Council paralysed by glitch in e-mail system
COUNCIL chiefs in the New Forest have launched a major investigation after their e-mail system was paralysed for a week.
IT staff are working with Microsoft in a bid to pinpoint the cause of the glitch, which prevented council officers from sending or receiving e-mails.
The system went down last Tuesday, affecting staff at the council headquarters at Appletree Court, Lyndhurst, and other centres such as Lymington town hall. The initial failure is understood to have been followed by a second and completely unrelated problem.
Experts were unable to restore the e-mail system until yesterday, leaving employees to trawl through a mountain of messages from colleagues and the public.
| "At this stage I can’t give you an explanation as to why the problem has occurred but I’m confident we’ll get to the bottom of it.” | | New Forest District Council chief executive, Dave Yates |
|
Chief executive Dave Yates said: "We're operating a replacement system using two other servers.
"It's only when we start going through all the e-mails that have accumulated in the past few days that we'll know if we have missed any time-related items. We are continuing to work with Microsoft to get to the bottom of the problem and prevent it happening again in the future.
"Other council systems were unaffected."
A council source, speaking before the problem was resolved, said: "There are thousands of people working for the authority and no-one can do any work other than the absolute basic.
"This is costing the taxpayer thousands of pounds in wasted time. People are missing appointments because they can't access diaries and urgent or date-sensitive e-mails, and deadlines have been missed."
The issue was raised at a council meeting on Monday night, when Mr Yates apologised to councillors, colleagues and residents of the district.
He added: "We're working hard to minimise any disruption to the public.
"At this stage I can't give you an explanation as to why the problem has occurred but I'm confident we'll get to the bottom of it."
Council chairman David Scott said: "It's a very complex situation that has never happened before."
5:30am Wednesday 28th February 2007
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CommentPosted by: Rob, New Forest on 6:46am Wed 28 Feb 07
In this day and age I find it hard to believe that an important information system such as email can be down for a week.
Have no one in the council hear of Disaster Recovery. I take it the IT Manager has offered to resign?
In this day and age I find it hard to believe that an important information system such as email can be down for a week.
Have no one in the council hear of Disaster Recovery. I take it the IT Manager has offered to resign?
Posted by: Bill G on 7:33am Wed 28 Feb 07
Ah the phrase "working with Microsoft" gives it all away. Good old Exchange.
Ah the phrase "working with Microsoft" gives it all away. Good old Exchange.
Posted by: Ted, New Forest on 9:24am Wed 28 Feb 07
It sounds like the council are employing idiots to run their IT systems. A week to sort our a communications system? I also find it implausible that they can't find an explanation for what was probably a simple domain recognition problem.
Surely if the staff there are imcompetent and can't resolve it then they should have seeked outside help sooner. There are hundreds of firms in the Yellow Pages or on the internet that can help. Why didn't the council invoke a business continuity plan?
If they were running the IT in my business then I would expect someone to fall on their sword. Will we see job adverts for IT in NFDC in the Echo soon?
It sounds like the council are employing idiots to run their IT systems. A week to sort our a communications system? I also find it implausible that they can't find an explanation for what was probably a simple domain recognition problem.
Surely if the staff there are imcompetent and can't resolve it then they should have seeked outside help sooner. There are hundreds of firms in the Yellow Pages or on the internet that can help. Why didn't the council invoke a business continuity plan?
If they were running the IT in my business then I would expect someone to fall on their sword. Will we see job adverts for IT in NFDC in the Echo soon?
Posted by: John, Southampton on 10:55am Wed 28 Feb 07
Can the IT people at the New Forest come & work for my authority, a week without email - think of all the real work you could done.
Can the IT people at the New Forest come & work for my authority, a week without email - think of all the real work you could done.
Posted by: Graham on 11:03am Wed 28 Feb 07
Missed appointments because they cannot access their diaries? My old fashioned paper one didn't go down for a week.
