ITS News

Vanderbilt Information Technology Services (ITS) used a creative solution to extend the Vanderbilt network to an off-campus building…literally through thin air.

Vanderbilt Real Estate contacted ITS about potentially supplying network services to the building. The nearest network cables were in a building across a parking lot.

The challenge: extending the voice and data networks from that building to the offline building. Several solutions were considered, but most involved either laying cable between the buildings, requiring expensive and disruptive excavation, or adding overhead cables in an area where space was tight and aerial line clearance was a concern.

A less intrusive solution was decided on and implemented, said Tanish Horner, Network Services Infrastructure Engineer. The network is literally extended through the air by a laser beam using Free Space Optics (FSO) technology. Two Canobeam DT-110 units, made by Canon, send and receive the signal. The units, which look similar to surveillance cameras, are connected to the hardwired network by fiber optic cables.

The units can transmit data at speeds up to 156 MB per second. The Canobeams feature auto tracking, whereby they automatically compensate for wind or sway. In adverse weather, data transfer continues even when the laser signal is obscured up to 50% by, for example, heavy rain or fog. Transmitted data is secure.

Other technologies deployed in the building include Voice over IP, a fax server, and bridging wireless access points (APs). The latter technology, in which wireless signals can be transmitted via APs from building to building, will serve as a backup to the Canobeams.

Kate Gilbreath, an ITS Service Delivery Manager, served as project manager for the effort.

This marks the first time free space optics have been used for production in a permanent installation at Vanderbilt, Horner said. Although similar technology was tested at the Medical Center a few years ago, it was not installed.