NVT Phybridge Case Study: Soaring Eagle Casino

Soaring Eagle Casino Deploys 1,300 IP Cameras Using NVT Phybridge CLEER24 Ethernet over Coax Switch

Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort is a full-service entertainment venue near Mount Pleasant, Michigan, owned and operated by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation. The casino was relying on analog surveillance equipment that was becoming a security risk to the business. After growing concerns of reliability, failing devices, and low-quality video recordings, the casino decided it was time to modernize surveillance with an IP camera system.

Challenge

Soaring Eagle Casino wanted to modernize from its outdated analog surveillance system to an IP-based platform. However, the estimated complexity and cost of replacing the existing Coax-based infrastructure were not attractive. The casino required IP surveillance if it wanted to increase security but needed to overcome critical barriers to achieve its desired outcomes.

Customer Concerns

• High costs to rip-and-replace the existing Coax cabling
• Loss of revenue due to business disruption during deployment
• Safety concerns with operating the casino during network downtime
• Integrating the new IP security system on to the existing local area network

Solution

The customer approached its technology partner, North American Video (NAV), to overcome these challenges. As a leader in technology solutions for the gaming industry, NAV recommended the NVT Phybridge CLEER24 switch. NAV had used NVT Phybridge technology in the past with tremendous success and was confident in the solution. Soaring Eagle Casino was intrigued and decided to test the CLEER24 switch on-site through the NVT Phybridge proof-of-concept program.

In just a few simple setup steps, the CLEER24 switch transformed the customer’s existing Coax-based infrastructure into a robust IP backbone for the new IP cameras. The CLEER24 switch delivers fast Ethernet and PoE+ over coax cable with up to 6,000ft (1,830m) reach, which’s 18-times the distance of standard Ethernet switches.

Result

The customer was delighted with the CLEER24 Ethernet over Coax switch and the entire modernization experience. NAV deployed over 1,300 IP cameras throughout Soaring Eagle Casino without unnecessary risk, complexity, or high costs. The customer spent 40% less on infrastructure compared to a rip-and-replace strategy. These cost savings were reallocated to devices and applications, improving the project’s return on investment. The simple implementation also ensured no business disruption or network downtime during deployment.

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NVT Phybridge Case Study: American Institute for Cancer Research

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) advises the world on the latest information and data regarding cancer prevention. The organization funds research on the relationship of nutrition, physical activity, and weight management to cancer risk. AICR then educates people worldwide about choices they can make to reduce their chances of developing cancer.

Challenge

Forward-thinking puts the American Institute for Cancer Research on the leading edge of cancer prevention. By applying that same forward-thinking, the AICR realized it needed to modernize its phone system to improve communication capabilities. AICR wanted to replace its existing analog phone system with a new, modern-day IP voice solution. The current phone system was supported by a CAT3 wiring infrastructure. Project partners suggested a rip-and-replace strategy in which the CAT3 wiring infrastructure would be replaced.

However, the American Institute for Cancer Research operates in a heritage building in Washington, D.C., and any building modifications or additions would be subject to severe restrictions. Cable installers estimated that 96 new cable runs would need to be added to the five-floor building, an option that proved to be too expensive for this non-profit organization.

Solution

The AICR’s telecom provider (VAR), McEnroe Voice & Data, suggested the use of new Power over Ethernet (PoE) innovations and introduced the customer to NVT Phybridge. The NVT Phybridge long reach PoE switch delivers fast Ethernet and PoE over single-pair UTP cable with up to 1,200ft (365m) reach – that’s four times the reach of standard Ethernet switches. Using the NVT Phybridge switch, the organization could avoid the costly and disruptive rip-and-replace process by leveraging the existing CAT3 cabling infrastructure for the new IP phone system.

“The installation was absolutely painless,” according to Michael McCarn, Director of Information Technology at AICR. “Our VAR sent four cabling techs on the day of our cutover. Two techs moved from desk to desk identifying the lines to be moved, while two more stayed in the phone closet and moved the connectors for each phone from the old analog system to the new NVT Phybridge switch. The switchboards were done within minutes, with the rest completed within two hours.”

