FEMA - NETGuard
As a member of InfraGard for the past several years, I've been invited to become involved in a joint FEMA/DHS effort called NETGuard. The initial discovery meeting is tonight at 7pm.
Those interested in becoming involved need to either already be cleared by the FBI or pass a stringent FBI background check.
Additional information as follows:
"We will be hosting the first NetGuard Team meeting on April 1st, 2009 at 7PM. The meeting will take place at the City offices located at 1265 E Ft Union Blvd, Suite 250. For those not familiar with the location, we are on the north side of Ft Union Blvd opposite the Maverick. The meeting will be an overview of the project as well as an opportunity for us to gather information about each of you.
For those not thoroughly familiar with the project and the NetGuard concept, please visit FEMA Site for a description of the federal program. Each participating city can develop the NetGuard in their own way. For Cottonwood Heights, we have opted for a multi-function team. I will attach our description below.
One important aspect of the NetGuard Team will be credentials for participants. As part of the credentialing process, all participants will be required to submit to a FBI background check. More details of that will be provided at the April 1st meeting.
I'm looking forward to meeting each of you on April 1st. Please feel free to e-mail me should you have any questions.
///Chris\\\
Chris Gebhardt
Cottonwood Heights IT
Cottonwood Heights NetGuard Project Description
NetGuard consists of a Mobile Response Team consisting of five disciplines: 1) Radio, 2) Server, 3) Network, 4) Work Station, and 5) Application. These represent the major areas of IT and the baskets that individual's skills normally fall into.
The Radio Team would handle the establishment of radio communications and a redundant communications system much like that used Sunday.
The Server Team would be responsible for rebuilding and supporting file server operations. Servers represent one of the most important aspects to IT. Without servers, there is little a workstation or user could do. Personnel assigned to the Server Team would be well versed in all Microsoft and Linux/Unix variants of server operations. They would also need to understand backup operations and software for recreating post-incident environments.
The Network Team would consist mainly of personnel with a thorough understanding of LANs, WANs, and WiFi. Every entity uses all three of these technologies today and the Network Team would need to support each. They would be fluent with the hardware devices (switches, routers, WAPs) as well as the wiring (Cat 5, RJ45). The Network Team would carry enough equipment to re-establish a full network whether it be hard wires or WiFi for the affected entity.
Next is the Workstation Team. Their main goal is the support of desktop and laptop computers. They are more of a hardware team being able to tear apart a machine and rebuild it with available parts. During a disaster event, many machines will probably suffer damage. The Workstation Team will be the mechanics of the Guard physically working on both workstations and servers.
Finally is the Applications Team. Their mission is to support end user applications and server databases. Once the other Teams have re-established the infra-structure, the Applications Team will assist users in getting back "online" with their software. They may repair databases and applications or transition into creating new databases for use during the event. Team members must bring a handyman knowledge set to the Team rather than an application specific education."
As a member of InfraGard for the past several years, I've been invited to become involved in a joint FEMA/DHS effort called NETGuard. The initial discovery meeting is tonight at 7pm.
Those interested in becoming involved need to either already be cleared by the FBI or pass a stringent FBI background check.
Additional information as follows:
"We will be hosting the first NetGuard Team meeting on April 1st, 2009 at 7PM. The meeting will take place at the City offices located at 1265 E Ft Union Blvd, Suite 250. For those not familiar with the location, we are on the north side of Ft Union Blvd opposite the Maverick. The meeting will be an overview of the project as well as an opportunity for us to gather information about each of you.
For those not thoroughly familiar with the project and the NetGuard concept, please visit FEMA Site for a description of the federal program. Each participating city can develop the NetGuard in their own way. For Cottonwood Heights, we have opted for a multi-function team. I will attach our description below.
One important aspect of the NetGuard Team will be credentials for participants. As part of the credentialing process, all participants will be required to submit to a FBI background check. More details of that will be provided at the April 1st meeting.
I'm looking forward to meeting each of you on April 1st. Please feel free to e-mail me should you have any questions.
///Chris\\\
Chris Gebhardt
Cottonwood Heights IT
Cottonwood Heights NetGuard Project Description
NetGuard consists of a Mobile Response Team consisting of five disciplines: 1) Radio, 2) Server, 3) Network, 4) Work Station, and 5) Application. These represent the major areas of IT and the baskets that individual's skills normally fall into.
The Radio Team would handle the establishment of radio communications and a redundant communications system much like that used Sunday.
The Server Team would be responsible for rebuilding and supporting file server operations. Servers represent one of the most important aspects to IT. Without servers, there is little a workstation or user could do. Personnel assigned to the Server Team would be well versed in all Microsoft and Linux/Unix variants of server operations. They would also need to understand backup operations and software for recreating post-incident environments.
The Network Team would consist mainly of personnel with a thorough understanding of LANs, WANs, and WiFi. Every entity uses all three of these technologies today and the Network Team would need to support each. They would be fluent with the hardware devices (switches, routers, WAPs) as well as the wiring (Cat 5, RJ45). The Network Team would carry enough equipment to re-establish a full network whether it be hard wires or WiFi for the affected entity.
Next is the Workstation Team. Their main goal is the support of desktop and laptop computers. They are more of a hardware team being able to tear apart a machine and rebuild it with available parts. During a disaster event, many machines will probably suffer damage. The Workstation Team will be the mechanics of the Guard physically working on both workstations and servers.
Finally is the Applications Team. Their mission is to support end user applications and server databases. Once the other Teams have re-established the infra-structure, the Applications Team will assist users in getting back "online" with their software. They may repair databases and applications or transition into creating new databases for use during the event. Team members must bring a handyman knowledge set to the Team rather than an application specific education."
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