DP World - Case Study

We have recently completed a case study on one of our customers, DP World, alongside Cisco.

This was a fascinating delve into a very large customer with a complex set of needs and 24x7 operations - we'll expand more on the success story of this enterprise deployment.

Working with DP World, we have deployed a wide range of Cisco technologies to meet the incredibly stringent needs of 24x7 port operations.

DP World operate on a scale that’s hard to fully appreciate – 3 million containers a year pass through DP Worlds ports in Australia. The video and link to the Cisco web page are detailed below:

The video for the case study can be found here: https://iptel.com.au/dpworld-case-study/
For the full Cisco case study on the Cisco website: DP World Case Study - Cisco

Port operations require a level of resilience and capability that few other environments can match.

Let’s take a look at a few of the key technologies.

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Industrial Grade Wi-Fi

First and foremost, one of the key requirements for DP World is highly reliable industrial-grade Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi is used across an enormous area within the port and is used to connect mobile cranes and other equipment and devices.

Without the use of reliable Wi-Fi, the port is unable to issue the complex set of instructions required to pick up, move, and drop off containers around the port.

The Wi-Fi is delivered with a range of IoT-grade access points with omni directional and patch antennas.

Wi-Fi is the key most important technology in the port to enable operations:

Must be seamless
Must allow devices to roam
Must not drop out.

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Cisco Ultra Reliable Backhaul

Cisco Ultra Reliable Backhaul is used to connect the quay cranes.

As these mammoth cranes roll up and down the dockside, they need to remain connected to the network and have the most reliable experience possible.

The quay cranes also have Wi-Fi access points installed on their boom arms with the ability to connect Wi-Fi deep into the ship.

So, the ability of the CURWB infrastructure to provide incredibly reliable connectivity means that expensive solutions such as fibre to the cranes are not required, and CURWB is used instead.

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IoT Switching

The port environment is a highly industrial one and standard switching simply wouldn't suffice

The Cisco IoT or industrial-grade switching has been deployed as a best of breed solution to work in the environment.

The IoT switching is set up in, and around the port, spanning various locations, connected with fibre and linking to access points and other equipment.

The environment can become physically very hot at times (this is Australia after all!), in addition to being highly industrialised.

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Cisco Catalyst Center

Managing a large network, naturally, isn't straightforward.

Cisco Catalyst Center provides the central intelligence, visibility, and management for the entire network.

Catalyst Center draws together the threads of a complex network and offers single-pane-of-glass management - as well as some very handy tools for monitoring and fault finding.

For Wi-Fi Catalyst Center shows a map of the APs, which makes management much easier for a wireless network.

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Cisco Meraki

For certain locations, Cisco Meraki is an ideal fit.

Typically, these are branch office locations, and DP World has several of these. The Cisco Meraki product set combined with the Cisco product set makes for the best fit for any particular application.

Selecting native Cisco or Meraki for a particular solution allows for the best option to be deployed, depending on which suits best.

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