Harris Corp., a global provider of wireless equipment and services, announced it has added a new feature to its flagship TRuepoint™ digital microwave radio platform – remote capacity control to enable operators to "pay as you grow" on any point-to-point microwave link. Remote capacity control enables wireless operators to scale capacity on any TRuepoint microwave link within their global networks to deliver performance where and when it is needed. As a result, Harris' global customers now have the granular control required to optimize network resources and cost-effectively adjust capacity on an on-demand basis.


"With mass adoption of 3G, HSDPA and other wireless broadband services almost upon us, our customers have looked to us not just for high capacity backhaul, but the intelligence to manage that capacity as market demands dictate," stated Guy Campbell, president of Harris' Microwave Communications Division. "These additional features give our customers the ability to centrally manage and dynamically adjust their network resources as different levels of capacity are required in different markets."

Harris' TRuepoint enhancements provide operators with the flexibility to remotely optimize their networks performance. This ability will assist our customers to cost effectively adapt to the dynamic traffic flows incurred by IP-based services (for example, 3G, HSDPA) that require substantially more capacity than previous voice and data services. Many operators plan to offer several of these IP-based services to various markets around the globe, so there is a significant level of unpredictability in terms of how much capacity will be required to deliver service in a given geographical area. Prior to remote capacity control, this unpredictability could result in expensive cost over-runs when operators were forced to guess at capacity requirements.

Harris new enhancements remove the uncertainty in delivering the appropriate level of backhaul capacity, as its TRuepoint customers can now remotely scale the capacity of the point-to-point microwave link up or down without hardware changes or site visits. In doing so, Harris eliminates costly truck rolls and reduces the time required by an operator to adjust fluctuating network capacity requirements driven by bandwidth-intensive services. "Wireless operators around the world are moving to IP-based services at an accelerated rate and that means significant demand for dynamic backhaul," said Emmy Johnson, principal analyst at Skylight Research. "The market will continue to require more and more backhaul capacity as services continue to become increasingly advanced. By adding additional capacity control, Harris has made its award-winning TRuepoint platform much stronger."

In related news, Harris announced key security features for TRuepoint, making it one of the most secure point-to-point platforms in the industry. Harris' new secure network management features enable wireless operators to remotely manage any TRuepoint platform anywhere in the world using a broad selection of security protocols, as well as the ability to create pre-defined access permissions with Remote Authentication Dial-In User Services (RADIUS) and event-logging capabilities. Together, these features provide Harris' global customers with the granular access control required to centrally manage a global wireless network.

"As security concerns have evolved from mass attacks and viruses to more targeted, intrusive penetration from skilled hackers, it has become necessary to secure every aspect of a wireless network," stated Asif Rahman, vice president, product line management for Harris' Microwave Communications Division. "Offering secure connection with the TRuepoint platform, along with the means to vary privileges and track access, provides our global customers with the tools they need to more effectively protect their networks."

Harris has implemented secure network management features that make TRuepoint the leading microwave platform in terms of security. In order to facilitate remote network management while still protecting each individual device, Harris has incorporated multiple means for remotely managing a TRuepoint network using various security protocols. These include SNMP v3, WebCIT over HTTPS, FTPS and radius client/server support.

In addition, Harris has incorporated a RADIUS client that allows customers to maintain a centralized list of user accounts and their respective permissions. Every time a user attempts to login to a radio from any interface, the radio checks the user credentials with the remote RADIUS server. If the RADIUS server authenticates and authorizes the user, access will be granted to manage TRuepoint with pre-determined privileges, similar to the method used to manage user accounts on a company intranet.

In order to provide a history of activity for each individual platform, TRuepoint now uses an enhanced event logger to track all events. Every alarm state change, configuration and control state change, the identity of the user modifying the configuration/control of each TRuepoint platform and even the applications used to access the devices are recorded. TRuepoint, which is deployed in over 55 countries around the globe, is currently the only digital radio platform in the industry that combines remote capacity control, secure network management and also provides both TDM and IP interfaces. The new enhancements to TRuepoint are available now.