SunGard Mobile Recovery Trailer Ready to Respond to Disasters

by Wayne Rash

SunGard’s Mobile MetroCenter mobile recovery unit is big when it’s fully deployed. There are push-out extenders on both sides of the trailer. Access stairs extend to the side and back, and the unit includes its own electrical power, communications and air conditioning. This trailer is self-leveling and extends its own hydraulic legs from the bottom of the trailer to hold it in place.

The rear of the mobile recovery unit opens to reveal a set of office building-like doors, along with a front porch. Both the porch floor and the roof swing open as the trailer is being set up. The stairs have rollers on the base to accommodate differences in the height of the surface and the floor.

The office doors open to reveal a crowded but serviceable office environment. The trailer can hold as many as 50 workers along with their respective computers. However, SunGard can reconfigure the interior to be anything from a training center to a bank branch. SunGard Vice President Haim Glickman said the emergency work space can be equipped with anything from cooking facilities to luxury rest rooms with valet service, although those would be installed in a separate building. Glickman said the cost of the mobile recovery unit is normally covered by a company’s business interruption insurance.

A business needs more than workstations. So the mobile recovery unit includes servers that are set up with an image of the customer’s servers. Normally customers back up their servers to a SunGard location to allow for disaster recovery operations.

The communications rack serves the 50 workstations in the trailer, and it’s also able to connect to the customer’s network if it’s operational. These network switches also support VOIP so that the customer’s telephone service can be redirected into the recovery unit.

This is the power control center for the recovery unit. It handles the 200-amp capacity provided by the on-board generator, and it can be connected to commercial power supplies if they’re available. Located on the power panel is the security system that warns if someone tries to break into the trailer. Customers can choose their own security code.

Each of the flat-screen monitors in the mobile recovery unit is bolted to the wall and can be retracted against the wall when the trailer is collapsed for transport. The divisions in the desks allow the work surfaces to be folded down for transport. Underneath the desks are individual computers that are fastened to the floor using Velcro.

Like most offices, there’s a rear entrance to the work space and, on the right, an entrance to the server room. The stairs and porch fold away for transport. Note that there’s exterior lighting over these stairs. The lighting is both a safety and a security enhancement.

The 70-kilowatt generator is nearly silent in operation despite its diesel engine. Above that are two HVAC units that cool the work space, computers and servers while the recovery unit is in operation. The diesel fuel will last for about 30 hours when operating at full capacity.

The front porch of the recovery unit can become a wheelchair lift for physically disabled workers or visitors. This helps SunGard and the customer meet Americans With Disabilities Act and Occupational Safety and Health Act requirements even while operating during an emergency.

The mobile recovery unit has exterior lighting around the outside. When opened, the rear gate of the trailer becomes the porch roof, which includes two lights to provide a safe entrance.

The tractor that pulls the mobile recovery unit is outfitted with large fuel tanks and on-board refueling equipment so that it can travel to a source of diesel fuel, fill up and return to refuel the generator on the mobile recovery unit. This apparently happens routinely, and the unit that was visiting the Washington area was refueled this way during its stay in the parking lot. This truck can support up to three drivers to ensure that there’s someone to drive the tractor-trailer to its destination as quickly as possible.