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Google Disruptions Affect Gmail, YouTube and Other Sites Google Disruptions Affect Gmail, YouTube and Other Sites
(about 3 hours later)
Gmail, YouTube and other services that rely on Google’s technology were disrupted for several hours on Sunday by what the company said were “high levels of network congestion.” Google said on Sunday that “high levels of network congestion” were impairing many sites, such as Gmail, YouTube and others that rely in part on its technology.
It was not clear what specifically was behind the network problems, which Google said it first began investigating around 4 p.m. Eastern time. It wasn’t clear what specifically was behind the problems.
Google did not say how it believes the problems originated. The issues appeared to affect more than a dozen Google services, including its cloud computing technology, which is used by many companies to power their own services and apps. They appeared to affect more than a dozen Google services, including its cloud computing technology, which is used by many companies to power their own services and apps.
Google said the problems were not caused by a cyberattack, as hypothesized by some on social media. As of 7 p.m., Google said the issue was “resolved for all users.” Asked whether the problems were the result of some sort of cyberattack, Google said that was not the case.
The company said in a statement that it would “conduct an internal investigation of this issue and make appropriate improvements to our systems to help prevent or minimize future recurrence.” In a statement Sunday evening, Google indicated that the problems stemmed from network issues, that the company had figured out the “root cause” and that it expected to return to normal service shortly.
Contained largely to the Eastern United States, and to a few hours on a Sunday evening, the disruptions appeared to cause less of a headache than they would have if they had hit on a busier workday.
But the widespread nature of the slowdowns and errors underscored just how ubiquitous Google’s services are, and how, given the rise in cloud computing, such problems can have an outsize impact.
Users reported problems with Snapchat and Discord, a voice and text chat app for gamers. Shopify, an e-commerce platform that powers thousands of stores, also reported being affected.
A Google spokesman could not immediately provide more specifics and said the company was still investigating.A Google spokesman could not immediately provide more specifics and said the company was still investigating.
Cloud computing, in which companies pay to run their online applications in data centers operated by providers like Google, has been hit by problems before. Users reported problems with Snapchat and Discord, a voice and text chat app for gamers. Shopify, which is an e-commerce platform that powers thousands of stores, reported being affected.
“Users may see slow performance or intermittent errors,” Google said in an update on the errors Sunday evening. “Our engineering teams have completed the first phase of their mitigation work and are currently implementing the second phase, after which we expect to return to normal service.”
The worst of the problems lingered for about three hours, and by Sunday evening Google said the issue was “resolved for the vast majority of users.” It expected a “full resolution in the near future,” it said.
The disruptions first surfaced late in the afternoon and seemed to be clustered in the Eastern United States. They did not affect services worldwide.
But for many, the weekend disruption underscored just how ubiquitous Google’s services are today, and how the impact of even minor or temporary errors can cascade across the internet.
In 2017, an Amazon employee entered an incorrect set of commands on a computer and knocked out a set of servers in an Amazon data center. Many were affected by that hiccup, including Slack, Quora and the technology news site The Verge.In 2017, an Amazon employee entered an incorrect set of commands on a computer and knocked out a set of servers in an Amazon data center. Many were affected by that hiccup, including Slack, Quora and the technology news site The Verge.