Kent,
We have a backup NOC 1,200 miles away. All the tools are set up and
kept running in two places and at least once a year Ann Arbor
intentionally hands off NOC duties to Elmsford. The people issue is
the main problem, with Elmsford not being as familiar with day to day
NOC operations. Both NOCs are connected to two POPs in different
states with alegedly diverse circuits. Neither NOC has generators but
the last time the UPS ran out we had NOC service cut over in time.
This is also why we have DNS servers in different states (and kerberos
slave servers and other critical services).
I don't think a cell phone and a laptop would cut it.
Curtis