Cisco IPICS 2.0 Allows for Policy-based, Any-to-Any Communications

The two big router vendors are talking a lot about policy and control lately. Just last week Juniper Networks came out with a second iteration of product news on this front. And today Cisco Systems Inc. is unveiling details about Release 2.0 of its IP Interoperability Collaboration System (IPICS), a policy-based solution that enables service providers and enterprises to allow people within or between organizations to communicate regardless of the network type they’re connected to or the consumer electronics device they’re using.

Remember all the post 9/11 talk about how police and firefighters struggled to coordinate efforts because their radios were on difference frequencies? Well, Cisco IPICS – which is in use in at least three public safety applications – addresses that problem and a whole lot more, making it more effective both for public safety as well as other uses. For example, it could allow an executive to use her desk phone to reach someone on a radio in the warehouse with the click of a button.

Cisco explained the idea behind IPICS when the product initially debuted in October 2005. But while the first release of IPICS provided basic interoperability between some radios as well as Cisco IP phones, IPICS Release 2.0 offers much broader cross-platform, cross-device communications capabilities, enabling any phone to talk with any other phone, mobile radio or Cisco IPICS client-enabled PC.

“Using IP, we are bridging between these various modalities – no matter what frequency, what medium, what device,” said Shmuel Shaffer, general manager of Cisco's safety and security systems business unit, adding that except for the PC option, there is no endpoint client download required, it all happens in the network.

Also new with Release 2.0 are policy-based capabilities, improved management and a push to talk management center.

While the IPICS policy engine has default settings to decide who to contact within an organization should certain day-to-day or emergency situations arise, organizations can use a drag-and-drop interface to set their own policies on the IPICS appliance. “Today, in many operations, you have standard operating procedure, but if an Amber Alert is issued, who needs to be notified?” said Shafer.

The system also offers a listen-only mode. That would allow a company like Home Depot, for example, to send out employees an evacuation message in the event of a hurricane, Shafer said.

Each agency or jurisdiction locally manages its own communications resources, including networks and devices. Agencies can stipulate which resources they will share with other agencies during emergencies and routine operations. The Operational Views feature of IPIC allows everyone in an organization to communicate, yet without seeing each other’s network or other resources. And resources such as radio channels, talk groups and users, can be quickly added and then removed when no longer necessary.

“For both emergencies and routine operations, our staff can now create customized communication templates for standard procedures and activate them with a single click,” said Charles Pringle of the Boulder County, Colo., Sheriff’s Department. “We can do this via e-mail, paging, short message service or a phone call. For example, in case of emergency, the SWAT team could engage in a group discussion with Sheriff's department commanders and the bomb squad with the click of a button.”

The fact that Release 2.0 of IPICS works with any cell phone is important given that public safety radio coverage in some areas – particularly heavily forested lands or places where there are fires – can be spotty, said Shafter. So emergency or other workers can, if needed, put away their work radios and use their cell phones without affecting procedures.

He added that another important new feature of 2.0 is the PC-based push to talk management center, which can do replay and playback, now supports new types of channels and has an “advanced incident management console”.

“Today, if need new frequency on a handset because it’s compromised, you have to go back to headquarters and have it reprogrammed,” explained Schafer. “With our solution, we can do that resetting from the network” either through the system administrator or, if a service provider is offering this as a managed solution, through the service provider.

Cisco Systems Inc. www.cisco.com

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