Product Development for So Much More Than Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Applications appeared first on Lantronix.

You know us as a provider of intelligent edge solutions for connecting, powering, and managing IoT devices for smart infrastructure. 

We’re always looking for ways to make life easier for our customers, so we’re excited to share our newest solution:

Transition Networks is now offering solutions from Ecessa, a SD-WAN software provider.

As fellow CSI companies, our promise to connect and power IoT devices securely, simply, and reliably is furthered with Ecessa’s expertise and portfolio of complementary software. We will ensure your network is Never Down® so that your devices and applications provide the intelligence that keeps your business agile. 

You don’t need to do anything different. Work with us the way you always have.

We look forward to sharing with you how our growing portfolio offers comprehensive and innovative solutions to fully safeguard your network, power essential devices and do it simply.

Ecessa has worked leading companies in healthcare, banking and construction, to ensure their networks never fail and are scalable as they grow and manage increased web traffic.

Together, we look forward to helping you achieve your network goals.

We look forward to sharing more about this exciting news soon.

Contact us to learn more.

The post Collaborating for Your Success  appeared first on Lantronix.

With leading market researcher IDC predicting that worldwide wearables market will reach sales of nearly 500 million units in 2023, there is a demand to jumpstart product development in this growing market. Based on application, the wearable technology sector is segmented into lifestyle, healthcare, consumer applications, security, fitness and sports, entertainment and enterprise, and industrial.

“Wearables started out as a device for early adopters and morphed into multiple devices for the mass market,” said Ramon T. Llamas, research director for IDC’s Wearables team. “In the process, wearables have accomplished several objectives: enable greater convenience, surface new insights, and keep the user connected in ways that other devices – even the smartphone – have been unable to do. Continued development and innovation will cater to current customers and attract new ones in the years to come.”

Seeing this trend Lantronix entered the wearables market and began addressing the industry’s challenges.  This is an example of how our team with our Open-Q™ 2500 Development Kit provides a robust design and development platform that helps developers get their wearables designs to prototype and products to market faster and easier, allowing our customers to meet the challenges of this growing market and reap the benefits.

The Lantronix Open-Q 2500 Development Kit, based on the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Wear 2500 platform, is ideal for low-power heterogeneous processing needed on new wearables.

The platform’s sensor core software, Sensor Manager, runs on the Hexagon DSP core to interface with the physical sensors connected through I2C and SPI. The sensor core acts like a sensor hub in the sensor stack. Since the lowest-level sensor driver runs on the Hexagon DSP, sensor data collection and processing take place in a power-efficient environment independently of ARM core activity.

The sensor core software, Sensor Algorithm Manager, supports complex sensor processing algorithms for motion detection, sensor fusing and gesture detection etc. The processed and fused sensor data is passed to ARM core using a shared memory interface. The Qualcomm Sensor Framework HAL is responsible for the interface between sensor clients and sensor core through the Qualcomm Message Interface (QMI) and shared memory.

Among its capabilities are:

• Sensor Control and Data Retrieval
• Sensor Wakeup and Power Profiling
• Sensor Batching Feature
• Sensor Test Utility

 Sensor Driver Software Support and Customization

Sensor driver software which runs within the Hexagon DSP is a part of Qualcomm proprietary code that can be customized by Lantronix. Through the Open-Q™ 2500 Development Kit and its BSP, Lantronix supports a range of reference sensor driver ICs including ST Microelectronics.

Evaluation modules containing these sensors are available from Lantronix and support these base features:

• Accelerometer and Gyro (LSM6DS)
• Magnetometer (LIS2MDL)
• Ambient Pressure (LPS22HH, LPS22HB)
• Humidity, Temperature (HTS221)

In addition, Lantronix provides software development services to help develop and integrate support for virtually any sensor interfaced to the sensor DSP using SPI, I2C, or UART protocols on custom hardware designs. Lantronix also provides engineering services for the most effective interfacing of sensors in custom designs.

Click here for more information on Android sensor types.

Composite Sensors with Complex Behaviors

The sensor algorithm manager within the Sensor Core DSP processes raw base sensor data and provides composite sensor devices with complex behavior.  These include:

Sensor Control and Data Retrieval

Android applications can use the Android sensor APIs and framework to retrieve API to control the sensors and retrieve data.

The Open-Q™ 2500 Development Kit Android software image includes the “sns_hal_batch” test program. Testing includes configuring sensors for various wakeup modes and also allows sensor data to be read.

Click here for more information on accessing the sensor data from applications.

For example, as shown in the example below, running the ‘sns_hal_batch -l‘ command in the console will show all the supported sensors.

msm8909w:/ # sns_hal_batch -l

List.

HAL open
HAL module_api_version: 0x1
HAL hal_api_version   : 0x256
HAL hal_id            : sensors
HAL hal_name          : QTI Sensors Module
HAL hal_author        : Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
get_sensors_list took 4079219 nanoseconds
Sensor list:
[Type:  1] android.sensor.accelerometer (non-wakeup)
Name:LSM6DS3 Accelerometer Vendor:STMicroelectronics Version:1 Handle:1
maxRange: 78.453201 resolution: 0.002396 power: 0.900000 mA
minDelay: 10000 us maxDelay: 1000000 us
fifoReservedEventCount: 3000 fifoMaxEventCount: 40960
requiredPermission:
[Type: 35] android.sensor.accelerometer_uncalibrated (non-wakeup)
Name:LSM6DS3 Accelerometer Uncalibrated Vendor:STMicroelectronics Version:1 Handle:22
maxRange: 78.453201 resolution: 0.002396 power: 0.900000 mA
minDelay: 10000 us maxDelay: 1000000 us
fifoReservedEventCount: 3000 fifoMaxEventCount: 40960
requiredPermission:
…
[Type: 18] android.sensor.step_detector (non-wakeup)
Name:Step Detector Vendor:QTI Version:2 Handle:51
maxRange: 1.000000 resolution: 1.000000 power: 0.899994 mA
minDelay: 0 us maxDelay: 0 us
fifoReservedEventCount: 150 fifoMaxEventCount: 41912
requiredPermission:
[Type: 19] android.sensor.step_counter (non-wakeup)
Name:Step Counter Vendor:QTI Version:2 Handle:52
maxRange: 1.000000 resolution: 1.000000 power: 0.899994 mA
minDelay: 0 us maxDelay: 2147483647 us
fifoReservedEventCount: 150 fifoMaxEventCount: 41912
requiredPermission:
[Type: 17] android.sensor.significant_motion (wakeup)
Name:Significant Motion Detector Vendor:QTI Version:2 Handle:55
maxRange: 1.000000 resolution: 1.000000 power: 0.899994 mA
minDelay: -1 us maxDelay: 0 us
fifoReservedEventCount: 0 fifoMaxEventCount: 0
requiredPermission:

 Base sensors such as accelerometer and gyroscope have names starting with ‘LSM6DS3’ are provided by STMicroelectronics. Composite sensors with vendor name ‘QTI’ are provided by Qualcomm. Composite sensors use the raw data from the Base sensors and provide higher-level events and notifications. The processing of these composite sensors is done on the Hexagon DSP.

Sensor Wakeup and Power Profiling/Saving

One of the key features of locating the sensor core on the Hexagon DSP is power saving. The heterogeneous processing allows the main ARM core to go into lowest power suspend state even though the Hexagon DSP is collecting and processing sensor events from the connected sensors. The Hexagon DSP can be configured to only wake up the ARM core for specific sensors and for specific thresholds.

Click here for more information on Wake-up and Non-wake-up sensors.

The following example shows how to use the sns_hal_batch program to configure the Significant Motion Detection (SMD) sensor to wake up the ARM core.

msm8909w:/ # sns_hal_batch
HAL open
HAL module_api_version: 0x1
HAL hal_api_version   : 0x256
HAL hal_id            : sensors
HAL hal_name          : QTI Sensors Module
HAL hal_author        : Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
get_sensors_list took 3644479 nanoseconds
Sensors HAL TEST APP, version 1

Usage:
Choose a sensor to interact with by inputting the sensor’s type and whether or not is the wakeup version as shown in the ‘Sensors list’
Next, choose a command, by inputting one of the following characters:

a – Activate the sensor that was previously chosen.
d – Deactivate the sensor.
f – Flush the sensor.
b – Batch. The program will prompt for additional information.
e – Exit

Sensors list:

[Type: 1] (android.sensor.accelerometer) Name:LSM6DS3 Accelerometer Vendor:STMicroelectronics Version:1 Handle:1
. . .
Please choose a listed sensor type to interact with> 17
Do you want the wakeup sensor or the non-wakeup sensor? (w for wakeup, n for non-wakeup, d for don’t care)> w
Please choose a command (a,d,s,b,f,e)> a
Activating sensor Significant Motion Detector @ handle 55 …
Activating sensor Significant Motion Detector @ handle 55 …

At this point, the ARM core can go to its lowest-power sleep state. It will be awakened by the Hexagon DSP when there is enough accelerometer activity to be deemed “significant motion” to trigger the SMD sensor.  The reporting mode of this sensor is ‘One-Shot’ and it deactivates itself after reporting the event. The user has to reactivate this sensor to get the next SMD event.

Sensor Batching Feature

Waking up the system for each individual underlying sensor event, such as each Accelerometer sensor event, can be very inefficient.  It may consume a lot of power and/or prevent the system from going to its lowest-power sleep state. There is a batching feature that can be used to buffer the events in sensor hub and/or hardware FIFO.  With the Open-Q™ 2500 Development Kit, the batching feature is performed by the Hexagon DSP.  users can configure the max_report_latency_ns which is the duration of the buffering. It is also the timeout to wake-up the system for wakeup sensors.

Click here for more information on sensor batching. Also check the sensor header file <android>/ hardware/libhardware/ include/hardware/sensors.h

The batching feature can be tested using sns_hal_batch utility. The following example demonstrates how to configure the accelerometer to be a wake-up source, batch the data for 1 second between events, and set the timeout to be 30 seconds before waking up the ARM core.

msm8909w:/ # sns_hal_batch
HAL open
HAL module_api_version: 0x1
HAL hal_api_version   : 0x256
HAL hal_id            : sensors
HAL hal_name          : QTI Sensors Module
HAL hal_author        : Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
get_sensors_list took 3644479 nanoseconds
Sensors HAL TEST APP, version 1

Usage:
Choose a sensor to interact with by inputting the sensor’s type and whether or not is the wakeup version as shown in the ‘Sensors list’
Next, choose a command, by inputting one of the following characters:

a – Activate the sensor that was previously chosen.
d – Deactivate the sensor.
f – Flush the sensor.
b – Batch. The program will prompt for additional information.
e – Exit

Sensors list:

[Type: 1] (android.sensor.accelerometer) Name:LSM6DS3 Accelerometer Vendor:STMicroelectronics Version:1 Handle:1
. . .
Please choose a listed sensor type to interact with> 1

Do you want the wakeup sensor or the non-wakeup sensor? (w for wakeup, n for nonwakeup,
d for don’t care)> w
Please choose a command (a,d,s,b,f,e)> b
Please specify a delay period (in Hz)> 1
Please specify a timeout (in Hz)> 0.0333

d. Activate the selected sensor.

Please choose a command (a,d,s,b,f,e)> a
Activating sensor LSM6DS3 Accelerometer -Wakeup @ handle 22 …
Activating sensor LSM6DS3 Accelerometer -Wakeup @ handle 22 …

Sensor Test Utility

The sns_hal_batch test program is part of Qualcomm proprietary source code and it is available only in binary format with the Open-Q™ 2500 Development Kit. Users can utilize the open-source sensor test application available in the android tree <android>/hardware/libhardware/tests/nusensors as a reference for their own sensor test application. Lantronix’s Open-Q™ 2500 BSP version 2.1 includes a patch for the nusensor test application to support the batching feature.

