If the Internet Goes Down

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Permalink Reply by Alex Smith on February 10, 2010 at 4:30pm

There are a few things that you can do in case of Internet failure.

Hardware:
If you're having frequent outages, we've used a device internally here called a CradlePoint (www.cradlepoint.com) This allows you to connect a web enabled cell phone or air card to the device as well as your main internet connection. If the main connection goes down, the system can automatically switch over to the backup air card or cell phone (blackberry, etc) to continue service over a cell signal.

We actually used a CradlePoint device and Verizon 3G card to recover a failed server remotely while in the car in the middle of Wyoming! The latency is a bit higher than your typical internet connection, but it's very usable. (this is our typical setup at trade shows & we do check-in all day long without problem)

Obviously the device isn't free (about $250) and if you buy a dedicated air card, you're looking at about $40 per month, but it's pretty cheap insurance if you've having connection issues.

Reports/Manual Check-in
We have a report in the report library called the "Roster Report" that was intended to serve as a backup in case of internet outage. It can create a list of kids that have checked in at least once within a given date range and includes the primary guardian and their contact information. The thought was to have this report printed out periodically (maybe quarterly) and have 1 copy per check-in station you run in case of an internet outage.

Would love to hear what others have done for a back up though.

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