FEMA and Your Business Continuity Plan

Fri, 12 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

I passed the ROUTE exam a few days/weeks/months/something ago and decided to pursue certifications of another sort for a while. The wife and I are trying our best to help the community through our ham radio training, so I decided to go down that path a bit further. One thing I was interested in doing is to do EmComm during declared emergencies. That meant I had to take two FEMA courses online to be allowed in the EOC. I thought they would be terribly boring, but I found them to be quite familiar.

Cisco Live 2013 Insights - Cisco Tactical Operations

Wed, 03 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000

While walking through the World of Solutions, we ran across a big black truck with lots of antennas all over it. It was obviously an emergency communications vehicle of some kind, but I was really surprised to see it was a Cisco truck. It turns out that Cisco has a Tactical Operations group (Twitter) that was formed to provide disaster responders with much-needed communications for EMAs, fire, police, medical, etc.

The big truck was the NERV - the Network Emergency Response Vehicle (PDF link). It’s full of traditional HF, VHF, and UHF radios that the ham radio operators usually bring to these disasters. This is a necessity when all phones, cell, and Internet are down. It could be the only way fire fighters are able to call for reinforcements or the only way a hospital can call for more supplies. The NERV, though, takes it to the next level. On top of the radio gear, it is equipped with satellite uplinks for Internet access, wifi, and digital voice and video through UCS Express, IP phones, and Telepresence. Analog voice is always the first method of communications restored via battery- or generator-powered gear, but an area will eventually need a network with voice and video. That’s where the NERV comes in.

Response on Aaron's Worthless Words

FEMA and Your Business Continuity Plan

Cisco Live 2013 Insights - Cisco Tactical Operations