“I was skeptical at first; I didn’t think the switch could deliver the smooth and painless installation promised by our VAR. I wasn’t even convinced the devices would work at all,” said McCarn. “However, having worked with the same VAR for more than 15 years, I decided to trust them – and I’m glad I did.”

Result

The modernization from analog to IP was completed within just 2 hours without high costs, complexity, or building modifications. The AICR now has a robust and reliable IP backbone to support its current and future communication needs.

The American Institute for Cancer Research took a proactive approach to find new and better ways to achieve its IP modernization objectives in a financially and socially responsible manner. The organization created a secure, robust, and reliable voice network without risk or compromise, thanks to the simplicity of the NVT Phybridge switch solution. The customer was beyond satisfied, leveraging NVT Phybridge innovation to:

• Enhance communication capabilities throughout the facility
• Reduce infrastructure costs, allocating more budget to ROI-driving IP devices and applications
• Quickly and easily deploy hundreds of IP phones thanks to the PoLRE switch’s repeatable, predictable, and scalable deployment methodology
• Simplify network requirements to reduce the deployment time significantly
• Avoid business disruption during implementation

Related Resources

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Learn more about the PoLRE switch

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NVT Phybridge Case Study: Highland Community College

3 minute read time.

Highland Community College’s mission is to meet the needs of the Greater Northwest Illinois community through quality educational and cultural programs. The College serves thousands of students at its Freeport campus and satellite locations throughout the district. The institution offers comprehensive academic programming with over 60 degrees and certificates.

Challenge

On any given day, thousands of students and hundreds of instructors can be on campus at Highland Community College. To ensure everyone’s safety, the institution wanted to prepare emergency response plans in the event of a tragedy. Whether it was a natural disaster or a human-made crisis, the College needed a dependable system to transmit communications throughout the campus to students, teachers, and visitors.

Highland Community College needed to build a robust IP voice network for the emergency phone system without high costs or disruption. The College has eight main buildings that were constructed over four decades. The existing phone system was a 12-year-old digital PBX that was no longer supported, and spare parts were becoming difficult to find. The institution wanted an IP phone solution. However, due to budget constraints and security concerns, the College wanted to keep voice communications traffic on a separate network. The College did not want to layer voice on the data local area network (LAN) and go through the disruptive and expensive LAN readiness requirements.

Solution

Due to the project’s challenges, Highland Community College’s telecom provider, ATI, recommended NVT Phybridge Power over Ethernet switch innovations. The NVT Phybridge PoE solution would leverage the campus’s existing and reliable CAT3 infrastructure to create a robust IP backbone for the new IP phone system. The NVT Phybridge switch also extends connectivity up to four times farther than standard solutions, providing new capabilities and flexibility in network design. The College was impressed with the solution and decided to move forward using the NVT Phybridge switch.

Result

ATI was able to install, configure, and test the new IP phone system in just a few days without complex integration issues with the data network. “Installing the NVT Phybridge solution was incredibly smooth,” said Tom Bruehler of Highland Community College. “There was a week allocated for the implementation, and the entire 8-building campus was up and running in just a few days.”

The customer maintained its physically separate voice network while modernizing to IP, increasing reliability and overall quality of service. The College was impressed with its new robust voice and data communication capabilities. The extended reach capabilities of the NVT Phybridge solution ensured that all PoE equipment was consolidated in one location, significantly reducing the network’s cost and complexity.

Related Resources

Education Solutions

PoLRE Switch

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NVT Phybridge Case Study: El Paseo South Gate

El Paseo South Gate is a large shopping center, located in South Gate, California. Guests visit to enjoy the shopping, food, and entertainment amenities while enjoying the stunning modern architecture and large outdoor murals.

El Paseo South Gate relied on an analog surveillance system that was installed in the late ‘90s. The system became increasingly unreliable and could no longer meet the organization’s modern-day security needs. The center tried replacing the cameras and the DVRs, however, this did not provide the ideal level of quality that was needed. El Paseo South Gate wanted to modernize its surveillance capabilities and deploy a new IP security solution.

Problem

Several challenges needed to be addressed before implementing the new IP security system. El Paseo South Gate wanted to deploy IP cameras to get complete surveillance coverage throughout the mall’s interior and in outdoor areas, including parking lots and the parking garage. Many desired endpoint locations were well beyond the 328ft (100m) reach limitation of standard Ethernet switches, and installing IDF closets would add cost and complexity to the project.

