Rpbert Sheldon: From CBS Marketwatch:MCI WorldCom takes data network offline:
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cbs.marketwatch.com
MCI WorldCom takes data network offline
By Jeffry Bartash, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 2:01 PM ET Aug 14, 1999
NewsWatch
Earnings Surprises
CLINTON, Miss. (CBS.MW) -- MCI WorldCom took its troubled
frame-relay data network offline Saturday in an attempt to fix problems
that have plagued the high-speed service for more than a week.
MCI WorldCom customers, including America Online and other Internet
service providers, experienced disruptions as a result of the shutdown.
"Some customers of some Internet Service Providers will not be able to
connect to their service through their regular local access numbers," MCI
WorldCom said in a statement announcing the move. The company
apologized to its customers for the problems, which began more than a
week ago.
The service disruption will last about 24 hours, the company said.
America Online said as many as 2 million subscribers to its AOL and
CompuServe services could be affected. Most affected customers will
have to dial in on a different access number, said Andrew Weinstein, a
spokesman for the Dulles, Va.-based online service.
Members "might have difficulty using their normal access number,"
Weinsten said.
Software glitch
MCI WorldCom's problems, attributed to software supplied by Lucent
Technologies, have intermittently slowed or cut off access to the Internet,
knocked out some bank ATMs and hampered operations of financial
markets for more than a week.
"Up to this point we still dont have full information" about the cause, said
MCI spokeswoman Linda Laughlin. "Obviously we apologize to our
customers," she said.
The failures have affected as much as 15 percent of MCI WorldCom's
network.
Customers are not happy with the outages.
Chicago Board of Trade Chief Executive Thomas R. Donovan, in a
blistering letter to MCI WorldCom, wrote: "This recurring MCI
WorldCom failure is unacceptable. CBOT members and market users
demand and deserve world-class technology and service, and we are
receiving neither from MCI WorldCom."
The CBOT's global electronic trading network was knocked out from
Thursday, Aug 6 to Tuesday, Aug. 10, then experienced a three-hour
outage on Wednesday and was knocked out again Friday. It reportedly
will remain shut until Sunday night.
"We were told the problems would stop and service would actually get
better," said CBOT spokeswoman Katherine Spring. "People are so
frustrated." She said the exchange would review all its alternatives, hinting
at possible legal action. The board has lost lots of business, she said.
In the meantime, the CBOT is relying on an internal network and dial-up
access outside the board's headquarters so users can get access to
electronic trading. The board, of course, has also had to contend this
week with problems facing its electric utility, Commonwealth Edison. See
related story.
Network disconnected
The disruptions raise questions about the reliability of networks at the
heart of the so-called Information Age, particularly those involving new
types of data switching.
MCI WorldCom (WCOM: news, msgs) is one of the biggest data
traffickers in the world, serving governments, corporations and consumers
in 65 countries. It's the second-largest U.S. long-distance provider,
behind only AT&T (T: news, msgs), and its UUNet subsidiary has 70,000
business customers in Asia, Europe and North America. When MCI
WorldCom has trouble, so do many others.
MCI WorldCom's network was built up in part by acquisitions, which tied
together disparate software, equipment and technologies. While the
carrier is trying to make its network more uniform, it's also been
expanding during the past six months to keep up with rapidly surging
demand. The carrier is apparently have some difficulty handling those two
tasks simultaneously.
MCI WorldCom, however, has simply blamed the problems on software
supplied by Lucent. Lucent spokesman John Callahan said Wednesday
the telecommunications equipment maker was "working very closely" with
MCI WorldCom to fix the software glitch. The problem hasn't arisen
before, and the nature of the problem remains unclear, Callahan said.
When CBS.MarketWatch.com asked to speak with an MCI
WorldCom engineer for a technical description the network problem
Friday, spokeswoman Laughlin said, "All of our technical team is working
on getting customers back up. That's what our focus is on."
MCI WorldCom shares rose 2 9/16 to 78 11/16 Friday.
Frame relay technology
MCI's high-speed data network is partly based
on frame relay transfer. Frame relay is a "packet
switching" technology in which information is
broken into small packets and sent via various
routes to the final destination, where the packets
are reassembled for use by the recipient of the
message.
Frame relay and other packet-switching
standards are used to send vast amounts of
information -- such as audio, video and graphics
-- over high-speed networks. Eventually,
packet-switching networks are expected to
replace century-old circuit-based networks,
which are still used by major carriers such as
AT&T to carry voice phone calls and some data.
As shown by the MCI WorldCom problems,
however, packet-switching networks still have
kinks to be worked out and aren't as reliable as older, though slower,
circuit-based networks. Most companies are reluctant to fully switch to
packet-switched networks until reliability is the same as with older
networks.
MCI WorldCom's Laughlin acknowledged that some big corporate
clients have access to alternative high-speed networks or other backup
capabilities.
Some industry observers say delays are inevitable, likening the expansion
of the Web and the data networks that connect it to the repaving of major
urban roads during rush hour -- there's bound to be some congestion.
What's important, they say, is whether the networks are designed
properly. Those that are should be able to avoid big problems or work
through them quickly. |
