Where's ny Internet

Our call center reports indicate a greater percentage of contact is to answer one generalized question: "Why can't I get on the Internet?" Although the percentage inquiry can be generalized in a single question, the answer is not singular. Our clients are exquisitely qualified; thus, our communities of service know the answer to "Who you gonna call?".

Some frustration is incorrectly placed in this summary. More than one personal concept of "Internet" is an e-Mail account. When the only purpose served by the Internet is that marvelous facility then, for such people, a successful ISP authentication is not considered as part of the Internet.

Other frustrations might, like inability to view e-Mails, be better generalized with "Why can't I get to some of the Internet?". The Internet is a great collection of servers, and at any moment some service can be unavailable.

Some reports should be metrics of delivery rate. Streaming multimedia at 56 kilobits per second is unpleasant enough. When throughput drops to 36 kilobits or less because of telephone facility degradation, that could be considered in perspective as missing Internet. Premise facilities are repairable with tools and skill; utility lines might require advocate support./p>

Some services depend on the function of other services. For instance, when Domain Name Service (DNS) is offline, a browser request for http://helen.ls.net will not be satisfied; however, http://12.168.116.27 will work — as long as helen is online. DNS makes surfing easier for humans by mapping names and Internet Protocol (IP) addresses … and the Internet uses addresses more effectively than names.

Other services might interfere with Internet experience. Routers are required to traverse the Internet. The curious reader might get an idea of how essential routers are by entering TRACERT helen.ls.net into a Windows command prompt. Each hop is another server before helen is available. Routers are plagued by down time and by saturation.

Let me add more example of how one service depends on others. The server example (helen) is an aggregating server. Many web sites are disguises of helen. When helen.ls.net is sick, www.ls.net has the same affliction. The mail services of many domains are managed by helen — as mentioned in one LS.Net article. Helen is also a primary DNS; when you seek http://www.ls.net, it is helen providing the address.

When web pages incompletely load, the problem might be an offline database server, or an offline file server, or saturated routers.

Of course, problems often result from local hardware. Modems, telephone lines, NIC (Network Interface Controller) cards, hubs and switches are normal points of failure. Persistent failure to access the Interenet is usually caused by local hardware, and a site visit by a qualified techician can determine all points of hardware failure.

In some cases, failure precipitates from software configuration or hardware failure in a workstation. Depot evaluations confirm or deny only those workstation resident issues.

Ultimately, "Internet" access is an undeniable judgment — by any user's perspective. A qualified technician can make the "Internet" better by repair or being a valuable advocate.