A Coax-based infrastructure supported the existing analog camera system. The customer was concerned with the potentially high cost, complexity, and disruption from ripping out the Coax and replacing it with a CAT6/Fiber backbone. Additionally, there was minimal cable route location information due to a lack of documentation from the original installation. Many environments, including the parking garage, had concrete walls, making re-cabling even more difficult. The customer needed an innovative solution to overcome its IP modernization challenges.

Solution

OC Tech Innovations (OCTI) met with NVT Phybridge at ISC West, one of the largest North American security events, and discovered the CLEER24 long-reach PoE switch. The enterprise-grade CLEER24 switch is an EoC (Ethernet over Coax) innovation that delivers Ethernet and PoE+ over any new or existing Coax cable with up to 6,000ft (1,830m) reach. That’s 18 times the reach of a standard Ethernet switch. OCTI connected with the local NVT Phybridge team and arranged a proof-of-concept to test the solution.

After a few simple setup steps, the CLEER24 transformed the customer’s existing and proven Coax-based infrastructure into a robust IP backbone for the new IP cameras. OCTI and NVT Phybridge worked together to deliver several pre-sale demonstrations for the customer to ensure it was the right solution for their needs. El Paseo South Gate was impressed with the solution and decided to move forward with the modernization initiative.

Result

Reduced infrastructure Costs for Better ROI

El Paseo South Gate was completely satisfied with the entire experience. OCTI used the CLEER24 switch to enable several IP cameras, including those in hard-to-reach places, such as the parking garage. “The CLEER24 switch was especially helpful when connecting IP cameras on the fifth level of the parking garage”, said Behzad Faridnia, Founder and Chief Innovator, OC Tech Innovations. “These runs were originally done via encased conduit without pull strings. If new cabling were needed, this would have required a new surface-mounted conduit system to be installed.” OCTI estimates that El Paseo South Gate saved approximately $465,000 in infrastructure costs using the NVT Phybridge CLEER24 switch; a total cost reduction of 71%. “We are confident this would not have been possible without the NVT Phybridge EoC product line,” said Behzad. “The client is very satisfied as they were able to avoid costly trenching and unsightly conduit runs to install these new cameras.”

Simple and Fast Deployment

By leveraging the NVT Phybridge CLEER24 switch and avoiding the rip-and-replace process, the total deployment time was reduced by two months. “The NVT Phybridge solutions were easy to deploy,” said Behzad. “Their wide range of adapters allowed us to include multi-sensor and PTZ cameras (pan-tilt-zoom) with higher Power over Ethernet requirements while auto-negotiating PoE within the same system from the same switch.”

The slim form factor of the CLEER24 switch was easily incorporated into the customer’s existing rack and ensured plenty of open rack space for future expansion. “The NVT Phybridge extenders are slim and fit easily into the pole mount and enclosures where space is at a premium,” said Behzad. “The NVT Phybridge extenders are far slimmer than the other brands on the market.”

Simple LAN Design

OCTI consolidated all cable runs to the customer’s main server room without the need for costly intermediate distribution frame (IDF) closets. “This significantly reduced network costs for El Paseo South Gate and simplified network design as we utilized all original conduit runs, removing the need for costly trenching,” Behzad commented.

Superior Performance at Greater Lengths

The NVT Phybridge EC4 adapter can connect up to four IP devices over one long-run Coax cable. OCTI and El Paseo Plaza plan to add IP-based annunciators using the existing Coax cable runs and the EC4 adapter.

When assessing the customers existing infrastructure, OCTI found that many cable runs had several splices with BNC couplers. “At first, we were concerned that these splices would degrade the overall signal,” said Behzad. “However, the signal had no issue passing through, even with an 8-splice run.” The CLEER24 switch could support high-demand cameras at great lengths, even in the toughest environments. “Even when connecting the longest cable run, we had no issues getting the IP camera online,” commented Behzad.

Physical Network Segmentation

OCTI was able to maintain a physically separate network for the new IP camera system. This will enhance network security, reduce ongoing costs, and simplify LAN management. “For security reasons, the system is “air-gapped” with the Video Management System (VMS) acting as the middleman between the surveillance network and the local LAN network for other devices”, said Behzad. “The NVT Phybridge admin portal was easy to configure for alignment with the surveillance-only subnet.”

