Microwave Site Monitoring:

A Guide to Achieving Total Visibility of Your Very Remote Sites

In an industry dominated by fiber communications, you may be quick to ignore microwave communications technology. Its important to remember, however, that many telecom companies still use microwave, and they will continue to do so. This white paper provides you with a working knowledge of microwave monitoring that will allow you to maximize your microwave site visibility. Whatever your plans for your microwave infrastructure, this white paper will give you the knowledge you need to make the right decisions for your network. Version 1.0 Released August 31, 2007

www.dpstelecom.com

1-800-622-3314

US $36.95

We protect your network like your business depends on itTM

 Copyright 2007 DPS Telecom All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this white paper or portions thereof in any form without written permission from DPS Telecom. For Information, please write to DPS Telecom 4955 E. Yale Ave., Fresno, CA 93727-1523 Call: 1-800-622-3314 Email: info@dpstele.com Printed in the U.S.A

Microwave Site Monitoring DPS Telecom 4955 East Yale Avenue, Fresno, California 93727 (800) 622-3314 Fax (559) 454-1688 www.dpstelecom.com

Executive Summary
Many network operators are quick to classify microwave as an outdated communication method. As fiber has proliferated the need for microwave communications infrastructure has been reduced. However, microwave still makes up a vital segment of the telecommunications industry, and there are still many microwave sites in operation today. For some sites, microwave is the only means of communication available. These sites are generally very isolated, making them very difficult and expensive to get to. Windshield time can be a huge expenditure for these sites, which makes effective microwave site monitoring crucial to your bottom line and happy client base. This white paper will teach you what you absolutely need to know about microwave site monitoring. In the following pages, you will learn to identify what microwave equipment you need to monitor and how you can bring in these network alarms. You will also learn about important Federal Communications Commission regulations that you must follow to maintain visibility of your network. While providing you with information on migrating away from a microwave based network, this white paper will also help you to maximize the effectiveness of your microwave site monitoring. With the inclusion of more advanced applications, including ring polling of your microwave sites, you will be able to expand your microwave monitoring capabilities and knowledge.

Contents
History of Microwave Site Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Analog vs. Digital Microwave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 What You Need to Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 Things Your Microwave Monitoring System Must Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6 Issues Faced at Older Microwave Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Prepare to Upgrade to Digital Microwave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Your Legacy Microwave Migration Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Case Study: National Grid Protects Service Reliability with T/Mon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Upgrade Your monitoring System at No Cost to You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 EMI Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Monitoring Your Decommisioned Tower Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Ring Polling of Your Microwave Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Microwave Site Monitoring DPS Telecom 4955 East Yale Avenue, Fresno, California 93727 (800) 622-3314 Fax (559) 454-1688 www.dpstelecom.com

History of Microwave Site Monitoring

In 1945, the first microwave relay system was introduced by Western Union. This experimental system transmitted communication signals via radio along a series of towers between New York and Philadelphia. This line of sight communications technology eventually became the dominant transmission method for telecom companies. Prior to satellite and cellular communications technologies, microwave technology was the most commonly used method for transmitting telephone and other communications. Today, fiber-optic communication dominates the telecommunications industry. However, microwave communication is still widely used at many sites in the United States. For many of these microwave sites, there is simply no other cost-effective transmission option. This is particularly true at the most remote microwave sites, which can be very expensive to extend fiber to.

Analog vs. Digital Microwave

Microwave communications can take both analog and digital form. Some of the advantages of each format are:

Analog Microwave
Already in Service at Your Sites- Analog microwave technology is most likely already installed and in service at your sites. Since you are already using this transport method, you are probably familiar with it. In this case, its best to continue using the data transmission equipment you are already comfortable with. Already Paid For- As it is has been a part of your microwave communications network for a long time, analog transportation equipment is almost certainly already paid for. By continuing to use this communication method, you will avoid the expense of upgrading your transport technology. Known Performance Characteristics- Analog microwave provides you with known performance characteristics. Because it is already in use at your microwave sites, you already know the quantity of communications it can handle during any given time period and what transmission capabilities it has. .Digital Microwave Newer, More Reliable Technology- Digital microwave communications use newer communications technology. This provides you with more advanced monitoring capabilities. It also makes it easier to purchase and replace equipment, as it is more readily available than older devices that support analog microwave. Higher Bandwidth- The high bandwidth of digital microwave communications provides for increased data capacity. This larger bandwidth enables the transmission of more verbose protocols. It also decreases system poll time. Allows Dropping off of LAN for Devices- With digital microwave, you can bring LAN connections to your equipment as they become available. This enables you to expand your LAN network as you can afford to do so, without having to develop additional communications infrastructure to support the changes. Better Reporting- Because digital microwave uses the newest microwave transport technology, you will be able to deploy more advanced communications equipment. These advanced devices will provide you with much better reporting than your legacy equipment. Where before, your notifications may have been received as a single bit to translate using a database, digital microwave can provide you with detailed, readable reports.
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Microwave Site Monitoring DPS Telecom 4955 East Yale Avenue, Fresno, California 93727 (800) 622-3314 Fax (559) 454-1688 www.dpstelecom.com

What You Need to Monitor

1) Environmental Conditions- Environmental conditions can severely effect microwave transmission. Your need to monitor environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity to ensure that site conditions do not exceed certain thresholds that can cause your important equipment to malfunction. You need to monitor alarms coming from this equipment to prevent these failures.

2) Power Conditions- Your microwave network is hugely dependent on your power supply. These
systems must be hot-wired into a grid. This makes it increasingly important for you to monitor your other power sources, such as generators and batteries, enabling you to quickly roll-out a fuel truck or portable generator when you receive a power source alarm.

3) Microwave-Specific Equipment- If your microwave-specific equipment fails, your entire

microwave network could lose connectivity. It is important to monitor your microwave transport equipment to prevent outages and reduce your overall network downtime.

4) Transport Equipment- The equipment that supports your network communications is critical
to your operations. When a failure occurs with your communications transport, you will miss important incoming data that is critical to your operation. You may even be unable to conduct any of your revenue-generating processes, losing money every minute your network remains offline. You need to monitor the equipment that transports your data to get your network quickly back online.

5) Tower Lights- FCC regulations make tower light monitoring a must for every organization with
towers. To avoid hefty fines, and dangerous situations for air traffic, you need to know if your tower lights have failed. Monitoring this equipment will enable you to quickly respond to a situation before you must report an unresolved outage to the FCC (FCC Regulations for Tower Light Monitoring: Sec. 17.48 Notification of extinguished lights).

4 Things Your Microwave Monitoring System Must Do

1) Access Reflective Power Levels- Reflective power is any energy that is reflected back to your
transmitter, rather than leaving your tower. Your monitoring system must monitor your transmission equipment to determine how much reflective power you are encountering, as it is an indication that you are not maximizing your transmission capability.

2) Monitor Analogs- It is important that your monitoring system can provide alarm data for analog
values, such as temperature and humidity.

3) Monitor Battery Voltage- Analog sensors also allow you to monitor the voltage of batteries as
they discharge, letting you know when they may need replaced. It is imperative that your microwave monitoring system provides these analog sensors, which allow you to keep your network online by proactively responding to potential equipment failures and network outages before they occur.

4) Monitor Wind Speed- Harsh winds can affect transmission quality across your microwave network. In extreme cases, the safety of your microwave towers can even be threatened. Monitoring wind speed allows you to be instantly notified of these extremes, enabling you to quickly secure your tower equipment to protect your microwave communications.
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Microwave Site Monitoring DPS Telecom 4955 East Yale Avenue, Fresno, California 93727 (800) 622-3314 Fax (559) 454-1688 www.dpstelecom.com

6 Issues Faced at Older Microwave Sites

1) Legacy Equipment is Unreliable- Simply put, legacy equipment has a very high failure rate. Due
to age and lack of support for devices, legacy equipment often cannot provide the communications support needed at microwave sites.