For more information, contact Lantronix at ies_sales@lantronix.com.

The post Lantronix Sensors Power Wearables in ‘Low Power Mode’ appeared first on Lantronix.

From Mission Critical:

“What’s the most vital aspect of a data center? Well, that’s up for debate, but security is definitely in the running. And, according to the Top Tier Products Awards judges, Transition Networks is No. 1 in the security category for its Self-Enclosed Managed Hardened Gigabit Ethernet PoE++ Switch. This all-in-one solution includes its own enclosure, power supply, surge protection, and more, making it quick, easy, and cost-effective to deploy new IP devices or extend networks in security and surveillance networks.”

The Top Tier Products Awards winners are featured in the July/August 2020 digital edition issue of Mission Critical.

Read the full feature on their website.

The post Self-Enclosed Switch Wins Top Tier Product Award from Mission Critical appeared first on Lantronix.

Voice control is a crucial user interaction for today’s intelligent devices and peripherals.  You can query voice assistants on your phone, on a smart home hub (see our past blog here), in smart appliances and from an increasing number of products every day.

To work properly in terms of voice control, these highly capable intelligent edge solutions require security and low-power consumption. Most of all, these products need to be capable of identifying key words without missing parts of a phrase or query.

This blog describes how Lantronix can help you leverage the unique voice control capabilities in Qualcomm®’s SoCs to perform wake-up, keyword recognition and other actions based on phrases. In addition to voice control, this blog also explains how to enable a secure, low-power implementation while leveraging the power efficiencies available in Qualcomm’s heterogenous SOCs.

For Intelligent, battery-operated devices, Snapdragon Voice Activation (SVA) leverages the unique capabilities of Qualcomm’s advanced integrated processors. It enables devices to use the minimum possible power to listen only for the custom wake phrase set by the OEM or designated by the specific user, enabling both a secure and power-efficient solution.

Where systems integrate voice assistants or have other complex voice control-use cases, features such as “barge-in” and “natural language” are essential. This capability allows key phrases to overlap with system audio responses or merge together with a user’s command words. SDA845 and later products support the upgraded SVA version 3.0.

SDA845 and later products support the upgraded SVA version 3.0. Visit the Open-Q™ 845 µSOM page to learn more. 

SVA 3.0 provides the following set of advanced features:

• First-stage detection
  • Occurs in one of the dedicated Qualcomm® Hexagon DSP cores: Either the WDSP or ADSP
    • In the standalone use case, detection occurs in the WDSP
    • During barge-in, detection occurs in the ADSP
  • Based on Gaussian mixture models
  • Focuses on maximizing detection
• Second-stage detection
  • Contains two algorithms:

• • • Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) SVA (predefined keyword)
    • Voice Print (user verification)
  • Runs in the application processor and is only activated when first-stage detection is successful
  • Focuses on minimizing false alarms
• Pre-defined keyword detection
• PDK + user verification
• User-defined keyword detection
• Support for multi-microphone inputs:
  • WDSP 1-2 channel input
  • ADSP 2-6 channel input
• SVA algorithms in the WDSP and ADSP are updated to:
  • Support multichannel voice activity recognition
  • Output the best channel index with the highest confidence rate to the application processor along with the detection result
• Far field voice activation via the ADSP with multi-mic processing for advanced noise suppression including Fluence beam-forming capabilities.

If enabled, the MAD codec hardware is always on and listening to mic activity. For platforms using codecs such as the WCD93xx, detection is done by the SPE in the codec. APSS wakes up only after the codec detects the keyword phrase and/or the user. The HAL in the APSS notifies the app of keyword detection.

Low Power: Only the first stage of detection, Mic Activity Detection (MAD), executes within the codec. LPASS is woken up to perform the remaining stages of detection.

If enabled, the codec is always on, listening to activity on the mic. LPASS runs the Listen Stream Manager (LSM), wakes up on request from the codec and detects the keyword phrase and the user. When the specified keyword phrase is identified, LPASS wakes up the APSS where the driver notifies an app predefined by the licensee.

High Power: All stages of detection, including MAD sound detection, execute within LPASS. A codec, if present, is not used for detection.

When enabled, all stages of Listen Detection are run on the LPASS, including the MAD (listening to activity on the mic). When mic activity at a particular level is detected, the LSM detection stages also run on LPASS. When the specified keyword phrase is identified, LPASS wakes up the APSS where the driver notifies an app predefined by the licensee.  In this case, the codec is optional. Digital mics could be directly attached to the Qualcomm processor for cost reduction and board layout simplification.

Sample Android™ Application: Lantronix has developed a sample Android Application that uses Qualcomm-provided ListenEngine API’s. The customer can refer to this sample application for integrating the features into the main application. For more details, please contact the Lantronix Sales Team.

Keyword models: Lantronix’s team has experience in tuning keyword models. The Qualcomm keyword processing engine uses a phoneme graph-based model that can be refined with dedicated and targeted recordings for speaker, accent and noise robustness. Lantronix has assisted customers to refine their models for detection in difficult audio environments.

For more details on refining keyword models or other ways to optimize Voice Activation in your Open-Q-based system, please contact the Lantronix Sales Team at sales@lantronix.com.

Author:

Suzan Moidin is a Senior Member of Technical Staff at Lantronix. He has more than nine years of industry experience in embedded software product development, including Linux® and Android BSP development.

The post Leverage Qualcomm’s SOCs Voice Control Capabilities with System on Modules from Lantronix appeared first on Lantronix.

With the recent release of our PCIe 10 Gigabit Ethernet Fiber Network Interface Card, we’ve added yet another option for optimizing your FTTD implementation and installation. But deciding on the ideal FTTD solution means pairing it with the device needing connection, its available plugin slots, and the amount of space available in the work area.

Here’s what we recommend:

Traditional PCs:  PCIe Network Interface Cards (NIC)

• Desktop PCs typically have PCIe slots available to securely mount a NIC
• PCIe cards are available with multiple fiber adapter types for Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet transmission
• PCIe NICs are also available with Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) capability to power VoIP phones

Laptop or Tablet: Scorpion-USB Network Adapters

• Portable computing devices also don’t have PCIe slots but do offer USB ports, so we created Scorpion-USB adapters that can plug into the USB port for a simple and easy fiber Ethernet connection
• These compact solutions are ideal for temporary or portable fiber access in university and lab settings or other flexible work spaces

Small Workspaces: Media Converters

• Media converters and mini-media converters are small, economical, plug and play solutions that convert from copper to fiber and easily fit behind a computer or under a desk surface
• PoE media converters connect the PC to the fiber network and provide power over existing copper cabling to network devices such as VoIP phones

Small PCs and Thin Clients: M.2 Fiber Network Interface Cards 

• Small form factor PCs don’t have enough space for traditional PCIe slots, so we created M.2 Ethernet Fiber NICs to securely mount inside micro or mini PCs
• Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet M.2 Fiber NIC versions are available

Whatever device you need to connect, this quick guide offers affordable and easy-to-use solutions that provide the security, bandwidth, and reliability benefits of fiber transmission.

What’s Next?

• Dig deeper with our FTTD Application Note
• Connect with our sales team. Discuss with our network experts your needs and we’ll do the work to create the right plan for your connected devices

tel: +1.952.941.7600	sales@transition.com	Chat with
toll free: 1.800.526.9267		Our Experts

The post Perfect Pairings: A Guide on Choosing the Best Fiber to the Desk Solution appeared first on Lantronix.

Home automation refers to the control and security of smart home devices.  It may be used for isolated programmable devices, such as thermostats and sprinkler systems.  But home automation more precisely describes smart homes with lights, appliances, electrical outlets, heating and cooling systems and security systems that are connected and controlled via a remotely accessible network.  Home automation systems give users control of energy usage resulting in cost savings and help to enhance their standard of living.  Let’s take a deeper dive into making home automation a reality in your home.

 Home Hub – The Center of Home Automation

A Home Hub comprises hardware and software that allows you to remotely control the connected devices in your home.  Connected devices in your house include smart devices such as lights, heating and air conditioning, home appliances, security systems and much more.

You can group multiple devices such as the lights in a room and turn them all on at once.  Or you can set a schedule for your coffee maker or thermostat to ensure that you awake to a warm room and a hot cup of coffee.  You can even remotely control your devices from virtually anywhere over Wi-Fi or the Internet. With the addition of voice-activation services such as Alexa and Google Assistant, you can control your connected smart home devices with voice commands.

Pull Quote:

“A home hub communicate with connected devices enabling users to remotely control the, conserving energy and adding more convenience to your home.”

Open-Q™ 212A Home Hub Dev Kit

The Open-Q™ 212A Development Kit has a Home Hub Platform Software release announced here.  This Software release allows the Open-Q™ 212A to become a home hub to control the smart devices in your house.

Smart Home With Open-Q™ 212A as the Home Hub

The picture above shows the smart home components and how the Open-Q™ 212A fits in as a Home Hub.  What follows is a description of this picture from the bottom-up.

The Wi-Fi Access Point in your house provides the communication path to all your Smart devices.  This is your own home’s Wi-Fi hotspot with secure password enabled.  Most smart devices in your home can connect to 2.4GHz Wi-Fi.

Above the Wi-Fi Access Point are the smart devices installed in your house.  These devices can include smart bulbs, smart plugs, smart light switches, and much more.  Smart devices connect to your Wi-Fi network and will require constant power from your home’s wall electricity in order to be able to stay connected.  Most smart light switches require a 4-wire connection:  load (red), hot (black), ground (green), and neutral (white).  Unlike a traditional light switch, a smart switch needs the neutral wire where they tap constant power.

Above the smart devices (on the right) is a mobile device (phone or tablet).  This mobile device is used to “on-board” or configure the smart device.  For example, the TP-Link smart bulb and smart plug can be configured with the TP-Link Kasa app available on Android and iOS.

Using these apps on your phone, you can configure each device with your Wi-Fi hotspot and password to allow it to connect.  You can then use the app to directly control the device.  Moreover, you can create an account (with TP-Link Kasa, for example) and have your device associated with your TP-Link Kasa account.  The phone/tablet can also be used to configure the Open-Q™ 212A and this will be described later.

The middle box is a PC/Laptop which can be used to configure the Open-Q™ 212A.  This is also be described below.

Finally, the last piece of the Smart Home picture is the Open-Q™ 212A.  The Open-Q™ 212A Home Hub Dev Kit includes all the hardware and software you need to control and manage your smart home.  Lantronix’s custom Home Hub Software software release includes support for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Mozilla WebThings Gateway as described in this blog .  The Release Notes for the Open-Q™ 212A SOM  and Release Notes for Open-Q™ 212A Home Hub Development Kit provide detailed steps on how to configure each of these services.  The next few sections will describe how you can use these services to connect, control, and manage your smart home devices.

Configuring Your Mozilla WebThings Gateway

You can use your PC/Laptop or mobile device to configure your Mozilla WebThings Gateway as described in the Release Notes.  Once configured, your Mozilla WebThings Gateway can be accessed via the website hosted by the Open-Q™ 212A.

For the full list of capabilities of the Mozilla WebThings Gateway, please see https://iot.mozilla.org/gateway/

Amazon Alexa Enables Voice Commands of Smart Devices

 As described in the Release Notes, use qualcomm-avs-v1.11.apk and your Android device to configure the Amazon Alexa services on your Open-Q™ 212A.  Once configured with your Amazon account, you can use your voice to communicate with Alexa and it will access the Amazon Server.

Example: “Alexa, what is the weather today in Vancouver, Canada?” 

