With almost every columnist in the country or the world writing about the tragedy that befell our country this week, I hesitated to add my $.02 worth to the already overwhelming outcry and stories of loss. But I thought that my comments on how our computer, Internet, and communications infrastructure fared would be of some interest. So, let's proceed - but please don't let these comments overshadow the almost unbearable loss we suffered and the need to eliminate world terrorism.
Actually, in the short run, things seem to have fared fairly well. The Internet did not really show any significant failure at all. There were a number of nodes (routers) lost, but the Internet had been designed specifically for redundancy and reconfigurability and that worked without a hitch. The traffic on the Internet increased heavily, causing some slowdowns in response time, but nothing that I observed as significant. E-mail seemed unaffected. Instant messaging systems also continued to operate and apparently were also heavily used.
With respect to telephone lines (which of course carry both voice and data), that area of Manhattan was called "the most telecommunications-intensive square mile in the world" by a Verizon spokesperson. Verizon is scrambling to restore service but is severely hampered by the damage their centers suffered and also because there is so much debris blocking access both above and below ground. The alternative for now may be to run new lines on the surface, in some form on pipe or conduit. But our national telephone system was basically unaffected.
Cell phones played a major role both during and after the disaster. Overloading of the system was again the problem. But apparently even with loss of antennas and equipment at the WTC, the system still operated to some degree there.
Knowing the Internet and communications infrastructure, I wasn't too concerned about that. What I was concerned about was the ability of companies in the ground zero area to resume operations. Did they even have backups of their data? Perhaps I am a bit sensitive here, because to some of my clients the word "backup" means to walk where you been without facing that way.
Apparently, there is good news here also. Largely as a result of the first bombing of the WTC years ago, the FTC has required banks and brokerage houses to beef up their backup capabilities. Many of the companies affected in the disaster not only had backups of their data, but even had backup sites identified and ready to be put into operation.
The best example I can cite was that of the Cantor Fitzgerald firm which was very central to the bond trading market. Although losing 70% of their workforce, they were able to move to a backup site in New Jersey and were operational for the bond market opening on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald even has an excellent web site set up to handle the crisis - see www.cantor.com. But the video of their chairman sobbing on TV will never leave me, and the loss of all those good people was horrible.
As I sit here typing this on Monday morning, waiting for the stock markets to open, I know that there will be some downturn in the market. But I am keeping my confidence high that our financial system will bounce back and more.
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport / Oak Island area. You can visit his website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail him at bsc@bobseidel.com).