ATC Backup Systems
henry crun
When Airways consolidated the radar centres down to Christchurch they did in fact set up what you are suggesting.
The computers running the system are split between Auckland and Christchurch - one will be the operational, the other the back up, and they swap regularly
All comm and radar feeds are duplicated, if not triplicated, with totally independent pathways.
One or other centre could be totally flattened and the other would still have total radar and radio coverage of the country.
Remember controllers are rated for specific sectors (just like pilots are for specific aircraft), so staffing is the major issue - it's not just a matter of finding a spare controller and plugging him/her into a position. Anyone not rated on the sector wouldn't be able to do more than issue the approprate QNH etc.
I'm told that the Christchurch centre was out of service for only a couple of hours - not a bad effort really (remember the 2-3 days that a bit water caused in the Middle East)
Well done to the Rangiora Express and others that are helping inbetween attending their day job