As shown here, on your phone/tablet, you can add more smart devices to your Amazon account. Once they show up on your phone/tablet, the smart home devices will automatically be detected by your Open-Q™ 212A which is logged in with the same Amazon account.  Furthermore, you can now control these devices using voice commands to your Open-Q™ 212A Dev Kit. Example: “Alexa, turn on the smart bulb”

Voice Commands Using Google Home and Google Assistant

 You use ADB to configure your 212A with your Google credentials as described in the Release Notes.  Once configured, you can communicate with Google assistant using your voice.

Example: “Hey Google, what is the weather today in Vancouver, Canada?”

Now you will add smart IoT devices to your Google account.  Install Google Home on your mobile device.

Once this is done, your smart device is associated with your Google account and you no longer need your mobile device.  You can control your smart home devices using voice commands to the Google Assistant running on your Open-Q™ 212A.

Example: “Hey Google, turn on the smart bulb!”

The Open-Q™ 212A Home Hub Dev Kit makes a great Home Hub.  This is an open and flexible software platform that allows you to expand on the built-in capabilities and customize it for your own needs. Its platform software is the Linux Home Hub SW release v1.1.1 which comes with support for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Mozilla Gateway WebThings.

The hardware in the Open-Q™ 212A Home Hub Dev Kit also complements the features of a Home Hub. It includes Wi-Fi with AP and Station modes and Bluetooth A2DP and BLE support which allows it to easily connect to your PC, laptop, phone, and other devices.  The Microphone array and Fluence Pro Soundfocus multi-microphone solution can provide excellent audio input performance to hear your voice commands to Alexa and Google Assistant.  Finally, the audio output is driven by the WCD9326 codec and WSA8815 amplifier which provides great sound quality for Alexa and Google assistant voice.

Now that you’ve set up your Smart Home Hub, relax and control your connected devices from your phone, smart home controller or via the Web from virtually anywhere.

Click here to learn more about our Open Q products.

The post Turn Your Home into a Smart Home: Home Hub Installation Made Easy appeared first on Lantronix.

The customer had noticed that the network was down. While the engineer was happy the customer choose to go with our manageable, hardened Ethernet switches to reduce the total cost of ownership and allowed remote management into the switches to solve common issues, this was not one of those cases. The engineer deployed technicians to take a look and when they arrived on site, they saw the door on the telecom equipment cabinet, where the switches were housed, standing open. Apparently, someone had opened the cabinet and started tampering with the equipment and the network connections. This was not what they had wanted to experience on a new installation. At this point he abruptly stopped his story and asked me, “Do you have anything for that?” And I just as quickly said, “Yes, we do!”

Transition Networks recently released its Enclosure Door Contact Alarm (EDCA).  This is a small device that along with a mechanical door contact switch and the dry contact relays within the hardened Ethernet switches already installed in the telecom cabinet, can alert network managers when a cabinet door has been opened.

The EDCA is small enough to fit into any cabinet, no matter how full it is. It can be clipped on to a DIN rail or attached via a bracket to the wall of the cabinet. It does require power but with a wide input voltage range, it can be powered by the same power supply that is powering the hardened Ethernet switches. In the diagram below, we see how the EDCA is wired up to the mechanical door contact switch, or any other actuation device, and to the terminal block on the Ethernet switch, providing an interface to the dry contact relays.

By sending 12V of power to the enclosure door contact switch, it becomes an active device, so if any change of condition occurs, such as a door going from closed to open, it will cause the relays in the Ethernet switch to trip and send an alert to network managers. These alerts can take the shape of an alert in the management system, or an audible or visual alarm.

Deploying our door alarm will add an additional level of security to any telecom equipment cabinet by monitoring the status of the cabinet door and alerting network managers of a change of condition. Making network managers aware of these changes more quickly, will help improve network uptime and reduce costs of network maintenance. The Enclosure Door Contact Alarm is an inexpensive tool that can pay huge dividends down the road.

Our team is ready to answer your questions on protecting your equipment cabinets from tampering.

Reach out to a Transition Networks sales representative today:

• Call 1.952.941.7600
• Email sales@transition.com
• Or chat now using the blue “Ask The Experts” located at the bottom right

The post “Do You Have Anything for That?” appeared first on Lantronix.

As we continue to navigate through the COVID-19 crisis, we are optimistic about the gradual and safe return to normalcy. Our thoughts go out to anyone impacted directly or indirectly by this pandemic. The safety of our employees, families and communities is paramount.

We stay tightly connected with our employees through video meetings to conduct business and even initiate some fun, virtual social hours. We address our customer needs through weekly webinars and video conferencing calls.  And, although we are learning how to manage through this pandemic as we go, it has stretched our abilities to connect in different ways with more substance. It has humbled us and made us appreciate our in-person relationships and our partnerships even more.

We remain committed to the health and well-being of our employees and customers. For some of our employees who have been working remotely in accordance with local government guidelines, we will be implementing a safe return-to-work plan scheduled for July 6, 2020.

For our customers, we are equally committed to you. At a time when safety, security and wellness is top of mind more than ever, we want to be your trusted partner and resource in these difficult times. Whether your projects have been expedited given current circumstances or whether they are on hold, our team is here to help.

• Project Guidance: call our Solution Engineers at +1.952.941.7600
• Sales Support: contact our sales team via live chat or email: sales@transition.com
• Solutions & Knowledge: join our live or on-demand webinars
• Inventory: is proactively stocked
• Shipping: delivery of product is operating on schedule
• Listen & Share: we are listening and want to learn from you; email me: anitak@transition.com

We are in this together and we are stronger together. I personally want to extend my sincere thanks to you and my best wishes for the health and safety of you and your family during this challenging time.

Sincerely,

Anita Kumar
General Manager of Transition Networks

The post Committed to Connections. Together we’re better. appeared first on Lantronix.

With so many more people moving to a virtual workplace in such a rapid time frame, data center networks are stressed. Already there are so many applications based on cloud services running on data center networks. When people are working from home, they are leveraging services that live on the cloud including video conferencing, online webinars, online learning and streaming other content. These applications require increased bandwidth and performance of the data centers to meet the demand from work, socialization and entertainment at home.  How can data centers extend their power? We’ve got a solution.

Small Form-Factor Pluggables or Optical Transceivers

To expand the capacity of data centers, companies need to add more servers and storage which will require more 10G/40G/100G links to the aggregation/edge switches. An effective way for companies looking to quickly and cost-effectively enable this expansion, is to add high speed optical transceivers such as 10G SFP+, 40G QSFP+ and 100G QSFP28 to upgrade link speed.

SFPs or optical transceivers support a variety of cable types and connectors for network scalability, providing enterprises additional flexibility to meet the specific needs of their cabling infrastructure while also providing the ability for future upgrades or changes. SFPs support a wide range of data rates and fiber types, available for Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10GbE, 25GbE, 40GbE and 100GbE networks. SFP’s can be a cost-effective way to bring agility and flexibility to existing networks, with a high level of quality.

Transition Networks Compatibility

At Transition Networks, we offer a complete line of optical devices that are compatible with a variety of systems and platforms. All Transition Networks SFPs are compliant with the Multi-Sourcing Agreement (MSA), ensuring interoperability with all other MSA compliant networking devices. Our SFPs are also Cisco compliant and include 1G to 100G speeds as well as increased intelligence with Diagnostic Monitoring Interface (DMI). DMI provides network managers a real-time view of SFP transceiver operating data such as temperature, supply voltage and more.

Offering agile and flexible solutions to existing networks, Transition Networks SFPs have the highest level of quality standards and are backed by dedicated service and support. Our Cisco-compatible SFPs can be installed in all switches including Cisco SFP-based routers and switches.

Transition Networks understands that these are unprecedented times for businesses, and we are here to help businesses and service providers with connectivity solutions as employees continue to work remotely. At a time of uncertainty, our pluggable transceivers offer a cost-effective and flexible means to accommodate network modification and growth, while still using existing network devices. By selecting a Transition Networks Cisco compatible SFP, you will see significant savings, without sacrificing quality or customer support.

Most of our team continues to work remotely and our supply chain is strong, allowing us to ship customer orders without delay. Visit our website for more information on our Cisco compatible SFPs and contact our sales team at sales@transition.com.

The post The New Office is Home: How to Boost Your Data Center Capacity appeared first on Lantronix.

How the COVID-19 pandemic is changing and enhancing a Data Center Operator’s protocols

These are challenging times for data center operators who typically plan and anticipate nerve-rattling events such as power outages, natural disasters and all types of catastrophic events. Now, our new normal for mission-critical data centers has pushed many seasoned veterans into uncharted territory.

As we try to maintain business systems with increased remote workers as well as company bandwidth and security concerns, the stress on data center operators has become paramount in their planning. The numbers tell the story. According to VPN vendor Atlas, mid-March VPN usage in the U.S. grew 53% while Italy, where the outbreak is two weeks ahead of the U.S., saw an increase of 112%. Atlas chief operating officer Rachel Welch stated, “We estimate that VPN usage in the U.S. could increase by over 150% by the end of March.”

In response, research firm Uptime Institute has created a best practices guide with tips and recommendations from its network of data center operators and partners. Fred Dickerman, senior vice president for Management Services at Uptime Institute, stated, “As a result of the pandemic, tech dependency is increasing; the number of teleworkers is skyrocketing; online retail is surging; business-to-business communications are taking place digitally, and social interactions are moving online.”

Dickerman continued, “All of that is going to drive more network use and more use of the essential infrastructures that we’re responsible for maintaining.”

Here is a review of Uptime’s best practices for Data Center Operators:

– Adapt existing response plans to COVID-19.

Basically, don’t recreate the wheel. Use existing emergency plans and adapt them to your new normal.

Lantronix Tip:
If your existing plan uses an Out-of-Band solution such as the Lantronix SLC 8000, you’re already set up to handle most events. Review your failover and failback procedures to ensure that if an outage occurs, you have a mechanism to transfer data safely. As a refresher, check out the Lantronix application note: Out-of-Band Management (OOBM) Using an LTE Cellular Gateway for Failover/Failback.

– Create tiered COVID-19 response plans.

Best practices call for a three- to five-level contingency plan. According to Uptime, with tiers of escalation ranging from taking reasonable precautions to worst-case scenarios such as lights-out operation or even a complete shutdown, a plan should clearly identify the actions to be taken at each level and the circumstance that would trigger implementation of the next level.

Lantronix Tip:
An Out-of-Band solution, such as the Lantronix EMG8500, is an intrinsic part of any contingency plan. It allows you to mitigate and remediate, even when the main network is down, by giving you a secondary route to your infrastructure. Also see Lantronix’s EMG Product Brief.

– Restrict travel.

Create reserve data center teams. It is essential to make sure the staff doesn’t travel between data centers in order to reduce the risk of transmitting an infection from one site to another.

Lantronix Tip:
If you are using an Out-of-Band solution with a robust SaaS ecosystem, such as the Lantronix ConsoleFlow™, cloud, or on-premises hosted management software, you can monitor all your connected devices remotely. ConsoleFlow’s native iOS® and Android™ mobile applications provide users with an added level of convenience.

– Make the case that your data center is critical.

Another benefit of having a comprehensive COVID-19 response plan is the emphasis it places on data center operations as crucial. It is important to enlist your management to ensure your procedures are followed and to showcase the benefits of secure data center operations. Uptime has estimated that downtime during an unusual event such as the pandemic costs your company and your customers much more than during a traditional downtime event.

Lantronix Tip:
If you presently do not have an OOBM solution in your data centers or remote sites, this is the time to assess your exposure and develop plans to share with management. For a better understanding of the benefits of OOBM, check out Lantronix’s white paper: Building a more Resilient Network with Out-of-Band Management.

This is a watershed moment for data center and remote site operations. We will all come out of this “new normal” with a better understanding of how to keep ourselves and our network infrastructures safer. Please reach out and let us know how Lantronix can assist you and your team.

