As you should by now know, there are persistent hardware problems being
experienced by the computer system used as the main relay for NativeNet.
This system links to and controls the LISTSERV relay at TAMVM1, the link
with IGC/APC (PeaceNet, EcoNet, GreenNet, Web, Pegasus, etc.), and links
with a number of other relays throughout the world, including a major site
at the University of Toronto, which handles some Canadian addresses. This
computer system ("gnosys") is an essential part of handling the various
NativeNet mailing lists.
Fortunately, the problem, though serious, has not completely crippled the
relay machine, though a complete failure is possible at any time, and even
likely over the longer run. Therefore, the system will be shut down at
the end of the day Friday, 16 May, and will be down at least through this
coming weekend - and possibly for several days afterwards. During this
time, I will attempt to install a new disk unit, which requires modifi-
cation of the electronics on the "motherboard" of the machine - cutting
circuit traces, adding jumper wires, and a PLA (programmed logic array)
integrated circuit chip, in order to accomodate the new drive, which has
a much larger capacity than my present drive. I hope that, after re-
formatting, it might be possible to use my present drive simultaneously.
(NativeNet member Floyd Davidson, who has been most helpful during the
past couple of days in thinking through with me the nature of the problem
and how to avoid making it worse, advises that one of the eight disk heads
within the drive may be coming "unstuck" from the arm on which it is
mounted, and is thus beginning to slightly shift its position with respect
to its previous position, so that it is no longer properly positioned over
the "tracks" which have been laid down previously during a "low-level for-
matting" operation. Reformatting may thus cure the problem temporarily,
but it can be expected to recur as the head continues to shift position
over time.)
Most of my attention will, thus, be focussed on preparing for the shutdown,
which means performing a complete backup of the present system, which is
not exactly a pleasant task when the only backup device is a 400K floppy
drive and the capacity of the disk is over 60 megabytes - I can hardly
wait to install the 180 meg drive, and make sure it stays backed up! :-)
If all goes well with this surgery, it should become possible to more
easily host additional special-purpose mailing lists to manage various
NativeNet projects. I will talk about the current and ongoing projects
in a separate article.
Gary
--
Gary S. Trujillo gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us
Somerville, Massachusetts {wjh12,bu.edu,spdcc,ima,cdp}!gnosys!gst