Facebook blames server tweak for blackout issues

[elsiegee40]

Facebook blames server tweak for blackout issues - BBC News

 

Somebody is getting fired?

 

Facebook has said that a "server configuration change" was to blame for the worst outage in its history.

 

It said it had "triggered a cascading series of issues" for its platforms, including WhatsApp and Instagram.

 

The disruption, which lasted for more than 14 hours, left most of its products inaccessible around the globe.

 

It took the social network giant a full day from when the problems began to offer any explanation. It added that everything was now back to normal.

 

"Yesterday, we made a server configuration change that triggered a cascading series of issues," Facebook said.

 

"As a result, many people had difficulty accessing our apps and services.

 

"We have resolved the issues and our systems have been recovering over the last few hours.

 

"We are very sorry for the inconvenience and we appreciate everyone's patience."

Edited March 14, 2019 by elsiegee40

[bald_pig]

The Register seem to think there's more going on here, hence the vague explanation. It is odd that the supposedly separate services were out for that long, especially when employees have stated that there's an automated rollback system. Were they attempting to tie data from all platforms together perhaps?

[DalekSec]

The Register seem to think there's more going on here, hence the vague explanation. It is odd that the supposedly separate services were out for that long, especially when employees have stated that there's an automated rollback system. Were they attempting to tie data from all platforms together perhaps?

 

They've already confirmed that they want to be able to send messages between all their services, Whatsapp to Instagram, Instagram to Facebook etc. That was my thought when it went down was someone was making changes to connect them up

[Arthur]

Were they attempting to tie data from all platforms together perhaps?

Yep, although the merger won't be complete until the end of this year/early next.

 

www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/technology/facebook-instagram-whatsapp-messenger.html

 

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, plans to integrate the social network’s messaging services — WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger — asserting his control over the company’s sprawling divisions at a time when its business has been battered by scandal.

 

The services will continue to operate as stand-alone apps, but their underlying technical infrastructure will be unified, said four people involved in the effort. That will bring together three of the world’s largest messaging networks, which between them have more than 2.6 billion users, allowing people to communicate across the platforms for the first time.

 

The move has the potential to redefine how billions of people use the apps to connect with one another while strengthening Facebook’s grip on users, raising antitrust, privacy and security questions. It also underscores how Mr. Zuckerberg is imposing his authority over units he once vowed to leave alone.

 

The plan — which is in the early stages, with a goal of completion by the end of this year or early 2020 — requires thousands of Facebook employees to reconfigure how WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger function at their most basic levels, said the people involved in the effort, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter is confidential.

 

Mr. Zuckerberg has also ordered that the apps all incorporate end-to-end encryption, the people said, a major step that protects messages from being viewed by anyone except the participants in a conversation.

 

In a statement, Facebook said it wanted to “build the best messaging experiences we can; and people want messaging to be fast, simple, reliable and private.” It added: “We’re working on making more of our messaging products end-to-end encrypted and considering ways to make it easier to reach friends and family across networks.”

 

By stitching the apps’ infrastructure together, Mr. Zuckerberg hopes to increase Facebook’s utility and keep users highly engaged inside the company’s ecosystem. That could reduce people’s appetite for rival messaging services, like those offered by Apple and Google. If users can interact more frequently with Facebook’s apps, the company might also be able to increase its advertising business or add new revenue-generating services, the people said.