Design of the Cyber Security Operations Centre

The public opening of the Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) at the Defence Signals Directorate provides a rare insight into the design of an Australian military operations centre. The Minister for Defence announced the centre would have a staff of 51 to 130.

The Defence Department provided photographs of the minister in the centre and more general views of the centre. One photo shows a close-up of an operator at a console. There are three wide format Dell monitors, each of about 24 Inches. The monitors are simply placed on the desktop using their supplied stands (no multi-monitor mounting is used). A standard keyboard and mouse are used. A Cisco Unified IP Phone (7970G or similar) digital telephone handset is located alongside the screens. In the background is a large video wall screen with two smaller flat screen displays and LED world clocks. There is a railing showing a balcony and second level with a glass wall and door (presumably offices).

A wider view shows what appears to be a projection wall screen with images from two projectors side by side, showing computer displays. Underneath are the two flat panel wide screens showing BBC World News. The flat panels have four LED world clocks to there left.

The design of the room appears symmetrical, with a central walkway about 1.2 m wide. Individual rectangular adjustable height office desks 1600 x 800 mm are used. Three rows of desks are visible, with three desks in each row, about 1200 mm between the rows. There is one operator, with two screens (some three screens) and a phone per desk. Free standing drawer units are under some desks. The back of the room shows a built in semicircular desk with two monitors.

Assuming the room is symmetrical, it would have 19 operator workstations. The room is about 13 m wide and 10 m deep, with a double height ceiling of about 6 m. This provides a generous 7 square metres per operator.

Clearly 51 staff could not fit in this area. Assuming that the visible area is surrounded by standard offices on two levels of three sides, that would provide an additional 440 square metres of space. This would provide a reasonable 11 square metres of space per staff member, for 51 staff.

The design of the room does not appear optimal for space utilisation or group work. The desks, at 800 mm, are deeper than needed (smaller desks could double the room capacity). The use of two screens per workstation creates a situation where the operator has to look either to the left or right, not straight ahead. There are only limited gaps between the screens cutting the operators off from those in front and behind. Also the desk rows are straight, reducing the ability of the operators to see others. Narrower semicircular rows of desks would provide a better result. These could be fabricated simply (height adjustment is not used in such centres, as is evident from the photographs). Also it might be better to provide each operator with just one large monitor (up to 30 inch).

Telstra Global Operations Centre

Telstra's Global Operations Centre (GOG) in Melbourne appears to be too large to be effective. David Neiger's Article in August 2009 Australian Personal Computer magazine ("Telstra's massive nerve centre exposed") ,is accompanied by photos showing a conventional command centre room.

The GOC room is rectangular, with a wall of monitors at one end straight rows of operator stations. The room is divided into two halves with a walkway down the middle, which wastes the most valuable space of the room (the center). There are five operators in each row in half the room, with ten rows: one hundred operator stations in total.

Most operators have four large LCD screens in front of them. Because of the width of the screens, the operators appear to be more widely spaced than is needed, or useful, for effective work. The spacing could be reduced by one quarter, to allow them to work together more effectively. It is questionable if one operator could usefully observe four separate LCD screens around them. Removing one screen would likely improve the effectiveness of the station. A better option would be to replace all three monitors with one large wide screen monitor.

The desks also appear to be 50% deeper than needed, most likely due to having been designed for bulky obsolete CRT display screens.

There are supplementary monitors suspended from the ceiling along the sides of the room. These are likely needed as the operators at the back of the room would not be able to read what is on the board at the front.

Making the desks less deep, placing the operators closer together and removing the central walkway would allow the size of the room to be halved. This would increase the efficiency of the operation, as the operators would be able to more easily work as a team, as well as save very expensive floor space. Curving the row of desks slightly, would also allow the operators easily see each other, as is done in the NATO Combined Joint Operations Centre (CJOC) in Kabul.

Tesltra has a more modestly sized Managed Network Operations Centre in Sydney. The MNOC has a 16.7 metre video wall and provision for 42 operator stations.

Energy conservation in the Australian Military

The topic of energy conservation appears to have been largely ignored by the Australian military. There are only two papers listed in the Australian Defence Force Journal in the category "energy". These are "Addressing Energy as a Military Cost" (Palmer, 178 Mar/Apr 2009) and "The Compelling Requirement to Energy-Proof the Australian Defence Force (White, 175 Jan/Feb 2008). Palmer provides an overview of some alternative energy sources for deployed forces, such as solar panels, wind power and bio-fuel. However, the obvious first step of reducing energy cost is to reduce the consumption of energy, while Palmer looks at some exotic technologies for this, such as hybrid drives for military vehicles, they miss some of the simpler ones, such as reducing electricity use in bases.

In "Joined-up thinking" (Jane's Defence Weekly, 9 July 2009) Tony Skinner reports on NATO's command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) system in Afghanistan. This includes the NATO Combined Joint Operations Centre (CJOC) in Kabul. The CJOC has a typical theatre design of room with five large projection screens on one wall, fed from ceiling mounted projectors. There are three twos of tiered seating, with a row of about thirty LCD screens on each of the three rows of desks. Operators have between one and four LCD screens each. There is a further row of seats separated at the very back of the room. Most operator stations also have an IP smart phone.

The CJOC would require a considerable amount of electrical power, both to supply the operator's stations directly and to cool the waste heat from the equipment. From a photograph accompanying Skinner's article, it appear that there is poor energy discipline maintained by the NATO staff, with LCD screens turned on at unused operator stations. Several monitors showing the default Microsoft Windows "screen saver" indicating that the power saving options of the operating system have not been enabled. Also the telephones at unused stations appear to be powered up.

NATO could achieve considerable power savings simply by switching on the power saving options of the workstations. Further savings could be made by replacing multiple screens with more energy efficient large monitors.

The room appears to be equipped with standard office strip florescent lighting. This could be replaced with more energy efficient LED task lightning. Apart from reducing energy use, the task lighting would allow the use of lower energy projection screens. This would also provide a more modular and deployable option, as the task lighting could be provided per workstation.

More energy savings could be made by changing the computer equipment used. Most of the workstations in the CJOC appear to be personal computers. These could be replaced with low power thin clients. Apart from savings in energy use, thin clients would have a lower purchase and maintenance cost and be considerably easier to deploy. If the NATO applications were changed to take advantage of web based technology the size of the servers required could also be reduced.

It should not be surprising if the NATO ICT is not energy efficient, as that does not seem to have been a requirement in tenders for the facility, such as Statement of Work
IFB-CO-12520-OPL BOOK II - PART III (NATO 23 October 2008). The only power consumption requirement included seems to be that it be within the captaincy of the UPS:

1.1.1 NATO forces are currently deployed to Kandahar Airfield (KAF) in Afghanistan
to support the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission. As the NATO
footprint at KAF expands, NATO must provide sufficient Communications and
Information System (CIS) capability to enable those forces to effectively command and control the regional forces, as well as conduct both staff and operational functions at KAF and in the ISAF theatre.

