outages Archives

Tech Optimizer

June 9, 2025

Streamline Amazon Aurora database operations at scale: Introducing the AWS Database Acceleration Toolkit

The AWS Database Acceleration Toolkit (DAT) is an open-source solution that enhances database performance, particularly for Amazon Aurora, by utilizing Terraform for setup, provisioning, and maintenance. DAT helps organizations reduce time to market, improve customer satisfaction, and optimize costs. It is beneficial for DevOps teams, SaaS providers, and enterprises transitioning from commercial databases to Aurora. One example of its effectiveness includes a customer reducing database migration time from 12 months to 4 weeks for over 100 databases, achieving zero outages over six months, increasing database team productivity by 60-70%, and lowering infrastructure costs by 42%. DAT's architecture includes automated resource provisioning and security through Terraform, with source code available in a Git repository. It offers multiple provisioning options for Aurora clusters, including the Terraform CLI and Jenkins pipelines. Key modules include: - Aurora cluster module for creating new clusters with customization options. - Amazon RDS Proxy for enhancing application performance and security. - Aurora GlobalDB for creating clusters across AWS Regions for disaster recovery. - Aurora Monitoring for configuring CloudWatch dashboards to monitor database performance. Use case examples are provided in the Git repository for both Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible and Aurora MySQL-Compatible engines. Deployment options include using Terraform directly, setting up a new Jenkins instance, or integrating with an existing Jenkins setup. To provision an Aurora PostgreSQL cluster, users must clone the DAT repository, navigate to the appropriate folder, configure the Terraform variable definition file, initialize the working directory, execute a plan, and apply the changes. Security features include customer-managed keys, integration with AWS Secrets Manager for password management, and enhanced monitoring through CloudWatch. To clean up, users can destroy the Aurora cluster with a Terraform command.

AppWizard

June 6, 2025

Dune’s New Multiplayer RPG Just Broke A Major PC Gaming Record

Dune Awakening, a survival MMORPG, attracted nearly 100,000 players within 24 hours of its advanced access launch on PC, with a peak concurrent player count of 93,634. The game has an 81.57% approval rating from approximately 4,000 reviews and is currently the top trending and second best-selling game on Steam. Players have reported server stability issues, prompting Funcom to implement hotfixes. The game features a unique narrative where Lady Jessica gives birth to a daughter instead of Paul Atreides, allowing for new storylines and political dynamics on Arrakis. Funcom plans to provide regular free updates and new features, avoiding a monthly subscription model.

AppWizard

June 6, 2025

Natwest is down? Users report issues with banking app and mobile login

Reports of issues with the NatWest app emerged on DownDetector around 8:45 AM today, with many users experiencing problems primarily related to mobile banking and login functionalities. Customers reported their frustrations on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting difficulties accessing their accounts. The NatWest Help account acknowledged a technical issue affecting the app and stated that their team was addressing the situation urgently.

AppWizard

June 6, 2025

NatWest mobile app down with customers locked out of accounts

NatWest is experiencing issues with its mobile banking app, leading to over 3,000 outages reported around 10 am on a Friday. Customers have expressed frustration on social media due to their inability to send or receive money, pay bills, or transfer funds. The bank has stated that the problem is related to an update made to the app. Recent scrutiny has arisen for high street banks due to a series of outages, particularly at the end of the month when many receive paychecks. Data from the Treasury Committee revealed that nine of the UK’s largest banks and building societies faced over 33 days of unplanned outages in the past two years. NatWest reported 13 "material" incidents between 2023 and 2025, resulting in nearly £350,000 in compensation paid to affected customers. Barclays also indicated it could allocate up to £12.5 million in compensation for affected customers during the same period. Common reasons for these outages include issues with third-party suppliers, system changes, and internal software malfunctions.

Winsage

May 23, 2025

The END of Support: Preparing for Windows 10 Transition » CBIA

Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019 on October 14, 2025. After this date, Microsoft will no longer provide updates, including security patches and programming fixes, potentially increasing vulnerability to operational failures and cyber threats. Upgrading to Windows 11 may be possible at no additional cost if hardware meets minimum requirements. Companies should consider a migration strategy that balances costs and needs, possibly redistributing older devices for less demanding roles. For server upgrades, it is recommended to consolidate functionalities, utilize physical servers for virtual systems, assess company growth for informed investments, and prioritize redundancy through frequent backups.

Tech Optimizer

May 14, 2025

Databricks buys serverless database startup Neon for reported $1B

Databricks Inc. has confirmed its acquisition of Neon Inc. for approximately billion. Databricks, based in San Francisco, was valued at billion after its last funding round. Neon specializes in managed cloud databases, has raised over million in funding, and utilizes a proprietary storage engine built on PostgreSQL. Neon's architecture allows for rapid deployment of database instances in under a second, which enhances performance for AI agents. The acquisition is expected to be finalized by July 31.

AppWizard

April 24, 2025

Ubisoft is keeping its promise to add an offline mode to The Crew 2, and testing begins next week

Ubisoft has decided to discontinue The Crew, leading to significant backlash against always-online gaming, resulting in a class action lawsuit, new legislation in California, and a disclaimer on Steam. In response, Ubisoft pledged to avoid similar actions for The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest. Seven months later, the company announced development of an offline mode is underway, with a playtest starting on April 30. Positive feedback has been received for the offline initiative, and players are now requesting similar functionality for other titles. Ubisoft plans to roll out the offline mode for The Crew 2 by the end of 2025, with The Crew Motorfest to follow later.

Tech Optimizer

April 24, 2025

Meet Xata Agent: An Open Source Agent for Proactive PostgreSQL Monitoring, Automated Troubleshooting, and Seamless DevOps Integration

Xata Agent is an open-source AI assistant designed for PostgreSQL database site reliability engineering. It monitors logs and performance metrics to identify issues like slow queries and unusual connection counts, helping to maintain database integrity and performance. The tool automates tasks such as vacuuming and indexing and provides actionable recommendations through diagnostic playbooks and read-only SQL routines. The architecture is built as a Next.js application using TypeScript, organized in a monorepo structure. Developers can set up their environment using Node, install dependencies, and configure a local PostgreSQL instance with Docker Compose. Production deployment involves using Docker images and configuring environment variables in a production file. Key functionalities include proactive monitoring, configuration tuning, performance troubleshooting, safe diagnostics, cloud integration, alerting, LLM flexibility, and playbook customization. Developers can create new tools and integrate them into playbooks for cohesive workflows. Future plans include custom playbooks, support for Model Context Protocol, evaluation harnesses, approval workflows, and a managed cloud edition. The architecture promotes extensibility and community contributions, standardizing incident response and reducing human error in database management.

TrendTechie

April 16, 2025

«RuTracker упал»: популярный торрент-трекер перестал работать

On April 15, users reported that the torrent tracker RuTracker was completely inaccessible, displaying an Error 521. All associated mirror sites were also down. Reports of instability began on April 13, with users experiencing intermittent access issues. Complaints peaked around 10 PM on April 15. RuTracker previously faced outages in January 2023 due to hosting issues, and its Telegram channel was blocked earlier this year for discussing technical problems, citing copyright violations.

TrendTechie

April 16, 2025

В работе торрент-трекера RuTracker произошел сбой

Users are experiencing significant access issues with RuTracker, a major torrent tracker in Russia, with problems persisting for several hours according to Downdetector. When trying to access the site, users receive a "Server unavailable" message, and it remains inaccessible even with a VPN. RuTracker has been blocked in Russia since early 2016 due to a judicial ruling for repeated copyright violations.