Inscape Data Corporation
The Leader in Wireless & IP Video Systems

eNewsletter
2008 Winter Edition

The bi-monthly eNewsletter is an online publication from Inscape Data Corporation. It covers the most up-to-date business information about Inscape Data's products. In this bi-monthly eNewsletter, you will find valuable information, such as new product release news, application notes, technology update, success stories, and help desk. 
 
 
In This Issue
Cover Story: New Product Lauch - PoE Power Devices and Camera Housing
Technology Corner: Wireless Security with AES
Help Desk 1 of 2 : AB54 Bridge Mode Versus AP Mode and How to Set It Up
Help Desk 2 of 2 : License Free Channels - How to Choose?
Contact Information
About Inscape Data Corporation
Cover Story:
New Product Launch -
               PoE power devices and Camera Housing
December, 2008 - Inscape Data Corporation, the leader in wireless and IP video systems announced the release of two new categories of power over Ethernet (PoE) hardware, PoE power injector & suppressors and PoE enabled IP camera housing.  PoE hardware is essential for Ethernet enabled IP equipment to simplify installation and protect your investment.
 
The Inscape Data Power over Ethernet Surge Suppressor and Injector is purpose built to protect Ethernet enabled electronics and equipment from lightning and harmful transient voltages.  It is designed with low impedance and insertion loss to minimize data packet loss and information integrity as it travels across the lines.  Polymer data line protection allows data transmission speeds up to 100 mbps.  The Power over Ethernet Surge Suppressor and Injector is offered in three model version:  PES100 PoE Surge Suppressor, PIP 100 1 Port Injector, and PIS200 2 Port Injector.
 
poe power

Key Features

Key Benefits

- All 8 PoE Pins Protected
- 7.5VDC Data Clamp Voltage
- 60VDC Power Clamp Voltage
- Fast Protection Response Time
- High Peak Pulse Current Protection
- Fast Data Rate Capacity of 100mbps

- Protect Equipment and Investment
- Increase the life time of equipment
- Lower the probability of service call or operation failure


Table I.
PES100, PIP100, and PIS200 Key features and Benefits


With increasing outdoor deployments of IP based devices, protecting your investment will allow longer operating periods and reduced maintenance cost.  While it is difficult to quantify damages due to surge, industry experts estimated 4 to 5 billion dollars worth of damages and losses occurs each year.  Safeguarding your outdoor security equipment with proper surge protection devices and following industry standard grounding practice will bring years of maintenance free outdoor IP equipment deployment.
 
PoE camera housing by Inscape Data Corporation is offered in three unique and competitive models: PCH1300HB, PCH2200HB, and PCH3100HB.  Each model is an innovative and stylish video security camera housing designed to simplify installation and servicing for IP video camera. The new camera housing technology makes use of one Ethernet cable to deliver 12VDC power to the IP camera and environmental enclosure. The PCH series camera housing brings system integrators with host of key benefits.  Table II indicates the differences between each model.

3 Cam

 
Key Benefit
* Requires only one Ethernet cable to power both the IP video camera and the heater/fan of the camera housing
* Reduce cabling and installation time
* Cost saving by eliminating additional power supply

.

Model

Feature

PCH1300HB

All Weather

Cable Management

Heater & Blower

-30C to +60C

PoE Ready

PCH2200HB

All Weather

Standard Enclosure

Heater & Blower

-30C to +60C

PoE Ready

PCH3100HB

All Weather (IP66)

Extended Length for Optional Camera Lens

Optional Wiper

Heater & Blower

-30C to +60C

PoE Ready

Table II. Camera Model Feature

The PCH series camera housing is compatible with Inscape Data NVC210 Color day night fixed professional IP video security camera and other vendor's IP camera utilizing 12VDC power over Ethernet technology.  The PCH series camera housing ensures cost effective total protection for your security video investment.
PoE
Figure 1. PIP100, PES100, and PCH1300HB Application Example
 
For inquiries on the new PoE Power and Surge protection devices and PCH series PoE camera housing contact your Inscape Data Channel partner today.




TECHNOLOGY CORNER
Wireless Security with AES
There are myths of wireless being an insecure medium.  While this was true in the past, wireless encryption has since advanced multiple folds to become more secure than a fortune 500 company's local area network.  Encrypting local area network is not a new concept, but Ethernet equipment outfitted with layer 2 or layer 3 encryption are few and beyond affordability for typical company.  Industry survey reflects most users of encrypted local area networks are by government entities and very few make it to the private sectors.  While the wireless encryption protocols used on the first-generation digital wireless LAN networks 10 years ago was easily defeated, the latest advancement in wireless encryption takes over 4 x 10^20 years to break.
 
