Internet Connectivity Restored

Posted on August 12, 2014 by The Baron

Update: Aug. 13, 12:32 p.m. – WolfieNet-Guest Wi-Fi Access Restored

WolfieNet-Guest is now operational after one of Stony Brook’s internet service providers was brought back online.

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Update: Aug. 13, 11:30 a.m. – All Services Restored Except for WolfieNet-Guest

Stony Brook guests are currently unable to connect to the WolfieNet-Guest Wi-Fi network as part of a lingering effect of yesterday’s wide-spread Internet connectivity issues. DoIT’s Data Network Services team is actively working to bring this service back up.

Yesterday, Stony Brook University users may have noticed inconsistencies while browsing certain websites as well as six 2-3 minute outages while DoIT’s networking team worked with SB’s internet service providers (IPS’s) to restore services by switching over to SB’s secondary and tertiary network providers.

The initial problem was caused when a flood of new routes were advertised on the Internet. These new routes brought the number of total routes over 512k which is the routing table limit for many Internet routers, creating problems for most of the major ISP’s in North America. Once Stony Brook realized there were problems with its primary ISP, it switched over to its secondary ISP and when that did not remediate the problem, it then had to turn to its tertiary ISP. Switching to its tertiary ISP resolved most of the problems that end users were experiencing.

The remaining browsing problems people were still experiencing were triggered by the initial routing advertisement which cascaded down to the campus border router bringing its table beyond capacity and causing it to act erratically in routing traffic to the Internet. Once Stony Brook rebooted its hardware at 8:15 p.m. all traffic then began routing as expected.

Here is a further description of the root cause of yesterday’s issues and its impact across the Internet: http://www.zdnet.com/internet-hiccups-today-youre-not-alone-heres-why-7000032566/

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Update: Aug. 12, 8:40 p.m. – All Services Restored

A flood of new networking routes overwhelmed internet service provider (ISP) routers, which caused multiple service disruptions throughout the day on Aug. 12. Stony Brook’s Data Network Services team, working with SB’s internet service providers, have since resolved all issues. All systems (DoIT websites, including the IT System Status page, SOLAR, Blackboard, as well as other Stony Brook sites) should now be fully accessible from both on and off campus.

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Update: Aug. 12, 8:12 p.m. – Network Outage beginning 8:15 p.m.

Due to severe internet traffic issues today that are beyond our control, we are forced to take down our primary router for a period of 10-15 minutes starting at 8:15pm. This means people outside of the Stony Brook campus network will not be able to reach our websites. It also means people inside the Stony Brook network will not be able to access websites off campus. Users on campus should be able to reach most Stony Brook websites.

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Stony Brook University is currently experiencing network-based Internet access issues for both on and off campus users. Users have reported they have inconsistent access to DoIT web sites (including IT System Status), SOLAR, Blackboard, as well as other Stony Brook sites.

We are working closely with our internet service providers to resolve the problem. Status updates will be provided on the IT Status site for those who can access it (http://it.stonybrook.edu/status) and at the SBUDoIT Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/sbudoit).

Cole W. Camplese
Vice President, Information Technology & CIO
Stony Brook University

Important Software Patches Available for iOS and Mac OS X

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Kerrin.Perniciaro@stonybrook.edu

Apple released an important iOS security patch (iOS v7.0.6) in response to a security flaw that could allow an attacker with a privileged network position the ability to capture or modify data in sessions protected by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS). In other words, your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch’s operating system may be vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle attack where an attacker could pose as a trusted website to intercept your communications, acquiring sensitive information such as login credentials and passwords, or injecting harmful malware. Therefore, if you use an iPhone 4 or later, iPod touch (5th generation), or iPad 2 or later, please be sure to update your operating system(s) as soon as possible. To do this, click on Settings > General > Software Update

Apple also issued a similar security patch for its Mac OS X Mavericks operating system (10.9.2).

Please check Software Update on a regular basis for new fixes. Software Update on a Mac is found in your Apple menu (under the Apple icon) in the top left corner of your computer.

For more information about these security updates, please visit:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6147
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht6114

If you have specific questions or feel that your device or computer has been compromised, please contact the Client Support Help Desk at (631) 632-9800 or supportteam@stonybrook.edu.