Emirates Computers Earns Outdoor Wireless Mesh Authorised Technology Provider (ATP) Status from Cisco

This recognition by Cisco acts as an assurance that Emirates Computers' sales and support initiatives make it better prepared to properly design, sell, install, and support, ATP programme-specific technology and products across the UAE

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 19, 2008: Emirates Computers announced that it has received the Outdoor Wireless Mesh Authorised Technology Provider (ATP) status from Cisco, which essentially means that Emirates Computers adhered to all the prerequisites of the programme and that it has completed the training requirements to achieve this designation. The achievement is also an acknowledgement by Cisco that Emirates Computers has enough technically trained engineers and sales people to sell, design and deploy wireless mesh in the UAE. EC has the required equipment to demonstrate and provide a proof of concept to potential customers.

"As a Cisco Outdoor Wireless Mesh Authorised Technology Provider, customers depend on proven expertise for meeting their technology needs," said Mr. Dani Diab, Vice President and General Manager Abu Dhabi, Emirates Computers. "This achievement means that we are the only Cisco partner in the UAE, who is authorised to sell, deploy and service such a world-class technology. Our team of experts has not only completed the required training, but has already delivered solutions in several of our local markets. We are extremely proud of their accomplishments, and look forward to our ability to bring Cisco wireless mesh solutions to our clients on a much broader scale."

A wireless mesh network is a communications network made up of radio nodes in which there are at least two pathways of communication to each node. The coverage area of the radio nodes working as a single network becomes a mesh cloud. Access to this mesh cloud is dependent on the radio nodes working in harmony with each other to create a radio network. A mesh network is reliable and offers redundancy. When one node fails to operate, all the remaining nodes continue to communicate with each other directly, or through one or more intermediate nodes. Redundancy is basically a fail-over option, which essentially means that if the network fails at any time, there is back-up to cover for it.

Why Wireless Mesh

Cisco outdoor wireless mesh network solutions enable deployment of wireless mesh network infrastructure, wireless bridging, and mobile networks. With wireless mesh technology, government, public safety, and transportation organisations can build cost-effective outdoor wireless networks for private or public use. Wireless mesh technology enables organisations to deploy secure, high-bandwidth, scalable access to fixed and mobile applications across metropolitan areas, extending existing wired networked services and applications beyond current physical infrastructure.

This technology will bring many benefits to different entities such as Municipalities interested in broadening Internet access in order to give field-based employees, including police, fire, public works, and parks and recreation departments, secure access to the information they need rather than requiring them to return to the office to access information or file reports, Service providers offering new levels of service to cities and towns, and to reach a broader base of subscribers with enhanced data services, Enterprise organizations, hospitals, educational institutions, and hospitality companies interested in expanding Internet access beyond hotspots to enable employees, staff, students, and guests to move freely through campuses and complexes and stay connected-regardless of location.

The Cisco Wireless Mesh Networking Solution delivers the following capabilities:

• Ease of Deployment-The Cisco Wireless Mesh Networking Solution features zero-configuration deployment. New Cisco Aironet 1500 Series access points can be added to the network without requiring onsite configuration, which helps reduce deployment time and costs. Cisco mesh access points also feature multiple power options, including Power over Ethernet (PoE), and vertical or horizontal pole mounting options.

• Manageability-A Cisco mesh network can be integrated with a customer's existing Cisco wired indoor network, allowing administrators to centrally configure and manage the mesh network with identical indoor and outdoor policy management. The mesh network is also easier to manage because of its self-healing capabilities in response to interference or outages.

• Scalability-The Cisco mesh architecture makes it easy to scale coverage as capacity needs dictate, including increasing access point density; adding wired connections, controllers, and radios; and using dual high-powered, high-sensitive radios and a selection of high-gain antennas.

• Security-Multilayered security is built into a Cisco mesh network, including IEEE 802.11i, Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2), WPA, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption on backhaul links, access point authentication, secure control traffic between the access point and the controller, and IP Security (IPSec) VPNs for confidential mesh client traffic. Administrators can create security policies for different user types or location-based traffic.

• Reliability-Cisco mesh network equipment is based on ruggedized enclosures that protect against rain, lightning, wind, and vibration from storms or road traffic. In addition, the network features self-healing, automatic load balancing across WLAN controllers, and channel or controller reassignment in the event of conflicts.

• Performance-A Cisco mesh network delivers high performance using dynamic path optimization, resiliency, interference mitigation, and more.

• Flexibility-The Cisco Aironet 1500 Series features dual-band, simultaneous support for IEEE 802.11a and 802.11b/g and hardware support for the 4.9 GHz public safety band with options for single-band support for IEEE 802.11b/g. Multiple WLAN support allows multiple services to be offered to different user types-such as police, fire, municipal services, or public access-over a single access point.

• Lower Total Cost of Ownership-A Cisco mesh network is designed to lower total cost of ownership (TCO), including deployment, day-to-day management, and expansion. For example, the network self-heals in response to interference or outages, reducing maintenance time and costs. With zero-configuration access points, new nodes can be added without onsite configuration, reducing deployment costs. When additional nodes are added, the network automatically self-configures and re-optimizes itself. The outdoor wireless network can be managed using the same management platform as the indoor wireless network, saving on equipment and training.

• Mobility-Wi-Fi clients have Layer 2 and 3 mobility across the mesh network. Users can roam between access points on the same or different controllers as well as between the Cisco WLAN and mesh networks.

"Emirates Computers has completed a focused effort to increase the level of Cisco sales and support capabilities within their organisation. They have met the rigorous Cisco certified personnel levels required for an ATP - Outdoor Wireless Mesh partner," Mr Adrian Taylor, Regional Channel Manager (Gulf, Pakistan) - Cisco. "This helps ensure that Emirates Computers' sales and support teams are better prepared to properly sell, design, install, and support the ATP program-specific technology and products. This is an outstanding accomplishment for Emirates Computers and demonstrates their desire to develop expertise in the new world of complex networking technologies."

The objective of the Cisco Authorised Technology Provider (ATP) Programme is to bring emerging technologies to market. As a particular technology progresses along the adoption curve and becomes more standardized, it can evolve into a specialization. ATP offerings not only help define the necessary knowledge and skills to bring emerging technologies to market, but also provides a program to support the services required for a particular technology.

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About Emirates Computers
Nearly three decades of experience have established Emirates Computers as a leading systems integrator and technology solutions provider in the Middle East.

Founded in 1978 in the UAE with the aim to provide world-class IT solutions, Emirates Computers today stands for competence and commitment.

As a partner of choice for leading technology providers such as Cisco, Nokia, Oracle, Microsoft, Dell, EMC, Sun Microsystems, Vignette, Tandberg, Citrix, NCR, SGI, Roland and others, Emirates Computers covers its markets end-to-end, catering to both enterprises and consumers. For further details, please visit http://www.emiratescomputers.ae

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