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One Broken Router Takes Out Half the Internet?

Silent Stephus writes "I work for a smallish hosting provider, and this morning we experienced a networking event with one of our upstreams. What is interesting about this, is it's being caused by a mis-configured router in Europe — and it appears to be affecting a significant portion of the transit providers across the Internet. In other words, a single mis-configured router is apparently able to cause a DOS for a huge chunk of the Net. And people don't believe me when I tell them all this new-fangled technology is held together by duct-tape and baling wire!"

17 of 412 comments (clear)

  1. Few stories back... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    A couple of Nuclear Subs probably cut an underwater cable...

    1. Re:Few stories back... by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 5, Funny

      Nuclear Sub? Is that a new sandwich from Subway?

      "The all new Subway Nuclear Sub: It glows in the dark! Get a lotta green for a little green! Now only $5.99 for a 12-inch! Subway: Eat Fresh!"

  2. I lost a router by Philip+K+Dickhead · · Score: 5, Funny

    And took out THE _WHOLE_ INTERNET!!!!!

    It's true! Ask my wife!

    --
    "Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell
    1. Re:I lost a router by biocute · · Score: 5, Funny

      Which one is true? A lost router took out the whole internet, or you have a wife?

    2. Re:I lost a router by Random+Destruction · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes. I accidentally the whole internet.

      Is that bad?

      --
      :x
  3. Re:Yep, Its true by radish · · Score: 5, Funny

    A rouge machine in the Czech Republic was making bad AS advertisements that caused systems world wide to fail.

    Now I really don't know all that much about large-scale networking so maybe someone could explain this to me. What difference does it make if the router is rouge, versus say, green? or black?

    Thanks for any insight :)

    --

    ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

  4. Re:Yep, Its true by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 5, Funny

    Since folks on Slashdot seem to like car analogies, I'll just mention that Red Cars Go Faster and assume that the same law applies for routers.

  5. Re:Yep, Its true by pyite · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now I really don't know all that much about large-scale networking so maybe someone could explain this to me. What difference does it make if the router is rouge, versus say, green? or black?

    So they announced a route that was, shall we say, malformed. Part of the problem is that due to a Cisco bug (CSCdr54230), some routers choke on it instead of ignoring it. The bug is fixed. It was fixed some time ago. Nonetheless, it's a pretty bad bug, labeled as "1 - catastrophic" by Cisco (in red letters, even). Routers still running affected code versions are having issues.

    And it's only at this point in writing my reply that I realize you were taking advantage of a pun by way of misspelling. I'll leave my reply anyway ;-)

    --

    "Nature doesn't care how smart you are. You can still be wrong." - Richard Feynman

  6. Re:Make sure you are using cat 5 bailing wire. by egcagrac0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Can't. It's Monday. No cheezburgers.

  7. Re:Intelligence Op by agm · · Score: 5, Funny

    They need to replace it with a network that is designed to survive a nuclear attack. Oh wait, hang on....

  8. Am I being too vauge? by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's the problem. You shouldn't use rouge on your routers.

    They think a rouge router is in vouge, but they're out of their leauge. We should haranuge them! A plauge on them! Rip out their tounges so they cannot aruge! Them and their colleauges. Nothing but demagouges and idealouges I say. There can be no dialouge on this matter. Send them to the moruge!

    Are you intriuged by my ideas and want to subscribe to my travelouge?

    --
    Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  9. Re:Ditto the A.C. by besalope · · Score: 5, Funny

    > It must have been the "half the Internet" that I don't use.

    The non-pr0n half.

    Such a place exists? 0.o

  10. Re:Half the internet? Are you serious? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    A router takes out 'half the internet' and I learn this from Slashdot?

    Seriously, what is/was the impact? I work for a large e-commerce provider and haven't seen a thing that would indicate a problem today.

    Well I'm not sure about you.

    Personally, I have BIGGER news! A single router in a remote rural US state managed to take down the ENTIRE INTERNETS!!!!

    Yes, indeed when I noticed my cat had unplugged the power adapter, I replaced it. Then the ENTIRE internet came back! It was amazing how I single-handedly brought back the whole internets. Al Gore would be proud.

  11. Lord of the Token Ring!!! by Genda · · Score: 5, Funny

    Welcome to Sauronet... One Router to Rule them ALL!!!!

  12. Re:Intelligence Op by kenj0418 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't worry, it wasn't a DOS attack. That was just the Internet becoming self-aware.

    OK, on second thought, maybe worrying is in order.

  13. Re:Yep, Its true by andrikos · · Score: 5, Funny

    Rouge is overpowdered!

  14. Re:Intelligence Op by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The last time I experienced a DOS attack it evolved into Windows. Didn't come out of that one unscathed.