Stay Safe and Healthy!!

Source:

(1)Network World – Best Practice for Data Center Operators

(2) Network World– Coronvirus Challenges remote networking

The post The New Normal — Best Practices for Data Center Operators appeared first on Lantronix.

As we all deal with global challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, we at Transition Networks remain committed to the health and well-being of our employees, our customers and our communities.

In support of the global efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, most of our team in Minnesota and around the world is working remotely. We will remain open and ready to serve our customers via our customer support phone lines, or reach out to a member of our sales team. We are ready to provide you the support you need to ensure your projects move forward. Email our experts with questions, call 952.941.7600 to discuss your needs or schedule a video call. Our Sales Engineers are also available for virtual demos in lieu of in-person meetings.

We have plans in place to address any concerns around customer quotes, orders, shipments and general inquiries. We have you covered with the same great service, support and products you have come to expect from Transition Networks.

In addition, we have taken numerous steps to ensure continuity of product delivery to you.

Supply Chain
Over 96% of our products are TAA compliant and therefore manufactured outside of China. As such, we are not seeing any significant impact to our supply chain and have proactively obtained additional stock to ensure business continuity for our customers. An update will be provided should anything change.

Shipping
This business-critical function continues, and we will deliver products to our customers as scheduled. We are monitoring the situation closely and will update you if changes occur.

We appreciate the opportunity to earn your business and look forward to providing you the products you need in a timely manner.

If you have any questions regarding your orders, please do not hesitate to contact your Transition Networks sales representative or email our sales department at sales@transition.com.

I personally want to extend my sincere thanks to you and my best wishes for the health and safety of you and your family during this challenging time.

Sincerely,
Anita Kumar
General Manager of Transition Networks

The post COVID-19 Update: A Message To Our Valued Customers appeared first on Lantronix.

The post What You Need to Know about Google’s Android™ 10 Release appeared first on Lantronix.

Purchasing SFP modules while you are purchasing Ethernet switches offers a flexible solution, allowing you to select the SFP modules that suit the exact fiber type, distance and speed intended for the specific connection to each port of the switch. Later, as the network changes, the SFPs can easily be replaced to accommodate the new connections and optimize the existing switch. We’ve got value priced, MSA compliant SFPs in stock and ready to ship!

Added Value SFPs

SFPs add value to the network switch by supporting a variety of cable types and connectors for network scalability. Switches with SFP ports provide enterprises with additional flexibility to meet the specific needs of their cabling infrastructure while also providing the ability for future upgrades or changes.

SFP transceivers are the ideal solution for any network supporting a large variety of data rates and fiber types. SFPs are available for Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10G, 25G, 40G and 100G Ethernet networks. SFP’s are a cost-effective way to bring agility and flexibility to existing networks, with a high level of quality. Hardened SFP transceivers are also available to support harsh environments and support network connections in hardened devices.

Smart, Reliable Switches

Our comprehensive portfolio of switches provides customers with many options. We offer multi-port managed and unmanaged switches for both enterprise and hardened applications. These switches are designed to accomplish different needs and provide a variety of port count options including 4, 8, 16, 24, and 48 ports, with some switches that feature support for PoE+ and PoE++. While these switches feature copper ports for user connectivity, most of them include open fiber-optic SFP ports for connections beyond the 100-meter limitation of copper cabling.

Select Transition Networks PoE-enabled switches include Device Management System (DMS) software that provides added management and monitoring value that empower end users to automatically discover and remotely configure attached IP-addressable PoE powered devices (PDs) when needed.  . For remote locations, most Transition Networks switches feature auto power reset (APR) which can help save on truck rolls by monitoring and automatically restarting the connected devices in the event of a failure.

Customers choose Transition Networks switches when they need cost-effective and reliable connectivity with added management capabilities and ease of configuration for either corporate applications or hardened outdoor applications.  So why not get the SFPs you’ll need from us as well?

Benefits of Buying SFPs When You Buy Your Network Switches

When planning your network infrastructure do you consider necessary accessories ahead of time? SFPs often become an afterthought but planning ahead does save time and money in many cases.

Getting switches with SFP accessories at the same time streamlines the purchasing process by enabling a single purchase of a complete solution. Even in the era of online ordering, the one-stop-shop offers great convenience. You get everything you need at one time which saves on total cost through combined shipping, volume pricing and future expedited costs because of additional product needs being overlooked.

Purchasing SFPs with switches also simplifies your due diligence time as quality manufacturers provide reliable products holistically and would not risk the service delivered by quality switches because of low-grade SFPs.

Also, a key benefit is that buying SFPs and Ethernet switches from the same manufacturer will simplify your trouble shooting, since only one technical support team will be providing all the assistance you need.

Transition Networks is here to help you find the ideal solution for your network. If you’re interested in our switch and SFP offerings, contact us today.

The post Need SFPs with Your Switches? Why Getting Products and Accessories Together is Smart appeared first on Lantronix.

In case you had not heard, Santa Claus was in a network downtime bind this year, but the elves and smarter-than-smart Out-of-Band Management (OOBM) helped him make it through the crisis and allowed him to stay on track during this busy holiday season.

The crisis is a fairly common one nowadays with Black Friday, CyberMonday and the host of other special shopping days that retailers promote during the holiday season. This surge in digital commerce is not just a U.S. event. According to Salesforce.com Inc., global digital sales revenue grew 24% to $20 billion with over a half billion global shoppers across more than 30 countries partaking in this seasonal surge of activity.

“Digital commerce continues to grow overseas this holiday as international retailers and consumers adopt traditions like Black Friday and Cyber Monday that creates spikes in deals and demand,” says Rob Garf, Salesforce’s vice president of Strategy and Insights.

This all sounds like a dream come true for Santa, the elves and global retailers, but the dark cloud looming over retailers during this season is the fear that their systems may not be resilient enough to handle the increasing demand and may result in network downtime.

Retail Network Downtime

Target is a prime example, considering that the retail giant experienced multiple technical outages in 2019. In fact, its payment-processing system was down for more than a day last June. This outage cost Target an estimated US$100 million in sales and left customers feeling frustrated with their shopping experiences. Shares fell 2 percent after that incident. As recently as this past September, Target’s in-store registers and online services again were down for a few hours.

Target’s blackout is nothing new. According to a Logic Monitor report, almost 96 percent of IT decision-makers worldwide experienced at least one customer-impacting outage in the last three years. Just last Thanksgiving, retail giants J.Crew, Ulta, and Walmart experienced network downtime lasting from as little as a few minutes to several hours.

So far, the 2019 Online Sales Projections for the Cyber 5 show the growth in eCommerce sales (1). The concerns about outages and how to handle them will continue to be a topic discussed in retail sectors.

Santa had seen the retail projections, and he knew that his team at the North Pole had to be ready.  But how?  Santa did what many retail executives do; he went to his team of IT elves and asked them how to handle a digital transformation to accommodate increasing digital sales during holiday season.  Fred T. Elf, the head of IT at the North Pole, had the answer: IT Service Management (ITSM).  ITSM refers to the entirety of activities directed by policies, organized and structured in processes and supporting procedures that are performed by an organization to design, plan, deliver, operate and control information technology services offered to customers.

An essential component of any ITSM strategy is an OOBM solution.  The simplest description of OOBM is that it provides a secondary channel of communication to access and control infrastructure assets of the production network.  In the instance of a server outage during this holiday season and throughout the year, an OOBM Failover process is a protective feature that switches the primary operations on a computer server (or entire data center) to a redundant standby system or network through a cellular LTE router.

LTE offers temporary (backup) or permanent Internet connectivity.  In many instances, an LTE router can be used as a temporary Internet connectivity solution when the primary network infrastructure is not available.  In permanent or primary situations, small or mid-sized operations may opt for LTE connectivity due to a lack of wired connectivity options or because of the flexibility that a wireless connection provides.

After the outage is fixed, the Failback process is the reverse of the Failover process.  The failback recovery operation restores operations to the primary operating system and re-synchronizes the data using a cellular LTE router.

Using OOBM, Santa and his team of elves can handle an outage or network downtime caused by the demand of anxious parents getting their toy orders into the workshop or global retailers preparing for the demands of the holiday season.

Lantronix OOBM solutions are here to help Santa and retailers with their data center and remote site needs.  Whether you have a large global concern or are a small business retailer, Lantronix provides the products and expertise to help you make your customers’ digital commerce experience bright.  Check out Lantronix OOBM products here and find out more about the Failover/Fallback process in this blog.

Lantronix wishes you Happy Holidays and a Very Happy New Year.  And, as a gift for you last-minute shoppers, below is the Most Popular Tech Gifts in 2019 from Statistica (3). Happy retailing!

Source:

(1)Digital Commerce 360 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/black-friday-thanksgiving-online-sales/

(2) eCommerce.com https://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/86337.html

(3) Statista https://www.statista.com/chart/11981/tech-gifts-purchase-intent/

The post Santa Claus and the Myth of a Holiday Retail Season Without Network Downtime! appeared first on Lantronix.

While the events are important for the attendees to learn about the latest security and smart city IoT solutions, we always learn a lot, too! Between new faces, valued customers, and thought-provoking speakers, we hear what really matters to those who work to improve the performance and security of network infrastructures. As we wrap up the year and reflect on what we’ve learned, below are the three key takeaways in preparation for 2020 and beyond:

1. Growing cities equal a growing need for smart city IoT: Kicking off GSX, Global Security Expo, in Chicago, Steve Demetriou, Chair and CEO of Jacobs said during the general session opener, “Today more than half of the world’s population lives in urban environments, and more than 3 million people are moving into urban environments every week.” With this immense growth, local and state governments are looking to pinpoint ways to improve quality of life for their citizens and smart city IoT technology is likely a critical component to achieving those goals.  Smart city IoT technology gathers data via sensors placed around a city to detect things like traffic patterns, safety conditions and weather.  Using this data, city officials can make informed decisions on implementing projects that will increase quality of life, preserve resources and save money. Our Self-Enclosed Switch recently won an award for the value it provides in smart city applications, and we’ve worked with many states, and municipalities to deploy power, connectivity and management solutions that make their communities smarter. We are excited to play an essential role in the networks that make it possible for these organizations to benefit from the data available to them through the increasing number of smart devices deployed.

2. Where products are made definitely matters: Recent increases in government tariffs and security risks associated with some technology products have made many companies and integrators rethink the importance of sourcing products that are compliant with the Trade Agreements Act (TAA). TAA compliance indicates products have been  primarily manufactured in an approved country. This year, Transition Networks along with many other exhibitors touted their TAA compliant products. For us, it is easy to do: 96.7% of Transition Networks products are TAA compliant. The U.S. Government has long enforced compliance with TAA, and now our security and surveillance customers especially are seeking out TAA compliant products as well, stating that quality and compliance increases their confidence in the solutions they choose for their projects.

3. Strategic partnerships simplify: Strong partnerships among suppliers can simplify the buying and deployment experience for customers. Our strategic partnerships with Verint, Milestone, Siemens, and our smart building coalition with Berk-Tek and Cree Lighting, make it easy for integrators to quickly and expertly implement important projects, knowing the components work well together and eliminating the hassle of sourcing and testing each and every piece themselves.

Thanks to everyone for another great year! We love the opportunity to greet new and old faces around the world. Be sure to visit our event calendar!

Customer feedback fuels our solutions. What else should we know?

The post Our 2019 Industry Trends appeared first on Lantronix.

One area where enterprise networks have seen some changes in the past few years is the data center. There has been a trend toward fewer, larger data centers, often referred to as hyperscale data centers. Analyst firm IDC defines a hyperscale data center as a facility that has at least 5,000 servers and is at least 10,000 square feet. Analyst firm Synergy Research says there are now more than 500 hyperscale data centers in the world. These larger data centers require extending their networks over wider areas and that can be a problem for locations still relying on legacy copper cabling.

