Trilliant Launches Newly-Enhanced SecureMesh® WAN To Help Utilities Achieve Better Reliability and Operational Efficiency

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Trilliant, a global smart grid communications leader, delivering solutions that enhance energy efficiency, utility operations and renewable resource integration, today unveiled the newly-enhanced SecureMesh WAN 1100 Series in advance of DistribuTECH, North America's largest annual smart grid conference and exhibition.

The SecureMesh WAN is part of the Trilliant Communications Platform, a powerful combination of networking technologies pre-engineered to work seamlessly together, and purpose-built for smart grid. The SecureMesh WAN is a broadband mesh network built specifically for utilities to provide the reliability, bandwidth and low latency necessary for advanced Smart Distribution applications such as Volt/VAR control, fault detection, isolation and restoration (FDIR), and other real-time smart distribution applications.

Even though our current electric grid is about 99.97 percent reliable, according to the Department of Energy, power disruptions are a major challenge for the U.S. industry. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates annual outages cost the nation about $150 billion each year, which is more than $500 for each person in the country.

"Utilities are being asked to do more with aging infrastructure," said Rob Conant, Trilliant's chief marketing officer. "Trilliant's deep heritage serving the utility industry enables us to provide solutions that address these needs, combining advanced grid technologies and best-in-class communication networks. Trilliant's SecureMesh WAN helps utilities future-proof their grid communications system so they are able to effectively manage distribution needs today and prepare for other smart grid applications tomorrow."

The newly-enhanced SecureMesh WAN 1100 Series uniquely addresses utility communications needs:

• Utility-Grade Reliability and Redundancy
  • Trilliant's SecureMesh WAN is built on the company's award-winning mesh technology, which is inherently redundant and reliable. The system features integrated dynamic routing and near-immediate failover to ensure uninterrupted communications.
  • Trilliant's UnitySuite™ Network Element Management System (NEMS), which provides a single platform for managing both AMI and WAN deployments, simplifies smart grid communications for utilities and enables economic, reliable and real-time network management.
    
    
• Industry-Leading Latency and Bandwidth
  • Extending the company's lead in speed, Trilliant has further reduced the latency of SecureMesh WAN in the 1100 Series, cutting its already impressive time per hop down to less than 7 milliseconds, and thereby supporting the most demanding distribution automation applications.
  • With 20 MB per second throughput, the newly-enhanced 1100 Series supports orders of magnitude more capacity than mesh networks traditionally used for AMI.
  • New application domain partitioning functionality allows utilities to segment applications from each other to uniquely satisfy each application's specific Quality of Service (QoS) needs.

• Integrated, End-to-End Security
  • End-to-end safeguards across multiple layers of the OSI stack ensure that the SecureMesh WAN network remains private and secure.
  • The SecureMesh WAN is compliant with the latest industry security standards, including NERC/CIP and is consistent with the requirements of NISTIR 7628, NIST SP 800-53 and FIPS 140-2.
  • SecureMesh WAN supports virtual private network (VPN) and Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) capabilities to enable safe and controlled access of the network.
  • Application domain partitioning available on the SecureMesh WAN includes standards-based 802.1q VLAN tagging of network traffic, which ensures that access to or a breach of one application does not affect other applications or devices.
  • SecureMesh WAN supports node-by-node two-way authentication using a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) with x509-like signed certificates and the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-128) encryption.

• Low-Cost Territory Coverage
  • The SecureMesh WAN 1100 Series now supports up to 12 mesh hops, allowing utilities to cover up to 10,000 square miles of territory with a single network takeout point. This reduces the cost to cover large service territories for all utilities.
  • The SecureMesh WAN network automatically circumvents barriers, routing around large buildings, mountains, RF interference and other obstacles, ensuring both low-cost deployment and long-term reliability.
  • The Trilliant SecureMesh WAN now supports secure remote management of the entire WAN network, including SSH telnet capability to remote devices.

• Expanded Interoperability
  • SecureMesh WAN is built on an open, interoperable IP platform, supporting both legacy IPv4 and future IPv6 protocols.
  • SecureMesh WAN is compatible with a wide variety of legacy devices and can seamlessly work with a wide range of existing distribution assets.
  • SecureMesh WAN has proven interoperability with devices made by the leading distribution equipment vendors.
  • SecureMesh WAN supports key utility industry standards, including DNP3 and IEC 61850.
  • SecureMesh WAN and the broader Trilliant Communications Platform can also flexibly adapt to meet future standards as they evolve.

Part of the Trilliant Communications Platform, the SecureMesh WAN is a smart investment for utilities that must make prudent decisions today while keeping an eye on future smart grid opportunities. The Trilliant Communications Platform, including the SecureMesh WAN, will allow utilities to eventually manage all smart grid applications – Smart Distribution, Smart Metering and Smart Consumer – on a single, unified network. To learn more, visit Trilliant's booth #815 at DistribuTECH, or website at www.trilliantinc.com.

About Trilliant

Trilliant helps leading utilities and energy retailers achieve their smart grid visions through the Trilliant Communications Platform, the only communications platform purpose-built for the energy industry that integrates disparate systems of systems into a unified whole. The Trilliant Platform is deployed with more than 200 utilities worldwide to enhance energy efficiency, improve grid reliability, lower operating costs, integrate renewable energy resources and electric vehicles, and empower consumers to better manage their energy consumption. For more information, visit www.trilliantinc.com.

SOURCE Trilliant