2) Difficulty Finding Replacement or Spare Parts for Repairs- Unfortunately, parts for legacy
equipment can be difficult to find. At many older microwave sites, visibility of entire sites can be lost, simply because operators are unable to locate the parts they need to repair their legacy devices.

3) Equipment Vendors No Longer in Business- While microwave is still used by many companies,
it is an older technology. Vendors that were once at the forefront of this technology may no longer exist. This can make obtaining equipment, firmware, and even support virtually impossible.

4) The Network Operator is About to Retire, and No One Knows the Equipment- Newer
companies generally do not deploy microwave technology. For this reason, many of todays network professionals do not know how to use microwave equipment (or even have a basic understanding of how microwave transmission works!) At microwave sites, this can present a significant challenge finding a suitable replacement for network operators as they retire.

5) Poor Documentation of Legacy System- Older legacy systems are often very poorly documented.
This makes learning an older microwave system even more challenging for operators who are new to the site. Without proper documentation, new operators may not be able to optimally monitor their equipment, simply due to a lack of knowledge of important monitoring system applications.

6) Monitoring is Seen as Outdated Technology- Microwave technology has been largely replaced
with copper and fiber-optic communications. Remotes found at older microwave sites are considered to be outdated, and incapable of meeting todays visibility needs. This is particularly true of remotes that were included with the original microwave system, which are often discontinued by the original vendors.

Remote Alarm Solution: KDA 864

The KDA provides 64 reversible alarm inputs, 8 N.O. relay form A contacts, wire wrap connectors, rack mountable 19" & 23"

The KDA 864 is a multiprotocol, downloadable alarm and control remote that packs 64 alarm points and 8 control points into a single 19-inch housing. You can daisy-chain up to four KDAs for added capacity and include additional functions like TBOS and analog monitoring in the expansion card slot. 64 discrete alarms, 8 controls, for DCP, E2A, TBOS, TL1, TRIP, 4 or 8 TBOS Ports, 8 or 16 Analog Input Channels, 4 TBOS Ports and 3 ASCII Craft Ports, 24 Additional Controls with Latching Relays Supports 202 Modems along 0-4 base bands, and FSK Modems on 4-8 and 8-12 base bands

For more information, check out the KDA on the Web at www.dpstelecom.com/kda864_microwave .
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Microwave Site Monitoring DPS Telecom 4955 East Yale Avenue, Fresno, California 93727 (800) 622-3314 Fax (559) 454-1688 www.dpstelecom.com

Prepare to Upgrade to Digital Microwave

To get your company ready for an upgrade from analog to digital microwave, you will need to seek out equipment that can meet your exact upgrade needs. To prepare yourself to monitor digital microwave communications, keep these points in mind:

1) Provide for adequate external alarming- If your analog microwave network has built in
alarming, you stand to lose all of your monitoring capabilities during your transition to digital microwave. Without this important visibility, you will be blind to problems within your microwave network. By providing for adequate external alarm monitoring, you will avoid this visibility loss when you upgrade to digital microwave transport.

2) Ready your database for porting- It is important that any new master is capable of porting in your existing database. With the extensive amount of data entry youve invested in your alarm database, you simply cannot afford to lose it. Advanced monitoring masters can port in your database, preventing you from losing all of your alarm points during your transition from analog to digital transmission.

3) Avoid extra rewiring- By deploying dual interface remotes, you will avoid expensive and
time consuming rewiring of all your remotes once you upgrade your transmission network (ex. Serial to LAN). This will reduce your costs during the upgrade process, making upgrading your monitoring the least of your budgetary concerns.

DPS is Committed to Meeting Your Exact Needs

DPS Telecom is an industry-leading manufacturer of customized alarm management products. Our custom engineering and agile manufacturing capabilities allow create custom monitoring products that meet your exact needs.

