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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Problems began at around 1pm, rapidly reaching a crescendo of wailing from users unable to while away their day on chat channels and forced instead to get on with some actual work.
Microsoft has remained tight-lipped on the matter, with the status mouthpiece for Microsoft 365 only admitting that there was a problem. And that was it.
We're investigating an issue where users may be unable to access Microsoft Teams. We're reviewing systems data to determine the cause of the issue. More information can be found in the Admin center under TM202916
— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status)
As for the cause, an expired authentication certificate was apparently the root of today's woes. If true, then the postmortem will make for interesting reading indeed. [...]
We're investigating an issue where users may be unable to access Microsoft Teams. We will have further information soon. We appreciate your patience as we work to solve the problem.
— Microsoft Teams (@MicrosoftTeams)
The only deviation from the script was a brief message telling one worried user that there was no ETA for the resolution of the issue.
There is no workaround at present, and the issue is global. Affected users are unable to connect to the platform through the Windows desktop application, web or via smartphone app.
While the loss of messaging might do wonders for productivity, customers also use the platform to run meetings. Microsoft has been encouraging users in recent times to do this very thing as Skype for Business reaches the end of the road. Alas, when Teams disappears, so do those potentially important calls. Unless, of course, you have a backup.
(Score: 2) by Common Joe on Wednesday February 05 2020, @05:34AM
This is an interesting comment not only on the surface of what you said, but a much deeper implication.
It's a very (time) expensive and a boring job to maintain technology. ("Boring job" also means that for every minute you're on maintenance duty, you're not maintaining the skills that will get you your next job.)
By this, I mean, putting up a simple website 20 or 25 years ago involved a little HTML, CSS, webserver, and hardware which was not exactly easy. Today, not only do you have these technologies, but a bizillion others that must be maintained: certificates, virtual machines and docker, php / asp, javascript, several add-ons so you don't have to use javascript directly, frameworks, those 3rd party libraries, multiple types of databases, caching, IDE updates, update programs to help you maintain the updates to all the junk you've stuffed into your program, cloud based stuff, remote APIs (like Google Maps), add-ons to everything I just mentioned, browser testing, cell phone testing, and a whole host of other things that aren't coming to mind right now. Oh... and don't forget to properly secure everything. And don't forget to keep up with every technology to make sure you stay current and secure.
With a job that demands perfection to maintain the house of cards, it's easy to miss a critical detail -- especially when people are forced to job hop every couple of years so they can get actual raises.
Frankly, I'm in constant awe that everything works as well as it does. I'm not surprised when something like a forgotten certificate happens. And for those who think automatic certificate renewal is a good idea to fix this problem, I won't debate that it's a good idea. It is a good idea. Just be aware that it adds to the precariously balanced technological mountain of things to be knowledgeable about and maintain. And that's my point.