As a business owner in the Northwest, you’re keenly aware of the types of disasters that could strike at any time, from wildfires to earthquakes. You can tuck this thought away most of the time, but the question inevitably creeps up: what happens to your business in the event of a catastrophe?
Disaster preparedness usually refers to physical preparation, like how to shut off the gas line or how to decrease the risk of injury. But another thing that needs securing is your network infrastructure.
Fortunately, we at Ziply Fiber have thought about this. Our network is backed up and secure, so in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, your data will remain safe and online.
The importance of disaster preparedness for fiber networks
Fiber-optic infrastructure is generally more resilient than traditional copper-based networks, but to be clear, it is not immune to disasters. Severe weather events, earthquakes, and unforeseen accidents can damage fiber lines, leading to prolonged outages. Businesses should proactively assess vulnerabilities and implement strategies to safeguard their connectivity.
What’s unique about the Ziply Fiber network is its redundancy and its power backup, which gives it a leg up when things go down.
Redundancy
Our fiber network is fully redundant, with multiple paths into every major market in the Northwest and with a backbone that supports 100 Gig or higher. Diversification around data centers reduces the possibility of outages.
Power backup
Unlike cable, fiber internet does not rely on electricity in the field. Recently, when a Northwest storm took out power to some areas of Washington for over a week, our network stayed online thanks to our massive diesel generators. This means that anyone with backup power will be able to plug into our network even when the lights are out, enabling them to access critical business or recovery information. This is especially important when the cell towers get overwhelmed, slowing down phone communications.
Central Office and data center security
Our Central Offices (COs), where localized fiber-optic connections originate, and where we run Colocation data centers for regional businesses, are geo-redundant and compliant with earthquake and flood protections. Our facilities are also equipped with UPS systems, DC plants, backup systems and N+1 redundancy that ensure uninterrupted power supply, not to mention robust physical security with 24/7 oversight.
What happens when disaster strikes?
Disasters always take us by surprise and are always different. However, we’ve been through a few and know what to do. If a fiber line is damaged, cutting off access to your connectivity, our technicians at the Network Operations Center (NOC) will notice it quickly and start to diagnose it. Sometimes it’s as simple as traveling to the known site of the damage and assessing it. Other times, when the damage is less obvious, technicians will use a tool called an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) to locate breaks or weak points in the fiber. Either way, as soon as the problem is diagnosed, the techs will get to work splicing or, in some cases, replacing the fiber to get you back up and running as quickly as possible.
Remember that even if your connection is disrupted, your data is safe thanks to our redundant, monitored, 100% fiber-optic network.
What can you do to be prepared?
The easiest thing to do is to ensure you have a backup uninterruptable power supply, whether it’s a small emergency battery backup or a full generator. If the fiber line to your business is not damaged, then you’ll have access to the network by just plugging in your ONT and router. And if there’s a disaster, know that our network is fully backed up, our COs are secure, and our expert technicians and network engineers will work around the clock until your service is back up and running.
Ready to learn more? View SMB plans at ziplyfiber.com/smallbusiness or Enterprise solutions at enterprise.ziplyfiber.com.
