6 ms·

Is the Internet going down? Undersea sub-cables have just broken...

36 points by gibsonf1 18y ago

windsurfer 18y ago
The internet seems fine. I don't kn
- alex_c 18y ago
  Oh come on. That joke was old on Slashdot 10 years ago.
  - deleted 18y ago
    [deleted]
  - Angostura 18y ago
    And you know what? It's still funny. I find it is always worth a peek at this http://www.internettrafficreport.com/main.htm http://www.internettrafficreport.com/main.htm before getting too doom-laden. +++ATH0
    - GHFigs 18y ago
      That can easily backfire. I remember the last time this happened people pointed to an ITR page showing that a router in Iran being inaccessible as evidence that all of Iran was offline and that this could only mean that a US invasion was imminent. Meanwhile, if you actually went to the domain under which that router sat, you'd find The Iranian University of Science & Technology (http://www.iust.ac.ir/ http://www.iust.ac.ir/), up the whole time. I think people will see doom and gloom wherever they want to see it.
  - mynameishere 18y ago
    Proof of the 25:1 ratio of unfunny to funny on HN.
- ObieJazz 18y ago
  Reddit, is that y
- mutoxen 18y ago
  it's not fu
andr 18y ago
Perhaps the next target for terrorism? Are there really only 4 cables that carry all the traffic? I would expect some sort of redundancy.
- windsurfer 18y ago
  4 is pretty redundant... I only have one backup. And on top of that, there are indirect routes if all 4 of those fail. Keep in mind that these cables are very, very expensive.
- bprater 18y ago
  And why are they anywhere in proximity to each other in case something (a ship?) runs into them? If they aren't in proximity ... hmmm. We talk about redundancy all the time. Many of us are experts in redundancy from the software level all the way up to the infrastructure level. It's seriously hard to believe this type of thing can occur, on accident or otherwise.
- KevBurnsJr 18y ago
  Terrorism? It's the internet, not an oil pipeline. Did that word ever hold any meaning at all?
  - DenisM 18y ago
    Didn't you get the memo? The latest terrorist plans inlude clogging your tubes, raping your dog and drinking all your beer. Nothing is safe anymore, nothing.
pavelludiq 18y ago
My internet is really slow today. It took me 15 minutes to download CherryPy!
tlrobinson 18y ago
This is the second time in less than a year (I think?) that multiple backbones in the Middle East have been broken simultaneously...
- petercooper 18y ago
  Bruce Schneier in February 2008 (the first simultaneous outage of the year) - http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/02/fourth_undersea.html http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/02/fourth_underse...
- GHFigs 18y ago
  Your elipsis suggests you find that suspicious, but why? The second time in less than a year sounds suspicious, but the time you are thinking of was in late January. Is it really any more suspicious to happen again 11 months later rather than 12? It's only a cognitive bias that makes "one year" sound like a much longer time than "11 months". Also consider that this would be the same season and thus similar weather conditions and fishing seasons, and that the accepted conclusion about January's event was that particularly bad weather conditions at the time caused a large number of ships in the Mediterranean to drop anchor, the dragging of which is a common cause of cable cuts. That it is multiple backbones and they broke simultaneously sounds suspicious, but these cables are all located quite close together, close enough that it's possible they could be severed by the same event. No coordination or intent is necessary. That it is the Middle East sounds suspicious, but who is the suspect, and what is the motive? The fact is that this is more of an inconvenience than real harm to anybody, and doesn't appear to benefit anybody, either. If it was a US action, why does it primarily inconvenience US allies and economic partners? If it was a terrorist act, why has nobody taken responsibility for it?
  - yters 18y ago
    It's suspicious if the events are getting more frequent. Have these cables broken much before last Jan?
    - GHFigs 18y ago
gaius 18y ago
I am working on this issue right now.
Xichekolas 18y ago
Every time one of those cables has a mishap, we get one of these stories... and every time, I find myself reading the story online... So no. Give it a rest with the doom and gloom already.
IsaacSchlueter 18y ago
Oh noes!! It's not just me!! http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/the+internet http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/the+internet
Tichy 18y ago
http://www.istheinternetdown.com/ http://www.istheinternetdown.com/ seems to be still available...
zandorg 18y ago
I had some problems accessing some webpages, but that was probably due to a Trojan which I got rid of. Then the web was fine.
pmorici 18y ago
How do they "fix" a broken fiber cable deep in the ocean?
- joeyo 18y ago
  Like this: http://www1.alcatel-lucent.com/submarine/how/inputs/repairing/repairing.htm http://www1.alcatel-lucent.com/submarine/how/inputs/repairin...
  - Shamiq 18y ago
    That was a great explanation. One of my all-time favorites, though, is this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tcp_synflood.png http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tcp_synflood.png
ComputerGuru 18y ago
I'm in Jordan, one of the countries serviced by the Sea Me lines (though for some odd reason it's not listed in the reports online), and several hours I called my ISP to complain about < dial-up rates on my 2mbps ADSL line. They told me that the telcom company had informed them of cut lines in the Aqaba region, and that they were re-routing traffic as we spoke. Net speeds are back to normal now, though response times are still a bit off.
jalammar 18y ago
I'm in Saudi Arabia. It's near dial-up on a 4mbps DSL link. Though loading sites seems to have more trouble making connection than downloading on an established link (if you've used a satellite connection, it's like that). Our Sysadmin sent this today: (from http://www.francetelecom.com/en_EN/press/press_releases/cp081219en.html http://www.francetelecom.com/en_EN/press/press_releases/cp08... ) A first appraisal at 7:44 am UTC gave an estimate of the following impact on the voice traffic (in percentage of out of service capacity): - Djibouti: 71% out of service - Egypt: 52% out of service - United Arab Emirates: 68% out of service - India: 82% out of service - Lebanon: 16% out of service - Malaysia: 42% out of service - Maldives: 100% out of service - Pakistan: 51% out of service - Qatar: 73% out of service - Saudi Arabia: 55% out of service - Syria: 36% out of service - Taiwan: 39% out of service - Yemen: 38% out of service - Zambia: 62% out of service

