Could the day get any worse? My day off and I’m away to the dentist this afternoon. Fine in itself, except for a phone call about 10 minutes before I leave the house to tell me that the new network router had arrived at work, would I come in for a few hours today instead of Friday. Well I thought, it’s not so bad, train straight from the dentist, couple of hours to plug it in, do all the settings then program the tills for a bit just to make sure the network is stable and working before I leave. Sure why not. I got there for 3:20 and finally dragged myself out the office at 7:50 (so much for 2 hours!), which would have been ok, if the network was any better than it had been when I arrived. But after many more hours on the phone to various technical support people, we are still in the situation where the network will not talk to broadband, broadband sits in a corner and sulks if the network is on, and I’m sitting in another corner crying my eyes out while my boss has a nervous breakdown.

How can a 6-computer network and broadband be so complicated?

Apparently the broadband has 5 fixed IP addresses that conflict with the wireless network IP address range. Both units are fighting for control of the IP allocation, and since the access point for the wireless network is closer to the computer, it’s winning.

I have tried every configuration I know, changed every setting I can find (remember this is my first network ever, never mind wireless) and I’m so out of my depth is scary.

Upshot is that my boss is going to have to pay to get a professional in to assess the system and try and sort the mess out. Not too surprising since this fiasco has been going on since January. It’s a pity though; I would have loved to manage to sort it myself. Oh well. I think my next task will be to find a part time networking course. If I’m going to have to maintain the system when it is finally sorted, it might be useful if I actually had SOME clue about networks. There is, after all, only so much you can learn from reading the instruction manuals. (Especially since half the things you have to do aren’t even mentioned anywhere in the manuals. A fact I always find endlessly useful! - Think I’ll keep that rant for another day.)

Well if you’ll excuse me dear reader (if you haven’t died of boredom yet) I think I shall go slash my wrists, take some pills, hang myself and throw myself down the stairs before I get a phone call to go back in again tomorrow… Hmm, or I could just switch the phone off I guess…