Nology, the official distributor of Zyxel in South Africa, announced the availability of Zyxel’s new NebulaFlex network management platform. “We’re excited to be adding NebulaFlex to our existing Zyxel portfolio,” said Grant Robertson, Product Manager at Nology. “NebulaFlex frees traditional standalone wireless Access Points (APs) to be managed in two modes, either cloud-managed or on-premises, giving businesses true flexibility in deployment while reducing extra hardware and software costs,” explains Robertson. Currently supported by three Zyxel wireless access point models, NebulaFlex frees traditional standalone APs to be managed in two modes – either cloud-managed or on-premises, giving businesses true flexibility in deployment while reducing extra hardware and software costs.

The choice between cloud or on-premises - why not both?

NebulaFlex offers the best of both cloud-managed and on-premise networks

Take the leap with Zyxel Nebula

Created for businesses spread across multiple locations without proper network management expertise or resources, Zyxel Nebula is a 100% cloud-based networking and management solution which centrally and remotely manages all Nebula wired, wireless and security devices from a single pane of glass – the Nebula Control Center (NCC). Without any additional costs, users who own the hybrid access points will be able to reap the benefits of Zyxel Nebula Cloud, including 24/7 access to the Nebula dashboard, device/client monitoring and event log from anywhere in the world, and more. There’s also the option to upgrade to Nebula Professional Pack license for granular, enterprise-class features.

“We wanted to make it even easier and simpler for everyone to enjoy the flexibility and scalability that cloud networking could bring to their businesses,” commented Crowley Wu, Senior AVP of Zyxel Networking Business Unit. “With NebulaFlex, they don’t have to worry about the upfront costs of replacing the entire network infrastructure; there’s literally nothing to lose to try it out.”

NebulaFlex is currently supported in the following Zyxel wireless access points: NWA1123-AC HD, NWA1123-AC PRO and NWA1123-ACv2 with firmware version 5.20 or above. The top of the range model, NWA1123-AC HD, is a Wave 2 Hybrid access point that supports a combined data rate of up to 1.6Gbps and introduces Multi User-MIMO (MU-MIMO) technology, the next evolution in Wi-Fi. This enables an access point to communicate with multiple devices simultaneously and decreases the time each device has to wait for a signal and dramatically speeds up your network.”

The Nebula Mobile App offers a quick approach to network management, with which administrators can use the QR code scanner to register a large number of devices on Nebula Control Center all at once. Additionally, it provides an instant view of different sites for the IT staff to monitor the real-time network status.

Zyxel Communications

Focused on innovation and customer-centric technology and service, Zyxel Communications has been connecting people to the Internet for nearly 30 years. Our ability to adapt and innovate with networking technology places us at the forefront of the drive to create connectivity for telcos and service providers, businesses and home users.

For more information, visit www.zyxel.co.za

Nology (Pty) Ltd

With Internet access speeds getting faster and faster, the conventional in-home Wi-Fi architecture of a centralised router is becoming problematic. The weakening of wireless signals through walls and floors results in poor Wi-Fi performance and dead-spots. Unlike traditional Wi-Fi, which relies on a single router, the AirTies Home Wi-Fi Mesh system uses multiple Access Points (APs) placed around the home to create an intelligent and seamless Mesh network that ensures consistent high quality Wi-Fi performance to all corners of the home.

This intelligent mesh Wi-Fi system comes in the form of a pre-paired triple-pack of Air 4920 devices specifically designed for the residential market. The APs automatically establish wireless 5GHz backhaul links between one another to ensure that data transmission patterns are optimised throughout the home. Using super-fast wireless 802.11ac technology the AirTies Mesh system will keep the whole family connected no matter where they are in the home.

A single pack for the Air 4920 is also available and can be used as either an extension to an existing mesh (3+1), or a stand-alone access point.

A New Approach to in-Home Wi-Fi

Previous attempts at solving the in-home Wi-Fi problem include the use of Wi-Fi repeaters, but these tend to come with their own set of problems in terms of set-up and use. Using a repeater generally results in a fragmented Wi-Fi coverage where the client device (e.g. a smartphone, laptop, tablet, etc.) must decide where to connect. It is evident that these mobile smart devices do not make intelligent decisions when it comes to optimal connection. This often forces the home user to manually switch between Wi-Fi networks to ensure connection to the best-performing access point.

Until now, cabling remained the only feasible alternative to carry fast Internet speeds to every other room in the home. Typically, however, little attention is paid to data cabling routes when homes are designed and built, therefore the user is left with a choice of either poor and fragmented Wi-Fi using repeaters or drilling, chasing and general outfitting of unsightly data cables.