1.1.2 The prime objective of this project is to create a robust, modern CIS
infrastructure at the Kandahar Airfield (KAF) in Afghanistan that shall satisfy the basic requirements for availability, survivability and data recovery following any potential outage. To achieve this, existing CIS systems at Kandahar Airfield must be enhanced, upgraded or replaced to prevent continued reliance on outdated (end of life) and unsupported technology. Some part of the current architecture and
infrastructure has been in theatre for some time under harsh operational
conditions and is prone to system wide vulnerabilities and multiple single
points of failure. Other parts of the infrastructure have been installed as
part of a mitigation plan to accommodate NATO’s increasing need for CIS
capabilities at KAF. ...

Power Provisioning ...

10.14.3 A power generator will be installed for each ADN under a separate
contract in case the 220V grid would not be available at the time of
installation. The Contractor shall validate the power installation
requirements for the ADN shelters during site survey.
10.14.4 The Purchaser will provide and install a building UPS and power
generator at both TCFs via a separate contract. The Contractor shall
validate the power installation requirements for the TCFs during site
survey. The Contractor shall cooperate with the UPS engineer to facilitate
graceful shutdown procedures on all Windows based servers. ...

From: Statement of Work IFB-CO-12520-OPL BOOK II - PART III (NATO 23 October 2008).

Perhaps ADF or NATO staff might like to enrol in my Green ICT Sustainability course.

Meeting spaces for education and warfare

One of my colleagues pointed out work by the Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence Division of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation on advanced meeting spaces and distributed multi-site collaboration for military planning. What struck me was the similarity with the electronic learning rooms used for education. While Defence might seem to have unique requirements, education also has a need for mobile, vehicle mounted and shipborne collaboration environments. The problem is to knit together a range of technologies, so they can be sued in real time by a group of people in a room, linked to other people in other rooms.

DSTO's system is called "Livespace" with an unclassified "Livespaces technical overview" available. Such systems suffer from complexity making them difficult to use and maintain. The availability of the web to provide a set of commonly accepted stanrards to integrate such systems is not well understood by many developers. With this approach the physical meeting room can be thought of as a set of services which just happen top be physically colocated, but otherwise treated no differently to ones spread geographically. The Internet and web based standards can then be used to combine them together.

Google Wave might prove useful as an integrating technology, both for education and military meeting rooms, assuming it lives up to the hype. This would allow integration of various forms of electronic collaboration using a common set of protocols and APIs.

Abstract

This report describes Livespaces, a technology framework developed by DSTO to support advanced meeting spaces and distributed multi-site collaboration. It discusses the rationale behind the Livespace concept, the history of the research and development that lead up to the Livespaces approach, and, in particular, its roots in providing support for the intense collaboration sessions often required by ADF operational planning specialists. The novel technical architecture employed by the Livespaces operating environment is described, as well as the new capabilities it enables. The report also discusses possible configurations for a Livespace and various applicable off-the-shelf hardware technologies and their trade-offs.

Executive Summary

This report contains a technical definition of the Livespaces technology framework developed by DSTO to support advanced meeting spaces and distributed multi-site collaboration. It defines the rationale behind the development of the Livespace concept, and describes the capabilities a Livespace provides. The Livespace concept originates from DSTO research into supporting the intense collaboration sessions often required of ADF planning specialists during the initial planning phase of an operation. Initial experiments in supporting this type of collaboration were carried out using a prototype assembled from components developed by several 3rd parties, including Stanford and the Distributed Systems Technology Centre. These lead to an initial Livespace prototype room at The University of South Australia, which was trialled as part of a series of Technical Exercises involving ADF planning staff. The requirements and experiences arising from the prototype were incorporated into the novel architecture for developing collaborative meeting spaces which is described in this report. This report describes the requirements and technical problem space that led to the design of the Livespace Bus, a distributed systems approach to solving the problem of integrating a disparate and distributed set of software and hardware components into a single manageable system. It includes a description of how the bus operates and provides a brief example showing how a software developer can use this framework to rapidly develop new Livespace services or extend existing ones. The software applications and services that have been developed on top of the Livespace Bus framework are described: these include various experimental groupware applications and the desktop applications for managing a Livespace smart meeting room, such as environmental settings (lights, volume, video switching, etc.) The report also discusses the various approaches to setting up a Livespace, its layout, trade-offs, and the various applicable hardware technologies that may be employed. In the future work section, we highlight the fact that Livespaces has matured to a level of stability that has enabled it to be successfully deployed to a number of ADF sites for advanced trials. It has also been deployed by Canada’s DRDC to three Canadian sites under a TTCP Materiel Transfer Agreement. We discuss options for expanding the scope of Livespace application and collaboration, and recommend that an effective approach would be to make the Livespace framework available under an open source licence.

From: ">Livespaces technical overview, Matthew Phillips, DSTO, 2008, DSTO-TR-2188, AR-014-287, 07/248, 2007/1154298/1, http://hdl.handle.net/1947/9658

Submarines and Stealth Aircraft for Australia

The Australian Government released "Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030" on 2 May 2009. This is a detailed policy document ("white paper") , the unclassified version being 143 pages (PDF 1.83 Mb). The most notable proposals are for 12 long range submarines and 100 stealth fighter bombers. The document is deficient in not discussing the role automation will have in changing defence by 2030. Also the report fails to plan for the use of ICT in defence, which could provide significant savings to pay for the proposed equipment.

There has been concern from commentators over the $100B cost of the proposals and $20B in savings the Government plans to obtain from Defence to pay for them. As a former official in the ADF HQ I can understand that such savings will be difficult to achieve. However, a greater problem may be finding the increased numbers of highly trained personnel to operate all of the proposed equipment and to pay for their training and salaries.

Unmanned Vehicles

A major failing in the white paper is the lack of recognition of the role of automation in reducing the cost and extending the capability of military equipment. While Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), are known in the popular press, there are also now also robot submarines: Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) , and robot tanks: Unmanned ground vehicles (UGV).

The Australian Government plans to acquire seven large high-altitude, long-endurance UAVs in the class of the RQ-4 Global Hawk. Underwater and land based autonomous vehicles are less developed and currently only short range add-ons to manned platforms, but this likely to change before 2030.

Eight new Future Frigates, are envisaged to embark a combination of manned naval combat helicopters and maritime Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). However, apart from that and the long-endurance UAVs, there is no mention of the role of automation in Australia's defence.

Submarines

The paper proposes 12 new longer range submarines. Using conventional technology these vessels will require larger crews that the current submarines, for which the RAN is already having difficulty finding personnel. There are ways in which the submarines to be ordered could be operated with smaller crews. Australian designed and built Joint High Speed Vessels could also extend the range of the submarines.