Missed appointments because they cannot access their diaries? My old fashioned paper one didn't go down for a week.
Posted by: Garry Trestump, Soton on 12:41pm Wed 28 Feb 07
Graham, what if your diary spontaneously combusts?
You'd have problems then!
Graham, what if your diary spontaneously combusts?
You'd have problems then!
Posted by: Rob, Southampton on 12:55pm Wed 28 Feb 07
Linux anyone?
Posted by: rob is an expert on 2:56pm Wed 28 Feb 07
[quote][bold]Rob[/bold] wrote:
In this day and age I find it hard to believe that an important information system such as email can be down for a week.
Have no one in the council hear of Disaster Recovery. I take it the IT Manager has offered to resign?
[/quote] Are you some sort of IT Guru?
Rob wrote:
In this day and age I find it hard to believe that an important information system such as email can be down for a week.
Have no one in the council hear of Disaster Recovery. I take it the IT Manager has offered to resign?
Are you some sort of IT Guru?
Posted by: Ted, New Forest on 3:53pm Wed 28 Feb 07
[quote][bold]rob is an expert[/bold] wrote:
[quote][bold]Rob[/bold] wrote: In this day and age I find it hard to believe that an important information system such as email can be down for a week. Have no one in the council hear of Disaster Recovery. I take it the IT Manager has offered to resign? [/quote] Are you some sort of IT Guru?[/quote] Possibly
rob is an expert wrote:
Rob wrote: In this day and age I find it hard to believe that an important information system such as email can be down for a week. Have no one in the council hear of Disaster Recovery. I take it the IT Manager has offered to resign?
Are you some sort of IT Guru?
Possibly
Posted by: LOS on 4:19pm Wed 28 Feb 07
The worst thing is - It is [bold]STILL[/bold] not working and there is [bold]STILL[/bold] no news of when it might be working. [bold]RUBBISH!!!![/bold]
The worst thing is - It is
STILL not working and there is
STILL no news of when it might be working.
RUBBISH!!!! Posted by: Mrs. De Pointe on 4:42pm Wed 28 Feb 07
Surely this is a good thing ?
It might encourage people to actually talk to each other, write a letter or even make a phonecall.
Surely this is a good thing ?
It might encourage people to actually talk to each other, write a letter or even make a phonecall.
Posted by: Graham on 6:07pm Wed 28 Feb 07
[quote][bold]Garry Trestump[/bold] wrote:
Graham, what if your diary spontaneously combusts? You'd have problems then![/quote] Garry.
How can you have a diary that does ANYTHING spontaneouslly?
Garry Trestump wrote:
Graham, what if your diary spontaneously combusts? You'd have problems then!
Garry.
How can you have a diary that does ANYTHING spontaneouslly?
Posted by: Ernie, anywhere on 11:25pm Wed 28 Feb 07
Just another example of people in IT support positions because of WHO they know rather than WHAT they know..
Looks like a severe lack of skill and ability to me...
Just another example of people in IT support positions because of WHO they know rather than WHAT they know..
Looks like a severe lack of skill and ability to me...
Posted by: Robert on 2:02am Thu 1 Mar 07
Do these people not realise that they don't have to minutely examine EVERY item in their inbox? Tell them, somebody, that they can just delete messages relating to the dimensions of personal body parts, handling money for individuals in Nigeria, ordering cheap medical treatments, investigating webcams from mysteriously friendly ladies or gentlemen....
Do these people not realise that they don't have to minutely examine EVERY item in their inbox? Tell them, somebody, that they can just delete messages relating to the dimensions of personal body parts, handling money for individuals in Nigeria, ordering cheap medical treatments, investigating webcams from mysteriously friendly ladies or gentlemen....
Posted by: Debashis, Kolkata (India) on 7:48am Thu 1 Mar 07
I have a problem with my pc. i have broadband connection wth my pc and i used SKYPE but when i talk to soe one after a while a message will appear "generic host process for win32 services has encountered a problem" what should i do, please suggest me. My OS is MicroSoft Windows Xp with SP2.
