back to article Azure TITSUP caused by INFINITE LOOP

The post via Tor (right) and what Aussies saw. The post via Tor (right) and what Aussies saw. © The Register A global balls-up of Redmond's Azure's caused by an infinite loop bug might have crept by those dwelling in the antipodes thanks to a seemingly fat-fingered admin who geo-blocked the region from reading the news. …

  1. glen waverley
    Facepalm

    backronym error?

    TITSUP (Total Inability To Support Usual Service) ...

    Wouldn't that be TITSUS? Or have I detected a failure of Processing?

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Re: backronym error?

      Performance. It's "Performance".

      1. Anonymous Custard
        Joke

        Re: backronym error?

        Nah, it's just that the service (or lack of it) was taking the P...

  2. Tim99 Silver badge
    Headmaster

    Where is the P?

    "The TITSUP (Total Inability To Support Usual Service)" - TITSup what?

    TITSUP - Total Inability To Support Usual Service Processes/Procedures/Practice?

  3. TheWeddingPhotographer

    Let's "Unspin this"

    "As part of a performance update to Azure Storage, an issue was discovered that resulted in reduced capacity across services utilizing Azure Storage, including Virtual Machines, Visual Studio Online, Websites, Search and other Microsoft services," Zander told the Northern Hemisphere.

    "During the roll out we discovered an issue that resulted in storage blob front ends going into an infinite loop, which had gone undetected during fighting (testing).

    "As part of a performance update" = the rest of the comment I am going to give you is utter bullshit

    "An issue was discovered that resulted in reduced capacity across services utilizing Azure Storage" = No shit, the users discovered this faster than the tech's, It's easy to "discover an issue" when your phone-line is being burnt down about it.

    "During the roll out we discovered an issue that resulted in storage blob front ends going into an infinite loop" = Data does not go into an infinite loop, the commands dealing with it can, if they are ill-conceived. i.e. : I detect a change, send me the new file thus I detect a change send me the new file

    "which had gone undetected during fighting (testing)." = It wasn't tested (at all) properly

  4. Jan 0 Silver badge

    Infinite Loop?

    Is this just a subtle, lawyer sidestepping, way of accusing Apple of sabotage?

    1. danbi

      Re: Infinite Loop?

      Someone has to be the culprit.

      Outside of Microsoft, of course.

  5. Bob Vistakin
    Facepalm

    People really run windows as a *server*?

    For real? Well I never. And then they are surprised when this keeps happening all the time?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: People really run windows as a *server*? @Bob Vistakin

      Keep trying, Bob - some day you might be up to Eadon's standards. Reach, Bob, reach!

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
        Trollface

        Re: People really run windows as a *server*?

        The "server version" is actually the only acceptable version.

        If they could just reduce the needless emphasis on the graphical muhser interface.

    3. Gis Bun

      Re: People really run windows as a *server*?

      I guess a Windows server is better of late than the number of Linux issues [think if you can Heartbleed or the recent Bash problems - almost exclusively on *nix systems - and they aren't completely fixed].

      1. eulampios

        @Gis Bun

        you're misinformed:

        Heartbleed affected some applications used on MS Windows as well, GNU/Bash is a cross-platform software too.

        No, the problems are completely fixed. Comparing Microsoft with all the *nix systems would be very unfair and incorrect, since MS ship only a tiny portion of what the latter provides.

        Please learn more about the topic before making an incorrect statement.

      2. Eddy Ito

        Re: People really run windows as a *server*?

        Why are you so worried about fixed problems like Heartbleed and Bash? If you're a Windows guy you should be more worried about MS14-067, 66, 64, 58, 57, 43, 38, 36, 22, 19, 17, 13, 11, 08 and 07? I think those are all of the remote code execution vulnerabilities marked 'Critical' by Microsoft this year including their problems similar with SSL/TLS and drive by webpage exploits. That's more than one per month and three just this month and we've still got December to get through before we start on the MS15-series. NoteOf course I didn't include those like MS14-069 which is just an 'Important' remote code execution vulnerability or any of the privilege escalation or security bypass holes.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    SyntaxError

    EOL while scanning string literal

  7. ElNumbre
    Joke

    One Infinite Loop

    According to Auntie Beeb, Apple were affected, but I didn't realise that this affected the reality distortion field in Cupertino.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: One Infinite Loop

      I'm sure I read somewhere that Apple's iCloud is using Azure.

  8. Mystic Megabyte
    Gimp

    Low lying fog

    tl;dr Azure can't be seen when there's a break in the clouds.

  9. Spasticus Autisticus
    Happy

    5 nines

    How many years does Azure have to run at 100% to get back to 99.999?

    1. cambsukguy

      Re: 5 nines

      Depends how long it was already running at 100% of course but each minute lost means over 69 days of perfect performance are required to meet 99.999%.

      For an outage of hours it is essentially impossible to recover that level (100 minutes is 7000 days, 19 years).

      Do they promise that or is it more like 99.9%?, a little easier to actually do.

      Also, is it a 'total' or individual thing because lots of parts kept working and some people say they never noticed an outage.

      Still, I think 99.999% requires a system never having a system-wide outage, a lot to ask apparently.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: 5 nines

        99.999% = 5 minutes and 15 seconds per year correct ?

        Therefore

        7 Hours outage = 420 minutes correct ?

        Divide 420 minutes by the 5 mins 15 seconds

        ( 420 minutes x 60 seconds = 25,200 seconds divided by 5 mins 15 or 315 seconds )

        25,200 / 315 = 80

        80 YEARS !!

        80 years without outage to get back to an average 99.999% uptime ??

        WTF ?!

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: 5 nines

          "99.999% = 5 minutes and 15 seconds per year correct ?"

          It's only a Marketing 99.999% they rounded it up from 95% !

          1. Captain DaFt

            Re: 5 nines

            "It's only a Marketing 99.999% they rounded it up from 95% !"

            After it was rounded up to 95% from 80% by another division of the marketing dept, who got the 80% by mishearing when one of the IT guys said, "Eh, who knows?"

            (Geez, I'm in a mood today. Time to break for coffee and a cigar!)

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 5 nines

      "How many years does Azure have to run at 100% to get back to 99.999?"

      btw Azure isn't designed to be a five 9s service. 3 or 4 nines depending on service at the most.

      As the SLAs are measured monthly, the answer is until the end of December this year.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    CloudFog

    If the ClOUdFOg was an aircraft, someone sneezing could bring it down...CloudFog Redundancy, hello?

  11. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    "storage blob front ends going into an infinite loop, which had gone undetected during fighting"

    I wonder what game those network guys are playing.

    Sounds like fun, even if it is not very effective.

    1. danbi

      Re: "storage blob front ends going into an infinite loop, which had gone undetected during fighting"

      Microsoft Flight Simulator?

      1. Fatman

        Re: "storage blob front ends going into an infinite loop, which had gone undetected during fighting"

        Microsoft Flight Simulator? which is running on a special version of Windows? ("Windows Aircraft Edition" perhaps)

        I really wished I had book marked the page that had the screen shot of the image that I have in mind. It features a pilot and co-pilot at the controls with a BSoD on the screen, with the caption (paraphrasing it a bit mind you) "Where do you want to crash today?"

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