ES210 Tactical Mesh Point

Overview

ES210 Tactical Mesh Point 360° View

The ES210 Tactical Mesh Point

The Fortress ES210 Tactical Mesh Point brings secure wireless communications to dismounted personnel through a self-forming, self-healing, mesh network. Powered by a rechargeable battery, AC or DC power, the ES210 offers FIPS 140-2 compliant security and is upgradeable to NSA Suite B algorithms. Delivered in a small and rugged form factor with long battery life and industry-leading radio range, the Fortress ES210 is designed to be worn by individuals or used for edgedevices such as cameras, unmanned vehicles and sensors. The Fortress ES210Tactical Mesh Point delivers dependable performance in a wide range of conditions,functioning as both a wireless access point and bridge.

Any wireless network used in tactical, small unit environments must support mobility of the nodes. Mesh networks allow nodes to move within the area of operation, forming links with new neighbors and dropping links with old neighbors. With best-in-class range and Fortress FastPath Mesh™, Fortress Tactical Mesh Points ensure high performance networking under highly mobile conditions, allowing individuals and assets to move within the network and to seamlessly leave and join the network.

In military operations, when personnel, sensors, supplies, soldiers and vehicles are introduced into an austere operating environment, Fortress Tactical Mesh Points allow these distributed assets to connect to the network without the installation and management constraints associated with traditional wired networks.

Fortress Tactical Mesh Points bring secure, net-centric, wireless communications to the tactical edge, bringing voice, video and data communications to warfighters and vehicles in the field.

Features

Optimal SWaP (Size, Weight, Power & Cost)

Fortress provides the lightest and smallest Mesh Points in the industry, purpose built for frequent transportation and integration into land, sea and air vehicles. Mesh points operate with diverse power sources and have low power consumption requirements. For tactical applications, Size, Weight and Power + Cost (SWaP+C) are critical considerations.

Superior Performance

Fortress Mesh-Points use hardware crypto FPGA and hardware TRNG to provide fast, deterministic performance that is unmatched in the industry. They are equipped with powerful radios that can operate in 802.11 a/b/g/n modes, providing superior range and performance.

Ruggedized for Outdoor and Military Applications

Robust packaging and enhanced RF specifications are crucial to adapting standard Wi-Fi to the harsh and long range conditions typical in tactical wireless deployments and transportable networks. Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) and highest levels of environmental certification are the cornerstone of providing a solution that can withstand the toughest conditions, can survive constant portability, and can be easily embedded in larger systems. Better quality and high power RF enables reliable, high throughput long distance operation required for typical in-theater operational conditions. Fortress solutions are delivered in ruggedized form factors with superior RF hardware and antennas while remaining more cost effective than custom designed technology once typical in secure networks.

Comprehensive Security

The central component of DoD and other sensitive network solutions is the ability to ensure data security at all times and at all levels. Fortress products support the most advanced security implementations in the industry. Using standards based, interoperable and compliant security protocols certified to FIPS-140-2 and upgradable to NSA Suite B cryptography, Fortress is a leader in secure wireless networking. Fortress products are unique in that they support built-in RADIUS, advanced Wi-Fi WPA2 security with EAP-TLS, use a hardware crypto implementation and have a hardware based True Random Number Generator (TRNG) ensuring the richest security with the highest performance.

FastPath Mesh™

Fortress FastPath Mesh technology provides a self-forming, path optimizing, self-healing network architecture designed from the ground up to support truly mobile and often transported networks, elegantly addressing the needs of dynamic tactical networks. FastPath Mesh is link protocol agnostic and utilizes all interfaces and radio links to reach a destination using the lowest cost path. The resulting network is a unique mix of proactive and reactive protocols designed to work together to improve network performance and address moving nodes.
Overlaid on the mesh is end-to-end encryption and capabilities to eliminate multicast/broadcast flooding for improved overall network performance. Fortress’s implementation includes a fully distributed DNS capability and is IPv4 and IPv6 multicast-aware.
ft.icon.fastpath
ft.icon.dfs

Dynamic Frequency Selection

Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) allows automatic detection of radar signals and switching to another channel in less than 10 seconds as per the IEEE 802.11h standard. Fortress products are the only solution to support DFS in both Infrastructure and Mesh mode.