Network Extension

In most data centers, the big internet access services providers all terminate their services in one data center location. These services are then extended to the right server cage or rack for the designated customer. The data center needs to be able to extend those services with minimal latency to ensure quality of service is maintained.

A data center could add Ethernet switches and run copper cabling to extend these services across their facility, but data can only travel for 100 meters on a copper cable. A switch is required to extend the distance another 100 meters. Every time a switch is added, so is latency. If those services had to be extended for the full length of an average hyperscale data center it could mean three or more extensions.

To get a single connection beyond that distance requires fiber, which can be a great solution that results in minimal latency. Not to mention that transporting data over fiber has an inherent security benefit, which is not critical, but added security can never hurt.

Media Conversion

At Transition Networks, we offer simple, secure and innovative solutions to ensure reliable connectivity to, and within, the data center, that uses existing infrastructure.

Our media converters allow enterprises to extend data center services over fiber without having to add additional switching technology within those links and without the latency that is introduced with Ethernet switches.

Transition Networks offers a variety of media converters, including copper-to-copper, copper-to-fiber and fiber-to-fiber with 1G and 10G connections. While many enterprise data centers find 1G to be adequate, 10G is coming on strong. With 10G there are further limitations on the distance with legacy copper cabling, so a repeater can be used to avoid upgrading the cabling.

Iron Mountain

One data center that Transition Networks has successfully worked with is Iron Mountain. The company stores critical financial, insurance, healthcare, government and other highly-regulated customer data in its facilities. So, the ability to provide standard, repeatable and consistent data center services that are also very secure and easy to manage is a top priority for the company as well as crucial for its customers.

Through its adoption of Transition Networks’ media converters, Iron Mountain has a more versatile and secure fiber integration system in place enabling them to manage services for their customers more rapidly, comprehensively and consistently. Iron Mountain now has more flexibility and scalability, allowing the company to cost-effectively move a variety of circuits around an entire campus, reaching long distances and across a network infrastructure, all while meeting the company’s high security standard.

Iron Mountain chose Transition Networks’ Managed ION 19 Slot Chassis, an intelligent, high-density, multi-protocol system supporting a variety of network interface devices. An end-to-end fiber integration solution can be achieved by connecting a module in a high-density ION chassis with either a module in another ION chassis or a stand-alone Transition Networks’ media converter.

Learn more about by visiting the Iron Mountain case study.

Partnering with Transition Networks for Success

As you evaluate your technology solutions and service providers for 2020, contact Transition Networks to learn how we provide simple, secure and innovative solutions to ensure reliable connectivity to, and within, the data center, using your existing infrastructure.

The post Media Converters Enable Hyperscale Data Center Extension Using Existing Infrastructure appeared first on Lantronix.

According to Wikipedia, Digital Transformation is the use of new, fast and frequently changing digital technology to solve problems often using cloud computing and SaaS (Software-as-a-Service).

This definition in itself sounds quite straight forward and in today’s business world is critical to every kind of business, but Dell Technologies [1] surveyed 4,600 business leaders across 40+ countries to delve deeper into what the landscape looks like for most industries.  Here are a few key takeaways:

• 91% of business are facing persistent barriers to digital transformation
• 78% say digital transformation should be more widespread within their organization
• 51% will struggle to meet customer demands in 5 years
• 49% worry their organization won’t prove trustworthy in 5 years

These numbers provide a sobering account of the concerns of business leaders, but what are the barriers in digital transformation that drive these concerns. Lets take a look at them:

1. Data Privacy and security concerns
2. Lack of budget and resources
3. Lack of the right in-house skill sets and expertise
4. Regulation and legislative changes
5. Immature digital culture

In this blog, we plan to address the expanding network traffic flow challenges created by many industry’s digital transformation plans and focus on a few of these concerns.

Digital Transformation is heavily dependant upon cloud computing, physical computing, location, data partitioning and scaling to communicate data, whether through SaaS or IaaS(Infrastructure-as-a-Service), as well as SD-Wan (software-defined networking in a wide area network) which simplifies the management and operation of a WAN by decoupling the networking hardware from its control mechanism.

Gartner analysis shows the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for SaaS and IaaS will grow at 17% and 27% respectively through 2022, and that is the critical driver for SD-WAN technology.  In its own right, SD-WAN will enjoy a 30% CAGR through 2022.  As a result, enterprise traffic flows will continue to shift from on-premise data centers to an external cloud.  In turn, this will create non-centralized traffic flows that the WAN architecture was never designed to support.  This new shift means that in a cloud or internet integrated WAN it makes the legacy system look expensive, perform poorly with increased latency and does not scale well.

Customers tell us that not a day goes by where a new request isn’t coming into the IT function for new resources, whether it be providing computing, storage, and networking support for a new software roll-out, that is if shadow IT doesn’t just deploy it without notice.

We are led to believe that deploying another SaaS application across the business (offices, campuses, or remote locations across the country or indeed the world) is straight forward.  Digital Transformation is sold to us on the basis that in addition to efficiencies via automation, new types of innovation and creativity will enhance and support traditional methods…sure it will!  The trouble is by shifting the network traffic flow outside the core network and putting more emphasis on a distributed architecture it means our customers are moving away from expensive, traditional MPLS and instead using Direct Internet Access (DIA)/SD-WAN as part of a hybrid WAN in order to support mission-critical applications with high quality such as voice or video.

As the network is decentralized and traffic flows change, more reliance is put onto remote sites to be able to resolve technical issues themselves. And unless a simple power cycle fixes the problem, the business will suffer.

Digital Transformation is indeed being heralded as ‘the king’s new clothes,’ BUT with all the innovation and new business models technology can support, we always come back to one consistent observation.  Which is whatever network architecture is being utilized, especially a decentralized SD-WAN, our customers need a way to connect, monitor, manage, and repair the network should a network outage occur.

Inspite of all the decentralization of network traffic flow and the use of SaaS and other cloud-based technology to drive digital transformation without the network, you’re done.  Andrew Learner, Research VP at Gartner, says that a network outage can cost as much as $5600 per minute depending on the severity of the outage.  To prevent network outages and be able to resolve network issues as they come up, an Out of Band (OOB), Advanced Console Manager can help. [2]

Advanced Console Managers provide your IT infrastructure with streamlined remote management of network, server, and power, in data centers, branch offices, and remote sites, ensuring business continuity and secure reliable access to your network traffic flow. Console managers need security to include options for special audit logging, self-terminating security strings and instant remote access to network equipment.

Lantronix sees our customer’s digital transformation challenges as critical stepping stones to their overall success. With Lantronix Out of Band solutions such as the SLC 8000 modular console server and SLB for branch offices, along with introducing the newest member to our line the EMG™ Edge Management gateway, a small form factor console server, Lantronix can provide your infrastructure with the network readiness to handle the digital initiatives of transformation to secure business success.

To learn more about the OOBM solutions that Lantronix offers and how we can assist you as your business embraces the challenges and rewards of digital transformation, check out our solutions here.

[1] Dell Technologies, Competing in a Hyper-Digital World – June 2018

[2] Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Center Networking – July 2019

The post Digital Transformation Driving Shift in Networking Traffic Flows – Are You Ready? appeared first on Lantronix.

Intrinsyc Technologies offers many leading-edge development kits featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon^TM processor. One of the new capabilities introduced in some of their latest processors is a hardware-based Secure Processing Unit (SPU). This new feature is available in the Qualcomm SDA845, used on Intrinsyc’s new Open-Q™ 845 µSOM, as well as the Snapdragon 8551, which is available for testing and evaluation on the Snapdragon 855 Hardware Development Kit.

Secure processing is important in many areas, including authentication of software to ensure it is an authorized, trusted software image, as well as important key management used by many software systems including Android2.

An SPU is an independent processor subsystem and boot chain for hardened security applications, with its own CPU, memories, and cryptographic engine to provide cryptographic services to other subsystems.

The SPU hardware is a dedicated subsystem that provides an independent boot-loader and boot chain, dedicated clock, hardware-based anti-replay protection, key management unit, and a crypto management unit with inline accelerators. Operating condition sensors are integrated into the subsystem to prevent power attacks. Side-channel resistant cryptographic algorithm implementation includes masking and blinding. SPU is Common Criteria EAL 4+ certifiable, and the SPU’s ARM SC-300-based CPU is not susceptible to the recently published melt down and spectre attacks.

As mentioned by Qualcomm3, there are many capabilities for secure processing. These can include using the above dedicated hardware for authentication of operational software to enable confidence in numerous security-critical applications, including financial transaction validation.

The following are the key features of the SPU:

• Key management unit
• Crypto management unit with inline secured hash algorithm/advanced encryption standard (SHA/AES) accelerators
• Random number generator (RNG)
• Anti-replay protection
• Physical protection counter measures

The SPU adds a new root of trust for SPU applications and it provides a distinct security domain independent of the rest of the system and mutually distrustful of all other domains. To maintain the highest level of security the Snapdragon SPU is a closed environment. As a Qualcomm Partner and licensee, Intrinsyc Technologies is uniquely positioned to help develop and deploy SPU applications in concert with Qualcomm’s support team.

The SPU on Snapdragon 845 and Snapdragon 855 SoC’s incorporates a secure hardware subsystem that is independent but yet integrated with the system-on-chip (SoC). This reduces the cost associated with a discrete secure element (SE) component and extends security capabilities beyond the already available traditional Trustzone and Qualcomm Secure Execution Environments. Flexible key storage in hardware-backed (Trustzone or SPU) options enables solutions supporting public and private key generation, management, signing, and verification.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors support a plethora of security capabilities4. With the new option of the SPU, this gives one even greater level of security with independent, secure storage and data management.

[1] https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2018/12/05/qualcomm-announces-new-flagship-snapdragon-855-mobile-platform-new-decade
[2] https://source.android.com/security/keystore
[3] https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2018/03/08/how-can-snapdragon-845-guard-your-smartphone-data-vault
[4] https://www.qualcomm.com/media/documents/files/guard-your-data-with-the-qualcomm-snapdragon-mobile-platform.pdf

The post Secure Processing Unit on the Qualcomm SDA845 SoC appeared first on Lantronix.

We’re pleased to share that our Self-Enclosed Managed Hardened Gigabit Ethernet PoE++ Switch (Self-Enclosed Switch) has received a 2019 IoT Evolution Product of the Year Award from IoT Evolution World magazine, part of the TMC media company.

The award honors the best and most innovative products and solutions powering the Internet of Things (IoT). Nominated solutions were judged by the editors of IoT Evolution World magazine.

The Self-Enclosed Switch is innovative in its ability to enable exciting smart city applications by delivering connectivity and power in a form factor that takes into consideration the remote outdoor locations of the sensors, cameras, and other systems located throughout a smart city. The Self-Enclosed Switch was designed to make connecting, powering and managing these devices simple, with innovative features that offer a ready, set, go user experience.

Here are some of the key features that caught the eye of the judges at IoT Evolution World:

All-in-One Design:  The switch simplifies nearly every aspect of the user experience, saving users time and expense from planning and purchasing through installation and maintaining connected networks. Its unique self-enclosed design includes the outdoor-rated cabinet, switch, power and surge protection, eliminating the need to identify, procure and assemble all these individual components and make sure they work together as intended.

Scan and Go Configuration: The switch can be configured on a user-friendly app that allows the user to simply open the switch’s shipping box, scan a mobile device (tablet or phone) with a near-field communication (NFC) reader over the NFC tag target on the top cover of the switch and the configuration details are transferred into the switch. No connection is needed and no power is required for configuring; and no unpacking and re-packing is necessary prior to shipping to the installation site. Because smart city applications could need thousands of switches, simply opening the box, scanning the device and closing the box for configuration in just seconds could shave days or weeks off the installation process.

