AWS apparently went down again - everything we know so far

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  • PCHF IT Feeds
    PCHF Bot
    • Jan 2015
    • 54578

    #1

    AWS apparently went down again - everything we know so far

    Amazon’s cloud computing arm, AWS, apparently suffered yet another outage. This is the fourth time in recent months its services have gone down.

    According to data from outage tracking site Downdetector, the problems took hold at around 15:00 GMT / 10:00 ET.

    Possible issues with the web services platform were first reported on Downdetector, which only raises the alarm if, according to the site, “the number of problem reports is significantly higher than the typical volume for that time of day.”

    Throughout the day, though, no issues were reported on Amazon’s official AWS status page. While Amazon wouldn’t offer TechRadar only details on the possible outage, it did tell us that reports of the service being down are inaccurate because its own status systems have not reported any issues.

    Services including Slack, GitHub and Peloton also went down today, but it’s currently unclear whether any of this is related.

    So far, the number of DownDetector reports is sitting at around 500, which is relatively low. For a major outage affecting multiple regions, for example, we’d expect a few thousand reports at least.

    [IMG alt=“DownDetector”]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bq...iphnCyRq8b.jpg

    (Image credit: DownDetector)

    It’s worth noting that Slack is also currently suffering an outage and it’s not impossible the two incidents are connected. When AWS went down late last year, it took a whole host of sites and services with it, Slack included.

    Last time round, the AWS outage was caused by a loss of power in a single data center facility in the US, which caused a host of knock-on problems.

    Amazon was quick to restore power to the affected facility, but faced network connectivity challenges that delayed the recovery.

    This time, it appears the outage is on a smaller scale. There’s still nothing on the AWS status page and very little chatter on Twitter, including from official Amazon accounts.

    Since there’s nothing on the website or Twitter feeds, we’ve sent a message to our contacts at AWS asking for further clarification. This may be a small outage, but it’s clear something is going on.

    We’re still in the dark as to precisely what’s going on, but it’s worth noting that DownDetector is showing a drop-off in the number of reports over the last few minutes.

    Does this suggest someone has pulled a few levers and tweaked a few dials to set the issues straight?

    [IMG alt=“DownDetector”]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Kr...r6yHBc64z6.jpg

    (Image credit: DownDetector)

    Looks like some people are using the AWS and Slack outages as the perfect excuse for a quick powernap…
    Slack DownAWS DownMe sleepFebruary 22, 2022

    See more

    Although the official status page still suggests AWS services are operating as normal, the outage appears to be causing problems across the US, with issues concentrated on the east coast in New York and Boston and in Denver, Colorado.

    There are also whispers that the ongoing AWS outage may be causing problems with software development platform GitHub and services from exercise platform Peloton, although this is yet to be confirmed.

    [IMG alt=“Peloton Tread review”]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8K...Y2DCV4mwBn.jpg

    (Image credit: Peloton)

    It looks like the AWS issues are actually getting worse, not better. The number of reports registered on DownDetector has spiked again.

    Meanwhile, our AWS contact has promised to investigate and come back to us with more information soon.

    In the absence of any concrete information from AWS, we want to hear from you. Pop us a message over Twitter, letting us know where you’re located and the precise services affected.
    Are you suffering from the latest AWS outage? We want to hear where you’re located and which services are down right now.February 22, 2022

    See more

    The latest updates from DownDetector don’t paint a pretty picture, with the number of reports now climbing to almost 800. Perhaps we were wrong to suggest this is just a small-scale outage.

    We’re still awaiting any kind of communication from AWS, though, which is very unusual. Amazon is usually quick to update the status page. What is going on?

    [IMG alt=“DownDetector”]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9r...MuTAbpiofb.jpg

    (Image credit: DownDetector)

    Now two hours since the outage began, AWS is still yet to make a statement about the issue or update its status page, pictured below.

    [IMG alt=“AWS”]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fo...jsYrERpcFh.jpg

    (Image credit: AWS)

    The plot thickens…In an email exchange with TechRadar Pro, Amazon has denied there are any issues with its service whatsoever, despite the surge in reports on DownDetector and the chatter on social media.

    We have asked the company for further clarification, given the conflicting information.

    The number of reports on DownDetector is now down significantly on its peak, currently sitting around the 300 mark. There’s clearly something still going on, though.

    [IMG alt=“DownDetector”]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Rp...YMiYDNTYdT.jpg

    (Image credit: DownDetector)

    [IMG alt=“AWS Status Page from Amazon”]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NJ...5nvJmNGXXK.jpg

    (Image credit: Future)

    A slow recovery

    AWS operations appear to be returning to normal, though Down Detector doesn’t indicate that we’re out of the woods yet.

    Amazon’s AWS status page is, however, telling a very different story, offering no outage reports throughout the globe. Instead, it’s all green checks and “Service is operating normally.”

    No comment, yet, from Amazon on what caused the very real service outage.

    Who to believe

    Amazon’s status reports have remained clean as a whistle throughout Tuesday, but Downdetector still has an above average number of reports for the service, which would indicate there were some issues, somewhere.

    Right now, AWS chatter on Twitter is at, essentially, zero, so whatever outages existed, they appear to have been resolved.

    Continue reading…[/IMG]
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