MCI WorldCom frame outage continuesgreenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread |
pagers out and MCI woes continue...very interesting to watch how these problems compound themselves and morph into serious business continuity issues...=====================================================================
http://www.excite.com/computers_and_internet/tech_news/zdnet/?article= /news/19990816/2311107.inp
MCI WorldCom frame outage continues
By Randy Barrett 08/09/99 01:26:00 PM
As customers report major Internet service disruption, no word on timetable for final fix.
A MCI WorldCom frame relay outage that started last Thursday is still causing major network problems throughout the Internet.
Many MCI WorldCom customers across the country said they still do not have steady frame service a full 100 hours after the outage began.
"It's unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it," said Robert Loughlin, chief technical officer for RMI.Net. "It's affecting our entire network."
Sean Donelan, network architect for Data Research Associates, said about half of his network's frame connections are out.
A message on UUnet's network status page said only: "MCI WorldCom is experiencing Frame-Relay outages across the United States. These outages are affecting our dedicated customer connections. Senior network engineers are currently working to resolve the problem."
No estimated time of repair has been indicated, and MCI WorldCom officials could not be reached for comment.
====================================================================
This must be doing real damage to MCI WorldCom with current customers and prospective new costomers not to mention a degradation of their position as "leaders" in the telecommunications industry.
Mike =====================================================
-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), August 16, 1999
wow...I'm having a really bad day.
can someone also confirm the date of this story? I just noticed that although Excite lists this as "new" the date is 8/9.
Mike
===============================================================
-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), August 16, 1999.
Amazing how Maria can dissect everything under the sun, up to and including satellite systems and Russian nuclear capabilities, but can't tell us what the *&^(*&^(*&^^%$ is happening at her own company, MCI.
-- lisa (lisa@work.now), August 16, 1999.
lisa...maybe she has trouble seeing. This thread should help her : )I'm gonna go crawl under a rock.
Mike
===============================================================
-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), August 16, 1999.
Here is the latest Reuters story on MCI:Ray
-- Ray (ray@tottacc.com), August 16, 1999.
DIDN,T ED YOURDON sort of predict wierd stuff-starting in july-august? are the domino,s falling??--or just=co-incidence??
-- GEE-WHIZ. (dogs@zianet.com), August 16, 1999.
Here's what a search of Reuters just turned up:[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only]
MCI WorldCom Moves To Soothe Rife
05:11 p.m Aug 16, 1999 Eastern
By Ilaina Jonas
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The head of MCI WorldCom Inc. Monday moved to make amends with the thousands of customers left in cyberdarkness by the service disruption along its high-speed data network and to placate investor concerns that the problem -- now mostly fixed -- could cut its profit.
Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers said customers whose systems were left in the lurch during the 10-day outage would get a service credit of two cost-free days for each day they lost.
Ebbers also told reporters during a news conference that the disruption would have little effect on third quarter revenue and would not hurt its profit.
``We will see a very, very slight down tick in revenue for the amount of time we were not offering the network,'' Ebbers said. ``The company is still very comfortable with the consensus earnings expectation for the quarter and for the year.''
Analysts expect it to earn 54 cents per share in the third quarter and $1.97 for the year, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. Its shares shed 1/4 to close at 78-7/16 on Nasdaq, where it was Monday's eighth most active issue.
About 3,000 customers use the frame-relay network to send high-speed information from their computers over dedicated private networks they lease from the No. 2 U.S. long-distance phone company. Their monthly bills range from $1,000 to ``in the six-figures,'' Ebbers said.
The company did not know if all the customers on that particular network, one of four it operates, experienced problems, he said.
MCI WorldCom detected problems with the network on Aug. 5 during routine monitoring work, said Ron Beaumont, president of network services. About four weeks ago, the company installed new software, made by Lucent Technologies Inc. to allow the network to support additional customers and services.
On Aug. 13, MCI WorldCom shut down the network, removed the upgraded software and reinstalled the old software, also made by Lucent. The process, begun Saturday, was completed for domestic customers Sunday afternoon, Beaumont said.