I have a problem with my pc. i have broadband connection wth my pc and i used SKYPE but when i talk to soe one after a while a message will appear "generic host process for win32 services has encountered a problem" what should i do, please suggest me. My OS is MicroSoft Windows Xp with SP2.
Posted by: Pendennis on 10:11am Thu 1 Mar 07
"Chief executive Dave Yates said: "We're operating a replacement system using two other servers."
That's true. I saw him fetching them from the restaurant of the Lyndhurst Park Hotel.
"Chief executive Dave Yates said: "We're operating a replacement system using two other servers."
That's true. I saw him fetching them from the restaurant of the Lyndhurst Park Hotel.
Posted by: Ernie, ,,, on 10:13am Thu 1 Mar 07
[quote][bold]Debashis[/bold] wrote:
I have a problem with my pc. i have broadband connection wth my pc and i used SKYPE but when i talk to soe one after a while a message will appear "generic host process for win32 services has encountered a problem" what should i do, please suggest me. My OS is MicroSoft Windows Xp with SP2.[/quote] Look in computer management,(event viewer) there will be an entry showing the error in detail follow the prompts...
Make sure all windows updates are installed, make sure virus protection is up to date finally check skype for an update to the skype program...
Debashis wrote:
I have a problem with my pc. i have broadband connection wth my pc and i used SKYPE but when i talk to soe one after a while a message will appear "generic host process for win32 services has encountered a problem" what should i do, please suggest me. My OS is MicroSoft Windows Xp with SP2.
Look in computer management,(event viewer) there will be an entry showing the error in detail follow the prompts...
Make sure all windows updates are installed, make sure virus protection is up to date finally check skype for an update to the skype program...
Posted by: Alan, Eastleigh on 11:59am Thu 1 Mar 07
[quote][bold]rob is an expert[/bold] wrote:
[quote][bold]Rob[/bold] wrote: In this day and age I find it hard to believe that an important information system such as email can be down for a week. Have no one in the council hear of Disaster Recovery. I take it the IT Manager has offered to resign? [/quote] Are you some sort of IT Guru?[/quote] Let's hope not. Anyone who is so quick to point the finger of blame without knowing the full facts would be a liability to any customer - including NFDC.
rob is an expert wrote:
Rob wrote: In this day and age I find it hard to believe that an important information system such as email can be down for a week. Have no one in the council hear of Disaster Recovery. I take it the IT Manager has offered to resign?
Are you some sort of IT Guru?
Let's hope not. Anyone who is so quick to point the finger of blame without knowing the full facts would be a liability to any customer - including NFDC.
Posted by: Robert on 2:01pm Thu 1 Mar 07
Going cheekily off the subject for a second, I find the Echo's servers go more and more slowly with every week that passes.
Sometimes I almost go to sleep before the new page loads.
I have a feeling that Treestump is behind it all.
Going cheekily off the subject for a second, I find the Echo's servers go more and more slowly with every week that passes.
Sometimes I almost go to sleep before the new page loads.
I have a feeling that Treestump is behind it all.
Posted by: Matt Shields, Sitting down watching "LOST" on 3:59pm Fri 2 Mar 07
Whats E-mail ???
Posted by: Steve Sandeman, Home on 4:06pm Fri 2 Mar 07
- E-mail (electronic mail) is the exchange of computer-stored messages by telecommunication. (Some publications spell it email; we prefer the currently more established spelling of e-mail.) E-mail messages are usually encoded in ASCII text. However, you can also send non-text files, such as graphic images and sound files, as attachments sent in binary streams. E-mail was one of the first uses of the Internet and is still the most popular use. A large percentage of the total traffic over the Internet is e-mail. E-mail can also be exchanged between online service provider users and in networks other than the Internet, both public and private.
