Financial services giant Momentum Life has completed the implementation of a huge RadioLAN wireless network supplied by PQ Client Computing (PQCC), a member of the PQ Africa group, wireless networking its entire branch network covering 45 MDS-branches.
Momentum Distribution Services is a division of Momentum Life focusing on distributing financial products through intermediaries to the market.
"Initially, MDS had embarked on a project plan to install LAN cabling at its branches following the creation of FirstRand, the merger between FNB, RMB, Momentum and Southern Life, but quickly realised that its rollout schedule was quite stretching and could have left staff stranded without computers," explained Johan de Kock, head of network infrastructures at Momentum Distribution Services.
"The network was implemented in a fraction of the time of a cable network and without the disruption of laying cables. Wireless offers an almost three-fold increase in performance over cable systems with its collision avoidance technology," explained de Kock.
Statistics indicate that 70 percent of network failure is attributable to cabling infrastructure. By removing that physical infrastructure, RadioLAN removes the prime source of networking problems, dramatically increasing reliability.
According to PQCC, RadioLAN is the only 10Mbps wireless LAN technology available in the country.
"While other corporates are currently making do with 2Mbps, RadioLAN has plans for even greater bandwidth capabilities," PQCC explained.
"In addition to boosting network reliability, the technology also fosters far greater flexibility. PCs can be shifted easily, without requiring a technician to alter the cabling," added de Kock.
"Organisations using conventional cabling invariably have to build in spare capacity which may never be required, for instance saturation cabling.
"RadioLAN cuts out this excess, enabling devices to be installed exactly where and when needed. When there is a failure, the unit is simply swapped out by the customer, without the need for reconfiguration," he noted.
There is no need, however, to deploy wireless technology exclusively, as RadioLAN facilitates the bridging of wireless and wired traffic at 10Mbps. This enables organisations to preserve existing networking investments, while taking advantage of the benefits of wireless technology.
"Another perk wireless technology provides over conventional cabling is low maintenance, vital for all organisations and especially with remote branches which do not have skilled support on site," noted PQ Africa Account Manager for Momentum Life, Waldi Penzhorn.
"The RadioLAN solution has enabled 45 branches and 320 concurrent users to be networked at sometimes a days notice, with branches completed in a single day," said de Kock.
"Physical cabling could never have delivered the flexibility Momentum required, which PQCC was able to supply with RadioLAN," he added.
MDS offices are now wireless-enabled. PCs are simply plugged into the power and are automatically linked to the network. "Although wireless technology had yet to win wide acceptance in South Africa, and Momentum had reservations about the technology, time pressures forced us into wireless - and we have not looked back," said de Kock.
"The repercussions if wireless failed to live up to its claims were enormous, but the technology is successful. PQ provided guarantees to replace the wireless network with cable at no cost if Momentum were not satisfied," he noted.
"Prior to the merger, the branches of Momentum Life were linked by a cluster controller network giving access only to Momentum Individual Life systems," said de Kock.
The need to connect to other product suppliers within the Group Momentum Health, Momentum Administration Services, RMB Fund Managers and others forced Momentum Distribution Services to implement a more intelligent network.
"This site once again confirms the success of wireless networking, and Momentum expects to reap a host of benefits from the installation. In addition to a fast installation, RadioLAN offers reliability, low maintenance and a high level of flexibility," explained Group Executive for PQ Africa, Chris Botha.
"In changing business environment, people are becoming more mobile than they used to be. Workgroups are formed to do projects and on completion, staff return to their original jobs, often requiring changes in the network configuration. Wireless enables staff to simply pick-up their workstation or notebook and move it to where they will be working without having to connect to a cable point.
"Sales of desktop computers are declining worldwide in favour of notebook computers, highlighting the importance of mobility. Workers cannot be restricted by cabling, and RadioLAN provides the high level of flexibility today`s markets demand," explained Botha.
Network rollout was implemented in two phases: wide-are networks linking branches countrywide, plus local-area networking within branches.
The WAN builds on the existing infrastructure of FNB`s frame relay network using Cisco routers terminating at branch level and Momentum Distribution Services head office.
Within the branches, LANs were designed around TCP/IP as the only protocol capable of communicating with five different product suppliers within the group. The topology at branch level is ethernet, instead of the token ring deployed at head office.
"Past experience of people moving within and between branches - along with the fact that there were no technical staff to assist - led us to adopt a wireless ethernet topology. RadioLAN was the only equipment to give us proper security with HTML management and data encryption in a cost-effective manner," said de Kock.
Unique to RadioLAN`s backbone link is the ability to connect the wireless LAN to a router LAN interface.
The wireless implementation kicked off at a pilot site in Centurion, which developed into the first production site and the beginning of the rollout.
"MDA business systems are Java driven. Graphics are no problem for RadioLAN networks, which are subject to the same speed limitations as conventional ethernet cable," he said.
In terms of maintenance, remote support can be provided via the Internet on RadioLAN installations - every single device is manageable. This ability to look after remote devices centrally is also a significant cost-saver for organisations considering the technology, eliminating the need to send a technician on-site to inspect cabling.
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