As of Monday, the company was working out minor problems with some customers. Less than one-tenth of a percent of customers still have problems, Beaumont said.
Customer anger continues, however. For some, two days of free service for each they lost may not be enough.
``We're reviewing our legal recourses as well our relationship with them as our provider,'' said Katherine Spring, spokeswoman for the Chicago Board of Trade. ``We're extremely frustrated and hugely inconvenienced.''
The CBOT, where options and futures are traded on anything from rice to Treasury bonds, said its electronic trading system, which runs on the network, was down 60 percent over the past seven business days and did not return until Sunday evening. About 5 percent of its volume comes from electronic trading, and the outage cost it 200,000 contracts, she said.
Spring said the CBOT had told MCI WorldCom it was having network slowdowns before the network failed Aug. 5.
``The CBOT has been proactive in dealing with the MCI WorldCom network problems, beginning with my meeting with top MCI WorldCom executives two days before the first outage occurred and subsequent discussions with CEO Bernard Ebbers,'' CBOT Chief Executive Thomas Donovan wrote members in a letter dated Monday.
``There may in certain extenuating circumstances for a customer,'' Ebbers said. ``We'll handle that on a case-by-case basis.''
Meanwhile, engineers from Lucent and its research and development arm, Bell Labs, have not yet identified the problem's source, Lucent spokesman Bill Price said.
Ebbers estimated the old network software can support the system for a least another 18 months.
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), August 16, 1999.
All Better now, lets play kissy face!!__________________________________________
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19990816/bs/telecoms_mciworldcom_9.htm l
Monday August 16 5:11 PM ET
MCI WorldCom Moves To Soothe Rife
By Ilaina Jonas
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The head of MCI WorldCom Inc. (Nasdaq:WCOM - news) Monday moved to make amends with the thousands of customers left in cyberdarkness by the service disruption along its high-speed data network and to placate investor concerns that the problem -- now mostly fixed -- could cut its profit.
Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers said customers whose systems were left in the lurch during the 10-day outage would get a service credit of two cost-free days for each day they lost.
Ebbers also told reporters during a news conference that the disruption would have little effect on third quarter revenue and would not hurt its profit.
``We will see a very, very slight down tick in revenue for the amount of time we were not offering the network,'' Ebbers said. ``The company is still very comfortable with the consensus earnings expectation for the quarter and for the year.''
Analysts expect it to earn 54 cents per share in the third quarter and $1.97 for the year, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. Its shares shed 1/4 to close at 78-7/16 on Nasdaq, where it was Monday's eighth most active issue.
About 3,000 customers use the frame-relay network to send high-speed information from their computers over dedicated private networks they lease from the No. 2 U.S. long-distance phone company. Their monthly bills range from $1,000 to ``in the six-figures,'' Ebbers said.
The company did not know if all the customers on that particular network, one of four it operates, experienced problems, he said.
MCI WorldCom detected problems with the network on Aug. 5 during routine monitoring work, said Ron Beaumont, president of network services. About four weeks ago, the company installed new software, made by Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LU - news) to allow the network to support additional customers and services.
On Aug. 13, MCI WorldCom shut down the network, removed the upgraded software and reinstalled the old software, also made by Lucent. The process, begun Saturday, was completed for domestic customers Sunday afternoon, Beaumont said.
As of Monday, the company was working out minor problems with some customers. Less than one-tenth of a percent of customers still have problems, Beaumont said.
Customer anger continues, however. For some, two days of free service for each they lost may not be enough.
``We're reviewing our legal recourses as well our relationship with them as our provider,'' said Katherine Spring, spokeswoman for the Chicago Board of Trade. ``We're extremely frustrated and hugely inconvenienced.''
The CBOT, where options and futures are traded on anything from rice to Treasury bonds, said its electronic trading system, which runs on the network, was down 60 percent over the past seven business days and did not return until Sunday evening. About 5 percent of its volume comes from electronic trading, and the outage cost it 200,000 contracts, she said.
