- Create a free information service and intranet designed to connect all of the exhibitors throughout the main exposition area as well as those in outlying buildings.

Solution

- A star topology based on connecting 18 TinyBridge-based four-wire links to the intranet via a central Ethernet switch.

Benefits

- A surprisingly cost-effective solution using TinyBridge when it was ”assumed” that fiber optics would provide the best solution. In fact, fiber optics turned out to be at least four times more expensive. Because the TinyBridge has a built-in modem, it has overcome the distance problem normally associated with miniature bridges, and is effective up to 700 meters.

When Victor Costa, project manager for information networks at Lisbon’s Expo ’98, was asked to design a data network for the world’s largest international exposition, he assumed that fiber optics would provide the most cost-effective, flexible solution to connect the exhibitors.

However, after researching the possible solutions and making his initial budget estimates, Costa found that he would have to search for other alternatives. ”Actually, we originally thought fiber optic cables were our only option,” Costa says, ”because regular Ethernet is not usually suitable for a space the size of the exposition’s 10,000 square meter main hall. What we found is that the fiber optic alternative costs four to five times more than using RAD’s TinyBridge four-wire solution.”

Working in conjunction with Etatronica, RAD’s Lisbon distributor, they designed a star topology which is based on connecting 18 pairs of TinyBridge four-wire miniature remote Ethernet bridges to an Ethernet switch at the central site.

”This serves as the basis of a free information service we provide for Expo ’98 exhibitors,” Costa says. ”There are about 100 connections which cover the main exposition area, and provide high speed Ethernet-based access to Expo ’98’s intranet.” This does not include access to the Internet, which Expo ’98 is not allowed to provide.

At Expo ’98, the TinyBridge is not just being used in the main exhibition hall. ”It is also being used for outlying buildings, where distance and low density do not justify fiber optic cabling,” Costa says.

While standard Ethernet bridges usually serve a maximum distance of 100 meters, RAD’s miniature TinyBridge has overcome this distance problem. Incorporating a built-in modem, the TinyBridge is effective up to 700 meters. ”Another advantage of the TinyBridge is that it can accommodate traffic over Level 5 twisted pair at 5 Mbps or 10 Mbps,” says Amir Karo, Director of Product Management at RAD Data Communications. ”It also features wirespeed forwarding and is guaranteed not to drop packets. Most important, because the hardware is built in, it can process 15,000 packets per second, which is more than 10 times faster than a normal CPU performing the same task.”

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