E-mail can be distributed to lists of people as well as to individuals. A shared distribution list can be managed by using an e-mail reflector. Some mailing lists allow you to subscribe by sending a request to the mailing list administrator. A mailing list that is administered automatically is called a list server.
E-mail is one of the protocols included with the Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols. A popular protocol for sending e-mail is Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and a popular protocol for receiving it is POP3. Both Netscape and Microsoft include an e-mail utility with their Web browsers.
- E-mail (electronic mail) is the exchange of computer-stored messages by telecommunication. (Some publications spell it email; we prefer the currently more established spelling of e-mail.) E-mail messages are usually encoded in ASCII text. However, you can also send non-text files, such as graphic images and sound files, as attachments sent in binary streams. E-mail was one of the first uses of the Internet and is still the most popular use. A large percentage of the total traffic over the Internet is e-mail. E-mail can also be exchanged between online service provider users and in networks other than the Internet, both public and private.
E-mail can be distributed to lists of people as well as to individuals. A shared distribution list can be managed by using an e-mail reflector. Some mailing lists allow you to subscribe by sending a request to the mailing list administrator. A mailing list that is administered automatically is called a list server.
E-mail is one of the protocols included with the Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols. A popular protocol for sending e-mail is Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and a popular protocol for receiving it is POP3. Both Netscape and Microsoft include an e-mail utility with their Web browsers.
Posted by: Kevin Littlechild, Consuming Large Volumes of Food on 4:07pm Fri 2 Mar 07
I read emails in between snacks!! Most emails sent to me contain free vouchers for food, so email is very important to me. I have sympathy for those who were without email for that length of time, i could loose weight if that happened to me.
I read emails in between snacks!! Most emails sent to me contain free vouchers for food, so email is very important to me. I have sympathy for those who were without email for that length of time, i could loose weight if that happened to me.
Posted by: Keith Simmons, McDonalds on 4:10pm Fri 2 Mar 07
i completly concur with Kevin. I've lost 22 stone !!
i completly concur with Kevin. I've lost 22 stone !!
Posted by: Kevin Littleshild, Burgerking on 4:18pm Fri 2 Mar 07
I can eat 22 stone's worth of burger in a day.
I can eat 22 stone's worth of burger in a day.
Posted by: Robert Watmough, Regent's Park, So'ton on 7:55am Sun 4 Mar 07
I find that trawling through emails and consuming sandwiches or beers go very well together. It seems to give me an appetite. Some years ago my keyboards would break down periodically. The cause? Tons of crumbs....
Keyboards can tolerate remarkable quantities of crumbs. They don't like real ale, though, the heavy, sticky sort. They don't like it on 'em....
(Pace Lance-Corporal Jones)
I find that trawling through emails and consuming sandwiches or beers go very well together. It seems to give me an appetite. Some years ago my keyboards would break down periodically. The cause? Tons of crumbs....
Keyboards can tolerate remarkable quantities of crumbs. They don't like real ale, though, the heavy, sticky sort. They don't like it on 'em....
(Pace Lance-Corporal Jones)
Posted by: Linus Torvald, England on 2:56pm Sun 4 Mar 07
Wonderful - you just couldn't make this stuff up!
And does everyone remember the string of adverts by Microsoft recently when it was trying to kid everyone that world+dog is choosing Windows over Linux because it is so much more reliable..? HA-HA-HA-HA!
PS - The only two people whom I know to have purchased a new PC to get Vista have both found it impossible to send any e-mail to more than 5 e-mail addresses at a time: so maybe MS really is working hard to reduce spam..!
Wonderful - you just couldn't make this stuff up!
And does everyone remember the string of adverts by Microsoft recently when it was trying to kid everyone that world+dog is choosing Windows over Linux because it is so much more reliable..? HA-HA-HA-HA!
PS - The only two people whom I know to have purchased a new PC to get Vista have both found it impossible to send any e-mail to more than 5 e-mail addresses at a time: so maybe MS really is working hard to reduce spam..!
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