Advance Encryption System (AES), the industry standard for wireless encryption is currently the most widely used wireless encryption today.  It is robust and secure for use at the highest level.  In this article we will be looking at the differences and advantages of AES encryption has over other encryption methods such as WEP, WPA, and DES. It is extremely important to have the best wireless encryption available in order to protect valuable information your company has.  Encryption methods such as WEP can be cracked within 10 minutes.  AES encryption can give you peace of mind knowing all your files and information are safe from outside threats. 
Now we will begin comparing the various security methods available starting with WEP.  WEP stands for wired encryption privacy, founded in 1999, is the easiest to break since it does not change its key.  According to industry experts, WEP can be hacked within several minutes using a standard of the shelf personal computer. WEP works by using secret keys or codes to encrypt data.  Both the client and AP must know the key in order for the wireless signal to work.  WEP has 64-bit and 128-bit available for its keys.  Some problems with this kind of security are as follows:
 
Users rarely change the keys, which gives hackers time to break into the network.
The master key should be used to generate other keys but is used directly.
 
Another type of wireless encryption is Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).  WPA was created in 2003 by the Wi-Fi Alliance and was used to remedy the weaknesses that WEP had. The major upgrade from WEP to WPA was WPA used TKIP or temporal key integrity protocol.  TKIP works with 128-bit key for encrypting and 64 bit key for authenticating and rotate keys during each transmission of data across the network. The transition from WEP to WPA was an easy path and only requires a software upgrade. Some of the upgraded features WPA has over WEP are as follows:
  • Better management of keys
  • The master keys are never used directly
  • Message checking is done with much better integrity

A third type of wireless encryption, DES, (Data Encryption Standard) was released in the 1970's by the National Bureau of Standards. Initially, DES was available in two packages, 32-bit and 56-bit version.  There is major difference between the two versions, first, instead of the 56-bit key, a 32-bit key is used and second the data iteration will only occur 4 times instead of the original 16. For the 32 bits version, there are a total of 4,294,967,296 possible keys available. It would take a personal computer one full day to break it.  The 56-bit version on the other hand takes about 1 million years to break it accordingly to industry sources.        
 
In 2004, the Wi-Fi Alliance released WPA2, which uses the highest level of
encryption, AES.  This is strongest form of encryption and should always be your first choice. AES has 128-bit, 192-bit, or 256-bit keys for your use.  For AES to work properly all hardware must be current.  You cannot simply apply a simple update and have AES work for you as is the case for WPA. With WPA2, you have different options for enterprise and personal use.  The personal option works by using a pre-shared key (PSK) while the enterprise utilizes EAP and 802.11x for authentication. The biggest and most significant advantage WPA2 has over WPA is that every time data is sent it is encrypted with a unique key, which is never duplicated.  This makes breaking into WPA2 encryption almost impossible as compared to WPA.
 
According to industry sources, time required to break into WEP is estimated at less than 10 minutes, while WPA with a 21 character password takes approximately 4 x 10^-20 years, and WPA2 even longer. According to the United States Government, AES is secure enough to protect classified information up to the top secret level.

 

 

Local Area Network

WEP

WPA-TKIP

DES

WPA2-AES

Key Length

Not Encrypted

Up to 128 Bit

128 Bit

Up to 56 Bit

Up to 256 Bit

Time Needed to Break Encryption

Not Encrypted

10 minutes

4 x 10^20 years

1 Day (32 bit)
1 x 10^7 years (56 bit)

More than 4 x 10^20 years



Table I
compares encryption technologies.


 2.4 GHz and 5GHz radios by Inscape Data include AES encryption as part of its standard package.  Knowing AES is working hard to provide added level of security for your wireless data or video network brings peace of mind to every installation.  For further questions on this article or Inscape Data products with AES encryption, please contact an Inscape Data channel representative for further detail.



HELP DESK 1 of 2
AB54 Bridge Mode versus AP Mode and How to Set It Up

Bridge mode allows the AB54 to communicate with another AB54 to provide layer 2 transparent bridge between two LAN.  Transparent bridge works by passing MAC addresses from one network interface to another.  The AB54 use proprietary means to communicate therefore provide an added layer of security compared to AP mode. The major difference between AB54 bridge mode and client mode is the method of bridging, transparent versus translation.  Client bridge mode was designed for ISP to provide internet connectivity to residential or commercial properties.  Therefore client bridge mode provides added layer of security for ISP establishments and subscriber with translation bridge algorithm. Client bridge mode allows ISP to easily manage large scale wireless networks and tiered services. 
 