We wanted to replace all the masters with one master. We also wanted to add native IP remotes and migrate as many sites as possible to IP network monitoring." "DPS was the only one that said it could do it all, either through hardware or software. Everyone else had an exception." John Mullen and Daniel Jackson Dominion

"It was very important for us to find a vendor who was willing to customize the alarm system to meet our needs. Like many carriers, we have a mix of equipment everything from microwave radio systems to high capacity dense wave division multiplexing systems. We needed an alarm system that could pull in TBOS alarms, discrete alarms, SNMP ... DPS has products that meet our needs. Paul Mankins Norlight Telecommunications

Microwave Site Monitoring DPS Telecom 4955 East Yale Avenue, Fresno, California 93727 (800) 622-3314 Fax (559) 454-1688 www.dpstelecom.com

Your 2-Step Legacy Migration Plan

If youre using a legacy microwave master, youve probably been struggling to keep your system up and running. As newer technology is introduced, it becomes harder and harder to find replacement parts or replacement units. Vendors frequently close their doors, leaving you without support for your monitoring system. If you have been encountering these problems, or simply feel that your monitoring system is no longer capable of meeting the needs of your network, it is time to consider a gradual migration to more advanced equipment. Step 1: Replace Your Legacy Master With an Advanced, Multi-Protocol Master The first step in the migration process it to replace your most important piece of monitoring equipment, your system master. If your master fails, you stand to lose visibility of your entire network for days as you search for a capable technician, or a replacement unit. Replacing your master before a major communication failure occurs will not only prevent extended periods of network downtime, but it will also provide you the functionality of advanced monitoring equipment without replacing your existing RTUs. Advantages of Modern Alarm Masters: Reliable, automatic reporting of alarms via pager or email Support for multiple protocols, including legacy protocols Convenient browser interface brings all of your alarms into one window Remote control of your network equipment Lower maintenance costs due to improved troubleshooting and specific repair instructions When seeking out a master, it is important to find a vendor that is capable of porting your database to preserve your time investment. It is also important to find a master that support a wide range of legacy protocols. Deploying an advanced master with these capabilities will enable you to maintain network visibility using your existing remotes. This helps you to spread out the cost of your new monitoring system by allowing you to upgrade your equipment over several budget cycles. Step 2: Gradually Replace Your Legacy Remotes as Your Budget Allows Spreading your equipment purchases out over several budget cycles minimizes the burden of purchasing new equipment. Completion of your legacy migration can take as little or as much time as you need it to, without losing visibility of your network during a forklift swapout. As your legacy remotes fail, or as your visibility needs grow, you can replace your legacy RTUs unit by unit. Your modern RTUs can be quickly and easily configured to interact with your modern master. In doing so, you will be able to view all of your alarms within your master system browser, as well as remotely control your RTUs and other network devices. There are a number of other advantages. Advantages of Modern Alarm Collection Remotes: High alarm capacity for increased device visibility Ability to seamlessly transition to new reporting interfaces Alarm point grouping by severity, location, or other user-specified criteria Automatic email and page notification of alarm events with a LAN or dialup connection Now that your legacy migration is complete, you can enjoy the peace of mind that only advanced monitoring systems can provide you. Not only that, but you will have a large storage of back-up RTUs in the event you need to temporarily replace a remote. While minimizing your equipment outlay, a gradual migration will decrease your windshield time, and save your company from a lengthy period of downtime in the event of a legacy master failure.
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Microwave Site Monitoring DPS Telecom 4955 East Yale Avenue, Fresno, California 93727 (800) 622-3314 Fax (559) 454-1688 www.dpstelecom.com

Before: An Outdated Legacy Microwave Monitoring System

Step One: Upgrade to an Advanced System Master

Step Two: Complete Your System with Modern Monitoring Remotes

With an outdated monitoring system, you may be missing your important alarms, or lack site visibility altogether in some areas

By upgrading your master first, you will maintain constant network visibility, eliminating the extended downtime associated with a forklift swapout

Migration allows you to add advanced remotes as you can afford to, deploying your modern monitoring system over several budget cycles