In addition to automation of the submarines to reduce crews they can have their capabilities extended with Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) , which are essentially torpedo shaped robot submarines. Australia has expertise in this area, with the Australian National University developing a miniature short range AUV and CSIRO operating "gliders" which can operate for 30 days, covering 200 km and relaying data by satellite.

Aircraft Carriers

Australia has already ordered two "Landing Helicopter Dock" (LHD) ships, to be be named HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide (Canberra class). The Spanish design has a "ski jump" on the flight deck for operating aircraft such as the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. The defence department has denied that there are plans to use these ships for other than helicopter transport. However, it would seem to be reasonable for 24 of the Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to be the F-35B Short Take-Off Vertical Landing (STOVL) model, so they can operate from the ships.

Cyber Warfare

The white paper appears to have missed the point that computers and telecommunications have revolutionised the way industry and government operate. The words "Internet" and "Web" do not appear in the document at all. The role of computers and telecommunications are discussed only as an infrastructure to be protected from Cyber Warfare, not as a primarily tool for defence planning and operations. A Cyber Security Operations Centre is proposed to be staffed by ADF and DSTO personnel. It will not be possible for the ADF to maintain the needed level of expertise without civilian assistance of organisations such as AusCert. Without outside assistance the ADF will be vulnerable to cyber attack.

The Department of Defence needs to plan to use ICT to improve both its administrative and military operations. This will require giving up the idea that expertise lies within the department and that there is a unique military approach which only defence personnel can provide. One way the proposed $20B savings can be obtained is by making the operations of the department and the ADF more efficient by increased effective use of ICT.

My experience of nine years in Defence ICT was that while the organisation wanted the benefits of ICT, it was not willing to change the way it operated so as to make the ICT effective. The result was that system projects failed or did not achieve the planed results when implemented, because old ways of working were continued with the new systems.

Excerpts from Defence 2009 White Paper 2009

Submarines
9.3 For the reasons spelled out in Chapter 8, the Government has decided to acquire 12 new Future Submarines, to be assembled in South Australia. This will be a major design and construction program spanning three decades, and will be Australia's largest ever single defence project. The Future Submarine will have greater range, longer endurance on patrol, and expanded capabilities compared to the current Collins class submarine. It will also be equipped with very secure real-time communications and be able to carry different mission payloads such as uninhabited underwater vehicles.
9.4 The Future Submarine will be capable of a range of tasks such as anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare; strategic strike; mine detection and mine-laying operations; intelligence collection; supporting special forces (including infiltration and exfiltration missions); and gathering battlespace data in support of operations.
9.5 Long transits and potentially short-notice contingencies in our primary operational environment demand high levels of mobility and endurance in the Future Submarine. The boats need to be able to undertake prolonged covert patrols over the full distance of our strategic approaches and in operational areas. They require low signatures across all spectrums, including at higher speeds. The Government has ruled out nuclear propulsion for these submarines.
9.6 The complex task of capability definition, design and construction must be undertaken without delay, given the long lead times and technical challenges involved. The Government has already directed that a dedicated project office be established for the Future Submarine within Defence, and will closely oversee this project. ...

Air Combat Capability
9.57 On coming to office, the Government commissioned the Air Combat Capability Review to provide advice on aspects of Australia's air combat requirements. That study and its findings were incorporated into the Force Structure Review.
9.58 The Air Combat Capability Review assessed that the squadron of F/A-18F Super Hornets being acquired as a bridging air combat capability is a highly capable 4.5 generation aircraft and, as long as it retains commonality with the planned US Navy development path, will remain effective until at least 2020. The F/A-18F Super Hornet will begin to enter service from the end of 2010.
9.59 The Review concluded that a fleet of around 100 fifth generation multirole combat aircraft would provide Australia with an effective and flexible air combat capability to 2030. A further judgement of the review was that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is the preferred solution for that requirement. Other fourth and fifth generation combat aircraft considered by the Review were judged to be less capable of fulfilling Australia's multirole air combat capability requirements.
9.60 The Government has decided that it will acquire around 100 F-35 JSF, along with supporting systems and weapons. The first stage of this acquisition will acquire three operational squadrons comprising
78 Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030
Defence White Paper 2009
not fewer than 72 aircraft. The acquisition of the remaining aircraft will be acquired in conjunction with the withdrawal of the F/A-18F Super Hornet fleet, and will be timed to ensure that no gap in our overall air combat capability occurs.
9.61 Australia's future air combat capability will therefore be based on four operational air combat squadrons consisting initially of three JSF squadrons and a squadron of Super Hornet aircraft, which will be replaced by a fourth JSF squadron. Defence will continue to progressively upgrade the systems and airframes of the current F/A-18 aircraft to ensure that they remain capable and sustainable until the JSF enters service with the ADF.
9.62 Maritime strike capability will be provided by the Hornet and Super Hornet fleets using Harpoon missiles, with the Government to acquire a new maritime strike weapon for the JSF. New air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons will also be acquired.
9.63 There has been considerable public interest in the potential acquisition of the JSF. The Government has examined its capabilities very carefully in the context of the Air Combat Capability Review, and remains confident that the JSF's combination of stealth, advanced sensors, networking and data fusion capabilities, when integrated into the networked ADF, will ensure Australia maintains its strategic capability advantage out to 2030.
9.64 The Government has decided that it would be prudent for the ADF to acquire an airborne electronic attack capability. To that end, it has decided that the production arrangements for the second batch of 12 Australian F/A-18F Super Hornets will include wiring those aircraft to enable them, should later strategic circumstances dictate,to be converted to the electronic warfare 'Growler' variant - the EA-18G. Should we acquire this capability, it would provide a potent ability to protect our own communications and electronic systems while jamming, suppressing or otherwise denying an adversary the full use of the electromagnetic spectrum in the area of operations. ...

Maritime Surveillance and Response
...
9.69 To meet this challenge, the Government will acquire eight new maritime patrol aircraft to replace the current AP-3C Orion fleet. These new aircraft will provide a highly advanced surface search radar and optical, infra-red and electronic surveillance systems. With these systems, along with a high transit speed and the ability to conduct air-to-air refuelling, these aircraft will provide a superior capability for rapid area search and identification tasks. They will also provide a highly advanced ASW capability, including an ability to engage submarines using air-launched torpedoes. After subsequent upgrades, they will be capable of firing stand-off anti-ship missiles.
9.70 We will also acquire up to seven large high-altitude, long-endurance UAVs to supplement the manned maritime patrol aircraft. These large UAVs, with an ocean-spanning range, will markedly expand the surveillance coverage of the maritime approaches to Australia, in both area and duration. They will also have a significant overland capability to provide support to our ground forces in a range of circumstances. Strategic UAVs provide persistent ISR, enhancing our situational awareness in both the land and maritime domains. ...

