MTN Business Data Centre downtime chaos

all i can say is #FAIL

what 2nd rate rubbish is this? Arent they meant to be a tier4 data center??

wtf???
 
Question? So basically MTN does NOT have any backup servers? ie. just move the data from one server to another and fix what needs to be fixed with a few seconds of downtime? or am i understanding incorrectly?

What are the uptime on the contracts? 99.9%?
 
One client explains the power problem which occurred, and why backup power systems like UPSs could not be used: “Redundancy has no application in this scenario but rather capacity. Shifting the load from one under-capacitated circuit breaker to another, redundant but still under-powered circuit breaker has no benefit in this scenario. The load needs to be correctly distributed and warnings submitted once certain thresholds are passed. So it's more a question of operating the infrastructure.”
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I would love a translation of this. Anyone up for it?
 
Peder said:
Question? So basically MTN does NOT have any backup servers? ie. just move the data from one server to another and fix what needs to be fixed with a few seconds of downtime? or am i understanding incorrectly?
Click to expand...
Most of the servers would belong to the 'clients' in the datacenter. ie Hetzner and iBurst.

The real question is why was MTN not monitoring their datacenter and doing upgrades to the power systems before they got to the point of breakers tripping (like they did last night)? And why is their power reticulation so badly designed that one failed breaker can take out their whole data center? Have they not hear of dual-feeds?
 
Has anybody noticed that there appears to be a trend at MTN of not answering questions from the press 'in time for publication'? It also appears that they regularly do not comment on news stories about them.
 
I had 8 servers down for over 2 hours because of this. I'm not pleased at all! I'd also like to point out that nothing like this happened when Verizon was operating the data center, and they would definitely had made a better plan w.r.t fixing the breaker!

Time to move data centers ...
 
OK, so we all meet on the corner of the block and proceed to burn down their premises?

Two #$%#@#%$ hours!!! :mad:

Pretty shoddy show I must say. Glad I don't use them for my cellphone provider or anything else.
 
Mudshark said:
Has anybody noticed that there appears to be a trend at MTN of not answering questions from the press 'in time for publication'? It also appears that they regularly do not comment on news stories about them.
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Most likely is that everybody in the world knows about this EXCEPT MTN. I mean they still haven't manage to hear that their own billing system is stuffed even though their CIO admitted their were problems.

Communication within MTN is non-existent. The marketing department doesn't talk to the PR people who don't talk to the call centre which doesn't talk to billing department which doesn't talk the marketing while none of them talk to management.

I think the MTN-Bharti deal is probably the same deal as last year that died, it is just nobody told the people within MTN about it.
 
Communication within MTN is non-existent. The marketing department doesn't talk to the PR people who don't talk to the call centre which doesn't talk to billing department which doesn't talk the marketing while none of them talk to management.
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This is a common problem with most telecommunication companies in SA.

I find it quite ironic that a company which supplies communications to others don't have proper means of communication within its own departments. :D
 
ambo said:
The real question is why was MTN not monitoring their datacenter and doing upgrades to the power systems before they got to the point of breakers tripping (like they did last night)? And why is their power reticulation so badly designed that one failed breaker can take out their whole data center? Have they not hear of dual-feeds?
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The power went out at 23:05. When we reported this to them last night at 23:37, they didn't even know *what* the problem was yet - just that there existed a problem of unknown nature.

About dual feeds: we've been asking them for dual-feeds for ever, but none has been forthcoming. We've also asked them for dual network down-link feeds (like they have in their JSE DC), but none is forthcoming. MTNBusiness's Gallo DC is in a sad state. They need to review their processes and get it back up to spec, else they will see clients departing for greener pastures (with better power).

--deckert
 
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MTN Business and MTN mobile are two seperate companies. The only thing they have in common is the top-top management. When MTN Business bought Verizon they bought the whole show. The people who were looking after the servers when it was Verizon is the same people looking after it now.

Almost all of the people who used to work for Verizon has moved from Gallo Manor to 14th Avenue. The only guys still at Gallo Manor data centre are the guys who physically look after the servers there.
 
Glipsie said:
Time to move data centers ...
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Agreed.

Watch out for the new Teraco DC being constructed close to the airport. I spoke the the Teraco sales rep today after MTN's last fiasco and he said they're looking at going live in December 2009 in Jhb with their new DC.

http://www.teraco.co.za/locations

What's interresting is that their DC is vendor neutral - in other words you get your bandwidth from whoever you like, not just the operator of the DC. It also means you can have multiple uplinks to multiple ISPs.

--deckert
 
This is the second time in less than a year that this so called tier 4 data center has been down. Last time it was a lighting strike, there was also an issue with municipal water, last year with regard to cooling.

we are also a client of MTN Business. We lost our entire production environment today. The links and DC is still not stable, we have intermittent issues, over 2500 users cant work.
 
ITBAAS said:
This is the second time in less than a year that this so called tier 4 data center has been down. Last time it was a lighting strike, there was also an issue with municipal water, last year with regard to cooling.

we are also a client of MTN Business. We lost our entire production environment today. The links and DC is still not stable, we have intermittent issues, over 2500 users cant work.
Click to expand...

Surely MTN Business will partly reimburse you - what sort of SLAs do they have in place?

But even if they do discount your hosting fees this month, no one is going to foot that salary bill for you.
 
I spoke to our MTN point of contact about reimbursmant, and was told there would be none, secondly we are still down. apparently, one of their switches is on the blink.

I think it's time to look for another SP
 
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