Year of the Network Loop (8-29-10)

School start up this year has been the toughest we have seen in a long time. This year NewNet 66 has received many support calls regarding LAN outages many of which are related to Network Loops. During the summer months classrooms and computer labs are dismantled for cleaning purposes. When these rooms are put back together the network wiring often times is not correctly replaced resulting in a Network Loop which will take down the entire network at smaller schools since everyone is on the same subnet.

Network loops are hard to find if you don't have managed switches you can access. This being the case process of elimination time. What you can do is start unplugging Cat 5 cables in the core switch until the activity lights on the switch go quiet. This is a poor mans way of finding the problem but it does work.

If you unfamiliar with Network Loops you can review this PDF.

Exploits are increasing (8-26-10)

School start is here and many schools are just now getting around to updating their servers and workstations. This needs to be done as soon as possible to reduce the exploits that have populated the Internet over the summer.

School Start Up!!! (8-18-10)

School start up is upon us and this year has to be the most intense we have ever seen. Network loops are at an all time high causing a lot of confusion and pain for many of our schools. We had one school with 2 loops and 32 IP conflicts which has to be some sort of record.

Since the network loops seem to be at an all time high it might be time to review what a network loop is. You can view this PDF for a better understanding.

The Heat Is On! (8-3-10)

The temperatures are at all time highs stressing out T1 Circuits and network gear. In order to keep your network and Internet connections running smoothly it is critical that you keep servers, router, and switches cool. Be sure and check rooms containing network gear for high tempretures. Placing in expensive fans in hot rooms will reduce the risk of equipment failure.