I think the network ‘lockup’ issue is similar to the issues mentioned in this long thread. https://opensprinkler.com/forums/topic/controller-lockups-crashes/ The controller seemed to be running normally: the time was correct, and, once I rebooted it, it was running and logging the one program I had enabled.
However, since ALL of the stations in this one program are remote, and since the issue seems to be with the network on my wired controller, my master controller did not actually communicate with the remote controller. So, although the stations were logged as if they ran, I could see that NO water was actually used, since I have a flow meter set up.
I will report back if the wired controller hangs again.