Briar Security was commissioned to replace an ageing CCTV system at Cambridge Science Park.
The Cambridge-based security installation company turned to AMG Systems, the ISO 9001:2015 approved UK manufacturer of fibre, analogue, IP/Ethernet, wireless and hybrid communication transmission products to provide the required IP video surveillance power, video and data network equipment.
Cambridge Science Park was set up in 1970 by Trinity College Cambridge, and covers 1.7 million sq. ft of tech and laboratory buildings across its 150-acre site. With about 7,500 people employed at 100 companies, ranging from start-ups to tech names and entrepreneurs, their work ranges from non-invasive diagnostics and medicines, to display and communications technologies.
Stephen Cook, Managing Director of Briar says: “The original CCTV system at the park was quite aged, with some components estimated to be over 15 years old and either poor performing, or at the end of its operational lifecycle. In addition, some elements of the CCTV were non-operational, meaning the site’s security team were being hindered by limited situational awareness across some areas of the park. Also, the existing CCTV system pre-dated a number of areas of the park which had been redeveloped (or were due to be redeveloped in the near future), and as such, only offered partial surveillance coverage – but in some areas, no coverage at all.
“As owner of the freehold, Trinity College Cambridge required an enhanced IP video surveillance system, and we were selected to deliver the system after a competitive tender process, managed by the independent property consultancy Bidwells. The property consultancy wanted the specification of the new surveillance system to offer 100pc redundancy and flexible expansion capability.”
Briar identified that the transmission and power infrastructure was inadequate to support a new security system. Stephen Cook says: “It was important for a completely new underground duct system to be installed to route the required over 4km of fibre optic cable needed to create a network backbone, as well as 6km of Cat6 cable and new mains supply that UK Power Network needed to install to power the entire system.
“Again, we designed this element with 100 per cent redundancy, making sure that the Cambridge Science Park’s management investment would be future-proofed for many years to come.
“Being product agnostic, and not tied to any particular security equipment manufacturer with a contractual agreement, Briar Security is proud of its independence to specify equipment from any provider, and tailor solutions to maximise a client’s brief and budget. From experience, we knew that the AMG Systems product portfolio had the capability to deliver a high-performance power, data and video transmission solution for this flag-ship site.
“The new underground duct system was installed to serve the science park; routing fibre optic cable for the backbone of the new network, in addition to a new mains supply to roadside locations around the site. Here the AMG Managed Industrial Ethernet Switches were installed in cabinets to provide power and control data to the cameras, and receive video via aCat6 cable wired to each pole mounted camera.”
“Six 1Gb SM Fibre rings were installed, each with 3-4 AMG9IM2P-8FH-2S-P240 Switches connecting the cameras via Cat5e/6 (GbE) cable. Each ring is then linked to Avigilon servers and three desktop control points at the control room – via three dedicated AMG9IM2P-4G-2S Switches and a single AMG9CLMP-24G-4XS-ST switch.
AMG says that its Managed Industrial Switches have up to 16 Fast or Gigabit Ethernet ports with up to four extra Dual Speed SFP ports for data uplink, offering the critical expandability element for the developing site’s needs.
The AMG switches also offer a common web-browser interface for configuration of all aspects of the device – at installation, minimising set-up time at this expansive project. Supporting 10/100/1000Mbps data rates and providing full duplex, the AMG Managed Industrial Switches are also compact. They feature Rapid Spanning Tree and Multiple Spanning Tree Protocols, with Ethernet Ring Protection Switching and IGMP functionality, to deal with the multicast traffic commonly used in IP video surveillance deployments.
With 30W PoE+ on each Ethernet port and housed in a compact chassis, the DIN rail mountable AMG devices are the product firm says suited for connecting and powering field-based equipment, such as Avigilon IP cameras as used at the park.
Video from the network of 144 IP cameras is transmitted to the park’s control room. Here, the images are monitored at three Avigilon Control Centre video management software stations, from where the security operators can direct security staff to deal with an incident or manage the site’s day-to-day activity.
Jonathan Wright, Associate, Building Surveying at Bidwells says: “The new system has already proved very successful at the park. Designed for security, the system and cameras provide reassurance to employees and the many visitors to the high-profile site. The designed-in expandability of the system has already been employed to support extended camera coverage across some newly developed areas of the park.
“Thanks to its high-level design, featuring the best the security industry can offer, we were confident in the technology we were investing in from the outset, whilst the innovative design architecture of multiple fibre ‘rings’, combined with leading-edge AMG switches, means that the camera system can be expanded easily, and with minimal downtime.
“Our design ethos right from the outset was to provide the park with the best CCTV performance available, combined with the ultimate in flexibility and expansion for the future. Using AMG transmission technology combined with the industry knowledge of Briar Security has given us just that.”
