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Derby Launches New Tool for Rapid Facilities Deployment

Derby is pleased to introduce a new tool to increase flexibility and decrease implementation times for new facilities and facility expansion: the Network in a Box.

This new tool leverages multiple strategic and technical partnerships to deliver a mobile platform that can provide secure WAN communications, VoIP support, and up to 110,000 square feet of secured wireless coverage to any facility with sufficient 4G LTE signal, or where a WAN uplink is available. The unit is small enough to be shipped overnight using parcel carriers and can be unpacked, deployed and operational within 20 minutes.

The Network in a Box, or NIBbler, has been designed and developed over the last 2 years in response to various internal and external needs. As technology caught up to the goals of the project, more pieces were planned and added. The resulting unit can now satisfy a number of needs, including:

  • Expanding/flexing an existing facility to accommodate temporary customer needs
  • Opening new facilities quickly
  • Taking over existing facilities with minimal transition time
  • Creating a temporary working “hot-spot” where value added services can be performed and work areas torn down with minimal technical effort

More importantly, NIBbler allows for process planning and implementation to begin more quickly by helping to remove technical barriers. If permanent infrastructure becomes necessary, it can be installed after connectivity is established through NIBbler.

Included in the box is a full complement of technology resources required to bring sites online:

  • A hardened security appliance that maintains connectivity and establishes a secure VPN tunnel to Derby’s corporate data center
  • 2 wirelessly-enabled laptop computers
  • 2 handheld mobile computers with barcode scanning capabilities
  • A mounted 802.11b/g/n wireless access point with beam-forming for extended range and wireless meshing enabled
  • A mobile 802.11 b/g/n wireless access point used to extend the wireless network through meshing
  • A VoIP phone
  • A USB 4G LTE modem for internet connectivity