[Stuart]

We've had a server at work running slow, and when I logged in to it, I noticed that one process (part of the update mechanism on the Virus Scanner) was using an excessive amount of CPU time. I figured this was slowing the machine.

Now, we have a deliberately bureaucratic method for requesting permission to change anything server side. It's done to ensure we have properly tested and thought through any changes, so I put the request through to reboot the machine. It was approved, and I went home.

Now, to ensure it didn't cause too many problems, I said I'd log in and reboot the machine at midnight (when no one was likely to be using it). So, I did. Waited nervously for several minutes to see if the server came back up. Now, this machine runs for years with very few reboots, so I wasn't entirely sure it would come back up.

It did, and when I logged in again, it was noticeably faster. Unfortunately, network ops weren't. I've come in this morning to find that there have actually been network problems in the building the server is in (I don't normally work in there, so wouldn't know) and it's likely they are the cause. Thankfully we do have someone coming in to to upgrade the network link, which should solve the problem, but that's not until Tuesday.