Now we will show how to set up 2 AB54s to operate in bridge mode. First, login into one of the AB54s and go to system properties and select 'bridge mode'. (See Fig.1) Finally, click on 'apply' to save the settings.

 winter08 help1-1

 Fig. 1 System Properties
 
Next, click on the WDS link settings page and enter the MAC address of the remote AB54 you will be connecting to. You will need to select 'enable' under mode. (See Fig.2)  After you are done entering the information, click on 'apply' to save the settings.   

 winter08 help1-2

Fig. 2 Link Settings
 
The above procedure will also have to be applied to the remote AB54 where the local MAC address of the AB54 will have to be entered into the field.  In addition to applying the WDS settings, the security, channel, and SSID settings must be identical on both units for them to communicate with each other.



HELP DESK 2 of 2
License Free Channels - How to choose?

We will now look at channel selection and which channel to use to get the best wireless communication.  In the following examples, management user interface screen captures of Inscape Data outdoor wireless equipment is used to illustrate recommended wireless channel practices.  We will start with the AB54 and CB54 which are both 2.4 GHz radios.  If you have the AB54 you will need to put the unit in client mode by going to system properties and selecting 'client'. Click on 'apply' after you have done that. (see fig.1)

winter08 help2-1

Fig. 1 System Properties

 
Once in client mode you can click on 'wireless network' on the left side of the menu and you will see a screen as shown in figure 2.

winter08 help2-2
Fig.2 Wireless Network

Click on the 'site survey' button and it will scan and show all surrounding APs and what channel they are on as shown in figure 3.

winter08 help2-3
Fig. 3 Site Survey
 
From this site survey you can determine the best channel to use. The 3 non-overlapping channels are 1,6, and 11.  All other channels will have interference from adjacent channels and it is not recommended to use them.  You can count the number of devices that are on 1, 6, and 11 and select the channel that is being used the least. This will provide you with the best performance possible.  It is not recommended to use 'smartselect' as this does not stay fixed on one specific channel.  It will take any channel available, which may also be the most congested channel.  Once you have found the channel you will be using you will need to put the radio back in access point or bridge mode and select it there. (see fig. 4)


winter08 help2-4

Fig. 4 Wireless Network

 

Please note that the site survey tool is only available in client mode and channel selection is only available in Access Point and Bridge modes.

Now we will look at channel selection for the BR108, which is a 5 GHz radio.  All channels available for the BR108 are non-overlapping and range from 5.1 GHz to 5.8 GHz.  A site survey of the area to determine if there are any devices such as microwave towers, antennas, etc which operate on 5 GHz will be very helpful in determining what channel to use.   For example, if you find that there are 2 antennas operating in 5.4 GHz you will know to avoid the channel associated with that frequency.  The channel can be changed in the '5G bridge' page as shown below in figure 5.  After selecting the appropriate channel click on 'update' then 'reboot' to save your changes.

winter08 help2-5

Fig. 5 Bridge Configuration

 

Again, 'smartselect' is not recommended for bridge applications as it will keep changing channels to what is available.

For more questions regarding advance configuration of your Inscape Data equipment or to optimize your system configuration, please refer to the equipment's Inscape Data user manual or contact our technical support at 408-935-8500 option 2.



Contact Information 
 
Building _120
Inscape Data Corporation
 
US Headquarters
1611 South Main Street
Milpitas, CA 95035, U.S.A.
Customer Service & Orders:
Phone: +1-408-935-8500
Fax: +1-408-935-8900
 
Asia Headquarters
9F, No. 358, Jhonghe Road, Jhonghe City,
Taipei County, 235, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Phone: +886-2-2924-0868
Fax: +886-2-2924-4385
 
For product and sales inquiry,
please send e-mail to sales@inscapedata.com
About Inscape Data Corporation
 
Building _120Founded on a culture of business excellence and product innovation, Inscape Data is the industry leader in long range wireless communication and IP based video surveillance systems. They offer a full suite of turnkey solutions for long range 2.4GHz, 4.9GHa, and 5GHz wireless and IP based video surveillance applications, including their AirEtherTM Wireless Systems with IP67/68- (Ingress Protection) certified all-weather wireless systems and their AirGoggleTM IP based Video Security Systems based on MPEG-4 video compression standards.
 
With strong, dependable, and proven manufacturing capabilities in Taiwan, Inscape Data is committed to delivering products that provide differentiated value to its customers and partners worldwide. Continuing in this pioneering spirit of excellence and innovation, Inscape Data is consistently developing and introducing cutting-edge technology solutions with a unique competitive advantage to the marketplace in the future.



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