Cyber Warfare
9.85 In the past decade the growing importance of operations in cyberspace has become more apparent. Our national security could potentially be compromised by cyberattacks on our defence, wider governmental, commercial or infrastructure-related information networks. The potential impacts of such attacks have grown with Defence's increasing reliance on networked operations. Therefore, we must focus on developing capabilities that allow us to gain an edge in the cyberspace domain, and protect ourselves.
9.86 This emerging threat will require significant and sustained investment by Defence in new technology and analytical capability to guard the integrity of its own information and ensure the successful conduct of operations.
9.87 The Government has decided to invest in a major enhancement of Defence's cyber warfare capability. A comprehensive range of expanded and new capabilities will maximise Australia's strategic capacity and reach in this field. Many of these capabilities remain highly classified, but in outline they consist of a much-enhanced cyber situational awareness and incident response capability, and the establishment of a Cyber Security Operations Centre to coordinate responses to incidents in cyberspace.
9.88 The Cyber Security Operations Centre will include a continuously staffed watch office and an analysis team to respond to cyberthreats in a timely fashion. Its staff will include ADF and DSTO personnel. This new Centre will be created within the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD), which already possesses significant cybersecurity expertise.
9.89 While this capability will reside within Defence and be available to provide cyber warfare support to ADF operations, it will be purpose-designed to serve broader national security goals. This includes assisting responses to cyber incidents across government and critical private sector systems and infrastructure. Whole-of-government coordination will be achieved through the appropriate representation within the Centre from relevant Government agencies. Those agencies include the Attorney-General's Department, which has the lead on e-security programs for Government and the private sector, as well as the Australian Federal Police and relevant agencies of the Australian intelligence community.

From: "Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030", Australian Department of Defence, ISBN: 978-0-642-29702-0, 2 May 2009.

In addition to the white paper itself there are available Media Releases
the previous Defence Response to the Mortimer Review and outlines of parts of the white paper proposals:

1. The 2009 Defence White Paper – The Most Comprehensive White Paper of the Modern Era [18.3 KB]
2. The Australian – United States Alliance [17.3 KB]
3. Australia’s Commitment to the United Nations and Multilateral Engagement [18.1 KB]
4. Cooperation with South East Asia and Pacific Nations [16.6 KB]
5. A Globally Flexible Force [25.9 KB]
6. A New Strategic Environment [25.5 KB]
7. A Smarter Defence for a More Complex World [26.7 KB]
8. What the White Paper Means for the Royal Australian Navy [28.1 KB]
9. What the White Paper Means for the Australian Army [28.3 KB]
10. What the White Paper Means for the Royal Australian Air Force [27.8 KB]
11. White Paper Development Process – The Most Comprehensive Yet [17.8 KB]
12. A New Defence White Paper Every Five Years [17.1 KB]
13. The Largest Ever Defence Reform Program [16.7 KB]
14. Remediating Shortfalls and Underinvestment in the Defence Budget [18.1 KB]
15. A More Potent and Capable Submarine Fleet [18.1 KB]
16. Navy to Receive Larger and More Capable Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigates [17.3 KB]
17. A New Era For Navy’s Fleet Air Arm [17.5 KB]
18. Planning Underway For New Offshore Combatant Vessels [17.8 KB]
19. Greater Strategic Sealift For Amphibious Operations [17.7 KB]
20. New Class Of Heavy Landing Craft For Navy [16.2 KB]
21. Navy To Acquire A New Underway Replenishment Vessel [14.5 KB]
22. A Balanced And Flexible Army [17.1 KB]
23. Enhanced Survivability And Mobility Of Land Forces [16.6 KB]
24. A Networked Army On The Battlefield [17.1 KB]
25. Modernisation For Australia’s Dismounted Soldiers [16.4 KB]
26. Delivering A More Potent Helicopter Fleet For The Army [16.6 KB]
27. New Artillery Systems For The Army [16.6 KB]
28. New Fire Support Weapons System For The Australian Army [15.3 KB]
29. Protecting Australia’s Land Forces [16.5 KB]
30. More Language Training For Defence Operating In The Global Village [15.1 KB]
31. UAV Technology To Play A Large Role In The Future ADF [15.3 KB]
32. New Focus On Non-Lethal Weapon Technology For ADF [16.2 KB]
33. Equipping Our Special Forces For The Future [15.2 KB]
34. Government To Enhance The Incident Response Regiment [15.3 KB]
35. Next Generation Of Air Combat Capability For Air Force [18.2 KB]
36. Enhanced Capability for Super Hornets [16.8 KB]
37. Recognised Air Picture Of Australia’s Primary Operational Environment To Be Developed [16.9 KB]
38. Improved Air Traffic Control, Navigation And Communication Systems [16.5 KB]
39. New KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport Aircraft Soon To Enter Service [16.8 KB]
40. Air Force All Set For Advanced Airborne Early Warning & Control Aircraft [15.4 KB]
41. Air Force To Acquire Advanced New Maritime Patrol Aircraft [16.9 KB]
42. A New Era Of Uninhabited Aircraft Operations For Air Force [16.8 KB]
43. New Airlift Capabilities For Air Force [17.5 KB]
44. Navy To Be Equipped With Land Attack Cruise Missiles [16.4 KB]
45. Government Commits To Better Integration Between Reserve And Regular Service in The Australian Defence Force [22.8 KB]
46. Government to Enhance The High Readiness Reserves [17.1 KB]
47. An Enhanced Intelligence Surveillance And Reconnaissance Capability [23.0 KB]
48. Government To Acquire Satellite With Remote Sensing Capability [19.4 KB]
49. Government To Integrate The Defence Intelligence Information Systems [19.8 KB]
50. Enhanced UHF Satellite Communications For Deployed Forces [17.4 KB]
51. New Cyber Security Operations Centre To Enhance Cyber Warfare Capability [18.0 KB]
52. Enhanced Electronic Warfare Capability For Defence [22.1 KB]
53. Joint Command Support System To Be Enhanced [20.3 KB]
54. Government To Build A Networked ADF [22.3 KB]
55. Government To Enhance ADF Counter-Weapons Of Mass Destruction Capabilities [20.0 KB]
56. Government To Improve The Management Of Defence Force Preparedness [20.2 KB]
57. Government To Reconstitute Explosive Ordnance Warstocks [17.2 KB]
58. Substantial Boost to Simulator Training For Defence [16.7 KB]
59. Government Agrees To An Output Focused Business Model For Defence [19.6 KB]
60. A New Independent Advisory Board To Oversee Defence Reforms [21.9 KB]
61. Changes To The Defence Funding Model [24.9 KB]
62. Multi-Million Dollar Investment To Reform Defence ICT [17.5 KB]
63. Government Reform To Defence Shared Services And Procurement Support Services [16.9 KB]
64. DSTO Laboratories For The Future [17.4 KB]
65. Investing In The Defence Force Of The Future [18.5 KB]
66. Government To Improve Housing For Defence Personnel And Their Families [16.8 KB]
67. Defence Families To Receive Improved Support [15.0 KB]
68. Government Announces Additional Investment In Australian Defence Force Health Care [18.1 KB]
69. Increasing Diversity In Defence [25.9 KB]
70. Reforming The Defence Workforce [17.5 KB]
71. Fixing Navy’s Critical Workforce Shortfall [17.6 KB]
72. Government To Invest In Aging Defence Infrastructure And Upgrading Old Accommodation [17.3 KB]
73. Improved Planning For The Future Defence Estate [23.0 KB]
74. Updating Defence Ranges For The Forces Of Tomorrow [15.2 KB]
75. Government To Replace And Consolidate Outdated Logistics Infrastructure [16.8 KB]
76. Government To Enhance Logistics Infrastructure In Townsville [14.8 KB]
77. Government To Enhance Logistics Infrastructure In Darwin [16.7 KB]
    
