The Bountiful® Wi-Fi Blog

Lori Mortensen-Egbert Wins an Award!

2010-08-11T10:19:00.000-06:00

Bountiful® Wi-Fi Lori Mortensen-Egbert Recognized by Everything Channel’s CRN Magazine as One of the Top Women on the Channel

Bountiful, Utah, July 27, 2010 – Bountiful® Wi-Fi, designer and manufacturer of the most powerful wireless products allowed by law, today announced that Lori Mortensen-Egbert, VP of Marketing has been recognized by Everything Channel’s CRN Magazine as one of the top Women of the Channel. CRN’s annual list recognizes female executives across vendors’ channel organizations, distributors and solution providers for their accomplishments over the past year and the far-reaching impact they are having on the technology industry going forward. This year’s Women of the Channel were chosen by the editors of CRN magazine based on their achievements as executives and the amount of influence they wield over the technology channel.

Lori is responsible for Bountiful® Wi-Fi’s public relations and marketing, including a successful PR launch, gaining international exposure with outstanding reviews and press coverage of the patented BWRG1000 by Popular Science, Network World, CRN, Wired Magazine, PC World, and others. Lori has also developed and maintained channel relationships, which distribute and market Bountiful® Wi-Fi products. She also manages Bountiful® Wi-Fi’s vast channel, interacting with executive level management such as ADI-Honeywell, D&H, Zones, and Insight.

“Women hold many prominent executive positions at vendor organizations, distributors and solution provider organizations, providing critical insight and influence when it comes to technology and the channel. We want to honor and congratulate these women for their contributions to the industry and their respective organizations,” said Kelley Damore, VP, Editorial Director, Everything Channel.

A special feature of the Women of the Channel is in the July issue of CRN Magazine and expanded coverage will be featured online at www.crn.com.

Bountiful® Wi-Fi is internationally recognized for its’ powerful, affordable, and reliable full enterprise solutions of wireless networking products including: long range, managed and unmanaged wireless access points, routers, feature-rich and cost effective WLAN controllers, antennas, cables, switches, and PoE accessories.
Bountiful® Wi-Fi has a patent on the most powerful wireless router allowed under FCC regulations. At nearly 1 watt of output power and 2 to 4 X the range, the Bountiful® Router G1000 has both a superior send & receive signal, and currently outperforms the N in range. All products are scalable to N. Supported and made in the USA.

Everything Channel
Everything Channel is the premier provider of IT channel-focused events, media, research, consulting, and sales and marketing services. With over 30 years of experience and engagement, Everything Channel has the unmatched channel expertise to execute integrated solutions for technology executives managing partner recruitment, enablement and go-to-market strategy in order to accelerate technology sales. Everything Channel is a UBM company. To learn more about Everything Channel, visit us at http://www.everythingchannel.com.

About United Business Media Limited (www.unitedbusinessmedia.com)

UBM (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetization of B2B communities and markets. UBM’s businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities - from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists – with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organized into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

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CRN Magazine Recognizes Bountiful Wi-Fi

2010-07-03T05:00:00.006-06:00

In the competitive networking sector of the Tech market, it's hard to get exposure. In the past two months, Bountiful Wi-Fi has been named an "Emerging Vendor" in CRN Magazine. In June, the company was one of their "10 Hot Emerging Vendors For June 2010" and then, in July, Bountiful Wi-Fi showed up again, this time as one of their "2010 Emerging Networking Vendors." Clicking on the title of this post will take you to the article that appeared in June, but for the blurb in the July edition of the magazine, you'll either have to buy a copy (see page 22)...or continue reading. Here's what they had to say:

"Bountiful Wi-Fi is fond of touting its products as 'the most powerful Wi-Fi products and solutions allowed by law,' and gradually, it's gained the type of channel support to back up that confidence. Its BWRACWALL Series Controller is one of the main products available through VARSense, a channel-oriented discounting program."

