Skype which we all know is a leading VOIP phone service provider went down yesterday due to a software bug that took down its core network which is called supernodes. Skype said that it was working to bring back these nodes back online. Nearly 10 million regular users are without skype.
For many businesses and people, Skype is a vital link for their communications. In a blog post Skype said that its system is up for about 5 million users and said about 12 million people have been disconnected for a full day. The blog said that the problem was with super nodes which are essentially Skype’s phone directories.
The blog said, “Skype isn’t a network like a conventional phone or IM network – instead, it relies on millions of individual connections between computers and phones to keep things up and running. Some of these computers are what we call ‘supernodes’ – they act a bit like phone directories for Skype. If you want to talk to someone, and your Skype app can’t find them immediately your computer or phone will first try to find a supernode to figure out how to reach them.”
This is Skype’s second major outage this year. The company also had a two day outage in 2007. Skype has 17 million daily users around the world.