Bluetooth Remote Troubleshooting: The switch also allows users to control and make changes to these devices remotely through its Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio. This incorporated radio allows the user to troubleshoot the switch from a service vehicle on the ground and change settings or even reboot the switch through the same mobile app that allowed the user to pre-configure the switch prior to installation.

Remote Reboot with Auto Power Reset (APR): Remotely rebooting the power on connected devices can fix a lot of simple problems associated with network downtime. With APR, the switch eliminates unnecessary service calls for simple power failures or provides the data needed to make those unavoidable service calls more efficient. Additionally, the ability to set schedules for providing power to connected devices only when needed can save energy costs.

The Self-Enclosed Switch sets a new standard for usability, performance and features.  We’re thrilled it has been recognized by IoT Evolution World.

“Congratulations to recipients of 2019 IoT Product of the Year Awards,” said Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC, publisher of IoT Evolution World. “It is one of the most rewarding parts of our jobs at IoT Evolution World to recognize the latest innovative products and solutions in the exploding IoT market. With our partners at Crossfire Media, we all look forward to seeing their future successes!”

Winners of the 2019 IoT Product of the Year Award were announced online and highlighted on IoT Evolution World.

The post Transition Networks’ Self-Enclosed Switch Wins Product of the Year! appeared first on Lantronix.

A key factor in our company’s continued ability to deliver on this commitment is the successful implementation of Lean Six Sigma.

In 2016, Transition Networks embraced a corporate Lean Six Sigma initiative. Lean Six Sigma combines two methods, Lean and Six Sigma, each with a focus on improving organizational processes. Lean is a method of team collaboration to reduce eight different forms of waste: defects, over-production, waiting, non-utilized talent, transportation, inventory, motion and extra processing.

Six Sigma uses a data-driven strategy for determining improvements via the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) process. Lean Six Sigma is a fact based approach that results in quality improvements that last and are driven by the active participation of employees. Our program started with over 40 employees trained as Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belts. The training for this is belt-based, much like judo or karate, beginning with white belt and ending with black belt.

This collaborative methodology not only improves our company culture, it has also been instrumental in helping us achieve a 99.5% customer acceptance rating on our products and a 9.23 out of 10 Net Promoter Score, an index which measures customer experience and loyalty.

At Transition Networks, our program is focused on all areas of the organization, with a goal of ongoing employee development to ensure continued success in delivering exceptional customer service, high quality products and innovation.  When employees are part of the solution, they are empowered to contribute ideas and encouraged to participate in initiatives to help us improve. Through our Lean Six Sigma journey, we’ve seen how participation fosters energy and passion throughout the organization resulting in a strong corporate culture.

In 2018, David Allton, Transition Networks’ VP of International Sales was certified as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, after an extensive training over a period of three months.

He sees numerous benefits to his training for himself and Transition Networks. “I love analyzing data – I thrive on constant adjustment to improve our operational performance,” said Allton. “I believe the Lean Six Sigma program helps Transition Networks’ employees be open about the challenges that they face, but also be part of the solution, creating a more open and positive working environment.”

Transition Networks has trained all employees to be Lean Six Sigma White Belt certified and many have gone on to get their yellow, green and black belt certifications. Our guiding values call us to create quality products, provide spectacular customer service and embrace continuous innovation. Transition Networks’ investment in Lean Six Sigma helps us achieve these goals on a daily basis and determine improvements to strengthen our future.

For more information on Transition Networks’ corporate values and its commitment to quality, performance and pricing, visit our Vision and Values page.

The post The Power of Continuous Improvement: Superior Products, Service and Culture appeared first on Lantronix.

With July offering celebrations for Independence around the world, from some well-known celebrations like the 4th of July in the USA to Bastille Day in France to the lesser-known celebrations of independence in Suriname, Laos, Rwanda, and Burundi just to name a few, the month seems to epitomize that sense of independence. But what about the data center? Yes, the data center, which is the center of many business’s universe; is it time to declare independence?

Well, let’s look at what data centers and remote sites are experiencing in 2019 with the help of the Uptime Institute’s recent survey and if independence is a possibility or a pipe-dream:

• Enterprise computing environments continue to grow more complex, and IT system failures and network errors are bringing down data centers in increasing numbers. Recent survey results show an increase from 2017 with 2018’s increase in outage’s having severe financial consequences.
• This sector is facing a staffing crisis. Uptime noted that 61% of their 1,100 survey participants had significant difficulty retaining or recruiting staff.

Increase in outages and staffing issues bring concerns about the data center into clear view.

Data Center Outage Severity

Let’s delve deeper into the outage issue with Uptime Institute, who has created a scale to understand the severity of data center outages that will also help you plan for the expected and unexpected.

Data Center Outage Severity Scale

Having a scale to understand the severity of an outage is an excellent start to building a plan to handle outages and minimize their impact on your operation. We also need to understand what causes outages. Again, Network World and the Uptime Research Institute provide a three-year analysis of Data Center Outages. (see graphic)

Data Center Outages

In 2018, two-thirds of outages were network and IT-related, which Uptime Research sees as a major change from past years. “It’s the interconnectedness of things. That’s why the big uptick in network outages is causing disruption,” Todd Traver, Uptime Institute’s vice president of IT optimization and strategy said of the 2018 spike. “Things are connected across not one or two sites, but three or four sites or more. Network is playing a bigger and bigger role in IT resilience.”

Lantronix sees this issue as a concern, but with some reasonable fixes, this can be a manageable issue.

Can outages be stopped?
No, but by using a dedicated out-of-band management network, can be a more secure and resilient approach to managing a network infrastructure as it can function even during data traffic congestion, a device glitch or network attacks. A console server in the data center, such as Lantronix SLC 8000, can be implemented with a separate dedicated network to access the network devices in case the primary network goes down.
Remote sites and branch offices also need to be part of this out-of-band network and ensure network and business continuity and remediate issues with automatic failover to a secondary network. The Lantronix SLB is a hybrid appliance combining a console manager and a PDU that provides real-time visibility and control over branch office IT equipment securely and quickly, without ever leaving your desk. This plan helps mitigate the outage issues in the data center but also addresses the second major concern in the data center: staffing.

As noted in the survey was a staffing crisis in the data center. Uptime noted that 61% of their 1,100 survey participants stated they had significant difficulty retaining or recruiting staff. The leading area of expertise that is particularly critical and yet difficult to hire for is operations and management, according to more than 50 percent of respondents. Finding people who have adequate skills in security, networking, electrical engineering, and cloud skills is also an issue. The survey numbers speak for themselves. (See graphic)

Data Center Skills Shortage

The challenge of doing more with less is not a new concept; qualified, skilled people are always needed in key areas of the data center and will continue to be needed in the foreseeable future. Though efficiencies can be made with management software that improves response time with a small staff to limiting truck rolls to remote or branch site all can be an attainable objective.

ConsoleFlow is Lantronix’s on-premise and cloud-hosted management software that provides centralized management and automated monitoring of all deployed Lantronix Console Managers and connected IT assets, along with real-time notifications, managed APIs, and data visualization dashboards. For even more efficiency, ConsoleFlow’s native iOS and Android mobile applications provide users an added level of convenience for monitoring their IT assets from anywhere at any time. This feature allows you to get instant status and access your remote equipment conveniently from your smartphone.

Now back to declaring independence in the data center! Whether we can gain full independence from the threat of data center outages seems unlikely, but with planning and the proper level of mitigation, you can decrease your downtime and, in many cases, prevent an outage before it becomes one.
What we can celebrate during these July celebrations of independence across the globe is the data centers, branch offices and remote sites have choices to improve their efficiencies and isn’t that want independence is all about – the freedom to choose.
Click here to learn more about Lantronix’s  cutting edge Out of Band Management solutions.

Related Articles:
https://www.networkworld.com/article/3400086/data-center-workloads-become-more-complex-despite-promises-to-the-contrary.html
https://www.networkworld.com/article/3373646/network-problems-responsible-for-more-data-center-outages.html?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Title%3A%20Network%20issues%20are%20causing%20more%20data-center%20outages&utm_campaign=Networkworld%20Daily%20News%20Alert&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Daily%20News%20Alert&utm_date=20190522163011

The post 2 Reasons to Review your Data Center Plan!! appeared first on Lantronix.

One of the questions that many of our customers and partners ask in relation to out-of-band management for their networking infrastructure is what the difference between the dedicated management port and the console port on some of their networking infrastructure equipment are? To answer that question lets go back to the basics of networking.

There are 3 planes defined in the networking infrastructure world: Data Plane, Control Plane, and Management Plane.

• Data Plane is where the use traffic flows and include forwarded frames and packets that contain user data.
• Control Plane is where the routing information and protocols that control the flow if the user data in the data plane reside.
• Management Plane is where the configuration traffic such as the commands to configure the switches and routers reside.

Now managing a network infrastructure can be done in two ways, one is known as in-band network management, where the in-band management traffic uses the same data plane as used by data traffic on the networking device. Another, more resilient way for managing networking devices, is using a dedicated out-of-band management network, where the management of network devices operate on a management plane that is separate from the data plane. And that is where the two different ports (management port, which is typically an Ethernet port and console port, which is always a serial port) come in.

OOBM is a more secure and resilient approach to managing a network infrastructure as it can function even during data traffic congestion, a device glitch or network attacks.  A management port can be used for remote management and configuration of a networking device, where as the Console Port can be used, in conjunction with a console server, such as Lantronix SLC 8000, to implement a separate dedicated network to access the network devices in case the primary network goes down.

A user in this case can access the console ports of a Cisco switch, via a console server using a secondary network such as LTE or Wi-Fi and be able to remotely access the device to remediate issues or to quarantine devices affected by cyber-attacks. You can configure up to 15 simultaneous users to connect to a Console Port.

Some of the difference between the two ports are summarized in the table below:

It is important to note that the use of a dedicated out-of-band network using the console port is on the rise in the recent past due to increase in network attacks, and domestic and foreign cyber threats to critical network infrastructure.  In fact the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and is the nation’s risk advisor, issued a security tip less than a year ago (ST18-001) recommending organizations, small and large, to implement dedicated out-of-band management solutions in order to substantially increase the resiliency of their networks.

CISA, recognizes that OoB management can be implemented physically, virtually, or through a hybrid of the two. Although additional physical network infrastructure additional infrastructure is required to implement and maintain a dedicated physical OoB management network, it is the most secure option for network managers to adopt.

Below are some additional recommendations on best practices for your network infrastructure security:

• Segregate standard network traffic from management traffic.
• Ensure that management traffic on devices comes only from OoB.
• Apply encryption to all management channels.
• Encrypt all remote access to infrastructure devices such as terminal or dial-in servers.
• Manage all administrative functions from a dedicated, fully patched host over a secure channel, preferably on OoB.
• Harden network management devices by testing patches, turning off unnecessary services on routers and switches, and enforcing strong password policies. Monitor the network and review logs. Implement access controls that only permit required administrative or management services (e.g., SNMP, Network Time Protocol, Secure Shell, FTP, Trivial File Transfer Protocol, RDP, SMB).

The post What’s the difference between a Console Port and a Management Port? appeared first on Lantronix.

Most System-On-Modules (SOM) now available include some kind of wireless connectivity, most often in the form of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Despite the low cost and ubiquity of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, the required certification process for these radios is very complex, expensive, and time consuming. For someone developing a new product based around a SOM there are many advantages to choosing a production-ready SOM that is pre-certified with a modular radio transmitter certification.

This article provides some background information on the FCC modular certification process, as well as it’s requirements and limitations. It also describes the advantages for product designers and provides an overview of Intrinsyc’s SOMs that have modular certification.

