Apollo Anywhere Server

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The Apollo Anywhere Server is a innovative and well established mobile data solution from Brand Communications.

It speeds up, reduces the cost and offers total reliability for anyone using mobile data over communications media such as GPRS, 3G, Wifi or WiMax. Brand's Apollo Anywhere transparently integrates the LAN environment with Wireless WAN environments, providing a secure connection for the mobile user whilst travelling from location to location.

Key Features

Providing True Mobility

Apollo Anywhere provides a remote user with full access to the LAN and/or Internet Services, via whatever communications medium is available. By definition remote users can be mobile e.g. train or car, in hotel room, in customer premises, in a truly remote location or working from home. In these examples, the typical communication options are GPRS, 3G, Satellite, Wifi or ADSL. Apollo allows the remote user to connect into the LAN environment via the chosen communications system in a simple, secure, resilient, high speed and cost effective manner.

Brand's Anywhere offers mobile users the added benefits of high compression levels, fast packet loss recovery and dynamic seamless switching between GPRS, Wifi or other bearer networks depending on availability during the same transaction.

Session Management

By using Session Management, Brand's Apollo Anywhere makes mobile data a reality for business critical data applications. It removes the uncertainty of using a wireless network to transfer vital information by transparently integrating bearer technologies, both within the enterprise and in the field and provides automatic recovery from dropped connections or will attempt connection via alternative bearers until connection is established.

Seamless Connectivity

Unlike many VPN Solutions, the Apollo Anywhere will tolerate out of coverage, congestion, traversal from one bearer to another without any intervention by the user or compromise of security. This allows a user to establish a connection over perhaps Wifi and automatically roam onto GPRS or Switched Circuit without any disruption to their session or data flow. There is also an option to the system that allows the aggregation of bandwidth from many devices which is useful for heavy data needs. Bandwidth could be aggregated over Tetra, UMTS or multiple carriers UMTS to deliver 500+K from a wireless remote position.

Compression

The Apollo Anywhere uses compression technology, this significantly reduces the volume of data by compressing in each direction before transmission. Brand compresses the data first before applying the VPN, so offering significant savings in time and costs due to a faster throughput. There is also an optional content management engine which dynamically reduces the size of graphics before they are transmitted.

VPN Functions

By using Brand's Apollo Anywhere VPN dynamic tunnel, you add strengthened security to your network and data. Brand creates a tunnel through the network to the Apollo Anywhere server at the corporate LAN. This ensures that no data is compromised or interfered with. Without a VPN, native GPRS assigns the IP address for you and you have no control of your data until it is back at the corporate LAN and even by installing a dedicated VPN solution you will still encounter slow speeds, latency, inadequate compression.

Encryption

Apollo enhances security with the uses of blowfish or AES encryption with Public Key Exchange based on Diffie Hellman for secure VPN access.

Packet Recovery

Apollo has a fast packet recovery protocol to aid TCP in positions of marginal coverage or poor communication conditions.

Prioritisation

The solution also has the ability to prioritise various data types to ensure more timely delivery of certain applications at time of limited bandwidth, for instance, prioritise VoIP at the expense of html.

Scalability

The architecture is infinitely scalable, with the host infrastructure also comprising load balancers to direct traffic to the least loaded servers or to alternate servers should a device be down for maintenance or a managed site is lost.

Management

The server is able to report the current status of sessions, data throughput, compression rates etc via SNMP or through using the Customer Care Application that is provided by Brand. The Customer Care application can provide numerous pieces of information such as who are logging on, reconnecting, disconnecting and much more.