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Reserve Your Seat TodayIn a public sector organization, you face real challenges in managing secure and reliable monitoring across widespread or unmanned sites. This is especially important for essential services like public transit and emergency response systems.
Recently, Andrew (a DPS engineer focused on new applications) discussed with a public sector client a few important needs:
By using tools like SNMPv3 for secure data transmission, scalable environmental sensors, and remote power control, you can effectively manage and secure your networks.
Let's walk through these tools and how you can use them.
Public infrastructure (ex. water treatment facilities, power grids, and transportation networks) enables both basic daily operations and public safety. Securing these systems is about preventing service outages, reducing response times, and avoiding data breaches that can harm essential services and public trust.
If these systems aren't monitored and secured effectively, you'll face real consequences. You're risking service delays, costly equipment damage, and even compromised public safety without the right monitoring system in place.
Reliable and secure monitoring ensures that services run smoothly and that essential systems remain available to those who need them. From emergency response services to public transit, a disruption in any part of public infrastructure can have a wide-reaching impact on communities.
Major infrastructure is always a potential terrorist target. Unfortunately, many infrastructure systems are built on outdated technology and use unencrypted protocols like SNMPv1 or v2.
Remote infrastructure sites are also challenging to secure physically. Without good monitoring, they're exposed to risks from vandalism, environmental damage, and unauthorized access. Securing these systems is vital to prevent service interruptions and maintain public trust.
Secure data transmission is crucial in public sector infrastructure, where information must be protected while monitoring often includes legacy devices. SNMPv3 provides encryption and user authentication, addressing security gaps in SNMPv1 and v2c.
However, many public sector entities manage equipment that only supports these earlier, unencrypted versions (simply because it was created before SNMPv3 existed or was common).
Andrew explained that an SNMPv3 Proxy can bridge this gap. This proxy device converts unsecure SNMP data from older equipment into SNMPv3 for encrypted transmission across the network:
"The SNMPv3 Proxy maintains SNMPv3 encryption across your LAN - even for devices that don't support v3."
This allows you to enhance network security without the expense of immediately replacing fully functional legacy equipment.
For sensitive sectors such as public safety and utilities, the SNMPv3 Proxy offers a low-risk path to modernizing network security without needlessly increasing costs.
Choosing the right protocol is essential for securing public infrastructure. When you work with DPS engineers, you may face a choice between the DCP protocol and SNMP. That's because communication between the DPS central master (T/Mon) and remotes (ex. NetGuardians) is usually via DCP protocol.
DCP is a polled protocol that continuously checks device statuses. That gives you a more immediate view of network health than SNMP traps, which only notify you once an issue occurs:
"DCP is a polled protocol that will quickly detect a device failure in a way that waiting for SNMP traps cannot."
The ability to detect issues in real time is crucial in preventing disruptions to public services. DCP's unique data format (although not encrypted) is also far less readable than the verbose structure of SNMP. That reduces the likelihood of data interception or misuse.
Public sector networks often include unmanned or hard-to-access sites, making remote power control very useful.
PDU (Power Distribution Unit) equipment like the Remote Power Switch (RPS AB6) allows you to remotely control power for essential devices, eliminating the need for frequent site visits. Andrew highlighted this option:
"The Remote Power Switch (RPS AB6) is a rack-mountable power distribution unit (PDU) that allows you to remotely power on/off and reboot critical devices from any computer on your network."
With smart PDUs like this one, you can monitor voltage levels, set alarms, and receive SNMP traps when conditions such as power fluctuations or fuse issues arise.
The RPS unit's flexible power control (including configurable power cycles and reset routines), minimizes downtime and helps maintain continuous service across the network.
Secure access through an HTTPS web interface supports remote power management while adhering to public sector security protocols for data integrity.
Environmental monitoring is essential for public sector infrastructure, particularly where equipment may be exposed to temperature extremes, humidity, or ventilation issues.
DPS's D-Wire sensor technology provides scalable solutions for tracking temperature, humidity, airflow, and more. These sensors are daisy-chained, allowing you to start small and expand as your monitoring needs grow.
Connecting through a single port on a NetGuardian RTU (and daisy-chaining from each sensor to the next), D-Wire sensors can monitor conditions over long distances with minimal setup. This modular setup enables you to easily expand monitoring across multiple rooms or dispersed sites.
Alerts are automatically triggered when environmental values exceed thresholds set by you. The system can then notify administrators through T/Mon or any SNMP manager.
Good environmental monitoring can prevent equipment damage from factors like overheating or high humidity, reducing costly repairs and extending equipment lifespan.
If you have mixed-protocol systems, T/Mon serves as a centralized hub that consolidates alarms and simplifies your network visibility. T/Mon's platform provides advanced reporting tools, which are critical for tracking trends, monitoring recurring issues, and planning preventive maintenance.
"T/Mon displays network status and alarm information to multiple users simultaneously."
Multiple departments, such as operations and IT, can access T/Mon's real-time data in a single interface. This improves response times and coordination during incidents.
You can use T/Mon's reporting tools to spot recurring alarm patterns and plan for future upgrades. This helps reduce costs and boost efficiency by focusing maintenance where it's most needed. With T/Mon's support for different alarm protocols and device types, your public infrastructure network can stay fully operational without extensive oversight.
Reliable backup power is essential for critical infrastructure in the public sector. DPS's Battery Voltage Monitor (BVM) sensors allow you to monitor key battery metrics, including voltage, temperature, and internal resistance. These measurements support proactive maintenance, helping you avoid unexpected power failures:
"These sensors enable network managers to monitor each battery's health, triggering alarms if a battery exceeds predefined thresholds."
Daisy-chained BVM sensors provide a way to monitor entire battery banks without a huge install headache. By detecting metrics like internal resistance, BVM sensors help identify batteries nearing the end of their service life, supporting continuous power reliability.
With BVM sensors, you gain insights into long-term battery health, optimizing power management across remote sites.
As a public sector organization responsible for infrastructure management, you need monitoring solutions that provide flexibility, security, and reliability. DPS Telecom's solutions equip you to meet today's monitoring challenges while also building for the future.
Increase the reliability and security of your public sector network today. Contact DPS Telecom at 1-800-693-0351 or email sales@dpstele.com to discuss a custom-tailored monitoring solution for your organization.
Andrew Erickson
Andrew Erickson is an Application Engineer at DPS Telecom, a manufacturer of semi-custom remote alarm monitoring systems based in Fresno, California. Andrew brings more than 17 years of experience building site monitoring solutions, developing intuitive user interfaces and documentation, and opt...
