ARM Linux
Everyone is probably wondering where arm.linux.org.uk has gone. Well, read on. This is our experience of so called “modernization”.
In the UK, BT are transitioning their entire service platform over to new infrastructure. They call the old platform “20CN” for 20th Century Network, and the new platform “21CN” for 21st Century Network.
The way the upgrade works is that BT install the new equipment in the local exchange (or central office if you’re in the US). The ISP and BT then organize migrating the DSL service over to the new platform, which involves BT setting a target date for that to happen. Once everyone has been migrated over, the 20CN DSL support is removed to make room for more new equipment, and BT eventually moving the voice service over to the new equipment.
BT leads you to believe that the migration process takes ten minutes.
They used to have a website which told customers when they planned to switch over and other details, but when I checked it recently, it didn’t respond.
This process has been planned for at least the last two years, and the local exchange had the new 21CN equipment installed at the end of January.
The ISP immediately put in an order with BT to migrating the line and two others on this exchange over to the new 21CN equipment, and BT committed to migrating it over on 27th February, today.
However, at 00:40 GMT today, all connectivity (including DSL modulation) was lost, and some 19 hours later, they are still waiting for progress. However, voice services on the phone line is intact (which basically means that the copper pair back to the exchange is still there). It is almost although someone has pulled the connections to the DSLAM at 00:40 and left it at that.
According to the BT’s Install Report for the 21CN service, the migration is still “open” and “committed”, and so can’t have a fault raised. The ISP has tried to raise a fault report this morning against the 20CN service, but BT has closed this saying that the line is no longer 20CN.
Other people on the local exchange have been migrated within the 10 minute window this morning, so it looks like they’ve basically been forgotten mid-migration.
Having just spoken with the ISP, they are saying that they need to wait until today has past, by which time BT should have failed the migration to 21CN. At that point, they claim they can raise a fault report (which sounds fishy to me – if BT know it’s failed to migrate, why do they need a fault report to fix what is essentially their own brokenness. For more such fun with BT and DSL, see dwmw2′s Advogato diary.)
Download link to the distribution ISO