Spring said the CBOT had told MCI WorldCom it was having network slowdowns before the network failed Aug. 5.
``The CBOT has been proactive in dealing with the MCI WorldCom network problems, beginning with my meeting with top MCI WorldCom executives two days before the first outage occurred and subsequent discussions with CEO Bernard Ebbers,'' CBOT Chief Executive Thomas Donovan wrote members in a letter dated Monday.
``There may in certain extenuating circumstances for a customer,'' Ebbers said. ``We'll handle that on a case-by-case basis.''
Meanwhile, engineers from Lucent and its research and development arm, Bell Labs, have not yet identified the problem's source, Lucent spokesman Bill Price said.
Ebbers estimated the old network software can support the system for a least another 18 months.
-- Its (All@Conspiracy.com), August 16, 1999.
Wow. Reading this thread is like opening up a book in a bookstore and having it be one of those Big Text versions. Just kinda jumps up at ya... 8-}]
-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), August 16, 1999.
Looks like all of us tried to post the same article at the same time!
-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), August 16, 1999.
By the bye, anyone know what a "rife" is, and how one goes about soothing it? Is it a matter of just speaking softly and maybe scratching behind its ears, or are tranquilizer darts required?
-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), August 16, 1999.
lol Mac...yes...uh...I meant to do it...it's kind of a, uh, pulbic courtesydarn html...I'm still clueless...all it took was one typo...hi instad of h1...dagnabbit.
Ok...one little glitch and see the chaos? Humm? Just one error and boom!!!
Hey, posting your answer is sure a lot easier to read, huh?
Mike
===============================================================
-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), August 16, 1999.
pulbic?ok...I'm done for today. Exit stage left, trying to soothe my own "rife"...mumbling...maybe I should get a "rife" huh?
Mike
=================================================================
-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), August 16, 1999.
Here is the latest MCI AP story:Ray
-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), August 16, 1999.
Geeeeeeeeeze Mike..............Oh PRo, were are you pro, PRo???????????????????
-- FLAME AWAY (BLehman202@aol.com), August 16, 1999.
Sir, I will ask you not to make references to "pulbic courtesy" in polite company. There are any number of people of taste and good family who frequent the Forum. Egad, man, have you no breeding?
-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), August 16, 1999.
Maybe I don't have to get glasses yet Mike!Sort'a wondering if the MCI problems were what caused my ISP to send out e-mail messages last Wed. 08/11/1999 telling us to change our access numbers.
One small "glitch," one great leap for mankind. Or not.
Diane
-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), August 16, 1999.
[peeking out from under rock]roflmao...Mac...can I borrow your email handle?
Mike
==================================================================
-- Michael Taylor (peeking@hiding.com), August 16, 1999.
Sorry, bro, no can do. I was taught early on that true success requires establishing and defending the "brand". I have to think of my image. I'm confident that I have proven repeatedly that I can miss closing tags, fat-finger typos, and completely derail entire threads with the best of 'em.You might significantly improve the quality of "my" postings, y'see. I have my reputation to consider. 8-}]
-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), August 16, 1999.
FYI, via email, my service provider says "All Better Now!"
Subject: Emergency Network Maintenance - Completed
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 19:48:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: feedback@bellsouth.net
Dear BellSouth.Net Customers:
We would like to take this opportunity to inform you that the emergency maintenance that was being performed by MCIWorldcom has been completed. All issues related to this outage have been resolved. Customers should be able to connect, retrieve email, and read newsgroups as well as surf without problems.
We would like to personally thank you for bearing with us during this time and once again express our appreciation for your patience.
BellSouth.net Consumer Communications & Relations feedback@bellsouth.net
-- Spindoc' (spindoc_99_2000@yahoo.com), August 16, 1999.
I wonder how many hundreds of programmers and technical expects Lucent has looking into this, but they still don't know what caused the problem after several days.
-- Dave (dannco@hotmail.com), August 16, 1999.