Look at this link:

http://www.datacentermap.com/blog/datacenter-container-55.html

I have a friend at our City Hall who has been involved with their mobile command center. One of the highlights of the setup is that the vehicle has a large number of communications methods onboard (in case cell goes out, or satellite, I think they even have shortwave…). After all, all the tools at your disposal would be fairly worthless without the ability to communicate effectively.

Have a plan A, B, C, etc. Of course, the persons/places you want to maintain connectivity with must have them too!

From what I have come across a mobile command trailer is used for on-site emergency response for local, state or federal resources as well as large multi-site organizations that will use the command center for a short period of time until resources can be brought back online. Does this fit the bill for your scenario? Are you already utilizing a collocation solution in your disaster recovery plans?

I agree with Koohiisan with the need for many different communication methods. Natural disasters have the ability to take down cell towers, phone lines and power grid so any remaining local resources could be swamped. Redundant power supplies are a must along with regular testing. You don’t want to overlook any of the small items, they are often the broken link in the chain when *%$# hit’s the fan. This includes fuel for generators, a vehicle (with fuel as well) to tow the trailer, a driver capable of handling the vehicle and trailer, address information where you may be heading, a map, road flares if you need to park in the street, depending on the type of natural disaster you are planning for you may want to consider first aid kits and water/space blankets for the response team if needed.

Other items to discuss when deciding on a DR solution include…

• affordable downtime (catastrophes shouldn’t be grouped with possible down times when getting this number)
• the disasters you are planning for and where the DR solution comes into play - If the entire site is without power you may not have any non response workers on site for an extended period of time, lowering demand
• obviously the cost vs reward, if you spend 100k with a 5k daily revenue it’s not worth the investment