This presentation (and its companion whitepaper) discuss the technology requirements for modern Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) to enable greater situational awareness and a more agile response to emergencies.

1. Matt Runyan
Network Consulting Engineer, Cisco Systems – Tactical Operations
matrunya@cisco.com
March 2013
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2. Thanks to:
Rakesh Bharania
NCE,Cisco TacOps
For initial Networked EOC
whitepaper, available upon
request
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3. • Network Consulting Engineer,
Cisco Systems - Tactical Operations
• Volunteer Firefighter / EMT-B,
Apex (NC) Fire Department
• Communications Unit Leader (COML),
NCTF-4 USAR (Type III)
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3

4. • About Cisco Tactical Operations
• Network Enabled EOC
Concept and Design
• IT/Security Considerations
• EOC Communications Suite
Resiliency
Redundancy
Voice/Video/Data
Interoperability
• Testing Your Solution & Training People
• Q&A
• Conclusion
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5. © 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 5

6. Team Mission Team Focus Areas
To deliver a unique level of ! Corporate Social
service in corporate and
individual risk mitigation, Responsibility /
critical network availability, Emergency Response
and rapid recovery from ! Internal Support
natural or man-made
disasters through a highly ! Industry Influence and
skilled team of operational Thought Leadership
and technical experts. ! Business Enablement
and Consulting
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7. • Network Emergency Response Vehicle
(NERV)
• NIMS Type II Mobile Communications Center.
• Large scale network services core
• “Respond locally, communicate globally”
• Mobile Communicator Vehicle
(MC2/MCV)
• NIMS Type IV (with satellite, VoIP) MCC
• Medium scale network services core
• Emergency Communications Kit
(ECK)
• Rapidly deployable communications capability
• Ship or hand-carry via air transport
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8. ! Satellite, BGAN, 4G cellular ! TelePresence Video Conferencing
(H.323 and SIP)
! Land Mobile Radio (LMR)
UHF/VHF/800/VHF low band ! IP Video Surveillance
! Amateur Radio UHF/VHF/HF ! Digital Media Encoder – Streaming
video
! IPICS - Radio Interoperability
! Cisco ISR G2 routers
! Wireless LAN (Mesh) (DMVPN, IPSEC,IDS/IPS, WAAS)
! IP Telephony ! Printer/Scanner/Fax
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9. © 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 9

