Personal tools
You are here: Home → Services → Community Network → Network Status
 

GCN Network Status

Current condition and known issues of the Gustavus Community Network

See also: Gustavus Technicians forum for the very latest GCN status announcements.

Graph showing amount of GCN Internet traffic

Graph showing amount of GCN Internet traffic
GCN Total Internet traffic, 5-minute average. Green is inbound (to Gustavus from Internet); blue is outbound (from Gustavus to Internet). Click for history. Top graph is the AT&T connection serving the library and dial-up users, the bottom graph is our new GCI circuit serving most GCN customers.

  • Report outages to Corvid Computing at 697-2810.

Open-Mesh Wireless NetworkThe Cloudtrax Dashboard shows the status of the wireless mesh network in the Salmon River meadow area and also gives a good idea of where the wireless coverage is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current status as of 12/12/11 (See the technicians forum for most recent information):

 

  • Internet access: Up
  • Dial-up access: Up
  • Broadband: Up
  • E-Mail service: Up
  • Electronic Forums - asking for password. Enter username gustavus\patron and leave the password field empty.
  • Library terminals - Up.

Known Issues

Symptom Cause Explanation Status
Wireless broadband service in the Salmon River meadow area is often down or slow. Affects 4 Corners and all broadband customers except library, Bartlett Cove, and airport. Dial-up customers are not affected.
 DSL modem linking City Hall to library is failing regularly.
 Either the phone circuit or the equipment has problems causing the modems to periodically lock up, lately multiple times per day. Restoring service requires manually cycling power on the modem at City Hall.
 Replacing the modems with the same model, and later re-configuring them to bridge instead of route, did not solve the problem. A pair of newer replacement modems are on order. Work-around: use dial-up (697-2345) while waiting for service to be restored.
It may take many tries to establish a dial-up connection and then it is spontaneously disconnected. Connections may be very slow.
 Subscriber equipment, phone line, call waiting, Outlook Express configuration Some users are afflicted with frequent disconnections from GCN even when they are actively using the connection. Most users are rarely or never disconnected, so this is not a problem with the GCN equipment or the T1 circuit from ACS to the GCN equipment. In cases where the problem has been solved, it proved to be either
  • ACS phone line to the subscriber's premises,
  • Other telephone devices or wiring inside the subscriber's premises,
  • Subscriber's modem, or modem driver,
  • Call waiting service on the subscriber's phone line (you can configure your dial-up connection to disable call waiting), or
  • Outlook Express configured to "disconnect after sending/receiving."
 Not a GCN problem. For a fee, Corvid Computing can help troubleshoot the difficulty by plugging a known-good laptop in at the subscriber location to determine whether the problem is the phone line.
  • ACS is required by Alaska law to provide data communication speeds of at least 28.8 Kbps but this is not always delivered.
  • If your connect speed is less than 28.8 Kbps you should determine if the problem is on your premises or with your modem, versus with the ACS phone line.
    • If a known good modem plugged into the test jack on the outside of your building results in connect speeds lower than 28.8 Kbps you should report trouble to ACS. It may take some work to get them to acknowledge this is a problem requiring a repair; GCN can help if you encounter resistance.
    • Otherwise you need to check other devices plugged into your phone line, your inside wiring, your modem, or modem drivers.
  • You may wish to consider replacing your modem. The MultiTech USB-V.92-AV (MT5634ZBA) is the best modem we have found for poor line conditions, ease of installation, and operation with any computer (any version of Windows, Mac, or Linux) that has a USB port. These are available in Gustavus from Corvid Computing for $59 ( compare prices) and you can try before you buy to evaluate the performance increase.

 
Related content
Document Actions