Fortress Technologies BreadCrumb Wireless Network - Manual (Page 7)

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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