Thank you, CRN Magazine for all the nice comments. For more information on our products and the VARSense program, go to www.bountifulwifi.com.

Improving existing technology

2010-07-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

Bountiful Wi-Fi takes existing technology and makes it better for the average VAR, which is usually a small operation. Often, a VAR is an owner – the business side of the operation – and one or two technicians. These types of outfits don’t get big contracts. Large corporations have their own staff, or will hire a larger, outside firm.

So, what do the large VARs have in common with the smaller VARs? The bottom line. That’s where Bountiful Wi-Fi steps in, aiming to let them know that they have a powerful, lower cost alternative. When clients pay a lot for a wireless system, they expect a lot out of the system. Then, when systems under-perform, clients are left to wonder what exactly they spent their hard-earned money on. Bountiful Wi-Fi’s products, on the other hand, are priced with the small- to medium-sized business in mind without sacrificing performance.

Plus, Bountiful Wi-Fi’s systems are feature-rich, so VARs don’t have to sacrifice their reputations by selling inferior products in order to save money. Listed below are some of the most popular features:
- Customizable splash page
- Captive portal
- Payment gateway
- VPN
- Firewall with rules
- Traffic shaper
- Quad SSID
- Remote access

Go to http://www.bountifulwifi.com for more information.

Creating a more reliable wireless network

2010-06-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

When designing a wireless network, there are three things to keep in mind:
- Management
- Complexity
- Maintenance

These three things all create costs that drain a VAR’s bottom line. They’re inevitable because every network must be managed, each has a specific level of complexity, and every network requires maintenance at some point. The first and third (management and maintenance) are both directly proportional to the second (complexity); as complexity costs goes down, so do the other two. As the network’s complexity decreases with the installation of a Bountiful Wi-Fi network, the time required to manage and the effort to fix problems go down also.

Bountiful Wi-Fi limits these issues with its simple, high-powered, centrally-managed network solution. The one Watt send/receive signal means less access points are needed to cover a given area; this, in turn, means the network is less complex, which leads to a network that is easier to manage. Also, with the central management, it can all be controlled remotely; a network in Nebraska can be serviced by a technician in Idaho, with no travel required.

If a network does require an actual visit, a tech can diagnose the issues, via the controller’s remote functionality, before leaving, or while travelling, so that the issues are known ahead of time and can be planned for. Thanks to the non-complexity of the network, maintenance can be performed quickly, saving time and stress.

Please visit http://www.bountifulwifi.com for more information.

Healthcare “hearts” Bountiful Wi-Fi

2010-05-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

A current trend in the healthcare industry is electronic records transferring. The ability to send records without a huge paper trail cuts down on costs like transporting, validation and time. Even within a single hospital complex, these can cost lives.

One of the barriers to creating an electronic transfer system is infrastructure. Will every room be wired? Will every physician and nurse need to carry a notebook computer to plug in, or will there be a computer station for each patient’s room? As the pile of questions grows ever-larger, the answer becomes clearer: wireless network. These types of systems have nothing to do with watching funny videos on YouTube, but have everything to do with saving lives and keeping track of patients’ records.

A Bountiful Wi-Fi wireless network will do the following for a healthcare facility:
- make records transferring immediate
- cut down on infrastructure costs
- simplify the installation of the wireless network
- decrease hardware upkeep costs

For those in the know, a Bountiful Wi-Fi controller – the brains of the network – offers the following features to aid in healthcare facilities:
- VPN
- Captive portal for individual username and password access
- Access restriction
- Firewall with rules
- NAT
- Configure up to four SSIDs

For more information, visit: http://www.bountifulwifi.com.

Wi-Fi Security: Introductions

2010-04-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

In this economy, protecting information has become an even more vital part of the stability of companies that want to avoid bankruptcy filings. That fact, combined with the ever-growing value of wireless connectivity in the workplace, is leading to an increased need for Wi-Fi security. For VARs and integrators that manage networks as well, this need is even greater as they try to monitor the equipment they install.

