[OPLINTECH] Internet solutions for small branches

Fri Jan 16 10:28:10 EST 2015

Hi Amy,

When we had cable connections using Time Warner modems and started having issues like this at branches Time Warner had to replace the modems before the issue went away. Till then we had to recycle power on the modem from time to time till we convinced them it was the modem causing the problems.

Ruchie
Information Technology Coordinator
Fairfield County District Library
219 N. Broad St.
Lancaster, OH 43130

https://helpdesk.clcohio.org/

"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success" - Henry Ford

From: oplintech-bounces at lists.oplin.org [mailto:oplintech-bounces at lists.oplin.org] On Behalf Of Bob Neeper
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2015 9:48 AM
To: Amy Deuble; oplintech at lists.oplin.org
Subject: Re: [OPLINTECH] Internet solutions for small branches

Just some thoughts.

Is it safe to assume you have  UPS's (Uninterruptible Power Supplies)  for the critical router, switch, hubs, etc. ?
If not, you should, especially if the AC power is not dependable.

Are the connections fiber, T1, DSL ??

If DSL on CenturyLink, they have been replacing the old  ZyXEL EQ-660R modem with newer units.
Have they actually tested the line quality? Techs should have hand held meters to do this.

DSL and T1 use copper wire, so bad connections can cause problems,
Years ago at Metter-Toledo the T1 lines to other buildings would starting dropping.
We'd call the telephone company, theyed run a test which fixed the problem.
The test used a higher voltage than normal use, which cleaned the connections.

Also  DSL must be relatively close to the telephone office. Should be less than 3 ~ 3 1/2 miles.
Anything much more is very marginal.
My house is 19,200 ft on CenturyLink and the connection is bad.  896k / 448k   (download / upload)

This probably won't apply here, but the data lines (and phone if T1 or DSL) should not run close and parallel to AC lines.
Crossing at right angles is okay or if shielded cable or in metal conduit.
AC is a sine wave with a rising and collapsing field  which could induce current in parallel wiring.

It's possible you have some marginal data cables in the building, or the wrong rating.
Possibly even too short between certain equipment causing reflections on the line.
But then you might have different problems.

I would suggest doing a building at a time with methodical testing to determine what the problem really is and the fix.
It is too hard to explain the exact procedure to follow but  start at the first device and work from there.

And as there are different buildings, different providers there may be different problems, different solutions.

R. W. (Bob) Neeper

Community Library<http://sunbury.cool-cat.org>

44 Burrer Dr.  Map<http://maps.google.com/maps?q=40.243961,+-82.863007>

Sunbury, Oh 43074

Tel:  (740)-965-3901

[cool-cat.org]<http://info.cool-cat.org>
On 1/16/2015 8:25 AM, Amy Deuble wrote:
We have three small branches open two days a week, Monday and Thursday, for a total of 6 hours a week. Each branch has 3 computers, one staff and two public, and a networked printer/copier. Two of the branches are on Time Warner and the other is on CenturyLink. All of the branches are located in small villages in mainly rural locations.

We are having continual problems connecting to the Internet at all our branch locations. It seems we are constantly resetting routers, modems and/or PCs in different combinations trying to get things working. Both Time Warner and CenturyLink has been called numerous times with mixed results.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make things more reliable? Would you shut down equipment, including routers and modems, when we are closed? Is there a business wireless solution that might work (although I wonder about cell phone service in some of these locations)? Any other options anyone can think of?

Amy Deuble
Technical Services Manager
Marion Public Library
445 E Church St
Marion OH 43302
740-383-9722
www.marionlibrary.org<http://www.marionlibrary.org/>

[LOGO                  blue small400]<http://www.marionlibrary.org/>
         [facebook] <https://www.facebook.com/mplohio>      [twitter] <https://twitter.com/MarionPublicLib>

_______________________________________________

OPLINTECH mailing list

OPLINTECH at lists.oplin.org<mailto:OPLINTECH at lists.oplin.org>

http://lists.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/oplintech

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplintech/attachments/20150116/455c276b/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 7840 bytes
Desc: image001.jpg
URL: <http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplintech/attachments/20150116/455c276b/attachment-0001.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 9325 bytes
Desc: image002.png
URL: <http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplintech/attachments/20150116/455c276b/attachment-0003.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.png
Type: image/png
Size: 2534 bytes
Desc: image003.png
URL: <http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplintech/attachments/20150116/455c276b/attachment-0004.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.png
Type: image/png
Size: 2759 bytes
Desc: image004.png
URL: <http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplintech/attachments/20150116/455c276b/attachment-0005.png>