Networking Boxes

Consiliant ran fibre networking cables from the command center to Brocade 6450c12 switches, each in its own box. There were 11 such switches deployed for the event and were used to set up 16 different wireless networks separated by VLANs, including a separate network for each of the 14 home-building teams, Balas said.

Those 16 networks provided for the wireless needs of the entire Solar Decathlon. This included collecting data from sensors in the homes to be logged by the NREL. "Logging of data from the homes had top priority," he said. "If more bandwidth was needed for logging, it happened automatically."

The boxes were tight, Balas said. "It was a challenge to make everything fit," he said.