Deployment of Wi‐Fi network as an emergency survival communication network in Wakkanai, Hokkaido
Bishnu Prasad Gautam, Katsumi Wasaki · IEEJ Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Engineering · 2015
Networks must be safeguarded against disasters. From the network‐management viewpoint, safeguards should be considered during the network design phase. In this study, we surveyed the potential of establishing redundant Wi‐Fi networks in schools in the Soya region of Hokkaido to proactively create a bypass communication network that can be used if a natural disaster occurs. During emergency situations such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and floods, a traditional disaster response may not be able to provide adequate communication services to emergency‐management teams. To explore the potential of establishing an emergency survival communication network in Wakkanai, Hokkaido, we conducted a medium‐scale trace‐driven study of redundant networks to determine how to decrease the disaster risk. We set up wireless nodes at four network locations of different sizes, including an access link between the Wakkanai city office and Wakkanai Hokusei Gakuen University networks. Furthermore, we model the optimal redundant topology and discuss the simulation result. By proactively establishing a redundant wireless network as a detour emergency route using our approach, an organization can rapidly reduce disaster risk. © 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.