Industry-Leading Pre and Post-Sale Support

“Pre- and post-sales support were beyond the level we expected in terms of detail and personalization,” said Behzad. “This was a breath of fresh air as far too many companies disappear once the project is won. We appreciate the support and look forward to adding NVT Phybridge as our go-to solution for IP modernization projects. We are already exploring using other products for other challenges we are facing”.

About OC Tech Innovations

OC Tech Innovations (OCTI) provides full-service Low-Voltage Electrical, Information Technology, Surveillance, and Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) services to private businesses and all levels of Government Entities. Their priority is on providing exemplary customer service that exceeds expectations. OC Tech Innovations work with their clients to generate long-term creative solutions that save time, money, and energy by using a combination of hardware, software, and next-generation technology. By providing free workshops, custom presentations, and incorporating the use of Artificial Intelligence into their projects, they are able to provide a unique perspective on the world of today while preparing for the challenges of tomorrow.

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NVT Phybridge Case Study: Food Company

One of the world’s largest food companies was relying on an analog communication system that could no longer keep up with the company’s needs. The organization wanted to modernize to IP. However, the company needed to overcome critical network readiness challenges to support a new IP voice solution.

Challenge

A CAT3 network infrastructure supported the existing analog phone system. Based on traditional LAN design thinking, the food company believed it needed to rip-and-replace the network infrastructure and install new Ethernet to support IP. Additionally, the organization was uncertain how to support the IP phones in all areas of the manufacturing facilities, given the 328ft (100m) reach limitation of standard Ethernet switches. The customer was not interested in the IDF closets required to extend connectivity to all areas of the buildings. The project was critical for business growth – but the network requirements appeared to be too costly, complicated, and disruptive to the business. The customer needed a modern solution to overcome its challenges.

Solution

Given the customer’s digital transformation challenges, JT Global Enterprise, the reseller partner, introduced the food company to the NVT Phybridge PoLRE® switch. The PoLRE switch delivers Power over Ethernet over any new or existing single-pair UTP (CAT3) infrastructure with up to 1,200ft (365m) reach. That’s four times farther than a standard PoE switch. The customer was satisfied, as the innovation would eliminate rip-and-replace requirements and allow for a smoother modernization experience. In just a few simple setup steps, the PoLRE switch transformed the customer’s existing CAT3 infrastructure into a robust IP/PoE backbone with more than enough reach to support the new IP phones exactly where the customer needed them.

Result

The food company leveraged the NVT Phybridge PoLRE switch to deploy over 4,000 IP phones across 47 locations. JT Global Enterprise was able to leverage the existing and proven voice infrastructure to maintain a physically separate network for the new IP voice solution. The customer was also pleased with the simplicity of the solution. “Achieving IP connectivity first to support our new solution was where we exhausted most of our planning time. When we learned about the NVT Phybridge PoLRE product, we were able to move straight into implementation,” said the Sr. Telecommunications Manager for the food company. “The PoLRE switch solved every concern we had, especially around costs and complexity. Its simplicity, stability, and ease of deployment quickly provided the IP and PoE we needed to support our new system and features for all of our users.”

The food company took a pro-active approach to find new and better ways to support its IP modernization objectives in a financially and socially responsible manner. The customer leveraged Modern LAN design and NVT Phybridge PoE innovations to:

• Create a secure and robust point-to-point network topology for the new IP phones to improve application performance and quality of service
• Reduce infrastructure costs by more than $1.2 million
• Deploy the PoLRE solution in just four months; compared the original 18-month forecast
• Avoid rip-and-replace requirements to eliminate any potential business disruption
• Leverage the existing infrastructure to prevent over 12 tons of e-waste

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NVT Phybridge and JT Global Enterprise

We are committed to staying at the forefront of innovation to help our customers simplify the modernization to IP and the Internet of Things. Choose NVT Phybridge and JT Global Enterprise as you prepare your organization for the future of communication. JT Global Enterprise is focused on helping you drive your strategy for Customer Engagement, Digital Transformation, and Smart Retail, by delivering Network, Security, UC, and Contact Centre solutions.

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