Chew on this mystery: How did tooth marks cause an internet outage in Canada?
- Reference: 1655280134
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/06/15/beaver_internet_outage_canada/
- Source link:
This story comes from Canada, where CTV News Vancouver yesterday [1]reported that Canadian power company BC Hydro investigated the cause of a June 7 outage that "left many residents of north-western British Columbia without internet, landline and cellular service for more than eight hours."
That investigation found tooth marks at the base of a tree that fell across BC Hydro wires. Canadian mobile network operator shares the poles BC Hydro uses, so its optical fibre came down with the electrical wires.
[2]
Internet-watching org NetBlocks, which often comments on politically motivated outages, felt the need to offer its take on this incident.
ℹ️ Confirmed: Network data corroborate reports of a disruption to internet access in parts of British Columbia, [3]#Canada , 7 June.
The incident is attributed to the activity of a single beaver, which gnawed through a tree that then fell on fiber cabling 🦫 [4]https://t.co/YVnuUAJotK [5]pic.twitter.com/EWtBuUEpgC — NetBlocks (@netblocks) [6]June 13, 2022
CTV news points out that the incident was no joke, as it meant electronic payment systems were unavailable, and that meant some motorists were unable to pay for fuel and took a chance that they could reach the next service station that did have connectivity – two hours drive away. Canada is big.
[7]Dam it: Beaver ate our internet, says tiny Canadian town of Tumbler Ridge
[8]Ubuntu reverting to Xorg in Bionic Beaver
[9]New 'Beaver' web server has exactly ONE user outside China
For Reg readers, the outage perhaps serves as a reminder that many perils threaten the physical layer, and that sharing that layer with another provider may be a convenient way to build infrastructure but can also come back to bite you. ®
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[1] https://bc.ctvnews.ca/single-beaver-caused-mass-internet-cell-service-outages-in-northern-b-c-1.5944697
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YqmtwZGaZjdFQE@ZuJ6B@gAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canada?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[4] https://t.co/YVnuUAJotK
[5] https://t.co/EWtBuUEpgC
[6] https://twitter.com/netblocks/status/1536416663385546756?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/26/beaver_ate_my_internet/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2018/01/30/ubuntu_reverting_to_xorg_in_bionic_beaver/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2017/05/29/new_beaver_web_server_has_exactly_one_user_outside_china/
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Not really novel
Lovely spaghetti, how about some meatballs with a nice sauce to go with it?
Re: Not really novel
Are you suggesting the contractor running the auger was touched by his noodley appendage?!?
Must have been a pirate then! ------->
Most notworking issues with networks are caused by Layer 1 issues - not plugged in properly, cable fault, cable break etc.
Sharing layer 1 infra may save some money, but will cause some issues later on, should Mr Murphy decide to take a poke at Layer 1. Yet most telcos will gladly take that risk as having redundant infra will affect their bottom line.
Physically-Redundant Links are Guaranteed Only Between You and Your ISP
You can pay your ISP for physically-redundant links between your building and their central office, but when someone upstream of your ISP aggregates previously-physically-redundant links into one physical, mega-capacity link for cost savings, you won't know they did it until disaster strikes.
Dam that beaver!
Emergency credit?
"[...] took a chance that they could reach the next service station [...]"
How about garage issues an invoice to driver for enough petrol to get to nearest large town on route? Payment guaranteed by some level of government if driver does not pay. Government takes power to recover cost from driver.
Only for emergencies like this. Mitigate what turned out to be a spof.
As OA says Canada is big. It strikes me that things can go wrong with some speed in the middle of nowhere.
Re: Emergency credit?
Or just carry some cash for emergencies.
Re: Emergency credit?
To be fair most petrol stations accomodate non payment in the UK - just take the registration details of the vehicle and name/address of the driver and get paid within a couple of days.
Wynona! we've warned you about this before!
Nice beaver!
Thanks, I just had it stuffed!
Who would have thought the internet would be brought to a halt by a beaver.
Beavering away
It is all in the title!
Not really novel
This isn't really novel. Rodents etc. have long been the cause of outages. Whether power or data networking.
To really mess things up you need a contractor with an auger: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-61757877
PS, the above outage was five days, not a mere 8 hours.