Installer Considerations when Evaluating IP Solutions

IP Alarms operate an Installer-friendly device setup web site as part of our Linksys Alarm Monitoring Solution where entering two settings, the MAC address & IP address of the device, is usually all that is required to get you going. All that remains is to connect a phone cable to the Linksys device, plug it into the modem/router, power it up and start testing. If your Monitoring Center carry out the above steps for you - you really do have yourself a "plug & play" IP Monitoring Solution.

Calculate the cost savings you will make on hardware, technician training and installation time and you will realise that you would be making a sound commercial decision by choosing the Linksys IP Monitoring Solution.

What are the Advantages of the Linksys Solution ?

The ability for Installers to source their products locally is becoming increasingly more important with rising transportation costs. This is what makes the solution very popular as Installers can conveniently pickup adapters from their local electronics store. The vast resources Linksys have behind their products and the fact that more than 10 million adapters have been sold in over 50 countries ensures that this is the most robust IP Alarm Monitoring device on the market by far.

Well known security industry manufacturers might seem large enough to provide cost effective IP hardware, however, they pale in comparison to companies like Cisco who are able to produce millions of devices each year. This huge volume allows Linksys, who are part of Cisco, to bring the highest quality products to market at the lowest possible cost.

One such product is the Linksys SPA3102 that is normally used for Internet phone service. IP Alarms have adapted this product, and others like the SPA2102 or PAP2T, for use within the Alarm Monitoring industry and Subscribers are able to take advantage of superior quality hardware at a fraction of the cost of conventional security industry hardware. For those of you that already own a Linksys VoIP product - it is a double wammy as you can use it for both VoIP and for reliably monitoring your alarm system.

Linksys PAP2T adapters are available in many stores throughout Australia at under $60. The SPA3102 model costs around $25 more and is able to interface with GSM or GPRS backup equipment. When an alarm panel dials the primary phone number, the signal goes via the Internet if available. If the signal fails, the panel will dial it's secondary phone number and the signal is passed thru to the connected backup device. Please understand that even though these devices are marketed and sold as voice adapters, IP Alarms have developed custom firmware settings and software that allow them to be used as "Raw IP" adapters. As a result, they do not suffer any of the well documented problems associated with mainstream VoIP.

When our custom alarm monitoring settings are downloaded into any "off the shelf" Linksys VoIP adapter or router, they enable the device to act as a Contact ID IP alarm transmitter. To gain full control of the network environment, VoIP service providers are taken out of the equation, no third party signal handling is required and the adapter communicates directly with a Virtual Receiver on your Monitoring Center server. This is a true "End to End" Alarm Monitoring solution.

Where two-way voice, Pulse and FSK formats are required, signals are instead sent to one of your existing PSTN based alarm receivers via a Receiver Conversion Device. This removes the requirement to purchase new IP receivers and protects your investment in existing equipment. The IP Alarms 2 or 8-line receiver conversion devices are protocol independent and will allow your Installers to send signals over IP from ANY panel modem or dialler - regardless of how old or obscure it is. This method of operation requires a reasonable amount of bandwidth to function reliably.