× The internal search function is temporarily non-functional. The current search engine is no longer viable and we are researching alternatives.
As a stop gap measure, we are using Google's custom search engine service.
If you know of an easy to use, open source, search engine ... please contact support@midrange.com.


  1.  Home
  2. MIDRANGE-NONTECH
  3. September 2006

Katrina/400 for Oreck

I thought this story might be of interest to some of you. I am summarizing the parts that I think of most interest to AS/400 community, and folks who might want to review OUR disaster recovery plans. It is a year after Katrina, and some disaster recovery plans are being reflected upon. In my area, the high risk of disaster is not from hurricane, but tornado, earthquake, epidemic, terrorism, which impacts proximity of other sites for backup recovery, and what needs to be backed up.
Vacuum Cleaner manufacturer Oreck Corp had their HQ in New Orleans and their primary manufacturing 70 miles away, so their warm site was also in the Katrina damage zone. The day before Katrina hit, the staff was scrambling to backup their AS/400 (it took 12 hours to make 2 backups), which the CEO (an experienced pilot) flew to their hot site in Boulder CO. The AS/400 administrator also went there. While the disaster recovery plan worked perfectly for the AS/400, they had failed to include in the plan, provisions for the Intel-based systems, still in New Orleans.
That meant they had no way to communicate with their 1,500 employees scattered across the nation. It was also hard to get some things for disaster recovery, since they were competing with FEMA etc. 
* electric generators to operate factories until public utilities restored
* RVs for dislocated employees to live in
When the disaster hit, they were in the middle of a conversion how they doing their supply chain. Once the factory back in operation in the Katrina ravaged area, they orchestrating delivery of materials over roads still clogged with debris. 

Lessons learned
* 48 hours in advance of bad storm is not enough time to prepare
* Determine how you will communicate even if circuits are destroyed or overwhelmed 
* Pre-arrange a safe place where you can re-establish a command center
* Make it known that you will take care of your people and their families
* Include the recovery of your second tier systems in your disaster recovery plan 
* Prepare for transportation disruptions / delays

http://www.managingautomation.com/maonline/magazine/read/Caught_in_a_Vacuum_11993115

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

This thread ...
Follow On AppleNews
Return to Archive home page | Return to MIDRANGE.COM home page

This mailing list archive is Copyright 1997-2024 by midrange.com and David Gibbs as a compilation work. Use of the archive is restricted to research of a business or technical nature. Any other uses are prohibited. Full details are available on our policy page. If you have questions about this, please contact [javascript protected email address].

Operating expenses for this site are earned using the Amazon Associate program and Google Adsense.