14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft alone is responsible for the critical system crash that killed the Skype Voice over Internet Protocol service for no less than two days. Skype's VoIP service became unstable and then completely unavailable following the release of the Redmond company's monthly patch cycle on August 14. Skype's Villu Arak explained that the instability and the critical disruption of the company's VoIP services on August 16, can be connected with the concomitant worldwide deployment of the Windows Updates.
"The disruption was initiated by a massive restart of our user's computers across the globe within a very short timeframe as they re-booted after receiving a routine software update. The abnormally high number of restarts affected Skype's network resources. This caused a flood of log-in requests, which, combined with the lack of peer-to-peer network resources, prompted a chain reaction that had a critical impact," Arak informed.
The scale of the restarts generated by the installation of the Windows Updates exposed a flaw in Skype's network resource allocation algorithm. The bug managed to intervene, and even completely stop Skype's peer-to-peer network built-in self-healing capabilities. Essentially, the service became unable to repair itself and the entire P2P network became unavailable for approximately two days. But although the Windows Update infrastructure and the restarts related to the deployment of the security patches were identified as the source of the system crash, Skype ultimately blamed the bug in its own service. Arak reassured the users that the disruption was not caused by a hack or any other malicious activities and that the users' security wasn't at risk.
"This disruption was unprecedented in terms of its impact and scope. We would like to point out that very few technologies or communications networks today are guaranteed to operate without interruptions," Arak added. "We are very proud that over the four years of its operation, Skype has provided a technically resilient communications tool to millions of people worldwide. Skype has now identified and already introduced a number of improvements to its software to ensure that our users will not be similarly affected in the unlikely possibility of this combination of events recurring."