GPS

GPS capability provides real-time position data. This data is displayed in Fortress's Topology Viewer and Mesh Viewer applications. Fortress has also provided integration for Google Earth, and Cursor on Target / FalconView for Blue Force Tracking and other applications.
ft.icon.gps
usa

Made in the USA

Fortress products are designed and manufactured in the USA to maintain the highest levels of quality with oversight to provide manufacturing design assurance. All software or programmable hardware devices are built from source code that is controlled in house.

MTBF

To ensure products can be deployed for years in tough operating environments where failure is not an option, Fortress products are designed to have a very low failure rate and a Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) greater than 100,000 hours or 11 years of continuous operation.
ft.icon.mtbf
ft.icon.cband.v2

4.4 GHz Licensed C Band for US Military and NATO Use

Fortress products can operate in the 4.4 GHz C Band a licensed band allocated to US and NATO military use. Operating at 4.4 GHz in the C Band offers several advantages. 4.4 GHz is a licensed band restricted to military use, so it offers an additional level of security, and less crowded use of the spectrum.

Wi-Fi Alliance

Fortress products are certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance for interoperability including; WPA™- Enterprise and Personal, WPA2™- Enterprise and Personal, and Extensible Authentication Protocols; EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS/MSCHAPv2, PEAPv0/EAP-MSCHAPv2, PEAPv1/EAP-GTC, and EAP-SIM.
Certification

Certification

Fortress Mesh Points are purpose-built to operate in harsh environments and have undergone rigorous independent testing and validation. This includes MIL-STD-810G testing for shock, vibration and temperature, MIL-STD-1275 for vehicle power input, MIL-STD-461F for RF immunity, and IP67 for water and dust resistance. Additionally, Fortress Mesh Points are designed to minimize their unintentional RF signature. They meet MIL-STD-461F for unintentional RF emissions and standards for operation in proximity to personnel, ordinance and fuel.
Applications

Typical applications where the ES210 would be an appropriate solution




Expanding the Network through Fortress OEM Integration

Fortress extends its capabilities by offering embedded systems for integration into other equipment manufacturer’s platforms.
Fortress’ flexibility to design embedded mesh point or embedded client solutions into network systems or intelligent device platforms, leverages our core technology and delivers value to our customers and partners. OEM integration partnerships drive incremental utility to existing systems, optimizing SWAP+C and accelerating the adoption of wireless technology more broadly across the market. Fortress designs and controls the entire implementation and collaborates with strategic partners to uniquely adapt and integrate secure wireless mesh capabilities into a variety of solutions.

Read More
Specifications

Mechanical

Dimensions:
• 7" x 3.3" x 1.7"

Weight:
• 2.1 lbs including battery

Mounting:
• Mounting Bracket Kit
  (Wall, Mast, Magnetic)

Environmental

Operating Temperature:
• -10⁰C to +60 ⁰ C
   (14⁰ F to +140 ⁰ F)

Storage Temperature:
• -10⁰C to +60 ⁰ C
   (14⁰ F to +140 ⁰ F)

Cooling
• Convection cooled (no fans)

Humidity
• 5% - 95% non-condensing

Power

Rechargeable Battery:
• 6 hr operation

Battery Charge Time:
• 3 hr maximum (at 0⁰C - 45⁰C)

Voltage:
• 9 to 30 VDC

Interfaces

Ethernet:
• 2 x RJ45 Ethernet 10/100BT

Serial:
• 3 Pin Conn-X connector

Power:
• 2 Pin Conn-X connector

Antenna:
• 1 x RP-TNC Connector
• 1 x SMA Connector (GPS)

Security

FIPS:
• FIPS 140-2 level 2

Encryption:
 • AES-CTR-128/192/256
• AES-GCM-128/256
• AES-CCM-128
• WPA2 (802.11i)
• IPsec (Suite B and Legacy)
• NSA Suite B Upgradeable*

Performance

Sustained FIPS
Throughput
50 Mbps

Management

Access:
• Secure Browser-based GUI
• Serial CLI (physical access)
• SSH (network)
• SNMP monitoring

Indicators:
• Power
• Battery
• Ethernet 1 link/activity
• Ethernet 2 link/activity
• Radio activity
• Crypto

Control via Pushbuttons
• Power
• Blackout Mode
• RF Kill
• Zeroization

Networking

IP Compatibility:
• IPv4 and IPv6
• Integrated DHCP and DNS

Wireless
• Self-forming, self-healing,
  and path- optimizing Fortress 
  FastPath Mesh™

