A 502 server error prevented Gmail and Google Apps users from accessing their accounts for about 15 hours. The error, associated with servers that have to deal with too many connections, disappeared after the number of people who tried to access a specific location decreased. In this particular case, it took Google engineers over half a day until they managed to solve the problem generated by a server congestion.
The majority of users complained about the fact that they could not connect to Gmail through their Google Apps account, while the rest of them said that no other attempt worked either. People with more than one Gmail account noticed that, usually, only one of those could not connect. Google found out about the problem via the support forums. The officials responded, saying that the issue was already being worked at. Even so, some of the users got no less than furious. Many claimed that their businesses depended on important emails that had to be read or sent as soon as possible.
To pour oil upon troubled waters, Google representatives assured that only a "small subset" of Gmail users was experiencing the inability to log in. Also, on the Google Apps discussion group, one of the representatives of the company said that the issue was only access-related. During the failure, email accounts were still able of receiving and storing messages.
The annoyed users affected by the issue pointed the finger at Google, accusing the Mountain View-based company of slow response. "I feel for all business that has been affected by this. I can only imagine how much money was lost and how many client relationships must now be strained as a result of this monumental dropping of the ball on behalf of Google." said Tim, a man who claimed that his company was one of the first to adopt Google Apps.