36 points by gibsonf1 18y ago

windsurfer 18y ago

The internet seems fine. I don't kn

alex_c 18y ago
Oh come on. That joke was old on Slashdot 10 years ago.
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]
- Angostura 18y ago
  And you know what? It's still funny. I find it is always worth a peek at this http://www.internettrafficreport.com/main.htm http://www.internettrafficreport.com/main.htm before getting too doom-laden. +++ATH0
  - GHFigs 18y ago
    That can easily backfire. I remember the last time this happened people pointed to an ITR page showing that a router in Iran being inaccessible as evidence that all of Iran was offline and that this could only mean that a US invasion was imminent. Meanwhile, if you actually went to the domain under which that router sat, you'd find The Iranian University of Science & Technology (http://www.iust.ac.ir/ http://www.iust.ac.ir/), up the whole time. I think people will see doom and gloom wherever they want to see it.
- mynameishere 18y ago
  Proof of the 25:1 ratio of unfunny to funny on HN.
ObieJazz 18y ago
Reddit, is that y
mutoxen 18y ago
it's not fu

andr 18y ago

Perhaps the next target for terrorism? Are there really only 4 cables that carry all the traffic? I would expect some sort of redundancy.

windsurfer 18y ago
4 is pretty redundant... I only have one backup. And on top of that, there are indirect routes if all 4 of those fail. Keep in mind that these cables are very, very expensive.
bprater 18y ago
And why are they anywhere in proximity to each other in case something (a ship?) runs into them? If they aren't in proximity ... hmmm. We talk about redundancy all the time. Many of us are experts in redundancy from the software level all the way up to the infrastructure level. It's seriously hard to believe this type of thing can occur, on accident or otherwise.
KevBurnsJr 18y ago
Terrorism? It's the internet, not an oil pipeline. Did that word ever hold any meaning at all?
- DenisM 18y ago
  Didn't you get the memo? The latest terrorist plans inlude clogging your tubes, raping your dog and drinking all your beer. Nothing is safe anymore, nothing.