10 T/Mon NOC Features that Legacy Masters Cant Match

1. Legacy protocol support. T/Mon can extract critical alarm data from many proprietary legacy protocols, including Datalock, Larse, Badger, Dantel, and NEC, bringing all of your alarms from over 25 different legacy and modern protocols onto one screen. 2. Support for multiple serial polling legs and electrical interfaces. T/Mon can poll devices from many different serial legs. With support for many different electrical interfaces, including FSK and 202 modems, you will be able to effectively monitor your entire network. 3. Detailed alarm notifications in plain English that your staff will immediately understand and take action on. Every notification includes full information about the alarm, including its severity, location, date/time stamp, and a user-defined description. 4. Immediate notification of changes of state (COSs), including new alarms and alarms that have cleared. You dont have to hunt to find out whats changed in your network T/Mon lists it for you. 5. A continuously updated list of all current standing alarms. Even if the system operator acknowledges the alarm, it remains in the Standing Alarms screen until it is cleared. 6. Text message windows displaying specific instructions for the appropriate action for an alarm. System operators, even without extra training, will know precisely what to do and who to call in case of an alarm.

The T/Mon NOC Remote Alarm Monitoring System provides total visibility of your network status and automatically notifies the right people to keep your network running.

7. Nuisance alarm filtering. Unimportant alarms that generate meaningless status notices or oscillate between alarm and clear conditions subconsciously train your staff to ignore the alarm monitoring system. T/Mon filters out nuisance alarms, allowing your staff to focus its attention on serious threats. 8. Pager and e-mail notifications. Send alarm notifications directly to maintenance personnel, even if theyre away from the NOC. 9. Derived alarms and controls that combine and correlate data from multiple alarm inputs and automatically control remote site equipment to correct complex threats. 10. Mediation of all alarms to SNMP traps sent to MOM

Sign up for a Web demo of T/Mon NOC at www.dpstelecom.com/webdemo

Microwave Site Monitoring DPS Telecom 4955 East Yale Avenue, Fresno, California 93727 (800) 622-3314 Fax (559) 454-1688 www.dpstelecom.com

Case Study: National Grid Protects Service Reliability with T/Mon, NetGuardians, and KDAs
National Grid is one of the world's largest utilities, focused on delivering energy safely, reliably, efficiently, and responsibly. They own and operate gas and electricity transmission and gas distribution networks in the UK and US and electricity distribution networks in the US. National Grid aims to be the world's premier network utility.

T/Mon Provides Full Network Visibility

National Grid's T/Mon architecture is quite sophisticated. They have several markets each with their own T/Mon which in turn report to a T/Mon MOM (Manager of Managers). The T/Mon MOM gives the NOC full visibility into the remote networks as well as its own remotes.

A Clear Need for Monitoring

What most people might not know is that there is a considerable amount of underlying telecommunication infrastructure required to maintain daily operations at National Grid. This equipment has to be aggressively monitored. T/Mon has been a key part of their network surveillance strategy since 1990. T/Mon was initially used to monitor Datalok remotes at National Grid microwave sites. Security is a primary concern, as is basic environmental and equipment alarming.

National Grid is able to quickly train new operators using T/Mons text message notifications

Tim LaChance Mary Steffen National Grid

Quick and Efficient Changeovers

Over the last 16 years, National Grid has transitioned from Datalok remotes to DPS KDA 8964s. "The switchovers go really smooth. We maintain a single database at the T/Mon master and download the KDA. We then send a tech to the field to cutover the wiring and 30 minutes later the site is up," said Mary Steffen, Sr. IT Analyst. Newer site upgrades have migrated to the NG216 and NetGuardian832. "The analog capabilities of these remotes will allow us to trend key readings such as temperature, battery and RSL" said Tim LaChance, Team Lead - Network operations. "Once you see what these new units can do, you almost wish all of your sites could do this."

The NOC is manned 7x24, so when alarms come into the system, the operators assess the problem and take appropriate dispatch actions. One potential action is to use T/Mon to issue a manual page. This manual page allows the operator to quickly select the proper technician as well as type in the specific actions to execute. This is superior to automatic paging because the operator can take many other factors and changing circumstances into consideration prior to acting.

