QUESTION:
Dear Mr. Gerb,
...If all the computers went out (blacked out) how
would you back it up? How much memory is in the
computer or hard drive? Is the computer Apple, IBM,
etc.?

ANSWER from Andy Gerb on May 17 1996:
I work on the ground system, which means I design the software that
runs the telescope, and I don't work with the computers that actually
run the telescope, so I can't tell you how those are backed up.

Our computers here are connected to what we call a "UPS" which stands
for Uninteruptible Power Supply. If the power goes out, the UPS has
enough power inside it to keep the computer operating for many
hours. The power is fed continuously through the UPS so the computers
won't even know the power has gone out!

The computers I work on are made by SUN Microsystems. They are called
"workstations" which means that they are a bit more powerful then the
personal computers you are probably used to. Workstations use what we
call "Virtual Memory" which means they use the hard drive to
supplement the internal memory. Using Virtual Memory, my computer has
over 200 million bytes of memory!