78. Government To Enhance Operational Logistics Support Infrastructure In Western Australia [15.0 KB]
    
79. Government To Invest In Improved Logistics Planning And Management [15.0 KB]
80. Government To Deliver Billions In Savings [16.6 KB]
81. The Government’s Response To The Mortimer Review [25.3 KB]
82. Government To Support Defence Priority Industry Capabilities [17.6 KB]
83. The Defence White Paper Delivers For Local Industry [17.3 KB]

Public Safety Communications Conference Program

Tuesday I will talking on "Community Warning Systems - Balancing Technology and Reliability" at the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials Australia 2009 Conference in Sydney. The conference topics have been changed at short notice to address some early lessons learnt from the recent and ongoing Victorian bushfires. The Conference & Exhibition program was supplied in hard to read PDF, so here it is converted to HTML:

2009 Conference Workshops

Leadership in Public Safety

“when every second counts”

Time	CONFERENCE FORUM/WORKSHOPS SUMMARY
Sunday 1 March 2009 1400 - 1600	International - Global Alliance Location: Star City Casino, Sydney
Monday 2 March 2009 0930 - 1230	National Fleet Forum Location: VIP Room - Level 1, Australian Technology Park
Tuesday 3 March 2009 1100 - 1330	Expert Advisory Panel Location: VIP Room - Level 1, Australian Technology Park
Tuesday 3 March 2009 1430 - 1700	Future Surveillance and Intelligence Gathering Forum Location: VIP Room - Level 1, Australian Technology Park
Wednesday 4 March 2009 1130 - 1320	Chief Information Officers Forum Location: VIP Room - Level 1, Australian Technology Park
Wednesday 4 March 2009 1430 - 1700	Local Government Emergency Response & Enforcement Forum Location: VIP Room - Level 1, Australian Technology Park
Wednesday 4 March 2009 1600 - 1700	Commercial Advisory Group Location: VIP Room - Level 1, Australian Technology Park
TBA	Transitions in Leadership: New Heights - New Challenges - See Registration desk for details

For enquiries regarding any of the forums or workshops please call APCO Australasia on 1300 796 668.

By Invitation Only

By Invitation Only

Booking Essential

Booking Essential

Booking Essential

It may be necessary for reasons beyond the control of the organisers to alter the content of the programme schedule - Please see Information & Registration for further details.

Transportation buses will be provided to and from selected hotels at specified times

2009 Programme Schedule

Leadership in Public Safety

“when every second counts”

Monday 2 March 2009

Time

National Fleet Workshop

0800 0930 - 1230

For Today’s Conference Forums and Workshops, Please refer to page 1 of the Conference Programme Schedule Registration & Information Booth Open (situated outside entrance to Exhibition Area) National Fleet Managers’ Vehicle Technology & Safety Workshop (Session 1) - Bookings Essential (Meeting Rooms 1 & 2): Click Here for further details Opening Address: Deputy Chief Charles Beck — Los Angeles Police Department

OFFICIAL CONFERENCE OPENING CEREMONY & KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS - ATP Theatre

1400 1500 - 1700

Welcome to the 2009 APCO Australasia Conference: - Event MC - Mr Peter Morris Welcome address: Des Bahr - Chief Executive Officer, APCO Australasia Gary Starr - Managing Director - Government & Public Safety, Motorola Australia (2009 Event Partner) Official Opening of Conference: Tony Pearce, Director General - Emergency Management Australia Keynote Panel Presentation – Australia’s Worst Natural Disaster A Panel presentation about Australia’s multi-agency response to the worst Natural Disaster in Australia’s history - Victoria’s Bushfires 2009 Those who were there give a first hand account of how they managed this unparalleled firestorm. Senior Emergency Services experts will take an in-depth look at these unprecedented events. Panel members include; Tony Pearce, Director General, Emergency Management Australia Superintendent Rod Collins, State Emergency Planning & Response Division, Victoria Police Chief Superintendent Grant Pitman, Past District Disaster Coordinator, QLD Police Service Craig Lapsley, Director Emergency Management Branch, Department of Human Services Trevor White, Director – Operations, SES Victoria Paul Holman, Operations Manager - Emergency Management, Ambulance Victoria Geoff Conway, Deputy Chief Officer, CFA Operations Directorate Kevin Brame, Deputy Fire Chief, City of North Las Vegas Jessica Block, Research Associate, San Diego State University

EXHIBITION OPENING / VIP RECEPTION - Main Exhibition Hall

1700 1730 2000

Exhibition Viewing area open VIP Reception and Official Opening of the Exhibition Welcome Address: Des Bahr - Chief Executive Officer, APCO Australasia Barry Borzillo - CEO, Tenix Solutions - 2009 VIP Reception Sponsor Official Opening of Exhibition: Commissioner Andrew Scipione APM - NSW Police Force Exhibition Viewing & Reception area closed

It may be necessary for reasons beyond the control of the organisers to alter the content of the programme schedule - Please see Information & Registration for further details.

Transportation buses will be provided to and from selected hotels at specified times

Tuesday 3 March 2009

Time
0730 0830	For Today’s Conference Forums and Workshops, Please refer to page 1 of the Conference Programme Schedule Registration & Information Booth Open Exhibition Area Open
0830 - 0930	Keynote Presentation - New skills required for today’s policing Detective Chief Superintendent Michael Hallowes — Head of Strategic Operations, UK Police

Hall 1	Hall 2	Hall 3	Workshops/Forums
0930 - 1000	The use of technology to assist Bush Fire Management, including GIO Spatial Visualization (Emergency Management) Jessica Block, Research Associate - San Diego State University	Command Support Approach - Achieving a common operational picture across single / Multi Agencies (Information Management) Jeremy Azis, Managing Director - Vector Command / Roy Thompson - Commander, Metropolitan Fire Service South Australia	The 2007 Surrey Fire, Canada - Dynamic resource relocations for balancing emergency coverage throughout service area. (Emergency Management) Chief Eric Dutton (Ret.)
1000 - 1030	Field testing Police Technology for the future (Critical Infrastructure) Grant Pitman (Acting Chief Superintendent), QLD Police Service	Intergrated Command & Control Communications System (Information Management) Ranjan Bhagat — General Manager - Zetron	Emergency Warning Systems – Balancing technology with Practicality (Emergency Management) Tom Worthington - Adjunct Senior Lecture, Australian National University

