8 Comments

Skype Sez: Windoez Caused Outage

August 20, 2007 by in Geeky with 8 Comments

cat.JPG

You may have heard about the recent Skype outage and no, apparently you shouldn’t blame the algorithm: blame Windows users.

    The disruption was triggered by a massive restart of our users’ computers across the globe within a very short timeframe as they re-booted after receiving a routine set of patches through Windows Update.

    The high number of restarts affected Skype’s network resources. This caused a flood of log-in requests, which, combined with the lack of peer-to-peer network resources, prompted a chain reaction that had a critical impact.

So there you have it. Windows users are more powerful than you, so fear us. And yes, I made this LOLcat just for this post.

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  • Hitsuji

    All lies i tells ya…

    The default actions for windows update is to download but not install the updates until windows is requested to shut down. So in reality it is not possible for this to be the underlying cause for the problem, more than likely its just a coincidence. If it was the cause of clients loosing connection then all reconnecting at the same time, then i would immediate presume that the initial causer was a router going on the blink, or a specific network going on the blink that is crucially close to skypes server system

  • http://phantomdata.com phantomdata

    What Hitsuji says is not true. Default policy is to download, install and REBOOT the fucking machine – even on Windows Server 2003. I always get pissed at myself for forgetting to disable this.

    Additionally, Skype directly says that it was Windows update that exposed a bug in their networking algorithms. So, while Windows Update trigged THE BUG… it didn’t directly cause the OUTAGE.

    (btw, the comment editing UI on uneasysilence rocks my socks)

  • chad

    something smells fishy… I’m not sure if I buy this excuse.

  • anon

    I was working on my computer doing some video editing, and then this magic update came and rebooted my computer, luckily i have auto save every 3 min.

    I have auto install turned off, and it did it anyway, plus an automatic reboot, no choice.

  • MY ANUS

    why do yu need for updatez?

  • http://www.grumpytico.com sabor

    i cannot get enough LOLcats….you have created a masterpiece :)

  • chad

    If I rebootz kan I has Cheezburger?

  • http://scopetech.net Evan

    SABOR – Thanks!

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