Sun Project Blackbox / Portable Data Center

Sun Oct 14 03:49:07 UTC 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
Jerry at jdixon.com

On Oct 13, 2007, at 11:05 PM, Alan Clegg <alan at 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
>