Raycap was founded in Europe nearly 40 years ago as a manufacturer and technology provider of overvoltage protection solutions for telecom and industrial applications. Today, the company’s North American telecom division designs and manufactures a broad range of infrastructure products for wireless applications, including lightning and surge protection, structured cabling and connectivity solutions, power management systems, custom enclosures, cabinets, and wireless network concealments for small cell and macro site structures.
“Raycap has evolved substantially,” explained Apostolis Sotiriou, Assistant Vice President Sales, Raycap. “We have built many products around surge protection and moved into the telecom world, focusing on connectivity solutions, power management, and fiber management.”
Uninterrupted communication has become increasingly critical, putting a new emphasis on effective site management. As a result, Raycap has expanded its tower site offering to include the RaySite EMU (Environmental Monitoring Unit), a combination of robust hardware and advanced Linux technology with environmental monitoring at its core, designed to improve telecom site management for more efficient operations.
Redefining Remote Telecom Site Management
The RaySite EMU solution was crafted to meet the complex needs of modern, evolving telecom sites. The development of RaySite was driven by two primary factors. First, the array of equipment from different vendors at a single telecom site presented a challenge, as each device often communicated in its own language. “We understood that there was a need for a unit to consolidate all that information and report it back to the monitoring center using one language,” Sotiriou explained.
The second driving factor was feedback from the carriers. Some of the existing solutions were lacking sufficient interfaces and the ability to integrate additional sensors and security features. “We are innovative and build products based on specific requirements. We combined the market need with the customer request and developed RaySite,” Sotiriou noted.
“Compact yet powerful,” according to Sotiriou, RaySite is a 1U rack-mount device designed for any installation. Equipped with built-in input/outputs and expandable sensors, it offers flexible monitoring solutions.
Sotiriou emphasized that the unit’s true strength lies in its software and firmware, which enable it to translate and consolidate data from various devices into a single, coherent format. “The intelligence of the unit is about the firmware and software that runs on the device, allowing it to translate data from different equipment and communicate that information back to the monitoring center,” he said. It supports various protocols for data acquisition and configuration, including HTTP(s), SNMP, RestAPI, and Modbus, with Kafka protocol for seamless data delivery. Real-time monitoring is enabled via remote Ethernet access.
RaySite’s capabilities extend beyond data aggregation. It is designed to monitor and manage a wide range of components within a telecom site, including power supply units, cooling systems, diesel generators, batteries, and security systems.
Simplifying Site Management with Integrated Control
One of the key benefits of RaySite is its ability to treat the entire telecom site as a single, integrated ecosystem. This holistic approach simplifies site management by enabling operators to monitor all components through a single platform, rather than juggling multiple systems. “Without this product, information from different systems like ventilation, power supply, and diesel generators would need to be managed separately, requiring different platforms,” Sotiriou explained. “RaySite allows carriers to correlate data from different units, making it easier to identify issues and implement energy-saving measures.”
RaySite’s two-way communication capability allows operators to monitor and control various site components remotely. This includes the ability to issue commands to optimize energy usage, such as switching from grid power to battery power. “We can program the unit to switch the site from grid power to batteries, avoiding higher tariffs during certain hours, and then switch back to the grid during lower tariff periods,” Sotiriou said.
Additionally, RaySite can be programmed to send commands to various components at the site, such as turning on or off HVAC systems or adjusting the operation of power supply units. This allows telecom carriers to optimize site operations, reducing energy consumption and ensuring that critical systems remain operational during peak demand periods.
Successful Site Deployments
Since its introduction in 2022, the product has attracted interest from major mobile carriers and has been successfully deployed at numerous sites.
RaySite’s impact on the telecom industry is significant, offering a more efficient, cost-effective, and comprehensive solution for site management, according to Sotiriou. The ability to monitor and control multiple components from a single platform, “simplifies the way sites are monitored and helps them operate in a more economical way.”
Raycap’s RaySite is more than just a monitoring tool; it represents a shift towards more intelligent and integrated site management in the telecom industry. To learn more, visit: https://www.raycap.com/products/raysite-environmental-monitoring-unit/ or email [email protected].
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