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The Global Alert Resolution NETwork (GARNET), A Unique Alert and Alarms System

Current national security concerns and other recent events have prompted NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland, to develop an alert system that will reliably deliver time-critical information to the workforce. The Global Alert Resolution NETwork, (GARNET), is an IT-based system that will be capable of notifying all affected parties during a time of emergency. This new system will have the capability to communicate from a single source over a network to other various notification mediums including PCs, pagers, phones, messaging centers, Public Address, (PA), systems, fire alarms, closed circuit TV, and e-mail.

Typical emergency alerts handled by GARNET will include:

National emergency alerts (i.e. terrorist attacks)
Fire and/or building evacuation
Severe weather information
Facility closing
Computer virus attack
Relevant road closing/construction
Need to reduce power usage

There are significant benefits to having an IT-based alerting system such as GARNET:

Ability to interface to external systems to automatically import alerts, in addition to the ability to securely generate alerts via a Web browser interface.

Multiple mediums to issue an alert. The system will be able to contact more people, including the disabled, in a quicker period of time by using multiple alert mediums.

Fine-grained notification control to notify only those people affected by the alert. Determination of affected people is based on matching the alert criteria, (i.e. geography, type, severity) with subscriber profiles.

Notification includes details regarding the nature of the alert, and recommended actions/instructions, and thus provides much more information than a bell, siren or even a PA system.

The idea of having multiple mechanisms available to create and activate alert notifications is a unique concept. The GARNET infrastructure will be capable of utilizing the strengths of existing alert systems, augmented by desktop computer alerts. For example, if all people in a building need to be notified of critical information, then each person in the building will receive a computer desktop alert, the fire alarms in the building will sound, and the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) network will display a message and broadcast a sound and a message. By using multiple alerting mechanisms, GARNET will be able to contact people, including the hearing- and sight-impaired, at their computers, as well as within meeting rooms, bathrooms and hallways. The GARNET infrastructure provides the capability to notify all affected people of critical information as quickly as possible, with a coherent message

Historic notification systems, such as fire alarms, public announcements and sirens, each contain strengths and weaknesses when compared to the ideal alert notification system. For example, sirens and bells do not provide a clear description of the alert. Televisions may not be turned on or tuned in to the incorrect channel. Most existing alert systems can not avoid interrupting people who are unaffected by an incident. In contrast, GARNET reliably contacts precisely selected people with detailed alert information. Through examining existing alert systems, the power of GARNET becomes clear. GARNET will be capable of making use of existing systems, and can expand and change over time by providing an infrastructure capable of integrating with devices and applications yet to be imagined.

Last year a GARNET proof-of-concept was developed and demonstrated. Currently, a prototype system is being developed. Deployment of the system to approximately 200 people at GSFC is scheduled to be implemented in October 2003. This prototype will demonstrate the desktop and e-mail capabilities of GARNET, which will allow typical emergency alerts and alarms to be sent directly to desktop PCs in an expedient manner.

The GARNET project envisions the full deployment of the system to all of the employees at GSFC in fiscal year 2004. GSFC is looking for opportunities to partner with other organizations who may be interested in an alert system to meet their needs.