Background on FCC Modular Certification

The FCC and some other jurisdictions (see later section below) have a mechanism to certify an unlicensed radio transmitter as a self-contained transmitter module that is meant to be integrated into a host device (usually an end-user product). This allows the transmitter module to be tested and certified only once and then integrated into an unlimited number of different products, whether by the same manufacturer or different manufacturers. Once the transmitter module has a modular certification it receives its own FCC ID number which can be used for any product FCC certification by listing the module FCC ID on the label along with the product’s FCC ID.

Since the modular certification only covers the radio transmitter, the product using the module still requires FCC testing and certification for non-intentional radiator emissions, just like electronic products without a radio transmitter. Compared to the intentional radiator emissions testing required for a radio transmitter, the non-intentional emissions testing is much less complex, less time consuming, and less expensive. For the product developer, using a pre-certified module means reduced NRE and a quicker time to market with a new product.

For those interested in the details of the FCC modular certification you can review the FCC documents listed in the references below.

Modular Certification Process

Due to the incredible complexity of today’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth solutions, certification testing requires a lot of lab time to test every possible mode and frequency band of the radio transmitters. For a modern Wi-Fi/Bluetooth solution with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac plus Bluetooth classic and Bluetooth low energy the radio must be tested in many different modes with each mode also having multiple data rates to test. In addition, for each mode/data rate combination, it must be tested on the low, middle, and high channels. All these combinations must be tested to find the worst-case emissions for each mode and then these are measured and documented for the test report. This typically takes two to four weeks by an accredited lab to complete the testing and test report generation.

Following that the filing with FCC is done and after some waiting, often questions come back about the test report or application, requiring review and revisions. This process can take many weeks before the final certification is granted by the FCC. The total time is typically eight to ten weeks from first day in the lab until receiving the FCC certification.

The lab and filing fees for this process typically costs between $20,000 and $40,000, depending on the type of Wi-Fi – single-band, dual-band, ac modes, MIMO, etc. In addition, there is a significant effort required by the radio module manufacturer to provide support to the test lab and prepare all the required documentation for the FCC filing. This will require an engineer familiar with radio testing and certification issues.

Advantages of a Pre-certified SOM

So, the advantages of using a pre-certified SOM in your product design are:

• Save $20,000 to $40,000 in lab and certification fees
• No requirement for a radio certification expert on staff
• Save the labor costs associated with a certification engineer to support the testing and preparation of documentation
• Save time at the end of the product development process which means a faster time to market.

Modular Certification Requirements and Limitations

There are strict requirements imposed by the FCC on a radio transmitter module design in order to obtain a modular transmitter certification. These are described in detail in reference [1], and a few of them are discussed below.

The restrictions imposed by the FCC on a radio module design are all meant to keep the radio module operating within compliance no matter what type of host product it finds itself in. These are things like having power supply regulation on-board, using buffered data inputs, and containing the high frequency portions of the radio inside a shield, among other things. These requirements are meant to prevent a host device from having a detrimental effect on the transmitter module due to things like a noisy power source, incorrect data inputs, or radiated noise that could mix in the transmitter and cause extra spurious emissions.

One key thing to note is that these requirements are absolute for modular certification, whether the radio module needs them to function or not. The shield requirement, for example, is an interesting one because most modern Wi-Fi/BT chips are highly integrated and do not require a shield to function properly. Many would even pass FCC spurious emissions regulations without any kind of shield – yet the rules for the modular certification still require the RF portion to have a shield. This means that if you are comparing SOMs or any other type of radio transmitter module it is easy to see whether it has a shield or not. If it has no shield then it certainly cannot have a modular certification.

In addition to the requirements placed on the module manufacturer to obtain the modular certification, there are also certain restrictions placed on an “integrator” who is designing such a module into his host product. This means that a modular certification may not be the right solution for every product design, but due to the advantages described above, it is very worthwhile to try to make use of it.

One of the requirements on the module manufacturer is that they provide integrators with sufficient documentation describing these restrictions so that they can be sure that the module operates within compliance after it is integrated into the host product. The document must describe things such as the labelling requirements for the product and limitations on the type of antennas that can be used. The labelling requirements are quite straightforward, but the antenna limitations are more complex and warrant a more detailed discussion.

Antenna Restrictions

When a radio transmitter module is tested for modular certification the manufacturer must provide an antenna(s) to test the product with. They must also provide the antenna specifications including antenna type and maximum gain for each frequency band being used. The details of the antenna(s) used is included in the test report and FCC/IC applications. The modular certification is then only valid if the radio module is used with an antenna of the same type and equal or lower maximum gain as the antenna it was certified with.

A modular certification can include multiple different types of antennas if the certification testing is performed with the multiple antennas. This requires more testing time to perform measurements with each different antenna but will provide more flexibility to a product integrator using the module.

The details of the allowable antenna type(s) and maximum gain must be specified in the “Integrator’s Guide” document so that users of the radio module know what antenna(s) they can use to maintain a valid modular certification.

If the certified antenna options are not suitable for a specific product design there are two options for obtaining certification.

Option one is to not use the modular certification at all and do a complete certification at the product level. The product will then obtain its own FCC ID that includes the radio transmitter functionality and all the other FCC non-intentional emissions requirements too. This means that the complete set of radio tests must be done and most of the advantages of using a modular certified SOM will not be used. It will add considerable time and cost to the product certification process. The only advantage will be the knowledge that the SOM should be able to pass the certification testing so long as the antenna used does not have a higher gain than that used for the modular certification. If the antenna gain is higher the radio may fail certain tests and could require a reduction of transmit power to pass.

The other option is to add a new antenna type to the modular certification by applying for a “class 2 permissive change” (C2PC). This must be done by the owner of the modular certification and can then be used by any integrator that designs a product with the module. The process for this is to complete a limited set of testing with the new antenna to prove that it still passes the regulatory limits without any modification to the radio module and then apply for the C2PC to add the new antenna to the modular certification. This method requires less testing than the full certification and therefore costs less, although it is not insignificant.

Modular Certification in Other Jurisdictions

Although the FCC modular certification covers products sold in the United States, what about other parts of the world? The only country that has an equivalent system for transmitter modular certification is Canada. The body that governs this in Canada is called “Industry Canada” or IC and the certification has pretty well identical requirements to the FCC. The applications for both can be done with the same test report.

Unfortunately, most other parts of the world do not have anything like the FCC and IC modular certification. One other country that does have a similar process is Japan although the requirements are somewhat different than the FCC and IC.

Most other parts of the world require that the device be fully tested at the product level in order to obtain the required certification. That said, if a SOM has an FCC modular certification it provides some confidence that the radio part should pass other country’s regulations.

Intrinsyc’s Pre-certified SOMs

Intrinsyc Technologies manufactures and sells a wide range of SOMs with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and many of them are pre-certified with the FCC and Industry Canada as a modular radio transmitter. Below is a summary of Intrinsyc’s pre-certified SOMs at the time of publishing.

The Open-Q 820 SOM, 820 µSOM, 624A SOM, 212A SOM, and the Open-X 8M all include a pre-certified Wi-Fi/BT module.

The Open-Q 410 SOM includes a chip-on-board Wi-Fi/BT solution and has modular Wi-Fi/BT certification in North America as well as Japan.

The Open-Q 626 SOM also has a chip-on-board solution supporting dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi and BT and Intrinsyc recently obtained FCC/IC modular certification for this SOM.

Intrinsyc is currently in the process of obtaining FCC/IC modular certification for the Open-Q 835 µSOM and expects to complete this within the next two months.

Intrinsyc’s RF and Certification Services

Intrinsyc has experienced RF and certification engineers on staff to help customers with any antenna integration or certification issues they may have. We can provide complete product design services or consulting on antenna design, integration, and certification issues.

Author: Russell Fretenburg            Product Manager, Intrinsyc Technologies

References

1. FCC 996369 D01 Module Equip Auth Guide v02: https://apps.fcc.gov/kdb/GetAttachment.html?id=iL3CDxZIRRPc1UBc25AGsQ%3D%3D&desc=996369%20D01%20Module%20Certification%20Guide%20v02&tracking_number=44637
2. FCC 996369 D02 Module Q and A v01: https://apps.fcc.gov/kdb/GetAttachment.html?id=vwCq9pC68KkaN6E7YFmWHA%3D%3D&desc=996369%20D02%20Module%20Q&A%20v01&tracking_number=44637
3. FCC Part 15.212: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2009-title47-vol1/pdf/CFR-2009-title47-vol1-sec15-212.pdf
4. FCC part 15.247: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2013-title47-vol1/pdf/CFR-2013-title47-vol1-sec15-247.pdf

The post The Advantages of a Wi-Fi Pre-certified SOM appeared first on Lantronix.

International Data Corporation (IDC) announced earlier this year the LTE Routers/Gateways market would grow from $804 million worldwide in 2018 to $1.9 billion by 2022 which represents a compound annual growth rate+ (CAGR) of 27.4%.  They also reconfirmed that North America would continue to lead in the consumption of LTE routers/gateways but recognized that Asia/Pacific would grow the fastest overall in all regions.

Why is the IDC forecasting the LTE router/gateway market globally uptake? Why is the uptake in forecast focused on the enterprise space? These and other questions will be explored in this blog.

These gateways have been around for almost a decade with a large presence in consumer markets, but more recently the market is seeing a strong uptake in enterprise applications.  But first, let’s look at Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Routers, and how LTE connectivity works in the enterprise.

LTE Routers are an evolution of the cellular connectivity that historically provided Internet access to your cellular phone. LTE is a standard for wireless broadband communications for mobile devices and data terminals, based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA technologies.

LTE connection speeds improved dramatically and are now capable of providing connectivity throughput that make them a viable option for enterprise data center or branch offices. This performance factor is enabling applications in many vertical markets; including healthcare, food processing, retail and financial sectors.

Whether in the data center or branch office/remote site an LTE router offers temporary(backup) or permanent internet connectivity.  In many instances, an LTE router can be used as a temporary internet connectivity solution when the primary network infrastructure is not available.  In permanent or primary situations small or mid-sized operations may opt for LTE connectivity due to a lack of wired connectivity options or because of the flexibility that a wireless connection provides.

So now that you understand the basics of LTE connectivity let’s look at some factors we see in the enterprise that support this growth rate and where your organization can benefit from utilizing LTE routers in your data center, branch office, or remote site.

SD-WAN Deployment – the rationale for SD-WAN deployment in your branch offices are numerous from saving money to improving reliability just to name a few. Considering the increase in data traffic, improving uptimes and the complexity of networks in the enterprise the need for an SD-WAN deployment to offer IT personnel a solution to connectivity management is obvious.  Utilizing a full-featured LTE router/gateway for failover and failback to maintain internet connections is an important safeguard to our IT operation and compliments an SD-WAN deployment

Data centers are comprised of mission-critical components such as routers, switches, KVM’s, servers, storage and appliances that serve as the backbone of your IT infrastructure. Having a secondary network access and control to the data center, and its network infrastructure is called Out-of-Band Management. Every data center and remote site should have a dedicated out-of-band network to improve overall network resiliency, performance, support upgrades and local network repairs, and reduce response times for outages. LTE routers are part of the Out-of-Band Management (OOBM) solution and provide the cellular OOBM for remotely troubleshooting and restoring enterprise IT equipment through functions called failover and failback.

What are failover and failback? And why it is important?

Failover is a protective feature that switches over your primary operations on a computer server or entire data center to a redundant standby system or network through a cellular LTE router.

Failback is the reverse of the Failover process.  The failback recovery operation restores operations to your primary operating system and re-synchronizes the data after your primary operation has been restored, again using a cellular LTE router.