Text Messages Enable Rapid Operator Training

Over the years, National Grid has found the T/Mon to be both an effective and easy-to-use tool. "New operators can be trained in half a day. We have set up very clear instructions in the text message on what actions are to be taken," says Mary.

DPS Factory Training Provides Comprehensive Understanding

Both Mary and Tim recently attended DPS factory training. Mary came to the class with years of experience. Tim, from his management point of view, wanted to know more about DPS products & monitoring applications. Mary expected that the she would have to sit patiently and wait for the class to catch up with what she already knew, but she experienced something quite different. "The class went at a very good

With the analog capabilities of the NetGuardian 832A, National Grid can monitor key readings such as temperature and battery levels

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Microwave Site Monitoring DPS Telecom 4955 East Yale Avenue, Fresno, California 93727 (800) 622-3314 Fax (559) 454-1688 www.dpstelecom.com

pace and I learned new ways of doing things along the way." One of the best aspects of the training for Mary and Tim was learning how they could maximize the use of their T/Mon. "We can now use the ASCII processor on the T/Mon to Telnet into our devices to find out the root cause of a problem and report that directly to the alarm screen. This will allow our operators to get critical information much faster because they won't have to open the Telnet and issue the queries to get more detail. This is especially good because they avoid the complication of the subtle variances in command syntax between various elements. Collectively, this shortens the time to dispatch, which is good for everybody."

Get More Success Stories:

To get more client success stories and other informative alarm monitoring articles delivered right to your inbox, subscribe the the DPS Telecom alarm monitoring e-magazine- The Protocol.

Visit The Protocol website at:

www.TheProtocol.com

Learn About Remote Site Monitoring From the Monitoring Experts: Attend DPS Telecom Factory Training
Learn network alarm monitoring in-depth in a totally practical hands-on class. The DPS Telecom Factory Training Event will show you how to make your alarm monitoring easier and more effective. Youll learn microwave alarm monitoring, migration techniques, derived alarms and controls, and how to configure automatic email and pager notifications. DPS training is the easiest way to learn alarm monitoring, taught by technicians who have installed hundreds of successful alarm monitoring deployments. For dates and registration information, call 1-800-693-3314 today or go to www.dpstelecom.com/training

[DPS Factory Training] really was the best training class Ive been to in my telecom career.
Mary Steffen, National Grid

DPS Factory Training is a big help in not feeling intimidated by your network monitoring system. Its excellent presented in the right way and tailored to the needs of the class.
Bill Speck, 3 Rivers Telephone

ASCII and TL1 commands... [were] presented very well, making the introduction to a new language enjoyable!
Dewayne Hamilton, Level 3 Communications

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Microwave Site Monitoring DPS Telecom 4955 East Yale Avenue, Fresno, California 93727 (800) 622-3314 Fax (559) 454-1688 www.dpstelecom.com

Upgrade Your Monitoring System at No Cost to You

If you are operating outdated monitoring equipment along your frequency band, you may have an opportunity to update your monitoring without any financial outlay on the part of your company. Due to the shortage of FCC frequencies available, your company may be able to secure an advanced new monitoring system at no cost to you by selling use of your frequency. By capitalizing on these FCC frequency opportunities, you can leverage your microwave communication band to secure a modernized monitoring system for your company.

How to Get Another Company to Pay for Your New Monitoring System
Due to the shortage of frequencies now available for purchase, many wireless providers have approached companies with older frequency bands with purchase offers. In exchange for use of your frequency band, many of these companies will offer you compensation. These companies cannot operate their networks using the hard-coded legacy equipment that is programmed for use strictly at these sites, thus presenting a perfect opportunity for you to obtain an advanced new monitoring system while the other guy pays the bill. This is a perfect opportunity to upgrade your legacy equipment without having to expend your entire monitoring budget purchasing new equipment. Instead, you can work with the other users of your frequency band to develop an advanced monitoring system that provides the visibility you need with the advanced features you deserve.

