Text Box: Page 8 ò Return to Page 1 Text Box: STC LINES—October 2005 Text Box: Extreme Consulting: War Stories From STC Gulf Coast Consultants (From Page 5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                     Photo: Bob Callahan, Jr.

Forward All Calls  This network control center in Gulfport 

was damaged severely, despite its fourth floor location. 

New Committee Guides Conference Planning

By BETH ENGLISH

      In order to enhance and develop the conference site selection process, the STC Board has established a new conference committee.

      This group has held regular meetings since the beginning of the year, so far focusing on site evaluation and the structure of confer-ence planning at a high level.

      The primary role of this committee is to present recommendations, based on previous conference attendee feedback and input from members and the VAC, to the planning committees for specific future conferences.

      Thus far, it has also participated actively in the site selection process.

      The rationale for creating this new committee is that conference planning com-mittees for specific confer-ences do not have the time to address these issues and con-centrate on the specific con-ference they are planning.

      So far, this committee has identified a site in the Atlanta area for the spring 2006 con-ference, and is targeting the site search process for next fall on Anaheim, CA. 

      The consideration of Anaheim results from an effort to coordinate a confer-ence in the near future with a trade show or industry event, and Anaheim will be the loca-tion of VoiceCon Fall 2006.

      Finally, the committee has almost completed the creation of a Conference Planning Guide that will help structure the conference planning process.

      During this week of August 29, the data network serving this 200-person firm’s re-mote sites was down, even support for basic applications (which had all resided on this server) while VPN links were established. 

Additional Perspectives

      Tim Lewis, a Birmingham, Alabama consultant familiar to many STC members as a speaker at recent conferences, empha-sizes the particular impact of flooding in relation to back-up capability.

      While, he says, a robustly designed location such as a cell site might have ample back-up facilities, “those facilities become

absolutely useless when they are underwater.” In this respect, flooding is a distinctive form of damage that must be addressed comprehensively in any meaningful disaster recovery plan, particularly for life care facilities.

Conclusions

     The following table summarizes recommendations in relation to disaster recovery planning for communications networks, when an unplanned disruption is catastrophic. These considerations supplement traditional disaster recovery plan elements.

              Table 1:  Accounting in Disaster Recovery Plans For Severe Disruptions

Disaster Recovery Plans

That Do Not Account for Long Term Disruptions

Are Inadequate

“Think more in terms of alternate sites than how many hours of back-up power you have and when you are going to get it restored . . . [and keep in mind that employers] cannot require employees to remain in an area when civil authorities issue mandatory evacuation orders [and] cannot bring people back to work when they are facing personal tragedy of such magnitude, or to an area that cannot provide fundamental civil order, drinkable water, etc.”                             Bob Callahan, Jr.   

Account For the Possibility of Widespread Damage to Regional Infrastructure

Multisite IP networks that distribute processing power throughout the network are more survivable, and they fared better in the recent storms than hubbed networks. 

Carrier Facilities Tend To Lose their Historic Reliability in Catastrophes

Many coastal communities rely on aerial feeder facilities, and many ILECs may be small independents that lack survivability. Ten BellSouth central offices suffered “severe devastation,” from Katrina, and the company lost more than 11,000 poles and 26,000 cable spans, affecting 2.5 million BellSouth lines, according to testimony given at FCC hearings.

Flooding Should Always Be a Special Consideration

Regardless of your location, determine the 100-year flood level for each facilities location and insist on locating network facilities above this level, making clear to clients what they risk by not acting on your advice.