RF

ES210-3
• 250 mW 802.11a/b/g/n

ES210-4
• 250 mW 802.11n 4.4GHz

Certification

Safety and Emissions:
• CE, FCC, ETSI, CB Test, IC,
  RoHS

Environmental
• ROHS-6

DFS
• FCC, ETSI

NIST
• FIPS 140-2 level 2

Wi-Fi Alliance
• Wi-Fi a/b/g

HERO/HERF/HERP

EMI
• MIL-STD 461F

Harsh Environments
Shock, Envoronment
& Temperature
• MIL-STD 810G 

Weather Resistance
Protection Rating
• IP67 submersible 

MTBF
• 100,000 hrs

Manufacture & Warranty

Manufacturing Origin:
• USA

Warranty:
• 1 year of limited
  warranty

 

*  NSA Approval Required

Technology

Hardware Crypto FPGA and TRNG

Fortress products deliver much higher performance by using a hardware crypto FPGA that enables fast, deterministic performance to protect against timing attacks. Our hardware-based true random number generator (TRNG) is especially critical for devices that do not have user interaction from which to collect entropy to reliably generate random numbers. A fast, reliable hardware implementation is critical in supporting real-time applications such as encrypted voice and video, as well as scaling to handle increasing application throughput and bandwidth needs. Fortress' cryptographic implementation has passed rigorous examination and been approved by NIST.
ft.icon.hardwareCrypto
ft.icon.suiteB

Suite B Capable

The NSA Suite B initiative is a common set of cryptographic algorithms to create products that meet the widest range of US Government needs. Suite B Cryptography is built on COTS information-assurance products using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and is under evaluation by the NSA to protect information up to the SECRET level. Fortress products are NSA Suite B capable and can be upgraded where approval is achieved.

FastPath Mesh™

Fortress FastPath Mesh technology provides a self-forming, path optimizing, self-healing network architecture designed from the ground up to support truly mobile and often transported networks, elegantly addressing the needs of dynamic tactical networks.

FastPath Mesh is link protocol agnostic and utilizes all interfaces and radio links to reach a destination using the lowest cost path. The resulting network is a unique mix of proactive and reactive protocols designed to work together to improve network performance and address moving nodes.

Overlaid on the mesh is end-to-end encryption and capabilities to eliminate multicast/broadcast flooding for improved overall network performance. Fortress's implementation includes a fully distributed DNS capability and is IPv4 and IPv6 multicast-aware.
ft.icon.fastpath
ft.icon.multicast

Multicast

Fortress FastPath Mesh products are optimized to minimize multicast and broadcast traffic, improving the performance of the network. FastPath Mesh snoops Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) and Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) requests, subscribes to the streams on behalf of the listeners and forwards traffic only on relevant interfaces. Minimizing multicast and broadcast traffic frees up bandwidth for other uses, increased throughput and better latency.

RF Performance

Fortress products offer Industry-leading Wi-Fi range and performance. Using industry standard 802.11 a/b/g and n, Fortress radios operate in the 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz Wi-Fi bands and optional 802.11a-type communications in the 4.4 GHz and 4.9 GHz bands. Fortress has demonstrated performance with distances in excess of 32 miles.
ft.icon.rf
80211n

802.11n

802.11n uses channel bonding and payload optimization to give Wi-Fi better performance. Channel bonding, uses two separate nonoverlapping channels to transmit data at the same time. This technique also increases the amount of data that can be transmitted. Payload optimization allows more data to be stuffed into each transmitted packet.
Photos

FT-003-210
bwd  Set 1/2  fwd
FT-003-210
FT-004-210
FT-007-210
FT-008-210
FT-009-210

Other Info

Product Datasheet

Product Ordering Information

Part No. Description

ES210-3

Tactical Mesh Point with a 2.4 / 5.8 GHz Radio
ES210-4 Tactical Mesh Point with a 4.4 GHz Radio
SWO-SB

Suite B Enhanced Security Software Option
(Licensed on a per device basis)
SWO-FPM

FastPath Mesh Software Option
(Licensed on a per device basis)
SWO-MV

MeshViewer Software Option
(Licensed on a per installation basis)
     

Product Certifications