Tag: support

Streamlining Network Management: The Benefits of Co-Terminating Router Warranties

Networks serve as the backbone of business operations and ensuring seamless connectivity is paramount. One critical aspect of network management often overlooked is the maintenance of router warranties. Many businesses operate with multiple routers, each requiring individual warranty management. However, there’s a streamlined solution that offers numerous benefits: co-terming router warranties.

Co-terming router warranties involves aligning the expiration dates of warranties across all routers within a network infrastructure. This approach simplifies the administrative burden, enhances budgeting and planning, streamlines support processes, and ensures consistent coverage. Let’s delve deeper into some of these advantages:

  1. Simplified Management: Managing warranties for multiple routers can be a logistical challenge. Co-terming warranties eliminates the need to track individual expiration dates, allowing for centralized and streamlined management of warranties.
  2. Budgeting and Planning: With co-terming, businesses can align warranty expiration dates with their budgeting and planning cycles. This facilitates better financial forecasting and allocation of resources for future router replacements or upgrades.
  3. Streamlined Support: When warranties expire at different times, it can complicate support processes. Co-terming warranties ensures that all routers are covered simultaneously, simplifying support and replacement procedures in case of failures.
  4. Consistent Coverage: Co-terming warranties ensures consistent coverage across all routers in the network. This uniformity minimizes the risk of downtime due to unexpected failures, enhancing overall reliability and performance.
  5. Risk Mitigation and Business Continuity: Relying on routers without warranty coverage poses significant risks to business operations. Hardware failures can result in costly downtime, loss of productivity, and potential data loss. Co-terming router warranties mitigates these risks by ensuring timely support and replacement options. By synchronizing warranty expiration dates, businesses can proactively address hardware issues before they escalate, minimizing the impact on operations. Furthermore, co-terming warranties provide peace of mind, knowing that support is readily available when needed, thereby safeguarding business continuity. 

To initiate the co-terming process, it’s essential for businesses to provide the serial numbers of their routers along with the desired expiration date alignment. Armed with this information, vendors can synchronize the warranties accordingly, providing a seamless experience for the business.

In conclusion, co-terming router warranties offers a myriad of benefits for businesses with multiple routers. From simplifying administrative tasks to optimizing budgeting and planning, streamlining support processes, and ensuring consistent coverage, co-terming is a strategy worth considering for efficient network management. By embracing co-terming, businesses can navigate the complexities of network maintenance with greater ease and confidence, ultimately driving productivity and success.

If you need assistance with co-terming your own router warranties, reach out to the 5Gstore sales team. We’re available to help Monday through Friday 9am to 6pm CT. 

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Comparing Sierra Wireless Management Services

Managing remote assets and infrastructure has become increasingly complex in our interconnected world. Whether you’re dealing with gateways, routers, or in-vehicle deployments, the need for effective network management is paramount. Sierra Wireless offers a range of solutions to address these challenges: AirLink Management Service (ALMS), AirLink Manager (AM), and AirLink Mobility Manager (AMM). In this article, we’ll compare these services to help you make an informed decision about which one suits your needs best.

AirLink Management Service (ALMS)

ALMS is Sierra Wireless’ flagship network management solution for AirLink gateways and routers. It offers an array of advanced features to streamline device management and ensure optimal performance:

  1. Over-the-Air (OTA) Device Management: ALMS supports OTA device registration, configuration, and software updates, reducing the need for manual intervention and on-site visits.
  2. Customizable Dashboards: Configurable dashboards provide real-time insights into your entire fleet, allowing you to monitor device status, signal information, and locations effortlessly.
  3. Advanced Troubleshooting: An interactive monitoring dashboard and map enable quick troubleshooting, while one-click firmware updates help maintain device software efficiently.
  4. Alerts and Heartbeat Reporting: Custom alerts and heartbeat reporting help you identify and address device issues promptly, minimizing downtime and field trips.
  5. Subscription Model: ALMS is available through an active AirLink Services subscription, making it accessible to businesses of varying sizes.
  6. AirLink Complete: Sierra Wireless offers AirLink Complete, which combines ALMS with 24/7 technical support and an extended warranty. It’s a cost-effective way to ensure mission-critical infrastructure operates at peak efficiency.
  7. AirLink Premium: This service enhances ALMS further, providing robust reporting capabilities, reducing downtime, and extending your warranty coverage for up to 5 years with an active subscription.

AirLink Manager (AM)

AM is designed for situations where cloud-based management is not an option, catering to fixed deployments. Key features of AM include:

  1. On-Premises Solution: AM offers an on-premises network management solution for AirLink routers and gateways, ideal for environments where cloud-based management is not feasible.
  2. Real-Time Data: AM provides a continuous stream of real-time network data, allowing users to monitor and analyze the behavior of connected devices.
  3. Custom Alerts and Reports: Users can create custom alerts and generate on-demand or pre-scheduled historical reports for in-depth analysis and diagnostics.

