asterisk users - Feb 2004 - Red Alarms and mysterious disconnects

There have been several posts regarding red alarms and mysterious 
dropped calls. We started having similar problems several days ago, 
after the cleaning people had been in the server room. I carefully 
examined all the hardware and could find nothing superficially wrong. 
However, since physically moving the channel bank would generate 
occasional red alarms, I pulled out the cables and looked at the 
connectors under a dissecting microscope (one of the advantages of 
working in a Biophysics lab is that I have such things handy).  What I 
found was a microscopic nick through the insulation of one of the 
twisted pairs, which had apparently been caused by the cable insulation 
cutter when the cable was made.  The cleaning staff, by inadvertently 
moving the cable, made a hairline crack in the wire and rendered the 
connection unreliable.

Interestingly, the cable had functioned perfectly for many months (as 
the cut was only partially through the wire). It also continued to test 
OK with an ohmmeter, even when the cable was tugged and twisted.  Also, 
the cut was NOT visible with the naked eye. The lesson? Well, the first 
thing I will check from now on is the wiring, especially when mysterious 
things are happening to me that are not happening to everyone else.  The 
bad news is that this kind of thing can be almost impossible to find.  I 
consider myself really lucky.

Stephen R. Besch