There are seemingly unlimited numbers of things (viruses, worms, malware, etc.) crawling around the Internet, just waiting to invade your computer. Most of these can be downloaded over Wi-Fi now, leaving your customers with very little protection. How can you prevent having to go and repair or replace equipment and computers that have been corrupted? The answer is to install a Bountiful Wi-Fi wireless network.

With a full array of Wi-Fi security features, including:
- WEP, WPA & WPA2 Encryption
- Firewall with rules

- NAT
- VPN
- Customizable splash page
- Secure Payment Gateway
- Much, much more

Hospitality and the required Wi-Fi value-add

2010-03-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

"Value-add" is not really even the right phrase to use when talking about Wi-Fi and hospitality. Guests expect Internet access, and, more and more, they expect it to be wireless. Especially when guests are often there for work conferences, access to remote office servers and computers is a necessity.

Deploying a hotel-wide network can be tricky business; an over-abundance of walls, in addition to multiple stairwells and elevators, present challenges that don't exist in some other scenarios. Also, security enablement is essential for guests with sensitive materials to protect. And, of course, people want to be able to access all of their information wherever they are in a hotel or at a resort. The result can be a costly, extensive install.

Now, what if you could make that install more profitable by limiting the amount of hardware and shortening the install time without losing the high-quality features that are necessary for this type of job? Bountiful Wi-Fi makes that possible with its centrally-managed, high-powered, cost-efficient Wi-Fi equipment, featuring:
- Customizable splash page for guest login
- Captive portal
- 1 Watt access points that give you two to three times more coverage
- Centrally-managed system with remote administrative access via the Internet
- Firewall with rules
- Content filtering
- NAT
- VPN
- RADIUS authentication
- Much, much more

Go to www.bountifulwifi.com today for information on where to buy and for tips on installing a hotel network.

Wi-Fi and WiMAX, Part 2

2009-11-01T05:00:00.008-07:00

As mentioned in the previous post, WiMAX has some issues to deal with before it becomes widespread. One of these issues is compatibility with current computers. For this issue, consider the following:

These two technologies are like two sides of the same coin. WiMAX sends a signal out that covers large areas, but doesn't have the penetration to go through walls. Wi-Fi is a local area connection (LAN) network which covers smaller areas well, but doesn't have the signal quality to cover large spaces. In order to successfully install a WiMAX network, each building needs a Wi-Fi receiver to send the signal within each building. Without them, network users will get little to no connectivity.

Additionally, security is an issue with WiMAX. Even if people are able to get onto the wide area network (WAN), there is a limited amount of security available to protect those users. This broad signal is open, which limits the amount of security allotted to protect users from viruses, malware and other virtual attacks. By connecting through a Bountiful Wi-Fi access point, users are protected by the robust security afforded through this virtual local area network (VLAN).

In summary, WiMAX alone is not the solution that some make it out to be, but with the addition of Bountiful Wi-Fi's high-powered wireless equipment, WiMAX can serve a great public need for widespread wireless coverage for businesses and homes around the world.

Wi-Fi and WiMAX, Part 1

2009-10-01T05:00:00.007-06:00

Special Note: Make sure to tune in next month, where the discussion will continue on WiMAX, and how Bountiful Wi-Fi can help with the issues mentioned below.

The wireless industry keeps talking about "WiMAX." It's the newest craze in wireless technology, but it's not the only wireless solution. There's 3G (a wireless phone and Internet solution), but soon there's going to be 4G; there's also Wi-Fi, the big player in the wireless computer market.

There are several hurdles that WiMAX must jump over before it can be widely accepted and used. First, there are problems with laptops and desktop computers. Most are now equipped with Wi-Fi capabilities, which is NOT the same as WiMAX. Some say that WiMAX is Wi-Fi on steroids, which is pretty much false, because even if a person has a Wi-Fi card in their computer, they can't automatically get on a WiMAX network.

