Server Downtime: 2014 Goes Out With a Bang

While many an e-commerce site prepared for an influx of traffic and took proper measures to avoid website and server downtime due to the traffic from last-minute holiday shoppers, it was what happened right before, during, and after the holidays that remind us that no one is immune to downtime – not even some of the biggest players in the World Wide Web.

Server Downtime Affects Christmas Gifts

If you bought someone a subscription to Microsoft's Xbox live or gave PlayStation Network Cards as gifts, or if you were the recipient of such kindness, you soon realized that the gift could not be used on Christmas or much of the days immediately following Christmas due to hacking. While some say the Christmas spirit is alive and well, others know that server downtime is also alive and well thanks to the hacking efforts of groups like Lizard Squad.

Microsoft and Sony Go Down

Lizard Squad is a group of hackers who seem to be less prudent than the famous group, Anonymous, when it comes to hacking attacks. While the motives of Lizard Squad have yet to be revealed, the fact that the group brought down Sony's PlayStation network and Microsoft's gaming network as well prove that no server is safe from the attack of hackers and that it can take hours or days to get a server back up and running once a hacker has launched an attack. While Sony and Microsoft were certainly scrambling to fix the issue, as it was estimated they were losing approximately $40,000 for each hour the servers were down, it took days for the issue to be resolved and many question if it is even resolved now, wondering when the next server outage will occur.

Server Monitoring Is Just as Important as Website Monitoring

This is a prime example that proves that server monitoring is just as important as website monitoring. If your company offers a web-based service that relies upon server uptime, then this should serve as a reminder that you need to be made aware of any server downtime the moment it happens, as many PlayStation and Xbox players will agree, since any amount of downtime is too much in the eyes of the customers who rely on your services.