Tag: Hohenheim

2025-04-04 Hohenheim

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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.

2025-03-21 big changes on core

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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!

2025 new to the dormitory?

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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

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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

Netz-AK goes to Hohenheim!

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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.”

 

2024 new in the dorm?!

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

If you’re new to the dorm, you’ll probably want to meet people. A good reason to start a conversation could be because you have a question – whether it’s about living, where to shop, or, likely why you’ve landed on this page, about accessing the internet from the dorm.

There’s internet in the dorm; it’s fast, and you don’t have to pay anything extra for it.

You can only get online in the rooms wirelessly through WiFi if you get yourself a WiFi router, which is what most people do. If you already own a router, make sure to read our guide on Wireless internet in your room. If you don’t have a router and are looking to buy one, I’ve just finished a blog post describing what I would do if I were faced with this task.

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

Unfortunately, we can only help in German and English as a group, but in all communication, we advise you to use the language you speak best and not to use automatic translators. The quality of your German or English shows us what you might mean if you’re not well-versed in technology. If you send us a technically perfect text using AI, you will get a response that matches the level of your request, and it could unnecessarily complicate things if you’re not an expert.

Have fun and a pleasant time in the dorm!

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

Maintenance Work Announcement week 3

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In week 3, which is from January 15 to January 21, some maintenance work is scheduled.

Hohenheim

The maintenance work starting on Friday will be long and unpleasant for the people in Hohenheim.
The fiber optic lines in Hohenheim to get extended to be used in a different location because of the renovations.
Without the fiber optic line, there will be no internet there.

The work will be carried out by a specialist company and is scheduled to start on Friday morning, which is January 19.
The work will take a long time, so we announce a complete internet outage in all student dormitories in Hohenheim from Friday morning to Saturday noon.

If it’s done faster, please avoid sending us messages all day. It won’t speed things up.
The company will complete their work as quickly as possible, and we will reconnect the fiber optics.

Tuebingen, Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse

On Thursday, January 18, starting around 5:30 PM, we will finally be able to equip our dormitories in Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse with modern technology.
For the residents, this means they will be able to use gigabit internet in their rooms afterwards.
Since we haven’t been able to implement the exclusive use of routers in Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse due to technical reasons, we will not enforce this immediately but only from the start of the summer semester (April 1, 2024).
We expect the installation to take about 3 hours, meaning you will probably have unrestricted internet access again from 9:00 PM.

Tuebingen, Schimpf-WG

There will be a maximum half-hour interruption in internet access at the Schimpf-WG. We had announced this work several times before but could never implement it due to problems accessing our hardware in the neighboring building. We cannot say exactly when this will be, but it will happen some evening between Monday and Thursday.

November 2023 Welfenstrasse

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The internet at Welfenstrasse 80 is not working right now.

We first heard about this issue on November 11, 2023, after 10 PM, but the information was not very clear at first.

After checking the wireless bridge from a distance and ruling out other possible causes, we hope it’s just a loose mount on the bridge.

But, we are worried that we might need to replace it.

Just to be safe, we are sending a request today for a replacement to StuWe.

All checking and fixing work depends on the weather, because we need to go on the roof to do it.

So, we are hoping for better weather tomorrow to check the hardware in person.

As always, please report right away if something isn’t working. Describe the problem and what kind of tech you are using. We already know how important the internet is, so you don’t need to mention that. Just tick the box if you feel like saying that.

Update Tuesday 14.11.2023 6:30 pm:

In the morning, it became clear that there would be a long break in the rain, which might allow us to work on the roof in Hohenheim. That’s why we decided to have a meeting during lunch break. One of us, who was professionally near Hohenheim, was able to be on the roof in Egilolfstraße during the conversation and check the antenna there and its alignment.

Originally, we thought that the antennas had reached the end of their life and needed to be completely replaced. Getting new ones would probably have been possible by the end of the week, but in the meantime, the poor internet connection would remain. Therefore, we came up with the idea to dismantle a part of a radio bridge, which was used as a test setup, from another roof and replace it in Hohenheim today. Right after the meeting, we implemented this and around 16:50, we were able to replace the antenna on Welfenstraße, which was responsible for the disturbance. After some driving and a bit of traffic, I am now here dictating this text, which I will have ChatGPT format before I leave for the evening.

We hope that the system is now working again and plan to create redundancy soon. This way, if this pair of antennas fails, it can automatically switch to a better system.

Of course, we would prefer to have a fiber optic connection to you, as we usually do, but that seems difficult.

Update 15.11.2023, 7:30 pm:

A new day, a new attempt! Unfortunately, the exchange in Welfenstraße yesterday was not successful. Therefore, we have now placed the antenna that we had removed there on Egilolfstraße and thus swapped everything once.

Currently, there are no new outages to report, and we hope to gain some time to decide on 2 more antenna pairs. These should then be able to function in continuous operation as redundancy for several years.

Once you are in Hohenheim, such an exchange is quickly completed. The travel time alone today was approximately 3 hours.

Update 16.11.2023, 8:15 am:

Now sign of a problem since the exchange, but also no feedback from anyone who lives there.

Welfenstrasse Sept 2023

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We currently think that the radio bridge might have a problem. To check this, we need to go to Hohenheim and climb onto the roof of Egilolfstrasse.

Today at 2:50 PM, we restarted the hardware and are now monitoring the transmission values. We hope the issue is due to the current weather, as the weather and our availability don’t match the necessary work.

Please let us know in the next few days about your experiences with the internet connection so far.

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.