Slashdot Mirror
Preparing Computer and Cellular Networks For a Hurricane
CWmike writes "As Hurricane Gustav approaches the US Gulf Coast, IT lessons learned from the devastating Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that smashed New Orleans and other areas in 2005 are on the minds of many worried IT managers. David Avgikos, president of Digimation Inc., a 3-D digital animation software company in St. Rose, Louisiana, said, 'We don't have to be told twice.' Meanwhile, the nation's major cellular network providers say that they too are prepared, having learned from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Still, they offer some helpful tips for dealing with what is expected to be a category-three hurricane when it hits: use text vs. calling on your cell phone, and if you use a cordless for your landline, ditch it for a corded model so that it will still work if there are power outages."
1. 3-M Blackwatch tape Fed Ex'd to some safe place north.
Other than that, unless your facility is 100ft underground, resistant to groundwater, and with lots of fuel for the generator, I don't think you can do much in the midst of a really big hurricane. Doesn't sound like this one is going to be the biggest of types though.
Do not put the generator in the damn basement.
after 2 hurricanes and one big ice storm: 1. ALWAYS have a landline phone. it's bomb-proof. even dialup for email is better than 8 days without. 2. Cell towers/service go down second. 3. Cable goes out first. there's other stuff to consider, but this is a tech site.
It was a bitch during Katrina, you could not contact anyone in the 504 area code.
I'd never really ever used text messaging prior to that...but, I started receiving them, then discovered what T9 was....and have been a fan of it ever since..
For a month at least, or more...texting was the only way you could get through on a cell phone from NOLA. I wonder why they can do text, but, not voice?
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Remember that sending an SMS means sending a small amount of asynchronous data, whereas keeping a persistent voice connection open is more resource intensive. I'd reckon that it took you longer to receive SMS messages after Katrina than usual, but nothing you would really notice since, as I said, SMS is a form of asynchronous communication.
'Every story, if continued long enough, ends in death.' --Ernest Hemingway
Not really, I mean, the city is older that the United States of America...not like anyone in recent history chose where to put it.
And...not any more a problem than Amsterdam is...
Not to mention, it is here for a reason...MAJOR port for the US, for all the goods being shipped out of the middle of the US down the MS river..access to the Gulf for all that oil being drilled for, and imported in...gotta have all the fishermen supplying the US with a large part of its fresh seafood...etc.
Nah, while NOLA is a bit dangerouse (wouldn't be as bad if the wetlands could get restored), it is where it is for many important reasons.
Most everywhere in the US is in danger from all kinds of natural disasters. Heck, even NYC has a nighmare hurricane scenario...and they're WAY overdue.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Beyond that, I'd say always have a simple brainless corded phone in the house. Wireless is nice, and battery backup is good if the power's only out for a couple of days -- but if things are bad for a while, or your phone battery just HAPPENS to be almost fully discharged the day the disaster hits (because of a 4 hour support call), it's nice to know that you have something that's guaranteed to work for as long as the telephone system is intact.
I've had days that I've been on the phone so much that I've gone through both the main and the backup battery for my cordless phone. Until then my 'always have a corded phone' rule was considered a 'just in case' rule. It wasn't even a disaster, but I'm glad that I had the rule.
I mean, it's not like a dumb phone is gonna cost you more than a couple of lattes at the local coffee shop.
Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
The blogger Interdictor, Michael Barnett, has a detailed blog of what they had to do and deal with to keep their datacenter operational despite being located in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. His blog was a very good read during the hurricane and its aftermath as it happened in August/September 2005.
Blog: http://interdictor.livejournal.com/?skip=300 Start reading from this link and go forward through the posts.
Pictures: http://sigmund.biz/kat/
In Florida we use cordless phones regularly but when a hurricane is here we switch to an old line powered phone. When I say line powered I don't mean "non-cordless". I mean the telephone line provides all the power the phone needs to operate. These are commonly referred to as Princess Telephones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_telephone) and can be purchased from your local radio shack for a couple bucks.