Communications & Infastructure Outages

So, overnight, early this AM there seems to have been a massive communications outage across the USA. I've read speculation ranging from solar flare to testing the waters and of course "unknown' reasons. Most of the headlines I've seen are only mentioning AT&T, but the Down Detector site had numerous providers listed with troubles.

Any thoughts on this? I didn't see a thread started so maybe we need to start keeping track? Any of our lurking members who haven't already done so, might want to start considering a serious review of their 'Alternate Communications' plans.

Later in the day, they were saying something about a software update that went wrong.

My guess is "testing the waters" as you put it.

Did this when I was a kid, the way things have been going for corn pop, ya may have to resort to these:

https://firstcomeurope.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/telefoner-768x512.jpg

rick1 wrote:Did this when I was a kid, the way things have been going for corn pop, ya may have to resort to these:    

https://firstcomeurope.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/telefoner-768x512.jpg

I was going to post a picture of a WW1 or WW2 vintage field phone, but I can't find any. I guess everything that happened before 2007 (the year that tech began to turn against us) just doesn't exist any more. (1984 was a plan, not a story )

TRex2 wrote:

rick1 wrote:Did this when I was a kid, the way things have been going for corn pop, ya may have to resort to these:    

https://firstcomeurope.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/telefoner-768x512.jpg

I was going to post a picture of a WW1 or WW2 vintage field phone, but I can't find any. I guess everything that happened before 2007 (the year that tech began to turn against us) just doesn't exist any more. (1984 was a plan, not a story )

Here ya go TRex:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=pictures+of+ww1+and+ww2+military+phones&t=h_&iax=images&ia=images

TRex2 wrote:Later in the day, they were saying something about a software update that went wrong.

My guess is "testing the waters" as you put it.

Tech folks over on ArsTechnica are pretty much agreed that since the problem occurred during the normal upgrade window timeframe that it was a bad routing update (either DNS or BGP being the most likely) and that the rollback process got screwed up.

Any of these large networks can be very delicate when making routing changes which is why I liked having a landline for as long as I could. Now I have a VoIP "landline" hooked up to our local cable company as a backup to our cellphones. At least it's a secondary path to the telephone network even if it does rely on Comcast to be functional.

If both Verizon wireless and Comcast are down at the same time then I just go into isolation mode and listen to WBZ 1030 AM to see if anything is happening nationally that I need to batten down the hatches or just wait out the network problems.

dmwalsh568 wrote:

TRex2 wrote:Later in the day, they were saying something about a software update that went wrong.
My guess is "testing the waters" as you put it.

Tech folks over on ArsTechnica are pretty much agreed that since the problem occurred during the normal upgrade window timeframe that it was a bad routing update (either DNS or BGP being the most likely) and that the rollback process got screwed up.

OK, I will take your word for it.
Whenever something unexplained happens, my mind always goes to the "near worst case" possible idea.

Any of these large networks can be very delicate when making routing changes ...

That is a pretty sad note, considering the system was originally designed to be fail proof.

TRex2 wrote:

dmwalsh568 wrote:

TRex2 wrote:Later in the day, they were saying something about a software update that went wrong.
My guess is "testing the waters" as you put it.

Tech folks over on ArsTechnica are pretty much agreed that since the problem occurred during the normal upgrade window timeframe that it was a bad routing update (either DNS or BGP being the most likely) and that the rollback process got screwed up.

OK, I will take your word for it.
Whenever something unexplained happens, my mind always goes to the "near worst case" possible idea.

Any of these large networks can be very delicate when making routing changes ...

That is a pretty sad note, considering the system was originally designed to be fail proof.

Yeah, physical destruction can be routed around easily enough, assuming not too many nodes are destroyed. But when the routing tables get messed up then messages can't make it to their destination and chaos ensues. So nuclear war redundancy but potentially vulnerable to hacking.

Isn't technology grand? :

dmwalsh568 wrote:

TRex2 wrote:

dmwalsh568 wrote:...
Any of these large networks can be very delicate when making routing changes ...

That is a pretty sad note, considering the system was originally designed to be fail proof.

Yeah, physical destruction can be routed around easily enough, assuming not too many nodes are destroyed. But when the routing tables get messed up then messages can't make it to their destination and chaos ensues. So nuclear war redundancy but potentially vulnerable to hacking.

Isn't technology grand? :

I consider modern technology a near-total fail, for several reasons, and on several levels.

Personally I think we have gone downhill ("improvements" working against the common citizen) since 2007, when the "smart" phone was invented. (I carry a "flip phone" and won't answer a call, unless I recognize the number calling me. I do read texts, but I understand how fishing works.)

TRex2 wrote:

rick1 wrote:Did this when I was a kid, the way things have been going for corn pop, ya may have to resort to these:    

https://firstcomeurope.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/telefoner-768x512.jpg

I was going to post a picture of a WW1 or WW2 vintage field phone, but I can't find any. I guess everything that happened before 2007 (the year that tech began to turn against us) just doesn't exist any more. (1984 was a plan, not a story )

Might be time to start teaching the younger preppers (under 60) how to build and use these:
https://fieldphones.org/episode27/
(or a home made version of them)

Anyone who served in the "Cold War" era will recognize them.
(Of course, we are the "over 60" group.)

Hat Tip to Rick1 for the link that let me find them.