North American Network Operators Group
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Re: Sun Project Blackbox / Portable Data Center

  • From: Jerry Dixon
  • Date: Sat Oct 13 23:53:18 2007

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
[email protected]

On Oct 13, 2007, at 11:05 PM, Alan Clegg <[email protected]> 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