Saturday, January 4, 2014

Emergency Alert System May go to the Cloud

According to contracting documents posted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency on December 27th, it is now looking for a commercially built data storage alternative for its Integrated Public Alert and Warning System and Open Platform for Emergency Networks or IPAWS-OPEN system. One that will enable faster action and better communication between federal, state and tribal officials and the public. It also has to be a storage and retrieval system that uses more advanced storage technology, including possibly placing some portions of the system in the cloud.
For those who may have never heard the term, in its most basic form the Cloud is a euphemism for off-site secure data storage. This is a model of networked enterprise storage where data is accumulated in virtualized pools which are generally operated by third parties. These are mostly hosting companies that operate large data centers. Their customers are people or businesses that require their data to be hosted off site so they simply buy or lease storage capacity from them.

FEMA says that its custom-built IPAWS-OPEN has not met a slate of minimum standards, such as operating with 99.9% up time and allowing the president and other officials to alert the public about emergencies within 10 minutes. Rather it has been dogged by glitches, too many layers of technical bureaucracy and mainly insufficient storage space.

The current IPAWS-OPEN system transmits emergency messages to citizens through numerous channels, including local alert systems, traditional broadcast media, the Internet and cellphones. It also needs to be quickly expandable to new public communications systems and platforms as they are created.

My Stamp Collecting Blog

Counter Added January 1, 2011

free counters

HOW TO READ PROPAGATION NUMBERS

The A index [ LOW is GOOD ]

  • 1 to 6 is BEST
  • 7 to 9 is OK
  • 11 or more is BAD

Represents the overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere ("Ap" if averaged from the Kp-Index) (an average of the eight 3-hour K-Indices) ('A' referring to amplitude) over a given 24 hour period, ranging (linearly) typically from 1-100 but theoretically up to 400.

A lower A-Index generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; a low & steady Ap-Index generally suggest good propagation on the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

SFI index [ HIGH is GOOD ]

  • 70 NOT GOOD
  • 80 GOOD
  • 90 BETTER
  • 100+ BEST

The measure of total radio emissions from the sun at 10.7cm (2800 MHz), on a scale of 60 (no sunspots) to 300, generally corresponding to the sunspot level, but being too low in energy to cause ionization, not related to the ionization level of the Ionosphere.

Higher Solar Flux generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; Solar Flux rarely affects the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

K index [ LOW is GOOD ]

  • 0 or 1 is BEST
  • 2 is OK
  • 3 or more is BAD
  • 5 is VERY VERY BAD

The overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere ("Kp" if averaged over the planet) over the past 3 hours, measured by 13 magnetometers between 46 & 63 degrees of latitude, and ranging quasi-logarithmically from 0-9. Designed to detect solar particle radiation by its magnetic effect. A higher K-index generally means worse HF conditions.

A lower K-Index generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; a low & steady Kp-Index generally suggest good propagation on the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

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