Poor word choice on my part regarding command center versus data service augmentation. However there are many capabilities that this setup can bring to bear no differently than a military TOC is established out in a forward operating site. I do agree that a good DR plan and hot/warm sites are a necessity for critical services however there are uses for this capability. One only needs to look at Katrina or 9/11 where a solution like this would have shown benefits in augmenting a larger DR plan and quickly providing computing or network services depending on how it was built out. Just to add a disclaimer, these are my opinions and not an official stance by the government. Jerry Jerry@jdixon.com On Oct 13, 2007, at 11:05 PM, Alan Clegg <alan@clegg.com> wrote:
Jerry Dixon wrote:
We've looked at these from a DHS perspective and they are a great concept. I know Sun has had the boxes here in DC on tour and worth checking out. I believe FEMA was in process of looking into leveraging them for disaster command centers along with the military.
As a long time network professional, volunteer firefighter, CERT[*] team member/instructor, and Red Cross disaster response volunteer, I'd wonder why ANYONE would want one of these.
If your "command center" is close enough to require this specialized configuration, YOU ARE TOO CLOSE. Please stay somewhere that you have functional/reliable power, walls that are not falling down, and hotel rooms for your staff.
The idea of moving your data center INTO the hot zone would scare the bejeebers out of me. I've been to large fires, hurricane aftermath, floods, tornado paths, and nowhere have I seen a need for these things.
If you have a spare data center somewhere "geographically diverse" from your primary, you're golden and you don't need a unit like this.
The concept of moving one of these things into an area that is still without normal utilities is not only dangerous to the equipment "in the box", but also begins to steal from the limited resources that are being used to rehabilitate the incident scene.
Why not get a couple of high-powered communication trucks that would allow network connectivity from the disaster zone instead of endangering your hardware and putting non-essential personnel into a dangerous situation?
Who's going to hire the private army that you are going to need to protect these monsters? (I understand that one is available) And who's bringing in the food for the poor technicians that are being deployed with the crate?
If you have the choice of using preciously scarce fuel to power your data center in a box or to help prepare and transport meals to people in need, which will you do?
Maybe I'm missing the point.
If you told me you were using one of these to deploy a preliminary data center while a permanent facility was being built, I'd think you were much more on track, but for emergencies?
AlanC
[*] Community Emergency Response Team, not computer related: http://www.wakecountycert.org