1030 - 1100	Morning Tea (Served in Exhibition area)
1100 - 1130	National approaches to information sharing solutions for law enforcement agencies, for a safer Australia (Information Management) Ben McDevitt — Chief Executive Officer, CrimTrac	Connecting first responders - Satellite Technology - East Coast launch (Telecommunications) Michael Butler - President, Inmarsat	Ensuring Reliability and Accuracy of Technology used by Police (Information Management) Inspector Ron Phillips — NZ Police Callibration Services	Expert Advisory Panel By Invitation Only Time - 1100 - 1330 Location - VIP Room - Level 1, Australian Technology Park Note - Lunch Provided
1130 - 1200	Towards a National Emergency Warning Framework (Future Technologies) Dr Renato Iannella , Principal Scientist, National ICT Australia (NICTA)	Communication, Localisation and Risk Management Systems for Mining and Remote Operations - A Resource for Emergency Response (Mining) Dr Eleonora Widzyk-Capehart - CSIRO	Making First Responder Interoperability a Priority (Interoperability) Inspector Lance Valcour — Canadian Police Research Centre

It may be necessary for reasons beyond the control of the organisers to alter the content of the programme schedule - Please see Information & Registration for further details.

Transportation buses will be provided to and from selected hotels at specified times

Tuesday 3 March 2009

For Today’s Conference Forums and Workshops, Please refer to page 1 of the Conference Programme Schedule
Time	Hall 1		Hall 2	Hall 3		Workshops/Forums
1200 - 1230	Resourcing volunteers - is technology a help or hindrance ? (Essential Services) Trevor White - Director - Operations, Victoria State Emergency Service		Bush / forest fire fighting – international research project in germany (Future Technologies) Steffen Minolts - GSW- Consulting	2006 Australian Police Deployment to East Timor (Interoperability) Inspector Ged Griffin - Victoria Police		Continued- Expert Advisory Panel By Invitation Only Time - 1100 - 1330 Location - VIP Room - Level 1, Australian Technology Park Note - Lunch Provided
1230 - 1320		Lunch (Served in Exhibition area)
1320 - 1400	Keynote Presentation - The Next Generation Wireless Broadband Network and its application to Public Safety in Australia Mike Wright — Executive Director - Wireless Engineering & Operations, Telstra Corporation

1400 - 1430

Strategic direction of NSW Fire Brigades (Emergency Management) Commissioner Greg Mullins — New South Wales Fire Brigades

Network Centric Emergency Operations - The Application of Defence Network Centric Warfare Research to Emergency Services (Telecommunications) Craig Phasey - Auspace Business Development Manager

Situation and Threat Assessments & Early Warning Systems (Community Safety) Professor Subash Challa - Melbourne University

1430 - 1500	Ambulance/Pre Hospital response to Australia’s worst natural disaster - Victorian Bushfire ‘09 (Emergency Management) Paul Holman - Operations Manager (Emergency Management), Ambulance Victoria	Sea Piracy - Current trends & issues Dr. Sam Bateman — Maritime Policy Centre, Wollongong University	Enhancing Coverage via Rebroadcast Repeaters (Telecommunications) Leo Doherty — RF Industries	Future Surveillance and Intellegence Gathering Forum Time - 1430 - 1700 Location - VIP Room - Level 1, Australian Technology Park Note - Afternoon Tea Provided
1500 - 1530	Afternoon Tea (Served in Exhibition area)
1530 - 1600	Community Resilience in Health and Recovery Operation during the Victorian 2009 bushfires - Are we prepared for the future? (Emergency Management) Craig Lapsley — Director - Emergency Management Branch, DHS Victoria				The use of Biometrics to assist the fight against crime (Future Technologies) Professor Subash Challa - Melbourne University	Radio over IP: Applications and trends (Telecommunications) John Florenca - CEO, Omnitronics

It may be necessary for reasons beyond the control of the organisers to alter the content of the programme schedule - Please see Information & Registration for further details.

Transportation buses will be provided to and from selected hotels at specified times

Tuesday 3 March 2009

For Today’s Conference Forums and Workshops, Please refer to page 1 of the Conference Programme Schedule

Time	Hall 1	Hall 2	Hall 3	Workshops/Forums
1600 - 1630	Health Emergency Management Communications (Chemical) Dr. John Moloney — Manager, Field Emergency Management Program, DHS Victoria	Real Time Video over narrow band channels - case studies (Information Management) Stephen Ayres — Lockheed Martin	Advances in public safety in-Vehicle computing technology (Telecommunications) Rob Thompkins - Vice President, Data911 - St. Louis USA	Continued - Future Surveillance and Intelligence Gathering Forum Time - 1430 - 1700 Location - VIP Room - Level 1, Australian Technology Park
1630 - 1700	Remote Video Surveillance on 3G, What Works, What’s Promising (Telecommunications) Dan McLeod — President, CrimePoint	Mobile Personal Communications - The State of the Art (Future Technologies) Alan Whitehead — Research In motion	Future integrated communications despatch systems (Emergency Management) Richard Stacey — Gibson Quai (UK)

Time	2009 APCO Australasia Gala Dinner - Grand Harbour Ballroom, Star City
1800 - 1830 1830 - 2330	Pre-Dinner Drinks 2009 APCO Australasia Gala Dinner Located at the Grand Harbour Ballroom, Star City - 80 Pyrmont St, Pyrmont, NSW, Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will be represented at the Gala Dinner by The Hon. Bob Debus, Minister for Home Affairs. Gala Dinner MC - Mr Peter Morris Entertainment - Matt Hollywood - Comedian Magician - Vegas Show

It may be necessary for reasons beyond the control of the organisers to alter the content of the programme schedule - Please see Information & Registration for further details.

