apologies for some brief offline time there...
the mightiest of UPS powers and dual resilient links all bow before the accidental application of tea.
tea has now been removed from the area and everything cleaned and dried off again.
we mourn the loss of a cheap D-link 5-port gig switch (that conveniently ran so well off a USB-to-jack cable).
its duties have been taken on by its identical twin.
£6.99 well spent on having a backup I feel.