| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization:
- Google experienced a software update issue that caused a major international outage on Tuesday [131116].
- Google Search went down in dozens of countries for a brief period [131589].
- Google services like Google Maps were also affected by the outage [131116].
- Users were met with 502 or 500 errors when attempting to use the search engine [131116].
- Google apologized for the inconvenience caused by the software update issue [131116, 131589].
(b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization:
- Users reported problems with Google explorer, Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Images during the outage [131116].
- Users in various countries across the globe, from Portugal to Pakistan, were affected by the Google outage [131589].
- Network intelligence company ThousandEyes Inc reported Google outages affecting at least 1,338 servers globally across more than 40 countries [131116].
- Users resorted to using alternate search engines like Bing and DuckDuckGo during the outage [131116].
- The outage affected users in the United States, Australia, South Africa, Kenya, Israel, parts of South America, Europe, and Asia including China and Japan [131116]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design |
(a) The software failure incident in Article 131116 was related to a software update issue that caused a major international outage on Google Search and Maps. The incident was attributed to a software update issue that occurred late in the afternoon Pacific Time, affecting the availability of Google services. The outage was quickly reported by technology platforms, and users experienced problems accessing Google services due to the error messages like 502 or 500 errors. The outage was resolved after the team worked quickly to address the fault [131116].
(b) The software failure incident in Article 131589 was not directly related to the operation or misuse of the system. Instead, it was linked to an "electrical incident" at a Google data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which critically injured three electricians. The outage of Google Search and Maps was caused by a software update issue that occurred late in the afternoon Pacific Time, affecting the availability of these services. The spokesperson for Google mentioned that the two incidents, the electrical incident, and the software update issue were unrelated [131589]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system:
- The software failure incident reported in the articles was primarily due to a software update issue within Google's system. The incident caused a major international outage affecting Google Search and Maps [131116, 131589].
- Google acknowledged the software update issue that occurred late in the afternoon Pacific Time, leading to the availability problems with their services [131116, 131589].
- Users experienced errors such as 502 or 500 when trying to use the search engine, indicating an internal issue within Google's system [131116].
- The outage was quickly reported by technology platforms, and Google worked quickly to address the fault and get the services back online [131116].
(b) outside_system:
- The software failure incident was not primarily attributed to factors originating from outside the system. However, there was a mention of an "electrical incident" at a Google data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, earlier in the day, which critically injured three electricians. This incident was separate from the software update issue that caused the outage [131589].
- A Google spokesperson clarified that the two incidents, the software update issue causing the outage and the electrical incident at the data center, were unrelated [131589]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions:
- The software failure incident reported in Article 131116 was attributed to a software update issue that caused a major international outage on Google services like search and Maps. The outage was due to a fault in the software update, which led to the unavailability of these services [131116].
- Users attempting to use the Google search engine during the outage were met with 502 or 500 errors, indicating that the server encountered temporary errors and could not complete the requests. This points to a technical issue within the software rather than human actions [131116].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions:
- The outage reported in Article 131589 was also linked to a software update issue that affected the availability of Google Search and Maps. However, the spokesperson for Google mentioned that the incident was due to a software update issue that occurred late in the afternoon Pacific Time, indicating that the failure was not directly caused by human actions but rather by a technical fault in the software update [131589].
- The Google spokesperson clarified that the software update issue was unrelated to an earlier "electrical incident" at a Google data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which critically injured three electricians. This suggests that the software failure was not a result of human actions causing the outage [131589]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the articles was not due to hardware issues. The outage was attributed to a software update issue that affected the availability of Google Search and Maps [131116, 131589].
(b) The software failure incident was specifically attributed to a software update issue that occurred late in the afternoon Pacific Time, causing the outage of Google services. Google acknowledged the fault and mentioned that they worked quickly to address the issue, leading to the services being restored [131116, 131589]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident mentioned in the articles does not indicate any malicious intent. It was attributed to a software update issue that caused a major international outage on Google services like Google Search and Maps. Google apologized for the inconvenience caused and mentioned that the team worked quickly to address the fault [131116, 131589]. The incident was not related to any deliberate attempt to harm the system but rather a technical issue resulting from a software update. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
unknown |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the articles was not due to poor decisions. Instead, it was attributed to a software update issue that caused a major international outage on Google services like Google Search and Maps. Google apologized for the inconvenience caused by the fault in the software update and mentioned that the team worked quickly to address the issue [131116, 131589].
(b) The incident was not caused by accidental decisions either. It was specifically mentioned that the outage was due to a software update issue that affected the availability of Google services. The spokesperson for Google stated that the two incidents, including an "electrical incident" at a Google data center in Iowa, were unrelated [131116, 131589]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to development incompetence:
- Article 131116 reports that Google apologized for a software update issue that caused a major international outage. The incident was attributed to a software update issue that occurred late in the afternoon Pacific Time, affecting the availability of Google search and Maps. The outage affected various Google services, including Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Images, all of which rely on Google's search engine to operate [131116].
(b) The software failure incident occurring accidentally:
- Article 131589 mentions an "electrical incident" that occurred earlier in the day at a Google data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. This incident critically injured three electricians and was reported to be unrelated to the software update issue that caused the outage of Google Search and Maps. The spokesperson for Google stated that they were aware of a software update issue that briefly affected the availability of Google services and that they worked quickly to address the issue [131589]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident was temporary as it was caused by a software update issue that affected the availability of Google Search and Maps. The incident lasted for a brief period before services were restored. Users encountered errors such as a 502 or 500 error and were advised to try again in 30 seconds. The outage was reported to have lasted approximately 34 minutes before a second blip hit, affecting a smaller amount of servers and taking around seven minutes to resolve [131116, 131589]. |
| Behaviour |
crash, omission, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the articles can be categorized as a crash. Users attempting to use the Google search engine were met with a 502 or 500 error, indicating that the server encountered a temporary error and could not complete the request, leading to the system losing its state and not performing its intended functions [131116].
(b) omission: The software failure incident can also be categorized as an omission. Instead of providing search results, users trying to use Google Search saw an error message stating that the server encountered an error and could not complete the request, leading to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at that instance [131589].
(c) timing: The software failure incident does not align with a timing failure as there is no indication that the system performed its intended functions too late or too early [unknown].
(d) value: The software failure incident can be categorized as a value failure. Users were unable to access Google Search and other related services due to the software update issue, leading to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly [131116].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not align with a byzantine failure as there is no mention of inconsistent responses or interactions from the system [unknown].
(f) other: The software failure incident can be categorized as an "other" behavior. The incident involved a software update issue that caused a major international outage, affecting Google Search and Maps, leading to the system behaving in a way not described in the other options [131116]. |