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| Why did 'power surge' hit BA computers? | Why did 'power surge' hit BA computers? |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| It is one of the worst IT meltdowns to hit British Airways in recent memory - thousands of passengers had flights disrupted or cancelled at the weekend and there were chaotic scenes at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports. | It is one of the worst IT meltdowns to hit British Airways in recent memory - thousands of passengers had flights disrupted or cancelled at the weekend and there were chaotic scenes at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports. |
| Some travellers are still waiting to be reunited with their luggage, five days later. | Some travellers are still waiting to be reunited with their luggage, five days later. |
| But what really went wrong? No-one seems to have a firm answer. | But what really went wrong? No-one seems to have a firm answer. |
| BA has apologised and blamed a "power surge" affecting IT equipment - but many engineers have reacted sceptically to that, pointing out that major firms are meant to have redundancy plans in place to avoid disruption when primary systems fail. | BA has apologised and blamed a "power surge" affecting IT equipment - but many engineers have reacted sceptically to that, pointing out that major firms are meant to have redundancy plans in place to avoid disruption when primary systems fail. |
| What has BA said? | What has BA said? |
| In a slightly more detailed statement on Wednesday, the airline said a loss of power to a UK data centre was "compounded" by a power surge that took out its IT systems. | In a slightly more detailed statement on Wednesday, the airline said a loss of power to a UK data centre was "compounded" by a power surge that took out its IT systems. |
| The firm claimed that this did not constitute an IT failure, but rather "it was an electrical power supply which was interrupted". | The firm claimed that this did not constitute an IT failure, but rather "it was an electrical power supply which was interrupted". |
| An investigation is being carried out and it has been reported that BA's board is set to demand an external inquiry into what happened. | An investigation is being carried out and it has been reported that BA's board is set to demand an external inquiry into what happened. |
| How has the explanation been received? | How has the explanation been received? |
| BA's statement has failed to satisfy everyone. | BA's statement has failed to satisfy everyone. |
| Several IT workers expressed doubt and the explanation was labelled "too simplistic" by independent defence and aerospace analyst Howard Wheeldon. | Several IT workers expressed doubt and the explanation was labelled "too simplistic" by independent defence and aerospace analyst Howard Wheeldon. |
| One of the chief questions that remains unanswered is why a back-up or secondary system did not come into play, even if a power surge affected the main one? | One of the chief questions that remains unanswered is why a back-up or secondary system did not come into play, even if a power surge affected the main one? |
| Could a power surge be the culprit? | Could a power surge be the culprit? |
| According to one informed observer, yes - especially under specific circumstances. | According to one informed observer, yes - especially under specific circumstances. |
| Data centres generally rely on an uninterruptible power supply, or UPS, which is designed to keep providing power to a data centre even if the mains supply fails. | Data centres generally rely on an uninterruptible power supply, or UPS, which is designed to keep providing power to a data centre even if the mains supply fails. |
| This secondary source of power could be based on batteries or a generator running on fuel. | This secondary source of power could be based on batteries or a generator running on fuel. |
| As independent IT consultant Marcel van den Berg pointed out, a power surge might have occurred after this secondary power supply failed. | As independent IT consultant Marcel van den Berg pointed out, a power surge might have occurred after this secondary power supply failed. |
| Since the UPS might also be designed to protect systems from power surges, without it servers coudl have been left vulnerable. | |
| The Daily Mail has reported that the UPS system at Boadicea House, the home of one of BA's data centres near Heathrow, failed on Saturday - though the BBC was unable to confirm this. | The Daily Mail has reported that the UPS system at Boadicea House, the home of one of BA's data centres near Heathrow, failed on Saturday - though the BBC was unable to confirm this. |
| Where did the surge come from? | Where did the surge come from? |
| Practically any piece of equipment could cause a power surge, perhaps due to a fault, for example. | Practically any piece of equipment could cause a power surge, perhaps due to a fault, for example. |
| But to stick with the UPS line of inquiry, one provider - UPS Systems - notes on its website: "Power surges could be caused by the shut-down of a generator or other industrial motor on the local supply circuit. | But to stick with the UPS line of inquiry, one provider - UPS Systems - notes on its website: "Power surges could be caused by the shut-down of a generator or other industrial motor on the local supply circuit. |
| "Will cause systems to crash, can cause components to wear and degrade over extended periods." | "Will cause systems to crash, can cause components to wear and degrade over extended periods." |
| What about disaster recovery? | What about disaster recovery? |
| Mr van den Berg told the BBC that while a power surge was a valid explanation in principle, it was still unclear why such an event had the catastrophic impact that it did. | Mr van den Berg told the BBC that while a power surge was a valid explanation in principle, it was still unclear why such an event had the catastrophic impact that it did. |
| "This shouldn't have happened because there should be enough resilience to allow another UPS to take over or a secondary data centre," he said. | "This shouldn't have happened because there should be enough resilience to allow another UPS to take over or a secondary data centre," he said. |
| Many large businesses have "disaster recovery" plans in place - often these involve the capability to quickly switch operations to a back-up data centre in a completely different location. | Many large businesses have "disaster recovery" plans in place - often these involve the capability to quickly switch operations to a back-up data centre in a completely different location. |
| BA has not revealed whether, for example, it was unable to activate such a facility. | BA has not revealed whether, for example, it was unable to activate such a facility. |
| Is outsourcing to blame? | Is outsourcing to blame? |
| BA recently outsourced some of its IT contracts to India's Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and some have questioned whether TCS is to blame. | BA recently outsourced some of its IT contracts to India's Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and some have questioned whether TCS is to blame. |
| Sunbird and AIT Partnership Group, two firms that have in the past provided software and services to BA's data centres, released a statement on Wednesday saying they "had no involvement" with the recent incident. | Sunbird and AIT Partnership Group, two firms that have in the past provided software and services to BA's data centres, released a statement on Wednesday saying they "had no involvement" with the recent incident. |
| British Airways and TCS both denied that outsourcing jobs had anything to do with the power issues. | British Airways and TCS both denied that outsourcing jobs had anything to do with the power issues. |