Kerio Control gives my clientele security knowing their network is safe, Internet access is optimized, and that someone on land is able to oversee all administration. Yachts are cruising around the world, and Kerio Control is enabling passengers to stay connected in a way never before possible.
‐ Ed LasherKerio Preferred Partner, Yachtcomputing
Highlights
- Luxury yacht owner needs to receive priority bandwidth for fast browsing, downloading and streaming
- Need to bridge the technology gap between bandwidth hungry land-based apps and the limited bandwidth available at sea
- Protecting the owner by limiting the opportunity for inappropriate Internet usage aboard
- Transforming the flow of data on the open sea
Challenges
Ed Lasher of Yachtcomputing is no stranger to the challenges the open sea can bring a luxury yacht. His clients demand the highest level of service and expect online access when they need it, where they need it. Luxury yachts are expected to be at the forefront of technology, with the vessels offering every bell and whistle available.
Bandwidth management was becoming a major concern aboard a high-profile client's yacht. Onboard this yacht, the number of crew, guests, and network attached devices could reach over 100, all accessing the same wireless network, flowing out to the Internet over a single, extremely expensive and relatively slow satellite connection. When the owner is aboard, he (along with his friends/family) is entitled to priority bandwidth; however, he quickly found his download speeds were excruciatingly slow and he could barely load a web page. There was no control over which device was granted priority, and no visibility into which devices/users were using the most bandwidth.
Solution
Kerio Control's usage and traffic statistics put it at the top of the list for the yacht. Until Kerio, most of the devices in place were little more that Multi Wan routers allowing the Captain to switch between Internet access paths while leaving the captain completely blind with regards to how the Internet was being used and by whom. The ship's captain was drawn to Kerio Control's Statistics and detailed traffic charts so he could see who, and what, were using the most bandwidth and causing speed issues. Kerio Control’s Quality of Service and intuitive bandwidth management rules allow the captain to easily prioritize and monitor network traffic to guarantee high speed for the yacht's owner and guests. Additionally, the Kerio Control Web Filter provided interesting insights into inappropriate websites crew members were visiting and streaming during work hours, on work-provided devices. The final deciding component was Kerio Control's ease of administration. While the yacht is at sea, the captain can rely on Yachtcomputing on shore to administer and manage any threats or issues that may arise enabled by Kerio's VPN capabilities.
Benefits
With Kerio Control, the captain can now control who gets priority bandwidth, especially when the owner is aboard. Gone are the days of 3rd stewards slowing down bandwidth downloading season 3 of Grey's Anatomy at the same time the owner is trying to transact business. Captains can analyze usage regularly and work with IT to restrict access by time of day, or website. Recently, a captain called in to Ed's team, complaining of slow Internet speeds. The crew claimed to be doing their work, not needlessly browsing, downloading, or streaming content - thus placing blame on the service provider. Ed's team was able to quickly login to the administration console and pinpoint the problem within minutes - a crew member was downloading large amounts of inappropriate content. A quick call to the captain, and he was able to notify the crew member, restrict the Internet access, and the speed problem was resolved.