The phrase should be, "WiMAX is 'like' Wi-Fi on steroids"; it's like Wi-Fi in that it's wireless, but it's on a different signal, and the signal needs to be converted into a Wi-Fi band transmission before individual, Wi-Fi-enabled computers can use it.

Secondly, the door is wide open for new players to enter this market. Cellphones - they seem more favorable to 4G - and PCs - thoroughly grounded in Wi-Fi - don't seem super-enthused about the technology, so other groups (yet unknown) are free to come into this WiMAX space to take root.

The third strike against WiMAX is really the most powerful one, and it has to do with businesses. Will business owners be in favor of a nationwide wireless network that their employees can use anywhere? You would think the answer would be a resounding, “Yes!" Unfortunately for WiMAX, businesses like privacy, and there have been no mentions of security over a WiMAX network. The idea of the technology is for a widely broadcast, open network. Wi-Fi, on the other hand, has multiple encryption methods to protect users.

The Take-away
That's three strikes, WiMAX, but people are holding on to their dreams of nationwide wireless coverage. This year has been a critical developmental time for the idea of wide area coverage.

WiMAX may fail miserably for now, but may emerge as a viable solution in another three to five years. The country, right now, is too well-rooted in 3G and Wi-Fi as the preferred solutions for cellular phones and computers. The need for WiMAX is not where it needs to be; the solution is currently being covered well enough by the other two. It must offer a unique set of advantages before businesses will accept it as a standard.

Wi-Fi on Steroids: What can 1 Watt do for you?

2009-09-01T05:00:00.003-06:00

Consider the following comparison:

Most routers and access points put out a signal that's between 100 and 500mW. The signal strength of Bountiful® Wi-Fi's signature products is 1000mW; that's one full Watt of power! Plus, it isn't just the out-going signal strength that's blasted; the receive sensitivity is amplified to 1000mW, too!

With that kind of power, what could YOU do?

First of all, it means you will need less equipment to cover the same OR MORE area. For example:
- a two story, 7500 square foot house with ONE router or access point.
- a three story, 192 unit apartment building, leasing office and club house with 14 access points.
- send signal from one building to another up to a mile away.

Secondly, less equipment means you can spend less time maintaining an installed network and use that time to do other money-making jobs. It effectively boosts the return on your investment in time and money.

Also, if you manage the networks you install, Bountiful® Wi-Fi has the perfect solution for you: the controller. For any install with more than two access points, this manages everything from a central location. Just plug all of them in and the access controller will do the rest of the work setting up the access points. Then, this unique device will allow you to remotely monitor, control and change what you want to on the network. For more information on the BWRACWALL Series access controller, go to www.bountifulwifi.com.

In summary, Bountiful® Wi-Fi's powerful suite of 1 Watt products will allow YOU, the integrator or VAR, to:
- set up networks more quickly and with less hassle.
- monitor installed networks with ease from anywhere in the world.
- save money on equipment and installation time.

VARSense makes sense

2009-08-01T05:00:00.003-06:00

How much money does the average VAR make off of wireless networking equipment? Many add an automatic 30% to what they paid so that they can make any money at all from the equipment. It doesn't seem fair, does it? Now imagine a wireless networking solution that gives you 2 to 4 times more coverage, and then imagine your business paying 20%-30% less than what anyone else is getting it for. Where could you find such a thing? The answer is the VARSense program at Bountiful® Wi-Fi.

Additionally, VARs and integrators receive the following benefits:
- price protection to ensure that you have the best price on every project you bid on.
- an exclusive VARSense community on Bountiful® Wi-Fi's website to get ideas, tips and tricks from other members of the program.
- training from the staff at Bountiful® Wi-Fi on how to install, optimize and market your offering.

Here's how it works:
1. You choose from our list of distributors (Synnex, D&H, Ad Hoc, Insight or Zones).
2. Order a Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Bountiful® Wi-Fi BWRACWALL demo kit.
3. Read the information included in the demo kit, try it out, then go online to apply for VARSense membership.