Other Things to Keep in Mind During Your Controlled Legacy Migration

You can replace your legacy system at your own pace, without making a large initial expenditure on new equipment. Replacing just your master is 7 to 10 times cheaper than a forklift system swapout, and will ensure that you have visibility of your network throughout the entire process. You can gradually deploy your modern monitoring system, spreading the cost over several budget cycles while maintaining network visibility. The first step in this migration process is to purchase an advanced system master. An advanced master will be able to collect alarms from your legacy remotes, while supporting advanced new remotes as you add them to your network

When Replacing Your Site, Bring Alarms up to Contemporary Standards

Work with your frequency user to ensure they deploy an alarm monitoring system that meets all of your monitoring needs. This is an excellent opportunity to upgrade to reliable, contemporary equipment that meets the demands of todays network monitoring needs. Seek equipment that can support multiple protocols, and can report alarms from these protocols automatically. These alarms should all be brought together in a single browser window, enabling you to effectively monitor all of your microwave sites using a single system operator. These features will help you to decrease your bottom line expenditures on labor, windshield time, and repairs by allowing for quick and easy troubleshooting and problem solving.

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Microwave Site Monitoring DPS Telecom 4955 East Yale Avenue, Fresno, California 93727 (800) 622-3314 Fax (559) 454-1688 www.dpstelecom.com

EMI Noise
Electromagnetic Interference can be extremely problematic at microwave sites. Interference impairs communications by interrupting the transmission/receipt of data between your microwave towers. To prevent EMI noise from interrupting your mission-critical communications, it is important to purchase network equipment that meet the standard requirements for EMI noise. Equipment that has been properly tested for EMI noise levels in anechoic chambers can give you the assurance that your important data transmission wont be interrupted by interference from your own equipment. The Bellcore Network Equipment Building System (NEBS) requirements indicate multiple compliance levels for different types of equipment. NEBS is a common set of safety, spatial and environmental design guidelines applied to telecommunications equipment in the United States. To learn more about these requirements and tower light monitoring, refer to the DPS Telecom Tower Light Monitoring Tech Brief.

Full-Featured RTU Focus: The NetGuardian 832A G4

High Capacity SNMP RTU IP Ping Monitor 8-Port Terminal Server Stand-Alone Monitoring and Notification The NetGuardian 832A monitors 32 discrete alarms and 8 analog alarms, pings 32 network elements, controls 8 relays, acts as an 8-port terminal server, and reports via SNMP, email, or pager.. High Capacity: 32 discrete alarms (expand able to 176), 32 ping alarms, 8 analog alarms, 8 controls, and 8 serial ports Reports alarms to multiple SNMP managers or T/MonXM NEBS-compliant 8-port terminal server for multiple-user LAN access to PBXs and switches Internal modem for dial-up backup path Configure and monitor via Web browser E-mail and pager notifications Free lifetime firmware upgrades Free Windows-based utility for off-site editing and LAN-based remote provisioning Multiple customization and expansion options CE-compliant All units are custom built to order. Allow 2-4 weeks for delivery. All DPS Telecom products are backed by our 30-Day, No-Risk Guarantee: "If you buy our equipment and are not satisfied for any reason during the first 30 days, simply return it." For more information, check out the NetGuardian on the Web at www.DpsTelecom.com/ng_microwave.

Get the Tower Light Monitoring Tech Brief at DpsTelecom.com

Are you prepared for your next tower light failure? If you don't have adequate monitoring equipment deployed at your remote tower sites, the answer is probably an unfortunate "No". Learn how to effectively monitor your tower lights with the DPS Tower Light Monitoring Tech Brief Download it at:

www.DpsTelecom.com/microwave_tower_lights.