10. Coordinating Resources
Policy Making
Operations
Information Gathering
Public Information Dissemination
Hosting Visitors
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11. • Location and potential hazards
First you must survive the disaster, then respond
• Building layout and Personnel support
• IT and Information Security in Critical Path
• Understanding workflows & NIMS Requirements
• Within EOC (individuals / teams)
• EOC to outside agencies & entities - interoperability
• The EOC Communications Suite:
• Resiliency and Redundancy of key functions / systems
• Information Security in the EOC
• IP Telephony and Video Systems
• Wireless Networks
• Remote Access and Interoperability Systems
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12. Implication:
Engage your IT and Information Security resources
early and often!
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13. • Example: “Watch Desk” -> IC -> Operations -> Logistics ->
Finance/Administration
• Have backup points of contact or
line of succession for key positions.
• Workflows can influence physical layout of building
(video walls, breakout rooms, separate area for media)
• Individuals may be grouped by ICS Position, Branch or other
function (Logistics, Law Enforcement / Fire / Public Works, etc.)
• Smooth flow of information for best situational awareness is
critical for crisis decision-making
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14. • Information Sharing for Situational Awareness
• Mutual Aid / Resource Requests
• With whom do I need to talk to and share information?
• Peer Level: Adjoining Cities / Counties
• Higher Level: County -> State, State -> Federal
• Lower Level: State -> Regional, Regional -> County
• Other Organizations: Military, Utilities, Red Cross, VOAD, Fusion Centers
• Public Information: News Media, Social Media (value in two-way conversation)
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16. • Telephone (internal systems and PSTN, NAWAS)
• Land Mobile Radio Systems
• Email, file sharing and group collaboration
(Intranet websites, wikis, chat tools)
• Specialized apps, incident management tools and databases
(WebEOC, E-Team, CAD, NCIC/DCI, resource catalogs, HR,
finance, digital signage, EAS/IPAWS, etc.)
• Video tools (Video Teleconferencing, video surveillance, analytics)
• Remote access (VPN or Web)
• Mobile Apps for Smart Phones & Tablets
• Wireless Intranet and Internet access for employees and guests
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17. • Typical Threats:
Service Disruption
Network abuse
Unauthorized access
• Defense in Depth
(policies, awareness, firewalls, AV, web content filters, etc.)
• Suite of tools
(detection, reporting, alerting, mitigation, auditing)
• Maintain some ease of use
- otherwise, users will circumvent security
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18. • Redundant network hardware and
cabling
• Independent A/B Power feeds
• Server clustering for High Availability
• Data backup and restore
• Cloud services – do your homework!
• Sometimes,
less complex = more reliable
• Cost vs. reliability tradeoffs
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19. • Converged IP voice and data network = flexibility
• Remote access for alternate locations and mobile workers
- VOST (Virtual Operations Support Team) concept
• Stable Power required for stable communications
- Redundant generator / UPS systems with aggressive PM
• Redundant circuits – diverse media
e.g.: DS-3 and VPN on business-class cable modem, 4G, VSAT
• Physical path diversity: backhoe example
• Good relationship with service providers. Know escalation paths!
• TSP on critical circuits http://tsp.ncs.gov
• Document and test “failover” processes
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20. • Resiliency: Where does my data live? Known hazards?
• Resiliency: Backup and Restore documented and tested
• Redundancy: Redundant HW, network, power, etc.
• Redundancy: Options for local production and cloud DR instances
• Security: Who has access and control?
• Security: Do provider’s security measures meet requirements?
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21. • Increased Flexibility
• Decreased TCO
• Unified Communications
(voice, video, chat, voicemail, fax)
• “Survivable” solutions
resilient to server failures
• Cloud services – do your homework!
• Proper design is imperative
(Capacity, Quality of Service)
• Underlying network must be stable
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22. • Enhanced collaboration experience
• Real-time information for situational
awareness (CCTV surveillance /
traffic cameras, analytics)
• PC Desktop screen sharing
capabilities
• Dedicated VTC units, PC,
smartphone, tablet apps
• Web-based services for meetings
• Video walls for common
operational picture
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23. • VPN Software allows Work-from-Anywhere flexibility
• Hardware Solutions for single, multi-user sites or vehicles
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24. • BYOD (Smartphone / Tablet)
• Laptops and USB Dongles
• Backup connection methods
• Guest vs. Trusted user access
• Interference mitigation technology
• WiFi:
2.4/5.8 GHz - shared
4.9 GHz Public Safety Exclusive
• 4G/LTE:
Commercial networks
“D-Block” 700 MHz for Public Safety
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25. • More than just radios!
• Voice, Video and Data sharing
• 5 Rights of Emergency
Communications:
• Right Information
• Right Time
• Right Person
• Right Format
• Right Device
• Many solutions: choose carefully
(and implement even more carefully)
• Poorly implemented interop solutions cause more harm than good
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27. • Give employees (and volunteers) the proper training to operate in
sub-optimal environments
• Ensure periodic opportunities to learn updated processes and
technology
• Set goals for each individual in what they are expected to do in
each situation
• Seek feedback on how to improve processes after exercises and
actual events
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28. • Design realistic scenarios:
Success can build morale, and stress helps find weaknesses
• Develop exercise injects based on real-world issues
• Include EOC Building evacuation scenarios often overlooked
(e.g. fire alarm, hazmat, bomb threat)
• Involve your PIOs and IT and other support staff
in addition to traditional responders
• Test failover and relocating to alternate sites:
Do all critical processes and tools still work?
• Document results, seek feedback and work to improve
for “next time” - on a real incident or exercise
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30. ! On Cisco.com:
http://www.cisco.com/go/tacops
! Email: tacops-info@cisco.com
! Facebook: Cisco TACOPS
http://www.facebook.com/
cisco.tacops
! Twitter: @CiscoTACOPS
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31. • Cisco Tactical Operations: please
engage with us and tour our vehicles!
• Network Enabled EOC
Concept and Design
• IT/Security Considerations
• EOC Communications Suite
Resiliency
Redundancy
Voice/Video/Data
Interoperability
• Testing your solution
© 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 31

32. Thank you.
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