Okay, so _now_ what's going on?
Paul Jantzen
Okay, first you burden us with having to type in our entire email address
in order to get into the dial-up system (amazing that the terminal server
can still recognize the short form of addresses, isn't it?), now tonight
the only dial-up phone number keeps hanging up, rather than answering -
thirtynine times in a row. And there is wonder regarding the
dissatisfaction with having to consolidate to one telephone dial-up
line/number. Back when there were eight or nine numbers, at least a
few would be working at any given time - now we have to deal with the
temperment of a single phone line. Must be the weather. I can't wait
until the rainy season arrives.
Paul.
And no, I didn't try to dial in thirtynine times in a row - after five, I
sat back in front of the TV with my portable phone, watched the beginning
of MASH, and hit redial until I almost used up all my fingers and toes a
second time.
Sorry, just a little bitter about being hung up on thirtyeight times in a
row. And more than a little amused, to boot <G>.
Glenn Cabler
Paul,
It's always a bummer when you can't get on.....
You didn't mention what time it was, but looking at the usage charts
(the link can be found on www.acomp.usf.edu/~dialup) the Tampa modem pool was
being used to capacity from around 9pm to midnight. It should have given you
a busy signal...I'll check into that. However, this modem pool has more
modems than all of the old pools combined...more people are using the modems
than before and we are making it easier for them to get on, so usage is going
up. There are plans to add more modems in the future, but I'd never expect to
see enough modems to satisfy the demand during peak hours since usage is well
below the maximum during most of the day. You may want to check the usage
charts to plan your remote access during off-peak hours.
Also checking the usage charts I noticed that the St. Pete pool was not being
used to capacity during the same time. It would cost you a quarter ($0.25) to
call it from Tampa, but in the event that you determined that remote access
was absolutely necessary, that seems like a minimal cost.
It doesn't sound like the weather had anything to do with your inabilty
to access the modem pools, especially since you also couldn't get an answer
using a phone (rather than a modem). A couple of years ago folks in
the Temple Terrace area were unable to get data connections (voice worked)
after it had rained a day or so...people in other areas were still getting
good connections...GTE did respond to their calls and fixed the problem...so,
yes, weather can play a big role in data communications.
Glenn Cabler
Academic Computing
In article <6im0i1$9dc$1...@news.usf.edu> pjan...@com1.med.usf.edu (Paul Jantzen
Paul T. Jantzen
Glenn Cabler wrote:
>
> Paul,
>
> It's always a bummer when you can't get on.....
But a busy signal is what I used to get - last night, it was simply
hangups - have the phone lines been changed again? Oh, I do remember
getting a recording once, something like "your call cannot be connected,
please try again" (not the "your call cannot be connected as dialled"
message, and I was using redial.)
> You didn't mention what time it was, but looking at the usage charts
> (the link can be found on www.acomp.usf.edu/~dialup) the Tampa modem pool was
> being used to capacity from around 9pm to midnight.
Time, around 11:00 last night, so I won't argue with that, but isn't it
a bit unusual for the modem pool to be booked up solid in the middle of
the semester break?
> However, this modem pool has more
> modems than all of the old pools combined...
Sorry, 'twas a bit of a rant, however, I'll try to restate this point a
little better - back when there were multiple modem banks, when one or
more went down, others were also available - puttin' all yer eggs in one
basket always seems a bit foolhardy to me. Getting hung up on
repeatedly led me to believe that there was a problem with the one phone
line/modem bank - had I received busy signals, my response would've
simply been "hmph ... I wonder why the modem bank is full in between
semesters", grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator, and sat down to
watch the end of MASH.
Glenn Cabler
>But a busy signal is what I used to get - last night, it was simply
>hangups - have the phone lines been changed again? Oh, I do remember
>getting a recording once, something like "your call cannot be connected,
>please try again" (not the "your call cannot be connected as dialled"
>message, and I was using redial.)
We suspect that there was a faulty modem that had no busied out (as it should
have) which kept the line from actually being busy...it instead answered your
calls, but then hung up after an error was detected. Of course, the problem
could have been a local (your neighborhood) GTE problem due to previous storm.
>Time, around 11:00 last night, so I won't argue with that, but isn't it
>a bit unusual for the modem pool to be booked up solid in the middle of
>the semester break?
Probably no more unusual for others to be using the modems during the break
than you...maybe due to more free time?? It is interesting though to see the
consistency in usage trends from day to day (check the charts).
>Sorry, 'twas a bit of a rant, however, I'll try to restate this point a
>little better - back when there were multiple modem banks, when one or
>more went down, others were also available - puttin' all yer eggs in one
>basket always seems a bit foolhardy to me. Getting hung up on
>repeatedly led me to believe that there was a problem with the one phone
>line/modem bank - had I received busy signals, my response would've
>simply been "hmph ... I wonder why the modem bank is full in between
>semesters", grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator, and sat down to
>watch the end of MASH.
Actually, it is much much easier to keep up with problems when they occur on
one line than on multiple lines. Remember also that when we had multiple
lines, some were not advertised to the masses (the Health Sciences modem pool
for instance was not listed on the AC web page or in AC dialup
documentation)...many students never knew of the HS modem pool. There were
always problems on the old 632-6300 pool...and it was not capable of
supporting more than 33.6Kbps modems due to the type of phone line (so it had
to go!). Believe me, it is much easier to support and use this installation
than when there was a modem pool for each task you wanted to accomplish and
different communications software for each pool...a mere 5 years ago.
The changes may be difficult to adjust to, but that was some really ugly
stuff. I for one am glad that some things do change. USF dialup access has
come a long way. At last count this semester there were almost 9,000 users
accessing USF modems...I'm anxious to see the numbers next fall.
In a sense, aren't you putting all of your eggs in one basket if you have only
one Internet provider (USF)? And even more so, if you have only one phone
line? Which could be carried even further if your second phone line is not
cellular. As you can see, duplication can become very expensive very
quick...which is one of the reasons that the modem lines were combined into
one pool...less cost for phone lines allowed the addition of more modems.
Easier management means faster response to problems when they do occur.
We are continuously looking for ways to improve remote access at USF. Funding
is the biggest hurdle. Some universities simply tell their students that they
will have to get (and pay for) their remote access via a local Internet
provider...others universities charge students to use university modems. I
know a lot of users who think USF has excelled in its service to students,
faculty and staff by providing modems for remote access.
Glenn Cabler
Academic Computing