Author: Heinrich Griesenbach

Schimpf-Eck (Am Lustnauer Tor 1) September

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The rooms at Schimpf Eck (at Lustnauer Tor 1) now all have network sockets!

The only thing left to connect you to the dorm’s fiber-optic network is to lay down the fiber-optic cables. We’ll figure out who’s doing it and how it’s done. In the meantime, there’s a wireless connection.

The construction work for a proper wireless operation should be finished in November. Until then, we have a temporary solution for you.

We are working on getting everything done in September, so you can have some internet by the time the semester starts.

New in the dorm?!

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Welcome to the dorm! It’s great you’re here.

If you’re wondering about the internet, don’t worry, it’s really easy! In your room, you’ll find a wall socket that gives you direct internet access. Prefer WiFi? No problem! You can easily set up your own WiFi router.

If you don’t have a router yet, you can get one for around 35 euros. We even have a list of routers that work well here. However, we don’t recommend any specific brand or model. Just a quick tip: FritzBoxes are not the best choice, and there’s really no need to spend more than 50 euros on a router.

If you ever run into a problem or need help, don’t hesitate to write to us using the contact form. Please always use this form so we get all the info we need to help you quickly and efficiently.

Have fun and enjoy your time in the dorm!

Your volunteers of the Netz-AK (short for Netzwerk Arbeitskreis = Network Work-group)

lightning strike Provenceweg 7/9

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According to yesterday’s diagnosis, it seems that a lightning strike damaged some chips on the switches in the basement.

We are currently setting up the configuration on the new switches.

Afterwards, we will install the switches in Provenceweg. This will cause a brief network outage, as we will have the cables in hand.

We won’t be able to respond to emails in the basement. If you have any questions about the duration, come visit us in the basement at number 9 (towards the center of the building).

Update 12:30 PM: Everything has been swapped out and upgraded from 100 Mbit/s to Gigabit. Feel free to run our speed test and let us know if something still isn’t working.

Schimpf-Eck (Am Lustnauer Tor 1) July2023

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Surprisingly, construction work for Schimpf started last week. Each room, as usual in our dormitories, will have its own network connection with a double network socket, and one connection will be active.

We don’t consider a comprehensive alternative like WLAN networking, which is often desired, to be practical here. Those who have dealt with connecting hundreds of devices to Eduroam will understand why we are avoiding it.

In each room, you can set up your own secure and easy-to-configure WLAN with a simple router for around €35, allowing you to connect everything from a printer to a PlayStation.

The connection of the WG units in Schimpf Eck depends on the work at Pfleghof, whose starting date is still unknown to us. As surprises are possible, we prefer not to estimate when it will be ready. Getting new DSL contracts doesn’t seem sensible to us. We hope that the WG units will find a fair solution to redistribute the internet access costs or find a way to get rid of these contracts once the dormitory is stably connected to our network.

The final connection via fiber optic to our network is planned but not yet confirmed.

Hohenheim Uplink Upgrade 11:30 am till 4 pm

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Good morning dear Hohenheim residents!

Today, the Uplink upgrade will be fully implemented. If everything goes well, you will be running on 10G afterwards, and the outages will come to an end.

To transport the Uplink technology from the temporary location at Schwerzstraße 2 to the new location at Egilolfstraße 57, we will need some time. Unfortunately, during this time, the Hohenheim dormitories will be offline.

Since we have to unplug the device and then reconnect it in a different building, it cannot be avoided. However, we will hurry as much as possible.

Hohenheim 26 of May Upgrade

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It’s time!

Last night, we were given the task to carry out the upgrade.

As mentioned before, we had already prepared a new location for the uplink, which will enable all Hohenheim residences to go online.

To transport the uplink technology from the temporary location at Schwerzstraße 2 to the new location at Egilolfstraße 57, we will need some time. During this time, the residences in Hohenheim will unfortunately be offline.

Since we need to disconnect the device and then reconnect it in a different building, it cannot be avoided. However, we will do our best to expedite the process.

The estimated duration will probably be around one to two hours this afternoon, with several short outages as we make the necessary adjustments throughout the day, starting in the morning.

We will update this post once we have more information.

Hohenheim 16th of May

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We were able to accomplish almost everything we had planned yesterday.

We dismantled and disconnected the three generations of network technology that were stacked on top of each other.

We managed to clean the room to some extent with a broom we found. Once we speak to the janitor, we will find a place for all the electronic waste (see picture).

One of the switches currently in use didn’t look promising during the removal, so we will replace it this Tuesday evening (starting from 6 PM, depending on traffic).

This means that we will need to unplug the cables of the residents of Egilolfstraße 51 to 59 again, and they won’t have internet during this time. Some rooms will be offline for about an hour, while others will experience shorter outages.

Afterward, the room should be prepared for the installation of the main network connection for the entire Hohenheim area.

The relocation and upgrade of this connection still depend on the IT department of the student services.

We hope that with this cleanup operation, we have eliminated any obstacles that could potentially further delay the final resolution of the network issues in Hohenheim.

Hohenheim 15th May 2023

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In preparation for a solution to the persistent problem, we are cleaning up Egilolfstraße 57 and bringing it up to the standard required by the working group. Unfortunately, the room looks like in the pictures, so we expect it to take 2 to 4 hours. During this time, there may be intermittent network outages for certain parts of our network in Hohenheim.

We are working quickly, but you are welcome to visit us.

Hohenheim 25th of April 2023

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All Hohenheimer dormitories are connected to our network through a central hub.

Until now, this hub was located at Schwerzstrasse 2.

The building is undergoing renovation and will be without power for a while.

The plan was to relocate the hub to the newly renovated Schwerzstrasse 3.

Unfortunately, the connection between the buildings was so poor that we had to move the hub to Schwerzstrasse 1, which delayed the internet interruption accordingly. We planned for 10 minutes, but it took 3 hours.

During operation, we found that the connection there works, but is also too poor for continuous use.

Therefore, we will replace the connections again at around 12 p.m. today.

To keep the interruption short, we will send two teams. We expect the interruption to last less than an hour, ideally just a few minutes.

Update 4:50pm: Thanks to qualified feedback, an unexpected new problem that occurred during the repair of the fiber optic problem was identified and fixed around 4:30 pm. I’ll quote the translated message and thank you on behalf of the Netz-AK.

Hi, we know you’re working hard to switch over to Schwerzstraße. Since we haven’t heard anything new about the switch attempt at 12:00 since this morning’s blog post, we wanted to let you know (in case it hasn’t already been done) that if everything is back to normal, our flat still has problems. Greetings

Nevertheless, we also understand messages that explain to us that the internet is important for studying.

The fiber optic problem was traced to the edge of our network and optimized soon.

Hohenheim March 24th 2023

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Good evening,
the maintenance work that was announced lasted from 2 PM to 6:30 PM.
The internet outage lasted longer than expected due to unexpectedly high attenuation of the fiber optic cable.
However, those moving from Schwerzstr 2 to 3 can now expect gigabit in every room.
Everything should be working everywhere again now, but if it’s not, please try restarting your router before contacting us.
Gruss
Lucas and Heinrich