If something critical quits working, switch to the backup, right?
If the backup quits, switch to its backup. So far so good.
If that quits, thank goodness you had Plan C ready to go.
So, what do you do if Plan C doesn’t work?
That was my dilemma today. The morning began with a discovery that the e-mail system at my office went offline during the night. Let me tell you about e-mail from the business owner’s point of view. I started out “hosting” e-mail on our own server computer in the office. We would lose e-mail when the power went out so I switched to a bigtime “hosting” company that promised 24/7 reliability.
They broke down bigtime overnight. A day later, still offline. Their emergency website says they are working “diligently” to fix it. Deadlines come and go. But no problem, right? I still have my server. Plan B for Backup is to just switch e-mail back onto our own equipment.
At mid morning the power failed in our office. No, not our office, the whole building. No, not the building, the entire east side of River City. The power company reports it is working diligently to fix it. Deadlines come and go.
But no problem we have Plan C. We grab the laptops and everybody heads to my house. I have a wireless network. Our computers are configured to work anywhere. Off we go.
Thwarted again! The computers can all detect the wireless network at home but cannot connect to it. I call our I-T consultant who actually drives over to the house. Even he is stumped. We try one computer after another, delving deep into the innards of wireless configurations and properties.
By now we are laughing. What else can you do? The problem is finally solved by installing a new wireless network router. My old one apparently stopped working. The smallest things can make the biggest difference.
So here it is 3:45 in the afternoon and we can finally get some work done. Check the e-mail. Hmm, no joy there. Oh well.
But here in our house with the team tapping away there is a high, happy spirit. We popped and downed a bowl of popcorn and made what progress we could do against extraordinary odds. Three, independent systems failed on the same day. What are the chances of that?
Non-pilots think that multi-engine aircraft carry the extra powerplants as a backup. If one fails, the other one picks up the slack (so people imagine.) The truth is that each engine typically provides enough thrust to keep the plane in the air for a while but the aircraft needs them all in order to be fully maneuverable. When one goes out, it is time to start heading toward an airport with maintenance facilities.
When they all lose power then you are operating a multi-engine glider. Time to pick out the smoothest place you can see and go land there.
We felt like salmon swimming upstream through swift, opposing currents, waterfalls, and hungry bears. What did we do with our powerless day? We landed, got out, had a laugh and some popcorn, figured out something to do.
That’s what you do when all plans fail: get your feet back on the ground and go from there.