CENTERFOLD

The Red Cross Disaster-Tolerant Network

When a man-made or natural disaster strikes, stable computer systems become a lifeline for the victims. The American Red Cross Disaster Services casts out a fault-tolerant, flexible network to crisis areas and distributes food, blankets and equipment to service centers and shelters during a national disaster.

Database accessibility and wireless networks are essential to the American Red Cross' Disaster Services Logistics/Warehouse Automation Project (DSLOG/WAP). The pilot system has been ready for action since June 1995, and can be rolled out to any future disaster site. System design considerations were portability, durability, easy setup, fault-tolerance and ease of use.

The integration of the pre-existing American Red Cross (ARC) disaster services applications (dubbed DROMIS) with handheld data collection devices, and coordination between individual warehouses and a central warehouse server for each disaster operation is the primary focus of this system. The ultimate goal of DSLOG/WAP is the management of warehouse inventory to help ensure constant availability of relief supplies to victims in need.

The American Red Cross uses a network of laptops, desktops and handheld computers in the field, which have dial-up connections to national headquarters. The DSLOG/WAP software is sent to disaster site warehouses on 486-based IBM ThinkPad 755Cs, along with handheld data collection devices. From day one of the operation, the portable network is in use. The ARC's pilot uses Proxim's wireless Ethernet, RangeLAN 2, for local networking. The project involves the effective management of one warehouse, with the planned ability to connect up to five warehouses for one disaster area, and the capacity to integrate information from each job to databases running on an AS/400 at national headquarters. The Red Cross is rewriting all DOS-based applications to use Windows. The protocols on the ARCMAN metropolitan area network are IP and IPX.

"We can't depend on active cellular service or LAN lines on a disaster relief operation," says Richard Hoffman, senior systems programmer. "Local telcos are responsive, but at times the only option is to download data onto disk and use 'sneakernet' couriers to get data distributed on a disaster site."

INMARSAT portable satellite dishes are also used at sites during emergencies for both voice and data communications. Staff may have to move computer equipment two to three times during a field job because of a disaster site's hostile environment. If one or more components fail, the system continues to operate. Electric generators can supplement power service.

For the American Red Cross, preventing downtime during a national disaster helps ensure that desperately needed aid reaches tens of thousands of victims in need.

October 1, 1995