Fortress Technologies BreadCrumb Wireless Network manual Introduction, What is a BreadCrumb?

Chapter 1. Introduction

Rajant Corporation’s (http://www.rajant.com) BreadCrumb Wireless Networks are portable, mobile, battery-powered, automatically-meshing, self-healing, full-duplex, secure, 802.11b access points. Their focus is on flexibility, adaptability, and simplicity.

The BCWN (BreadCrumb Wireless Network) is intended for rapid deployment of a broadband wireless network into a situation or "hot zone."

The BreadCrumb Wireless Network components utilize the 802.11b wireless networking standard to form a wireless mesh network. The network can be deployed as a standalone wireless network or may be connected to other networks (such as the Internet or a LAN in a Tactical Operations Center) utilizing available reachback communication links (satellite modem, DSL, cable modem, etc.).

BreadCrumb devices are available with different configurations designed for specific tasks, described in the next section.

What is a BreadCrumb?

A BreadCrumb device is an 802.11b (Wi-Fi) Access Point specifically designed for the following scenarios:

Temporary Wireless Networks

Networks that must be established quickly and with minimal effort for short-term use. (e.g., a network established to provide First Responder support at the site of a disaster)

Mobile Wireless Networks

Networks in which the network infrastructure itself is mobile, in addition to client devices. (e.g., a convoy viewing a video stream from a UAV)

Wireless Network Extension

Networks in which a wireless network must be quickly extended around or through obstacles that block wireless communications (e.g., urban canyon networks, tunnels/caves, etc.)

Wired Network Extension

Networks in which two or more wired LANs at different locations must be connected wirelessly (e.g., to securely connect combat service support computers with logistics bases)

Any Combination of the Above

Most BreadCrumb deployments include elements from more than one of the above scenarios.

In many cases, BreadCrumb devices will perform all of the above tasks as shipped with no configuration necessary at all, providing an instant TAN - a Tactical Area Network. Moreover, because BreadCrumb devices use industry-standard 802.11b communications, client devices such as laptops or handheld computers require no special hardware, software, or configuration to access a BreadCrumb Wireless Network.

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