Transportation buses will be provided to and from selected hotels at specified times

Wednesday 4 March 2009

For Today’s Conference Forums and Workshops, Please refer to page 1 of the Conference Programme Schedule
Time	Hall 1	Hall 2	Hall 3	Workshops/Forums

0830 - 0900	Operational Command - Major Deployment Exercise (Border Security) Roger Batch — Manager, Operational Readiness - Australian Customs Service	CyberTerrorism & CyberSecurity, Table Top Exercises (Training) James Cavanagh - Knowledge Transfer Agent, The Consulant Registry	The development of an Electronic MECC system to support local government disaster management (Emergency Management) Jan Wandek, Managing Director of Aussoft
0900 - 0930	Terrorism & Counter Terrorism Trends in the Region (Counter Terrorism) Commander Wayne Buchhorn — Australian Federal Police	Spatial industry trends and the im­pact of new CRC research initiatives on ESO’s (Spatial Information) Graeme Kernich — CRC Spatial Info	Remote Area Mass Casualty Incident (Emergency Management) Dr Rob Visser — Royal Flying Doctor Service
0930 - 1000	Italian Interpolice Tetra Project (PIT) (Information Management) Captain Mario Bianco	Use of Location Intelligence by ESOs (Spatial Information) Michelle Martin - Manager Business Development (NSW) - ESRI Australia	Firefighting at the Coalface - CFA response to Morwell Open Cut Fire- September 2008 (Mining) Greg Flynn - Operations Manager, Region 10, Country Fire Authority

1000 - 1030		Morning Tea (Served in Exhibition area)
1030 - 1130	Keynote Presentation - Utilising Technology in LA Policing - The LAPD Strategic Plan Deputy Chief Charles Beck — Los Angeles Police Department
1130 - 1200	Lifelong learning for ESOs (Training) Dep. Fire Chief Kevin Brame — City of North Las Vegas Fire Department (USA)		Global Trends in Public Safety Spectrum Standards (Telecommunications) David Lum - Director, Asia\Pacific Product & Support Operations, Motorola	Hand Held Mobile Satelite Broadband Technology (Spatial Information) Henrik Jacobsen — Managing Director, Applied Satellite Technology Australia	Chief Information Officers Forum By Invitation Only Time - 1130 - 1320 Location - VIP Room - Level 1, Australian Technology Park Note - Lunch Provided
1200 - 1230	Lessons for Australia from Mumbai Terrorist Attack (Counter Terrorism) Dr Greg Barton - Herb Feith Research Professor for the Study of Indonesia, Monash University		Challenges when combating natural disasters, ie floods, storms and tsunami (Emergency Management) Steve Opper - Director, Emergency Risk Management, New South Wales State Emergency Service	Smart Applications for Emergencies (SAFE) strategic project (CCTV) Professor Chris Scott — National ICT Australia (NICTA) Queensland Research Lab.

It may be necessary for reasons beyond the control of the organisers to alter the content of the programme schedule - Please see Information & Registration for further details.

Transportation buses will be provided to and from selected hotels at specified times

Wednesday 4 March 2009

For Today’s Conference Forums and Workshops, Please refer to page 1 of the Conference Programme Schedule
Time	Hall 1	Hall 2	Hall 3	Workshops/Forums
1230 - 1320	Lunch (Served in Exhibition area)			Forum Continued - See Above
1320 - 1400	Keynote Presentation - The role of user-centered design in developing technologies for public safety Bruce Claxton - Senior Director, Design Integration, Motorola

1400 - 1430

Using Police Information In the Mobile Environment (Future Technologies) Ian Readhead — Director of Information, ACPO Criminal Records Office (ACRO) - UK Police

National-level Best Practice for Emergency Management (Information Management) Mr Ron Bender - Director of Strategic Solutions - Tyco Electronics Wireless Systems

Fighting Fires with Military Hardware (Future Technologies) Oliver Hanfelder — Airmatic (Germany)

1430 - 1500	Capture and Visualisation of Fire Ground Intelligence in the NSW RFS (Critical Infrastructure) Gareth Carter - Manager GIS, NSW Rural Fire Service	Public Safety Technologies in public transport (Community Safety) Evan Craig - Manager, Control Systems Architecture, Systems & Information Services Division - Department of Transport	Mobile Phone GPS tracking of personnel (Future Technologies) Michael Robson - Managing Director, Mapmates	Local Government Emergency Response & Enforcement Forum Time - 1430 - 1700 Location - VIP Room - Level 1, Australian Technology Park Note - Afternoon Tea Provided
1500 - 1530	Afternoon Tea (Served in Exhibition area)
1530 - 1600	Operational and Planning Challenges during APEC 2007 (Emergency Management) Commander Peter Lennon — New South Wales Police				P25 Encryption Management - Improving radio communications security (Information Management) Simon Britten — Tait Electronics	Early warning systems for Major Climate Events (Emergency Management) John Hadnmer - RMIT
1600 - 1630	Challenge of managing a remote event - Kargaroo Island Fires (Emergency Management) Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Lawson — Country Fire Service, South Australia				The Future Direction of Project 25 (Information Management) Robert Barden — Aeroflex Incorp.	Impact of VoIP on Community Safety (Telecommunications) James Cavanagh — Knowledge Transfer Agent, The Consulant Registry

The speakers, topics and times are correct at the time of publishing and in the event of unforeseen circumstances, Australasia APCO Ltd. reserves the right to alter or delete items from the Conference Programme. All opinions expressed by presenters at the 2009 APCO Australasia Conference & Exhibition are those of the individual, and Australasia APCO Ltd. accepts no liability from any contractual, tortious or other form of liability for loss or damage suffered by the delegate or their later substitute relying on any statement, representative advice or opinion (whether true or otherwise, written or oral).

It may be necessary for reasons beyond the control of the organisers to alter the content of the programme schedule - Please see Information & Registration for further details.

Transportation buses will be provided to and from selected hotels at specified times

2009 Vehicle Displays

Leadership in Public Safety

“when every second counts”

^{A selection of some of the Emergency Vehicles on display}

Holden Commodore - Emergency Services Concept Vehicle (ESCV)

This project was developed based on concerns from ESO’s regarding the effect of heat, power overload and increased equipment levels and their impact on Emergency Services vehicles and occupant comfort/safety. The purpose of SAFE was to gain an understanding of the emergency driver user-interface requirements and safety issues, and develop a standard interface platform for addressing ergonomic design and safety.

Holden Commodore - LAPD Prototype Patrol Vehicle

The National Safety Agency (NSA) with the LAPD’s Deputy Chief Charles Beck will be launching the LAPDs jointly developed high-tech emergency response prototype vehicle of the future.

Holden Commodore - MFB Operational Concept Vehicle

The MFB operational concept vehicle was designed by the National Safety Agency in accordance with research conducted from the ESCV project.

Mitsubishi Pajero - Forward Command Vehicle

With communication in the field so crucial to optimise emergency management & response, NSA teamed up with several vendors to create a concept command vehicle for the Fire and Emergency Services sector. With Mitsubishi as the vehicle sponsor, a Pajero was chosen as the preferred vehicle in this project.

Where possible, NSA works with the vehicle manufacturer to leverage off a lot of the technology already within modern vehicles, including the CANBUS and GPRS to maximise the differentiation of each integration solution; however, to maximise battery life and enable non-vehicle related systems to be operational 24/7 for immediate use, this vehicle was integrated with an environmentally friendly solar power solution.

Technology was utilised from a number of vendors, encompassing areas such as communications, Intelematics, vehicle tracking, lights and warning systems, mobile data and the aforementioned power management.

