Once connected again, the update process began for all my workstations and servers to move to 8.10.
A few glitches along the line, but in overall a smooth transition from 8.04 to 8.10:
Main lesson: read the upgrade instructions [2] and follow the recommendations prior to starting your upgrade process!
Links:
[1] http://pulse.veltsos.com/category/it/software/software/os/linux
[2] http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/upgrading