Routine procedures helped prevent loss of data during the worst of Irene

Storm's wrath damages NERIC equipment at Middleburgh CSD

NERIC servers covered in mud.

More NERIC equipment destroyed by flood waters.

Cleanup continues on Middleburgh's DL classroom.

NERIC is currently exploring options to keep DL classes going.

After Hurricane Irene wreaked havoc on the Capital Region, the Northeastern Regional Information Center quickly jumped in to help affected school districts – and even one municipality – with technology and data recovery.

But when it comes to disaster preparation, NERIC has been proactive. In fact, NERIC’s data center is, in a way, constantly preparing for natural disasters and other potentially catastrophic events such as Irene.

Routine protection

Once each month, NERIC shuts down its servers to do upgrades and maintenance to make sure all systems are ready in an emergency, and that school districts’ critical student and financial data is always safe.

That work includes double-checking that the generator is working – and that its accompanying 6,000 pounds of batteries are set to kick in before the generator does, to ensure there is no break in service. During Irene, that backup kicked in seven times because of power fluctuations.

Before Irene, NERIC staff triple-checked its backup systems. But NERIC’s routine procedures always ensure school districts’ information is protected: The data center hasn’t been down more than a total of 10 minutes in the last three years.

Since the storm, NERIC staff have been working closely with Middleburgh, Schoharie and Cobleskill-Richmondville school districts, to help them assess damage to their technology for insurance claims, and to start ordering replacement equipment.

Schoharie tax bills

John Warner, NERIC’s coordinating manager of systems and programming, said four districts that contract with Schoharie County lost their ability to print tax bills for district residents due to the storm. So, NERIC contacted Schoharie County to offer services.

“We have a copy of the software they run, and we offered to allow them to bring their database here and print bills from our site,” Warner said.

In fact, if Schoharie County had lost all of its tax data for school districts, NERIC would have become the county’s “hot site,” since its data center had obtained previous full backups for the districts they service.

“If they had lost everything, we could get them to a point where they could rebuild,” Warner said. “We really want to go all out and do whatever they’d like us to do. For instance, if they could print on plain paper, we would allow them to print tax bills here for free, at the very least.”

Muddied hard drives in Middleburgh

In Middleburgh, the loss in technology equipment will likely total more than $150,000. During a recent visit to the district, NERIC staffers found mud in computer hard drives and other flood-related damages that rendered NERIC equipment unusable.

“So far, we’ve been to Middleburgh Central School to remove our equipment where it was destroyed, catalog it, and to begin the insurance claim process, “said Brian Carey, NERIC’s services, planning and customer relations manager.

But all was not entirely lost. NERIC is working with other Schoharie-area schools to help Middleburgh ensure distance learning classes can continue until a temporary distance learning room can be set up in the district.

NERIC has secured cellular wireless communication devices so the district can increase communication as well as access Internet services, including services hosted by NERIC.

Because NERIC works closely with so many vendors, staff know exactly who to call, and have been able to work with vendors to expedite shipping of replacement equipment.

“At times like this, schools can again see the value of BOCES as a cooperative,” said Carl Strang, assistant district superintendent for technology and innovation.