I take my cues on this originally from CT, though I've used variants, embellished, and adopted material over the years and editions.
Required ship systems: Varies:
i) None required, minimal facilities are typical though.
Cold LBs and ELBs in mtu are stand alone units. This is the base model (TL9). They are typically installed in dedicated facilities for safety and convenience reasons but can be operated and carried anywhere there is room. They require no power. The usage cost factor is for drugs, chemicals, and freezing fluids. They can maintain the state indefinitely if sealed though there is some slight increase in mortality over time and breaking the seal will kill the occupant(s). They are durable but not armored. There is no automated revival procedure. Installation is partly automated (after hooking up the IV feeds by Medic0 minimum) but revival requires actions by an individual (again Medic0 minimum) though it could be a robotic stand in if properly built. The subject must be given a second treatment of drugs, a chemical flush, and resuscitated (all included in the cost factor). The only difference between LBs and ELBs is the processing time. LBs are average for installing and reviving the subject (an hour). ELBs trade quick installation (minutes) for slow revival (hours). The third option, Frozen Watch Berths (FWBs) trade slow installation (hours) for quick revival (minutes). Cold Berths involve messy liquids and occupants must enter naked with no other gear (unless implanted and largely inert), and emerging from them leaves the occupants feeling cold and covered in slimy glop. A warm shower in a fresher is advised. Temporary hair loss, from spotty to complete, is a common side effect. Frequent Cold Berthers simply maintain a hairless regime rather than fight it and are easily spotted for it.
ii) Minimal facilities are required.
Grav Berths are available at the same cost and performance as Cold Berths with the usage of advanced gravitic manipulation (TL13) replacing the need for drugs, chemicals, and freezing fluids. The facilities look very much like the ones typical for Cold Berths but incorporate power feeds for the gravitics. As long as power is maintained the units will preserve the subject. The usage cost factor is waived for these models. Unlike Cold Berths a Grav Berth cannot be maintained without a power supply. They incorporate a small emergency battery power supply good for about an hour and have an emergency protocol to start the revival process (equals attending Medic0) if power drops below that needed to maintain the berth. Installation and revival can be completely automated through the ship's computer or a hand computer linked to a specific berth (both equal attending Medic2). Processing times are similar to Cold Berths. Grav Berths do not involve the mess of slimy glop, nor require completely naked subjects. Most materials are compatible with the gravitic freezing process and will not be adversely affected allowing occupants to enter and exit wearing their clothes and carrying most personal items. Items with volatile chemicals (explosives, acids, etc.) should not be subjected to the process for safety, this covers most electronics (including some implanted medical devices) and firearms. Side effects are all but negligible.
A few notes on "Relics" and "Timers":
In TNE some people discovered in Berths decades later were successfully revived. They were valued for their knowledge of pre-fall technology, almost as much as they were reviled for their part in the fall. Survival for such extended periods is possible but rare. Cold Berths that maintained seals, and Grav Berths that maintained power were both sources of Relics in (my) TNE.
CT notes that a dead power plant still provides emergency battery power for life support and basic lighting (not computer) for 1D days. In MTU that's redefined as 1 day per power plant number, so a PP1 has battery power for 1 day, a PP4 would have battery power for 4 days, and so on. This power will be sufficient to maintain Grav Berths as well. And if the battery power were drained solely by the Berths it would last considerably longer (decades x PP#). This could happen if the ship shut down all non required life support and lighting as part of it's emergency shut down protocol, and the ship were abandoned or all the crew were dead. This is how some Grav Berth Relics survived.
There are other long time survivors of Berths though, and some of these were also Relics in TNE. They are Timers. People who engage in long duration Berthing to skip ahead decades at a time but not leaving their home world. To see the fruits of long term investments or plans. Or simply to escape death in hopes of a future cure. These individuals engage in this practice at private installations of advanced (expensive) Berths or through groups (Timer Clubs) founded to provide the service for a premium.
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