The Baycats are lounging during a warm summer evening in their Network Den.
Their bodies spread about the main atrium, tails laid out,
some of their paws perched up in the air.
The cat nap seemed to be going great.
Until...
Cat6A noticed first.
MY BANDWIDTH. MY. BANDWIDTH. Do you understand what ten gigabits feels like when it is just GONE?!
He called the ISP.
This is Baycat6A. My connection is DOWN. I need this escalated. Immediately.
ISP call #1. He will make another.
After the useless phone calls, Cat7 had a theory.
ISP degradation. Upstream packet loss. Failed handshake. I have seventeen points.
Cat6A agreed with it immediately.
Correct. On all seventeen counts. Textbook ISP failure.
ISP call #2.
Neither call made any headway.
The ISP says the connection is operating at full capacity.
Cat8 was blasting the fan toward herself.
It is probably just the heat. These things happen in summer. I am sure it will resolve itself.
Cat5e was already working.
Hmm the heat? I don't think so Eight — it's 68 degrees in here.
I will be over here reading if you need me!
...40 min later
Cat5 arrived forty minutes into the outage.
Is the WiFi down? I was about to stream something.
Cat3 had a follow-up question.
These kids really need the internet these days...5. Oh, what were you going to watch!?
Meanwhile...
Hey 5e — how's the testing looking?
So far so good — eight pins check out; all 4 pairs.
Cat6 looks at the switch on the floor. The LEDs were not blinking.
Three millimeters... that doesn't look right?
He pressed it in.
CLICK
14 ports. All green. One by one.
Fourteen ports. All green.
Hey 5e — I think I found the problem!
✦ Part 2 — The Whodunit ✦
...40 min later
Cat3 and Cat5 had been talking for forty minutes.
So the token ring just... passed the token? Around the whole ring?
Every single device. Orderly. Patient. Nobody yelling about bandwidth.
Before Cat6 could say a word.
Hey 5 — did you trip on the cables again on your way to the litter box?
Baycat5 looks back. Nothing comes out.
Looking for Cat6A's approval, Cat7 jumps in.
Looks like 5 is only connected with 2-pairs today. Are your other pairs crossed 5.
Cat7 uncrosses his arms. This is new.
Well if it wasn't 5 then who the hell is causing terror around here?
Alright — we can assume someone accidentally pulled this plug out.
I mean, the switch is sitting on the ground.
If it wasn't one of us, then we have some real concerns to think about.
Cat6e had been watching Cat8 for the last four minutes.
Cat6A and Cat7 had moved on already to a new topic.
You're a proprietary dead-end nobody certifies for anymore.
Sure, keep talking. I'm fully shielded S/FTP, 600MHz, zero crosstalk. Cat5 can't even hear us right now.
Cat5 was very proud. Cat3 nodded once. Cat5e watched.
I taught him everything he knows. Not everything I know.
Cat6e opened her notebook. Closed it. Opened it again.
The Den went back to work. Cat3 and Cat5 found something to watch.
Coming Next
Episode 02
"Exposed" — BayCAT6 left his cameras on public access.