I found a homeless Uplink...

[BrinkJ]

Hey ISPs (in the Helderberg area),

I have an uplink which is somewhat old - still has RouterOS 2.9.38 on it - and the link line was cut-off cleanly. I was able to pull some information off it for identification purposes. I need to know who the ISP was, to possibly get a connection re-established. The link is currently pointing in the direction of the high-site in Gants Centre, but it can be possible that it is pointing past it.

Whose DNS Server is 196.7.0.138?

Cheers,
Johan

 

[Pienats]

whois 196.7.0.138
% This is the AfriNIC Whois server.

% Note: this output has been filtered.
% To receive output for a database update, use the "-B" flag.

% Information related to '196.7.0.128 - 196.7.0.191'

% No abuse contact registered for 196.7.0.128 - 196.7.0.191

inetnum: 196.7.0.128 - 196.7.0.191
netname: MTNBUSINESS-196-7-0-128-26
descr: comment = "Servers net CT"
descr: owner = "UUN004"
country: ZA
admin-c: MBIP-AFRINIC
tech-c: MBIP-AFRINIC
status: ASSIGNED PA
remarks: please send abuse reports to [email protected]
mnt-by: MTNBUSINESS-MNT
source: AFRINIC # Filtered
parent: 196.7.0.0 - 196.7.255.255

role: MTN Business IP Maintainer
address: MTN Business
address: Heron Place
address: c/o Century Boulevard and Heron Crescent
address: Stand no 6465
address: Century City
address: Cape Town
address: South Africa
admin-c: BH99-AFRINIC
tech-c: BH99-AFRINIC
nic-hdl: MBIP-AFRINIC
mnt-by: MTNBUSINESS-MNT
source: AFRINIC # Filtered

 

[BrinkJ]

inetnum: 196.7.0.128 - 196.7.0.191
netname: MTNBUSINESS-196-7-0-128-26
descr: comment = "Servers net CT"
descr: owner = "UUN004"

Thanks! So I'll have to contact MTN to find the owner of the link. Out of curiosity, does MTN even offer a WISP service that utilises Mikrotik equipment on Client Side, or are one of the WISPs in the area piggybacking off the DNS server?

 

[portcullis]

If we dig a little deeper, that IP address is part of a Verizon block.
http://bgp.he.net/ip/196.7.0.138

The high site in Gants Centre was only populated with wireless equipment about a month ago. Prior to that it had only been used as a two way radio repeater site.

It's possible that the link could have pointed just past that tower to the tower at our offices in Sergeant St.

Prior to us taking the building over, the offices were occupied by Helderberg Wireless Solutions - who don't exist anymore.

Chances are they could have had a couple of ADSLs to Verizon (now part of MTN Business) back in the day.

If the board is a 411, it's possible to upgrade it through to 6.34.x with a bit of patience. If it's a 112, 133 or a 532, it's not worth the trouble.