2025-04-04 Hohenheim

Avatar photoHeinrich Griesenbach on

After we received the first report about connection problems yesterday at 1:35 PM, we started looking into what could be causing it.

One single report usually doesn’t mean a hardware failure on our side, because that would normally affect entire buildings.
During the night, two more people contacted us, so we were able to do more testing this morning.
From one of them, we couldn’t get any useful info because their hardware is very old, and the third person didn’t reply anymore.

At around 3:00 PM today, something seems to have happened that made the issue worse. Luckily, more people have reached out since then, so we now believe there really is a problem in Hohenheim.

While I’m writing this, we’re running different tests, and we’re getting ready to drive from Tübingen to replace the device if needed.

If your Wi-Fi issues are caused by your own old hardware, you’re welcome to live with it.
Everyone else shouldn’t have any problems – please always contact us right away if you do, so we can fix it.

Around 5:30 PM, replaced an old fiber module in Egilolfstraße just to be sure.
Did some more tests, but no results.
Probably witnessed an outage, but not sure.
Installed hardware for diagnostics.
Will run tests overnight and check again tomorrow.

Update Saturday 6 pm:

The diagnosis took the whole day.
We can confirm the outages on all 13 connections that were reported.
All our devices say they are working fine. The older part we replaced yesterday was probably not the cause, because the problem is still there.
That’s frustrating.
We are getting ready to go on site in Hohenheim tomorrow morning. We will either try to find the problem by checking everything again or replace all the equipment in building 49/51 and the connection to building 53.

Update Sunday 8:30 am: Planned arrival in Hohenheim at 10:30 am.

Update from the car on the way to Tübingen (Sunday 5:00 PM):
We replaced all possible hardware.
Egilolfstraße 49 and 51 now have gigabit internet.
Feel free to try our speed test: https://netz-ak.de/intern-speedtest/

We hope this fixed the problem – even though we couldn’t find the exact cause.

2025-03-26 Heuberger-Tor-Weg

Avatar photoHeinrich Griesenbach on

In Heuberger-Tor-Weg 15 two switches probably did not survive the power outage.

If we can not revive them, we will exchange them today.

Update: The replacement of the broken switch was completed at 7:24 PM. Everyone is online again.

Thank you to the kind resident for the friendly words and the tea you gave me!

2025-03-26 Outages with connection to the current Tübingen power outage

Jonas on

There is currently no internet in Heuberger-Tor-Weg – this is almost certainly to do with the power cut here. It could be that the internet is also down in many other halls of residence. Our server room also seems to have no power at the moment and is only being kept running by the UPS, which will also run out of power at some point.

Power failure: https://www.swtue.de/netze/netzinformationen/aktuelle-meldungen.html

—

Update 12:05 PM: There is power in the server room, so we won’t suffer a total outage.

Update 1.36 pm: Welcome back online!

2025-03-21 big changes on core

Avatar photoHeinrich Griesenbach on

On March 21, 2025, we will finally install our new MikroTik Cloud Core Router – CCR2216.
All important devices in our network have names. Our new core switch from MikroTik is called “Corey McRotik.”

As the central core switch, it connects all our network segments.

Many people don’t realize that we run a real, independent network.
All student dormitories in Geislingen an der Steige, Hohenheim, Nürtingen, Reutlingen, Albstadt, and Sigmaringen are connected to us in Tübingen and meet here at Fichtenweg 5.
(This is also why we cannot simply add dormitories that are connected via DSL, like those in Rottenburg, to our network.)

During the upgrade, all dormitories will go offline one or multiple times for a short period, depending on how we need to switch the fiber optic connections.

We chose Friday during the semester break to minimize disruptions for students and avoid interfering with the Studierendenwerk.

Our homepage is no longer hosted on a server at Fichtenweg—it is now hosted externally.
The main reason for this change was a series of power outages in our server room, which not only took all dormitories offline but also made our homepage unavailable.
We don’t expect frequent power outages, but with this change, we can provide more reliable updates in case of problems.

In short:

No need to worry, no emails, and please do not report the planned outage on Friday at 6:00 PM—we are aware of it.
We will be in the server room, literally holding cables in our hands.
We will update this message once we are finished.
If you still have problems after restarting at least one router, please contact us immediately via the contact form.
We will stay on-site for a few more hours to fix configuration issues or, if necessary, undo changes to keep the internet downtime as short as possible.

If you are interested in large networks, feel free to contact us (contact form: Mitmachen).
No prior knowledge is needed!
This year, we will replace switches in over 100 buildings—it’s manual work, so every helping hand is welcome.

If technology is not your strength, but you still want to help, we would really appreciate it.
As you can see from this not-so-perfect text, we could also use someone who can write better texts, design announcements, or simply organize tasks.

Right now, we are mainly active in Tübingen, but we already have one person in Hohenheim who recently joined to help on-site.
We really appreciate people outside of Tübingen because you can reach locations faster.

For example, you could help someone in a dorm with router issues, check if a construction crew accidentally cut a fiber optic cable, or look in the basement to see if a power outage is causing a network problem. All of this is much more difficult for our volunteer team in Netz-AK to handle from Tübingen.

6:16 pm update: after 4 minutes of downtime we finished. If anything is different for you, contact us!

Network Outage Nürtingen 13.03.2025

Lucas on

Currently, our network devices at Sudetenstrasse 125, 127, and 129 are unreachable.

We are currently investigating the cause.

Update 3:42 PM: During construction work, a fiber that is required for our internet access was cut. It looks like the problem can be fixed until the evening.

Update 6:30 PM: The dorms should be online again.

2025 new to the dormitory?

Avatar photoHeinrich Griesenbach on

First of all, it’s great that you’re here – welcome to the dormitory and our volunteer-managed network!

If you are new to the dormitory, you probably want to meet people. So, it’s a good idea to talk to your neighbours if you have a question.
They can answer questions about housing, shopping, or sports facilities and we can only help you with the access to the internet.

The internet in the dormitory is fast, and you don’t have to pay extra for it. (If someone has slow internet, it’s usually because they have a bad router.)

To go online via Wi-Fi, you need your own router. Almost everyone has one or shares Wi-Fi with the neighboring room.
If you already have a router, make sure to read our tutorial on Wi-Fi in the dorm room.
If you don’t have a router and want to buy one, I have written a blog post explaining how I would do it if I were in your situation.

If you ever have a problem or need help, don’t hesitate to contact us via the contact form.
Please always use this form so that we have all the information we need to help you quickly and efficiently.

Unfortunately, as a working group, we can only help you in German or English. Please use the language you are more comfortable with.
We understand that you might want to practice your German, but it is easier for us to help you in English if your English is better.

When you write to us, please don’t use AI.
Based on what and how you write, we can understand what you mean and how much you already know.
A “perfect” AI-generated message suggests to us that you know a lot – and you will then receive a response at that level.
If you want help from a human, write the message yourself!

Have fun and enjoy your time in the dormitory!

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

Christmas 2024

Avatar photoHeinrich Griesenbach on

The Christmas season – for many, a time of reflection and peace. But for us at Netz-AK, it stays busy! Even during the festive season, we’re here for you. Whether it’s sudden technical issues or those little things you’ve always wanted to configure properly – we’ve got your back!

Of course, there are limits: if solving a problem requires “paid staff,” many of them are rightly on holiday now.

Why? It’s simple: volunteers rock!

A big thank you to everyone who helps us keep going. A special shout-out to the caretakers, Carmen Braun, Mrs. Horrer and Mrs. Hein.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a great start to the new year!

Your Netz-AK Team