By definition, these failover and failback operations are critically important in the performance of a data center, remote site or branch office.  But wait there is more…

It makes good sense to equip your data center with the tools to prevent or minimize downtime, but there are financial reasons as well. Research Firm Gartner has sited that downtime in the data center costs on average $5,600 a minute or $300,000 for a network outage lasting a single hour!! The increase in the LTE router/gateway market is no surprise, and the need for LTE connectivity in your data center or remote sites should be considered.

To help you in incorporating LTE connectivity into your data center operations, our Sr. Field Application Engineer, Jeff Blyther has penned an Application Note on “Using an LTE Cellular Gateway for Failover/Failback”. In this Application Note you will get a detailed review of how Lantronix SLC8000 and SLB console managers allow you to automatically manage failover and failback, for your peace of mind! Our products will keep monitoring your primary network and seamlessly failover to a secondary LTE connection when the primary link’s performance is decreasing, and the failback when the primary link is restored.

Lantronix, as an OOBM industry leader, recognizes the changing IT infrastructure environment and recognizes the need for secure and reliable connectivity equipment. We offer a full range of OOBM products for the data center and branch office including a full feature LTE Connectivity Kit.  Check out all our OOBM products here.

The post LTE Routers for Enterprise Failover and Failback appeared first on Lantronix.

The post Intelligent Edge Computing using FastCV and SNPE on Snapdragon-based Platforms appeared first on Lantronix.

The ritual of returning to the mecca of the embedded world once again took place in Nurenburg, Germany in late February at the 17^th annual Embedded World 2019 exhibition and conference (EW19).  The organizers deemed it a great success, and the numbers bear that out.  They reported over 31,000 trade show visitors (2^nd best attendance since the inception of the event), who represented 1,117 companies and 46 countries from around the world.  Quite a good turn out and it speaks well to the health of the embedded community worldwide.

Lantronix, as a leading global manufacturer of wired and wireless connectivity devices, was there in force and saw the event as a great opportunity to speak with present and future customers and partners.  At any event of this size and magnitude, it is important to review some of the trends we saw during this 3-day event.

As background, Thomas Insights published their 5 Key Trends for Embedded Systems in 2019 in December 2018, this assessment of the trends in the embedded system market included improved security for embedded devices, cloud conductivity, visualizations in real time, optimization for lower energy consumption and deep learning.

Did these trends dominate the Embedded World event or have other emerging trends take center stage? Let’s review what we saw and heard!

1. Security – it does not take a soothsayer to ascertain that security of both hardware and software is a major concern for all manufacturers and their customers. EW19 showcased this fact in their “Safety and Security Area” as well as many vendor booths` throughout the exhibit floor.

Many companies showed their concern and approach. Lantronix has been in this industry since it began and sees the multilayer approach to IoT security the most effective way to secure your data whether in motion or at rest.  The three components of this approach are access control, certificate storage and secure boot which we showcased at EW19. If you are interested in a “deeper dive” into our multilayered approach, I recommend downloading our whitepaper, “Security in the Age of IoT.”

2. Industry 4.0 – the prevailing buzz word in our industry is taking shape as many companies develop a new approach to address the need for automation and data exchange in manufacturing. Though Thomas Insights did not call out the digital transformation that the German Government coined in 2012 as Industrie 4.0, a couple of their trends fit within this category. Industry 4.0 principle technologies (IoT, cloud connectivity, horizontal and vertical integration, cybersecurity and additive manufacturing) were clearly in abundance at EW19.

In this area, Lantronix showcased our XPort product family of embedded ethernet modules and gateways with a particular focus on the newest member of the family the XPort EDGE which embodies the Industry 4.0 principles of security, cloud connectivity and ease of integration.

3. Real-Time Monitoring – The industry is working on real-time monitoring and visualization tools that will give engineers, field technicians and support teams, the ability to monitor and troubleshoot system As IoTForAll reports the data generated by over 8.4 billion IoT devices around the globe is largely underutilized.

EW19 offered many examples of centralized monitoring and management tools with a strong focus on Open Source Software, especially Linux, but also FreeBSD, and NetBSD just to name a few. Lantronix demonstrated its Mach10 IoT Device Management platform in a warehouse environment (new video coming soon).   MACH10 integrates with Lantronix embedded gateway modules as well as OEM devices and offers your team operational visibility to valuable device system telemetry data and typical device management functions such as FOTA (Firmware Over the Air updates). Making a production ready and out-of-box real-time monitoring and management a reality.

4. Edge Intelligence – Industrial enterprises are quickly recognizing that the ever-increasing flow of data for millions of connected devices must be managed more efficiently in order to reduce costs, optimize information utilization, and improve business performance – and that the “Cloud” cannot be the only answer to their data management needs. Many companies, including Lantronix, were demonstrating their hardware and software solutions that can enable intelligence at the edge while maintaining built-in support for device management, security, cloud connectivity, and applications.

5. Internet of Everything – Another key focus at EW19 was an explosion of major verticals carving out their own versions of IoT. Automotive to test & measurement verticals were able to find cloud-based engineering solutions from a myriad of vendors. But the Industrial vertical is still king in the IoT world.

Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) leverages the power of smart machines and real-time analytics to take advantage of the data that dumb machines have produced.  Some of the key factors in IIoT develop are long life support, total cost of ownership, performance, and certification. Products such as our xPico family take into consideration all of these development concerns and more.

At EW19, Lantronix announced the next generation to its popular xPico 200 family, the xPico 270 (802.11ac) delivers seamless and secure Ethernet, WI-FI and Bluetooth connectivity in the smallest form factor in the industry. To learn more about Lantronix, our products showcased at EW19 and the IIoT space, in general, check out this interview with VP of Marketing, Shahram Mehraban filmed on the exhibit floor at Embedded World 2019.

With EW19 now completed and our analysis of the event from an embedded systems manufacturer point of view conducted our final thoughts turn to the changing landscape of trends in the embedded world.  Some trends are coming to life as other new trends emerge as this industry transforms to meet the digital transformation needs of its customers.

Remember to check out all our links for additional IoT information. Now, on to IoT World in Santa Clara, CA. We hope to see you there!!

Connect Smart. Do More.

The post Embedded World 2019 – 5 Trends Spotted! appeared first on Lantronix.

The post Optimization, Stabilization, and Tuning of BSPs for Production appeared first on Lantronix.

SFP Devices are Small but Powerful and Offer a Big Bang for Your Network Buck$.

As we all know, small form-factor pluggable (SFP) devices transfer critical information over varying channels of communication and play a key role in transmitting and receiving information necessary for communication. As such, Market Research Future® (MRFR) predicts that the global optical transceiver market will rise to 8 billion in the US by 2023. Get Report Details.

Source: MRFR Analysis

As increases in internet data traffic, number of smartphones or other devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) continue to flourish, the need for optical transceivers will continue to grow as a tool to strengthen network infrastructure and performance.

What’s So Cool about SFPs?

Optical transceivers save space and reduce the need for additional transmitting and receiving devices because they transmit and receive information all in one device! Additionally, they are an economical, compact tool to enable networks to send information over larger distances, come in a variety of Ethernet speeds from Fast Ethernet to 100 Gigabit Ethernet, and offer great flexibility to grow your network while leveraging existing network devices and infrastructure. Many newer, high quality SFPs have Diagnostic Monitoring Interface (DMI), which automatically monitors SFP operations such as output and input power, temperature, and supply voltage in addition to providing multimode, single mode, and multi-rate SFP options for more flexibility.

Take for example our line of Cisco compatible SFPs. They are a cost-effective and flexible option to speed up your network maximizing current network infrastructure because they are Multi-Sourcing Agreement (MSA) compliant so they work with all other MSA compliant networking devices. Additionally, the SFPs accommodate multimode or single mode fiber types to scale transmission distance to meet your needs for today as well as the future. They include Fast Ethernet to 100G speeds and have DMI for increased intelligence.

We offer high quality, tested and certified SFPs with lifetime warranties for select products. Providing convenient Buy Now options for select Cisco compatible SFPs, we help take the work out of managing your network needs. Visit our Buy Now options.

Can’t get enough SFPs? Check out our other resources published by our experts or give us a call at 952.941.7600.

Using Dual-Speed SFPs to Reduce the Cost and Hassle of Storing Spare Parts, and Improve Network Logistics

Transition Networks – Because They Are!

The post Optical Transceiver Market to Expand at Significant Growth Rate by 2023 appeared first on Lantronix.

Innovating the Product Development Process of IoT projects

Innovation is the catalyst for growth and productivity. Apple innovator Steve Jobs even said it himself: “It’s the only way to win. “But innovation in the age of the Internet of Things can be difficult considering the multiple moving parts of IoT Projects. Factors like network connectivity and device life cycle management are critical components to bringing a full IoT solution to market. If your goal is to launch a product that’s truly differentiated and cutting-edge in a short amount of time, two things need to happen:

• First, you must be realistic about the capabilities of your organization. Time is money and you will end up wasting both if your team bites off more than it can chew.
• Second, you need to identify the features and capabilities of your IoT Projects that you can offload to a component, software or third party. For example, if you need to deliver enterprise security but don’t have a dedicated engineer to write a security stack, it makes practical financial sense to source those capabilities from a pre-integrated component.

After understanding what you bring to the table versus what you need help with, you can confidently scope your IoT projects and focus on value creation.

As a leading component supplier for IoT solutions, our goal is to provide OEMs with pre-integrated components that offload complexity in your IoT projects, so you can focus on innovation. This installment of the XPort EDGE blog series will discuss how the XPort EDGE will allow you to accelerate your solution’s time to market by innovating the product development process.

XPort EDGE Accelerates Innovation in IoT Projects

Let’s drill down to the bedrock of what innovation means at the product development level. In a business context, this means coming up with entirely new ways of executing activities, e.g., designing products, or a go to market strategy. Retooling these processes have been key to some of the greatest success stories in business history. Real world examples include Wal-Mart, Toyota, Zara, and Dell, who all have radically changed their operations, leading to shorter development times, faster time to market and lower operating costs –translating to lower prices!

XPort EDGE and Operational Innovation Can Reduce Product Risk

At its core, operational innovation demands we look at areas like product development differently. To begin, let’s review three key factors operational innovators can incorporate into their IoT projects using the XPort EDGE:

• Quicker Time to Market

Your success in the IIoT world is predicated on developing cutting-edge products in a set timeframe to ensure faster time to market. The goals are simple, be the first or fastest to market and reap the rewards. The easier and smartest way to slash time to market is to procure production-ready components that will shorten your development & integration. But the XPort EDGE goes further than that by doing the “heavy lifting” of your IoT projects by providing expensive hardware certifications and software testing against industrial standards.

• Enterprise-Class Security

No designer would develop a product without enterprise-class security features. But developing a security stack and staying ahead of all the changing requirements and protocols takes considerable time and effort. With XPort EDGE, you don’t have to re-create the wheel. Operational innovators know that these features can be imported during the product build, allowing your critical engineering workforce to work on key development – again saving time and money.

• System Communications

Successful IIoT products depend on its ability to communicate with local and remote applications. The ability for your product to have a programmable interface that can multiplex between different network sessions provides competitive differentiation in today’s market. Designing the inbound and outbound communications that can transparently communicate between machines and local/cloud applications can double, possibly triple your design time.

At Lantronix, innovative product development is the central tenant of how we develop products for the IIoT space. The new XPort EDGE for example; is our embedded ethernet gateway, which provides production-ready embedded software, integrated advanced enterprise security and the ability to remotely monitor, manage and maintain your machines. Being cutting-edge never was so easy!! Learn more about Lantronix XPort EDGE.

Visit here to buy XPort EDGE for your IoT Projects.

The post Top 3 Ways to Reduce Risk & Complexity of your IoT Projects appeared first on Lantronix.