ALERT:  Macintosh Dynamic Addressing Failure.

Old Macintosh software or inappropriately configured software can result in Macintosh computers failing to configure itself dynamically.  This results in the effected Macs being non-operational on the network if any network addressing changes are made.  See "Subnet Reconfiguration" for pending network changes.

All Macintosh users on all three campuses are potentially effected.

June 16th, 1998

There are only a few considerations to be made to ensure that there be no problem with the pending network conversion.  If these instances are taken care of first, you should not experience any network outage after to the conversion.

The first instance where problem's may occur is having an Operating System that is older than 7.5.5 (the existing standard).  Along with the OS you should also have at least version 1.1.2 Open Transport (existing standard).   Newer versions of either one of these is likewise suitable.  To check on weather the version of your OS is up to date, click on the Apple Menu and "About this Mac".  This will tell you what OS version you currently have.  To find the current version of Open Transport go to the "TCP/IP" control panel and select "Get Info" under the Menu bar to view the version.

If your system is up to date and currently running on the network you will not be affected as long as you reboot after the new configuration has taken effect.  If your system had to be updated here are the steps needed to make sure your machine is properly configured:  In the control panel and choose "TCP/IP".  The "CONNECT VIA:" should be "ETHERNET" and the "CONFIGURATION:" should be set to "USING DHCP SERVER".

As long as all of these issues have been addressed before your building is converted, you should not encounter any problems.

June 18th, 1998

Many Macintosh computer are still experiencing problems utilizing the new address scheme.  Mac's Internet system software, Open Transport, does not reliably adhere to the dynamic addressing ( DHCP ) standards which can result in an incorrect or incomplete Internet address configuration.  Users should try "throwing away" their Internet configuration file and restart the machine.   If connection to the network is still not possible, please contact User Support at extension 5891.