It's that simple, and you'll receive an additional 20%-30% savings for using Bountiful Wi-Fi's products as a VARSense member. You'll already be buying the most affordable wireless networking solution on the market, and if you sign up to be a part of this special list of integrators and VARs, you'll be saving even more!

Go to www.bountifulwifi.com for more details about the VARSense program.

Senior care facility unifies patient care with Bountiful® Wi-Fi

2009-07-01T10:52:00.002-06:00

Background
Before implementing the Bountiful® Wi-Fi solution, their sites were disorganized mixes of various wireless network equipment. This mix of products never covered more than the administration office in each facility.

The owners had been looking for a solution to completely cover their sites in order to incorporate BlueStep®’s software, installed using existing network products. BlueStep® recommended Bountiful® Wi-Fi.

Site Overview
Guardian Angel Homes’ sites have between 4 and 6 wood-framed buildings, with each structure having between 40,000 and 70,000 square fee. They are a mix of single- and two-story, rectangle-shaped facilities. One building has an elevator. All are equipped with Ethernet connections that run back to the main building’s office space.

Solution
Bountiful® Wi-Fi’s powerful BWLWAPG1000 series wireless access points provide a signal that is 2 to 4 times more powerful than that of the competition, allowing for a quicker, less costly and simpler installation process. The multi-faceted Bountiful® Wi-Fi access controller, BWRACWALL series, provides an opportunity for Guardian Angel Homes to implement BlueStep®’s mobile medication tracking software at their facilities. They needed the network to do the following things before they would be willing to install the equipment:
• VPN tunneling to provide a secure connection for patient records.
• Auto-detect access points for hassle-free setup and use
• Connect the data pipe directly into an access controller’s WAN port and have it act as the DHCP server to avoid adding additional pieces of equipment
• Provide firewall and NAT capabilities to create a secure network
• Central management to create one place from which to manage the network

BlueStep® recommended Bountiful® Wi-Fi for its powerful networking solution and excellent customer service. Bountiful® Wi-Fi has worked with the company in other installs and has found that it offers a unique solution to senior care centers that are looking to mobilize their medical delivery and tracking systems, as well as, in some cases, offering Internet access to residents by utilizing Bountiful® Wi-Fi’s quad-SSID-capable BWRACWALL series access controller and BWLWAPG1000 series access points.

Implementation
Each Guardian Angel Home has a BWRACWALL series access controller and, depending on how many buildings are in the complex, between 4 and 8 BWLWAPG1000 series lightweight, 1000mW access points. The integrators installed one BWLWAPG1000 series lightweight access point in each single story building (40,000 sq. ft.) and two access points in each two-story building (70,000 sq. ft.). All were connected with CAT-5 cable directly to the BWRACWALL series access controller, located in the office space in the main building.

Result
The previously spotty, single building coverage was turned into a full, complex-wide solution with Bountiful® Wi-Fi.

The full coverage is exactly what Guardian Angel Homes’ was looking for. They are now able to reliably and affordable centrally manage each location.

Comparisons
Option 1
2.4 GHz AP (18) at $280.00 each
Controller (1) at $2,100.00
Switch (4) at $162.99 each
Cabling (4) at $200.00 each
Grand Total $8,591.96

Option 2
2.4 GHz AP (18) at $225.39 each
Router (1) at $159.99
Switch (4) at $84.99 each
Cabling (4) at $200.00 each
Grand Total $5,356.97

Bountiful® WiFi
BWLWAPG (8) at $289.00 each
BWRACWALL16 (1) at $1,491.84
Switch (1) at $150.00
Cabling (1) at $200.00
Grand Total $4,153.84*

In every instance, Bountiful® Wi-Fi beats the competition in cost savings. With Option 2, no controller is quoted because the ability to manage, control and change the network from one central location is not offered. With Bountiful® Wi-Fi, the integrators provide so much more than just a cost benefit. They have complete control and remote management of the network.

