Canobeam

It seems that Canon is the leader in Free Space Optics technology right now because I keep coming back to their Canobeam product every time I look up information about FSO. Since that is the case, I thought I would publish some information I found about them and people who use their product just in case anyone is interested in any specific hardware.

There seems to be alot of information about this particular product so I'll post various things about it as I find them. I am also slightly partial to the Canobeam because I work for a large IT company and we have recently installed the Canobeam to transmit information accross our campus. We have had great success with it and I would highly reccommend it to anyone who is looking into Free Space Optics.

I actually found this posting in an online version of a couple of trade magazines.

Faced with a tight deadline to expand the data network serving its huge corporate campus, ATI Technologies Inc. immediately turned to Canon for a solution. And with the wide-bandwith Free Space Optics connectivity of its Canobeam DT-100 series digital transceiver system, Canon was able to provide the answer. The Canobeams also provide ATI Technologies—a Toronto-based leader in the design and manufacture of chips for graphics and digital video processing for PC’s, handheld devices, cell phones, and digital TV’s—with redundancy for its fiber network.

“ATI has been expanding rapidly in the last few years,” explained Wasef Abu-Samra, the company’s Telecommunications Manager. “We went from three buildings to five here at our headquarters, and that presented us with an aggressive timeline to link those locations with expanded bandwidth. All of the four locations on our campus need to access our Data Center, which is at the central office. Our network handles everything: email, engineering data, chip designs, CAD CAM files, and huge data transfers. We needed to deploy a new branch office quickly, but telco procedures, signatures, approvals, and all the other red tape needed for trenching and then ordering fiber circuits and services takes at least 60 to 90 days, which meant we’d miss our target date.”

“That’s why we looked into Canobeam, which is an ideal solution for establishing links between the offices on our 2km corporate campus,” Abu-Samra added. “We installed a Canobeam DT-120 over the course of one weekend, which never would have been possible with fiber. It was an amazing time-saver for us. We’ve had a Canobeam DT-120 for one year, and a DT-50 for almost two years. We’re looking forward to buying another Canobeam as well. And when you buy a Canobeam it’s a one-time cost; you own the product. You don’t have to pay late penalty fees or anything—it’s yours.”

All Canobeam systems use a line-of-sight beam of light to transmit data via Free Space Optics. They are also protocol-independent (like fiber), and because Canobeam does not use radio waves, setting up a Canobeam system does not require radio-frequency coordination or licenses. Canobeams can be set up quickly, and since the data is transmitted via line-of-sight Free Space Optics it is secure from interception.

Canon applied its long history and expertise in optical engineering into its three DT-100 Series Canobeam models, all of which feature built-in Auto Tracking. This feature automatically adjusts the Free Space Optics light beam to compensate for even the slightest vibrations in the installation base, which can be caused by wind, weather, temperature changes, or even HVAC systems within a building or motor-vehicle traffic outside. With its built-in Auto Tracking feature, Canobeam's optical beam axis continually self-corrects, maintaining precise, continuous, and reliable data transmission at all times. Canon is the only manufacturer to offer Auto Tracking as a standard feature at price points that are highly competitive with systems that do not offer tracking as standard equipment.

In the Canobeam DT-100 series, the model DT-110 delivers a wide range of data speeds from 25Mbps to 156Mbps at a range of from 20m to 500m. The Canobeam DT-120 provides the same data speeds as the DT-110, but at a range of from 100m to 2km (1.24 miles). The Canobeam DT-130 features data rates of up to 1.25Gbps for Gigabit Ethernet networking at a range of 100m to 1,000m (more than half a mile). The DT-130 also incorporates a 3R Function (re-shaping, re-timing, and re-generating), which allows its data signal to be relayed without loss of strength or quality.

And Canobeam's DT-MNG-100 Management Board is built-in as a standard feature of all DT-100 series Canobeams. This feature enables users to monitor the status of Canobeam transceivers via SNMP or Telnet (for monitoring and setting). In addition, diagnostic logs can be stored in a PC via FTP (for log data transmission).

“The Canobeam DT-100 Series builds on Canon’s reputation for innovation by delivering our most compact, feature-packed and cost-effective Free Space Optics system yet,” states Gordon Tubbs, assistant director of Canon’s Broadcast & Communications division. “Canobeam DT-110, DT-120, and DT-130 models give network administrators an unmatched combination of dependability, performance, ease of use and value.”

“Two things sold us on Canon,” Abu-Samra explained. “One is the reputation. We checked some references of Canobeam users, and when I asked about the support they said, ‘You won’t need support; Canobeam works very well.’ The other thing is that Canobeam does what it’s supposed to do. We’re very happy with it.”

“By the way, two months later, when we finally did get fiber in the ground, the Canobeam became our back-up,” Abu-Samra concluded. “So, the advantages of Canobeam for us are two-fold; one was for rapid deployment, and two is for redundancy if we lose the fiber or something happens to the telco providers. Our Canobeams are very solid. We have really harsh winters in Toronto—major snowstorms, high winds, and ice—and our Canobeams never went down, they just keep on working; they’re amazing.”