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4. Overview of Elfiq Link Balancer Features – Airport and Hospitality Vertical ................................ 6
a. Basic operations............................................................................................................................. 6
1. Business needs
Recent research has shown that users connect with airport wireless (Wi-Fi) services
to the Internet:
- 45% of wireless access is now from smartphones, from ZERO in 2008 (source:
Boingo)
- 88% of “on-the-go” audience is seeking Wi-Fi specifically when traveling
(source: JiWire Q3 2010)
- 81.6% of Wi-Fi services in airports are paid access, therefore customers are
expecting a certain class of service (source: JiWire Q3 2010)
- 73% of airports offer global access throughout the terminal(s), and 90% of
guest areas in airports offer partial coverage sites (source: ASQ Best Practice
Report, 2009)
What kind of ISP links can Elfiq’s link balancer products manage?
Elfiq link balancers can handle almost any kind of ISP link (public or
private), and customers can mix and match link technologies as they see fit.
Commonly used links in airports include DSL, T1s, DS3s, cable modems,
fiber, fixed wireless and many more. For example, a site could have a T1 Network Diagram 1
circuit with two DSL links and a cable modem, and the Elfiq product will
balance the traffic on all links based on policies defined by the customer. Customers must plan the
IP addressing they will need prior to installing a link balancer; please contact Elfiq for further
information. Airport operators are encouraged to contact Elfiq to discuss which bandwidth options
are the best and/or most cost-effective for a specific site.
How much do these products cost and where can I purchase one?
For pricing and availability information, please contact Elfiq Networks at 888-GO-ELFIQ option 1 or
info@elfiq.com. Elfiq will consult with the airport to define the needs and recommend the best-sized
unit to serve those needs. Again, Elfiq provides the ability to scale cost-effectively as bandwidth
needs grow.
Our IT staff on site does not have experience in deploying these units, what can we do?
Elfiq’s professional services and Elfiq’s partners can assist with local or remote deployment of these
units. The process has been completed successfully without IT staff on site involved in well over 500
deployments.
Do the top names in the hospitality industry have Elfiq products running?
All of the top ten hotel groups worldwide have properties using Elfiq products to enhance their
guests’ stay at the properties, ranging from 65 to 1000+-rooms. Such properties include Sheraton,
Westin, W, Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Best Western, Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn, TownePlace Suites,
Residence Inn, Holiday Inn, and many more. A significant number of hotels on airport sites have
deployed these units since they service business travelers.
"Thank you for working with us to install the Elfiq Link Balancer back in June. Since the
installation, our guest complaints have disappeared and our guest comments regarding the
Internet have turned from a negative to a positive. We couldn’t be more pleased with the
positive impact it has made.
We look forward to continuing this relationship and working with your company at our other
properties. Thank you again for your time and effort."
Scott Sommerville,
President
FLG Hospitality
Hersha Hospitality
"The Elfiq products have enabled us to add large amounts of bandwidth at a fraction of the
traditional cost while maintaining a reliable HSIA network. We have improved guest scores,
have redundancy, and happy guests. . . what else can I ask for?"
"Hersha Hospitality has been using Elfiq link balancing products for over six months. We
have fallen in love with the Elfiq products and service. Elfiq not only provides an excellent
product to meet increasing guest bandwidth needs, their staff also go above and beyond
from the start of the sales process, through implementation, and for support. Hersha plans
to continue to deploy the Elfiq products throughout our hotels in 2008."
Jason Shane
Director of Information Technology
Hersha Hospitality, Pennsylvania, USA
a. Basic operations
LB-800E or higher units are available in failover kits. This type of configuration is
highly recommended in airport sites where a lot of guests require constant Internet
access and where a larger number of rooms are involved
Even without IT staff at the airport, can this product be updated or reconfigured?
Yes, through remote access over the Internet, and through Elfiq’s innovative USB
technology. A local configuration can be done using a standard USB flash memory
drive to store the configuration file. For this operation to be performed, the
balancer must be turned off prior to inserting the USB drive into the balancer and
then powering it on. The Elfiq unit will perform the update without any other intervention.
How many algorithms can the Elfiq products use for regular balancing?
The Elfiq units utilize seven techniques to proactively balance traffic.
2- Quality of service: Yes, the Elfiq units enable this with through-traffic
segmentation (directing certain types of traffic onto certain links) and
Quality of Service, where QoS can promote or limit certain types of
bandwidth making sure that resource-intensive users do not use all the
available bandwidth. For example, 50% of the bandwidth on a site’s primary T1 link
could be reserved for guest VPN access and the balance for other types of data traffic.
What steps should I expect in the process using professional services for remote deployment?
An airport should expect the following process to happen to deploy an Elfiq unit:
1- Information gathering: The information for each ISP link and internal gateway and/or
firewall will be necessary, along with the information on all the services to be balanced.
Elfiq can supply a Microsoft Excel template for easy information gathering. To get a copy
please contact support@elfiq.com.
2- Preparation and shipment: The Elfiq team or the business partner will pre-configure the
unit prior to shipping to facilitate the installation process.
3- When the unit is received, a contact person will be needed to complete the process at
the site by simply connecting the cables into the proper devices. Most physical
installations are completed in less than ten minutes.
4- The Elfiq team will then access the unit remotely to finalize the configuration and ensure
proper operation of the unit in place.
Elfiq Networks is a technology leader and innovator in the field of WAN link management and
balancing. With hundreds of successful installations in over 42 countries, Elfiq’s Link Balancer
products help organizations of any type and size perform more competitively every day with the
ability to use multiple Internet and private links easily and securely.
For more information on Elfiq Networks’ products and technologies, please contact:
Elfiq Networks
1155 University, #712
Montreal, Quebec, H3A 3A7
Canada
Telephone: 888-GO-ELFIQ / 514-667-0611
Internet: www.elfiq.com
Email: info@elfiq.com
December 2010
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