AirTies’ In-Home Mesh Technology Explained

Founded in 2004, AirTies is the most widely deployed provider of Wi-Fi Mesh solutions to operators around the globe with an installed base of over 15 million devices worldwide. Support for Wireless Video Streaming Consumers love to watch Internet videos on their mobile devices at home, but hate to see them buffering at the most exciting parts. Streaming to moving wireless devices is even more challenging. The AirTies system prioritises video signals over other Internet traffic to ensure optimal performance. This enables consumers to connect their wired or wireless Set-Top-Box and stream HD or UHD content with no cabling required. Intelligent Client and Band Steering The intelligent AirTies 4920 dual-band mesh consistently analyses the location, status and performance of each of the Wi-Fi clients and actively hands-off the client to a better positioned AP ensuring maximum performance. The mesh system also learns the Wi-Fi capabilities of each individual client allowing for the optimisation of band utilisation. If a dual-band capable device is settling for a connection on the slower 2.4GHz band, the system automatically steers this client to the 5GHz band not only improving the throughput performance of that particular device, but also alleviating congestion on the 2.4GHz band, boosting the performance of legacy single-band devices.

Easy Installation and Expansion

Installation and set-up is a breeze for consumers and does not require a technician. Setup is managed by a user-friendly mobile application (iOS/Android) that also sports some excellent management features like an in-home network sitemap, connected client list, mesh-link health and guest access control. In addition, it facilitates a single Wi-Fi network with one name and one password for the entire home.

Each AirTies 4920 AP has two Gigabit Ethernet ports. These Ethernet ports can be used to connect to a wired client device like a NAS or media streamer, or if you already have a LAN network in place, it can also be used for backhaul data transmissions.

Best of all is the price, which is very competitive for a triple-pack mesh system.

For more information on the Airties Wi-Fi Mesh Kit, visit www.nology.co.za/airties

About Nology:

Founded in 2001, Nology combines trusted business fundamentals, technical expertise and over 15 years' experience to provide quality Broadband, Wireless, Networking and VoIP solutions to leading service providers, network operators and systems integrators across southern Africa. For more information, visit www.nology.co.za

CONTACTS:

Nology, Jennifer Eksteen, 010 980 0000, jennifer@nology.co.za, www.nology.co.za

icomm, Debbie Sielemann, 082 414 4633, debbie@pr.co.za, www.icomm-pr.co.za

Nology, South Africa’s leader in Device Management and Provisioning solutions for Service Providers and Telco’s have recently expanded their Axiros solution portfolio to include Axtract - a powerful data analytics and Quality of Experience (QoE) module.

Axiros offers the world’s most complete CPE vendor agnostic Device Management Solutions and Nology is the exclusive distributor and systems integrator for Axiros in South Africa.

South Africa’s ISP landscape has become fiercely competitive in recent years, particularly in the Fibre to the Home market. With margins coming under ever increasing pressure, it has become essential for service providers to reduce operational costs and maximize efficiency.

Riaan Leuschner, Nology’s Sales Director says: “The Axiros platform is all about providing a competitive advantage to our Service Provider and Reseller partners. We work closely with these partners, so we understand the challenges they are facing and exactly how competitive the market is for them. By dramatically streamlining their CPE provisioning, logistics and support operations, we have successfully helped these customers to improve their efficiency and margins.”

Axtract QoE aims to deliver a complete picture of the total customer experience to the Service Provider by adding the ability to measure the Quality of Experience of one individual customer or across an entire population of devices or customers at any point in time or historically.

Nology’s Device Management Business Unit Manager Adriaan Liebenberg says “We are excited by the new dimension that QoE brings to the market. Nology has been offering zero-touch provisioning, monitoring, and support tools for IP phones and routers for over 10 years now and adding QoE monitoring and analytics to allow our partners to have full insight into their customers’ experience is going to add massive value and benefit to them.”

Traditionally, DMS systems have been extremely expensive to acquire and implement, putting it in reach of only the largest service providers.

“Our Axiros Platform as a Service model is a first in the country and has been met with huge success. By dramatically reducing the barrier to entry and removing the upfront costs, we have been able to onboard partners to whom the system would previously have been beyond their reach. We are proud to say that today we are approaching half a million devices being actively managed by our systems,” Leuschner adds.

Visit Nology at this year’s MyBroadband annual conference to check out their new Axtract provisioning service and other exciting new products.

About Nology

Founded in 2001, Nology combines trusted business fundamentals, technical expertise and over 15 years' experience to provide quality Broadband, Wireless, Networking and VoIP solutions to leading service providers, network operators and systems integrators across southern Africa.

For more information, visit www.nology.co.za