computer science

PowerCloud Systems

PowerCloud Systems is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand PowerCloud Systems rather than just read about it. In short: PowerCloud Systems was a cloud networking company located in Palo Alto, California. The company designed and manufactured cloud-powered Wi-Fi systems for businesses, carriers and consumers and was a corporate spin-off from the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), a Xerox company.

Key takeaways

PowerCloud Systems belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect PowerCloud Systems to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of PowerCloud Systems from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

PowerCloud Systems was a cloud networking company located in Palo Alto, California. The company designed and manufactured cloud-powered Wi-Fi systems for businesses, carriers and consumers and was a corporate spin-off from the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), a Xerox company. PowerCloud was purchased by Comcast in July 2014.

History PowerCloud Systems was incorporated in 2009 and was spun-out as an independent firm in 2010 with investment from Walden Venture Capital and Javelin Ventures. On September 20, 2010, at PARC's 40th anniversary celebration, PowerCloud showcased its first product, the CloudCommand online software platform for network equipment providers. This platform enabled network equipment vendors and communications service providers to introduce Wi-Fi networking products that could be managed from the cloud. The platform has subsequently evolved and PowerCloud now offers a portfolio of cloud-managed wireless access points and a Web-based management dashboard that are both white-labeled by communications service providers and are marketed directly to businesses through managed service providers that wish to manage their clients wireless networks. On January 25, 2011, D-Link became the first major OEM vendor to launch product based on the CloudCommand platform. Zyxel announced product at Interop in May 2011 and launched on November 11, 2011. In December 2011, PowerCloud Systems announced it had secured $6 million in Series B funding in a round that was led by Qualcomm Ventures and included participation from its existing investors – Walden Venture Capital, Javelin Venture Partners and PARC. In April 2013, PowerCloud Systems officially entered into the consumer Wi-Fi market with the introduction of Skydog, a combination Wi-Fi router, cloud service and HTML5-based application. In 2013, the company began shipping a commercial solution under its own brand and announced Nickelodeon Resort as a customer in September. In December announced partnership with Common Sense Media. The company showcased the product at CES 2014 to favorable reviews. In July 2014 PowerCloud Systems announced on the homepage of Skydog that they had been acquired, and retail sales of Skydog router had ceased. No acquirer was named in announcement. In July 2014, Comcast confirmed to Tech Crunch that they had acquired PowerCloud Systems, as speculated. PowerCloud's technology serves as the basis for Comcast's xFi which is now available to 23.5 million homes.

Management Jeff Abramowitz founded PowerCloud Systems and served as the company's president and CEO. Abramowitz’ is included in the Computer History Museum for his role in the formation and growth of the W-Fi industry. Abramowitz has held executive positions in the Wi-Fi industry for more than 25 years. He was director of Wireless Product Management at 3Com where he spearheaded the company's wireless LAN efforts and its first wireless initiative, as well as serving as the company's representative on the board of the Wireless LAN Association. At Intersil, Abramowitz launched the company's Wi-Fi efforts into the home. At NoWires Needed, a Dutch start-up, Abramowitz was responsible for worldwide Marketing and US operations. He helped to introduce the industry's first ARM-based Medium Access Controller capable of supporting performance required for the 54 Mbit/s IEEE 802.11a standard. NoWires Needed was acquired by Intersil in June 2000 for $156M. Abramowitz was responsible for Wi-Fi marketing and business development at Broadcom. While there, he helped to introduce the first CMOS Wi-Fi chipset, first single chip Wi-Fi, and first 802.11g solution. Abramowitz was responsible for marketing and strategy at wireless company Azimuth Systems, where he helped to introduce the first Wi-Fi automated test equipment for MIMO radios and the first platform for Wi-Fi Alliance testing As an entrepreneur-in-residence at Xerox PARC he spun out PowerCloud Systems and served as the founder, CEO and chairman of the board. Abramowitz is a current board member and past president of Cloud4Wi, a leading Wi-Fi services platform for marketing, location services for retail, restaurant and transportation. Abramowitz was inducted into the Wi-Fi Now Hall of Fame in 2019. Andrea Peiro co-founded PowerCloud Systems and serves as the company's CTO and chief product officer. Peiro had been a well-known product strategist, and was a former intelligence officer in the Italian Navy.

Products

Cloud Command Enterprise CloudCommand Enterprise is a Wi-Fi system that consists of Wi-Fi access points that can be deployed, secured and managed via a cloud-based management interface. This approach, which does not require wireless controller hardware, is ideal for deployments with a high-density of mobile users, such as hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, schools, conference centers, assisted living facilities, and Multi-Dwelling Units (MDUs) such as apartment buildings. This method of instantiating a wireless network does not require onsite wireless LAN controller hardware; as the access points are managed via the cloud network. Ostensibly this reduces equipment costs and eases management. This technology also enables businesses or Value-Added Resellers to create multiple private wireless networks using the same public access infrastructure.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with PowerCloud Systems

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what PowerCloud Systems claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to PowerCloud Systems before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about PowerCloud Systems ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of PowerCloud Systems

In research: PowerCloud Systems appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses PowerCloud Systems in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: PowerCloud Systems is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Wireless access points, Wireless networking hardware, Xerox spin-offs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for PowerCloud Systems outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study PowerCloud Systems in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what PowerCloud Systems means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain PowerCloud Systems out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is PowerCloud Systems in simple terms?

Why does PowerCloud Systems matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study PowerCloud Systems?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on PowerCloud Systems.