As Peak Season for Extreme Weather and Wildfires Nears, A Reminder About Internet2 Network Monitoring and Support

By Chris Wilkinson, Internet2 Director of Network Planning and Architecture, and Camille Davis-Alfs, Internet2 Network Engineering Manager

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

From severe storms to wildfires, extreme weather and climate events occur throughout the year that can adversely impact our community and Internet2 services. But the spring and summer months are when multiple, concurrent events are most likely, according to a 2021 report by the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

This week, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center released its annual Atlantic hurricane season outlook, predicting above-average hurricane activity with a likely range of 14-21 named storms. Of those, six to 10 could become hurricanes, including three to six possible major hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and ends November 30.

As the peak months for weather and climate events near – including hurricanes and wildfires – we would like to remind the community about Internet2’s national network monitoring and support for our members.

Internet2 Preparedness and Support

The Internet2 network is designed to provide the performance, capabilities, security, and resiliency required to meet the needs of the research and education community under any circumstances. During critical weather events and natural disasters, Internet2 initiates enhanced monitoring of network services in affected regions and prepares for any potential impacts.

At the outset of such an event, the Internet2 network operations center (NOC) opens an internal ticket to track all associated activities and provide a tie-back for member tickets opened as a result of any related impacts. The Internet2 NOC is reachable 24 hours a day, 365 days a year:

• Phone number: 317-278-6622
• Email address: noc@net.internet2.edu
• Website: https://noc.net.internet2.edu 

Additional actions taken by Internet2 in the case of critical weather events are dependent upon the severity of the event and may include a temporary maintenance freeze for all non-critical changes to the network; proactive contact with vendors to ensure they are prepared for any service restoration activities if required; close monitoring of official forecast sources (e.g., National Hurricane Center) until the danger associated with the situation has passed; and enhanced communications protocols, including community updates on the Internet2 News page, to ensure members have the most recent information related to any technical or service impacts.

Internet2 also maintains additional transport and switching capability in reserve to augment member networks and commodity internet services in the case of a natural disaster, with over 45 points of presence in the national network footprint. Internet2 welcomes requests for support from our members both in advance and after expected events. To the best of our ability, Internet2 will coordinate as needed with other regional networks and commercial partners. 

Above all, we encourage community members to follow appropriate local emergency management procedures, heed all warnings, and keep personal safety at the highest level of consideration. 

If you have questions about Internet2’s monitoring and support protocols, please contact us at networkdevelopment@internet2.edu.

ICYMI

• Did you know? Wildfire Awareness Month and National Hurricane Preparedness Week take place in May.
• NOAA Predicts Above-Normal 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season