RE: Horror stories (was New Mach -- MIDRANGE-L

Did the mops have metal handles?

-----Original Message-----
From: D.BALE@handleman.com [mailto:D.BALE@handleman.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2001 4:10 PM
To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
Subject: Re: Horror stories (was New Mach


>>the computer operators were forever mopping up down

Geez, the first time that happened, I'da been looking for a new job.

Wow.  I thought I've seen a lot.  And that was only the beginning?  Sounded
like the very end to me!  Please, daddy, finish the story...  (the line I
get
most nights)

Dan Bale
IT - AS/400
Handleman Company
248-362-4400  Ext. 4952

-------------------------- Original Message --------------------------
From
MacWheel99@aol.com (Alister Wm Macintyre) (Al Mac)

I have another story like that without quite the same happy ending.

A friend of mine worked at a place that sounded like they needed a mainframe
as they had obviously outgrown what could be done with what they had from a
non-IBM supplier.  Each controller could handle 8 disk controllers & each
disk controllers could handle 8 disk drives & each disk drive had two
connections for data access & they had 3 computers - the live one used to
manage a chain of drug stores that is no longer in business, which is no
surprise to me, the one used for development work, and the backup computer.

Under the laws of states they doing business in, they could not be issuing
prescriptions unless connected to computer data bases of drug interactions &
what other stuff the patients taking.  When the primary computer went down,
which was quite often, they ran around the computer room like crazy
connecting key disk drives to a second computer to take over the load,
rotating which was backup, and stopping development when long time no
repair.

This stuff was in a sub basement with an air conditioner that leaked into
the
false floors, and the computer operators were forever mopping up down there
&
begging management to have the air conditioner plumbing fixed, but were
always told by the pointy haired executives that there was no budget for
this
& to quit bothering them for this when they had previously been told there
was no budget for it.

Well one day there was a short circuit thanks to this.
A lot of equipment died.
The UPS thought external power had gone out & kicked in but failed because
the short circuit was on the computer side of the power supply.
There was a momentary surge through the short circuit that brought a lot of
hard drives up temporarily, then they died again.
The emergency generator thought the same thing.
history repeated.
There was a third deal ... the UPS was backed up like the computers.

This led over the months ahead to a series of hard disk crashes, and
attendant disruptions, because there was no budget for hard disk maintenance
to see which needed work in the aftermath of this.  The ultimate cost to the
corporation was in the millions of dollars, because there was no budget to
fix the air conditioning which could have avoided the whole mess, and it was
kind of foolish to put the computer center in a sub basement in the first
place.  I am accustomed to living places that occasionally have flooding, or
bad weather that drowns basements.

People in the computer room reported a red glow from the floor, comparing it
later to some Star Trek episode.

The building used a security system where you needed key cards to go through
doors, but that was out because it ran off the computer system that was now
down.  Fortunately there was a fire axe accessible to the computer room,
which they used to hack their way OUT of the building & phone call for help.

This is a long story & this is only the beginning of it.
I am laughing too hard from this little memory to tell you any more.

>  Um, does the CEO look anything like the "pointy-haired boss"?  Geez, Al,
you
>  should submit that story to the Dilbert web site.
>
>  Still laughing!
>
>  Dan Bale
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