AirServices Australia Aviation Fire Rescue Vehicle

The Ultra Large Fire Vehicles Mk7 are deployed across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane airports. The Vehicle is a 6x6 wheel drive, fully automatic, 33 tonne foam,water and dry chemical fire rescue tender,holding 10,200lt’s of water 1,300lt’s of foam and 225kg of dry chemical powder discharging its payload at a rate of 4,750lt’s per minute and a throw distance of 75 metres. The Mk 7 is capable of holding a crew of 5.

Holden Commodore - Unmarked Enforcement Vehicle

Developed as an ANPR unmarked enforcement vehicle by the National Safety Agency, this vehicle is currently being tested for traffic enforcement purposes.

A number of additional Emergency Vehicles and First Responders will also be on display in the Exhibition area during this event, including the latest Mining Rescue Vehicle, Parking Enforcement Vehicle, a range of Fire Appliances, Communications and Command Vehicles and a Large Urban Search and Rescue Unit.

It may be necessary for reasons beyond the control of the organisers to alter the content of the programme schedule - Please see Information & Registration for further details.

Transportation buses will be provided to and from selected hotels at specified times

Running the War in Iraq

General Jim Molan's book "Running the in Iraq: An Australian General, 300,000 Troops, the Bloodiest Conflict of Our Time" gives a useful insight into the complexities and stresses of commanding a modern military force. The general eventually had control of 300,000, mostly American, troops but on his arrival had to find himself a job. Also there were some details of how technology is used in the command centre, with the commanders having regular video conferences, preceded by the support staff spending hours preparing Power point presentations. The use of drone aircraft with the headquarters watching the battle live and the use of instant messaging systems is also mentioned.

You probibly don't get to be a general by being shy or modest, but the book as a little to much self congratulation of leadership attributes and quotes of citations from others. Also the general seems to have been captured by the military obsession with check-lists. At one stage he mentions how difficult it was to get the staff to use a check-list he devised (from memory, it had 48 steps in it).

The best part of the book is early on, describing the initial arrival in Iraq and having to fit into the US military set-up and find a role. While general-ship can't avoid politics, the weakest part of the book is that which tries to justify the Iraq operations. This would have been a better book if that was left for another volume.

Palletized Computer Data Warehouse

In 2003 I suggested to the Chinese government they could build a palletized data warehouse. This had started out as a joke. But given that major computer vendors have come out with containerized data centers, it might be time to revive the idea.

Palletized Data Warehouse (PDW)

The PDW would combine the space saving features of rack mounting computers and low cost of industrial pallet equipment. Rack mounted equipment would be fixed to standard ISO pallets. These pallets would then be stacked in a warehouse, using a fork lift truck.

Webbing straps, as used in deployable military command centres would be used to fix the equipment to pallets. This would allow standard racks to be used and provide some flexibility, to allow for vibration during transport.

The modules would be assembled and tested, before being shipped to the site and plugged in. The modules would be sized to be compatible with standard industrial pallet handling equipment for ease of transport. Small vans could be used for transport, along with aircraft. The pallets could be loaded into standard ISO shipping containers for long distance transport. Individual pallets could be moved by one person with a simple hand cart and fit through a standard door and into a passenger lift.

A low cost industrial pallet rack warehouse could be used as a data centre. Equipment modules would be tested at ground level, then stacked 15m high into standard pallet racks, using fork lift trucks. Lighting and air conditioning would be hung from the ceiling, with cabling snaking down the racks, using standard industrial fittings. There would be no expensive false floor, or office quality fittings, just a sealed concrete floor. Heavy air and power conditioning equipment would be pallet mounted at ground level for fast installation and maintenance.

Staff would wear overalls and hard hats, and be trained to use safety harnesses when servicing the elevated equipment. The open design would allow for easy re-cabling and service. For any major service work, a module would be removed from the pallet rack using a fork lift truck and returned to the ground level maintenance area.

The temperature in the building would be allowed to fluctuate more than in a traditional data centre, to reduce air conditioning costs. The open design of the building would allow good air circulation for cooling. In may locations the ambient temperature would be sufficient to cool the building most of the year, with just fans needed, not air conditioning, nor complex fluid based cooling systems.

The palletized data warehouse would use much less floor space than a conventional data center and be quick to build using standardized prefabricated warehouse building modules. The data center could be finished on the outside to blend in with office buildings, or with inexpensive steel cladding in an industrial park. It would also be easier to service and take less space than an ISO containerized data center.

Designing emergency centers

Architectural Record, October 2007 has a continuing education article on "Safety and Security Without the Fortress Look" by Joann Gonchar. This discusses the design of New York City’s new Office of Emergency Management (OEM) building. The previous center was destroyed 11 September 2001 in the World Trade Center. The new building is a standalone renovation of an existing concrete building into a high tech emergency center.

There is a risk that such buildings can look like a concrete bunker, with plain featureless (and windowless) walls. An extreme example of this is the former Communications Centre, under the John Gorton Building, Parkes (Canberra). This has 450 millimetre thick reinforced concrete and was designed with a single entry point. It had murals and works of art, but was still basically a concrete bunker. It has been refurbished with light wells cut in to let daylight in and is now a successfully office space and conference center.

A second example given in the AR article was the Illinois State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Springfield from 2005. Most usefully the article has a photo and floor plan of the center. As the article notes, such centers feature a large central Incident-response center. These generally have large screens on one wall, rows of desks for different staff and private meeting and support rooms surrounding (Communications center, Data center, Conference center, Support and infrastructure). The back walls of the center may have glass walled meeting rooms, allowing staff to see what is happening while having a private meeting.

Like many similar military operations rooms, the Illinois center has a double height ceiling. But unlike the usual design, the Illinois Incident-response center appears to be a mirror image design, with screens on two walls and operators facing each other across oval shaped tables. This would make better use of the floorspace than the traditional unidirectional design, at the risk of some lack of common focus by staff.

Such incident-response centers have similar designs to flexible learning centers. This is due to the common requirements to have a group of people who have access to computer and telecommunications equipment and can share common data, work in small teams and then collaborate as one group.

It would be interesting to see if, for example, MIT's TEAL 360 degree design could be applied to an incident-response center. Expanding on the Illinois State Emergency Operations Center design, TEAL has screens on all walls and the teacher (equivalent to the incident commander) in the center. This design has less team focus, as people can be looking in all directions, but has the advantage of having the commander in view of the participants, for at least part of their time. It also potentially makes better use of floor space. It also better allows for group working, whereas the traditional design assumes one person per screen and any small group discussions are in ancillary rooms.

Also it would be interesting to design a multi-purpose conference/training and emergency facility. Emergency centers are expensive to build and maintain as they are used for only a few days a year for exercises and real emergencies. The rest of the time a large facility and its computer equipment is idle, using up maintenance budget. An alternative would be to build a facility which could be used day to day for training and for meetings. In an emergency these activities would be cancelled and the facility taken over by emergency personnel. Apart from lowering the cost of maintainace, this would ensure that any faults with the equipment and facilities would be noticed and corrected in day to day use, rather than only becoming apparent during an emergency.