2025-03-21 big changes on core

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!

Christmas 2024

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

Heads-Up: Friday, 06/12/2024 – New switch, new luck! 🚀

Hi everyone,

It’s time! On Friday, December 6, 2024, we’re finally installing the new generation of switches in the dorms on Konrad-Adenauer-Strssße. 🎉

What does this mean for you?
During the installation – about 3 hours – the dorms will be completely offline. No connection, no internet, no streaming, sorry! 🙈

Please don’t contact us during this time or ask how much longer it will take. It’ll take as long as it takes – but we promise to work as fast as we can! 💪

What’s new?
The new MikroTik switches are a test to see if they can replace our old Alcatel devices. Small tests went smoothly, but now it’s time for the real thing. Fingers crossed that everything works as planned! 🤞

Thanks for your patience and understanding – after the update, you’ll be the first to enjoy the new speed! 🖥️⚡

Your volunteers of the Netz-AK 🌐


Update: Saturday, 3:05 am we are back in Fichtenweg and configuring the last minor things. (That were very long three hours 😃 )


Update: Sunday, ~9 pm. we are replacing some modules and hope to connect the dormitories in Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse at 10 Gigabit to Fichtenweg 5.

2024-11-20 Total outage

Today (~8:34 AM) we had a power outage.

Manual intervention was required, the dorms were back online around 09:03 AM.

Update: The outage also particularly affected a switch only relevant for the dorms in Pestalozzistraße 41 – since 4:10 PM this also is fixed, and everything should work again.

Netz-AK goes to Hohenheim!

On Friday, the working group, along with its new members, will visit our technology in the dorms in Hohenheim. We expect to arrive at Egilofstraße around 5 PM and from there, we will visit Welfenstraße and Schwerzstraße. Whether a short tour of the campus or a visit to our dorms at Chausseefeld is possible will be decided spontaneously.

If you would like to meet us, keep an eye out for a group of nerds – it’s safer to let us know in advance using the contact form (Join Us).

The reason for the tour is our new members from Tübingen and our first interested person from Hohenheim! Besides getting to know the locations, we hope to gain insights into the needs of the dorms, which we often view as “outlying areas.”

 

Workload Admissions Winter Semester 2024/25

Another move-in wave is over, and it’s time to share some statistics so the blog isn’t just about network outages.

All emails were answered by hand, and as quickly as possible.

WS2024-25 Mails
WS2024-25 Mails by time
WS2024-25 Mails by day
WS2024-25 Mails by month

SNT 2024

From August 29 to September 1, 2024, SNT 2024 took place in Chemnitz. Unfortunately, the Netz-AK was represented by only one person, but they were able to bring back new ideas for our work. Networks from all over Europe participated, including AG DSN, Selfnet, StuStaNet, and many others.

A big thank you to the organizers from Chemnitzer StudentenNetz (CSN) for this successful event!

Four out of nearly 6000 connections blocked

In rare cases, we must temporarily block certain connections to protect our network. This is done because of what are called abuse reports, which indicate that abusive activities might be happening from a connection. We receive this report from the BelWü-CSIRT (Computer Security Incident Response Team), and our task is to stop the abuse with appropriate actions, which we do by turning off the connection of the room.

What is an abuse report?

In short, an abuse report is triggered when suspicious or unusual activities are observed coming from an internet connection. This could be, for example, sending spam emails or unauthorized attempts to access other computers. Often, you may not be aware of this behavior because it is usually caused by viruses or other malicious software that has secretly installed itself on one of the devices in the network.

No blame on you

We want to emphasize that such a blocking is in no way meant as a blame towards the affected users. In most cases, you are victims of malicious software acting without your knowledge. Our priority is to quickly identify and solve the problem to prevent further damage.

Why we block the connection

The fastest and most effective way to inform you about a possible security issue is by temporarily turning off the connection. This measure immediately attracts attention and prompts most users to contact us right away. This way, we can address the problem together as quickly as possible.

We are almost always available

Please note that we are also available on weekends and outside regular working hours. If your internet connection unexpectedly stops working, do not hesitate to contact us. We are ready to analyze the problem and offer you steps to solve it. Together, we can ensure that your connection is quickly safe and fully functional again.

Conclusion

The security and reliability of our network are very important to us. Through proactive measures like these, we want not only to ward off potential threats but also to raise awareness of the importance of network security. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation in keeping our shared digital environment safe.

If you have any questions or concerns, we are always here for you.

Outlook for 2024

In August 2024, the Netz-AK will turn 20 years old.

Now, at the end of 2023, we would like to roughly present our plans for the coming year.

After some restructurings between the network of the Studierendenwerk and us, we hope be able to start in the year by providing Wi-Fi to the first buildings. We would like to begin due to the very poor mobile reception in the dormitories on Geissweg in Tübingen. As part of the Wi-Fi expansion, the dormitories will also be simultaneously upgraded to Gigabit in the rooms. Additionally, a new building on Fruwirthstrasse in Hohenheim is expected to be completed, which we are also allowed to equip with Wi-Fi and Gigabit.

Over the course of the year, we would like to upgrade all houses to Gigabit and also increase the nodes to 10 G to avoid bottlenecks.

Currently, as of December 2023, we are only four, but we hope for the return of our fifth member from the Erasmus program and possibly some voluntary support.

There is a lot to do, and you can support us with little technical knowledge, by writing good tutorials or adding some social skills. =)
You are also welcome to learn a lot from us. We do not offer a direct course for which you can earn ECTS points, but you can participate in the expansion and operation of a not-so-small network with just under 6000 rooms. A challenge is that our network is spread over 180 km when laid out in a row.

We document what we do, operate and expand the monitoring of the network to detect failures early and ideally replace defective components before they fail. We help you get your routers and all devices online and operate them securely.

Whether we will finally introduce IPv6 in 2024 or get closer to implementing Eduroam in communal areas and open spaces around the buildings is still open and depends entirely on how much manpower we can muster, but we are confident to make further progress.

Our student members are usually generously supported by the Studierendenwerk with extended “Wohnzeit”.

We are very proud to operate one of the most cost-efficient student networks, where residents have paid significantly less than 3 euros per room and month as part of their rent for fast internet access over the past decades.