I’m sorry to hear that the TurboTas site had a not-so-nice experience due to lightning today.
A few weeks ago, the UPS failed its battery test, and it was taken out of service pending an engineer’s test. Today, at around 15:00, a massive lightning flash was heard and felt. Although the exact proximity of the lightning strike has not been determined yet, the flash and sound were nearly simultaneous.
Out of the ten hosts, here’s the condition: The primary server managed to stay up, but one 10 Meg Hub port got damaged, and one DSL Hub Port was fried. The main firewall lost three NICs, including its internal one. Two servers also locked up, but fortunately, power cycling resolved the issue.
Thankfully, all the damages were repaired relatively quickly. The diskless firewall, running on an old PC, was back in action with a spare box and plenty of ubiquitous NICs available for replacement.
The damaged hub will be replaced as it was only a 10 meg device, and there are more alternatives available. However, the DSL-based hub presents a tougher challenge as it’s still functioning except for one port. Even though it’s less than 6 months old, the decision was made to keep it since the built-in hub is not critical, and maintaining an active connection is crucial.
Considering the lightning strike incident, the plan is to install either a new UPS or a proper filter soon to safeguard against any potential future strikes.
It’s essential to take precautionary measures to protect the hardware and systems from such unexpected events, especially when dealing with elements like lightning. Installing the UPS or filter will offer added peace of mind and ensure smoother operations in the future.