Option 1 has a centrally-managed controller with some of the same features as the Bountiful® Wi-Fi BWRACWALL series access controller, but the solution provided by Bountiful® Wi-Fi is 106% less than Option 1.

*Further discounts are available for VARSense® members.

What does this have to do with Wi-Fi?

2009-06-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

Here is a video someone at Bountiful Wi-Fi found. It's hilarious, but it also sends a message about the power of online content. Additionally, the language is technically French, but in a world of global "relevance," language has become an obsolete barrier.

REMI GAILLARD MARCHE SUR LA LUNE
Uploaded by nqtv

IT professionals needs to keep up to date with IT developments, but with so much happening on the Internet, they need to keep up to speed with what's being discussed on blogs and on various relevant websites.

Senior living center uses Wi-Fi to go paperless

2009-05-01T09:14:00.004-06:00

Company Overview
For eleven years, Brittany Park Care has been located in the heart of downtown Woodinville, Washington, offering 205 luxurious apartment homes in a fun and active retirement community. The 220,000 square foot facility provides “Five Star Fun” for senior living and is a subsidiary of Leisure Care, which operates retirement communities across the U.S. and Canada.

Background
The Brittany Park Assisted and Independent community needed a fully nomadic Wi-Fi solution for their BlueStep software, a dynamic, web-based technology that allows for full integration between the pharmacy, the community, the residents, and other care providers. The desired end result was a complete wireless paperless system accessible inside every apartment via small hand-held devices and laptops.

The Challenge
The main challenge for providing the fully nomadic Wi-Fi solution for Brittany Park was providing full coverage in all 205 apartments, reducing the overall hardware installation and management costs without compromising full-feature support and product reliability.

Brittany Park searched for the most cost effective and reliable Wi-Fi solution to achieve a full wireless, paperless system using their new web-based software. They began by requesting bids on hardware and installation costs to cover their entire 220,000 square foot 205 room facility. The bids on the Wi-Fi network ranged from using 29 to 130 Cisco access points. The price points for installing and managing these networks were unacceptable for Brittany Park. Implementing a hardwired solution was equally cost prohibitive because of wiring costs.

The Solution

Brittany Park chose a Bountiful® Wi-Fi integration specialist to perform their installation after receiving a competitive bid. Bountiful® Wi-Fi’s BWRG1000 and BWAP1000 offer the most powerful 802.11 Wi-Fi signals allowed under FCC regulations at nearly 1 Watt compared to the competition’s 100mW. The additional signal strength enabled Brittany Park to reduce its hardware and install costs significantly by reducing the number of access points to 14 Bountiful® Wi-Fi BWAPG1000s. By reducing the number of access points Bountiful® Wi-Fi minimizes the competition on the three non-overlapping channels in 802.11 thus increasing stability and reliability. Bountiful® Wi-Fi’s products are patented and currently outperform 802.11n products in both coverage and reliability. Because of Bountiful® Wi-Fi’s superior range and “huge ears,” even the weakest clients enjoy abundant and constant speeds. The integration specialist took advantage of the free offsite integration application team at Bountiful® Wi-Fi to determine the number of access points and other accessories needed for the install.

Implementation

The Bountiful® Wi-Fi integration specialist performed an initial site survey to determine where the access points should be located. Three access points were placed in the ceilings on the bottom floor, seven were placed on the middle floor and three more access points were located on the top floor. Because of HIPAA regulations, they could not run power supplies in the ceiling where the access points were installed. Instead, they relied on the fully compliant 802.3af PoE support built into the BWAPG1000. The plenum-rated mountable housing allowed the integrator to mount the Bountiful® Wi-Fi devices and comply with fire hazard regulations. Bountiful® Wi-Fi's setup wizard walked the integrator through the install in an easy three step process. The Bountiful® Wi-Fi devices come with the highest forms of security, 802.1x (radius), WPA, WPAPSK and WPA2-Enterprise. Other features offered for flexibility on the BWAPG1000 access points and BWRG1000 wireless routers include: Quad SSID, Remote Administration, VLAN support, WDS bridge and repeater, MAC address filtering, Port Forwarding and much more.