Monitoring Your Decommissioned Tower Lights

Even if you are no longer operating your tower equipment, the FCC mandates that you continue to meet the lighting and observation requirements enforced for active sites. Alarm monitoring systems for your decommisioned tower sites will save you the from making a major demolition investment, while still meeting the FCCs safety requirements. Purchasing tower light monitoring equipment is significantly cheaper than deconstructing your tower. Monitoring your decommisioned tower lights also provides for the safety of air traffic travelers. Even though you may not be using your tower equipment, it still poses a large
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Microwave Site Monitoring DPS Telecom 4955 East Yale Avenue, Fresno, California 93727 (800) 622-3314 Fax (559) 454-1688 www.dpstelecom.com

Ring Polling of Your Microwave Sites

Ring polling is an advanced microwave application that allows you to continue data transmission during a communication break. It can also be used to troubleshoot communication problems between your microwave tower sites. With ring polling, communication is backhauled, meaning that messages are transmitted from site to site sequentially. This allows you to maintain microwave transmission during a communication failure because data can be sent from either side. The data will simply have to be transmitted in two directions. Ring polling also provides for troubleshooting of network problems. By sending data in both directions around the ring of sites, you can identify where a communication problem has occurred. This will save you time and money by efficiently identifying communication problems and speeding repair times, while still transmitting and receiving your important data. The following diagram provides an example of the troubleshooting application of ring polling. If a message is sent from LAN Site 1, to microwave Site 1, to Site 2, to Site 3, but doesnt make it to Site 4, a network operator can send a backhaul message from LAN Site 2. If the message stops at Site 4, the operator can determine the break is between Sites 3 and 4, and dispatch a technician to repair the problem immediately.

Ring polling provides for troubleshooting of problems along ringed microwave networks

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Get the Facts Before You Purchase Your Next Network Monitoring System
If you found the information in this white paper useful, youll also be interested in the other white papers in the DPS Telecom Network Monitoring Guide series. Each paper is a complete guide to an essential aspect of network monitoring. These are the facts you need to know to make an informed purchase of your next network monitoring system.

Perfect-Fit Alarm Monitoring

Do you have a specialized monitoring need that no off-the-shelf product can solve? Does it seem like you need to buy several products just to get the job done? At DPS, we design and build custom products to suit our clients' unique needs. In this white paper, we'll walk you through our time-tested development process that can give you exactly what you need. To receive this report, visit: http://www.dpstelecom.com/white-papers

Practical Guide to SNMP Troubleshooting

Your Are you encountering problems with your SNMP implementation? Are you planning to expand your SNMP deployment? This white paper is a guide to troubleshooting SNMP. Get valuable tips for identifying and solving problems with MIBs, firewalls, traps, IP routing, and more. To receive this report, visit: http://www.dpstelecom.com/white-papers

Monitoring Alarms Over T1

Monitoring sites outside of your existing LAN used to be difficult, expensive, and time-consuming. Now, new technology allows you to effectively monitor sites when T1 is the only available connection. This new white paper will show you how to monitor your outside plant sites, cost-effectively provide Ethernet to site equipment, and maximize your ROI. To receive this report, visit: http://www.dpstelecom.com/white-papers

Give Us Your Feedback

Send your comments to feedback@dpstelecom.com

This all sounds great, but where can I get product details?
If you would like to know more about the products and services mentioned in this white paper, visit www.dpstelecom.com and click Applications. or Products.

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Microwave Site Monitoring DPS Telecom 4955 East Yale Avenue, Fresno, California 93727 (800) 622-3314 Fax (559) 454-1688 www.dpstelecom.com

In the two years UBTA-UBET has used T/Mon, the company's alarm handling has substantially improved. The T/Mon has given us better notification, and I think it's made us a lot more responsive to (E2A) alarms,"
Rick Hoffman UBTA-UBET

It is hard to find companies with the intelligence and aptitude to meet the customers exact needs, and I believe that is what DPS is all about.
Lee Wells Pathnet

About the Authors

Robert Berry is founder and CEO of DPS Telecom, an industry-leading developer of network alarm management solutions. Two decades' experience designing remote telemetry systems have taught Berry that technology is most powerful when it meets real-world business needs. DPS Telecom clients have grown to appreciate Berry's dedication to developing technology solutions that lower costs and raise revenue.

Andrew Erickson is Lead Writer for The Protocol, the monthly alarm monitoring ezine from DPS Telecom (www.TheProtocol.com). Experience writing website content and product documentation have prepared him to capture the expertise of the DPS Engineering team in a clear and concise white paper.

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