Building a Wide Area Public Safety Network Technologies Used, Lessons Learned EMS Summit October 2, 2003 William E. Ott, MS, Paramedic

Objectives Create a broadband communications system to link all public safety agencies and sites Allow for redundant capability from existing networks Provide improved incident command and tactical capabilities Provide redundant ‘detached’ EOC capability Provide voice and data capability

Participants in system County government City government County EMS City Fire Department County Fire Departments City Police Department County Sheriff Department City/County 911

Resources to share Multiple Microsoft SQL Servers –FD/EMS mirrored –FD/EMS replicated 911 AS400 system –Agency tie in to CAD info Public Safety only messaging system –Site to site –Site to vehicle –Vehicle to vehicle Bandwidth for contractors, vendors, media primarily during emergencies

Project Timeline Initial work on this project dates to 1995 with serious work on solutions starting in 1997 A variety of issues both technical and political caused stumbling blocks until 2002 when the project rapidly moved toward completion

Known Obstacles City and County governments that do not get along, work together, or agree on nearly anything City and county both with longstanding ideas on who and how connectivity will be provided

Connectivity Options Many changes since 1995 Dial-up Sneaker-Net Frame Relay Local wireless Vehicle wireless DSL, Cable, Satellite Metro Ethernet

Technical Issues Firewalls Intrusion Detection Virtual Private Networks –SSL –IPSec Bandwidth allocation and management Maintenance and support costs Policies and procedures

Technical Issues Committed Information Rate (CIR) –Varies by carrier –Varies by technology Price planning –Monthly or quarterly fees –Maintenance and support issues Provider management of VPNs versus self management

Network and Resource Topology IP based network Mostly cable modem based Three locations with DSL One location with satellite Two core sites share leased lines Several core locations share a redundant fiber optic ring

Remote Access Issues Require all remote access to be IPSec based VPN –Hardware –Software Determining appropriate personnel to have remote access Authentication issues for remote users –IP address –User name, password, shared secret Use of SSL based service such as GoToMyPC

Wireless (commercial) Issues CDPD, phased out soon, very slow Proprietary solutions were too expensive CDMA 2.5 / 3.0 generation services with Sprint and Verizon are working well and are affordable

Wireless local segments Utilizing some local wireless Must have IPSec VPN overlay –WEP is easily cracked –MAC filtering is easily spoofed Currently utilizing Sonicwall SOHO 3 TWZ and Netgear FVM318 firewalls with IPSec based wireless in locations needing wireless Wireless very useful but dangerous if not deployed properly

Lessons learned? Getting local players to cooperate was the biggest issue Technology is changing very, very fast What is reasonable now may be slow or overpriced in twelve months Avoid contracts with carriers longer than 12 months, 24 months at a maximum Need clear requirements up front

Lessons learned? Involve applications and database managers and vendors in the network processes to account for bandwidth needed for replication and mirroring issues Stay current with networking technologies in the trade press Press carriers for more bandwidth, lower prices, higher CIR