The integrator used an eight port switch with four PoE ports to supply power to the Bountiful® Wi-Fi BWAPG1000 access points. To increase the overall coverage of each access point they purchased high gain 7dBi BWANT7 Bountiful® Wi-Fi antennas. Brittany Park plans on adding a Bountiful® Wi-Fi WLAN access controller to centrally manage the 14 Bountiful® Wi-Fi BWAPG1000 access points.

Results

The end result for the Brittany Park implementation of Bountiful® Wi-Fi products to achieve their fully integrated nomadic Wi-Fi solution was successful in reducing the overall hardware and installation costs per facility. The reduction of hardware pieces has made ongoing management minimal on the new network and has created a stable and reliable environment for the 802.11 devices. Every apartment is fully covered with seamless roaming capabilities and high throughput speeds.

The Bountiful® Wi-Fi PoE support reduced the need for additional power supply cabling costs and its plenum-rated housing ensures Brittany Park's compliance with federal and state fire laws for mountable 802.11 access points in their facilities. Brittany Park successfully established a complete wireless paperless system accessible inside every apartment at a low cost and high reliability they needed with Bountiful® Wi-Fi products.

Feedback About The Install

“Before we came across the Bountiful® Wi-Fi solution, there was no way to make the wireless integration of our product cost effective for our customers. Their technical support and pre-sales support was unlike anything we have seen in this industry. Implementing the units went as smoothly as one could hope for.”

- Jeremiah Johnson, 4care Pharmacy

The Village on Main Street

2009-04-01T20:28:00.004-06:00

Site Overview

Village on Main Street is a residential community, featuring restaurants and a branch of a university credit union. It includes 96 apartments for active seniors called the “Village Active Senior Community” for ages 55 and older and 96 conventional apartments called the “Main Street Luxury Apartments.” In total, Village on Main Street is approximately 255,000 square feet.

Background
The owners requested a wireless Internet solution that would provide all residents with an abundant & constant® Wi-Fi connection. Management desired the following features:
- Bandwidth management
- Residual revenue model for charging users
- Personal usernames and passwords for subscribers
- High security to protect tenants’ data

The Challenge
- Provide internet service for all patrons of the community without significant hardware costs.
- Create an affordable Wi-Fi network.
- Facilitate a residual monthly profit to the owner of the property with the Wi-Fi network.
- Provide a mechanism for remote management by the Integrator.

- Provide a Splash Page which would allow residents to access the network.
- Network segregation for both residential and management use.

The Solution
Bountiful® Wi-Fi’s powerful BWLWAPG1000 series wireless access points provide a signal that is 2 to 4 times more powerful than that of the competition, allowing for a quicker, less costly and simpler installation process. The multi-faceted Bountiful® Wi-Fi access controller, BWRACWALL series, provides an opportunity for Village owners to add another revenue stream to the business while giving their residents an abundant & constant® connection to the Internet with the following features:
- Splash Page allows residents to sign into the network with unique username and login information.
- Bandwidth Management gives every user equal access to the network; not one person can use all the available bandwidth.
- Remote Management facilitated the integrator's monitoring the network without having staff on-site. This also freed Village staff, allowing them to focus on servicing the residents instead of having to deal with network issues.

Implementation
The integrator installed 10 BWLWAPG1000 series lightweight access points which were distributed across the five sections of the building. Five access points are dedicated to the businesses and senior resident’s portions of the building, and five access points are dedicated to the other residential dwellings. In the separate pool/clubhouse facility, the integrator used Bountiful® Wi-Fi’s powerful WDS repeating/bridging function to install two additional access points without running cable from one building to the other. One was placed in the utility room in the main building, with the second, placed in the ceiling, repeating the signal from the unit in the utility room. Normally, this would be a problem, but with Bountiful Wi-Fi’s powerful access controller, BWRACWALL series, it is possible to control repeaters and wired units alike.