pavelludiq 18y ago

My internet is really slow today. It took me 15 minutes to download CherryPy!

tlrobinson 18y ago

This is the second time in less than a year (I think?) that multiple backbones in the Middle East have been broken simultaneously...

petercooper 18y ago
Bruce Schneier in February 2008 (the first simultaneous outage of the year) - http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/02/fourth_undersea.html http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/02/fourth_underse...
GHFigs 18y ago
Your elipsis suggests you find that suspicious, but why? The second time in less than a year sounds suspicious, but the time you are thinking of was in late January. Is it really any more suspicious to happen again 11 months later rather than 12? It's only a cognitive bias that makes "one year" sound like a much longer time than "11 months". Also consider that this would be the same season and thus similar weather conditions and fishing seasons, and that the accepted conclusion about January's event was that particularly bad weather conditions at the time caused a large number of ships in the Mediterranean to drop anchor, the dragging of which is a common cause of cable cuts. That it is multiple backbones and they broke simultaneously sounds suspicious, but these cables are all located quite close together, close enough that it's possible they could be severed by the same event. No coordination or intent is necessary. That it is the Middle East sounds suspicious, but who is the suspect, and what is the motive? The fact is that this is more of an inconvenience than real harm to anybody, and doesn't appear to benefit anybody, either. If it was a US action, why does it primarily inconvenience US allies and economic partners? If it was a terrorist act, why has nobody taken responsibility for it?
- yters 18y ago
  It's suspicious if the events are getting more frequent. Have these cables broken much before last Jan?
  - GHFigs 18y ago

gaius 18y ago

I am working on this issue right now.

Xichekolas 18y ago

Every time one of those cables has a mishap, we get one of these stories... and every time, I find myself reading the story online... So no. Give it a rest with the doom and gloom already.

IsaacSchlueter 18y ago

Oh noes!! It's not just me!! http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/the+internet http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/the+internet

Tichy 18y ago

http://www.istheinternetdown.com/ http://www.istheinternetdown.com/ seems to be still available...

zandorg 18y ago

I had some problems accessing some webpages, but that was probably due to a Trojan which I got rid of. Then the web was fine.

pmorici 18y ago

How do they "fix" a broken fiber cable deep in the ocean?

joeyo 18y ago
Like this: http://www1.alcatel-lucent.com/submarine/how/inputs/repairing/repairing.htm http://www1.alcatel-lucent.com/submarine/how/inputs/repairin...
- Shamiq 18y ago
  That was a great explanation. One of my all-time favorites, though, is this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tcp_synflood.png http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tcp_synflood.png

ComputerGuru 18y ago

I'm in Jordan, one of the countries serviced by the Sea Me lines (though for some odd reason it's not listed in the reports online), and several hours I called my ISP to complain about < dial-up rates on my 2mbps ADSL line. They told me that the telcom company had informed them of cut lines in the Aqaba region, and that they were re-routing traffic as we spoke. Net speeds are back to normal now, though response times are still a bit off.

jalammar 18y ago

I'm in Saudi Arabia. It's near dial-up on a 4mbps DSL link. Though loading sites seems to have more trouble making connection than downloading on an established link (if you've used a satellite connection, it's like that). Our Sysadmin sent this today: (from http://www.francetelecom.com/en_EN/press/press_releases/cp081219en.html http://www.francetelecom.com/en_EN/press/press_releases/cp08... ) A first appraisal at 7:44 am UTC gave an estimate of the following impact on the voice traffic (in percentage of out of service capacity): - Djibouti: 71% out of service - Egypt: 52% out of service - United Arab Emirates: 68% out of service - India: 82% out of service - Lebanon: 16% out of service - Malaysia: 42% out of service - Maldives: 100% out of service - Pakistan: 51% out of service - Qatar: 73% out of service - Saudi Arabia: 55% out of service - Syria: 36% out of service - Taiwan: 39% out of service - Yemen: 38% out of service - Zambia: 62% out of service