Hurricane Irene

As we’re all aware, Hurricane Irene is making it’s way up the East Coast, with the potential for heavy rain, wind, and flooding. These conditions usually cause power and phone outages, and with those, Internet outages as well.

In years past, loss of power usually meant loss of any sort of computer use, but with the widespread use of smartphones a power loss doesn’t mean a loss of communications and contact. Here at MegaNet, we’ve built a highly redundant network to help maintain the best uptime possible in the case of severe weather.

Here’s how:

Power - All MegaNet facilities are backed up by both UPS (uninterruptible power supplies) as well as generators. In the event of a major outage, all internal MegaNet servers and hardware are protected immediately by UPS units and our generators kick in within 7 seconds (these are tested weekly). The generators are able to run for a minimum of 48 hours.

Network - We’ve set up a highly redundant ring connecting all of our locations and datacenters with both fiber and wireless connections, ranging from T3 to OC-3. In the event of downed lines, many of our servers and services will still be accessible through automatic failover to backup connections.

Equipment - In addition to UPS and generator power, many of our locations rely on redundant routers and switches as well. For instance, our MegaNet Business Wireless service has multiple paths to keep our customers connected in the event of power or weather emergencies. Much of our wireless gear is optimized for minimal wind drag as well, to withstand both gusts and sustained high wind.

Throughout the storm we’ll have emergency staff on call and monitoring our network and client connections closely. Should anything unforeseen happen, we’ll be ready to get services back to 100% as quickly as possible.

-RB