Result
The Bountiful® Wi-Fi solution was installed by the integrator for a complete, complex-wide wireless network for the residents and staff of Village on Main Street. Employees of IDG/Horizon Investment and Management Company also access the network with complete security. Using the Bountiful® Wi-Fi solution, the integrator has taken the burden off of the staff at the Village by remotely managing the network for a monthly service fee.

Comparison
Using the Bountiful® Wi-Fi solution was considerably less expensive and required less on-going maintenance than an installation using a competitor’s products. The 12 lightweight BWLWAPG1000 access points were half the cost of the competitor’s 22 access points. Also, the Bountiful ® Wi-Fi BWRACWALL access controller saved the owners more than 60%* as quoted using the competitor’s access controllers. In addition, the cost of running cable was considerably less. The Bountiful® Wi-Fi solution installed at Village on Main Street provided a cost savings of 366%, a portion of which the integrator used to increase their bottom line.

Is it possible to have two differnt sites with the same URL?

2009-03-01T05:00:00.001-07:00

Bountiful Wi-Fi just got a call from someone saying that there's a company in China that's using the "www.bountifulwifi.com" URL. Is that possible? Most would think not, but then the questions was post on LinkedIn to see if anyone knew anything about this subject. The answers received were not expected; apparently, it IS possible.

This was the best response:

"The mapping between IP address and the URL is defined by the DNS system and ultimately the 13 root servers. To mess with a domain you would have to compromise the DNS system. This could be done at a lower level if you had control of a DNS server below the root level. However, the interference would not be obvious to everyone on the Internet, only those relying on that lower level DNS server.

"My advice to you if you are worried would be to track down the person making the claim and have them take screen shots. Then try to find another person in a similar location (e.g. on the same network or using the same ISP). If you start to gather real evidence of a problem, expand your investigation. If you can't get evidence, write it off as nonsense."

There were two other answers that added to the first, and they were as follows:

"As suggested, China compromises the global DNS method by forcing the entire country to make use of a secondary authoritative DNS, that filters out all the stuff they don't want their inhabitants to see. As such all of China will not be able to see what is going on in Tibet. Remember the Google issue?

"For those that don't know about it: Google would be stopped from their activities in China if they would not block all news about the Chinese occupation of Tibet to Chinese Internet users. The Chinese government would just redirect all Google URLs to another site. For a while, the entire world would not get any search on Tibet returned by Google.

"So yes, who controls the main DNS system in China can delegate any domain again, even though it has already been registered for the rest of the world. Face it, your machines must be evil!!! :-)"

"...if your URL is routing to another company in China it's not due to Google (implied by the evil comment) but the Chinese government.

"DNS (Domain Name Service) is what translates human-readable names (e.g. 'www.microsoft.com') into the binary IP addresses that are actually used to move data packets around on the Internet. All China has done is to re-route traffic looking for bountifulwifi.com to a different IP address, and it likely only cost a small bribe."

802.11n is on the move...

2009-02-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe not, but consumers are acting like the standard is already ratified, while many IT professionals are waiting it out. A recent webinar did a poll about 802.11n technology and integration into current networks; 75% of the respondents (they were mostly IT professionals) said they would wait until the standard's ratification before they would change network backbones.

The promise of 300 Mbps makes business people salivate, but they're not thinking of what people will do with the extra bandwidth. There's a sneaking suspicion that people will be using it to download music and movie files while doing their work. Systems are going to be just as bogged down as they are now, but it won't be people just doing their work; it'll be people doing more non-work related things WHILE they work.

Maybe it can be stopped with software, but we'll see how long it takes for people to work their
way around those programs. It might take WEEKS to find a fix, if bosses are lucky.

It's hard to see the huge advantage to BUSINESSES for installing 802.11n at this point!