4/3/2005 -- Cisco Systems Inc. last week announced its Continuity of Operations (COOP) architecture, a new network model that’s designed to help U.S. federal government agencies comply with federal mandates for Continuity of Operations.

In terms of the nuts-and-bolts COOP architecture, Cisco announced VirtualCOOP Solution, which taps always-on VPN tunnels and broadband networks to ensure that offsite agency personnel stay connected in the event of a business continuity disruption. Similarly, Cisco's Crisis Management Application helps coordinate distributed disaster response teams in the event of an emergency or threat. It uses a "dial blast"—where up to three numbers are dialed for each predetermined person—that engages response teams in an integrated voice, data and video conference with participation limited to invitees.

Cisco says its VirtualCOOP Solution and MeetingPlace Crisis Management Application let federal agencies continue to operate fully during and following natural or intentional disasters. Cisco’s COOP architecture also helps agencies fulfill the government's telework mandate, officials say.

Not surprisingly, Cisco argues that the benefits of an integrated solution are essential for COOP planning. “If an agency's attempt to address COOP is piecemeal, essential functions like securing the network, turning up features or provisioning QoS in quick, automated ways become very complicated or even impossible,” said Bruce Klein, federal area vice president for Cisco Systems in a statement. “Plus, with the Cisco solutions, agencies cost-effectively address two federal mandates with a single investment.”

Officials say Cisco started developing COOP as a response to the government mandate detailed in Federal Preparedness Circular 65 (FPC 65), which was issued June 15, 2004.

The company claims that COOP provides resilience at the network, application, communications, and workforce layers. -Stephen Swoyer