Tough days at work

It has been a couple of tough days at work recently. As the IT Administrator, it is my responsibility to keep the computers maintained and the network up and running. I troubleshoot issues that arise and document all that I do for the next person who has this job.

The last few days (weeks?) have been particularly difficult. It start with Beetle (our computers are all named after vehicles). The user was have lots of trouble with Outlook hanging and crashing and not sending out email. Turns out - that was nothing compared to the last few days.

Over the last 2 weeks, more and more computers are experiencing the same issues. Outlook fails to connect to the mail server OR goes offline after a send/receive. Either way - it's bad.

I wish I had an answer, but so far, it's been impossible for me to find the answer. After lots of troubleshooting on several machines, I have determined that this is an internal network issue. The printers (which are installed on the domain) are getting 'lost' and that crashes Word and Excel. Outlook continues to fail to connect.

So I have decided that the issue is coming from the network switches we use in the utility room to connect everyone together and back to the VPN/Firewall and out the modem. Some time ago, notably prior to the issues at hand, we added a second, stacked switch for more capacity. Our initial 24 port switch was full and we were still adding computers and offices. The two seemed to be working fine, but then these issues starting showing up. I upgraded the firmware on the switches and watched the logs. Nothing terribly useful and the issues continue.

But today I take a new approach. Let's assume it's the second switch. So I took all the lines off the second switch and disconnected the connecting HDMI cable. I am using a small box switch temporarily. Now it's a waiting game. If the issues disappear, maybe I have found the answer, otherwise - more troubleshooting is on its way.