AirLink Mobility Manager (AMM)

AMM is a comprehensive network management solution designed specifically for in-vehicle deployments. It comes in two variations: hosted service for MG routers and gateways and “in the enterprise” for all AirLink routers and gateways:

  1. Real-Time Fleet Management: AMM enables real-time configuration, control, and troubleshooting of in-vehicle AirLink routers and gateways, making it suitable for mobile assets and mission-critical applications.
  2. Rich Real-Time Data: Like AM, AMM provides a continuous stream of rich, real-time network data for monitoring and analysis.
  3. Advanced Vehicle Tracking: AMM includes advanced vehicle tracking capabilities, thanks to the AirLink Tracker®. This allows organizations to monitor fleet positions, direction, and speed in real-time, as well as access detailed information about access routes and incident scenes.
  4. Custom Alerts and Reports: Similar to AM, AMM allows the creation of custom alerts and offers on-demand or pre-scheduled historical reports for in-depth analysis and diagnostics.

How to Select the Right Solution for Your Needs

When it comes to choosing the ideal device management solution, several factors come into play. Your choice hinges on the nature of the assets you’re overseeing, your data requirements (including when and where you want it stored), and, naturally, your budget. As you contemplate different device management platforms, here are some key questions to consider:

  1. Where Should Your Data Reside? Sierra Wireless offers two hosting options for your data:
    • Cloud-based: This option entails hosting your device management software and associated data on Amazon Web Services (AWS), taking advantage of AWS’s robust security, scalability, and performance. Cloud-based deployments can save organizations both time and money. They offer a lower entry cost and eliminate the need to build or maintain physical data centers.
    • On-premise: With this choice, the solution is locally installed on your computers and servers. For businesses operating in highly regulated industries, the decision may already be clear, as regulations might dictate on-premise hosting. Others may prefer on-premise hosting for the control and peace of mind it offers by keeping data in-house.
  2. Are Both On-Premise and Cloud Equally Secure? Yes, both on-premise and cloud solutions can be secure, but each has its own strengths and weaknesses. The security of a system largely depends on how organizations secure, manage, and operate it, regardless of its hosting location. Common vulnerabilities include outdated patches, weak security infrastructure, and insufficient monitoring of user access.

The trend has been moving toward cloud management systems due to their scalability and access to specialized teams with expertise in cloud services. Cloud management also reduces the labor-intensive tasks required to maintain on-premise servers. In our recommendation, cloud management is the choice for its ease of use and security that matches or surpasses on-premise alternatives.

  1. Are You Monitoring Fixed or Mobile Assets? Asset monitoring serves various purposes, such as data collection, process monitoring, secure operations, asset lifespan extension, and worker safety and productivity improvements. The level of information needed depends on the type of assets under observation.
    • For fixed assets, tracking can enhance security, prolong asset life, and facilitate telemetry and operational data collection and distribution.
    • Mobile assets offer richer data, including telematics and vehicular information. Ensure your asset management platform can seamlessly integrate and present advanced location and diagnostic data from remote telematics.
  2. Do You Require Real-Time Data Updates? Traditional data analytics involve data gathering followed by analysis. Real-time analytics, tailored to your business needs, continually ingest fresh data, enabling analysts to observe changes as they happen and gain insights in real time, rather than relying solely on retrospective analyses.

The need for real-time data depends on your specific analysis and application requirements. For instance, dispatch and logistics agencies benefit from real-time asset tracking to manage routes effectively. If your use case permits, opting for scheduled data updates can help keep data costs in check.

Need Further Assistance?

Don’t stress over all your choices! Contact our team to discuss your requirements. We’ll help to determine the best solution for your application. 

Ready to Purchase?

Head over to 5Gstore.com and check out the available licenses for Sierra Wireless.

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Verizon’s new 5G launches Jan. 19th – Will your phone support it?

Verizon’s 5G network is growing this month. Promises of faster speeds and wider coverage for phones, tablets and other devices on its service have been announced. The 5G upgrade is scheduled for Jan. 19. In efforts to catch up with T-Mobile in coverage, the carrier is going to be reaching 100 million people this month.

Of course, with the changes, you’ll need the right phone to take advantage of the benefits. Per Verizon’s chief technology officer, Kyle Malady, “Upwards of 90%” of Verizon’s 5G users are expected to be able to tap into the new connection,” he said in an interview with CNET.

“A lot of devices already have the right software in them,” Malady said. “We’ve been testing the devices, and we’ve been working with the manufacturers for a long time now so all the software is ready to go.” 

Phone and iPads that will work with Verizon’s new 5G network

  • Apple’s iPhone 12 line (running iOS 15.2) 
  • Apple’s iPhone 13 line (running iOS 15.2)
  • Samsung’s Galaxy S21 line
  • Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 
  • Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 3
  • Apple iPads with 5G (the iPad Pro and iPad Mini, running iPadOS 15.2)

Verizon’s current 5G network relies on a combination of 5G technologies known as millimeter-wave and low-band spectrum. With the addition of this new coverage using C-band spectrum, Verizon will be able to add a 5G network that operates in the middle, bringing much faster performance than low-band 5G while offering significantly better coverage than millimeter-wave. 

A Verizon spokesperson says that other phones, such as Google’s Pixel 6 line, will “receive software updates to enable C-band access in the coming weeks.” The spokesperson adds that “going forward every 5G device Verizon sells to postpaid customers will be C-band compatible and we will have more than 20 C-band-compatible devices by the end of the year.” 

It’s important to note that even with the right device, you must have the proper data plan. Verizon requires that those planning to use C-band or its millimeter-wave network subscribe to its higher-priced unlimited plans. This includes the Play More, Do More and Get More options available today as well as the older Above and Beyond unlimited plans the carrier offered a few years ago.

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