US: Network failure stalled New York Times

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on October 1, 2007 at 12:47 PM

Last Wednesday, a three-hour long network failure nearly jeopardized the production of the print edition of The New York Times.

According to InformationWeek, which saw an internal Times memo, “the backup server management software failed, leaving redundant systems waiting for word to step in and save the network.”

The server broke down during the afternoon and was only restored by 7:30 pm, in time to publish the Thursday morning edition.

As newspapers increasingly rely on networks and digital hardware, they also expose themselves to such breakdowns.

The New York Times memo said the paper was already working on improving the backup systems. "We are already reviewing and revising our contingency plans, and we are undertaking a reconsideration of the infrastructure design."

Source: Information Week