The Network Manager (NM) recently established and tested full operational capabilities from a new, second, Operations Centre (NMOC) contingency site. This ensures the mitigation of any risk to normal operations posed by technical problems at a local level all the while reducing travel time to the primary contingency site in Brétigny-sur-Orge, near Paris.
The decision came following a sustainability review of NM’s contingency arrangements in cases of major outages or long-term disaster recovery situations - lasting 3 months or longer - affecting NM services at EUROCONTROL’s Brussels Headquarters.
In February, NMOC staff successfully ran operations for several hours from the new contingency site by providing a basic set of NM services. The test also ensured a transparent transition from the main NMOC site to its second contingency for all NM partners and customers.
These sites are part of the comprehensive back-up systems and procedures, including full dual IFPS functionality, back-up electrical power at every installation, back-up hardware for all systems and alternative communications systems (both data and voice).