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RE: Operations: where are you going to sit?

  • From: Mathew Butler
  • Date: Wed Dec 06 14:06:42 2000

Title: RE: Operations: where are you going to sit?

Small problem: You can't use CB for any kind of business purpose. :(

There's a separate business band that -can- be used for business -- you have to get a license from the FCC to use it, but that's per-company and not per-user.

-Mat Butler

-----Original Message-----
From: Jade Deane [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2000 10:39 AM
To: 'Daniel Senie'
Cc: 'Matt Thoene'; [email protected]
Subject: RE: Operations: where are you going to sit?



I didn't want to come off sounding like a Nextel proponent, but it's a
solution that's worked well here.  And yes, their convoluted two way system
is by no means traditional, and I'm open to suggestions ;)

Perhaps a CB with a nice oak finish would be in order.  Breaker Breaker 1-9,
we have flapping.

Jade

-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel Senie [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2000 10:27 AM
To: Jade Deane
Cc: 'Matt Thoene'; [email protected]
Subject: Re: Operations: where are you going to sit?



Jade Deane wrote:
>
> Loss of signal in a data center is a good point.  At a previous
organization
> I was slaved to, we brought this up with Nextel sales people.  After about
a
> week or so they purposed a small in-line receiver for the various data
> centers, and a thin Kate Moss looking yagi for each roof.

Actually, this should be a passive device. Various types of slotted
waveguide/coax are made, for example in the Heliax product line. An
antenna on the roof (directional antenna only if you're on the edge of a
coverage area) and a slotted line through your facility will provide
good results. Think about it for all commonly used frequencies (cellular
and pager) that might be in use in your facility. This isn't something
you have to get via your wireless vendor, and it doesn't need
electronics.

Hospitals have used such setups for years to permit doctor's pagers to
function throughout buildings (even in basements).

>
> Also, I can't stress the importance of a basic two way mobile system.  We
> use the Nextel i1000+ phones for our engineering staff and NOC.  The
> internet access features on these bad boys has been VERY handy.  The
ability
> for a NOC member to check MRTG/Openview type information and IMAP/etc.
email
> has been beneficial.

Something for you to think about: Your Nextel phones are NOT two-way
radios in the traditional sense. They communicate handset to handset via
the Nextel network (even if you're right next to each other). If you're
in the midst of a storm or other natural disaster and your local cell
site dies, you've got no use of those radios. Also, in the event of
emergency, cell sites become overloaded with folks sitting in traffic
calling people. You may find these radios least effective when you need
them most.

The Motorola radios other folks suggested are FM transceivers on
business (or FRS) bands. These communicate directly from radio to radio
(commercial gear also can use private repeaters). These are better
choices, as they have no outside dependencies.

>
> Jade
>
> Jade E. Deane
> Network Engineer
> helloNetwork.com
> Las Vegas, Nevada
>
> Office: +1 (702) 938-9267
> Cell: +1 (702) 604-4759
> Fax: +1 (702) 456-1471
> email: [email protected]
> epage: [email protected]
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Matt Thoene [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2000 9:40 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: RE: Operations: where are you going to sit?
>
> ::
> ::I would add wireless phones in general.  If NOC staff need to walk over
to
> ::another person's screen or to swap cables or interfaces in a
> ::datacenter, you
> ::probably don't want them tied to a desk phone.  You may want to consider
> ::some basic 2 way radios (RF) in addition to wireless/cell phones for
> ::datacenter <--> NOC <--> restroom communication independent of
> ::any ma bell.
>
> ...especially since cell phones tend to get no signal in Data Centers...
>
> -Matt


--
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Daniel Senie                                        [email protected]
Amaranth Networks Inc.                    http://www.amaranth.com