GOOD: The appeal of the Richard-Zeta Mediator was its open protocol savvy and its strident concept of leveraging existing assets, while future-proofing your upgraded system with BACnet devices. The JACE rescue easily gets your BACnet assets back onto the network.
BAD: As RZ Networks and controllers dry and sour as grapes on the once smart and fertile vine, a significant number of MUSH Market investors (Municipalities, Universities, Schools, and Hospitals) who went the RZ Mediator route to strategically deal with the first couple rounds of proprietary battles, are now RZ Net orphans, unbelieving wards of the we really “can’t-integrate” state.
UGLY: Cisco handsomely bought and buried Richard Zeta after arriving at some projected, future border — remaining absolutely indifferent, oblivous, and harmless to the significant installed collateral damage it caused when it abruptly ended its blade solution or its “green cloud” energy wise image.
Well, now, we need to remember that the wild, wild west could be one wild acquistion away from your system. Like they said in Rome, when you were eyeing up your next chariot: Caveat Emptor!
Good thing, that most of trails we travel still have full service lanes that pass close enough to graveyards and tombstones along the way to ward off the temptation let the reigns loose and gallop down the next blazing beta-tracks laid by the most recent and urgent high-tech stagecoach arrival that is asking for directions to the next town. But of course, being polite by nature, please, you first.
Do you have a Mediator story? If so, don’t be tight lipped about it. No need to go all Dirty Harry on us, just tell us what you are doing about your system now. Are you changing your Mediators out ? If so what are you replacing it with? Is the Cisco kid still a friend of yours or did he leave you high and dry, drinking whiskey while Pancho drinks the wine?
7 Responses
To Richards-Zeta’s credit I have worked with them since 1997 and I found their future vision and tech savy for innovation to be second to none. The Mediator being a leading edge device even with its “unwanted features” was special in that it was a Linux box that was completely open and encouraged inside development.
Unfortunately Cisco’s direction appeared to be driven by marketing comittees and not by tech savy.
I actually had a meeting with one of their marketing contractors and when they heard that there was a requirement for hundreds of hours of backside management (graphics, trendlogs alarms, points mapping etc) they were horrified. They suddenly realized these units were not going to fly off the shelves in the big box stores.
As well Cisco actually asked us for support on their Mediator product several times.
Goes to show that Cisco truly did not understand what they bought and were not prepared to listen to the advice of technical experts but instead unleashed the marketing people (salesmen) to bring it to its early burial.
From one source I have heard that there is believed to be in the neighborhood of 3000 Mediators out there and I believe they have created a lot of “POed” campers.
We replace them everywhere for JENE JACEs from Tridium… Unfortunate for customers, but there is a easy solution…
Osh, Thanks so much for the history. Your insights are very much appreciated.
Richard, good to know you guys have a proven option for Mediator customers, please feel free to leave your website information for our community that might be in need of your services.
Osh and Richard, you guys are right on. Was there any head-up out your way? Caught us kind of off-guard. The West Coast (California) has the greatest pain, and a few of the colleges out there are rallying and networking amongst themselves, trading parts and pieces — and there is a big retail chain out there, that has to be using an assortment of headache remedies to deal with their pain. Good thing those are stocked itmes and they get deep discounts.
Replacement solution for Richard-Zeta Mediator . Jene-1000, Jene3000, Jene6000, Jene7000
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