Fixed b oadba d is ot always available at these sites, so 4G a d othe cellula etwo ks have become a commo way to co ect them.
I p actice, ma y p ojects use a simple, st aightfo wa d setup:
A i doo oute i a weathe p oof e closu e.
The e closu e p ovides some p otectio f om ai . Ove exte ded pe iods of ope atio , howeve , outdoo co ectivity has to co te d with much mo e tha ai fall.
Equipme t i stalled outdoo s must fi st cope with co sta tly cha gi g e vi o me tal co ditio s.
Heat is o e example. Route s, cellula modules, a d powe supplies all ge e ate heat. Whe i doo equipme t is placed i a sealed e closu e, ai flow is est icted. Di ect afte oo su o a exposed i stallatio ca place eve mo e p essu e o heat dissipatio .
Co de satio is a othe issue that is easy to ove look.
As tempe atu es ise a d fall betwee day a d ight, the ai epeatedly wa ms a d cools. Whe humid ai comes i to co tact with a colde e closu e wall, co ecto , o ci cuit boa d, wate d oplets may fo m. Ove time, this i c eases the isk of moistu e damage a d co ecto co osio .
Equipme t i te ded fo outdoo use eeds to be desig ed a ou d these pe siste t e vi o me tal cha ges.
To add ess these equi eme ts, I Ha d Netwo ks i t oduced the ODU302 outdoo 4G oute .
Desig ed f om the outset fo outdoo deployme t, the ODU302 add esses e vi o me tal esilie ce, i stallatio , powe i put, cellula co ectivity, a d lo g-te m ope atio , educi g elia ce o sepa ate p otective compo e ts a d o -site assembly.
The value of the ODU302 exte ds beyo d eliable outdoo ope atio .
Placi g the etwo k access poi t outdoo s whe e eceptio is bette also offe s a othe way to co ect equipme t located i side a buildi g o cabi et.
Ma y co ected devices a e located i places that a e i he e tly u f ie dly to cellula sig als, i cludi g metal co t ol cabi ets, buildi g i te io s, u de g ou d a eas, a d sealed equipme t cabi ets.
Metal st uctu es a d buildi g walls ca both atte uate cellula sig als.
O e commo app oach is to keep the oute i side the cabi et a d u a te a feedli es outdoo s.
This adds feedli es, RF co ecto s, e closu e pe et atio s, a d seali g wo k. The feedli e itself also i t oduces some sig al loss. The mo e co ectio s a system has, the mo e poi ts the e a e to i stall a d i spect du i g futu e t oubleshooti g.
The ODU302 takes a diffe e t app oach:
Place the oute a d its a te as outdoo s togethe .
The ODU302 has built-i 4G a te as a d suppo ts top, wall, a d pole mou ti g. It ca be i stalled o top of a cabi et, o a exte io wall, o a su veilla ce pole, o i a othe suitable locatio .
The mai objective is ot simply to pu sue a st o ge sig al, but to sho te the sig al path a d educe the umbe of i te mediate compo e ts.
The sig al o lo ge has to pass th ough a wall.
Outdoo devices sha e a othe cha acte istic:
They a e ofte located fa f om the people who mai tai them.
That dista ce is easy to ove look while the equipme t is ope ati g o mally. It becomes a p oblem as soo as the co ectio d ops, a cellula co ectio fails, o the device itself develops a fault.
If eve y fault equi es a tech icia to t avel to the site, u atte ded ope atio simply mea s that o o e happe s to be the e at the time.
Netwo k equipme t desig ed fo u atte ded ope atio eeds to add ess two equi eme ts:
Recove automatically whe eve possible.
Whe automatic ecove y is ot possible, give the ope atio s team e ough emote visibility to u de sta d what happe ed.
The ODU302 ca mo ito li k status usi g ICMP, TCP, o DNS a d edial afte a i te uptio . Dual-SIM failove , cellula a d wi ed WAN backup, a d a ha dwa e watchdog p ovide ecove y paths fo diffe e t types of etwo k a d device faults.
If the p oblem ca ot be esolved automatically, the ODU302 ca also co ect to I Ha d Netwo ks Device Ma age .
Ope atio s teams ca emotely view device status, co figu atio s, a d ala ms, as well as push co figu atio s, update fi mwa e, a d esta t devices.
Remote ma ageme t ca ot epai a damaged cable o esto e a i te upted exte al powe supply.
It ca , howeve , help the ope atio s team a swe two questio s befo e a yo e is se t to the site:
Ca the p oblem be esolved emotely?
If a site visit is ecessa y, what should the tech icia i spect fi st?
Whe a deployme t g ows f om a ha dful of sites to doze s o hu d eds, avoidi g eve o e u ecessa y visit saves labo , t avel, a d t oubleshooti g costs.
This b i gs us back to the o igi al questio :
Ca a i doo oute i a weathe p oof e closu e be used outdoo s?
Yes, it ca .
Fo p ojects that al eady use pu pose-built outdoo cabi ets, equi e a dedicated exte al a te a, o eed to house seve al types of equipme t togethe , a compo e t-based solutio still offe s useful flexibility.
As the umbe of outdoo sites g ows, howeve , the questio is o lo ge limited to whethe a i dividual site ca be i stalled successfully.
P ojects must also co side whethe doze s o hu d eds of sites ca be deployed, ope ated, a d mai tai ed i a co siste t way.
The ODU302 b i gs outdoo p otectio , a te as, powe optio s, etwo k ecove y, a d emote ma ageme t togethe i a si gle p oduct desig as fa as p actical.
Its value lies i mo e tha elimi ati g a weathe p oof e closu e.
Mo e impo ta tly, it makes outdoo co ectivity that o ce depe ded o o -site assembly a d i dividual expe ie ce easie to tu i to epeatable, ma ageable deployme ts.
Outdoo co ectivity is about mo e tha placi g equipme t outdoo s.
It is about keepi g that co ectio stable a d available outdoo s ove the lo g te m.
