EH.N: EH.NET Is Back Online

[Robert Whaples]

Dear Friends of EH.NET,

As you are probably aware, EH.NET has been suffering serious computer 
problems over the past couple of weeks.

Wake Forest's Information System's representative describes the events 
this way: "A drive malfunction occurred as a result of powering off and 
moving the EH.NET server to another rack in the IS data center. 
Attempts were made to recover and replace the drive, but were 
unsuccessful.  The only option was to procure spare hardware and rebuild 
the server."

The problem arose on Thursday, September 4th but wasn't effectively 
diagnosed until Monday, September 8th.  After WFU's IS department 
secured and configured the necessary hardware, Thomas Whaples (our 
former system operator) began work at the end of last week rebuilding 
the system.

EH.NET was back online late on Monday, September 15th but still faced a 
couple of challenges.  The mail system needed additional configuration 
and apparently a couple of our old nameservers continued to direct 
people to the address of our old machine (affectionately called "the 
beast") rather than our new machine (known as "Tokyo").  Over the past 
few days some people have been able to access the website, while others 
(often in the same city) haven't.  I am told that everyone should be 
directed to the new machine within the next two and a half days.

Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience.  IF YOU SENT ANYTHING 
TO AN EH.NET ADDRESS DURING THIS PERIOD, IT PROBABLY DIDN'T GO THROUGH.

The Economic History Association trustees continue to value EH.NET and 
have made a commitment to its continuation.

Thank you for your patience,

Robert

Robert Whaples
Acting EH.NET Director
Chair, Department of Economics
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC  27109
336-758-4916