02
Apr
Singapore Polytechnics’ servers go down at the wrong time
Update: I managed to register for the GEMs during the second registration period, which was 10 hours long. I also wrote about the issue about my thoughts on feedback
There are 30 minutes to register GEMs for this semester, and I spent the entire 30 minutes trying to log in. Here’s what I got 99% of the time within the registration system:
This is not the first time that SP’s computer systems have failed during critical times. At the start of last semester, the wireless internet access around the school campus was very slow, downloading notes and Powerpoint slides took atrociously long (anyone would be pissed to get 5 kB/s thoroughput from the school servers).
Then came the wireless access point upgrades, which closed off all ports except 80, and also caused my laptop to have a hard time just trying to associating with the access point. The entire fiasco took a long time to resolve, and ended with me spending money out of my pocket to sign up for a HSDPA plan from SingTel to tide over the ridiculous situation.
I also had problems connecting to my MySQL server at port 3306 to upload the database needed for my assignment to work. It was only when I finally got my HSDPA modem that I could get this done.
The computer infrastructure in Singapore Polytechnic is abysmal, with erratic problems cropping up all the time. This nightmare might continue tonight, as I attempt to register for the GEMs again during the next open registration window.
on April 2nd, 2008 at 12:35 pm
This is not the first time too, in my batch (2004), it always happened and the GEMS i wanted always turned out crappy. It just plainly sucks.
on April 2nd, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Yeah, I probably should claim the HSDPA subscription from SP!
on April 3rd, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Hmm… this happened to me once. Just once. And for a good half of a half hour too. But I heard of cases where logging in doesn’t work. At all.
Never trust SP’s servers. They need an upgrade.
-MP